ragginovel Chapter 12 The Wonderful Uses of the Spirit Pearl
Chapter 12 The Wonderful Uses of the Spirit Pearl
Yun Zhongzi looked down.
The three demons rolled over to him, tears streaming down their faces.
On the Lion King's face, which was swollen like a pig's head, two lines of turbid tears rolled down his dark blue mane.
The Demon King of the Flood Dragon, dragging his broken horn, lay prostrate on the ground, his half-human, half-dragon body whimpering.
The nine-headed worm's eight snake heads drooped down, its forked tongue flicking out crookedly.
"Immortal! Immortal, save me!"
"That bead...that bead is going to kill a demon..."
The three demons wept bitterly, but Yun Zhongzi remained unmoved.
Under the aura-gazing technique, the three demons' karmic burdens were so dense they were almost tangible. The Lion Camel King's karma was the heaviest, his dark red hue tinged with black, a testament to the countless murders he had committed. The Flood Dragon Demon King was next, and the Nine-Headed Insect was the lightest, but still far from benevolent.
Since the primordial era, the demon race has had the habit of eating people. Among the demon kings at the Heavenly Immortal Realm, who can eat little at such a level?
If these three demons weren't still useful in the future, he would have turned them to ashes with the Heavenly Fire Pillar right now.
Suppressing his murderous intent, Yun Zhongzi's gaze fell on the spiritual pearl in the center of the three demons.
Lingzhuzi has not yet been reincarnated; he has no human body, no soul, only instinct. Since communication is impossible, the matter within the sleeve can only be obtained from the three demons.
"explain."
At that single word, the three demons simultaneously shuddered.
Lion Camel King secretly glanced at Yun Zhongzi's expression and cautiously said:
"Replying to...Replying to the Immortal. After we were put into the sleeves, we saw that the jewel's radiance was restrained and its spiritual energy was concentrated, so...we became curious and went forward to take a closer look."
"Yes, yes, yes!" the Flood Dragon Demon King quickly interjected, "We just wanted to take a look! Who knew that the bead would attack us without even asking what happened!"
The nine-headed worm nodded in unison, its eight snake heads pleading, "Immortal, you are wise! That bead is incredibly vicious. Look at my head, my face..."
His voice trailed off.
Because Yun Zhongzi's gaze had turned cold.
Lingzhuzi had been nurtured by the Heavenly Venerable of Primordial Beginning for tens of thousands of years, listening to his teachings daily and learning the Dao year after year. Even a stubborn rock should have acquired some of the demeanor of a sage. Even if it had picked up the habit of looking down on demons, it would never have attacked and harmed anyone without asking questions.
The three demons are lying.
With a flick of his sleeve, Yun Zhongzi unleashed a flash of cold light—the Demon-Slaying Sword.
The sword is entirely silver-white, with a blood-red rune along its spine, specifically designed to ward off evil spirits.
This sword was forged by the Wu tribe during the ancient war between the Wu and the Yao. It later fell into the hands of Chi You, who, unaware of its power, abandoned it. After the Battle of Zhuolu, the sword shattered and was deliberately searched for and obtained by Yun Zhongzi. He then forged and restored it, and although it was not as powerful as before, it still possessed considerable strength.
And this is just one of the "junk" that Yun Zhongzi has collected.
When Jianfu appeared, the three demons were so frightened that their faces turned ashen.
That murderous intent, designed to slay demons and evil spirits, suppressed the three demons so much that they even stopped using their magic.
"I will ask one more time."
The voice was flat.
"Tell the truth."
The Lion Camel King trembled all over, a hint of white appearing on his dark face, and he suddenly kowtowed three times with a loud "bang, bang, bang":
"Immortal, spare me! I'll tell the truth!"
The Demon King and the Nine-Headed Insect also kowtowed desperately.
"explain."
The Lion Camel King raised his head, trembling:
"Reporting to the Immortal, after we were taken into that void, we saw that the pearl was unguarded, and... we became greedy. We wanted to take the pearl first, but who knew that the pearl was extremely powerful. Even the three of us working together were defeated by it without any chance to fight back."
The Demon King of the Flood Dragons cried out, "That pearl didn't use any magic; it just rammed into things. With one impact, the little dragon's horn broke off, and its demonic power dissipated."
The nine-headed worm's eight snake heads shuddered simultaneously: "When all eight of my heads attacked at once, it rammed into them one by one, knocking each one unconscious. After eight rammings, seven of them were knocked unconscious."
Yun Zhongzi sneered inwardly.
really.
It wasn't that Lingzhuzi was violent; it was the greed of the three demons that caused them to be instinctively attacked by the precious pearl, leaving them utterly defeated. Lingzhuzi had served the sage for ten thousand years, and the power of the orthodox teachings of the Chan sect was already imprinted on his instincts.
