Golden Spear Punishes Evil, Fells Mountains and Smashes Temples. Silver Bottle Maiden swept away the Demon Mother Jizhituo and her fifty demon sons. A single Azure-Blue Heavenly Fire directly incinerated the residence of this Huaguang Emperor Mother. However, after destroying the temple, though she appeared in the wilderness, it was not Phoenix Mountain.
As if blocked by layers of passes, Silver Bottle Maiden had no path to turn back and could only press forward.
“As long as I strive to slay demons, the one behind the scenes will naturally appear. Everything is within the Great Emperor’s calculations.”
The mountains let out a mournful cry, transforming into black soil.
Silver Bottle Maiden’s delicate eyebrows slightly raised.
Black mountains, black soil – this was the scene she had witnessed the last time she came here to slay demons.
“So these black mountains are not the true appearance of Phoenix Mountain, but a manifestation of an internal demonic mountain. By chance, I’ve killed many of these demonic mountains…”
“Hmm, this mountain… nurtures demons?”
Silver Bottle Maiden suddenly felt something was amiss with the mountain. She tried to fly, but found it extremely difficult. The demonic energy here was dense, more sinister and treacherous than when it appeared externally. As she climbed to a higher point in the mountain and looked into the distance, she was struck with horror.
Dense, countless black mountain peaks.
More precisely, they resembled tombs. Within each black tomb-mountain, there should be a demonic corpse.
What on earth was this?
“Is this a netherworld? But how can the netherworld be so vast!”
Netherworlds were places opened up by powerful cultivators, sections of heaven and earth intercepted from the mortal world’s yang realm, refined into something akin to a small world. This was not a profound technique; in ancient times, it was called a cave-heaven and blessed land.
Because netherworlds needed to rely on the existence of the true human world, the sections of heaven and earth that could be intercepted were limited in scope and could not expand infinitely. This was not a small world, nor the ability to create a world of one’s own; it was merely a matter of appropriation.
At this moment, the demonic mountain behind her began to shatter. After the landslide, a temple appeared.
A Demonic Temple.
Silver Bottle Maiden understood. Looking at the demonic temple that appeared amidst the mountain collapse, she finally realized that the place she had just been was inside the demonic mountain.
Without a word, she rushed into the temple. Seated above was a demonic figure, appearing as a woman in a green robe, with two horns on her head, sharp fangs, claws, and wielding two iron fans.
“Rakshasa-shi!”
Among Rakshasas, males were called Rakshasa-sa, and females were called Rakshasa-shi.
At this moment, the female Rakshasa swung down her iron fans. Dozens of small ground-crawling demons crawled out of the temple, but Silver Bottle Maiden struck their heads with her golden spear, shattering them into a mist of blood!
“You… are not as strong as Jizhituo.”
In the eyes of the female Rakshasa, Silver Bottle Maiden’s appearance began to change. Her hair turned fiery red as if ignited, and it floated up as if burning fiercely and voluntarily.
…
“Between heaven and earth, those who cultivate the righteous path will inevitably encounter the ten classes of trial demons and face the nine kinds of cultivation hardships. These are the Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations.”
“After overcoming the Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations, only then will the Five Heavens, Eight Emperors, and numerous Demon Kings descend to conduct the final assessment, thereby confirming whether the cultivator of the righteous path is qualified to ascend to immortality.”
Ji Xiang had only experienced one demon and two tribulations. The one demon was the mountain demon, and the two tribulations were the tribulation of life and death and the tribulation of will. Moreover, these appeared only after the Azure Heaven Demonic Trial. Ji Xiang had also long discerned that the Nine Tribulations and the Ten Demons were not significantly related, but rather concerned the unwavering heart of compassion.
The tribulation of life and death referred to the initial battle with Zhao Xuanlang, where the dead returned to life, constituting the tribulation of life and death.
The tribulation of will referred to the poisoning in the ghostly city of Gusu, where the will faltered, constituting the tribulation of will.
The tribulation of life and death was a conclusion Ji Xiang deduced himself, while for the tribulation of will, Ji Xiang clearly felt the presence of that calamitous force in the unseen realms.
As for the matter of the Shangqing Sect, it was purely an accident. The Shangqing Three Ancestors and Shangqing Branch Ancestors who were eventually guided, the immortal who was released, and the final spiritual communication spell, all of this far exceeded the level of the “Nine Tribulations.” It could not possibly be caused by mere Nine Tribulations.
Instead, it was related to the worldly calamities that entangled Ji Xiang after he used the True Meaning of the Three Teachings to deduce all phenomena.
The True Meaning of the Three Teachings was a characteristic of the Great Dao. The negative effects attached to it were of a much higher tier than the Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations.
“I will not encounter the calamity of the Ten Demons again, because I have already passed the Azure Heaven Demonic Trial… But this demonic tribulation is indeed a trial demon belonging to the mortal world. How could it appear in the netherworld of Phoenix Mountain?”
“Could Silver Bottle Maiden be breaking through a realm, thus attracting trial demons?”
