On the winding muddy mountain path, a procession of several thousand demonic beasts advanced slowly.
They were each dressed in tattered clothes, their flesh withered and gaunt, with very few demonic characteristics on their bodies, causing their appearance to resemble humans more.
In the eyes of the various forces of Jingzhou, such demonic beasts were called "Pseudo-Demons," extremely inferior and rare subspecies.
Their constitutions made it difficult to absorb demonic qi, causing their cultivation to stop at the realm of Little Demon.
Aside from Pseudo-Demons, there were also quite a few strange-looking demonic beasts in the procession, either missing arms and legs, or covered all over with eyes.
They had mastered Restraint Officer techniques, and because aberration caused their bodies to begin rejecting demonic qi, they ultimately ended up reduced to associating with Pseudo-Demons.
The atmosphere within the demonic beast group was extremely oppressive, yet it could not conceal the hope in their eyes, their gazes fixed firmly on the long river in the distance.
The long river shimmered with rippling light; as water vapor evaporated and churned, it formed ethereal clouds like an immortal realm, coiling between heaven and earth like a flood dragon.
This river was called "Heaven-Reaching River," the largest force within the demonic beast grotto-heaven, though few demonic beasts could come into contact with the cultivators within it.
It was rumored that as long as one cast oneself into the Heaven-Reaching River, one's soul would not perish after death.
Hu Wen and Zhang Yi hid among the demonic beasts, the two demons exchanging a glance.
Their hearts were filled with mockery.
Ever since the demon immortals descended, the class divisions within the grotto-heaven had become even more apparent, causing many demonic beasts to be unable to survive.
Demon Kings belonged to attendants, responsible for obeying demon immortals' orders, going at any time to handle various incidents, especially searching for traces of "Heavenly Demons."
As for Great Demons and Little Demons, in the eyes of demon immortals they were all classified as food.
It was only that the food of demon immortals was Great Demons, while Little Demons became the food of Demon Kings.
Demon immortals would deliberately extract the demonic qi within their bodies; it was said that in doing so, the meat would become as delicious and tender as that of humans.
Miscellaneous Demons further below served as reserves; every day many were infused with demonic qi and forcibly advanced to the level of Little Demon or even Great Demon.
What made Hu Wen feel absurd was that Pseudo-Demons and demonic beasts who had mastered Restraint Officer techniques instead became existences not even worthy of being food.
Demon immortals were busy dealing with Heavenly Demon incidents and had no time to attend to them. The Pseudo-Demons gathered together, wanting to find a way out.
Hu Wen's objective was to win them over, then immediately set off toward Wuwei City.
He had secretly probed, but the other demonic beasts were uninterested in Wuwei City, as if placing their final hope upon the Heaven-Reaching River.
Hu Wen did not believe the so-called Heaven-Reaching River was so benevolent; after all, in the eyes of the vast majority of demonic beasts, Pseudo-Demons were little different from wild beasts.
He only waited for the Pseudo-Demons to return without success before persuading the procession to head to Wuwei City.
The sound of surging waves grew ever more intense. The Heaven-Reaching River drew nearer, and faint melodious singing could be heard.
Hu Wen's expression became uncertain as he nudged Zhang Yi with his elbow.
Zhang Yi nodded secretly, then displayed the ability of the Hundred-Eyed One. A hundred pairs of eyes opened all over his body, looking toward the distant riverway.
A trace of intoxication appeared on his face, as if immersed in the singing and unable to extricate himself.
Hu Wen frowned. Just as he was about to employ the Five Viscera Gods to clarify the situation, he heard the leading old horse demon howl excitedly.
"We've arrived, we've arrived!"
The demonic beasts burst into commotion, their pace involuntarily quickening.
Hu Wen lowered his voice and asked, "Zhang Yi, what in the world is going on?"
The tiger demon opened his mouth, hesitated, then answered, "This Heaven-Reaching River... I don't know how to put it. It is different from any grotto-heaven."
