Chapter 136 Birdman, I'll go home with you, but you're not allowed to kiss me again...
The vastness of the Void Demon Realm far exceeded Bai Ye's imagination.
This is a nearly boundless territory, many times larger than the Nine Provinces. As far as the eye can see, there is only cracked earth and winding, barren mountain ranges. The sky is always dark, with thick, leaden clouds pressing down on the entire expanse.
Only on rare occasions will an eerie blood moon appear in the sky, offering a glimmer of light to the creatures of this world.
Bai has been in this world for two days now. During these two days, she has been on this desolate plain and has not yet encountered any demon cities or other demon races.
Through the fragments of the White Tiger senior's memories, Bai also obtained a crucial piece of information: the Void Demon Clan also has its own social structure, power divisions, and a supreme ruler.
In the ancient, devastating war that destroyed the world, the Void Demon Clan had eight Demon Emperors participating in the battle, six of whom perished in that conflict. Based on this, it can be inferred that they still have at least two Demon Emperors remaining.
"Demon Emperor, if any demons in their race have advanced to the Emperor Realm in recent years, how strong must their enemies be? This configuration is clearly unreasonable. Why didn't any Immortal Emperors survive in the Nine Provinces?"
Bai sighed repeatedly, feeling that the future was bleak. With such a strong opponent, would his wife have to fight him in the future?
Jiaojiao waved her little paws and encouraged, "It's okay, you can hit one and I'll hit one, and the two of us will take care of them."
Bai was amused by her and said with a wry smile, "I think we should rely on Xiao Lü more. By the time we get back from here, she will definitely have become very strong."
"Oh my, you little brat, you think you're so great? Looks like I'll have to show you what Lady Jiaojiao is all about." Jiaojiao stood upright on her shoulder and shouted, "Take this! Bring on my invincible hammer!"
She transformed into a golden streak of light, using her incredibly hard shell to smash into Bai Ye's head.
Bai smiled and raised his hand, preparing to receive the seemingly harmless hammer blow, when suddenly there was a commotion on the ground beneath his feet.
"Boom!"
The earth shook violently, as if some enormous creature was turning over underground.
Bai reacted extremely quickly, instantly transforming into a small, round, black, furry beast, hiding in the shadow of a rock, and warily looking back.
Her movements were fluid and seamless, completed almost in an instant.
Behind them, hundreds of feet away, the ground arched and cracked, and a huge worm, nearly a thousand feet long, covered with a dark red carapace and with sharp mouthparts on its head, burst out of the ground.
It shook its enormous head and quickly locked onto the rock where Bai was hiding. Its massive body rushed towards it like a high-speed train.
"Is this what they mean by 'no business for half a year, then a big one to live off for three years'? We've been searching for so long without encountering a single monster, but when we do, it's a huge catch." Bai cursed inwardly. There was no way they could escape now; the other side had clearly sensed their presence.
Since that's the case, then let's smash this bug to death.
She no longer hid; the pitch-black beast shot out like a black lightning bolt, instantly appearing above the long serpent.
Bai also swung his sharp claws, and golden claw rays fell instantly, sparking a string of sparks as they grazed the insect's body.
The worm, in pain, let out a sharp hiss and opened its ferocious mouthparts to bite at the small black worm above.
Bai Ye dodged the densely packed, layered mouthparts that gave one goosebumps.
"You little brat, I told you you weren't good enough. You couldn't even kill a mere tenth-tier insect in one hit. Look at you, my precious lady."
Jiaojiao jumped out of her arms and transformed into a golden light, crashing into the serpent's head.
"Duang!"
A loud bang was heard, and the worm's hard shell was smashed open by the little turtle's thunderous blow.
Jiaojiao, not one to back down, nimbly turned in mid-air after her attack and accelerated to crash into the demon again.
"Duang! Duang! Duang!"
After several violent impacts, like hammering iron, the worm quickly went limp and fell silent.
