NOVPUB
Chapter 366: Chapter 363: Shoot Down
Southern Mu State.
A figure resembling a towering elephant stepped onto this land, surrounded by dozens of Demons at least twenty meters tall.
Compared to the other Demons, this elephant-like Demon was even taller.
"Yafan, Calon, Yu Lian," it said, "why do these humans insist on resisting us meaninglessly?"
The massive Demon walked, each step causing a slight tremor on the ground.
"Under our rule, they are all equal, have food and drink, and only need to work a few hours each day to maintain social order. They can live safely until the age of forty. In fact, to prevent them from dying young, we offer them free medical care when they are sick and help them in natural disasters."
The Demon looked up towards the Cangshan Mountain Sacred Land behind him: "Under human rule, they suffer endless exploitation. Working from dawn to dusk every day, they hard labor might not even suffice to sustain themselves. A slight illness or accident could scatter their families and ruin their lives. Even if they don’t encounter accidents, offending the nobility or speaking out of turn could lead to punishment. The lucky ones keep their lives; the unlucky are executed... What do you think is the point of their resistance?"
"Great Great Mill Spirit Venerable."
The one called Yafan was the Demon King sent by Daoli Spirit Venerable to seek aid from the Three Thousand Marshes.
And this towering elephant-like presence...
Clearly, he was the ruler of the Three Thousand Marshes.
A terrifying existence that had reached the level of a Demon Emperor over a decade ago.
"Perhaps it’s due to their different species? Haven’t humans always said, ’those who are not our kin have minds that think differently?’"
Yafan cautiously responded.
"No, I believe the most critical point is that everyone is equal."
Calon, resembling a giant lizard covered in scales, sneered, "Because human beings are best at using all sorts of methods to oppress their own kind, to persecute their fellows. If things were equal, how would they continue to oppress each other? That’s the biggest problem."
"Calon is absolutely right. The Spirit Venerables in the east divided humans into two classes, rulers and the ruled, using humans to govern humans. Isn’t that very stable?"
Yu Lian chimed in, "Although occasionally some people stand up to resist, those rulers, seeking to secure their own interests, are far more courageous and ruthless when dealing with their own. Sometimes, their cruelty towards their own kind even scares me."
"Ha! Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is a trait common to all life forms."
Calon said, "But letting those humans fight among themselves also effectively maintains their vitality. Whether their spirits contain ’hope,’ ’joy,’ ’anger,’ ’hatred,’ or any other emotion, it makes their ’spirit’ active and delicious. This is much better than a gloomy, numb state."
With that, he turned his massive eyes towards Qiantian: "Perhaps, we could learn from those regions and attempt to recruit humans from Mu State? Promise them rulership over Qiantian in exchange for, let’s say, only thirty million people a year! This number is just slightly higher than their average annual death toll. If they increase their birthrate slightly, it could compensate."
"The humans invading Mu State are extremely powerful, and they might not easily agree to being recruited. Even if they agree, should they secretly disobey, it could afford them more time to grow stronger."
Seeing this, Yafan hurriedly spoke up.
"Then let’s not give them that opportunity."
Calon seemed to have already planned for this: "In the distant Chen Domain, it is said that a Demon Lord controls a vast human kingdom. They cripple the cultivation traditions, allowing the humans there to practice cultivation, but almost unable to master any combat skills. We could do the same. This way, no matter how they struggle, our top warriors can easily suppress them."
"These humans still possess formidable fighting power, they won’t easily submit..."
Yafan said. 𝒏𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
"Powerful?"
Great Mill Spirit Venerable’s eyes shimmered with a cold sneer: "Even Cangshan Mountain Sacred Land has been ground down and breached by us. You have no idea what true power is."
This Demon Emperor, resembling a towering elephant, looked towards East Wood State: "But don’t worry about us trying to recruit them. We are new to Qiantian. If we want the people of Qiantian to bow their heads and recognize our power, we must make a show of force as a warning to them! It’s unfortunate for them, the humans of Mu State will just be the chickens that we slaughter to frighten the monkeys!"
"We will comply unconditionally with any decision you make, Lord."
Yafan quickly expressed his humble submission.
Great Mill Spirit Venerable did not respond again, his huge body walking across this land.
"Ha! Daoli is really foolish. He could have chosen to descend elsewhere and slowly expand, but he specifically chose this area in Qiantian World. Besides, the timing of his arrival couldn’t be worse, just after that monster fell. It’s unclear how long it will take for him to recover."
"Speaking of which, Daoli Spirit Venerable himself is a very powerful Spirit Venerable. Using over half of his body in this venture, whether he can retain his Spirit Venerable status is questionable," Calon said.
Great Mill Spirit Venerable nodded and was about to speak.
