The Journey of Immortal Cultivation
Chapter 40: The First Life Sentenced Prisoner

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The First Life Sentenced Prisoner

By chance, tonight the Bat Demon Clan will gather at Gao Village to the north of Siping County, a total of fifteen, both large and small.

After some discussion, everyone agreed that they had to strike at the Bat Demon Clan first. According to Afu, bat demon cubs themselves don’t emit demon energy and look exactly like humans; unless they show their tusks, there is no way for the group to find them.

Everyone clicked their tongues in amazement, but for Ning Xiaoxian, this was easier to understand. On the South African grasslands on Earth, there’s a type of antelope whose newborns don’t produce any scent for the first few weeks. As long as they lie down in the grass, even lions and hyenas nearby can’t detect them. As part of the lower echelons of the Demon Clan, with low status and weak strength, it’s not surprising that the bat demons have this kind of innate ability to preserve themselves. Although the worlds differ, the ingenuity of Mother Nature is equally awe-inspiring.

Since the decision was made, a member of the Chaoyun Sect was ready to kill Afu with a single strike of their sword, but was stopped by Quan Shifang. The reason was simple: Afu was too cooperative. A demon that regarded death indifferently minutes ago was answering every question minutes later, which was absolutely not normal. They had to spare its life, because if it had lied about any secrets of the Bat Clan, there would at least be a chance to come back and verify the truth.

And Ning Xiaoxian? Such ventures into the demon strongholds have always excluded mortals, not to mention that her face had already been seen by a bat demon. It was likely that Quan Shifang wouldn’t be able to look after her, so staying at Huang Mansion would be safer for her.

Quan was worried that she would be angry, and he kindly persuaded her with a few words. Ning Xiaoxian looked down and agreed, seemingly aggrieved; no one knew that her plan could only be implemented after the cultivators left, and she’d actually prefer not to go.

Under the cover of night, the cultivators jumped onto their flying swords "swoosh swoosh swoosh" and flew away, leaving only Ning Xiaoxian and Afu, who was tied up like a zongzi, in the now-empty living room.

This pitiful demon looked at Ning Xiaoxian with puppy eyes. He did as she asked, and now especially hoped that she would honor her promise and let him live.

But why did he feel that the smile of this mortal woman in front of him looked particularly sinister?

Ning Xiaoxian was indeed staring and smiling at him. Since her arrival in Siping County, she had been busy for so long, even risking her own safety, all because she firmly believed that high risk would bring high reward. This reward was the bat demon in front of her.

"I am someone who keeps promises; you definitely won’t die here," she sighed, "but life is unpredictable, perhaps in the future you would wish that you had died here today."

There was a hidden message in her words! Afu’s eyes widened as he watched the young lady reach out with her fair, delicate hand and place it on his forehead. Under normal circumstances, he could easily break such a tender hand without breaking a sweat, but now that he was securely bound, how could he resist at all?

The next moment, the scenery around him changed!

He only knew that he suddenly went from a human mansion to an enclosed vast space paved with smooth black stones all around.

Afu could only notice so much because as soon as his gaze landed on the person sitting in the center of the chamber, he couldn’t move it away. The person was seated with their eyes closed, dressed in black with black hair, leaning against the central Big Pillar. Although two silver chains crossed through his shoulders, he didn’t have any consciousness of being imprisoned, instead he seemed like a king overlooking the world, sitting on his throne.

In Afu’s eyes, the moment he saw him, it seemed as if the phantom shadows of primordial beasts rampaging and battling swept past behind the man. Each scene was incredibly realistic, and each one was extremely bloody. He instinctively knew that all these scenarios truly happened, each battle earth-shattering. Afu couldn’t even get a good look at the man’s face before he felt an invisible and shapeless terror apply pressure on him, making it difficult to breathe and his blood felt like it was about to coagulate in his veins.

He let out a "gurgle" from his throat, attempting to plead for mercy, but he couldn’t even utter a word. He could only be slowly pressed down by that force until he knelt down in sincere devotion!

Such disrespect! This was the punishment dealt by the demonic nature flowing in his own bloodline for daring to look directly at the King!

In Ning Xiaoxian’s eyes, Afu, who had entered with her, saw Changtian and immediately kneeled down with his body trembling like a sieve, unable to utter a single word. She was truly startled, thinking to herself that this demon had still been acting like a fearless martyr outside, so why had he become such a coward upon entering? She looked at Changtian with confusion, only to find that he had merely opened his eyes.

"What have you done to him?" The moment he entered, you scared him into collapsing on the ground. Was that really necessary? "Is that how you treat a guest?"

"I have done nothing," Changtian said indifferently, "not yet." Afu caught the deep meaning in his words and wanted to beg for mercy, but still couldn’t open his mouth, so he simply bowed his head even lower.

"His bloodline is too low-level."

"So he’s more afraid of you than of his ancestors? When I first met you, why wasn’t I this agitated?" She spoke without pain, not recalling who—the woman both afraid, eager, and excited—had been when she first laid eyes on this man who appeared cold and noble.

"He is a demon; you are not." Hidden within the Demon Clan’s bloodline is the reverence for superiors. The internal hierarchy of the Demon Clan is as strict, if not stricter, than that of the Human Clan. However, the Human Clan relies on the power they hold in their hands, while great demons intimidate the group of demons with the strength of their bloodline and demonic power.

Changtian is an Ancient Divine Beast. Although Afu does not know his True Body is the famous Ba Snake, facing Changtian with his low-level bat demon blood is unbearably worse than a mouse encountering a cat. The so-called Divine Power is like a prison, as immense as the sea, and Changtian’s earlier reassurance to Ning Xiaoxian, "A mere thought could annihilate his Divine Soul," was no exaggeration.

Changtian looked at Afu and said, "You should feel fortunate that you are still kneeling here intact, for today you haven’t touched a hair on her. Otherwise, I would flay your bat skin off, extract your Divine Soul, and roast it on the Mysterious Netherworld Divine Fire for forty-nine days. You should thank Quan Shifang; he saved you." His voice was as calm as if discussing the weather, but the content sent shivers down Afu’s spine.

Changtian was also quite infuriated. How could he have ever bothered with such a little demon that knelt before him in the past? Yet it was this inconspicuous little demon that nearly claimed Ning Xiaoxian’s life at noon. He could see everything and hear everything but couldn’t do anything. In the end, it was Quan Shifang from the deceitful Chaoyun Sect who hurried over and saved Ning Xiaoxian.

If the bat demon were not still of use to him, he would wish to grind his bones into dust and scatter them to the winds right now!

The bat demon immediately felt the pressure around him intensify, his heart pounding as if it was about to burst. He struggled to speak, "Demon Ancestor... spare my life!" He truly regretted his actions. Had he known it would come to this, he would have preferred to die outside, which would be a hundred times better than facing the fearsome progenitor of the Demon Clan.

Knowing that Changtian was venting for her, Ning Xiaoxian felt a slight sense of triumph. After all, she had almost been devoured by this demon at noon, filled with shock and fear. She ought to seek some form of recompense, so she said to Afu, "Don’t worry, you certainly won’t die here. Your Clan Leader Wo Tou can’t enter this place." She pondered and asked, "Those two little bat demons, they really can’t be found?"

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