In the outside world, one massive multicolored vortex formed from within the seven-colored ashes, and from it, another 12-year-old boy emerged.
With lustrous white skin, long silver hair that flowed at his back, and a pair of irresistible heterochromatic eyes, that boy seemed like the incarnation of perfection, destined to grow to transcendent levels of attractiveness. He wore a large scarlet robe embroidered with golden cloud patterns, matching silk pants, a pair of white boots, and held a white manuscript in his right hand.
Tyrannical energies oozed from the boy, causing a flurry of spatial tears to rip through the atmosphere as if the world itself rejected his existence.
The boy raised his left hand; bright silver flames gushed out, coiling around the spatial tears, and causing them to vanish in silence. The blood-red sky returned to blue, revealing the sun that had just risen to announce the start of day.
Not interested in those celestial phenomena, the boy studied his left hand, frowning at the tiny black star dot in the middle of his palm.
As for the surviving demon experts, their eyes shifted between the boy and the white manuscript in his right hand. Vibration waves spread from that book, laced in ancient energies that even those top experts couldn't make sense of. Ten-thousand white lotuses bloomed subsequently, rippling with demonic energies.
"'A silver-haired boy with a scarlet right eye and a purple left eye. Rejected by the natural order, commanding Karmic Fire, and wielding the Manuscript of Forbidden Secrets. Ten thousand Demon Lotuses bloom at his feet, marking the start of the Last Era.'
There can be no mistake. Our Demon Realm's 360,000 years of preparation have borne fruits. This…is the Demon Child!" A senior demon with red skin, three heads and six arms, said, his voice trembling at the realization that the Demon Realm's plan had succeeded.
They had made horrible sacrifices, expended vast manpower, countless treasures and riches, carried out no end of atrocities, all to prepare for this day. And at last, they'd succeeded.
The Demon Child had completed his incarnation!
The Demon Realm's true ruler…had appeared!
"But where are the other Primeval Tools?" Some demons noticed the absence of three of the prophesied Primeval Tools, frowning in confusion.
"It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter!" No matter how significant, the senior demons couldn't pay attention to those details. For eons, they'd seen the Demon Realm get suppressed and oppressed by the Gods and Immortals of the Celestial Realm. In the absence of the Demon Child, the ancient sages of the Demon Realm created the Demon Monarch, hoping that he could unite the demon tribes in their battle against Heaven.
However, without exception, the Demon Monarchs all failed—at best managing to protect the Demon Realm from destruction. Over time, the gap between demons and gods was becoming more pronounced, and once the balance shattered, no one could save the Demon Realm from complete extermination.
But now that they succeeded in summoning the Demon Child, things would be different.
With the true leader of demonkind risen, Heaven was destined to fall!
Of the original 600 demons carrying out the ritual alongside the 10 sages, only 300 remained. The others failed to resist the deluge of red, white and black lightning, getting reduced to ashes. But having successfully resisted the lightning deluge, these 300 saw their fleshly bodies transformed and enhanced to unprecedented altitudes.
Once they returned to the Demon Realm, most of them would break through several levels in their cultivation instantly. Others would cross an entire realm, and according to their estimations, it wouldn't be long before these 300 experts caught up to the fallen 10 sages, becoming the new foundation of the Demon Realm.
Not just that, even the 10,000 Demon Lotuses on the ground represented life-changing opportunities that could enable the Demon Realm to produce 10,000 mighty experts within 1,000 years. By demon standards, that was nothing.
The Demon Child had yet to make a move, but with his mere appearance, already more than paid the Demon Realm back for all they'd sacrificed to summon him!
Unable to contain their joy, the Demon Realm's new 300 top experts fell to the ground, kowtowing to their leader.
"Welcome, ô Venerable One! Your humble servants greet you!" The 300 spoke in tandem, and though their cultivation was limited to the peak of Ninefold Transcendence in the Mortal Realm, their voices still shook the mountains and seas.
"This world should be…the Extreme Plateau. Since the vessel was named Huan Yi, in this incarnation, I shall take that name as well," Huan Yi said, more for himself than anyone else, and ignoring the 300 demons, the Demon Child made a grasping motion, causing all 10,000 white lotuses to fly towards his left palm and vanish within.
Though expecting the Demon Child to directly bestow those 10,000 Demon Lotuses onto the Demon Realm's nine tribes, the 300 experts assumed that their leader had better plans, and at first, they didn't think much of this move.
However, when Huan Yi stepped forward, directly walking past the kowtowing crowd, the 300 grew anxious.
"Venerable One…may your humble servants inquire on what you're about to do?" One of the bolder demons asked in a tentative tone, speaking the words on the minds of all 300.
