It won't be long now

Eastern Divine Continent, Lotus Pond, Heavy Rain.

Within a small pavilion, Bolo, clad in a yellow monk's robe, gazed at the muddy pond mixed with sludge.

Of the Eight Great Heavenly Demons, two had fallen—Linglong and Bai Bo.

Six remained.

Half of them were gathered in this small pavilion at this moment.

Zhong Su stood upright with his arms crossed behind Bolo, while Meiyu sat to the side, her eyes half-lidded as if lost in thought.

Raising his hand, Bolo spoke first in a gentle tone:

"The Heavenly Water is insufficient..."

"Today, you'll choose between words and fists." Zhong Su rudely cut him off, the extreme impatience in his eyes making it clear he meant every word.

Bolo fell silent, then slowly turned to face Zhong Su's expression. After a moment's pause, he asked:

"The Heavenly Gift of Bai Bo is mostly settled. At least it's enough to touch the standard."

"Linglong couldn't be fully gathered. I suspect Chu Xingchen has some means to block the Heavenly Gift. Besides, we don't have much time, so we'll have to temporarily abandon that."

Roughly speaking, the Eight Great Heavenly Demons are positions, or rather, something akin to authorities.

When a current Heavenly Demon dies, if the lingering essence remains, a new one can be cultivated—choosing a suitable individual to inherit the position and rebuild.

But the cost is enormous, and true essence will inevitably scatter, never regaining the former ferocity.

Even passing down the essence under safe conditions results in significant loss. If the demon dies violently outside, the losses could be catastrophic.

The Heavenly Gift is a secret among Heavenly Demons. Only the top-tier ones know the true nature of the bloodline and essence flowing within them.

Only by guarding such secrets can Heavenly Demons be passed down through generations, never becoming extinct.

Back then, among the Eight Great Heavenly Demons, only Yuanqiong had no essence to pass on. The rest all transmitted their essence sooner or later, preserving the last vestiges of the Heavenly Demon lineage.

The human race once counted the heads of Heavenly Demons carefully, never daring to slack off even when one was missing.

Yuanqiong even split its essence to pass it off as something else.

Otherwise, the current calendar would still mark a Great Calamity.

The previous Bai Bo's death was real. The fact that much of its essence could not be reclaimed and dissipated was also real. No matter what, the next Bai Bo would be a fifth weaker in strength.

Still, given the current situation, any demon willing to fight would have to be thrown into the fray.

A hint of sorrow flickered across Bolo's expression, as if reminiscing about the past. But in his heart, he was calculating coldly—the new Bai Bo's strength was now at the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, unstable though it was. At least it had the essence, giving it no small power. They sorely needed more hands right now, so it would have to do whether it was ready or not.

More importantly, the new Bai Bo was unaware of the full truth. It only knew that Bolo personally chose a fortunate demon to inherit the name Bai Bo.

At this moment, the new Bai Bo was filled with nothing but gratitude and trust for Bolo.

Now was the best time to command it. Once the new Bai Bo came to its senses in the future, it would never be as easy to manage.

As the oldest among them, Yuanqiong had remained silent this time, as if giving tacit approval. But when the action actually started, the most senior Heavenly Demon would also have to move personally. There was no way to let it stand by any longer.

Himself, Bai Bo, and Fangjin already made three seats. If he could convince Zhong Su and Meiyu to join, then even if Yuanqiong was unwilling, with all that seniority, it could not ignore the will of so many Heavenly Demons.

Bolo’s gaze shifted back to Zhong Su as he cut to the chase:

"Over in Northern Julu Continent, the Evil Spirit Sect and those Incense Deities are fighting to the death. Chu Xingchen is more decisive than I expected. It seems he plans to use this opportunity to wipe out the Incense Deities of Northern Julu as well."

"All things considered, he won’t really be at a loss. I imagine that once the Incense Deities suffer heavy losses, lose their voice entirely, and are forced back under the rule of the Eighteen Immortal Sects, only when the Evil Spirit Sect has outlived its usefulness will he crush it."

Zhong Su said nothing, merely staring intently at Bolo.

Bolo smiled, then turned his gaze to Meiyu:

"I understand very well why you all want to ask why I would so willingly sacrifice some of the trump cards hidden in Western Niu Continent—especially knowing that the Evil Spirit Sect in Northern Julu is meant to be abandoned."

"The reason is clear: to show our stance, to prove we are willing to do some small favors for the heretical cultivators."

"Especially given how decisively Chen Baiqing carried out his purging campaign in Eastern Divine Continent, slaughtering those heretics until they fled in disgrace."

"If you do it well, the results are clear. But if you go too far..."

"We may have lost the Evil Spirit Sect, but we can always create another one. Just as our essence can endure to pass on."

Meiyu spoke softly:

"Those heretical cultivators have tangled relationships. With the enormous Evil Spirit Sect already purged, how could those scattered heretics ever be recruited again? Why trust a faction they know to be abnormal?"

"The heretics have always been weathervanes. If times are tough, they just lie low, waiting for the next Great Calamity to bring a new opportunity. For thousands of years, they’ve been nothing but rats—and I don’t see rats suddenly trying to take over the household."

"If you intend to use this to reorganize those heretics... then I’ll have to say I’ve overestimated you."

Zhong Su nodded in hearty agreement at these words, his scrutinizing gaze turning back to Bolo.

Polo waved his hand leisurely, then sat down in front of Meiyu.

“It’s not that simple. It would be laughable for mortals to try to turn back rivers with their bare hands. The human heart is like water—not so easily controlled.”

“The world knows that Chu Xingchen bears the great tribulation, that he is the Heir of the Dao.”

“But who in the world actually calls Chu Xingchen the Heir of the Dao? The title thrust upon him is still just ‘True Monarch Yama-Walker.’”

“If we truly judge Chu Xingchen’s actions, he risked his men and went against Xu Linglong for the sake of the Southern Jambu Continent.”

“He has never been particularly ruthless with people, not like Bai Xuanling’s true slaughter.”

“Yet with such a title, one might mistake him for a mere underling of mine.”

“Now consider Chen Baiqing, the White Abyss True Lord. Truly, he inherited his master’s style.”

“Right or wrong in deeds, we won’t discuss, but looking at one spot, you can glimpse much more.”

“We aren’t recruiting rogue cultivators. We just need them to understand who their enemy is, and how to safely retaliate—such as by spreading Chu Xingchen’s name.”

“As for the matter of the Incense Fire Divine, we’ll further build up Chu Xingchen’s infamy.”

“The Eighteen Immortal Sects may be aware of Chu Xingchen’s identity as the Heir of the Dao, but truly acknowledging and trusting him—that’s limited to only a few.”

“The Only True Immortal of the mortal realm throws quite the weight around, and the Buddhist Sect, being pliable, wields impressive schemes.”

“The alliance of the Immortal Sects is powerful. There are many reasons why Chu Xingchen has yet to fully unite the Eighteen Immortal Sects, but wariness is certainly one of them.”

“Mortals dare not speak loudly, for fear of startling the heavenly beings.”

“Chu Xingchen acts decisively toward the Immortal Sects, but if an opportunity arises to rein him in—”

“Let the heavenly man descend from above, fall into the hands of the world, into their rules.”

“At that point, he who was a heavenly being will become a villain in others’ mouths.”

“We must make the mortals speak loudly, and call down the heavenly being.”

“Then, Chu Xingchen will lose his reputation, lose his influence.”

“That will be our… final chance, the moment we stake everything.”

“For us demons, who have waited so long, that moment—”

“Is not far off.”