This novel has been finished on Patreon! Thank you to all my Patrons for the support over this and the other novels <3
------------------------------------------------------
"In just a month, has she become this weak?"
Xu Yuan's perception of the Moon Demon further confirmed the current timeline.
The Holy Demon Continent was once an era of glory. It began to change after the betrayal and subsequent revenge of a chosen son of light, Electrolux. From a glorious continent of magic, it descended into a desperate age invaded by demon gods.
Seventy-two Demon God Pillars descended from the sky, landing on the post-disaster Holy Demon Continent.
During the initial descent of these seventy-two pillars, any living being—whether beasts, magical creatures, or humans—that came into contact with their emanating aura would rapidly mutate into demon beings, obeying the commands of the demon gods associated with each pillar. Thus, humanity entered the dark ages, and the continent officially became known as the Holy Demon Continent.
"The Spiritual Stove Continent might have been the name of this plane before the Demon God Pillars arrived," Xu Yuan thought to himself.
The Holy Hall Alliance was formed, with six major cultivation systems forming the Six Great Holy Halls. They established the Holy Hall Federation, occupying only a quarter of the continent, barely resisting the demon invasion.
But that was all in the past.
Long Haochen was born, wielding the Divine Throne of Eternity and Creation.
Though he didn't personally kill this term's Demon Emperor, he and the Demon Emperor together destroyed the destructive head of the Nine-Headed Chimera. During this battle, the seventy-two Demon God Pillars were damaged, and the Demon Emperor committed suicide. As a result, the demon race declined.
"It's actually a Spiritual Furnace!"
Agares' eyes flashed with amazement.
She was the Moon Demon God. Even when Feng Xiu, the Demon Emperor, was alive, she was the second-in-command of the demon race. Now that Feng Xiu had committed suicide, she was the last leader of the demons.
(T/N: The raw uses the female character '她' to describe Agares who is male in the original work.)
She had seen many Spiritual Furnaces, even experiencing the effects of some of the top-tier ones.
Now, before her eyes, a brand-new Spiritual Furnace had coalesced.
Spiritual Furnaces weren't rare.
Even though they were considered precious treasures on the continent, to her, they weren't particularly impressive.
However, this Spiritual Furnace had formed in just one month.
She could confirm that a month ago, when she checked here, there was no sign of a Spiritual Furnace being nurtured.
Yet, in just one month, this Spiritual Furnace had emerged.
What surprised her most was the aura it emitted.
She was certain that this Spiritual Furnace ranked among the top tier of those she had ever encountered.
Even the transformed Holy Spiritual Furnace of Long Haochen, the chairman of the Holy Hall Federation and human leader, emitted fluctuations far weaker than this Spiritual Furnace.
The three forms that appeared on the Spiritual Furnace were especially captivating to Agares.
"Looking is fine, but touching would be rude."
As Agares prepared to closely examine this new Spiritual Furnace, a voice rang out.
Agares quickly retreated, her purple pupils flashing with disbelief.
"You… have consciousness?"
"How strange is that? Can't a Spiritual Furnace have its own consciousness?"
Agares fell silent.
Indeed, it was possible for a Spiritual Furnace to possess its own consciousness. On the continent, there were nine Wise Spiritual Furnaces, all of which had developed their own intelligence. Additionally, Long Haochen's Holy Spiritual Furnace had fused with a light spirit, evolving into a spirit king, making it another kind of intelligent Spiritual Furnace.
So, was this Spiritual Furnace similar to Long Haochen's case?
After all, the idea of a newly formed Spiritual Furnace having consciousness was hard to believe.
The only thing she could think of was the foreign plane energy that fell here a month ago.
"You…" A lightning bolt flashed through Agares' mind.
She froze on the spot.
Realizing the form of existence of this Spiritual Furnace, had she found salvation for the demon race?
The Demon God Pillars were the root of the demons. Because of their presence, the demons had their own power source. However, after the destruction of the Demon God Pillars, the demons would gradually decline, losing their powers until they regressed to their primitive forms.
Perhaps such a state would integrate them back into this plane, but they would lose all their power.
Because the power of the Demon God Pillars came from another plane.
