Klesha, Vetala, Naga, Bali, Rakshasa, Asura, each of these six Demonic Bloodlines represented a level of the Reincarnation of Mahasura. In the Infernal Paradise, they formed the Danava Confederacy, once the most dominant faction of the Infernal Realm.
Once Xinzi incarnated himself in a Danava Avatar, he could use all of his Xinzi-body's abilities—minus the main Demon Heart's and Divine Soul's skills, of course.
Zi Yao had broken through to the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. By Yanzhou standards, her foundation was nothing to scoff at—yet Xinzi still believed that in a one vs. one fight, he had nothing to fear from her. However, that wasn't enough. For him to be satisfied, both Zi Yao and Hanxing had to suffer complete and utter domination at his hands.
Without a few adjustments, his current strength couldn't achieve that.
At first, Xinzi's forgiveness comforted Tusha's heart. The following vengeful words, however, alarmed her deeply. Xue Yuanshao felt the same. But as both ancient existences feared that their master had lost sight of priorities…
"Woohoo!" The Armored Lion King threw his paw up in the air, clearly roused up by Xinzi's words.
"Young Master, is this not unwise? The Yanzhou situation has grown chaotic, with Demon Slayers already stationed in nearby Burning Spear Supercity. Right now, making a great show of force is no different from summoning them to our doors," Xue Yuanshao said, also speaking the mind of Tusha.
"In blood ties or connections, Zi Yao and Hanxing are too close to Chun Xu and Dong Ling. Guang Fanghu alone cannot keep them in check. So, if I don't teach them a bloody lesson, they will never learn. This time I will make sure that they don't have the opportunity to become nuisances again," Xinzi said, cracking his neck while his eyes stretched to the limit. The Divine Power produced by the Heaven Trampling Dao Bones' copy flashed in his eyes, but unlike the other energies, mostly stayed dormant.
Those eyes rattled Tusha, and for the split of a second, she wondered if she too could draw such ferocious reaction from Xinzi. Her mind refused to answer the question, and she shook her head, dispelling the thought.
"But your concerns aren't invalid. Which is why I will enslave these demon slayers and take over Burning Spear Supercity."
"What?!" With the Fen clan destroyed and the Yan currently captive in the Gorge, Burning Spear Supercity had sunken into a blood feast, with Human Lords and Spirit Nobles competing for control over the city. The arrival of the Demon Slaying Hall's First Division put this clash on hold. But in the shadows, it carried on, and as soon as the Demon Slayers left, it'd resume with 100 times the intensity. This was the perfect opportunity for Xinzi to expand his power base. And with Burning Spear Supercity in his pocket, spreading his Creed of Liberation throughout Yanzhou would become much simpler. But how…could he possibly enslave demon slayers?
Ranked from weakest to strongest—with the First Division being the weakest—the Demon Slaying Hall's division members all received rigorous anti-demon training, with Dao Hearts as solid as rocks. Officers that got their position through nepotism might be easy to deal with, but the lower the division number, the more unlikely one was to find such a person. After all, spirit nobles with strong connections to the Taiyang clan and Demon Slaying Hall Master would much rather put their scions in the Last Solution: strongest Division of the Demon Slaying Hall.
As for the lower divisions, horrifying zealots brainwashed from infancy and willing to burn heaven and earth to stamp out any trace of demonism often filled their ranks. In this regard, the First Division was the worst. With the weakest being at the peak of Dao Revelation, and the strongest at Void Tribulant, how could Xinzi deal with them?
"This was always the plan. A plan delayed by my return to the Eternal Night Dynasty. But now that my cultivation has made another leap, and my true body is in control of Xue Jingzhao, we can execute it flawlessly."
"Xue…Jingzhao?" These words, that name, made both Tusha and Xue Yuanshao stagger—their eyes trembling unceasingly.
"Ah yes, I forgot to mention. I am the reigning God-Monarch of the Eternal Night Dynasty. By Taiyang Yuan's will, your sister visited us to offer an invitation to the Immortal Ascension Grand Prix. She's now serving as my test subject. Happy?" Xinzi said in an oddly casual tone. But in the two ancients' ears, his words echoed like a thunderclap. Their knees wobbled, and they dropped on the ground.
