Chapter 2006: Demon Haitang

The Black Luo Realm is one of the Demon Realm's direct subordinate realms.

Tianluo Market City, situated in the northwest corner of the Black Luo Realm, is one of its most prominent market cities. Its strategic location attracts a multitude of traveling merchants and cultivators, and it is rich in cultivation resources.

The streets, paved with black stone bricks, were wide and clean. Pedestrians thronged them, and carriages were numerous, creating a bustling atmosphere.

On both sides of the streets, shops stood in orderly rows. Various flags and banners hung outside the shops, while shop assistants eagerly called out to attract customers.

A secluded small courtyard, lush with vegetation, featured exotic flowers and unusual trees, small bridges over flowing water, and unique rock formations and pavilions, each with its own charm.

Ye Haitang sat cross-legged on a formation array over a hundred zhang wide, covered in mysterious black runes.

Fang Mu stood by, his expression solemn.

"Fairy Ye, are you truly going to do this? This carries significant risks."

Fang Mu frowned.

They had unexpectedly found themselves in the Black Luo Realm, a place filled with demonic energy and devoid of spiritual energy.

Spiritual energy and demonic energy are incompatible. It was difficult for them to even maintain normal cultivation, let alone make further progress.

They either had to find a way back to the Thousand Gourd Realm or the East Glimmer Realm, or alter their cultivation methods. However, the Black Luo Realm is a realm of demons, and their appearance as two spiritual cultivators here made them stand out, attracting deadly attacks from demons.

They teamed up to eliminate the attacking demons, using secret arts to conceal their spiritual cultivator aura and blend into Tianluo Market City.

They found it extremely difficult to operate; even daily activities posed a problem, let alone finding a way back to the Thousand Gourd Realm or the East Glimmer Realm. After much deliberation, they decided to change their cultivation methods.

They had always cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy. Suddenly switching to absorbing demonic energy, their bodies simply couldn't withstand it.

Therefore, they needed to modify their bodies to transform into demons.

The most common approach was to find a high-level demon to cast a spell, using demonic energy to transform their bodies. As Nascent Soul cultivators, it would be best to seek a Deity Transformation stage demon for assistance, as this would provide greater certainty and a higher success rate.

Coming from a realm of spiritual cultivators, actively seeking a Deity Transformation stage demon was no different from courting death. Even if the demon didn't kill them, they would likely have to sacrifice their lives for the demon, or, even worse, have restrictions placed upon them and be forced into servitude.

With such an imbalance of power, there could be no fairness to speak of.

"My mind is made up," Ye Haitang said. "I am unwilling to place my life in someone else's hands. I spent decades researching and developing this Demon Transformation Array, and I'm quite confident in it. As you've seen, we almost exposed ourselves last time."

Ye Haitang's gaze was firm. While their aura could be disguised, their natal magic treasures, spirit beasts, and divine abilities could not.

Some high-level demons had wanted to spar with them, but they had tactfully declined.

Ye Haitang understood clearly that constant exposure brings risk. To settle in the Black Luo Realm, they had to transform their bodies and then cultivate demonic arts.

The process of body transformation was incredibly painful, and even a slight misstep could lead to their bodies exploding and death.

Ye Haitang had also made some preparations and was quite confident in her success.

Fang Mu nodded. He also didn't want to seek help from a Deity Transformation stage demon or place his life in someone else's hands. He wouldn't resort to it unless absolutely necessary.

Fang Mu took out a nine-sided formation disk, shimmering with dark light. Runes flickered across its surface, and he cast a spell into it.

The runes on the formation array flared brightly, and wisps of demonic energy surged out.

Ye Haitang performed a hand seal; countless black formation patterns lit up on her body, twisting and deforming as if alive.

The demonic energy seemed to be drawn by some attraction and slowly flowed along the patterns into Ye Haitang's body.

Ye Haitang's face turned ashen, she was drenched in sweat, and her body slowly began to swell.

After a while, she became a pot-bellied, corpulent figure; her tight silk skirt burst, exposing her now distended and unremarkable figure.

Ye Haitang performed another hand seal. Her teeth ground with a dull crunching sound as she felt her body tearing apart, and terrifying bloody streaks appeared on her skin.

She quickly took out a dark, shimmering talisman, slapped it onto herself, and continued to perform hand seals.

All the formation patterns on Ye Haitang's body flared brightly. She let out a painful shriek, and her body visibly shriveled, returning to normal.

Dense demonic energy surged into Ye Haitang's body once more. Her body expanded again, and just as it was about to burst, all the formation patterns on Ye Haitang's body flared brightly, and her body rapidly returned to normal.

Soon after, Ye Haitang's body swelled again, repeating the cycle continuously. Each time, terrifying bloody streaks appeared on Ye Haitang's skin, making her feel as if she were being torn apart.

Half an hour later, blood stained the formation array. Ye Haitang remained seated cross-legged on the array, her entire body wracked with unbearable pain, with multiple meridians fractured. This method was exceedingly overbearing and risky, but it meant she didn't have to beg others or be at their mercy.

Ye Haitang was drenched in sweat, her entire body covered in blood, and white bones were faintly visible on her arms.

She continued to perform hand seals, and the formation patterns on her body still flickered.

After a while, all the runes on the formation array dimmed, and demonic energy ceased to emerge.

Ye Haitang let out a long sigh of relief and collapsed onto the ground. Panting heavily, she murmured to herself, "I... I did it. I knew this method would work."

Joy appeared in Fang Mu's eyes. Ye Haitang's aura was now indistinguishable from that of a demon.

If Ye Haitang could succeed, then so could he.

"Fairy Ye, you're incredible!" Fang Mu exclaimed. "You actually managed to devise it."

"I told you it would work, didn't I?" Ye Haitang said, her voice weak. "Once I've recovered, I'll preside over the formation for you and help you transform into a demon."

"However, with this success," Fang Mu continued, "we no longer need to return to the East Glimmer Realm. This is a direct subordinate realm of the Demon Realm. If we cultivate to the mid-Deity Transformation stage, we can ascend to the Demon Realm. To me, the Spirit Realm and the Demon Realm are the same, as long as I can continue on the path of immortality."

By the end of his speech, Fang Mu's gaze was incredibly firm.

Ye Haitang sighed softly. She had already become a demon, and even if she returned to the East Glimmer Realm, her cultivation would stagnate. She would only be able to, like Zhao Qianfeng, plant Sky Demon Trees, transform the entire realm, and slowly enhance her strength.

"If I have the chance," she said, "I still want to go back once. I wonder how Cousin Qingshan is doing, and Uncle and Aunt."

Ye Haitang's face showed a nostalgic expression. She had grown up in the Wang family since childhood, and the Wang family was her home.

"The Green Lotus Immortal Couple possesses formidable divine abilities; they should be fine," Fang Mu said. "As for your cousin, the Wang family will send people to rescue him. Even if you want to go back, you'd need to reach at least the Deity Transformation stage and possess a treasure capable of breaking through realms, or go even further, ascend to the Demon Realm, and use great divine abilities to descend to a lower realm."

Fang Mu's face showed a look of yearning.

Ye Haitang nodded and said, "That's true. I want to go back to heal now. Once my injuries have healed, I'll help you."

Ye Haitang walked towards a black pavilion not far away, moving quite slowly.

Fang Mu sat down cross-legged, took out two mid-grade spirit stones, and absorbed the spiritual energy within to restore his magic power.

In the Black Luo Realm, he could only restore his magic power this way, as the currency of the realm was demonic stones, filled with demonic energy, which Fang Mu could not use at all.