Hu Wen could not help wanting to press further, but Zhang Yi responded with a bitter smile.
"Sect Master Hu Wen, these demonic beasts simply do not trust us. We might as well hurry to the demon immortals' location."
"Shut up, you..."
At that moment, the procession arrived at the bank of the Heaven-Reaching River. The old horse demon devoutly knelt to the ground, repeatedly calling out "Water Immortal."
Hu Wen and Zhang Yi looked at each other.
Though they had come into contact with many forces, they were indeed unfamiliar with the Heaven-Reaching River and did not know what kind of existence the Water Immortal was.
Hu Wen wanted to ask the demonic beasts for details, but the others were also unclear, only knowing that many Pseudo-Demons had successively entered the Heaven-Reaching River.
Thus the title of Water Immortal spread among the Pseudo-Demons.
Splash...
Before the gathered demons, the Heaven-Reaching River split open with a fissure. A pathway paved with coral came into view, water vapor causing rainbows to hang in the air.
Waves on the river surface regenerated and churned.
One crystalline humanoid demonic beast after another leapt out. What surprised Hu Wen was that their entire bodies were condensed from river water.
These were the "Water Demons" of the Heaven-Reaching River.
The demonic qi emitted by the Water Demons was extremely faint; instead, they revealed an indescribable "immortal qi," appearing out of place.
Most demonic beasts hesitated. Only a dozen or so, led by the old horse demon, ran toward the coral waterway.
The lingering singing seemed to welcome their arrival.
A massive dark shadow swam in the center of the Heaven-Reaching River. From its outward appearance, its true form was likely a whale.
The whale leapt from the Heaven-Reaching River, hovering two meters above the water's surface. Against the backdrop of the Water Demons, it was like a deity presiding over the riverway.
The demonic beasts could not help retreating several steps, but soon discovered the whale was the source of the singing.
The whale was clad in blue-green scales that glittered under the blazing sun. From its head grew a peerlessly beautiful woman of only half a body.
The woman spread her arms. The lake water parted several more meters, and Hu Wen could see that at the lakebed stood palaces constructed from coral.
Water Demons lived around the coral palaces, diligently planting water grass, appearing content and at ease.
"Many thanks to Lord Water Immortal for taking us in!"
The old horse demon shouted as he rushed forward. Even when his feet were cut by coral, he did not stop. Changes immediately appeared in his body.
The moisture within him evaporated at a speed visible to the naked eye. His running frequency slowed, and he soon turned into a dried corpse and fell to the ground.
Those demonic beasts who had just stepped onto the coral immediately turned back, but before they had taken a few steps, they heard movement from the old horse demon rising from the dead.
Water vapor emitted from the dried corpse gathered and solidified, then transformed into human form.
A Water Demon was thus born.
The old horse demon looked at his palm in disbelief, closed his eyes to feel the arrival of rebirth, like a golden toad shedding its shell.
Several hundred demonic beasts impatiently stepped onto the coral path; the remaining demonic beasts were also tempted.
They surged forward in a crowd.
Of them, only five or six out of ten transformed into Water Demons. The remaining demonic beasts became corpses completely, ultimately serving as nourishment for coral growth.
Hu Wen's face was full of disbelief. What exactly was the origin of the Heaven-Reaching River?
The whale Water Immortal let out a crisp laugh. Covering her mouth, she said, "Come, the Heaven-Reaching River will not refuse any..."
Before the whale Water Immortal could finish speaking, a stone pillar descended from the sky, directly piercing through her body. Fresh blood dyed the Heaven-Reaching River red.
Her aura immediately became near death. Several times she tried to reach out and pull the stone pillar free, but in the end she could only gasp weakly.
The Water Demons froze for a moment, then scattered in all directions amid shrill screams.
The whale Water Immortal stared into midair. A woman in a cyan-green Daoist robe stood upon the clouds, bringing an almost tangible pressure.
"Why... I... only wanted..."
