Ye Xiu stared at the three triangular cone mountains of different colors, the green, blue, and yellow streams directly injected into the Demonic Pool from the pipes. At this moment, the single character for 'demon' was almost submerged by the flowing water. "I'm wondering if this place is a factory for manufacturing monsters, and if these monsters are related to humans."
"Did you also encounter monsters that are a mix of human and beast?" Old Liu was slightly astonished. He had initially thought the Demon Quenching Pavilion was merely a place for Taoists to capture and seal demons, never imagining it was like a monster factory. "I think all the answers should lie within the last mountain."
Ye Xiu knelt on the mountain body, inspecting it closely. This final, red mountain had no entrance. He ran his hand over the wall; it felt incredibly solid, impossible to break open with any weapon. "To uncover the secret of the Demonic Pool, we must open this final pipe. What does this red pipe make you think of?"
"Blood!" Old Liu suddenly noticed a concealed stone door. This door had no handle, only another funnel shape. "This must be the main gate to the entire mountain. Do you remember the Nine Poisonous Fiends Formation had a gate just like this?"
"The gate to the Eternal Lotus Dream Palace, which required the vital essence blood of Meishu?" Ye Xiu stroked the rough, even prickly, funnel on the door. "Back then, with Meishu's vital essence blood as a guide, we could open such a door with blood. What about now? Why don't you try your blood?"
Having suffered once, Old Liu quickly moved, grabbing Ye Xiu's hand and pressing it fiercely onto the funnel. A stream of blood immediately flowed into it. With a flash of red light, the outline of the door materialized. "Hahaha, I didn't expect the Death God's blood would still have a use here in the Myriad Dao Mountain."
"Damn it..." Ye Xiu shivered. The pain of having his blood drawn was no less than the wounds suffered on the battlefield. He pulled his arm back to examine it. His black blood spread from the funnel towards the doorway. The stone door cracked open slightly, revealing mist within. "By rights, this should be Taoist territory. How can the blood from within a Death God resonate with this?"
Old Liu waved his hand and walked ahead, parting the mist. Inside this massive mountain, it was like a prison. On both sides, in sturdy cages, lay several bizarre creatures, neither fully human nor fully beast. "Jeez, are these things demons?"
Ye Xiu's gaze took in the scene and he was deeply frightened. The interior of the mountain reeked of blood and filth. The surrounding cages neatly enclosed this grim setting. In the central position, a ferocious stone statue stood grotesquely, adorned with human faces, wings, beast claws, and sharp spikes—it could only be described as a hideous chimera. "This, is this where those Divine Beast monsters from before were made?"
"Crack!" A sound rang out, followed by a brilliant green light that illuminated the entire scene. Beneath the fierce stone statue, a figure clad in a brown cloak suddenly appeared. He was short, and the exposed jawline hinted at a blue complexion. The only thing that drew attention was the Daoist Bagua he held in his hand.
"Who goes there!" Old Liu held the Ghost Execrator across his chest. Unexpectedly, the Ghost Execrator seemed to react to the green light, emitting a burst of black mist that spread outwards, rousing the monsters in the cages.
"Clang! Thump thump..." A half-man, half-beast creature covered in the heavy shell of a Black Tortoise violently slammed against its cage. It stretched its neck and roared, blood choking in its throat.
The short figure walked slowly forward, his voice shrill and piercing. "You trespass into my domain, and now you ask who I am?"
Ye Xiu, provoked by the surrounding chaos, swung his sword at the cage. The tortoise-human hybrid, startled by the red light of the Heaven Suppressing Sword, immediately calmed down. "Whoever you are, I want to know what this place is for!"
"Oh, I suppose your blood opened my gate," the short man approached Ye Xiu, staring coldly at his arm. His entire face was deep blue, even his nose was blue. "I never expected there to be another person in the Myriad Dao Mountain capable of opening the gate of my Primordial Chaos Dominion. Are you a Taoist disciple?"
"Primordial Chaos Dominion?" Old Liu surveyed the surroundings. There were hundreds of cages inside. If all these monsters were unleashed into the mortal realm, what a catastrophe that would be. "What exactly are these things? Hybrids of humans and beasts?"