"..." Bai landed in front of the long worm, looked at the worm that was dead beyond any doubt, and said helplessly, "Jiao, I didn't mean to kill it."
She extended her dark claws and landed on the insect's head, hoping to glean some useful information while it was still warm.
Fragments of lingering memories flooded his mind, and through the perspective of this long worm, Bai also witnessed some of the events that had recently occurred in this area.
Among them was a familiar figure in white. Some time ago, this long serpent witnessed Zhong Jiuli's terrifying scene of slaughtering and clearing the battlefield, and was so frightened that it hurriedly burrowed deep underground to hide.
I never expected that when I went out to find some snacks today, I would run into Bai Ye and Jiao Jiao again, and the two of them would smash my head in.
“No wonder I haven’t encountered many demons along the way,” Bai said with a sudden realization. “It turns out my wife had already taken care of them beforehand.”
"You got news about Zhong Jiuli?" Jiao Jiao's voice was somewhat excited.
"Yes, I saw it." Bai's mood improved a lot. He grabbed Jiao Jiao and tucked her into the fluffy fabric of his chest. "Let's head east."
She didn't transform back into human form, but continued on her way in her small black beast form. In this pitch-black world, this disguise allowed her to blend into the environment better and conceal her whereabouts.
The two traveled swiftly along this desolate plain for several days, and finally saw a colossal black city on the horizon.
Jiaojiao peeked out from her arms, her face beaming with excitement, and said, "Yo-ho! We've found the demon clan's lair! Shall we go in and kill the demons and set it on fire?"
"No rush, let's go in and see if there's any news about Zhong Jiuli. There should be some demons who have seen her."
As the distance closed, the colossal city appeared even more imposing and menacing. The entire city was constructed from black metal and massive skeletons, with its walls soaring into the clouds, exuding an aura of savagery.
Bai also knew that although this world had a harsh environment, lacking sun, moon, and stars, and its land was barren, it possessed extremely rich mineral resources. Rare metals and crystals that were hard to find in the Nine Provinces were abundant here, enough to build cities—a true luxury.
However, the way of heaven is fair. While this world possesses endless mineral resources, it is extremely lacking in spiritual energy. The spiritual veins and mountains that are scattered throughout the Nine Provinces are also scarce here, and are only occupied by certain powerful individuals.
This extreme environment has given rise to a distorted and cruel survival rule for the Void Demon Race. They need spiritual energy to cultivate and increase their power. Unable to draw spiritual energy from the natural world, they can only devour the flesh and blood essence of their own kind to improve their cultivation.
Bai didn't dare to swagger into the city. He hid not far from the city gate and carefully observed the void beasts entering and leaving the city. He found that although these beasts were bloodthirsty in the wild, they would still follow the rules when they came to the city. At least they didn't eat at the city gate.
"It seems there is some order in the city." Bai felt a little more at ease. Since everyone was following the rules, it shouldn't be too dangerous to sneak in and inquire about information. If there was any danger, he could just make a scene and run away.
She imitated the arrogant way those demons walked, puffing out her chest, raising her head, and swaying her feet as she strode toward the city gate.
Along the way, many Void Demons were drawn to the attention of this arrogant little black beast.
Bai also noticed the gazes of these demons and felt a little uneasy. The Formless Technique should be effective, right? If they were attacked by a group of demons here, she and Jiaojiao might die a terrible death.
"Could it be that they think we're too small, so they want to swallow us whole when no one's looking? Should we act a little more arrogant?" Jiao Jiao whispered in her arms.
"That makes sense, watch me glare back!"
Bai raised her little head, staring back with her big, round, dark eyes, showing no sign of weakness. She also bared her little white teeth, her face saying, "If you look at me again, I'll eat you all up."
Many demons were wondering how this tiny creature, which looked so frail, dared to be so arrogant. Could it be the beloved pet of some important figure in the city that had sneaked out to play?
