Wet viviparity

Chapter 750 Earth Hill, Exile
Deep within the underground palace, the Jiang family ancestral hall stands solemnly.

The green tiles on the hall are layered and covered with fine scales. Occasionally, a ray of light shines through the cracks in the dome and through the gaps in the ancient trees in the courtyard, casting oblique light on the tiles and creating patches of cold, eerie light.

Inside the hall, countless oil lamps are arranged in the nine palaces, their dim light resembling a solidified river of light, bathing the ancestral hall in an ancient and faint glow.

At the very top of the large red gourd sat the head of the Jiang family—Jiang Shenhu.

Its pair of golden eyes shone brightly, piercing through the swirling smoke and medicinal mist in the hall, and fixed firmly on the strange figure in the center of the ancestral hall.

"The poison corrodes its spirit, and its violent nature destroys its form,"

Jiang Shenhu's voice was deep and rumbling like thunder rolling across the underground palace. His golden eyes swept over the group of elders gathered around the edge of the Nine Palaces Lamp Array, their faces hidden in the flickering light and shadow. He sighed and said, "This calamity is perilous and cannot be resolved by ordinary medicines."

Among the group of elders, Hu Rui Jiang Manzi, one of the Six Auspicious Ones, sat cross-legged in the center.

Under the watchful eyes of the elders, they all knew that the poison in Jiang Heixiao's body had been acting up for a long time.

Now, the trace of golden virtue and malevolent nature from the Kaitian Beast deep within his soul has been stirred, and his physical body is undergoing a terrifying transformation.

Jiang Heixiao, with the monstrous form of a long-necked, wicked tiger, lay prone on the cold stone ground, a low, inhuman roar rumbling from his throat, the air thick with a pungent, fishy stench.

Each painful spasm in its body caused its long, curved neck, covered in scales and hair, to writhe and twitch like a dying snake. Its eyes would sometimes be dazed, sometimes clear, and sometimes savagely violent.

"The old man has put a lot of effort into me, and I don't know if he will protect me this time."

However, the old man's poison pills were truly insidious and extraordinary. Even if the old man wanted to protect me, he would find it difficult to make a decision on his own in this situation.

Jiang Heixiao felt heavy-hearted. While resisting the power of the pill, his primordial spirit sank into the Shuhan Residence, where Daqinggu had left him a backup plan—the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Secret Technique.

An elder stroked his sparse, long beard, his eyes gleaming: "Kai Ming is a celestial beast guarding the Immortal Capital under the Emperor. Now, its malevolent nature has failed to dissipate as it wished during its cultivation of the true method. Instead, it has been drawn in by a poison pill from the demonic ape Ma Ling, which has corrupted its body, causing its physical form to change to this state..."

The other stared at the black owl's exposed, crimson back and said with a frown, "It's already a stroke of luck that the old barbarian rescued him from outside, but this strange change is probably not just due to the poison."

This trace of the Western metal element's fiery nature has been drawn in, and with the addition of cinnabar poison as fuel for this nature, it is like a raging fire from the earth. If it cannot be channeled and guided back to its proper course, it will eventually destroy this child's spiritual platform and shatter the foundation of his physical body.

Even if we use our great magic here and use the lamp spirit in the ancestral temple to save him and restrain his mind from going mad, his physical body has already been transformed into a demon, and it is too late to turn back. In the future, he will become a demon.

"As long as he lives, the reputation of our True Spirit Sect's orthodox religion will be tarnished."

"The time is now to put righteousness before family."

A dignified, gaunt old man, with his cloudy old eyes, solemnly spoke.

Jiang Shenhu sat upright on the red gourd, his bright red Bagua robe fluttering without wind, and a slight ripple passed through the depths of his golden eyes.

"What are your thoughts, Uncle?"

he asked.

The old barbarian, sitting upright among a group of elders, knew perfectly well what the current patriarch was thinking when he heard Jiang Shenhu's question. He clearly wanted to protect his son.

However, the person who proposed sacrificing family for the greater good was a supporter of Jiang Zhao, the next generation's outstanding member of the Jiang family. Generally, what this person said represented the will of Jiang Zhao, the "Hun Kong Bao Shou" (a legendary martial arts master).

With the family's children being unfilial and the family's reputation declining, even this lawless barbarian has to think carefully about this matter.

"The method of refining this poison pill contains the profound mystery of the barbarian method of the original Panhu Mountain. It must have taken tens of thousands of insects, beasts and birds to refine it, taking their poisonous saliva and yin essence, and steaming, drying and burning it for many years to temper it into a pure evil spirit in the pill."

