Chapter 49: Refining
The five-colored celestial deer was a rare spirit beast.
She was naturally extraordinary and mystical.
Now, having stepped into the True Immortal realm, she appeared even more wondrous.
A shimmering five-colored radiance billowed around her entire body.
Vaguely, a ring of five-colored brilliance could be seen manifesting behind her back.
Viewed from afar, she resembled an immortal deity.
"I wonder where my mischievous son has gone?"
Suddenly, the five-colored celestial deer let out a sigh.
Her son had been missing for over a decade without a trace.
She had searched everywhere and even implored close friends to divine his whereabouts.
Yet, there was still no reward for her efforts.
Could it be that...
She was unwilling to think of it, and even dared not imagine it.
"My son is, after all, a spirit beast with extraordinary divine abilities and utmost rarity. Perhaps he has become the pet or mount of some supreme mighty figure."
The graceful matron speculated to herself.
However, at this very moment, what she did not know was that a figure had already descended silently from the night sky right to the entrance of her immortal cave.
It was Yu Qiuye.
His wings spread wide, eclipsing the clouds and concealing the moon.
A pair of blood-red eyes emanated an inexplicable, bone-chilling coldness.
Qingqiu Xue had already been safely escorted back to Heavenly Crow Cave.
At this hour, beneath the dark and windy night, it was time to harvest the demonic seed.
...
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Footstep after footstep resounded abruptly within the secluded valley.
The graceful matron paused slightly, thinking she had misheard.
In this isolated place of hers, how could anyone possibly find their way here?
Yet the next moment, as realization seemed to dawn upon her, she jerked her head upward.
"Who are you?"
Her sharp, sudden cry pierced the air as she stared at the figure that had abruptly materialized not far away.
It was a pitch-black figure carrying a pair of wings on his back.
His facial features were strikingly handsome, yet chilling to the extreme.
Especially that pair of eyes, which caused the matron's heart to tremble involuntarily.
"..."
No words, no further actions.
There was only the lifting of this figure's foot.
Boom!
His form seemed to transcend space, arriving right before the graceful matron in the blink of an eye.
"Wait, isn't this my son's divine ability?"
Witnessing this scene, the matron's expression altered drastically. Before she could even react, what did Yu Qiuye's approach signify?
Yet, she was granted no further chance to speak.
"Splat..."
With a crisp, tearing sound, a black, razor-sharp claw pierced straight through her chest, drawing forth a gush of vivid blood.
"Yoo, yoo, yoo..."
Amidst continuous, piercing cries, the matron could no longer maintain her human form, transforming back into a towering celestial deer standing several zhang tall, with a five-colored halo hovering behind her back.
"You..."
The five-colored celestial deer seemed to realize something, her eyes locked onto Yu Qiuye with an unyielding glare.
That gaze was venomous to the extreme, as if she wished to devour his flesh and drink his blood.
"You are not bad."
Yu Qiuye finally uttered his first sentence.
What he meant by "not bad" was that the five-colored celestial deer possessed quite a commendable innate talent.
Before her death, she had provided him with an immensely powerful trait.
[Ding, you have slain the five-colored celestial deer. Randomly plundered the trait: Five-Color Divine Light (Red). Do you wish to fuse it?]
[Five-Color Divine Light (Red) — Cultivates a five-colored halo behind the back, capable of substantially increasing the absorption rate of various spiritual essences, while also innately boosting the might of spell techniques.]
This was an auxiliary trait.
Yet it appeared terrifyingly potent.
"It can actually enhance the might of spells?"
Yu Qiuye was somewhat surprised, and even more astonished.
This was the first time he had ever encountered such a trait.
However, he would fuse it later.
Right now, what was more important was... Slowly raising his right claw, he unleashed a terrifying suction force.
Boom!
Visible to the naked eye, the entire body of the five-colored celestial deer began to spin continuously while shrinking rapidly.
Until it finally condensed to the size of a pellet.
And this was the demonic seed.
"Why? We had no enmity or grievances between us! Why slaughter my young son, destroy my physical body, and ruin a millennium of my cultivation?!"
A shrill voice echoed throughout the secluded valley.
It was the wailing remnant soul of the five-colored celestial deer.
She could not understand, she was filled with perplexity, and above all, boundless hatred.
"The law of the jungle."
