Just as he was lost in thought.
The originally clear sky suddenly darkened.
"Hmm?"
Cui Yuan froze, subconsciously looking up.
"It's the middle of the day, how could..."
Before he could finish speaking.
His pupils suddenly constricted to the size of an enoki mushroom.
He saw above Chang'an.
Unbeknownst to him, the sky was already covered in dark clouds.
The thick clouds churned wildly, as if someone had poured a vat of ink onto the sky above Chang'an City.
The entire Chang'an City instantly plunged from daytime into night.
"This is... Heavenly Dog Devouring the Sun?! No, that's wrong..."
"This... what exactly is this..."
Cui Yuan felt a cramp developing in his calves.
He had been with the Demon Suppression Division for so many years; what kind of sight hadn't he seen?
But an anomaly covering the entire city of Chang'an like this? He hadn't just never seen it; he hadn't even heard of it!
"Why are you panicking."
An aged voice abruptly sounded beside him.
Cui Yuan shuddered in fright and spun his head around.
He saw that the old man who should have been inside the Martial Temple was now standing beside him.
"Se... Senior?"
Cui Yuan stammered, "W-what is going on? With an anomaly like this, could a peerless Great Demon have infiltrated Chang'an?!"
"Great Demon?"
The old man muttered to himself, "If it were a Great Demon, to cause such a commotion... even the legendary Demon Saint showing up might not create this kind of phenomenon..."
"Then this is..."
Before he finished speaking.
The sea of ink churned.
An ancient scroll, spanning heaven and earth and covering the sky, slowly unfolded above Chang'an City.
Immediately after.
Roar—!!!
A Dragon's roar echoed through the nine heavens.
Within the scroll, ink flowed and shifted.
A massive white phantom emerged from the eastern side of the scroll, breaking through the ink.
Its horns resembled a deer, its head a camel, its eyes a rabbit, its neck a snake, its belly a clam, its scales a fish, its claws an eagle, its palms a tiger, and its ears an ox.
Its entire body was snow white, without a single trace of impurity.
It circled above the sea of clouds, looking down upon the common people.
Water vapor permeated its surroundings, and every drop that fell transformed into a refreshing rain.
"That is... a Dragon? A True Dragon?!"
Cui Yuan felt his legs give out, and he plopped onto the ground with a thud.
Before he could recover his senses.
Roar—!!!
The clouds in the west burst open.
A massive, snow-white Fierce Tiger, whose body was like a mountain and whose surroundings were wreathed in Geng Metal Qi, shattered the Void Realm and arrived.
Its murderous Qi rushed straight towards the heavens.
Immediately following.
In the north, black mist churned.
A phantom of a Giant Bear, a thousand zhang tall, stood with its hands pressed together, its appearance solemn and majestic, yet filled with tyrannical intent.
Like a god, like a devil.
One terrifying phantom after another walked out from the scroll.
Although sketched in ink, they were vividly lifelike.
It was as if the Hundred Demons of the Primordial Era had crossed the river of time and descended upon this place.
Characters continuously appeared in the sky, only to dissipate again.
[White Tiger Roars in the West Wind, Geng Metal Commands Slaughter]
[White Dragon Turns Clouds and Rain, The Four Seas All Submit]
[Black Bear Suppresses Ten Thousand Ages, God and Devil in a Single Thought]
...Inside Chang'an City.
Chaos erupted.
It was complete chaos.
Countless commoners dropped their work and stared at the sky in terror.
"Demon Devils have entered the city! Run!"
Even the normally arrogant Street Patrol Officers were pale as dirt, huddled in corners and trembling.
Faced with such magnificent heavenly might, Mortals were like ants, unable to muster any thought of resistance.
Inside the mansions of the great aristocratic families and the mountain gates of the major sects.
Countless Old Ancestors who had been in seclusion for years now broke out of their retreats.
"Who is manifesting their power here?!"
"Such an anomaly... could a Great Demon be transforming its form here?!"
"Investigate! Go and investigate for this Old Man! Who exactly triggered this heavenly anomaly?!"
...In front of the Martial Temple.
Cui Yuan was completely dumbfounded.
"Senior... this... what exactly is going on?"
The old man finally withdrew his gaze.
He turned his head and looked at the two tightly shut Black Rock Gates behind him.
Shock, envy, disbelief—all sorts of expressions appeared in his eyes simultaneously.
"Simply astonishing."
"Senior, stop keeping me in suspense!"
Cui Yuan stamped his feet anxiously, "Is this a blessing or a calamity?"
The old man shook his head and sighed, "Astounding. This Little Girl is truly astounding..."
A Little Girl?
Related to Commander Jiang?
Cui Yuan was startled, then realized something, and his expression changed.
"Oh no, is Commander Jiang a Demon Devil?"
Slap—
A heavy slap landed on his face.
The old man straightened his sleeve and said irritably, "Do you know that besides seeking a Spiritual Seal at the Martial Temple or inheriting one from an aristocratic family, there is a third method?"
