Chapter Seventy-Five: Little Black Shows Its Might

The arrival of the Dark Demon Sect’s master at the Yi Tribe was nothing short of catastrophic. The entire tribe witnessed the upheaval of heaven and earth, as billowing demonic energy swept over them, plunging the world into darkness and stripping it of its light.

The chieftain, the great elders, and all those of import were instantly alerted.

“Hurry, have the tribespeople retreat into the underground shelter!” In their alarm, they quickly instructed everyone to seek refuge below ground, uncertain if there would be enough time.

“We must do everything possible to hold the enemy at bay, to give our people enough time to retreat!” Yi Tian’s resolve flashed in his eyes.

With his mastery of the Divine Shift secret art, Yi Tian was confident he could delay the enemy for a time—just enough for his tribe to hide safely.

Without the burden of his people, Yi Tian felt he could even survive an encounter with the demon.

Just then, the small black dog beside Yi Tian suddenly began barking, its head raised toward the distant horizon, then back at Yi Tian, its eyes revealing a hint of desire and greed.

What was happening?

Yi Tian sensed the emotions radiating from the dog.

“You mean this human-demon is a great tonic for you, you want to devour him, and you want me not to compete with you?”

Yi Tian immediately understood the dog’s intent. He could not help but feel speechless, and a little excited.

“Don’t overestimate yourself—if you can’t defeat him, don’t force it!” Yi Tian cautioned the dog.

After all, the little black dog was now beloved by his mother, Xiao Ting, and considered a member of the family. Yi Tian would not allow it to come to harm, lest he be overcome with grief.

The dog barked in response, then shot out like a bolt of black lightning.

In an instant, it arrived at the high stone walls at the foot of the mountain.

Cang Lang, the master of the Dark Demon Sect, strode through the air toward the Yi Tribe and, from afar, caught sight of the settlement.

As he prepared to ascend, he was halted by the sight of a black dog on the stone wall at the mountain’s base, barking furiously at him, its gaze brimming with contempt and challenge.

Indeed, from the dog’s eyes, he saw unmistakable scorn and provocation.

Was he hallucinating?

Cang Lang nearly doubted his own senses.

But once he confirmed what he saw, he was immediately enraged—a mere black dog dared mock him so brazenly, a crime deserving death.

The next moment, he struck at the dog with his palm.

A gigantic hand, formed of demonic essence, tens of meters in length, tore through the heavens and earth, crashing down upon the black dog.

Boom...

The earth seemed to shatter as the blow pulverized the thick stone wall, smashing a cavernous hole through it as though it were made of paper.

Such a terrifying attack left the warriors defending the tribe pale with fear.

Yi Tian arrived at the mountain’s base. He addressed the warriors, “You and the tribespeople, retreat to the mountaintop.”

The captain of the warriors obeyed without hesitation, leading all his men away. Since Yi Tian’s last heroic stand atop Skull Mountain, where he slew the Blood God and Ghost God, his prestige had rivaled that of the chieftain and great elders.

Thus, his commands were carried out without a moment’s doubt.

Meanwhile, the spot where the little black dog had stood was now a deep crater, but the dog was untouched—dodging the blow in a flash and appearing elsewhere.

“What speed!” It was Yi Tian’s first time witnessing the dog’s full velocity—it was swifter even than his own Flight Feather technique, nearly rivaling the Divine Shift art, almost like teleportation.

The black dog raised its head high, as if a sovereign, unfazed by the formidable power of the Dark Demon Sect master; in its eyes, he was nothing more than an ordinary foe.

For Cang Lang, however, this was intolerable.

A human-demon such as himself, unable to crush a mere animal with a single blow—he could not endure such humiliation.

“Die!” Cang Lang lunged at the dog.

At that moment, the little black dog suddenly unleashed a terrifying aura, like a demonic god, abyssal and infernal, with black demonic mist swirling around it. On one side of its neck, a bloody fissure split open, and from it emerged a ferocious, monstrous head.

Roaring, the new head faced Cang Lang and opened its maw wide. A dreadful black vortex swept outwards, enveloping Cang Lang.

“What—no!” Cang Lang cried out in horror.

Before his eyes, the black dog had grown another head, and a terrifying power of devouring was dragging him toward its gaping jaws. Even as he summoned all his demonic essence, the surging mists failing to anchor him, his body was inexorably pulled closer, inch by inch, toward the dog’s maw.

This was the innate talent of the three-headed demon hound’s second head: Devouring.

Yet the black dog was still not fully powerful; its devouring force was not overwhelming. Even consuming Cang Lang, the human-demon, was a slow and arduous process.

Cang Lang, at last, grew desperate.

He launched punch after punch at the dog, demonic essence coalescing into mighty fists—each one shattered instantly by the devouring force, swallowed into oblivion.

In the struggle, the human-demon found himself at a disadvantage.

Demonic mist, irresistibly delicious to the black dog, was greedily gulped down.

“No!” After a lengthy resistance, Cang Lang could no longer withstand the terrible devouring power, and with a sudden swoop, was swallowed whole by the dog’s devouring head.

Yi Tian and many others witnessed this scene, scarcely able to believe their own eyes, as if caught in a dream.

It was Yi Tian’s first glimpse of the black dog’s true strength—so powerful it could swallow even a human-demon. Even Yi Tian would struggle to prevail against it.

Of course, this was only if Yi Tian did not employ his Star Mud avatar.

If he risked the degeneration of Star Mud to transform into a three-headed demon hound, the not-yet-evolved black dog would be no match, utterly suppressed.

Moreover, before its birth, the black dog had recognized Yi Tian as its master on the level of soul—an unalterable bond.

“What?” Far beneath the earth, in an ancient prison.

A wild-headed demon, covered in dark scales and bearing horns, was beside itself with rage and astonishment. On its back, sword-like bone spines rose to a height of nearly a thousand meters, its presence overwhelming.

Yet it was bound tightly by vine-like tendrils, as thick and sinuous as demonic dragons, tied up almost like a bundle of straw. No matter how it unleashed its vast demonic power, it could not break free. Whenever it erupted with demonic energy, the vines greedily absorbed it, visibly growing stronger.

It had been trapped here for over seventy thousand years.

Long ago, it had witnessed the battle between the black dragon and a human champion, both perishing in the end.

Desiring the dragon pearl to aid its escape, it broke through space, set a prohibition upon the black dragon’s pearl, and then fell into slumber.

After tens of thousands of years, it finally awoke.

It then manipulated the Dark Demon Sect master, sending him to seize the dragon pearl; but unexpectedly, all its plans fell apart. Moments ago, it sensed the demonic power within Cang Lang had vanished.

“Divine Wood Sect, you trapped me here with your schemes, but you cannot kill me. Even without the dragon pearl, once I pay the dreadful price, these Demon Dragon Vines will not last more than a decade. When I break free, I will raze Divine Wood Sect to the ground, leave not a soul alive!”

The wild-headed demon’s roar echoed through the prison.

The Wild Demon Tribe was a notoriously belligerent branch of the demon race. Whenever war broke out, they were always the vanguard, fierce as the strongest warriors, terrifying in direct assault.

Every adult wild demon was a formidable being on par with the heavenly rank: immense strength, monstrous defense, born as moving fortresses, truly fearsome.

After venting its rage for a long while, the wild-headed demon finally cast its forbidden art, blood flames crackling and burning across its body. Bit by bit, the Demon Dragon Vines began to corrode.