425: Yinshan has arrived (4K monthly ticket required)

As the Tianguan Gou Snake gave the order, this demon leaped up, and hundreds of Gou Snakes from the Dragon Transformation Pool let out excited hisses, riding various demonic winds, soaring into the sky.

Above their heads was a volcano several miles wide, emitting hot black smoke, and the surrounding mountain walls were like glowing red branding irons, reflecting a dazzling crimson, like a giant furnace fallen from the sky.

Chen Yuan, mixed among them, looked at the magma abyss below, which resembled an Abyssal Hell, his azure triangular snake pupils relaxing slightly.

Everything went smoothly, without any accidents or disturbances; no demons even checked the Dragon Transformation Pool. It seemed the Hooked Snake Clan didn't realize their home had been stolen!

He followed this group of snake demons upwards, arriving at a massive platform about three miles from the cave entrance. This platform was carved out of the mountain wall, a veritable plaza. Extending in all directions, various carved beams and painted pillars with Demon Race characteristics unfurled like evil ghost murals across the surrounding mountain walls.

His gaze swept over them: there were human skin lanterns, pale as paper, hanging from the eaves; bells made from various skulls suspended from the upturned corners; and grand halls paved with stark white bones. If one looked closely, pairs of chilling snake pupils shot cold light from the window cracks within the buildings.

This was the world of demons!

And in the center of the plaza, a winding, coiling giant Gou Snake statue, carved from volcanic rock, stood tall. In front of the statue's snake head, a suspended platform floated, shimmering with Formation fluctuations. Below the statue, numerous demonic figures already stood.

At this moment, the Tianguan Demon General, clad in purple scales, with a human face, pointed mouth, and purple-gold barbed scythe-hooks on his arms, landed and stopped his tall body. He then swept his gaze over the messy snake crowd behind him, a hint of disdain and impatience flashing in his pupils.

"A bunch of uncivilized fellows, you've been in the Dragon Transformation Pool for so long, and you still don't know how to transform?"

The Hooked Snakes behind him let out chaotic hisses, somewhat afraid of this Tianguan Demon General. Then, flashes of scale light shimmered, and the large snake bodies of the Hooked Snakes coiled, expanded, and quickly changed, transforming into human forms.

However, perhaps limited by the purity of their Bloodline, these snake demons' transformations varied. Some had snake heads and human bodies, with a hooked tail growing from their backside, and thick, strong legs, like oversized human-lizard hybrids. Others had human faces with outward-turned fangs, while some had unusually long necks, like flying head monsters. All were grotesque and extremely ferocious.

As for Chen Yuan, the art of transformation came naturally to him. However, to be cautious, he observed the transformations of other snake demons, wanting to choose a conventional one. But upon seeing them, each was a deformed and hideous sight, so he improvised, creating a human face with green scales.

The Tianguan Gou Snake, seeing this, seemed to find it acceptable and nodded. He led a group of "extremely ferocious" demonic figures towards the statue.

At this time, beneath the statue, there were hundreds of demonic figures with mixed auras, most of whom were similar to the Contracted Demons selected with Chen Yuan.

"How is this batch?"

Just as Chen Yuan, mixed among the demons, arrived before the giant statue, suddenly, the Gou Snake statue's eyes opened abruptly, revealing white light. Then, with a clicking sound, its ferocious head tilted slightly, and a muffled sound like a mountain's roar echoed from within.

The chilling white light emanating from its pupils slowly swept over Chen Yuan's group of selected clansmen.

Chen Yuan, whose mind had just relaxed somewhat from the Dragon Transformation Pool, felt the white light from the statue's eyes cause the Gou Snake essence blood within him to subtly jump. His mind stirred suddenly, and he quickly suppressed it.

And in that instant, the white light that had just swept over him suddenly returned, falling upon him once more.

Then, a loud rumbling sound erupted, and the massive Gou Snake statue moved greatly. Its enormous, ten-zhang-tall, reddish-black, ferocious snake head directly extended down from above, reaching Chen Yuan's face.

A pair of large eyes, shimmering with chilling white light, stared directly at Chen Yuan, exuding a powerful pressure—a pressure comparable to a Half-step Dragon Tiger!

"Hiss!"

"Hou!"

The surrounding Hooked Snakes shrieked and quickly scattered.

As for Chen Yuan, facing this sudden change, his mind tensed, and the domineering True Qi within him instinctively wanted to erupt, but he forcibly suppressed it, calming himself.

Role-playing as a demon, this was a skill he was quite proficient in.

Facing this scene, a perfectly timed expression of fright appeared in his azure pupils, followed by a sharp hiss, and he manifested his ten-zhang-tall original form!

The giant Gou Snake head, seeing this, circled Chen Yuan's Gou Snake body, which had undergone Embryonic Transformation. After a dozen breaths, the white light in its eyes lost interest, and then, with a loud rumble, its head retracted.

"Lord Ancestral Spirit, what is this? Is there a problem?"

