Longzang

Chapter 810 Treating the Symptoms
The mirage demon was caught between a rock and a hard place. Wei Yuan, of course, wouldn't give it time to think things through, and the portal to the heavens began to shrink.

At this moment, a spark suddenly ignited three feet in front of Wei Yuan, and a tiny, transparent insect began to burn fiercely. It was so small that it was invisible to the naked eye; by the standards of the outer world, it was equivalent to a large cell. Yet, it moved with lightning speed and moved silently until it reached Wei Yuan before being ignited.

The mirage demon was shocked: "You actually managed to break my Heavenly Fate Gu Insect?!"

Wei Yuan sneered: "You've all been infected by my Gu worms, that's why you're half-dead. Who gave you the confidence to play with Gu worms in front of me?"

The mirage demon said, "They've all been infected by Gu worms? I can't tell."

"Because you're stupid."

But the reality was far from that. The genetic virus had an extremely weak life response, so it couldn't be detected using the methods used to inspect Gu worms. It wasn't a poison either, so testing for poison would yield no results. If it weren't for the presence of humans and the fact that Wei Yuan suppressed the virus's activity, these mirage demons would have been corpses long ago.

The destruction of the mirage demon's natal Gu worm was thanks to the little rooster. Wei Yuan picked up the little rooster and hid it in the fleet below, so that the little rooster's innate divine power would take effect on its own and kill the Gu worm.

In fact, Wei Yuan was not afraid of the Gu worms entering his body. His physical body was strong, and for ordinary small creatures to enter was like entering a steel forest. Wei Yuan didn't need to do anything; they would starve to death on their own.

Seeing that its natal Gu worm had failed, the mirage demon suddenly turned around and rushed towards the portal, plunging inside!
Wei Yuan was shocked. Just now, it had acted as if it would risk its life for its clan, and Wei Yuan had believed it! That's why Wei Yuan tried to use the clan to blackmail it, hoping to force it to submit.

Who would have thought this guy was such a good actor? All that acting was just to cover up the actions of his natal Gu worm, so he could deliver a fatal blow to Wei Yuan.

After it rushed into the portal, the portal immediately closed, and then a huge full moon appeared in the sky. The three-eyed bird head closed its mouth and was savoring it. After a moment, it opened its mouth and spat out the mirage demon.

Just as he was spinning around, not knowing where he was, Wei Yuan had already viciously attacked, and the terrifying power of the cave pressed down on him, suppressing him to the early stage of the Imperial Realm.

Then a serene and beautiful scene appeared from its body. But as soon as it appeared, Wei Yuan threw a Xuanhuang Bell into it, and the beautiful scene immediately shattered and disappeared. The mirage demon had been knocked off the imperial landscape.

Wei Yuan then rushed forward, pinned down the mirage demon, and began to punch and kick it relentlessly until it was bruised and swollen. He was still not satisfied with that, and even plucked a handful of its fur.

In terms of physical strength alone, even the three mirage demons combined were no match for Wei Yuan. Their most proficient illusion, bewitching, and poison techniques had little effect on Wei Yuan. Therefore, they could only passively take the beating, like a disreputable scholar being bullied by street thugs.

After beating him for a full half hour, Wei Yuan's hands were a little sore before he was finally satisfied. He had to admit, it was much more satisfying to land punches that felt real. The most cathartic way to vent anger was to smash someone's face with your fists; in that respect, a musket fell short.

Although the beating was thorough, Wei Yuan still felt that the mirage demon's injuries weren't as severe as they appeared. This guy's acting was truly superb; Wei Yuan dared not be careless again.

The leading mirage demons were captured, and the rest knew the situation was hopeless. A few threw themselves into the sea to die, but most surrendered and acknowledged Wei Yuan as their master. Those who surrendered at this point naturally didn't receive good treatment.

Wei Yuan then slightly expanded the small island where they lived, and arranged for people to place a statue of the Creator Immortal, set up an array, and then set up long tables in a row, opening up over a hundred registration seats. These mirage demons had to sign a blood pact and swear allegiance. The oaths were all pre-written templates, long and tedious, but without any loopholes.

As each mirage demon signed a blood pact, Wei Yuan clearly felt the spirituality and vitality of the human world rise a little.

The scale of the Human World is already quite large; if we only consider quantity and not quality, it's comparable to the perfect golden world of Imperial View. If we can further elevate the vitality and spirituality of the Human World, the increase will be truly remarkable!
It turns out that the arrival of a mature new species can bring so many benefits to the Mind Realm. Therefore, Wei Yuan is even more eager for the arrival of the several high-level Mirage Demon cultivators.

