Chapter 174: Chapter 174: Great Demon Cang Hua

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Today, none of the Five Emperors are in the Purple Tenuity Palace.

This starry world seemed rather empty, and Zhou Heng, finding no one, had no choice but to inquire with The Supreme and the Heavenly Principle standing in front of the Purple Tenuity Palace.

The Supreme appeared as a white-robed Taoist boy, with a gentle demeanor, while the Heavenly Principle was a black-robed Taoist boy, his expression indifferent.

These two Celestial Men seemed to have been outside the Purple Tenuity Palace for years on end.

Each time Zhou Heng came, they were both there.

“Cang Hua?” The Supreme frowned his very childish face and said, “Are you talking about Cang Hua?!”

“Has that old demon broken free?” The Heavenly Principle gritted his teeth and said with an angry face, “No, he couldn’t have broken free, he couldn’t possibly break through Lord Tianyi’s seal!”

Zhou Heng had not had the chance to inquire in detail, merely mentioning that he encountered a heretical Grandmaster who might have been beguiled by Cang Hua, which made the two Celestial Men somewhat lose their composure.

Of course, they didn’t have much Celestial Majesty on usual days either.

“Predecessors, what exactly is this Cang Hua…” Zhou Heng asked doubtfully, thinking that if Cang Hua could elicit such a reaction from two Celestial Men, he must be more formidable than Zhou Heng had initially assumed.

Could he be a Tao Lord who had cultivated a Dao Seed?

“Cang Hua… That story begins 1,600 years ago,” The Supreme sighed lightly and said, “Do you know why the Heavenly Principle and I have always been in front of the Purple Tenuity Palace, almost never leaving?”

“The Supreme, you speak too obscurely.” The Heavenly Principle curled his lip and said, “1,600 years ago, a great demon broke out from the West Wasteland forbidden land; it was when the Supreme and I had just become Celestial Men, and we went to subdue the demon.

“But, unexpectedly, that great demon was extremely powerful; indestructible. The Supreme and I were not sufficiently cultivated and were destroyed on the spot, our physical bodies demolished, our Primordial Spirits scattered, with half a lifetime’s cultivation going down the drain.

“Fortunate are the Primordial Spirits of Celestial Men for residing in the void, nearly indestructible, which allowed us to barely survive in spirit form and later assisted by Lord Tianyi, we have been able to exist eternally before the Purple Tenuity Palace.”

“Eh… it’s roughly like that,” The Supreme said with a wry smile, “It’s actually quite embarrassing to talk about. As soon as we ascended to Celestial Men, our physical bodies were destroyed. We are probably the first ever like this, and that great demon was Cang Hua.

“1,600 years ago, Cang Hua emerged from the West Wasteland forbidden lands, breaking through the Liangzhou grand formation, slaying both of us, and then aimed to rush towards the nearest Yuanzhou. Fortunately, Lord Tianyi took action and suppressed and sealed him with his overpowering Dao power.”

“From the moment Cang Hua broke through the Liangzhou grand formation to being suppressed and sealed by Lord Tianyi, it took no more than half a day, yet the catastrophe it caused was monumental.” The Heavenly Principle said with a somber face, “At that time, including the two of us, three Celestial Men were destroyed, ten Absolute Fourth Rank both in body and soul, over a hundred Grandmasters wounded or killed, and countless ordinary people, nearly leaving Liangzhou bereft of life.”

Hiss!

Zhou Heng couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air, feeling immensely shocked and said in horror, “What sort of cultivation level, what sort of realm must this great demon Cang Hua have been to possess such mighty strength?”

Less than half a day to kill three Celestial Men, ten at the pinnacle, and over a hundred Grandmasters, such strength was indeed terrifying.

It was too dreadful.

Ridiculously powerful.

“Roughly equivalent to a Celestial Man,” The Supreme said with a bitter smile, “But his demonic body was indestructibly powerful; as long as a hint of life force remained in the world, he could be reborn in an instant, almost impossible to kill. Even a Tao Lord could only suppress him with Dao power, attempting over the long passage of time to grind him down.”

