Chapter 464: Demon
Hui Yue found himself in the middle of a battlefield. Blood was flowing like rivers, and corpses were littered on the ground. A strong wind was blowing from behind Hui Yue, making the scent of death permeate the air. Beasts and humans were fighting side by side against demons.
Hui Yue was greatly shocked when he saw these creatures that the humans and beasts were fighting, but there was no other way to describe them than to say that they were demons. Some looked like humans but with horns, and some looked like the most demonic beasts he could imagine. He saw dogs with three heads, snakes with nine heads, succubuses, and even horned horses but one thing was common for all the beasts on the demon side, all of them had purple eyes.
These purple-eyed demons were covered by a dark and heavy aura which solidified in the air. The more deaths that occurred, the thicker this aura became and the more ferociously the demons fought.
Although the demons became more and more ferocious, and despite their best efforts, they were still losing ground. They were fewer in number and their battle style, although grand, was not able to fully utilize the heavy aura of death that was gathering around them.
"Don’t let them escape! Slay them all!!" A voice boomed throughout the battleground, and Hui Yue, who was present, turned around to look where this voice came from.
Although Hui Yue was on the battleground, it was as though no one could see him. Neither humans, beasts, nor demons paid attention to him, and thus he was relatively calm as he looked where that voice came from. The moment his eyes landed on the speaker, he was filled with shock and disbelief.
Behind him, behind the army, were four massive figures. One was an Azure Dragon that was so large that even the sky above was blocked by his amazing size.
Behind him was a black turtle which, if possible, was even bigger. The shell on its body was as steady as a mountain and even bigger than any mountain Hui Yue had ever seen.
In the sky was a Vermilion Bird screeching while flying high. Even at a distance of many kilometers away could Hui Yue feel the wind that was caused by the flapping of its wings. The only beast that Hui Yue did not see was the White Tiger. Three of the Divine Beast Gods were present, and looking at these three beasts, Hui Yue was amazed. Their strength was so overpowering that they could crush mountains with but a thought. Their auras were so dazzling that just looking at these beasts made Hui Yue's heart race with veneration and slight fear. If they wanted to kill him, then it would be as simple as killing a fly.
A shudder ran down Hui Yue's spine. This was the final test. Hopefully, no one was expecting him to battle these high ranked Gods... If that were the case, he would be throwing away his life.
Still, no voice appeared and instead the battle continued to unfold in front of him. Hui Yue, who did not know what was expected of him, decided to start moving towards the Divine Beast Gods to hear if they said anything to one another. Hopefully, they would say something that he could use for himself or something that could help him gain further enlightenment on this situation.
With a determined face, Hui Yue started moving. At first moving forward was rather hard. He had arrived where the battle was the most intense and all around him countless people were dying every second. Although no one paid any attention to Hui Yue, moving through the beast army was no simple task.
At the start, he had to use his elbows to push his way through the many soldiers, but shockingly enough, none of the ones he elbowed showed any sign of noticing him. They all just moved away from the position they had been in before, letting a small space be exposed by their sides or in front of them.
The further into the army he went, the more space he had to work with. The majority of the army was focused on the demons and thus they were eager to battle, pushing their way forward.
Hui Yue would from time to time turn around to look at the demons behind him, his eyes filled with astonishment. He had never before heard about demons, but there was no doubt what these creatures were.
"I wonder which world I am in." Hui Yue mumbled to himself. "This should be a battle from the memory of the Vermilion Bird, but which battle? How many eons have passed since then?" Hui Yue dared not even make a guess, but he was genuinely excited.
He knew that this was all going on within his mind. He did not have any strength, nor was Lan Feng with him. Dying here was also highly unlikely. However, it would not be simple to return to his body. No one had passed this trial so far, so it was clear that there had to be hidden dangers within.
Shaking his head, Hui Yue decided not to think anymore about it, and instead, he sped up the pace with which he was moving towards the Divine Beast Gods.
Suddenly, another cry resounded through the air, and even though it was only moments since the divine dragon had spoken, it felt like much longer as so much was happening around him. The reply to what the Azure Dragon had said, this screeching sound, almost made Hui Yue lose consciousness. His body trembled, and his eyes showed specs of black. Turning around, he looked with wide eyes as he saw a creature as large as the Vermilion Bird.
It was hovering in the air much like the Vermilion Bird, but it was clearly a roc! This bird of prey was no smaller than the Vermilion Bird and the aura around it was also no less intimidating. The only difference was that one had golden eyes while the other had purple eyes. One was the majestic king of all birds while the other refused to admit the sovereignty of his enemy.