But, the person before her was also from another plane.
He had turned into a Spiritual Furnace.
Was this the correct way for life from another plane to enter this continent?
Becoming a Spiritual Furnace meant integrating with the laws of this world.
But how could she ask him how he achieved all this?
Someone who could achieve this level was clearly a strong individual.
If she were at her peak, it wouldn't matter, but now her strength was severely diminished, not even half of her former power.
Moreover, without an energy source, every bit of power used was irreplaceable. If a conflict arose, she might perish here today.
While Agares was conflicted, Xu Yuan took the initiative to speak.
"Is this plane called the Spiritual Stove Continent?"
Spiritual Stove Continent?
Agares was taken aback.
Such an ancient name.
It should have been the original name of the Holy Demon Continent.
She hadn't expected that this being from another plane still referred to this place by its old name.
"Yes, but now it's called the Holy Demon Continent."
She informed Xu Yuan of the name "Holy Demon Continent," but as she mentioned it, she let out a bitter smile.
"Perhaps, soon there will be no more Holy Demon, only the Holy Hall Federation. Maybe this continent will be renamed again."
"Tell me about the current situation of the Holy Demon Continent."
Agares frowned.
She was annoyed by the impoliteness of the consciousness within this Spiritual Furnace.
What was with this commanding tone?
Even Feng Xiu, in his time, never spoke to her like this.
"Your strength is fading rapidly. I assume you're urgently seeking a solution to this problem?" Xu Yuan's indifferent voice sounded again.
Agares clenched her teeth slightly.
It felt like this person had her cornered.
"I can answer your questions, so can you help solve my problem?"
"Our needs are not equal."
Complex emotions flickered in Agares' eyes. With a sigh, she asked, "Do you have other demands? If so, I'll try my best to satisfy them."
The demons couldn't afford to delay.
Her strength had already diminished by more than half.
Ordinary demons had already degenerated into powerless beings.
Further delays, even if they found a way to restore the demons' power source, would significantly reduce their numbers.
The sooner this issue was resolved, the more power the demons could retain.
"I need to know the situation of the Holy Demon Continent. Also, I'm not sure what you can do for me."
Watching Agares being lured step by step, Xu Yuan was satisfied.
He had two main purposes for coming here: finding an opportunity for Jue's transformation and locating his father's reincarnated self.
If possible, he hoped to study this plane's power system based on these two goals and incorporate it into his cultivation.
Among them, finding Xu Zhi's reincarnation might be troublesome.
He wasn't even sure what identity Xu Zhi held in this life.
Would he still be called Xu Zhi after reincarnation?
That probability was almost nonexistent.
Therefore, finding Xu Zhi would be a massive undertaking.
The demons were the most widespread group on the Holy Demon Continent. If he had their help, finding Xu Zhi would be much easier.
Of course, it was also possible that Xu Zhi had made a significant impact here. Xu Yuan could simply inquire about notable figures in the past twenty years to determine his identity. But what if Xu Zhi's reincarnation still couldn't cultivate?
In this Holy Demon Continent, the restriction on innate spiritual energy was no less stringent than the innate soul power in the soul master world.
Without sufficient innate spiritual energy, achieving prominence through cultivation was nearly impossible.
"On the current Holy Demon Continent, demons occupy three-quarters of the territory, and I can currently mobilize the entire demon race. Is that enough to meet your requirements?"
Although more than three months had passed since the decisive battle between the holy and the demons, and the Holy Hall Federation was actively preparing to reclaim lost lands, the sheer number of demons made forced expulsion and extermination impractical again.
Coupled with Long Haochen's orders, the federation currently only had plans, not actions.
The decline of the demons was inevitable. Within the next year or two, perhaps all demons would regress to their original races.
By then, the federation could effortlessly bring the demons' land back under control.
Thus, the statement that demons still occupied three-quarters of the region was accurate.
"It's acceptable. You lead the demons to help me find someone. Once found, I'll figure out how to solve your power dissipation problem."
"No!" Agares' sharp gaze locked onto Xu Yuan's Spiritual Furnace form. "I want the method by which you transformed into a Spiritual Furnace."