It's strange, but Bai is also a sucker for looks. She wanted to become a local demon, but she really didn't want to become one of those hideous and terrifying creatures. So she picked a reasonably pleasing image from her inherited memories and became what she looks like now.
This little beast resembles a bear cub, but is more rounded, with a round head, short and thick limbs, and its whole body is covered with fluffy black fur. It looks harmless and even somewhat cute.
What Bai didn't know was that the race to which the carefully chosen image belonged was so weak and its appearance so utterly intimidating that it was already on the verge of extinction in the Void Demon Realm.
Things are valued for their rarity. In recent years, some high-level demons who pursue elegance have regarded them as rare pets to keep as a way to show off their status.
The fierce-looking guards at the city gate also saw Bai Ye swaggering in. They scanned her a few times and then let her swagger into the city.
After entering the city, the number of prying eyes on both sides of the street increased, and among them were many chilling auras. They were real high-level demons, far superior to the small fry outside.
Being stared at by so many cold or greedy eyes, Bai felt a chill run from the tip of her tail to the top of her head. Even Jiaojiao in her arms tucked her paws and head into her shell.
Both of them felt something was wrong. Something seemed off about this city. There were too many high-level demons in the city. They had already seen nearly ten demon kings along the way.
Bai also desperately suppressed the urge to explode, not wanting to show weakness, and glared back at everyone, carrying his arrogance to the very end.
Her fearlessness seemed to intimidate some powerful demons, causing them to remain inactive for the time being.
However, not all demons fall for this tactic. One particularly powerful aura was already approaching her; it was a serpentine demon with three ferocious heads.
Its robust body is covered with black scales, and its three heads are all different: the left one is a triangular snake head, the middle one is a bluish-white head resembling a human, and the right one is a lion head with a mane full of ferocious fangs.
The entire body looked like a stitched-together monster, making people feel physically uncomfortable just by looking at it.
"Little thing, where did you come from?" The human head grinned, revealing a strange smile, and moved closer to examine Bai Ye carefully. At the same time, it stretched out its forked, thin tongue, wanting to lick the little lump of coal in front of it.
"None of your business! Do you know you have bad breath? Stay away from me!" Bai held her breath and stretched out her little paw to slap the scarlet tongue. She was really disgusted.
The tongue snapped back, avoiding Bai Ye's claws.
"Roar! You little thing, how dare you lay a hand on me!" The three-headed serpent roared, its black-scaled tail whipping through the air like a steel whip as it swept towards Bai Ye.
A foul stench assaulted their senses. Bai pushed off the ground with its paws, its small body just barely lifted into the air when suddenly the back of its neck tightened.
The entire beast was embraced and held close to someone's chest.
"Awoo~?"
This sudden turn of events terrified Bai even more than the snake demon's attack. Her entire beast-like fur bristled, and she stared wide-eyed in horror as she turned her head to look, only to find that she was being held by a half-humanoid demon.
It has a colorful bird head, two wings on its back, and human-like hands, feet, and torso.
The mysterious bird-man casually flapped its wings and with a light tap, blocked the swooping snake tail.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, the three-headed snake was sent flying backward by the impact, crashing into countless houses and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Insolence!" the birdman exclaimed, his gaze sweeping across the entire area, intimidating the powerful demons into remaining motionless.
"You dare touch my things?"
The three-headed serpent demon struggled to its feet, its three heads simultaneously looking at the birdman with eyes full of fear. It dared not utter a single complaint, lowered its head, and slunk away into the street corner, disappearing from sight.
The powerful demons around them, who had been eager to make a move, also withdrew their auras and dispersed, no longer daring to covet Bai Ye.
The birdman chased away all the great demons and happily pecked at Bai Ye's head with his beak, as if grooming her fur.
"Hey, don't touch me!" Bai Ye kicked its four little paws wildly in the air, protesting at the top of its lungs.