The short man ignored Old Liu's chatter. He removed his cloak, revealing a serpent's head. It turned out he himself belonged to this race of human-beast composites. "Besides the Limitless Dao Master and a traitor to the Taoist path, who else could open this place? Who exactly are you?"
Ye Xiu didn't know the full reason, but his immediate goal was to figure out the purpose of this place. "Are you a newly formed clan, or perhaps..."
"Monsters? Is that what you mean?" The short man spread his arms. It was hard to imagine a serpentine monster also possessing human hands. "I am merely the warden of this Primordial Chaos Dominion. Whoever opens the Dominion Gate, I shall obey their command. So, from this moment on, you are my master."
"Master!" Old Liu seemed to agree, giving Ye Xiu a shove. "Hey, Death God, you're going to be the master of these monsters. Truly congratulations."
Ye Xiu gathered his thoughts. Since the warden was being so agreeable, he wanted to learn more. "Alright, Warden, I want to know if these things were created naturally or cultivated by someone later. What exactly are they?"
The Warden pointed to a giant wolf nearby with a human face. "The Omnipotent Heavenly Emperor created the Boundless Realm, and also created the anomalies within it—these anomalies are the people of the Corpse Demon Forest."
"Corpse Demon Forest." Ye Xiu found it credible. The Myriad Dao Mountain, the Sun-Blind Clan, and the Bone Sect were all connected to humanity. The various groups in the Corpse Demon Forest all bore shadows of animals. "Is the Heavenly Emperor the one who created the Heavenly Emperor's Cycle and the Heavenly Ranking Holy War?"
The Warden gestured for Ye Xiu not to interrupt him. "The Heavenly Emperor came from the mysterious Celestial Sea Realm. He created the Boundless Realm and the Corpse Demon Forest. The Bone Sect and the other two clans were migrated from the mortal realm, so they are not among the species created by the Heavenly Emperor."
Old Liu was startled upon hearing this and asked Ye Xiu in return, "Do you remember the Four Realms Underworld Marquis, 'Liao Wu Jun,' among the Five Marquises of the Underworld? He was from the Celestial Sea Realm."
"That fellow who lurked in the Underworld for so long?" Ye Xiu certainly remembered everything about the Five Tombs of Burial. Liao Wu Jun, who fought Ming Luo Sheng, was indeed a powerful figure. "Although the people of the Corpse Demon Forest are human-beast combinations, they aren't as bizarre as these things. You..."
The Warden, himself resembling a monster, gave a bitter smile looking at his peers. "The Heavenly Emperor, upon entering the Spirit Body realm, created the entire upper world, thus establishing the four major clans of the Corpse Demon Forest. When the Evil Body entered the lower world, it created the Fire Diagram Purgatory. The Fire Diagram Purgatory is filled with defilement and bred a unique race of Incomplete Forms."
"Incomplete Forms." Ye Xiu easily understood this term. It could be said that the creatures in the cages had neither fully evolved into humans nor fully transformed into beasts; describing them as Incomplete Forms was quite apt. "You mean you originate from the Fire Diagram Purgatory in the lower world?"
"The Myriad Dao Mountain's Strange Dao Arts entered the Boundless Realm with the mission to save all beings. We, the Incomplete Form race from the lower world, became their target." The Warden's expression changed to anger as he recalled this. "An ancestor in the Myriad Dao Mountain discovered some secrets of the Fire Diagram Purgatory, so they have long imprisoned us here, because the Incomplete Forms possess power that runs counter to Daoist cultivation."
Old Liu thought carefully. It seemed some Taoists discovered something related to cultivation, which led them to commit such atrocious acts. "What secret does the Fire Diagram Purgatory hold that made the Myriad Dao Mountain do such a thing?"
The Warden raised one hand, and the strange Bagua instantly spun, emitting a thick smoke that rushed towards the Ghost Execrator sword in Old Liu's hand. "I didn't expect the sword in your hand could also utilize this power."
"What?" Old Liu knew the Ghost Execrator could absorb others' power, but he completely failed to grasp the Warden's meaning. He raised the Ghost Execrator, and the layer of black mist, shaped like a vortex, actually began to draw in the smoke rising from the Warden's Bagua. "What in the world is going on?"
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