“Cang Hua was suppressed by Lord Tianyi’s Dao power, if he were to break free, Lord Tianyi would definitely sense it,” The Heavenly Principle furrowed his brows in thought, “But now… could it be that some of Cang Hua’s Divine Soul Power has leaked out, beginning to plot his escape?”

“It’s not improbable,” The Supreme nodded slightly and said, “More than half a year ago, the seal of the Dao seed experienced fluctuations, and all seals in the world showed signs of weakening. Perhaps Cang Hua is taking this opportunity to secretly release a trace of his Divine Soul.”

“For a great demon of Cang Hua’s level, even a mere hint of Divine Soul must be taken very seriously,” The Heavenly Principle said gravely, “We shall go and report to Lord Tianyi, and we must find traces of Cang Hua as quickly as possible.”

“Ziwei, the information you have provided this time is very important, there should be a rather generous reward coming your way,” The Supreme said to Zhou Heng, “Thank you.”

A reward?

Zhou Heng was somewhat surprised and said with a smile, “Actually, I am also doing this to clear dangers for myself, for based on Zhong Xinghai’s behavior, it seems likely that Cang Hua already knows I am a member of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.”

“Indeed, that is a troublesome matter,” The Supreme pondered for a moment and said, “As you are a true successor of the Pure Yang Palace, honestly, I would advise you to go back to Taihua Mount to lay low until the matter with Cang Hua is handled, then come back down.”

“The Supreme, you’re thinking too much, always cautious,” The Heavenly Principle, however, shook his head and said to Zhou Heng, “Ziwei, I won’t offer you false comfort. Since the Battle of Tianyang 3,000 years ago, the world has changed, and it has become increasingly difficult for Tao Lords and Saints to take action.

“Therefore, to search for traces of Cang Hua, only those at the Celestial Men level will take action, and how long this will take is uncertain, perhaps a few months, or a few years, or even more than a decade.”

His implication was clear.

If hiding in the mountains could dodge the danger temporarily, could it do so for a lifetime?

If Cang Hua’s traces aren’t found for over a decade, should one hide in the mountains for those many years?

If that were the case, it would waste the best years for advancing one’s Martial Arts. The years slipped away cannot be retrieved; the spirit of brave advancement lost, limiting future Martial Path achievements.

“This…” The Supreme opened his mouth, then offered a rueful smile and said, “I’m old, my thoughts always prioritize survival first.”

“Thank you for the advice, Predecessors. I’ll be more cautious when moving about in the future,” Zhou Heng bowed in thanks; he didn’t want to hide like a coward.

Besides, merely a “heavenly demon” soul fragment that had secretly escaped the seal wasn’t enough to intimidate him, for he had slain both Ghost Immortals and Loose Immortals before!

Nevertheless, the emergence of such a terrifying great demon from the West Wasteland indicated that this world was not as peaceful and stable as it seemed on the surface. He had to enhance his own cultivation level as quickly as possible.

While special ability cards were exceptionally powerful, one’s Cultivation Realm was truly the fundamental basis for establishing oneself.

He needed to make a breakthrough to the Seventh Rank as soon as possible.

Afterward, Zhou Heng further inquired with The Supreme and the Heavenly Principle about the West Wasteland.

Since various records were often vague in their descriptions, he had very little understanding of the West Wasteland.

All he knew was that if one were to head west from Liangzhou, one would reach the so-called desolate forbidden lands, commonly known as the West Wasteland, from which terrifying Demon Entities would often emerge to wreak havoc on Liangzhou.

Many Middle Third Rank members of the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer were stationed in Xi Liang to defend against the onslaught of these Demon Entities, with Lower Third Rank members sometimes having special missions that required them to travel to Liangzhou.

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As for what exactly exists within the West Wasteland’s forbidden zone, when it came into being, and why it was created, what form do those demon entities actually take?

Zhou Heng was not clear about these things.

Unfortunately, he did not receive an answer.

The Supreme and the Celestial Principles this time had a surprisingly unified stance, both telling him that once he reached the rank of Sixth Rank in the Martial Path, he would naturally come to know, and learning of these matters too early would be more harmful than beneficial.

However, they did not beat around the bush.

