Once Upon A Time, There Was A Spirit Sword Mountain
chapter-501

Translator: Subudai11 Editor: Chrissy

Before entering the shrine, Ouyang Shang and Wang Lu had envisioned numerous possibilities. Of which, of course, they were discovered by the devil and had the possibility of a hard, face to face, clash.

But they never thought that they would be immediately discovered as soon as they opened the cave door, and didn't think that they would be greeted with a gentle voice. Moreover, the voice vaguely sounded… like a woman's voice?

Under this shock, the two however quickly responded. Wang Lu took the lead by saying, "Good morning, we are human cultivators from the Spirit Sword Mountain in Blue River Region. We heard that there is a senior who was someone of virtue and prestige and with unlimited power. So with full of sincerity and caution, we reverently came here to pay our respect."

"Oh, interesting little guy."

In the cave, that gentle voice rang out once again.

"Answer two questions, little guys."

Wang Lu and Ouyang Shang couldn't help but frown. The devil in the cave seemed to speak slowly, but each word contained devil power. And when it entered the ear, it caused the heart and guts to turn cold. Were they just ordinary Jindan, just by listening to the voice, perhaps they would suffer a mental breakdown and thus get trampled on.

However... this could be regarded as fortune in misfortune as that devil didn't directly come down hard on them. Although the situation was not optimistic, since they could talk, there was still room for mediation. And in terms of speaking, whether it was Wang Lu or Ouyang Shang, both were quite skilled.

"Please by all means," Ouyang Shang responded with enthusiasm. At the same time, he stepped forward and blocked Wang Lu behind him.

Wang Lu was somewhat unable to understand this action. In terms of overall strength, Ouyang Shang and him were basically about the same. But in terms of defensive power, he was stronger than Ouyang Shang by more than a notch, so it was not Ouyang Shang's turn to act as a meat shield in front of him… However, this was clearly not the time to argue.

"The first question. If you came here to pay respect, without any other purpose, then why did you want to paint a ridiculous tattoo on your body? Tsk, that disgusting smell of blood can wake people up from their sleep."

Wang Lu and Ouyang Shang simultaneously exclaimed 'oh sh*t' in their mind. One of the reasons why they boldly came here was that they were under the blessing of the magic mark, which allowed them to have seventy to eighty percent confidence that they could conceal themselves from the devil. But now, it seemed that it simply backfired on them, like they were digging their own grave… Did that old demon play a big joke on them?

That didn't make sense. They believed the magic mark of the great elder because there was no benefit for the demon race for falsifying it. Even if this move ended up killing Ouyang Shang and Wang Lu, would the awakened devil reward them? What was the point in making both sides lose?

However, now was obviously not the time to worry about the great elder.

Under this huge pressure, Ouyang Shang still calmly replied, "Because we don't want to disturb your dream. And listening to the local people, this magic mark can hide us from you, so we asked them to draw this magic mark on us… But unfortunately, we seem to have been deceived by them."

"They didn't lie to you. Those funny worms really thought that they could deceive my senses. Then, it seems that every few days, they would pick one to have the tattoo drawn and try to slip out the demarcation circle. I was bored to sleep so I accompanied them to play. But as a result, they take it more and more seriously, which let me have good times these years."

…

At this time, Ouyang Shang and Wang Lu couldn't even exclaim sh*t.

They have really overestimated the skills of this group of demons. The magic mark that they regarded as their only hope was actually just a joke from the beginning. Moreover, they have struggled for two thousand years for this joke!

Thinking of the myriad martyrs engraved on the wall of the shrine above them, thinking that each time the tribe drew the magic mark they had to sacrifice a life, and thinking of the people's hope that was condensed for many generations… it really rendered them speechless.

The weak are prey to the strong—this was the natural order of things in this world. For the weak, courage, wisdom, perseverance… These good virtues could only be used to self-indulge and self-entertain, for the strong could turn everything into a naught with a snap of the finger.

However, now was not the time to feel sorry for those demons. Because the invisible devil had opened its mouth again.

"In any case, little guys, answer my second question. Now that you have disturbed me… How should I torture you as a pastime after being awakened?"

As soon as that voice stopped talking, a strong gust of wind came from inside of the cave. In a flash, regardless of Ouyang Shang's body protection sword qi or Wang Lu's Non-Phase Sword Defense, both were shattered. Ouyang Shang immediately reached into his bosom to prepare his life-saving props, and at the same time, Wang Lu sank his primordial spirit into his Jade Mansion to prepare for a life and death fight.

But in the end, they were both one step slower, because both their body and primordial spirit were completely frozen by that cold wind.

That invisible devil merely sent out a gust of cold air from afar, and the two top ranking Daoist Masters of Jindan Stage completely lost their ability to resist. If that cold wind blew for a while, the two would no doubt be blown away, and their souls would fly away and scatter. However, the other party seemed to be in no hurry to kill them, because the cold wind was only in passing. But, as the wind subsided, the two men lost all their strength and slumped to the ground.

Even if they were in a desperate situation, their fighting spirit did not disappear. Ouyang Shang immediately opened his mouth to say, "You can tell us a story."

"Tell a story?"