Once this demonic spirit enters the body, unless most of the person's yin spirit transforms into yang, their primordial spirit will be transformed into a demon, and then the entire body's flesh, bones, internal organs, and meridians will be rebuilt, transforming into a demonic form.

However, there was an incredible and strange aspect to Jiang Heixiao: his trace of golden virtue and malevolent nature was being stirred by the power of the pill, causing his physical body to change in the direction of the Kaitian Beast.

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

The remains of the ancestors, varying in height, also appeared in the hall, and instantly a spiritual wind howled through the hall. "Heavenly beasts!"

An old man exclaimed in surprise.

"This child has great potential."

There were also elders who spoke with great certainty.

"Does the old barbarian have anything else to say?"

someone asked.

The old barbarian continued, "The Heavenly Beast was created in the ancient, ignorant, and chaotic time. It was descended by the Western Metal Virtue and given a divine mandate. It possesses supreme virtue. Even if a thousand poison pills were used to nourish its malevolent nature, it would be difficult for its physical body to transform into the form of the Heavenly Beast. Therefore, this child has only just become this long-necked tiger demon."

Although it was a bizarre and incongruous creation, he had at least obtained a fragment of the Heavenly Beast Form, which consumed the vast majority of his internal energy, giving him a sliver of hope.

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood, and even Jiang Heixiao grasped the meaning.

He was still wondering why the power of the pill seemed to be waning and not as intense as before.

Another point is that if the Pleiades Star Lord truly uses this pill to transform him into a demon, and uses it as a way to reduce his strength in the duel, this would violate the ironclad rules of the duel and greatly alter his normal life cycle.

Just then, the gaunt old man who had proposed sacrificing family for the greater good suddenly stood up.

"The beast has taken shape, and its ferocity is unpredictable. It cannot be tamed by human power and is truly a scourge to the Jiang family, a hidden danger to this blessed land. Hesitation will only lead to more chaos. I urge the head of the family to prioritize righteousness, cleanse the family, and prevent future troubles."

These words are like metal striking stone, each one carrying a chilling intent.

An elder behind him nodded slightly, his eyes gleaming, as if he were agreeing.

"absurd!"

On the other side, a burly old man with a red face and a bushy beard slammed his hand on the table, causing the lamp flame to flicker.

"Jiang Heixiao is of the Jiang family bloodline. He was poisoned by the strange poison of the demon ape, which is why he suffered this calamity."

The old barbarian was rescued with great effort; surely not to be offered his neck for execution? The fact that his madness can still be somewhat contained within his family shows that his spirit is not yet extinguished. To speak of his demise now would be tantamount to cutting off one's own limbs and chilling the hearts of one's people.

"Judging from its appearance, its bones are protruding and its muscles are twisted, its neck is curved like a python, and its fangs are menacing. How can we be sure that such a strange creature is not a demon in disguise?" The withered old man's words were piercing, clearly aiming to bind Jiang Heixiao to the word "demon" in a tight way.

"This is the reduction of Orthodox prejudice against those who are different."

Jiang Heixiao suddenly understood the purpose of the Pleiades Star Lord's reduction; this was indeed a superior method of attacking the mind.

He had thought that the Pleiades Star Lord, who was so kind and obedient to him, might have let him win the bet. But he was surprised to find that the Pleiades Star Lord was more cunning than ever before, and he learned a lot from it.

At this moment, the crowd was in an uproar, with heated arguments and words resounding throughout the ancestral hall.

"We are connected by blood; how can we easily abandon this bond?"

However, his inherently malevolent nature is deeply ingrained, and he is plagued by erysipelas. To leave him in a blessed land is like sleeping on firewood while embracing a flame; the slightest misstep could cause a prairie fire.

Jiang Shenhu opened and closed his golden eyes, his light sweeping over the elders like a tangible object, and made a decision: "Issue my decree: Jiang Clan's Black Owl has been afflicted with a strange mutation, and his ferocity is untamable. In order to appease the clan and consolidate the foundation, he is hereby stripped of his inner disciple status and exiled to the most desolate land beyond the East Sea—the shores of the Black Water Hill—and shall never return until summoned!"

"exile?"

A glint of shrewdness flashed in the withered old man's eyes, seemingly with resentment. "Master, although the hill is far away, I fear..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, Jiang Shenhu interrupted him and said to Jiang Manzi, "Uncle, please escort him personally."

(End of this chapter)