Otherworldly Desert Dust

...

Pure Land City, Shen Wenhai drifted along the Five-Colored Creek toward the thin realm.

The piled-up Tower of Suppressing Stone began to tremble slightly, with some small stone grains rolling down.

Ripples appeared on the thin realm, as if some enormous energy from the outside world was impacting this hidden haven nestled among the mountains and rivers.

A team of Patrols flew from outside the thin realm into Pure Land City, their bodies bearing poison gas corroded by demon creatures. To quickly remove the rot from their bodies, they swiftly dived into the colorful stream.

"What has happened?" Shen Wenhai asked.

"There are Demon Clans, a large number of them appeared around these mountains and seas, continuously scouring the mountains," replied the captain of the Patrols.

Shen Wenhai furrowed his brow.

He had just received news that the Rotating Martial God, Jiang Qi, had dispatched a Black Warrior group in this area to search for Nuwa God End’s dwelling. But before this matter had settled, another had arisen—what had the Demon Clan sensed to be lurking near the Three-colored Mountains and Seas?

"Enter the highest alert, and do not allow any external enemies to step into Pure Land City," Shen Wenhai ordered.

"Yes!"

"Twelve Zodiac Beasts Snake!" Shen Wenhai turned around, his gaze fixed on Wood Cloud Top.

At the mysterious and vast trunk on the cloud top, a huge, tapered piece of ancient wood came alive. It slowly slithered its body along the colored clouds, gliding toward Shen Wenhai’s location.

The Patrols all looked up, their faces filled with wonder as they gazed at the enormous Gray Cloud Snake. People had always thought the cloud-reaching wood was merely a branch of Divine Realm, but it was in fact the Twelve Zodiac Beasts Snake!

The Si Snake exuded a domineering presence. Its body, nearly similar to the bark muscles of Nuwa Divine Tree, seemed ancient yet sacred. Though clearly a snake, it already possessed the aura of a Heavenly Dragon. As it hovered over Pure Land City, it resembled a Totem Guardian Divine Beast from the mythological era, invoking involuntary reverence from onlookers!

While the Twelve Zodiac Beasts were products of modern technology, after being embedded with intelligent AI, these AIs seemed to acquire a transcendent attribute beyond physical limitations. They not only adhered to human cultural legacy but also embodied hopes that surpass reality...

It could be said that the Twelve Zodiac Beasts were a perfect fusion of modern technology and ancient mysticism. The scales on the Si Snake were constructed from otherworldly materials collected by Spirit Awakeners, with every internal organ being a product of Ascension technology. However, the life form that emerged was void of the rough industrial feel typical of Mechanical Beasts, resembling instead a kind of enlightenment—a perfect and sacred creature!

"Let the Demon Clan witness you, appear now and dominate this Three-colored Mountains and Seas!" Shen Wenhai commanded.

The Gray Cloud Snake, carrying clouds and mist, navigated toward the outer thin realm.

Beyond the thin realm were mountains and lakes.

Though named the Three-colored Mountains and Seas, this land was made up of countless emerald mountains and green lakes. The lakes, reflecting the rain clouds, looked like shattered mirrors of the sea. Mountains, lakes, and sky each exhibited a pure hue, hence named the Three-colored Mountains and Seas.

This location was also identified by navigators as a habitat for Nuwa God End that could absorb Spiritual Energy and clean water. The advantages were clear: it could nourish the depleted branches and roots of Nuwa God End, rejuvenating its vitality, and also strengthen the homeland within the Divine Realm...

However, the disadvantages were equally apparent; the proximity to Wudou meant that once detected by powerful beings from the True Martial Continent, armies of martial artists from Wuting would invade!

Navigators, having had encounters with the Martial God Alliance, were well aware of the Alliance’s strong hostility towards foreign tribes. They even harbored animosity toward Nuwa God End, let alone the inhabitants of the Divine Realm. Thus, the navigators advised that the True Martial Continent should only be a brief stopover, unsuitable for lengthy stays.

Besides, the Demon Clan harbored absolute malice toward Nuwa God End.

Wu Hen had experienced this firsthand. As Nuwa God End traversed the continental mountains, it was like the delectable meat of Tang Monk passing through demon-infested ridges. Wu Hen felt like he was Sun Wukong escorting his master to the West, encountering countless demons along the way, all scheming to drag Nuwa God to their dens for a taste...

Demons prowled the mountains with predatory eyes.

In Human City, martial gods reviled foreign tribes.

Thus, the next refuge could only be the Cang Chu Divine Realm.

The Gray Cloud Snake patrolled the clouds and soon spotted several demons with Banana Ears. They stood upright like humans, even wearing animal skins, and wielded various blood-stained weapons. From afar, they resembled a large band of mountain bandits, reigning as kings of the mountain and plotting robbery and murder.

The Gray Cloud Snake’s skin exhibited special color-changing optics. As it dove down from the clouds, its dragon-like body transformed into a vast cloudy rain, showering into a green lake.

The water of the green lake slowly rose, submerging the surrounding trees.

A few patrolling Banana Ear Demons initially guarding the shore retreated into the forest, cursing and wondering why the lake was "rising tides."

"Boss, since that man isn’t here, why must we be so cautious? Let’s just charge in and devour them down to the bones and leftovers!" anEar Demon leader said.

"How can you be sure that cunning human isn’t deliberately luring us?" a one-eared Ear Demon King responded, "It’s because of impulsive actions like yours last time that I lost an ear to that youngster!"

