Chapter 490: Demon!
Two spotted pythons fought for most of the day, turning the already small swamp into a complete mess. After they grew tired from fighting, they parted ways and slithered into the grass beside the swamp. Then, with a flash of light, the two spotted pythons... actually transformed into two young men wearing spotted clothes!!
Yun Che was stunned once again... Two pythons at the Earth Xuan Realm being able to speak human language was already completely abnormal... and now they could actually transform into humans!!
One of the young men had a sharp chin and sunken cheeks, while the other had a large face and a thick waist. Their bodies and facial features were unmistakably human! The first one shouted, "You little brat, don't you dare leave! I'm going to get my people!"
The other was equally defiant: "You're the little brat! Your whole family are little brats! You think you're the only one who can call for help? Let's see who brings more!"
After exchanging threats, the two spotted pythons darted off in opposite directions, quickly disappearing from Yun Che's sight.
"This young sir, watching two grown men fight is hardly worth seeing, you know!"
Just as Yun Che was marveling at the two pythons, a soft, deliberately teasing female voice suddenly came from behind him. Yun Che spun around... Behind him was a vast field of flowers—not particularly lush but extraordinarily expansive, stretching beyond the horizon. Within several hundred zhang, there wasn't even a single low tree... With such an open view, he saw absolutely no one.
Just as doubt crept into his mind, a crabapple tree in full, vibrant bloom less than ten steps in front of him suddenly began to glow with a hazy rose-red light. Within that radiance, the crabapple tree rapidly transformed, eventually... taking the shape of a seductive woman adorned with a crabapple flower in her hair and dressed in rose-red floral garments. She stood gracefully before him, her similarly rose-red lips curved into a slight smile, her slightly elongated phoenix eyes gleaming with captivating allure.
Yun Che's mouth fell open... It took him a full three breaths to close it again. His mind was struggling to keep up. Two snakes could argue in human language and turn into humans, and now even a crabapple tree... could actually transform into a human!!
What kind of bizarre world is this!
The slightly dazed expression on Yun Che's face was not interpreted by the crabapple flower woman as surprise. Instead, she found the young man endearingly naive. She pursed her lips in a smile and swayed gracefully toward Yun Che, looking at him with a smile as her eyes grew even more enticing. "Young sir, I didn't mean to startle you by speaking out suddenly. It's just that you're so handsome—I took a liking to you at first sight! Would you like to... have a little fun with me here?"
The crabapple flower woman's voice was soft and gentle. As she spoke, she ran her hand over her shoulder, slowly tracing down along the curve of her collarbone until she reached her barely covered, heaving bosom. Her slender fingers lightly nestled into the deep, snowy cleft. Her voice and posture were utterly seductive to the extreme.
"Gulp..." Yun Che swallowed hard. But he was by no means succumbing to the temptation of this crabapple flower woman. Let alone Xia Qingyue and Feng Xue'er, any one of the Ice Cloud Seven Immortals could outshine this woman by eighteen streets. Yun Che's life had never lacked beautiful women, so he wasn't about to lose his wits over a suddenly appearing seductress. What shocked him was that this woman, radiating allure from every pore... was actually a crabapple tree... turned human!
"I am the queen of all flowers within a hundred li!" the crabapple flower woman said in a coquettish tone. "Young sir, you won't find anyone more beautiful than me anywhere within a hundred li. I've been here for many years, and this is the first time I've ever spoken to a man. But you've caught my fancy so much that I couldn't help myself."
As she spoke, the crabapple flower woman did something Yun Che never expected. With a seductive smile, she reached up and slowly drew down the rose-red floral garment covering her chest, inch by inch. Instantly, two plump, snow-white mounds sprang forth, trembling and fully exposed before Yun Che's eyes... The crabapple flower woman showed no hint of shame. Instead, she fixed her captivating eyes on Yun Che, not blinking.
The creatures of this world, and the way they did things, completely shattered Yun Che's worldview. If this were the Tian Xuan Continent, and a woman of such beauty and figure was seducing him, he might even be willing to take the bait and have some fun... after all, he wouldn't be losing anything. But in this unknown world where everything seemed "abnormal"... he just wanted to find some peace and quiet!
"Uh... I have something to attend to. Let's play another time, another time..." Yun Che said, waving his hand as he stepped back. After finishing his words, he turned around and fled far away as if escaping, leaving the crabapple flower woman standing alone, her face full of resentment.
"Hee hee hee..." From the patch of flowers where the crabapple flower woman had stood, a young girl's laughter came.
"Sister Crabapple's first attempt ended in failure!" A dandelion, much larger than normal, swayed left and right, letting out a gloating laugh.
"That human is so weird. He actually ran away, and Sister Crabapple's charm is so immense."