"I advise you not to be so ungrateful." Xu Yuan sneered. "Even if I told you the method, you couldn't achieve it."
Agares frowned.
"The continent is vast; the difficulty of finding one person is imaginable. Even if I mobilize all the demons, we might not have results within three months. You can see, I don't have that time."
"Don't worry about that."
The Spiritual Furnace form of Xu Yuan shook, and a beam of light shot out from the Spiritual Furnace.
As the light dispersed, rays spread out, intertwining in the air to form a complex pattern.
Once the pattern formed, the image of a pen appeared.
With the appearance of this pen, the entire pattern merged into Agares' body.
Before Agares could dodge, the pen entered her body.
Her expression kept changing.
After the initial shock and anger, she transitioned to joy.
Because the loss of spiritual energy within her body had stopped.
She even felt she might attempt cultivation again?
She circulated her spiritual energy, and immediately, surrounding energy surged, forming a massive funnel rushing into her body.
It seemed as though her body had created a gradient, and surrounding energy rapidly flowed into her.
Though her internal energy density was extraordinarily high, it was far from her peak, creating this disparity. When she regained her ability to cultivate, this situation arose.
She didn't immerse herself in cultivation.
Instead, she opened her purple eyes, staring intently at Xu Yuan's Spiritual Furnace form.
"Who exactly are you?"
Her tone was filled with astonishment.
What kind of person could resolve a predicament she found insurmountable with just a wave of his hand?
A god?
At this moment, Agares could only guess this.
If not a god, who could achieve this with a mere gesture?
Even Feng Xiu, who was close to godhood, couldn't solve such a problem, yet this person did so effortlessly.
And in the form of a Spiritual Furnace.
"I roughly understand the situation of the demons." Xu Yuan said, "My Spiritual Furnace light can temporarily achieve this effect. Consider this a reward. I hope to find the person I'm looking for as soon as possible."
Spiritual Furnace light?
Temporary?
Agares accurately caught these two words.
So, his current Spiritual Furnace effect had this capability?
And it was only temporary.
"Do you mean that our demon race will rely solely on your Spiritual Furnace to survive in the future?"
"No, solving the demons' problem doesn't depend on me. I don't intend to stay within the demon race forever," Xu Yuan's disdainful voice echoed.
"The reason the demons' power is depleted is because the Demon God Pillars were destroyed. We just need to create something similar to the Demon God Pillars, like a Spiritual Furnace."
Agares widened her beautiful eyes.
Makes perfect sense.
"Seventy-two Demon God Pillars. Find the seventy-two corresponding demon gods, and I can create seventy-two corresponding Spiritual Furnaces." Xu Yuan calmly stated.
This wasn't a difficult task.
"However, I must warn you beforehand. A Spiritual Furnace is ultimately just a Spiritual Furnace. It can serve as the power source for your demon race. After at least one cycle of reproduction, the essence of the demon race will change, and they won't need the Spiritual Furnace as support. But for the current demon race, to maintain their ability to cultivate, they can only rely on the power of the Spiritual Furnace. This means only a batch of elites among the surviving demons will survive."
Xu Yuan wasn't a saint.
The demon race was ultimately an invader on this plane, the enemy of the entire federation. He didn't plan to offend the strongest official organization of this plane upon arrival.
Frankly, Xu Yuan wasn't entirely confident about the power system of this Holy Demon Continent.
Electrolux, a demigod of this world, had caused effects on Douluo Continent with just a fragment of his divine consciousness that couldn't be explained by anything below the god level.
Thus, the concept of becoming a god in this world might not align with what Xu Yuan previously understood as a god.
Although his abilities might seem miraculous to Agares, Xu Yuan knew that different planes had different systems.
For example, knights in this world had to painstakingly train their knight skills, while soul masters could directly acquire soul skills by obtaining soul rings.
This was the difference in systems across planes.
Xu Yuan couldn't yet confirm the level of Long Haochen's strength, so he needed to remain low-key.
"By the way, who are you looking for?" Agares asked.
"I don't know his name."
Agares wore a puzzled expression, as if a row of question marks hovered above her head.
Senior, are you joking with me?
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)