Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Secret of the Blood Demon

Tang Yi finally saw the true form of the Blood Demon. Its body was as massive as King Kong in the movies, with flesh entirely blood-red, sunken in a giant pit with only its huge crimson head protruding above the surface. This pit was the legendary abyss said to connect to the earth’s core. The only thing covering the Blood Demon was a tattered strip of cloth, origin unknown, wrapped around its waist. Standing before the Blood Demon’s giant head, Tang Yi was still a full head shorter. The temperature here was already unbearably high, and from time to time, molten lava would splash up from the pit. Tang Yi’s ice armor was useless in these conditions, so with no other choice, he ignited his entire body in flames, his clothes instantly reduced to ashes...

“Damn, I knew this would happen. I really need to forge a few fireproof outfits, something like the ones in Fantastic Four would be perfect. Wait, don’t I have the designs for those clothes? Hah...” Tang Yi glanced at his own body, now completely naked and enveloped in flames, and couldn’t help but think to himself.

“Haha! So you’re just like me. We’re the same kind of being, hahaha...” The Blood Demon roared with laughter, having sensed Tang Yi’s superpowers.

“Haha... You’re mistaken. Our abilities may be similar, but we are not the same. You’re evil; I am righteous. We do not walk the same path,” Tang Yi replied, staring into the enormous maw before him.

“Ha! What a hypocrite. Want to see if I can blow you to death with a single breath?” The Blood Demon bellowed arrogantly, mouth wide open.

“I’m standing right here. Go ahead, try blowing,” Tang Yi retorted with contempt, even flashing the Blood Demon a middle finger. Though the gesture’s exact meaning eluded the Blood Demon, it was clear enough that it was meant as an insult, which made him furious.

With a furious roar, the Blood Demon inhaled, then exhaled mightily at Tang Yi. To his astonishment, Tang Yi stood unmoved, not even a single hair disturbed.

“Oh, Blood Demon, after all these ten thousand years, it seems you’ve accomplished nothing. So, can we sit down and have a proper conversation now?” Tang Yi shook his head and chuckled.

“Hmph, you just said we’re not of the same way. As the saying goes, those whose paths differ cannot work together. Nothing to talk about,” the Blood Demon sneered.

“You can’t say that. Even if our paths are different, we can still learn from one another, right?” As he spoke, Tang Yi set up several small formations around the pit’s edge to block out the heat, then produced a sofa and a coffee table, as if he were hosting a tea party.

The Blood Demon was at a loss for words.

“So, Blood Demon, would you care for some tea? Or are you afraid I’ll poison you?” Tang Yi smiled, holding up two teacups toward the Blood Demon.

“Haha... Spare me your childish provocations. I, of all beings, would never fear poison. Bring every toxic substance under the heavens—they’re nothing to me!” The Blood Demon replied gruffly.

Tang Yi nearly spat out his tea in laughter. “Impressive, here you go!” With a flick of his wrist, an enormous teacup and teapot appeared, floating before him. Supporting the gigantic vessels with his left hand, he opened the teapot lid with his right, poured in a mountain of tea leaves and a torrent of fresh water, then covered the pot and summoned blue flames to boil the water in an instant.

“Is that any way to brew tea?” The Blood Demon stared, his huge eyes wide.

“Well, I have to make allowances for your size! It’s just a stopgap measure, don’t be so picky. Here, make do with this...” Tang Yi poured the boiling tea into the giant cup and pushed it toward the Blood Demon’s massive hand.

“Boiling water is certainly fast down here,” Tang Yi mused, as the Blood Demon accepted the cup—just the right size—and took a sip.

“Not bad, not bad, excellent flavor. In English, they’d call this ‘very good’...” the Blood Demon said, nodding in approval.

Tang Yi choked. “You’re hilarious, Blood Demon! Hahaha...” He burst out laughing after recovering.

“Well! For the sake of this fine tea, I’ll share my story with you. I suppose that’s what you came for, isn’t it?” The Blood Demon suddenly sounded melancholy.

“Of course—this tea is the finest Cloud Immortal Green Tea from Misty Peak, cultivated with painstaking effort. How could I serve you anything less?” Tang Yi replied indignantly. It had taken five of the super rings worn by Hua Shaojie to exchange for five of these precious tea saplings. Tang Yi had poured his heart into cultivating them—first finding a place suitable for tea that hadn’t seen a soul for thousands of years, then taking the saplings back three thousand years in time to plant and tend them. Every ten years, he returned to nurture the trees. After three millennia, the area became a vast tea mountain, which he later moved to Flying Cloud Peak. To ensure the trees’ survival, Tang Yi even devised a specialized environmental control formation. This endeavor unexpectedly brought him a creative breakthrough in formation mastery.

“Well, do you want to hear the story or not? If not, I won’t tell it.” The Blood Demon snatched the giant teapot and poured himself another cup.

“All right, all right, please continue!” Tang Yi relented. The Blood Demon sipped his tea, cleared his throat, and began.

“A long, long time ago...”

—In the Ancient Era—

“I heard Kuafu has discovered a new resource—on Mars! Lots of people have headed to the moon,” said one cultivator to another atop a nameless peak.

“If the resource is on Mars, why go to the moon?” asked the second.

“No one knows what Kuafu was thinking—he built the teleportation array on the moon. So, everyone has to travel to the moon first.”

“I see. In that case, let’s go too!” said the second cultivator.

“Too bad our cultivation isn’t high enough to reach the moon in one go. And we don’t have a flying shuttle,” the first replied helplessly.

At that moment, the Blood Demon appeared before the two cultivators—though at this time, he was not yet the Blood Demon but was known as Tang Xianyu.

“Fellow Daoists, I overheard your conversation. I, too, wish to make the journey. By chance, I possess a flying shuttle—why not travel together?” Tang Xianyu offered.

“That would be wonderful!” The two agreed enthusiastically. But when Tang Xianyu produced the shuttle, its quality surprised them—it was a mid-grade spirit treasure. Greed overtook them, and, catching Tang Xianyu off guard, they attacked from both sides, leaving him battered and helpless, then pushed him into a deep abyss. Consumed by rage, Tang Xianyu’s latent superpower erupted at that moment. As he fell, he absorbed the two cultivators’ evil thoughts, which saved his life.

The Blood Demon paused for a long time at this point in the story...

“That’s it?” Tang Yi asked, sipping his tea.