"Sister Crabapple, are you sure he's a pure human? Not only did you make the first move, but you also tried really hard to seduce him."
"Yeah." The crabapple flower woman was full of grievance. "That young sir's aura should indeed be that of a pure human. If I could find a pure human, the child we'd have could go to a wider world, unlike us who can't leave this land our whole lives. But it's a shame that pure humans are becoming rarer and rarer. I finally found one, and he ran away... Was I too eager? Or... am I not pretty enough?"
The crabapple flower woman touched her face and muttered to herself, "Looks like I need to drink more beauty-enhancing morning dew from now on."
In an instant, Yun Che had darted several li away before he came to his senses somewhat... Wait! Why did I run away!!
"How peculiar. A woman bares herself before you, and you, super pervert extraordinaire, instead of unleashing your perverted nature, you flee in panic?" Mo Li said in a strange tone. Ever since he had forcibly hugged her in the Primordial Mystic Ark, her frequency of using the phrase "super pervert extraordinaire" had increased several hundredfold, and Yun Che heard it several times a day.
Over time... he had actually gotten used to it!
"The problem is... don't you think this is all too bizarre? That woman was actually a crabapple tree that transformed!" Yun Che said, eyes wide.
Mo Li scoffed dismissively. "Look at your reaction... Have you never seen a demon before?"
"A demon? I've heard of them, but never seen one. Wait!" Yun Che's brow furrowed. "You mean that crabapple tree woman just now was a demon?"
From scattered legends, there were many, many races in the world. Besides humans, there were beast tribes, sea tribes forcibly separated from beast tribes, demon tribes, spirit tribes, elf tribes, and even the long-lost legends of demon clans and divine clans... The races that had existed, or still existed, were far more numerous. Some had gone extinct in ancient times and been forgotten by history, while others hid in corners unknown to others, existing independently...
On the Tian Xuan Continent and the Cang Yun Continent, humans and beasts ruled the world. Weapon spirits and sword spirits barely counted as low-level spirit tribes. Demon tribes and elf tribes were also occasionally mentioned, but they seemed to appear very rarely—at least Yun Che had never seen any in either continent. And the reason demon and elf tribes were occasionally brought up in the Tian Xuan Continent wasn't because of the continent itself, but because of the mysterious, distant Huan Yao Realm, which had a complex history of both grudges and alliances with the Tian Xuan Continent! According to fragmented rumors, the Huan Yao Realm not only contained demon and elf tribes, but they also made up a large proportion.
"Of course they're demons!" If Yun Che could have seen Mo Li's face at that moment, he would have seen an expression full of disdain for a country bumpkin who had never seen the world. "Those two snakes and that woman you saw are all demons. Just now, many demons still in their unformed states were watching you from around you. You should have sensed them too."
"...What exactly are the characteristics of this kind of demon? Is it just the ability to take human form?" Yun Che asked doubtfully.
"Although it sounds simple and straightforward, you're basically right! Demons are half beast demons and half spirit demons. The two snakes you saw were beast demons. The origin of beast demons is beasts themselves. The ability to take human form and possess human-like or even superior intelligence is the direct distinction between beasts and beast demons! And that woman just now was a spirit demon. Grass, trees, and all things in the world can become demons when they gain intelligence through opportunity, and this demonic power can be passed down continuously. For an ordinary beast to become a demon, it requires prolonged cultivation and rare, fortuitous encounters. But the offspring of a demon are born with complete demonic power. Therefore, after countless years of reproduction and an unbroken heritage, the demon race is an extremely large race within the chaotic space, no smaller than the human race. In many worlds, demons and humans live together without separation. Your birth parents are from the Huan Yao Realm, so it's possible that you even have demon blood in you! As for whether it comes from beast demons or spirit demons, you'll have to find your birth parents to confirm."
Yun Che gradually understood. Recalling his earlier reaction, he even felt a bit foolish.
"So, this is a world of demons?" Yun Che muttered.
"Don't waste time here," Mo Li said. "You didn't come here for sightseeing! There's no dangerous aura or high-level beings in this area. This isn't where you should be staying... Oh?"
"What is it?"
"Head north!" Mo Li said. "Seven hundred li away, there seems to be a very concentrated aura of high-level beings! The level of that aura... Hmph, it shouldn't be inferior to the so-called Four Sacred Grounds of the Tian Xuan Continent."
"Not inferior to the Four Sacred Grounds?" Yun Che's spirits lifted. On the Tian Xuan Continent, the Four Sacred Grounds were called sacred because they were the supreme and unrivaled existences! Mo Li could casually find a place with a power level not inferior to the Four Sacred Grounds... That meant the power level of this world was at least not lower than the Tian Xuan Continent!
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