The devil in the cave somewhat curiously said, "Why do I want to tell you a story?"

"Because we are really interested in listening."

Ouyang Shang's answer clearly somewhat didn't answer the question, but instead, he was actually betting on the invisible devil's desire to talk.

If she did not have the strong desire to talk, why would she bother to talk with them so much? She had been playing the game of cat and mouse with the demon race for two thousand years, but she almost never said a word to them! There must be a reason behind this. Therefore, at this moment, Ouyang Shang fully seized this point to fight for a slim chance of survival.

His bet paid off.

"Oh, are you really interested in listening? It doesn't sound like a lie. My ears tell me that even though you are aware that death is near at hand, you guys really are interested to hear the story. Hahaha, for two thousand years, little guys like you two are really rare. So, as a reward, let me tell you two a story before you die."

The devil's story was very simple.

More than two thousand years ago, she encountered a powerful opponent. In the ensuing fierce fight, she suffered a defeat, but the opponent did not kill her and instead just imprisoned her in a deserted place, and then used a secret technique to extract her power for that person to use.

However, that opponent underestimated the power of the devil. Previously, she suffered defeat only because she was caught off guard. When she was fully alert, her power was far beyond the expectation of the opposite party. That enemy dreaded her strength, so it created an unbreakable cage. The cage itself was flawless, but the opponent was too greedy. It left behind a strength absorbing array in the cage, which formed a flaw. After decades of recuperation, the devil had accumulated enough vital energy, and when that sworn enemy had to deal with a big crisis, she reversed the strength absorbing array and directly hit him, directly inflicting serious damage to him.

But it only ended up in a mutually wounded situation. Although that powerful opponent was able to be suppressed by her after that heavy blow, she also suffered spell backfire, which further damaged her. However, at that time, she suddenly discovered that above the cage that suppressed her, there was a tribe left behind by that powerful opponent, which immediately became the object of her wrath.

In general standard, that tribe could be considered as quite powerful, but unfortunately, in the devil's eyes, it was just a group of ants. Even if she was seriously wounded and trapped in a cage, she still had the ability to kill the entire tribe members.

"But it's too boring to just kill them like that. I am seriously wounded and trapped in a cage. Even after several thousand years, I might not necessarily be able to recover, so it's better to use these insignificant ants. Thus, I farm them."

When it came to this, the devil sounded very proud. "I found this farming technique by chance by learning from you humans. And it's indeed interesting. It has a different pleasure than when I used to hunt alone in the past. First, I eliminated the resistance within the tribe with absolute power, and then let the small and weak to breed. Afterwards, I harvested them whenever they accumulated a certain amount of power. In order to avoid their total loss of hope and cause rapid degradation, I would allow them to retain a delusion of power, and even from time to time, I take the initiative to transform an individual within the tribe into the so-called talented genius whose cultivation speed was far faster than that of the same generation, and then let them taste some sweetness as necessary.

"But even so, their will to resist was too disappointing. After the first few hundred years of fierce resistance, they turned their hope on escaping, no longer willing to fight head-on against me. As their fighting spirit fell, their bodies began to deteriorate dramatically. And as the value of livestock is not as good as before, the flesh and blood energy in each harvest is also getting fewer and fewer. So they can only be used as toys to be fiddled with, but after fiddling with them for so many years, I am already tired of it."

Listening to these words, Ouyang Shang and Wang Lu could not help but release cold sweat.

This devil was too extraordinary! Unexpectedly, a powerful demon tribe had been played by her like a toy for two thousand years. And this was when she was still in her cage and seriously injured!

Previously, when they observed the demon race tribe, they felt that the people's will was shocking. Although the tribe members were weak, and even lacked the strength to truss a chicken, but their spirit of resistance was worthy of respect. But… it turned out that spirit of resistance was just lubricant given to the toy by the devil.

From the beginning to the end, the demon race tribe had never escaped the devil's clutch.

So, was it their turn now then? The demons had worked hard for two thousand years, but the result was just a joke. If they were to be replaced by Ouyang Shang and Wang Lu...

"So right now, you must be very bored?" Wang Lu asked.

The devil in the cave sighed. "Yes, even an amusing game would turn boring if played for thousands of years. So, I will ask you again, how do you want to be tortured by me? If you can make me happy, I can make you die a bit better."

"First of all, let me ask you a question. From the gender point of view, are you a female?"

"Well, from your human point of view, I should be a female, no?"

"Since that's the case, then this is easy," Wang Lu said, a creepy smile hung on his lips.

"I wonder if you have ever heard of such a saying that the greatest pleasure for the women in the world is to breastfeed their children."

"Oh?" A curious voice came out.

"Believe me, as long as you are willing to try, it would be a happy experience that you'll remember for life!"

Before his voice fell, Wang Lu noticed the astonished eyes of Ouyang Shang beside him—this was the first time he saw this Big Brother of Spirit Sword Sect to lose his control. Obviously, he had correctly guessed what Wang Lu was about to do next. And that was far beyond his ability to withstand.

However, Wang Lu still spoke the next words lightly.

"And I am willing to assist you in this great entertainment!"

...

[1] (DOTA sound effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb7VuMhugiQ)