Heaven's Devourer

"Elder Brother Jiu Ying is stronger than I imagined," commented Wu Yu sincerely. 

"Don't address me as ‘elder brother.’ Truth be told, although I'm a demon, I'm probably younger than you. It has only been fifteen years since I have gained my own consciousness." 

Wu Yu had never thought it would be that insane.

"Fifteen years old and he's at the seventh tier of Yaodan! Jiu Ying is too insane. I have long felt that his bloodline seemed to be far superior than that of ordinary demons. He was born a demon and didn't have to wait to activate his intelligence through a thousand years of practice. It seems like his seniors are likely authoritative figures even in the Endless Demon Seas." 

Wu Yu now had a rough understanding of Jiu Ying. 

He smiled instead. In Shushan, he had met the secretive Nangong Wei, who had now gone into the Shushan Reincarnation Realm. Nangong Wei’s status was definitely very high. Now that he came out of Shushan, he met Jiuying. Could it be that it was fate that made him encounter these insanely talented people with incredible backgrounds? 

"Forget it, let's not think about it further. Jiu Ying is a demon. If this incident ends peacefully, I must not approach him. Otherwise, not only will I not be able to return to Shushan, but I won't be able to see Wei Er again." 

Wu Yu thought about Nangong Wei. She had been away for more than half a year. He wondered if her cultivation practice in the Shushan Reincarnation Realm was tough and if she was faring well. She had probably grown up further. Wu Yu had never expected himself to watch over a girl while waiting for her to grow up….

"I think I've just broken one." Jiu Ying was smashing relentlessly when he suddenly felt the miniature Ghost Isolation Array shake. 

"More than an hour has passed. This isn't easy at all. Let's continue. Based on my estimates, the miniature Ghost Isolation Array will be completely destroyed once we destroy more than five of those nodes," Jiu Ying remarked excitedly, and he didn't stop. 

Soon, Wu Yu also felt something. Although he couldn't see anything amidst the bloody mist, he could feel he had destroyed something when smashing the Nine-Directional Demon Imprisonment Columns against the floor. 

For their survival and to buy all the time they could get, the two worked harder and no longer conversed as they smashed the floor like lunatics. Jiu Ying was a little gentler while doing so. On the other hand, Wu Yu was simply brutal and faster. Using the strength of his physical body, he had almost smashed through everything in the vicinity. 

"I see that your body as a cultivator is even superior to that of a demon! When compared to us, you are the real demon!" Jiu Ying exclaimed. 

He immediately understood that this was the reason why Wu Yu was able to reach a similar level of power as them when he was just a third tier Jindan Dao cultivator. 

Wu Yu smiled and didn't say a word. 

The truth was, he had only practiced the second tier of the Invincible Vajra Body. If he hadn’t always been in a rush recently, he would likely have started on the third tier. Clearly, he possessed the body requirements to practice the third tier. It was just that Ming Long did not provide him with the spiritual art, and he had not received the legacy from the Jingu Bang. Moreover, Ming Long had commented that one of the prerequisites to practice the third tier of the Invincible Vajra Body was something that wasn't easily available. Wu Yu had not met such requirements; therefore, he didn't have to rush through it. 

Since that was what she said, Wu Yu had given up on such thoughts temporarily to focus on refining his Jindan. 

Ming Long rarely responded to Wu Yu recently. Nonetheless, Wu Yu was grateful to have her guidance along the path of cultivation. Naturally, he couldn't let her know about this. Otherwise, she would get too full of herself and demand trades with Wu Yu once again....

After close to half a day, Wu Yu was getting flustered as he did not know the condition of Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain. Finally, the efforts reaped rewards. The fifth design base seemed to be destroyed by Jiu Ying's barrage of smashes. The miniature Ghost Isolation Array that had been trapping them finally collapsed with multiple openings. Without a second word, they charged out of the miniature Ghost Isolation Array through the openings. 

After getting out, the Sky Fissure Sword Sect still looked similar to a mortal hell, with corpses everywhere. Looking around, Wu Yu couldn't find any traces of Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain. As the other Shushan disciples had all died, no one could provide Wu Yu with information. 

He looked to Jiu Ying and was clearly flustered. 

Wu Yu thought about it and commented, "Truth be told, you got into this mess by accident. The matters here have nothing to do with you. You are a demon after all. Now that you have managed to escape the miniature Ghost Isolation Array, why don't you leave?" 

Jiu Ying was taken aback. He had not thought too much into it. However, he chuckled at this moment. "I don't know how to answer your question. Honestly speaking, my logical thinking is telling me that this conflict is between the ghostly cultivator and Shushan and indeed has nothing to do with me. Moreover, I have nothing to gain from this. Tell me then, why do I give my all for this incident? I can think of two reasons that drive me to do so." 

"What are the two reasons?" On the path of cultivation, one would face many struggles. The truth was that Wu Yu felt lost too. Therefore, he wanted to seek advice from Jiu Ying. He also knew that his strength was way below Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain’s. So why was he courting his own demise here? 

Jiu Ying answered seriously, "First, although I'm a demon, I have an atrocious sense of justice and mission. Slaughtering tens of thousands of innocent people to increase one's cultivation level is ruthless and devoid of all reason and conscience. Even I, as a demon, can't tolerate such actions. Now that I have encountered it and fought with it, I'll stay in this till the end. Otherwise, in the future, it will be me who truly feels miserable with I the choices I make." 