The conditions for the surrender of the mirage demons are as follows: those at the Dharma Aspect level or above will only accept captives and will not surrender. Those below the Dharma Aspect level will all surrender and be incorporated into the human world.

These high-level cultivators above the Dharma Aspect level were still hoping that the Left Wise King would redeem them. Wei Yuan readily agreed to this request, and then activated the self-destruct program in the genetic weapon. One by one, the ordinary mirage demons finally improved and regained their strength.

As for the other powerful demons, Wei Yuan imprisoned them separately, and then subjected them to severe torture. He only promised the prisoners, but not preferential treatment.

If the ransom wasn't paid in a day, these mirage demons would have to spend that day in the torture chamber. The Human Realm now combined the strengths of both the mortal and outer worlds. The mortal world possessed countless methods targeting the soul, while the outer world's medicine was incredibly precise, able to pinpoint which nerve was associated with pain, allowing them to inflict maximum suffering with minimal damage. Combining these two approaches, in less than three days, nearly half of the mirage demons had surrendered.

Then Wei Yuan played the video of the Star Forest suddenly shattering and being demoted after escaping, completely shattering their illusions, and the rest of them surrendered.

In the end, only three Mirage Demons remained, and no matter how they were tortured, they refused to surrender. Wei Yuan didn't have that much time to waste, so he moved them to the Azure Netherworld Herb Garden and handed them over to the Old Daoist Chuhe.

The old Taoist priest, Chu He, was well-versed in the ways of spirit pets, and believed that demons and spirit beasts were actually quite similar.

Less than three days later, Master Chuhe delivered a message: the two mirage demons had surrendered, and only one was still resisting, but it was almost done for.

Wei Yuan was taken aback. This was too fast! Normally, even after years or decades of torment, a Yu Jing wouldn't necessarily yield. Yet, this Yu Jing couldn't even last three days against Chu He?

Looking back on the battle, those mirage demons were quite courageous!
Wei Yuan immediately put down what he was doing and went to the herb garden. A section of the garden, featuring various terrains including mountains, rivers, and hills, was specially designated and sealed off with a large array. This area was originally where the old Taoist Chuhe used to tame new spirit beasts, but it had now been temporarily converted into a prison.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan arrive, the old Taoist priest Chu He chuckled and asked, "Do you know what the true nature of these three things is?"

Wei Yuan was taken aback: "They still have their original forms? I thought they were in their current form."

The old Taoist priest didn't keep them in suspense, saying, "That's after they take human form. After they gain intelligence, they gradually develop the ability to take human form. But after they ascend to the realm of perception, they can return to their original bodies. You see, that's their original form."

Wei Yuan saw three enormous clam shells soaking in three separate spiritual pools. Each clam shell was inlaid with gold and jade, ornate and extravagant.

Originally, the mirage demons were all in clamshell form, with a few born with the ability to transform into human form—these were the absolute nobility. Most mirage demons, however, had to cultivate after developing sentience before they could gradually transform. These mirage demons who transformed later in life were considered lower-ranking members of the race.

Those mirage demons that failed to gain intelligence were treated as wild beasts and abandoned in rivers, lakes, and seas to fend for themselves. Many of them gained intelligence by chance, but because they did not complete the process within the prescribed time, they were not accepted by the mirage demons.

Chu He said, "These two have already given in, so let them go for now. This one hasn't given in yet, so it'll be perfect for a demonstration."

As the hoe approached, the giant clam began to tremble. The old Taoist remained unmoved and ordered several disciples to pry open the clam's shell with crowbars, inserting several steel frames into the opening to prevent it from closing.

Then the old Taoist priest picked up a handful of fine sand and slowly sprinkled it into the clam shell.

The mirage demon at the mid-stage of the Imperial Realm roared, "Old dog, you'll die a horrible death... Kill me now, kill me quickly!"

With another wave of his hand, the old Taoist priest presented several disciples with brocade boxes. Upon opening the lids, they found sand grains of varying sizes and materials inside.

"Different types of sand, and the way they are scattered, produce different sensations," the old Taoist explained, while grabbing a handful of rough white granules.

"Isn't that salt?" Wei Yuan asked.

"It's salt. These are all freshwater clams."

　The cold is particularly severe right now. I've recovered a bit today, but I'm still not feeling well. The next update tonight might be a little late.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)