"Haha well said, Xiao Peng! I do not agree that they are divine beasts! Is this not a self-proclaimed title? How arrogant can you be? Although they are strong and tough to deal with, are they really divine creatures?!" Resounding laughter rang out after the sentence, and the black mist consolidated becoming a massive being with purple eyes. The being’s entire body was as tall as the Azure Dragon was long and upon glancing at the divine beasts, Hui Yue noticed a look of displeasure in their faces. This creature was different from what Hui Yue had ever seen before. It looked like a human, but his arms and legs were longer than the ones of an average human. His skin was completely black and the face was covered by a mask which seemed to be made from Darkness itself. This mask allowed no one to see his facial features, only letting his purple eyes shine intensely from behind the mask.
"Why does it matter to you what we call ourselves?" The Black Turtle snapped at the demon, but there was clearly some unwillingness in his voice.
"You are too flashy. When the four of you were small, it was one thing to dream, but now that you are Gods you even went as far as to want to become constellations, have you no shame in life?!"
With a hamph, the Azure dragon took a step forward, and as he did the entire ground started trembling. The world shook as though there was an earthquake, and even the ground in front of the Azure Dragon split into a large fissure. It was clear that it could not handle the sheer pressure emitted from the dragon.
"All you do is be jealous. We all know how difficult it is to create a constellation, and the fact that we are almost successful in making four is enough for you to be full of envy, and thus you want to take over our Divine Beast World? Dream on! This world will have the nourishment of our constellations throughout eternity, placed right in the middle of the four, this world is much more important than you will ever know! For you to take this world from us, it will be over our dead bodies!"
This time it was the demon whose face grew sour, but he said no more. Instead, he lifted his arm, and countless specks of purple light shone from his arm. They landed on top of the many demons, filling them with energy, healing them and giving them renewed hope. All of them threw themselves into the almost lost battle with renewed vigor. Thus they were able to push back the beasts and humans for the first time.
Although they had renewed energy, Hui Yue did not think the demons had much of a chance to win. They were simply far too late with this boost, and there were far too few of them, but he also understood that it was not the soldiers that determined the outcome of the battle. The true end would be decided between the divine beasts and the demon and roc that were behind both armies.
"I wonder where the White Tiger is." Hui Yue mumbled to himself as he kept moving forward. "Without the White Tiger, even if they are strong, the divine beast formation is not complete. Will I see them fight?"
Hui Yue contemplated for some time. "What was this constellation they spoke about? I know what a constellation is, but are they talking about the stars? How can someone make stars? Just how strong are these divine beasts?"
The longer Hui Yue was in this memory world, the more confused he became. Nevertheless, Hui Yue did not let this bring him down, and with a shake of his head, he stepped closer and closer to the beasts. The distance was long, but Hui Yue was swift, and he had already traveled half the way towards these magnificent beasts.
The battle was picking up, but the closer Hui Yue was to the four divine beasts, the fewer soldiers he encountered. There were no battles around here now, so it took him almost no time to travel the final distance.
Soon he was standing right below the three divine beasts, and looking up at them, Hui Yue was rather fearful but also astonished.
Their auras were so overwhelming that although this was just a memory, Hui Yue had problems breathing. His heart was shaking, his legs trembling, but his face was filled with genuine excitement. This was the first time he had seen anyone so strong, and now he was seeing so many peerless experts in one place!
"We need to start fighting soon, brother." The Vermilion Bird landed on the ground by the side of the Azure Dragon; his face was solemn and his voice deep. Looking at this bird, Hui Yue was astonished to see just how massive it was. The wind which appeared when it descended was enough to force Hui Yue to step backward several times.
The Black Turtle looked at the Vermilion Bird; his eyes were filled with hesitation as he slowly said. "Why not wait to see if brother Bai Hu’s plan is successful."
Hearing this, Hui Yue instantly guessed that this brother Bai Hu was the White Tiger, and his heart was now beating more rapidly than before. The reason he was not here was not that he was injured nor was it because these demons had captured him, but it seemed that he was currently putting a secret plan into action.
Hearing this, Hui Yue could not help but feel excited. He wanted to see just what these magnificent beasts had planned for their attack; he wanted to see how this battle would end.
He knew that the divine beasts had entered eternal slumber. Could this be the result of this massive battle? Were they injured? Were they defeated? He was curious and wanted to find out. This memory which he had entered was so much beyond anything he had ever seen. The scale alone was simply impossible to fathom. As for how this was a trial, he did not know but wracking his mind about this was not something he would bother with.
Instead, he stood still watching the battle unfold while smiling a little. He turned to look at the large demon, and his eyes were filled with expectation. This was going to be a grand battle and the fact that he could see it first hand was such a rare opportunity.