"You are too much of an eyesore. How can you be so disgusting?"
Wu Qingyue smoothed her long hair. If not for the pustules covering her skin, one would think her a young maiden of sixteen.
"Annoyed."
She flicked her sleeve and left. Immediately afterward, from the riverside woods sprang hundreds upon thousands of aquatic demonic beasts, crazily rushing into the Heaven-Reaching River to slaughter.
The coral palaces were destroyed in an instant. Because of the death of the whale Water Immortal, the Water Demons unwillingly transformed into streams of water and merged into the blood-red Heaven-Reaching River.
The demonic beasts by the riverbank were directly ignored, for they did not even count as food.
Hu Wen quickly said, "Zhang Yi, it's your turn."
Zhang Yi nodded, then emitted a hoarse low howl, signaling the tiger demons mixed within the procession to act according to plan.
The aberration path of the Hundred-Eyed One was originally related to illusions, not to mention Zhang Yi, this "Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord" of the Ghost Envoy realm.
The technique invisibly took effect upon the demonic beast group, causing the procession to unknowingly head south, soon distancing themselves from the Heaven-Reaching River.
Hu Wen began to make use of his eloquence, and had the other tiger demons cooperate to set the atmosphere. Soon he gained the support of a small portion of demonic beasts, thus indirectly taking control of the procession.
It could be seen that as long as a living being possessed intelligence, it was born with a herd mentality.
More than three thousand demonic beasts traveled in groups through Jingzhou.
In order to meet up with the demon immortals as soon as possible, Hu Wen even spared no expense in resources to exchange various supplies from the demon market, thereby also confirming his authority.
Hu Wen followed the route provided by Ren Qing to the destination, not daring to alter it in the slightest, and thus avoided part of the risks.
However, the journey still concealed dangers.
The number of Black Goats was somewhat beyond control. Though this also caused demon immortals to be busy suppressing them, the procession could not avoid encountering them.
Hu Wen clearly could have sought Ren Qing's help, yet he chose to grit his teeth and persist.
Only by passing through this suffering could the Demon Sect be worthy of its name. Otherwise, it would be impossible to survive in a region filled with immortals.
He taught the Pseudo-Demons Restraint Officer techniques and positioned the stronger demonic beasts at the perimeter, ready at any time to defend against attacks from Black Goats.
Fortunately, creatures like Black Goats mainly focused on searching for aberrant anomalies. Toward living beings, they were more like venting murderous intent in their hearts.
Only after five or six hundred demons had died did the procession barely reach the destination.
Hu Wen was covered in wounds; Zhang Yi was no better off, at least fifty or sixty pupils blinded, and more than half of the tiger demons under him lost.
The gathered demonic beasts stood desolately at the base of a cliff, their expressions becoming incomparably lost.
After prolonged hunger and exhaustion, their consciousness had long blurred. The only thought remaining was Wuwei City as described by Hu Wen, a life of immortals.
Now seeing such desolation nearby, many demonic beasts collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
At that moment, a violent wind blew head-on. From the shadows on the ground drilled out a black dragon over a hundred meters long, bearing the gathered demonic beasts straight into the sky.
Their feet were firmly adhered to the dragon's back. Soon only vast white clouds remained around them, as if heading toward a celestial palace in the heavens.
Hu Wen could not help but laugh.
Among the countless demonic beasts of Jingzhou, those able to go to Wuwei City numbered only a little over two thousand, yet he had already done the utmost of his ability.
"Fellow Daoists, the demon immortals of Jingzhou are all heterodox fiends. Only Wuwei City is the place of cultivation for us."
Amid Hu Wen's shout, the black dragon broke through the clouds.
A magnificent city entered their sight. Inside were demons and monsters everywhere, Restraint Officers of various appearances using flesh magical artifacts to dissect corpses.
Flesh and blood splattered, yin qi gloomy and dense.
Yet for the demonic beasts, this place was indeed where the immortal palace lay.