His first reason was the most important one to Wu Yu. In this aspect, he had the same thoughts as Jiu Ying. 

As for the second reason, Jiu Ying looked to Wu Yu and continued, "The second reason isn't important and is just a small personal reason. To put it simply, you are pleasing to my eyes. Seeing that you can look past the indiscriminate hatred between mankind and demon, I felt the urge to be your friend. Therefore, I have chosen to stay behind." 

Although he claimed that the reason wasn't important, this was still a shock to Wu Yu. When Jiu Ying gave up the opportunity to escape previously, Wu Yu had already seen him as his brother. 

Wu Yu nodded his head and replied, "That... I won't need to say anymore. If we have the chance to meet again after this, I won't disappoint you." 

"Let's survive this trial before we talk about the future." Jiu Ying smiled faintly. 

The truth was that while conversing, they were looking for clues on the direction Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain had headed to. It was hard to tell how severe his injuries were currently. However, the longer this dragged on, the more of a disadvantage it would become for them. 

"That direction." Wu Yu suddenly noticed a faint scent of blood shooting through the skies from a faraway place. That scent of blood was even spreading towards them. He could also see strong winds blowing and lightning flickering over that piece of sky. 

That was... the Wind and Thunder Dao Sect! 

He looked to the other directions and found no movements at all. 

"Let's go!" Jiu Ying also noticed the discrepancies. With his demon form, he flew rapidly and covered hundreds of miles in a breath. Wu Yu sat on his back and made use of the time to regulate his injuries a little. This was because he knew that it would likely be a deathmatch soon after. 

As for his relationship with Jiu Ying, he felt he could understand how Jiu Ying felt. Wu Yu led his early life in the military. He knew clearly that having a brother or two to fight side by side with him was a precious thing! 

It was just that Jiu Ying was a demon. Although he had no qualms with demons, the entire Shushan, and more importantly, Nangong Wei, would never allow him to form a team with a demon. Having been to the Demons' Abyss with Nangong Wei, Wu Yu could strongly feel the hatred between them. 

The situation at hand didn't allow him to think too much into it. Jiu Ying was rushing towards the Wind and Thunder Dao Sect with all he had. He was working so hard because of the two reasons he had mentioned. 

"There are too few people that share the same ideals I have," Wu Yu commented as he stood up. The Nine-Directional Demon Imprisonment Columns surrounded him and he had made preparations to battle. No matter how weak he was, he still hoped to help out. 

Amidst the howling wind and in less than an hour, they could see the Wind and Thunder Dao Sect, which was built on a cliff, from afar. This was also where the two of them had met. 

A strong scent of blood gushed through the skies of the current Wind and Thunder Dao Sect. Although Wu Yu didn't see any corpses at this moment, the thick, bloody mist was moving up from the Wind and Thunder Dao Sect towards the dark clouds in the sky. Even the dark clouds and lightning were dyed red from it, and the pungent smell of blood spread towards the surrounding. 

In the blink of an eye, Wu Yu and Jiu Ying landed on an empty field outside the Wind and Thunder Dao Sect. Suddenly, amidst the towering, bloody mist, a regular-sized old man appeared. Looking at his head, it was the same as the head of his Spiritual Frame of the Black Mountain. The ghostly cultivator, Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain, had recovered his original form and was hidden within the raging, bloody mist. He looked a little pale but was recovering within the bloody mist. 

"Orthodox martial cultivators like you guys taste the best. Despite suffering such grave injuries, I have almost recovered after killing some people." Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain caressed his beard and laughed amiably. 

Wu Yu and Jiu Ying exchanged gazes. The current Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain was indeed horrifying. However, it was still really hard to verify his true strength. 

"Have his injuries recovered?" 

"I'm not sure." 

While the two of them were conversing, Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain stared at Wu Yu and said, "Little brat from Shushan, I had underestimated you previously. Who would have expected a third tier Jindan Dao cultivator to be able to injure me? Clearly, you are most likely an exceptional talent in Shushan. Together with this young demon with such an incredible bloodline, I'll be able to get a good price if I capture the two of you. I was wondering if you guys would be able to destroy the miniature Ghost Isolation Array. It seems like that provisional spirit design wasn't able to trap you. Tell me, why did the two of you return to disrupt my crafting of the Ghost Isolation Array? Ignorant brats! Don't you know how important the Ghost Isolation Array is to me?" 

"Spare me your nonsense and come out for a fight!" Wu Yu didn't know the current state of the Wind and Thunder Dao Sect. He was afraid he would do more harm to the people of the Wind and Thunder Dao Sect if he blindly charged ahead with Jiu Ying. 

"What a temper you have, brat!" Ghostly Wings of the Black Mountain chuckled. He still didn't have any regards of them. 

Suddenly, his faced stiffened. With an expression of trying to hold back his laughter, he continued, "Do you know how they address me in the East Sea?" 

No one answered him, but he seemed to be extremely proud of it and said, "They address me as a spirit design maniac. This is because I am a genius in spirit designs. I'm familiar with a large number of spirit designs, I have laid out a large number of offensive spirit designs, and I have made countless immortal treasures, talismans and other things... 

"Previously, it took me less than an hour to set up the miniature Ghost Isolation Array. And this time, I spent half a day to establish the Gates of Hell to welcome your escape from the miniature Ghost Isolation Array and to teach you a memorable lesson. I was waiting for you guys to take the bait. I'm sure you wouldn't have expected yourself to be standing on the Gates of Hell right now!" 

After completing his sentence, he chuckled.