Cui Yuan covered his face aggrievedly, and upon hearing this, he froze again.
"Hiss... become an Imperial Concubine?"
"?
The old man's face darkened. Ignoring this fool, he continued, "For ordinary Martial Artists, the person seeks the Seal."
"But this type is the Seal seeking the person."
"There is no need to grovel, no need for ancestral protection. Relying only on one's own Divine Will, it causes heaven and earth to resonate, making the Spiritual Seal willingly drop its mark for you, transforming into the cornerstone for entering the inner sanctum."
Cui Yuan listened in confusion, subconsciously gaping.
"Huh?"
The old man glanced at him, seemingly helpless towards this blockhead, and sighed softly, "In short, a figure so astonishingly talented, capable of forcibly subduing a Heavenly Spiritual Seal with their own will..."
"Throughout the eight hundred years since the founding of the Great Tang, even counting the previous dynasty, at most..."
"Can be counted on one hand."
Cui Yuan understood this statement.
Including the previous dynasty, it was nearly two thousand years in total.
In two thousand years, they could be counted on one hand?
Didn't that mean one appeared only every three or four hundred years, on average?
And now, right under his nose... such a monster had appeared?
At this moment.
The anomaly in the sky began to dissipate.
The sky-obscuring Hundred Demons Scroll transformed back into flowing clouds filling the sky.
The long-awaited sunlight once again shone upon Chang'an City... inside the Martial Temple.
The Void Realm, which had been filled with ferocious Evil Qi, was now quiet.
Jiang Yuechu sat cross-legged, but the depths of her consciousness were already in turmoil.
In just an instant.
Boom—!!!
Deep within her mind, golden light erupted.
There was no logic to speak of.
The Black Figure Holding a Saber didn't even have time to let out a cry of agony before it was violently blasted away by the surging, majestic aura emanating from the scroll.
...
The corner of Jiang Yuechu's mouth twitched slightly.
Are you kidding me?
I used all my strength to finally tame this troublemaker; I was about to enter the bridal chamber... wait, enter the Divine Soul.
Why did this broken book choose to interfere now, of all times?
The hundred demons compendium did not respond, only slowly unfurled, spanning across this Void Realm.
Ink flowed and shifted, surging as if alive.
Immediately after.
Roar—!
A tiger roared.
A Striped Fierce Tiger, holding a Long Saber and wearing Golden Armor, leaped out from the scroll—it was none other than the Tiger Mountain God, the earliest one recorded.
Awoo—!
A mournful wolf howl.
A Giant Wolf with a Green Face and Sharp Fangs followed closely, its sharp claws menacing and its cold light daunting.
After that.
The Black Bear draped in a Kasaya, the Wild Boar covered in Tentacles, the White Flood Dragon that could overturn rivers and seas, and the Old White Ape holding a scroll... figure after figure walked out of the scroll one after another.
In the blink of an eye.
This originally empty Void Realm was completely packed.
Surrounded by a Multitude of Demons.
If it were anyone else, they would probably have already been scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.
But Jiang Yuechu frowned.
These Demons were not ferocious as they were in life; instead, they were all docile and obedient, surrounding her like stars revolving around the moon.
"What does this mean?"
Jiang Yuechu didn't quite understand.
Could it be that the hundred demons compendium thought the black figure holding the saber was too trashy and unworthy, so it specifically came out to cause trouble?
Or is it... preventing me from seeking the Spiritual Seal between heaven and earth?
If I don't seek a Spiritual Seal, then how am I supposed to break through the Ink Dot Realm?
Just as she was filled with doubt and uncertainty.
The sky full of Demon phantoms suddenly moved in unison.
They did not pounce on Jiang Yuechu, but instead transformed into streams of extremely pure black light, flowing back into the hundred demons compendium.
Buzz—
The scroll trembled.
A massive flood of information poured into her mind.
Ink Dot, Ink Dot: it means using Divine Will as the brush and True Qi as the ink, seeking a trace of a mark from among the Myriad Spirits of heaven and earth, and placing it upon the white paper of one's self.
This mark is borrowed.
Since it is borrowed, there is ultimately a layer of separation.
But now... why borrow?
These Demons of Ten Thousand Ages are all within the Compendium.
Why seek outside?
Why must one look at the faces of the Myriad Spirits of heaven and earth?
Boom—!!!
The thought settled.
The hundred demons compendium spanning the Void Realm instantly transformed into a towering pillar of ink, carrying the might of Ten Thousand Demons, and fiercely poured down onto Jiang Yuechu's Divine Soul!
Jiang Yuechu felt her entire body lighten.
Her Golden Core, which was already perfectly round and flawless, instantly became stained with strange patterns under the washing of this black torrent.
Her originally simple True Qi began to undergo a qualitative change.
The Demon Compendium as the brush.
Ten Thousand Demons as the ink.
The brush descends.
Ink Dot!