"What does it look like? I'm leaving." Huan Yi directly replied.
"L-leaving?"
"Yes. Your shabby ritual malfunctioned, and the Manuscript of Forbidden Secrets aside, I'm missing all Primeval Demon Tools. Without, I cannot command the Four Perils, perfect my powers, complete my emotional spectrum, or conceal my true nature from the Celestial Realm's leaders. That's a lot of problems. So, I need to go out there and recover the Primeval Tools. Anything else?" Stopping in his tracks, Huan Yi turned towards the demon, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.
For a second, the 300 demons were speechless. Then they regained their senses, and surprise turned into grimaces of pure horror.
"Malfunctioned? Incomplete? But then…what about the revitalization of the Demon Realm?" The same demon asked, causing some of his peers to tremble in fear of Huan Yi's upcoming words.
"Oh, about that, I do not give a fuck," Huan Yi replied with a nonchalant shrug.
"You what?! But the prophecy…"
"Is just something I had your ancestors make up to motivate you guys to bring me into this world. The only true thing about it is the process of summoning me. The rest is complete horseshit. In my eyes, you are food, pets, and tools. I have no reason to care about the Demon Realm beyond the need to preserve my primary source of entertainment.
But right now, entertainment needs to take a backseat to my need to get my belongings back," Huan Yi said, clarifying the situation, and causing the 300 demons' eyes to stretch in disbelief.
360,000 years of planning, untold risks, and sacrifices, all to hear…this?
Even the most well-behaved of the demons couldn't digest Huan Yi's words. In tandem, all 300 demons stood up, their rage and killing intent ballooning towards the sky.
"Demon Child, just like you said, you're missing three of the four Primeval Tools and cannot command the Four Perils. No matter how powerful your fleshly body or how terrifying your Spiritual Powers are, you have yet to start cultivating. So, even with the suppression of the Mortal Realm, you can't possibly defeat the 300 of us.
Be a good boy and come back with us to become the leader of the Demon Realm!" The demon spokesman snapped, and as if to back the words, all 300 let their martial auras erupt, locking on Huan Yi.
Too much had been sacrificed for this ritual. Even if they had to offend the Demon Child, they couldn't allow him to abandon the Demon Realm!
Still, the Demon Child stayed composed.
"What are you getting so worked up for? Didn't you have your fleshly bodies and potential refined by the ritual lightning? Thanks to that gift, the 300 of you will not need 500 years to surpass the previous 10 sages. If you join forces, how hard can it be to revitalize the Demon Realm?
Stop being lazy bitches and get back to work. If I need you, I will summon you." Uninterested in the demons' struggles, Huan Yi waved his hand dismissively, again turning his back on them.
There was some truth to Huan Yi's words. However, they didn't paint the full picture. The next War of Demons and Gods could start at any time. The Demon Realm had lost too many resources to rely on potential alone. Time wasn't on their side. So, despite the heretical implications, the 300 didn't hesitate, channeling their Blood Energies and Spiritual Powers to capture the Demon Child.
However…
"Taotie…" Huan Yi whispered without turning his back, and instantly, the sky darkened. Shaped like a hybrid between a black wolf and an eagle, one mountain-sized, winged demonic head emerged from behind the 300, opening its oversized mouth.
From behind the large, jagged fangs, a bridge-sized purple tongue stretched out, whipping at the 300 demons.
Irresistible devouring force poured out, breaking down all of the demons' abilities before sucking them into the creature's mouth.
"AAAAAAAARGH!" No matter what move they put forth, the demons couldn't resist. Worse, they couldn't escape, all screaming at the realization that the 300 top experts of the Demon Realm were about to be reduced to snacks.
"The Heaven Swallowing Peril…"
"Didn't you say that you couldn't control the Four Perils?!" Realizing what they faced, the demons raged at Huan Yi, cursing themselves for believing his previous words.
After the Demon Child, the Four Perils were the pinnacle of the Demon Race, each with the power to turn demons into helpless ants. This wasn't just a matter of cultivation base, but a primordial right bestowed upon them at creation.
Had these demons known that Huan Yi could summon even one of the Four Perils, they would have never dared to attack him.
Rage and unwillingness welled up in their chests, twisting their faces as Taotie's devouring powers sucked them in, and the primordial creature's fangs fell on them.
Slow chewing sounds followed. For indeed, though typically quick to devour its prey, prompted by Huan Yi, this time around Taotie savored its feast, chewing the 300 demons to a torturous death. Each of their faces flashed in Huan Yi's left eye, and his lips curled up.
"I don't see four," Huan Yi casually said, and as Taotie's cultivation soared alongside this feast, the Demon Child vanished into the distance.