"It's the first time we've met, and you're already kissing me on the head. That's very impolite, you know?"
The birdman glanced down at Bai Ye and the cowardly tortoise in her arms, his voice tinged with amusement, "Little thing, don't you want to come home with me?"
"Do you have a high status in this city?" Bai asked boldly, wanting to find out more about the other party.
"Well, I guess so."
"I'll go home with you, but you can't kiss me anymore." Bai also took the opportunity to bargain, protecting her head with her little paws. Even if she turned into a little beast, she would defend her innocence to the death.
"You dare to haggle with me? You've got some nerve!" The bird-woman chuckled softly, her voice tinged with languor. If you ignored her brightly colored head, the voice would be quite pleasant.
Bai Ye had indeed become much bolder, mainly because the birdman's voice was unexpectedly pleasant and sounded very young, like a young... female bird.
The birdman, carrying Bai, wandered through the streets, eventually entering a simple stone house made of black rocks.
Upon entering the room, Bai was shocked by its simplicity. Apart from a stone bed and a stone table, there were no other items in the stone house, not even a stool.
"Is your family a little poor?" Bai muttered softly, his round eyes full of suspicion.
She felt she might have been led astray by a poor demon. With such a family background, how could he possibly be a powerful and influential demon? What was she doing following such a poor demon? When would she ever find Zhong Jiuli?
The birdman did not answer her question. Instead, he closed the door, then formed hand seals and set up several layers of protective barriers, completely isolating the place from the outside world.
After doing all that, she spoke again. This time, her voice was very familiar, a voice that Bai knew to the core.
"How did you get here? Don't you know this place is dangerous? How did you get here? Are you alone?"
Bai also opened his mouth wide in surprise, staring incredulously at the birdman's colorful head, which was covered with question marks.
In that instant, she thought of many things. Zhong Jiuli's voice appeared in the mouth of a bird-man. Had she been eaten and the other party read her memories? Or had she been assimilated by this land and turned into a bird demon?
Damn it, why did they make my head disappear? If I kept my head but my body turned into a big, fluffy bird, that's... hard to accept too!
Damn it!! Damn it!! She still really wants the original Zhong Jiuli!!
But things have already turned out this way, so she and Zhong Jiuli will stay here and be a pair of monster lovers!
"Fool, if you can pretend, why can't I?" Zhong Jiuli seemed to be able to read minds, easily guessing all of Bai Ye's thoughts.
She raised her hand and gently stroked Bai Ye's head, her gaze so tender it seemed to drip with water. Her face was covered in hair, so Bai Ye could only see her eyes.
"Waaaaah, Zhong Jiuli, I miss you so much, but can you turn back to your original form first? This is affecting my mood." Bai also sobbed, "And why can't I see through your disguise? I've secretly looked at you several times just now, and in my eyes you're just a birdman."
Zhong Jiuli pulled out Jiaojiao, who was pretending to be dead and hiding her in her chest, and placed her on the stone bed. Then, her body flashed with light and she returned to her original form, which was aloof and ethereal with beautiful features.
Bai Ye's body flashed with light, instantly returning to human form. Ignoring her naked appearance, she pounced forward and hugged Zhong Jiuli tightly in her arms, with such force that it seemed she wanted to meld the other into her very bones.
"Waaah, you jerk, I'm so angry." She buried her head in Zhong Jiuli's neck, her voice full of grievance, "I'm so angry, so very angry."
"Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're good-looking, and that I'll forgive you. How could you come to such a dangerous place alone? What would I do if you died?"
"Then...then no one will know about our relationship, and I won't even be qualified to hold your funeral. Does that mean I won't receive any money as a gift? Waaah..." She rambled incoherently, complaining incoherently, while shamelessly wiping her tears and snot on Zhong Jiuli's shoulder as a form of revenge.