Ji Xiang was filled with doubt. He retained the demonic tribulation, preventing it from manifesting externally again, confining it within his inner landscape. Then, using the fifth lesson of the Jade Purity Hidden Book, he consumed and dissolved this demonic tribulation.
The chapter on subduing demons trembled, but that was all.
“Hmm… it feels a bit off. It doesn’t feel the same as the trial demon I first encountered.”
Ji Xiang recalled the trial demon he had encountered initially. Back then, he had used the transformation technique of Fox Xiao Shi to deliberately display a lustful heart, thus attracting the trial demon. It then manifested various alluring forms of celestial maidens and demonic women to test him. The demonic energy at that time was not as mixed and turbid as the demonic energy in this current demonic tribulation.
“I can even feel that within this demonic tribulation, there are traces of resentful wishes, as if the cries of the deceased are echoing within the void.”
“The trial demons of the mortal world do not kill. They only work for the cultivator’s tribulation, so it is impossible for resentful wishes to manifest as a demonic tribulation.”
Ji Xiang frowned, realizing that the matter was not simple.
“Perhaps…”
“This is a man-made trial demon?”
Ji Xiang’s thoughts continued to turn, his wisdom’s contemplation never ceasing. The second demonic tribulation had already suddenly appeared in his subtle perception.
With a light wave of his hand, the second demonic tribulation was captured.
“Another… one came?”
Truly remarkable.
Ji Xiang praised slightly. If these trial demons were truly created by someone…
“I myself have the Jade Purity Hidden Book. I still need to cultivate to the sixteenth lesson before I can conduct assessments for others and adapt to the world.”
“You minor demons of the mortal world can casually test others?”
“If that’s the case, then let me test you.”
…
First Demonic Temple, Demon Mother Jizhituo, mother of Emperor Huaguang, was the god of storage, possessing the power to ward off fire. She fell into hell for eating people.
Second Demonic Temple, Female Rakshasa, subordinate of the Heavenly King Virūpākṣa, with crimson hair and green eyes, enchanting people with her beauty, flying and crawling, eating human flesh and blood.
Third Demonic Temple, Wilderness Evil Ghost, who was a bandit in life. He broke mountains and rivers in waterless wilderness, and received this retribution in death, transforming into a demonic ghost of Buddhism.
Fourth Demonic Temple, One-Horned Ghost King, condensed from scattered souls, forming a demonic body of Yin. He cultivated his soul to overcome tribulation, with resentment as his heart.
Fifth Demonic Temple, Sin-Bearing Heavenly Demon, belonging to the heavenly gods, bearing heavenly sins, blamed by all emperors, descended to the human world, or causing chaos.
These dense black tomb-mountains had collapsed five times, and naturally, five temples were also destroyed. The number of demons killed by Silver Bottle Maiden had exceeded three hundred. She felt that this was the time she had fought most diligently to slay demons.
However, whether divine or human, physical strength was limited. Her divine power was almost depleted, and she began to weaken.
But the black tomb-mountains, this place was like a true burial ground. Anyone who entered would continuously fight with the hordes of demons until death, either being killed by the demons or killing the demons.
This was like training between life and death, and it must have a purpose.
Silver Bottle Maiden couldn’t help but ponder.
But the changes of the enemy would not stop.
The sixth tomb-mountain rose.
This tomb-mountain was even larger than the previous five! The black mountain range collapsed, and strange roars emanated from within. A yellow temple, as if made of earth and mud, appeared, and it was very majestic.
A vast demonic divine power emanated from this great temple. The portal scattered like dust, and within it appeared a giant, nine-foot-tall man with a yellow face, ferocious fangs, clad in swirling mist, but chained by thick iron chains on his limbs within the temple.
“Who has come here, requiring me to act?”
He saw Silver Bottle Maiden’s face clearly and was slightly surprised: “You look delicate, yet you have managed to fell five mountains and five temples.
Valley </span>“But you have killed five demons, and are already tainted by demonic tribulation. Once you enter Phoenix Mountain, there is no retreat. You are certain to die.”
At this moment, the iron chains suddenly snapped. This yellow-faced great demon immediately understood the situation.
“You want me to kill her, to trigger the demonic tribulation on her. That’s easy. It’s just that after killing her this time, her primordial spirit must belong to…”
“Ugh!”
Before the yellow-faced demon king could finish speaking, his ferocious expression suddenly changed drastically. He seemed to have suffered some pain, received a great punishment, and twisted and deformed all over. After astonishing Silver Bottle Maiden, the yellow-faced demon king exuded an aura far stronger than her current realm.
“Not allowed?”
“How hateful.”
“I understand.”
The yellow-faced demon king was communicating with someone, or perhaps talking to himself, but resentment appeared on his face.
“Your primordial spirit is useful. I wanted to devour your primordial spirit and body, but I was not allowed.”
He suddenly spoke to Silver Bottle Maiden.
Silver Bottle Maiden frowned, secretly assessing the opponent’s strength. Judging by the aura displayed, he was at the peak of the Innate Realm.