The Tianguan Gou Snake leading the team was also startled. The chilling demonic light in its eyes now became cautious.

"Nothing. I thought another little fellow with awakened ancestral blood and high Bloodline purity had appeared this time, but these past few days, only one batch is worth a look."

The giant statue, called "Ancestral Spirit," spoke with a voice like muffled thunder, only saying the first half of the sentence, completely uninterested in continuing the latter half. Then, with an indifferent metallic hum, it spoke:

"Since everyone is here, prepare to depart!"

"Yin Mountain is pressing us again; otherwise, the selection of clansmen wouldn't be so hasty. You should know that our Hooked Snake Clan once performed Wind Summoning and Rain Calling in ancient times, a hegemon of a region. How can we now be subservient to others?"

As this "Ancestral Spirit" spoke, it sounded like it was complaining, yet also reminiscing about the past, very peculiar. Following this, its tone changed, revealing a gloomy ferocity, disclosing the reason for the rushed selection of clansmen this time:

"Outside the mountain, our clan and the Yin Mountain Sacred Clan were ambacked by Human Race Great Divine Ability users a few days ago. Many died, and we need replenishment, which disrupted our original plan."

"Remember, seize more blood sacrifices! Don't become cannon fodder for Yin Mountain!"

"Come up, I'll send you to Yin Mountain!"

The words of this giant statue caused a sharp glint to flash in Chen Yuan's eyes, hidden among the demons.

The wheels of fate were turning; it all aligned.

Gongsun Yang reported a few days ago that the three from Wudao Mountain had trespassed into the Zhennan Prefecture Gate, occupied by demons, and caused a great disturbance, thus obtaining relevant intelligence about Zhennan Prefecture, which led to his current actions.

During that intrusion, they directly reached the outside of the teleportation Formation. Hearing this "Ancestral Spirit" speak, the Yao Race in Zhennan Prefecture, primarily led by the Celestial Dog Clan, suffered losses, which led to this unscheduled troop deployment.

He also arrived at roughly the same time; it all aligned.

Thinking to himself, his "original form," which he had manifested earlier due to "acting startled," now rapidly transformed, resuming his previous appearance.

To be honest, it was a bit sudden just now, and he almost exposed himself. This "Ancestral Spirit" that suddenly appeared, he didn't know what kind of existence it was; he hadn't detected its aura hidden within the statue for a moment.

He wasn't afraid of this thing, but at this point, being a good actor was his fundamental rule.

This also warned him that deep within this unfamiliar demonic territory, no one knew what would happen next, and he had to be sufficiently careful and cautious.

At this time, hearing the words of this Ancestral Spirit, the Hooked Snake Demon Soldiers beneath the statue, led by the Tianguan Demon General, flew onto the floating platform shimmering with Formation fluctuations.

This was a teleportation Formation, meant to send them to Yin Mountain!

There were about four hundred Demon Soldiers, and four Tianguan Demon Generals.

Chen Yuan maintained his "performance" of being startled again, "trembling" as he flew onto the platform at the tail end of the team, leaving no trace.

When all the Hooked Snakes had boarded the platform, the large eyes of the Hooked Snake statue suddenly glowed intensely.

Two loud metallic clangs sounded in unison.

In an instant, two white light pillars, ten zhang thick, suddenly blasted onto this platform, illuminating the complex Formation patterns engraved on it, causing them to glow milky white and hum loudly.

Time passed second by second. When the milky white light converged into a light shield, with a "boom," the entire platform vibrated and roared.

Then, the more than four hundred Hooked Snakes inside were all stretched into streaks of white light, whooshing upwards.

This included Chen Yuan.

And the North Sea Dragon Girl, Huanlong Clan, Tai Sui Mountain Three Taibao, and An Ge, hidden in his Pot Spatial World.

Soon, after a brief period of weightlessness and dizziness, Chen Yuan and hundreds of Hooked Snake Clan Demon Soldiers appeared at the other end of the teleportation Formation.

"Yin Mountain has been reached!"

A voice came to his ear, reminding Chen Yuan, who was still playing his role, feeling groggy from the teleportation.

He felt a mixture of emotions, knowing that success was now only one step away: following the Hooked Snake Demon Soldiers into the teleportation Formation on the Yin Mountain side and returning outside the mountain.

The moment Chen Yuan opened his eyes, what he saw was completely different from the monstrous Devilish Qi he had imagined for Yin Mountain, the great mountain occupied by demons.

What met his eyes was a sacred, silvery white color!

At this moment, their location was on a mountainside, above the teleportation Formation, was a snow-white tree, thirty zhang tall. Its trunk was milky white, emitting a faint glow, and its leaves were like crafted silver. As the leaves drifted down, it was as if one had entered a dreamlike world.

And looking out, the entire mountain was covered with these tall, silvery-white giant trees, as if the whole mountain was emitting a silvery-white light, beautiful and unreal.