"That man is truly detestable, even stealing the Boss’s ear; once we capture him, we must deep-fry him!"

"Deep-frying won’t quench my hatred!" the Ear Demon King rasped, his sharp teeth making a grating screech.

In the lake, the Twelve Zodiac Beasts Snake quietly gazed at the group of demons, transmitting their information back to the Wood Cloud Top in Pure Land City.

"King, there are martial artists!" Suddenly, a patrolling Little Demon arrived.

"Don’t panic, let’s retreat to the woods for now and avoid any conflict with these martial artists!" the Ear Demon King said.

"King, these martial artists don’t seem to be coming for us; could it be that they are also interested in the Nuwa Divine Tree?" the Ear Demon Commander said.

"Where do all these questions come from? I told you to eat less tender-fleshed scholars, but you didn’t listen. Now you’re nagging and questioning like those scholars!"

"To comprehend the Dao is to question and think… I have always been considering what method we could use to help our Ear Immortal escape its predicament."

"Escape what predicament? Our Ear Immortal’s soul has already been forged into a weapon by those Martial Gods. Luckily, our old immortal has a strong will. Even though its soul was forged, it remains formidable and uncontrollable by them. Otherwise, one day we might see a Martial God wielding the weapon crafted by our Immortal Ancestor to slaughter us, and how could we resist or rejuvenate the Ear Demon lineage then?"

"Ah, what a disgrace! In the days when our Great Immortal was still around, seeing a city he fancied, he directly broke through its gates, entered the city, and lived in their mansions, relishing the freshest human flesh daily. Satiated, we would return to the mountains carefree while those martial artists had to clean up the remnants of corpses and bones throughout the city. Back then, humans multiplied so fast, just like chives in the field. Our Great Immortal had a plan to eat—that every generation of humans grew, he would consume half and leave half, so as not to alarm the Burning Heaven Martial God. Otherwise, our Great Immortal’s bones wouldn’t have ended up as palace walls and his soul wouldn’t have been forged into a blade!" the Ear Demon Commander, obviously an old demon who had lived for tens of thousands of years, began to reminisce about the bygone days.

"Rest assured, that Burning Heaven Martial God is no longer in this continent, and the new Rotating Martial God, Jiang Qi, is just a young lad, nothing to fear." the Ear Demon King declared.

"Then isn’t this our chance to steal the Great Immortal’s Devil Soul?" the Ear Demon Commander suddenly became excited.

"What else do you think we are following this Nuwa Divine Tree for? Naturally, it’s to first absorb the Nuwa Divine Breath to enhance our strength, then attack Wudou, kill their people, and revive our Great Immortal!" the Ear Demon King explained.

"But… but I feel that the person guarding the Nuwa God End, the one who turned you into an ear, is even harder to deal with than the new Martial God. Could we possibly perish here?" the Ear Demon Commander whispered.

The Ear Demon King picked up a hammer and smashed it onto the commander’s head, cursing angrily, "I underestimated him back then, that youngster doesn’t actually have much skill!"

"King, there’s a situation!" Another patrolling Little Demon came running, reporting.

"What now!"

"We think we’ve seen the Bone Demon lineage; they… they also seem to be looking for the Nuwa Divine Tree!" the patrolling Little Demon said.

The Ear Demon King fell into deep thought.

What’s happening?

Are the demon and human clans having a conference?

"First, hide and observe for a while; do not expose ourselves!!"

"Since our Great Immortal is a hybrid of our Ear Demon lineage and the Bone Demon lineage, could it be that they also want to revive the Great Immortal?"

"Where do all these questions come from? From now on, you’re forbidden to eat those noisy scholars!"

…

As night fell, Wu Hen naturally found it impossible to sleep.

He sat atop a tall pavilion in Wudou, exactly positioned to view the statue of the Rotating Martial God and also to observe the wooden loft where Ruan Muhuan was located in Wuting.

Recently, a voice persisted in his mind.

The voice had a demonic quality, like an abandoned gramophone in an old mansion, which kept automatically playing a segment of a dark secret.

"Come out, come out, stop nagging incessantly, like a possessed old monk!" Having lost his patience, Wu Hen summoned the Demon Immortal Saber.

The Demon Immortal Saber materialized in front of Wu Hen, its otherworldly metallic colors mottled like the Star River were indeed unique. However, the soul of the Demon Immortal sealed within it seemed highly restless.

"Can you speak human language?" Wu Hen asked irritably.

"No," the Demon Immortal Saber answered.

"What’s your story? Introduce yourself," Wu Hen said.

"I am…"

"Watch your language."

"This lowly one was a Demon God undergoing tribulation, just one step away from ascension, deceived by the Burning Heaven Martial God, who stripped me of my flesh, stole my bones, and sealed my soul," the Demon Immortal Saber said.

"Oh, so essentially, you’re that hundred-thousand-year-old Demon God. So, stealing your Demon Bones doesn’t actually revive you; they need to release your soul from this weapon, correct?" Wu Hen summarized.

"I don’t need revival. I’m merely cultivating. I have roamed among the Demon Clan for tens of thousands of years, and now I have been absorbing the essence of humans in Wudou for thousands of years. Even though I was made into this Demon Blade, it’s merely a earthly tribulation. When the time is ripe, I shall attain ascension!" the Demon Immortal Saber proudly declared.