At that moment, a Demon resembling a giant ape, about ten meters tall, quickly approached the group of Demons and called out from afar: "Lord, a human controlling an ’Mystic Bird’ aerial War Spiritual Artifact is coming our way. Blood Wing tried to intercept, but couldn’t keep up with the speed of those War Spiritual Artifacts."
"War Spiritual Artifact?"
Great Mill Spirit Venerable glanced at Yafan: "I’d like to see if the War Spiritual Artifacts of this human force called Lingxiao Palace are as formidable as you say. Yu Lian, make a trip yourself."
"As you wish."
Yu Lian respectfully complied, and then his body, resembling a cheetah’s, slowly stood up, unveiling a pair of steel wings from his back.
This was indeed the Second Level form of the Undying Demon Body.
Yes!
This Demon named Yu Lian was actually a Demon Emperor who had cultivated into his second form.
Having one trait like Breaking the Sky, Tenacity, or Infinite makes one a Spiritual Artifact; having two of the same trait makes one a Dao Artifact.
It was the same for the Demons.
The stacking of the Undying Demon Body’s second layer brought about an overlapping of data for the Demon.
In such a case, the combat strength of a Demon Emperor far surpassed that of a Demon King.
Yu Lian not only possessed the ability to fly, but also had strong, sharp iron feathers.
And his second form involved further strengthening these robust feathers so that, once launched, each one was akin to a flying sword shot by a Primordial Spirit True Monarch.
However, unlike the Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, who could only shoot out one flying sword at a time, Yu Lian could shoot dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of iron feathers.
As Yu Lian received the command, he had yet to start moving, for he had already sensed something.
"I smell the Qi of the Heavenly Monarch True Spirit."
"It’s the True Spirit of that human leader from Lingxiao Palace, controlling the War Spiritual Artifacts one by one, each arrival bringing immense danger,"
Yafan hastily said.
"Danger?"
Yu Lian scoffed coldly, his figure suddenly soaring into the sky.
Almost simultaneously, a nimble figure tore through the clouds and arrived on the scene.
A Mystic Bird Fighting Machine, probing the tracks of the Demons, appeared within their "line of sight."
When Yu Lian saw this Mystic Bird Fighting Machine, it seemed to flicker with light underneath.
In an instant, he sensed something, his Undying Demon Body surged with Demon Flame.
However, since he was not a pure Demon Bird, his speed was not fast and was even inferior to that of a Demon King Level Demon Bird. Although he sensed the strike of the Electromagnetic Cannon, he was still unable to avoid the artillery fire in time.
Accompanied by the splashing of Demon Flame, his massive figure shook violently, and his body burst forth with a cloud of blood mist.
However...
This level of injury was negligible for Yu Lian, who, after spreading his wings which spanned over thirty meters, was completely enraged instead.
"Humans!"
Along with a piercing screech from the Demon Emperor Level Yu Lian, his huge body spun rapidly, his feathers during the rotation seeming like sharp swords tearing through the void, instantly blockading the space from which the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine was shooting.
Although each of these iron feathers moved at no more than four times the speed of sound, their vast numbers were overwhelming.
More than three hundred!
Just like a Short Range Defense Cannon intercepting a sudden assault of flying swords.
Just as the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine was about to sweep away and distance itself, it suddenly accelerated, yet still failed to completely avoid the attack.
Accompanied by bursts of firelight, the machine was struck by iron feathers in three places.
One section of the wing was even directly chopped off.
The aerodynamic layout was compromised. Even though Gu Jinlai managed to control the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine immediately, under such terrifying speeds, the machine violently shook, nearly disintegrating.
Gu Jinlai had no choice but to reduce the speed of the machine.
But at this moment, Yu Lian’s second wave of attack followed closely afterward.
Iron feathers filled the sky.
These feathers, no less powerful than the flying swords shot by a Primordial Spirit True Monarch, once again tore through the sky, densely pelting towards the void where the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine was located.
This time, Gu Jinlai could no longer maneuver the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine to dodge.
"BOOM!"
Accompanied by intense blasts of firelight, the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine was blasted into the air amidst the shower of feather arrows, shattering into countless fragments scattering in all directions.
After ripping apart the Mystic Bird Fighting Machine, Yu Lian let out a long howl, his voice resounding through the heavens.
Only when he felt the True Spirit attached to the War Spiritual Artifact completely vanish did he return to the ground.
The terrifying recovery power of the Undying Demon Body quickly forced out the Electromagnetic Cannon shells that had penetrated his body.
Watching the far-off falling aircraft and the dense smoke billowing into the sky, the Demon Emperor Yu Lian sneered, "War Spiritual Artifacts? Is this all they’ve got?"
"Good speed, but that’s about it,"
Great Mill Spirit Venerable commented and then, unwilling to waste more time, added, "If this is the level of these Lingxiao Palace humans... let’s launch a full-scale attack on Eastern Mu State and end the battle within a month."