Dropping those four simple words, Yu Qiuye flicked a finger, shattering the last remaining soul fragments of the five-colored celestial deer.
Since he had already resolved to kill, he could not leave behind any future troubles.
...
Having refined the five-colored celestial deer into a demonic seed, Yu Qiuye did not leave immediately.
This secluded valley was quite favorable.
It was shrouded by a formation.
Although the formation was not overly powerful, ordinary demons would find it extremely difficult to track down.
It was indeed an ideal location for cultivation.
Therefore,
making his way to the five-colored celestial deer's stone bed, Yu Qiuye sat down cross-legged.
Boom!
With a sudden, muffled roar, a black medicinal pill slowly rose into the air.
Then it glided forward and burrowed directly into his mouth.
Upon entering, it melted instantly.
Accompanying this was a surge of energy, pure to the ultimate degree, pouring into Yu Qiuye's body.
It rushed forth into his every limb and bone.
"To break through to the Mysterious Immortal realm, the time is now."
A flash of enlightenment rose within his heart, and Yu Qiuye began his breakthrough toward the Mysterious Immortal realm.
The Mysterious Immortal realm was profoundly esoteric and mysterious.
There was even a saying known as "magic power reaching the mysterious."
Upon reaching this realm, cultivators generally mastered several powerful spell techniques or even divine abilities.
Coupled with an already formidable reservoir of magic power (demonic qi).
The strength of their combat prowess surpassed all imagination.
...
However, just as Yu Qiuye was breaking through to the Mysterious Immortal realm, little did he know, deep within the Overturning Sea Palace—
"We brothers share mutual interests and comparable strength. Why don't we swear an oath of brotherhood as sworn siblings? What do you say?"
The Bull Demon King proposed to the various demon kings gathered around. (Note: Bull Demon King / Niu Mowang)
"Hahaha, since Brother Niu has such a sentiment, how could the rest of us refuse?"
Beside him, the Flood Dragon Demon King laughed heartily. (Note: Flood Dragon Demon King / Jiao Mowang)
"Good, good, good! Then let us swear the oath of brotherhood."
The Handsome Monkey King responded repeatedly.
Most of these demon kings possessed unrestrained and free-spirited personalities.
With the Bull Demon King, the most formidable of them all, taking the initiative to speak up, the other demon kings naturally had no objections.
Within moments, the Seven Great Demon Kings had gathered around a massive cauldron.
"I, the Bull Demon King... am willing to share life and death with all my brothers."
"I, the Roc Demon King... am willing to..." (Note: Roc Demon King / Peng Mowang)
"I, the Flood Dragon Demon King..."
...
One after another, the Seven Great Demon Kings began delivering their oaths.
Yet at this very moment, as if recalling something, the Flood Dragon Demon King paused abruptly.
"It's a pity that Brother Heavenly Crow is currently in seclusion breaking through realms, otherwise we could have gained yet another brother."
Hearing this, the Monkey King raised an eyebrow.
"What is so difficult about that?"
With those words, the Monkey King plucked a hair from his head and gently blew a breath upon it.
In a flash, a handsome figure bearing pitch-black wings descended right before the assembly of demon kings.
"I, the Heavenly Crow King..."
"..."
The Bull Demon King fell silent.
The rest of the demon kings fell completely silent as well.
"Are you certain the Heavenly Crow King won't beat you to death for this?"
The Flood Dragon Demon King asked, struggling to suppress the twitching at the corner of his eye.
" Rest assured, Old Sun knows Crow, my brother, very well. He will certainly not refuse to swear brotherhood with us. Once he finds out, he might even invite Old Sun for a drink to celebrate."
At these words, the various demon kings could not help but look at one another in dismay.
"Then let it be so."
The Bull Demon King resumed presiding over the proceedings.
Yet, when the time came to determine the order of seniority, the Monkey King rolled his eyes and offered another proposal:
"In Old Sun's opinion, why don't we rank ourselves according to age among us brothers?"
"Elder Brother Bull Demon is the oldest, so he shall be the eldest. Elder Brother Flood Dragon has lived for over a millennium, so he shall be the second..."
"As for Brother Crow, he is the youngest, so he shall be the eighth."
...
Listening quietly, the various demon kings exchanged glances once more.
They had no objections to this proposal.
However, for some unknown reason, they felt it was just a tiny bit bizarre.