Listening to her ramblings, Zhong Jiuli felt a pang of sorrow and pain in her heart. She knew how terrifying this world could be. She could imagine how much hardship the little tiger had endured and how many dangerous places it had to brave to find her.
But given the current situation...
It was one thing for the little guy to be hanging naked on her body, but on the stone bed next to her, Jiao Jiao covered her eyes with her two little paws, but her round, darting eyes were clearly watching a show.
Not to mention the white jade hairpin in Bai Ye's hair, which was also crackling with fire, clearly indicating that the little fire inside was also eavesdropping on gossip.
This small stone house really can't hold so many people.
Helpless, Zhong Jiuli reached out and patted her bare bottom, softening her voice to coax her, "Put your clothes on first. Aren't you ashamed to be naked?"
Bai also got slapped, but instead of letting go, he hugged the other person even tighter and said confidently, "I don't care, you've seen it before, what's there to be ashamed of?"
"......."
Zhong Jiuli took a deep breath, trying to appear as calm as possible. "Jiaojiao and Taihuo are watching too!"
“They even took a bath with me. The three of us were together all day long, inseparable. What is there to hide?”
"White!"
Upon hearing the full name, Bai Ye shuddered and instantly released his octopus-like grip, jumping off Zhong Jiuli.
She pouted, looking aggrieved, and muttered softly, "Oh... if you're going to let go, then let go. Why did you have to call me by my full name?"
"Hurry up and put your clothes on." Zhong Jiuli sighed. In the past six months in the Void Demon Clan, she had not encountered Bai Ye. In this short time, she sighed a lot.
Once Bai was dressed and ready, the two were finally able to sit down and have a proper conversation.
Zhong Jiuli sorted out her thoughts and briefly described her experiences over the past six months: "About half a year ago, I chased after that Void Demon King into this realm. My luck wasn't too good; I landed right in the camp of the demon army."
She spoke lightly, but Bai was horrified. Alone, she had fallen into the demon army, with nowhere to go but nowhere to escape. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
"Alright, I've already escaped, haven't I? Don't be sad." Zhong Jiuli kissed her cheek. "Are you going to listen or not? If not, I won't talk anymore."
"Listen, you can't not tell me. You have to tell me everything that happened here in detail, or I won't tell you what happened in Kyushu." Bai Ye threatened her, showing his little white teeth.
"Later, the commotion became so great that it attracted the attention of the demon emperor who was in charge of that area. I had been fighting in the enemy's ranks for several days and was unable to resist, so I fought and retreated, escaping from the enemy's ranks."
Zhong Jiuli spoke casually, but Bai Ye already had a vivid image of her fighting a bloody battle in his mind.
"The days that followed were spent in endless pursuit, evasion, and counter-attacks. I realized that if I kept being hunted down, I would only be wasting time, so I intercepted this great demon, disguised myself as it to enter the demon city, and also gathered some intelligence."
“I passed through that plain on my way here,” Bai continued. “I encountered a long worm that had escaped the net, which is how I received your message and rushed to this city.”
However, she didn't mention her experiences in the Void, things that would worry her wife; there was no need to. She knew that Zhong Jiuli must also have many things she hadn't told him, which was probably an unspoken understanding between lovers—neither wanted the other to worry.
Zhong Jiuli nodded, steer the conversation back to the main topic, "Now, can you tell me about the situation in Kyushu?"
"It's nothing much, just a bit chaotic, but the situation is still under control. A small number of human cultivators have probably been parasitized by shadow demons, who opened a void passage through blood sacrifice, attracting some demons over."
“It seems we need to speed things up.” Zhong Jiuli frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, “The Void Demon Realm is also gathering a large army. All the demon kings gathered in this city have been summoned and are preparing to go all out to invade Kyushu in one fell swoop.”
"Are they able to open stable void channels?" Bai also grasped the key information.
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Author's note: [hugs][hugs][hugs] I finally saw my wife! You little rascal, don't be too obsessed with looks!
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