'Huh! What an excessive reaction. The mini-monastic boss and old ghost don't know what to invent to curry favor anymore. Oh wait, God-Monarch? That sounds imposing and tyrannical. Probably a big deal. Let's kneel too.' In a flash, the Armored Lion King who had no idea of what was being discussed, crouched on his paws, bowing in a grand show of reverence.
Shock and awe took over the two ancients' minds. Both had long expected that Xinzi's position in the Eternal Night stood in the upper levels. But never in their wildest dreams could they imagine that all along, they served the contemporary ruler of the Hengye clan. The gap between their status was far too large—leaving them both dumbfounded. Now, Tusha finally understood why Xinzi needed the Records of the Eternal Night that badly.
But a moment after their initial stupor, they regained their senses, prostrated themselves and said:
"Master, thank you!" Xue Yuanshao and Tusha both carried no end of grievances with Xue Jingzhao. Taiyang Yuan destroyed the Celestial Hall, but at the end of the day, he was doing his job as Divine Spirit and Solar God. They would never let go of an opportunity to execute him, but likewise, knew that if the roles were reversed, they'd have done the same.
Xue Jingzhao was different. Never in her life had Tusha seen such a cruel, self-centered and ungrateful wretch. As her big brother, Xue Yuanshao only felt worse, wondering how he managed to miss all the treachery that his youngest sister concealed.
If he didn't slice her into ten-thousand pieces, he could not vent the hatred in his heart!
"Don't get too excited. I'm not planning to kill her anytime soon. She's too useful for that. However, when the time is right, and her value drained to the limit, I don't mind separating her head from her neck," Xinzi said, crossed his arms behind his back, and walked out of the cave room—heading towards the prisoners.
Yan Spirit clan, Fen souls, and the indigenous lives of the Gorge of Thousand Venoms, all awaited nearby.
…
The Gorge of Thousand Venoms. Throughout Yanzhou Province, there were not many places that Nascent Soul level experts or above wouldn't dare to brave. This was one of them. Known as Yanzhou's most notorious forbidden ground, the gorge was home to the Poisonfeather Bird clan, and its patriarch: the Beast King Zhenniao.
An unusual mysterious beast species, Poisonfeather Birds all had long necks and scarlet beaks, with dark-green feathers that oozed noxious fumes. The only visible difference between males and females were the eyes—orange for the former and blue for the latter. Inside, however, their constitution differed wildly, with the two possessing unique monster cores: Revolving Yang Cores for the males, and Yin Harmony Cores for the females. Refining these cores could not only increase a practitioner's cultivation level, but also supplement their Yin or Yang Qi.
This trait made Poisonfeather Birds the target of massive hunts. Not even their mummifying poisonous breath could save them from the cultivation world's needs. By now, they'd mostly gone extinct. But the clan here in the Gorge of Thousand Venom managed to avoid the hunt by relying on the Gorge's natural defenses: the Lake of Myriad Toxins.
A step into this lake would reduced anyone at Nascent Soul or below into dust. Divine Transformation level experts could resist the lake's toxins for some time, but would ultimately perish as well. The atmosphere all around was no better, suppressing the invaders' dantians and senses while luring them towards the Lake through hallucinogens.
Creatures immune to poison aside, only those above Dao Revelation could avoid this fate entirely. With natural defenses of that level, the surviving Poisonfeather Birds managed to hide for thousands of years, and though Zhenniao, their patriarch, was only a rank-five Beast King, his cultivation base had long reached the peak of that level, held back solely due to the lack of Ordinance.
At first, Yan Zhong and the elders of his clan believed that with their combined Dao Revelation means, they could safely bring their clan through the Gorge. They weren't incorrect. A pity that by relying on the Armored Lion King and Tusha, Xinzi's Klesha Heart tweaked the Lake of Myriad Toxins, increasing its potency just enough that the Yan elders could barely maintain the clan alive. Aside from that, Tusha and the Armored Lion King also captured the Poisonfeather Birds, trapping them in a formation right beside the lake.. Now, birds and fire spirits kept each other company, waiting for Xinzi to decide their fates.