Chapter 29 Danger

"Catch!"

The Black-robed Demon growled softly, curling his withered claws as he clawed and flung toward the gods coffin from afar.

"Whoosh!"

Inside the coffin, the funnel-shaped object flew out in response, shooting straight toward Yun Bai!

Not daring to catch it directly with his hands, Yun Bai willed a Flying Sword to sweep out swiftly. The lightning on its blade receded as it flipped nimbly in the air, instantly forming a "lotus" of sword light that steadily caught the incoming black object.

He focused his gaze to look closer.

It was an extremely bizarrely constructed object: funnel-shaped overall, one end connected to a deep purple crystal that seemed to have demonic runes flowing within, while the other end was "embedded" with a tiny yet highly prominent point—shockingly, a miniature "black hole" forcibly kept stable!

This was clearly a device that utilized the characteristics of a black hole as its core energy and computing unit, using a high-grade demon core to provide a stable interface and energy output.

Yun Bai did not dare to be careless. He circulated his spiritual power to protect his palm and attempted to take it into his hand!

The instant he touched it, an incredibly familiar yet long-lost energy fluctuation surged into his body through his palm! It was the quantum resonance frequency unique to the universe shuttle's computing unit, a sensation he had been chasing in countless dreams for over a decade!

[Computing unit detected. Status: Heavily modified, basic architecture intact, usable!]

[Small compressed energy module detected. Residual energy: 26 standard units, usable!]

[Emergency repair process initiated!]

Xiao Liu's voice, rare for it, carried a hint of hurried fluctuation.

[Estimated initial matching and basic repair time: 1440 seconds!]

It was genuine! The Demon Race had not tried to fob him off with a fake! Wild joy surged like a tide in Yun Bai's heart, but he immediately forced it down. He gripped it tightly, his fingers turning slightly white from the exertion. Lowering his head, he pretended to be fully absorbed in examining every detail of the core and every flickering crystal, as if confirming its authenticity and value, while in reality, he was buying every precious second for Xiao Liu!

"So that's how the Demon Race handled it," Yun Bai realized.

This miniature black hole in the funnel was precisely the form of existence of the auxiliary intellectual brain after detaching from its host!

The Demon Race had paired a certain high-grade demon core with the miniature black hole to create this funnel-shaped core.

Yun Bai analyzed it carefully, attempting to deduce from the structure of this core how far the Demon Race's current research into the technology within the universe shuttle's wreckage had progressed.

Time ticked away, second by second.

"Well? Have you looked enough?" The Black-robed Demon's voice rang out again, even more impatient than before, carrying an obvious urge. He stood in place, his black robe fluttering without any wind, his patience clearly on the verge of running out. "My tolerance has its limits!"

Yun Bai secretly thought things were going south, knowing that if he delayed any longer, the other party would surely become suspicious.

He abruptly raised his head, his face displaying a perfectly timed expression of finally making up his mind after a difficult struggle. With a complex gaze, he glanced at the core in his hand, then at the Black-robed Demon. Letting out a long breath as if letting go of something, he said in a deep voice, "...Fine! I agree to this deal!"

"A wise man submits to circumstances... Jie-jie-jie!!!" the Black-robed Demon sneered.

Turning slightly sideways, a pitch-black spatial rift actually appeared behind him.

With a wave of his hand, the spatial rift slowly expanded.

He turned his head and gestured to Yun Bai.

"Then please! The Celestial Master is still waiting for you," the Black-robed Demon said with a strange laugh.

Just as Yun Bai was about to respond...

In the blink of an eye, faster than thought, the demon core end of the funnel-shaped core in Yun Bai's hand suddenly erupted with a terrifying surge of Devilish Qi, rushing straight at Yun Bai!

Yun Bai had absolutely no time to react!

The deep black Devilish Qi had already drilled into the space between Yun Bai's brows!

...

...

...

Yun Bai instantly felt a cold, evil power roaming wildly within his Sea of Consciousness.

Following that, the power began to trace strange lines deep within his Sea of Consciousness. The runes flickered with an eerie dark-red light. Wherever they went, ripples rose across Yun Bai's Sea of Consciousness, like a calm lake struck by a massive boulder.

"I, Mokeduo, in the name of His Majesty the Demon God, the Ruler of the Sixth Heaven of the Desire Realm, Paranirmita-vasavartin, swear to induct the former human, Yun Bai, into the ranks of the Mara Clan. There are six demon hooks. What are the six? The eye relishing form, that is a demon hook; the ear relishing sound, that is a demon hook..."

Yun Bai was pale with shock! He felt a strange sense of familiarity with everything happening before his eyes.

When he was studying the funnel core, he had been worried that the high-grade demon core paired with the miniature black hole to maintain stability might have a problem!

There really was a trap!

Just then, Yun Bai felt his Sea of Consciousness shudder.

He felt a splitting headache.

"Relax, this is a normal phenomenon..." The Black-robed Demon's voice seemed to come from all directions. "Since you are joining our Demon Race, you must naturally rid yourself of your human identity completely."

In his Sea of Consciousness, Yun Bai "saw" a dark shadow emerge, quickly condensing into a tall, hideous black figure that exuded a fierce and ruthless aura.

"This is...?" Yun Bai instantly understood the source of that trace of familiarity in his heart.

This was a Heart Demon hidden inside that demon core, and one with a cultivation of the Second Realm Late Stage!

It was that trick again, "Heart Demon Possession"!

This was the "Heart Demon Possession" that had once occurred on a massive scale during the demon tide era, before the Human Race invented the Guiding Technique and the Heart-Clearing Mantra! Once a Heart Demon occupied a person's Sea of Consciousness, that person would become a true member of the Demon Race.

Therefore, some great Confucian scholars held the view that all demons were once humans. Within the Mortal Realm, under the heavens, the entire Demon Race was a race formed by countless humans who had suffered Heart Demon Possession.

When Yun Bai's cultivation was still at the Innate First Realm Middle Stage, he had already experienced Heart Demon Possession. Because of this, he began to be highly regarded by the State Religion, becoming a Genius in the eyes of Great Elder Xu Antong and others.

He must absolutely not be controlled by others.

*Do the demons only know this one trick?* Yun Bai sneered inwardly.

In an instant, Yun Bai's Divine Sense rapidly condensed, transforming into a miniature figure in the Sea of Consciousness that looked just like him.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, there were no fancy magical duels. Inside the fragile Sea of Consciousness, one could only condense their Divine Sense into various shapes to engage in the most naked and bloody hand-to-hand combat.

"You noticed?" The Black-robed Demon's sinister laughter echoed within the Sea of Consciousness.

The miniature Black-robed Demon struck first. Taking a sudden step forward, its right fist whistled through the air, smashing directly at the chin of Yun Bai's Divine Sense figure, the wind of the punch seeming capable of tearing the air apart.

Yun Bai's Divine Sense figure reacted swiftly, squatting down quickly to duck under the ferocious blow with a clean slip. Immediately after, utilizing the momentum of his squat, his right leg sprang out like a coil, sweeping a swift and fierce low leg kick toward the miniature Black-robed Demon's ankle.

The miniature Black-robed Demon quickly leaped back, avoiding Yun Bai's sweep. Once it regained its footing, it leaned forward slightly like a crouching leopard. Suddenly flashing to the left, it lunged forward, feinting with its left fist while its right fist thrust viciously toward Yun Bai's abdomen with lightning speed.

Yun Bai's eyes narrowed. He quickly raised his arms and crossed them in front of his abdomen, forming a defensive barrier. With a dull thud, the fist slammed heavily against his arms, the massive impact forcing him back two steps.