This was Yin Mountain, occupied by the Celestial Dog Clan?

Chen Yuan's gaze swept over the scenery, unable to hide his surprise. This place was the complete opposite of Xian Ti Mountain, which was like an Abyssal Hell, full of volcanoes. One was Hell, the other was like an immortal mountain!

He quickly realized he had made a mistake in his habitual thinking. He had assumed that places occupied by the Ten Fiends would be like the Eight Hundred Li Lion Camel Ridge, with skeletons like ridges and bones like forests. Human hair matted into felt, human flesh rotted into mud. Human sinews wrapped around trees, dry and gleaming like silver—truly a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, indeed reeking foully.

The result was obvious!

Of course, if the Central Plains had Blessed Lands, why wouldn't the demons?

As one of the Ten Fiends, the Celestial Dog Clan had extraordinary Bloodline, vast Divine Abilities, and most importantly, according to the intelligence he currently possessed, the Celestial Dog Clan had a Qi Luck Spiritual Root called the Moon Laurel Divine Tree!

Chen Yuan looked at the vast, silvery-white, ancient trees covering the mountains, and he vaguely guessed that the appearance of these trees was identical to the images transmitted by Zhao Quanzhen and the others when they broke through the Formation, only not as tall.

He guessed that these trees, spreading throughout Yin Mountain, were all manifestations of the essence of this Divine Tree!

This was a fully mature Qi Luck Spiritual Root!

And the Qi Luck Spiritual Root had the function of nourishing Blessed Lands and stabilizing Cave Heavens. It seemed the entire Yin Mountain was within the scope of its essence's coverage.

Just as Chen Yuan was sighing in his heart, he unconsciously looked up and suddenly found a distinctly huge moon hanging above Yin Mountain.

This moon was unusually large, hundreds of times bigger than an ordinary moon. Its bright moonlight poured down onto Yin Mountain like flowing water, reflecting off the silvery trees covering the mountains, making this world clear and bright.

"This moon?"

Chen Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. He had fought the Celestial Dog Clan several times, and even had an old veteran as a Contracted Demon, so he was quite familiar with this clan's Bloodline Legacy and Divine Abilities, which were basically related to the moon.

And this moon in the sky was clearly extraordinary, presumably closely connected to the Celestial Dog Clan.

He silently pondered these thoughts in his mind.

At this moment, there was a commotion among the Hooked Snake Clan Demon Soldiers. Outside the teleportation Formation, several tall demonic figures seemed to be waiting.

These demonic figures had white faces, fangs, red eyes, and black pupils, appearing exceptionally ferocious. They were also full of explosive power, revealing Tianguan auras.

The four Tianguan Demon Generals leading the Hooked Snake Clan went forward, adopting Human Race etiquette towards the leading demon, who was eight zhang tall, with a human body, white face, two pointed fangs in his mouth, and hair as sharp as needles all over his body.

"Lord Sacred Clan, our clan has been ordered to gather our clansmen to support the battle outside the mountain!"

The leading Celestial Dog demon, with his red eyes, swept a glance over the hundreds of Demon Soldiers within the teleportation Formation, his expression full of indifference. In their eyes, these subordinate demons, who hadn't yet become powerful, were just cannon fodder on the battlefield. From his throat came a muffled, grumbling sound:

"The third quarter of the Zi hour has passed. The next batch of teleportation will have to wait until tomorrow, so you all wait here until the Zi hour tomorrow, along with the Six-Armed Clan."

The Six-Armed Clan mentioned by this demon was actually the Jungle Cong recorded by the Fa Shan Army, a canine-like creature with six legs. They were close relatives of the Celestial Dog Clan, born from mixing with other demons. When this clan cultivated to a powerful state, they could grow six arms, hence their name among the Yao Race.

The names used by demons were naturally different from those used by the Human Race.

"Yes!"

The Tianguan Demon Generals of the Hooked Snake Clan naturally had no objections.

Thus, the Celestial Dog Clan led the Hooked Snake Clan's Demon Soldiers and Demon Generals to a place to stay, only able to wait until tomorrow's Zi hour for teleportation.

Chen Yuan knew this point and quietly waited for the arrival of tomorrow's Zi hour.

And the place they stayed was actually a tall villa with rockeries and flowing water, filled with Moon Laurel Trees. Aside from the buildings here being noticeably taller, rougher, and grander.

If an uninformed person saw it, they would think it was some Blessed Land in the human world, never imagining that this would be Yin Mountain, occupied by one of the Ten Fiends.

Chen Yuan stayed in his room in the villa, set up a Restriction, and then watched the huge moon outside the window set, the sun rise from the east, and then set again.

Then, night fell, and the gigantic moon once again appeared above Yin Mountain.

As time passed little by little, in Chen Yuan's waiting, the Zi hour arrived!

And outside, the Hooked Snake Demon General's shouts of reprimand soon came, gathering the Demon Soldiers. (End of this chapter)