The three demons, with their demon race members, dared to attempt to plunder, only to bring shame upon themselves.
Three wicked individuals. Greedy, cunning, and full of lies.
If it were up to me, I should activate the Demon-Slaying Sword right now and shatter the souls of the three demons together.
But these three demons will be of great use in the future.
During the Great Tribulation of the Investiture of the Gods, the three demons of Xuanyuan Tomb were taken away by the Western Sect. If the Western Sect truly intended to use demons to infiltrate Emperor Xin's harem and bewitch the emperor, he would need pawns who also understood demons and could be used by him.
The Lion Camel King, the Flood Dragon Demon King, and the Nine-Headed Insect—it now appears they were all pawns in the Western Sect's plan for Journey to the West. Holding them in one's hands is tantamount to driving three nails into the Western Sect's chessboard.
Yun Zhongzi made a hand gesture with his fingertips.
Three pale gold seals materialized out of thin air, their runes flowing and captivating.
"This is the Soul-Scattering Seal."
His voice was cold and stern.
"This seal is imprinted on your primordial spirits, and your life and death are in the hands of this humble Daoist. Even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would find it difficult to remove this seal unless a Quasi-Saint or even a Saint intervenes. But I doubt any Quasi-Saint would come all the way here to make things difficult for my Chan Sect just for the sake of three Heavenly Immortal Realm demon kings."
The three demons were not afraid at all; on the contrary, they showed joy.
"This seal is not activated under normal circumstances, but if any of you harbor the slightest ill will towards me, or outwardly comply but inwardly defy me, or secretly collude with foreign enemies, the Soul-Scattering Seal will be activated on its own. At that time, your soul will be burned by karmic fire for forty-nine days before it dissipates."
The Lion Camel King suddenly raised his head, a smile forced onto his swollen, pig-like face, and kowtowed three times in quick succession.
"This humble Lion Camel King is willing to serve you as his master! In this life and the next, I will never have any disloyalty!"
The Demon King and the Nine-Headed Insect seemed to awaken from a dream, and then frantically kowtowed:
"This humble Flood Dragon Demon King is willing to serve you, Master!"
"This lowly nine-headed worm is willing to serve you, sir!"
The three demons understood perfectly well—this was a Golden Immortal of the Chan Sect, a disciple of the Primordial Heavenly Lord, from the Jade Pillar Cave of Zhongnan Mountain. To become the mount of such an existence was an immense stroke of luck for the now-declining and powerless demon race.
With a flick of his fingertips, Yun Zhongzi sent three Soul-Scattering Seals into the brows of the three demons, which transformed into pale golden light.
The three demons trembled simultaneously.
Within the primordial spirit, a mark is deeply embedded in the deepest part of the soul. Just as Yun Zhongzi said, even a Great Luo Golden Immortal could not remove it.
"Stand guard outside the door and quietly recite the *Huang Ting Jing*. Do not enter without my permission."
The three demons, holding the "Huang Ting" (a book on traditional Chinese medicine), felt as if they had been granted a pardon and scrambled out of their cave.
Inside the cave.
Yun Zhongzi raised his hand and took the spirit pearl into his palm.
This bead has been strange in every way since it returned from the North Sea.
First, it appeared in the cave without warning, then its aura leaked out and almost alarmed Taiyi Zhenren, and then it defeated three Heavenly Immortal Realm demon kings without any chance to fight back in the Qiankun of its sleeve.
The demon king of the Celestial Immortal Realm is thick-skinned and tough; even an ordinary Xuanxian might not be able to injure its bones with a single blow. Yet, the Spirit Pearl possessed such power simply by striking it on instinct.
Yun Zhongzi held the spirit pearl in his palm.
Just then, his spiritual energy trembled slightly.
The bottleneck in his cultivation, which had been stagnant for nearly 20,000 years, actually loosened slightly at this moment.
Yun Zhongzi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Twenty thousand years.
Since entering the Golden Immortal Realm, a full twenty thousand years have passed, and his cultivation has not progressed an inch. He consulted Yuanshi Tianzun, Randeng, Guangchengzi, and even Tongtian Jiaozhu and Yunxiao, and the answers he received were all the same—he needed to comprehend the ultimate principles of heaven and earth, he needed an opportunity, and he needed a catalyst.
For 20,000 years, he has read extensively in the classics of the Three Realms, traveled throughout the vast wilderness and the four seas, entered Biyou Palace to discuss the Dao with the immortals of the Jie Sect, and even humbled himself to spar with the Twelve Golden Immortals.
His cultivation level remained as solid as an iron wall, unmoved.
And now.
He simply held the spirit pearl in his palm.
The spiritual power that once flowed through the body is now growing rapidly.