In her current state, she had no chance of winning.
But what the opponent said earlier made Silver Bottle Maiden feel strange.
What did “tainted by demonic tribulation” mean?
She didn’t feel anything unusual. Her current weakness was only due to the excessive consumption of divine power. After all, no one could continuously fight with an opponent of the same realm, let alone that even though she had obtained the divine position of the Fire Virtue Star Lord, she could not fully exert its power, only capable of displaying the might of the Yellow Court Realm.
Fighting against Innate Realm with Yellow Court Realm was already an over-level battle.
How could the consumption not be significant?
She did not understand what demonic tribulation was, but Silver Bottle Maiden did not easily voice her questions.
After all, this demon in front of her was constantly chattering.
“You don’t need to look so vigilant…”
“Because you are already dead.”
The yellow-faced demon king spoke, “I don’t need to make a move to kill you.”
“Your body is tainted by demonic tribulation, and demonic thoughts have been planted in your heart. Now there are two paths before you: either I trigger the demonic tribulation, and you die on the spot, or you transform into a demon, just like us.”
“Once you become a demon, even if your heart and liver are dug out, your primordial spirit is damaged, you can still survive and not die. Even if a spirit is extinguished, you can persist in the world through your wishes.”
Silver Bottle Maiden scoffed: “Wishes, or resentments?”
“You think the advantage is yours? Then you might as well make yourself clear.”
Although she mocked him incessantly, Silver Bottle Maiden was still circulating divine power within her body, but she was completely confused.
She did not feel any demonic energy or anything of that sort.
Was it because that thing was hidden too deeply?
And the yellow-faced demon king in front of her seemed to be continuing his intimidation, describing the various pains of the demonic tribulation bursting forth to Silver Bottle Maiden.
“We demons are not ordinary demons. We feed on the righteous path. Your magic will not work on us…”
Silver Bottle Maiden interrupted him unceremoniously: “The five demons before you all said the same thing.”
Yellow-faced demon king: “……”
“But at least, we do indeed feed on the righteous path, and I am different from them.”
“Do you know the Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations?”
He pulled his ferocious, blood-red mouth open to the sides, his mouth corners stretching wide, revealing a remarkably complete and exceptionally cruel smile.
Silver Bottle Maiden was startled.
“The Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations that cultivators must experience?”
“You… what do you mean?”
The yellow-faced demon king smiled even more wildly: “Exactly what you are thinking!”
“We demons born in Phoenix Mountain are precisely the trial demons among the Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations!”
“In other words, if we kill you, it is in accordance with heaven and destiny! Because you have not overcome the demonic tribulation, you are not qualified to become an immortal!”
“And after the Ten Demons and Nine Tribulations, you should also know that there is the final demonic trial before ascending to immortality!”
“I!”
The yellow-faced demon king pointed to himself with his thumb, arrogant and unrestrained:
“I am a human demon king born with the origin of all heavenly demon kings!”
“I will determine your merits and demerits, making you disloyal and unfilial, unrighteous and unkind, unbenevolent and disrespectful! Once the demonic tribulation erupts, inner demons will entangle you, sin and hatred will arise within your thoughts, and death’s light will manifest in various futures. You will know that you are dead and that you will inevitably die!”
“Those who are disloyal and unfilial will see deceit and treachery in the demonic tribulation and have their souls invaded by resentment. Those who are unrighteous and unkind will see mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the demonic tribulation and suffer their hearts being pierced by swords, making you unable to live and unable to die!”
“Until the demonic tribulation ends, you shall not die!”
“And with the demonic tribulation tainting your body, you must now feel restless, alternating between hot and cold, occasionally seeing illusions in your eyes, but mistaking it for exhaustion. Moreover, your seven emotions are beyond your control, and sorrow, anger, and hatred surge into your heart!”
The voice of the yellow-faced demon king carried a ghostly wail, but Silver Bottle Maiden frowned slightly.
In fact…
She did not have these feelings.
Instead, because of this unrestrained display and the great slaughtering action, although her divine power was weak at the moment, her spirit was unexpectedly invigorated, and she felt a sense of exhilaration and great joy!
After the yellow-faced demon king finished speaking, a few breaths passed, and he found that Silver Bottle Maiden’s spirit was still focused. He couldn’t help but ask in surprise:
“You… perhaps you feel quite good right now?”
Silver Bottle Maiden: “……”
She did not reply and instead unleashed a Heavenly Fire Tribulation with her golden spear!
The Azure-Blue Ghost Fire burned the mud-sculpted great temple into scattered ashes. The yellow-faced demon king tore through the Azure-Blue Ghost Fire, enraged!
“You are facing death, yet you still fight like a cornered beast!”
“Let’s see how good you feel!”
“Demonic tribulation… arise!”
…
Ji Xiang manipulated the five demonic tribulations and heard the subtle summons.
He then reached out and pressed into the void, heard the sound of the True Warrior Incantation, and sent the demonic tribulation towards it.
“Demonic tribulation… arise!”
“Go to that demon.”