Chapter Twenty: I Thank You, My True Self

A sharp gleam cut through the air as two black wings fluttered down slowly.

Behind the Demon Lord, the Blade Mantis appeared, lifting its great scythes to lick their blades.

The Demon Lord’s eyes widened in terror, pupils trembling in shock.

The Heart of Ten Thousand Demons technique, which should have been impregnable, could not withstand a single strike from the Mantis clan!

Both were fifth tier—how could their power differ so vastly?

The Demon Lord’s beak swung downward as he stared at the bloodline on his chest, his heart shaken deeply.

He could not even defeat that dead, fat bird, let alone a fellow fifth-tier mantis?

His resolve wavered in that moment.

What had all his reincarnations been for?

“Young one, you’re quite boastful. I thought you had some real skill,” the Demon Lord sneered.

“But it seems you’re nothing but a worthless fool!”

“To become my next meal—that is your only honor!”

A murderous intent surged from behind, causing the Demon Lord to shudder and widen his eyes.

Is this the end?

The first form of the Heart of Ten Thousand Demons, “Hundred Evils Summarized,” was designed to absorb magical attacks, but it was useless against such a formidable foe.

Relying solely on his own strength, the Demon Lord knew he was neither as swift as the Blade Mantis nor could his attacks match the mantis’s lethality.

A shadow of death enveloped him.

The Blade Mantis let out a chilling laugh, raising its twin scythes as it prepared to dive.

Just one strike—he was confident it would end the life of this black eagle before him.

“No! How could I, the honored one, fall to such a state?”

“I am the Sovereign of Ten Thousand Demons! The sins I bear are intolerable to heaven and earth!”

“But what does it matter if heaven and earth reject me? I shall trample them beneath my feet!”

Standing his ground, the Demon Lord’s eyes were bloodshot, streaked with veins.

Blood-red light burst forth from his gaze, black mist swirling at his feet. The surrounding plants withered visibly before his eyes.

“What’s happening? This one... such murderous aura!”

The Blade Mantis, poised to strike, suddenly froze. For some reason, his fighting spirit vanished completely.

A deep-rooted fear blossomed from within his soul.

His twin scythes trembled slightly; though confused, his body shook instinctively.

At that moment, the Demon Lord turned around.

“Boy, I owe you thanks.”

“You’ve succeeded in angering me. The consequences—you will bear them.”

***

“Devil! Demon! Stay back!”

“Come any closer, and don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

As the Demon Lord stepped forward with a sinister smile, the Blade Mantis felt his limbs weaken, and the urge to flee overwhelmed him.

“It’s too late. My Heart of Ten Thousand Demons has achieved a new breakthrough.”

“Your life now belongs to me!”

“Heart of Ten Thousand Demons! Return of the Great Evil!”

At the Demon Lord’s cold command, the Blade Mantis collapsed.

A storm of emotions surged within him—

Fear! Greed! Rage! Jealousy! Hatred!

All the darkest feelings flooded his mind.

Struggling on the ground, he began hacking at his own flesh with his twin scythes, one strike after another.

Green blood pooled on the earth, chunks of flesh falling away.

His pitiful cries echoed through the forest, muffled by dense bushes and towering trees.

None but the Demon Lord knew of his misery.

“So be it. Then I shall begin.”

Within minutes, the spot where the Blade Mantis had stood was filled only with the sounds of the Demon Lord feasting.

***

Meanwhile, the Empress was not gathering spirit herbs but searching for a rare metal known as Five-Directional Mysterious Iron.

“My wisdom is beyond your reach.”

“What use is gathering spirit herbs if you have no storage ring to carry them?”

In a secluded part of the beast forest, the Empress plucked a small piece of Five-Directional Mysterious Iron from the ground and held it in her mouth.

“Such inferior quality. Truly worthless!”

Displeased by the metal’s aura, she cursed quietly, though the iron remained indifferent to her scorn.

Five-Directional Mysterious Iron was the primary material for forging storage rings.

The law of space was among the most profound and advanced of all cosmic principles.

To create a storage ring, one had to harness this law itself, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.

Born of the earth and nurtured by nature, this iron inherently contained spatial law.

Storage rings, like spirit herbs, were graded from first to ninth tier, each subdivided into high, medium, and low quality.

As the tier rose, the capacity of the storage ring increased accordingly.

“To forge a single storage ring, at least thirty pieces of iron this size are needed. Looks like I won’t be back before noon.”

After a long search, the Empress had only found one fragment and was already growing impatient.

Yet for resources, she had no choice.

Presenting a storage ring to Jiang Xuan would surely earn her a greater share of supplies.

Time passed by the second, and soon noon arrived.

Inside a bird’s nest, Jiang Xuan unknowingly broke through to the ninth tier of beast cultivation.

Only when the first eaglet flew into the cave did he awaken.

“Whoa! Big brother, you just hit ninth tier? What’s going on?”

“You were sleeping just now, right?”

The first eaglet’s feathers were a rich chestnut brown, pure in lineage, bearing the familiar visage of the eagle clan.

Hearing the eaglet’s astonishment, Jiang Xuan smiled.

Indeed, cultivation through sleep was the fastest! Who even needed resources?

Yet this thought was quickly dismissed.

For beasts, the beast realm was only the lowest major stage.

Beyond it lay Great Beast, Spirit Beast, Beast Core, Beast King, Beast Emperor, Beast Lord, Beast Sovereign, and finally Immortal Beast.

Jiang Xuan understood that gaining three to five spirit energy points per second was fast for the beast realm.

But to advance beyond Great Beast, resources would be indispensable alongside sleep.

“How’s it going? How many spirit herbs did you bring back?”

Jiang Xuan couldn’t be bothered to answer—it wasn’t necessary.

“Hehe, big brother, don’t be fooled by me being the first back. I brought loads of spirit herbs!”

At that, the third-tier eaglet spread its wings and shook vigorously.

Spirit herbs fell from its feathers—counting roughly, at least dozens!

Just as Jiang Xuan felt pleased, he noticed most of the herbs were crushed or withered.

What was once medium quality had been reduced to barely low grade, even bordering on inferior.

“Big brother! I’m back!”

“Big brother! I brought back the most spirit herbs for sure!”

“Pfft! I got more—there’s no way you can carry more than me!”

“Yeah, you all just talk big. I even stash spirit herbs in my teeth—can you beat that?”

“...”