They directly pointed out the harm –

Before reaching the Sixth Rank in the Martial Path, the more one learned about the demon entities and the West Wasteland’s forbidden zone, the more susceptible one became to madness.

That’s right, madness.

Direct loss of mental control, loss of reason, and turning into a lunatic!!

…

After leaving the Purple Tenuity Palace,

Zhou Heng mounted his jujube-red horse and headed to the nearest Wu Jia River dock to take a boat to Wujiang Prefecture.

This was because, if he traveled by land, the two-thousand-li journey had many mountains, and despite the jujube-red horse having taken the Linju Pill and being equipped with red lotus horse gear, which made it faster, it could not fly and would still need to take a detour.

Generally speaking, taking a boat was more convenient.

Due to the battle at Chang Xing Sect, Zhou Heng’s fame in the region around Huangtong Mansion City was exceedingly high, and many people had seen his portrait, so to avoid trouble, he disguised himself before boarding the boat.

He was reluctant to use the Disguise Mask.

Now, with a beard stuck on his face and his skin disguised as dark brown, wearing a set of gray coarse hemp clothes, he looked to be in his thirties, carrying a steel saber and luggage, just like an ordinary traveler from the jianghu.

The two-thousand-li water route along the Wu Jia River would normally take two to three days, so naturally, the boat provided meals, but at a cost.

The price was even twice as high as on land.

Profiteers!

While cursing inwardly, Zhou Heng ordered a large bowl of wontons and found a spot on the deck with a good view, slurping down the food.

“Thin-skinned and generously filled, the meat portions are substantial. Although it’s an utterly unreasonable ‘travel meal’, it’s far better than those exorbitantly priced high-speed rail meals back on Earth.”

It was early morning, and there were quite a few people eating breakfast on the deck, mostly jianghu travelers with some martial arts skills, who were generally good with their strength control, so they weren’t afraid of spilling their meals due to the boat’s rocking.

These people gathered in small groups, discussing jianghu gossip and martial arts anecdotes that might or might not be true, laughing heartily from time to time, which made the journeying loner Zhou Heng feel somewhat envious.

However, those who idly chatted were usually old jianghu figures in their thirties and forties, recounting their past experiences traveling from south to north, while the younger ones mostly gathered around the sailors, asking about news from Wujiang Prefecture.

Which grandmasters had gone there?

Had any significant incidents occurred?

Had anyone discovered the rumored grandmaster’s treasure?

The most asked about was Li Wuwang.

Mysterious origins, debuted only three months ago with an undefeated record, soaring straight to the fifteenth position on the people’s list, he was virtually a mythological figure in the eyes of the youth of Da Qi.

The sailors also quite enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention.

Especially since those eagerly questioning them were young experts of some status, who were usually personages beyond their reach, this made them feel quite satisfied.

As such, many sailors talked at length about their experiences in Wujiang Prefecture, with animated gestures and loud voices.

Zhou Heng finished slurping up the last wonton, drained the bowl of soup to the bottom, and with a twitch of his ear, he heard a sailor nearby talking about Li Wuwang, eliciting bursts of astonishment from a group of young men and women.

The sailor chuckled and said, “Actually, after that martial arts competition, someone asked Li Wuwang a question, asking him who he thought was stronger between himself and Zhou Heng.”

But at this point, he suddenly stopped speaking and looked around meaningfully at the people around him.

“Who’s more formidable?”

“Hurry up and tell us, uncle!”

“What did Li Wuwang say?”

“You’re killing me with the suspense!”

A group of jianghu youths immediately became anxious.

“Oh?” Zhou Heng put down his bowl and chopsticks and moved closer, echoing along with a smile, “My, I’m dying of curiosity here, what did Li Wuwang say?”

He actually didn’t care about this but came over to join the excitement and to get some information about Li Wuwang at the same time.

After all, once he arrived in Wujiang Prefecture, he surely intended to challenge Li Wuwang.

But before the sailor could speak, a young man standing not too far away suddenly let out a light laugh, his tone laced with some mockery, “Heh, that question is truly laughable.

“Is Li Wuwang even worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Zhou Heng?”