"Little sister, how many years have you been cultivating?"
"This humble one has cultivated for over ten thousand years."
"For a demon, to achieve your level of cultivation in just ten thousand years is quite impressive."
Demons are different from humans.
If a human has good aptitude and decent luck, becoming an Immortal is relatively easy. And after becoming an Immortal, if their fortune is good, growing stronger isn't difficult either.
But a demon's growth requires a very long stage.
The demons seen in the Sandflow Small Hidden Realm couldn't even be considered proper demons; at best, they were demonic beasts.
Only after their minds become enlightened can they be considered true demons.
Even after gaining enlightenment, a demon's cultivation is an extremely lengthy process.
Take Guntong, for example—he is also a Spirit Demon. But Gu Qingfeng could tell this old demon had cultivated for nearly a hundred thousand years.
For Bai Yanyan to reach the Spiritual Awareness to Subtlety realm and become a Spirit Demon in just ten thousand years was absolutely a matter worthy of pride. Not just in the Monster Dao, but even in the Immortal Dao, becoming a Spirit Immortal in ten thousand years was a very difficult feat.
For instance, Zijin and Ziqing—both had cultivated for ten thousand years, and both had done so through arduous closed-door cultivation. Yet they were only at the Seven Luminosities Great Sun Golden Immortal stage. To step into the Spiritual Awareness to Subtlety realm, they would need to achieve Nine Luminosities Great Perfection first. Don't think the gap between Seven Luminosities and Nine Luminosities sounds like just two levels—it's only *sounds* that way. The actual cultivation is a different matter entirely. Even if one achieved Nine Luminosities Great Perfection, whether they could step into Spiritual Awareness to Subtlety was still an unknown.
In the Great Desolate, a mere single-luminosity minor realm could halt many Immortals for hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of years. For major realms like Golden Immortal to Spirit Immortal, being stuck for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years was nothing rare in the Great Desolate.
"Many thanks for the Worthy One's praise. My sister and I owe our current cultivation entirely to our master's guidance."
"I see. So you had an expert guiding you."
Gu Qingfeng asked with considerable interest, "To have taught a pair of Spirit Demons like you two, your master must be a mighty figure."
"Our master, Shuiyue Shitai, is no mighty figure. She is merely a Buddhist practitioner who has seen through the vanity of the mortal world and lives in seclusion here."
"Your master is a nun?"
Gu Qingfeng was genuinely surprised. To be honest, in all his years, he had seen plenty of monks, but a nun? Never. He asked, "Your master is also in seclusion here in the Sandflow Small Hidden Realm?"
"Yes."
"I must pay her a visit when I have time."
"Worthy One, we've chatted for so long, but this humble one still doesn't know your honorable name."
"Me? My Dao Title is Chixiao."
"So it's Worthy One Chixiao."
"Don't call me 'Worthy One,' that's too formal. Call me 'Great Lord' instead."
"This...
Very well, Great Lord Chixiao."
In the Great Desolate, whether demon or Immortal, almost everyone had their own Dao Title. When traveling abroad, they generally used their Dao Titles. Even the Great Dao's conferments were bestowed upon Dao Titles.
Upon hearing Gu Qingfeng's Dao Title was Chixiao, both Bai Yanyan and Guntong ahead searched their memories. This included Horse King, Zijin, and Ziqing—it was the first time they had learned Gu Qingfeng's Dao Title, and they too pondered, searching their minds for any information related to the Dao Title 'Chixiao.'
Alas.
After much thought, the only impression they had of the Dao Title Chixiao was that of the famously infamous Nine Nethers Emperor.
Everyone knew that in ancient times, the Emperor who had once thrown the Great Desolate into earth-shattering chaos, his Dao Title was Chixiao.
Beyond that, there seemed to be no other impression of the Dao Title Chixiao.
However, none of them thought in that direction. After all, everyone also knew that at the dawn of the current era, the Emperor had become an Embodiment of Original Sin and, for the sake of all living beings in heaven and earth, sacrificed himself, igniting the Original Sin Karmic Fire and turning to ashes.
Thus, Gu Qingfeng and Bai Yanyan chatted idly as they sat in the Firecloud Grand Chariot, speeding along.
After an unknown length of time, under Guntong's guidance, they finally left the swamp. Before them stretched a vast, desolate expanse of sand dunes and many cliffs that seemed weathered and decayed.
The natural environment here was even harsher than the swamp. Fierce winds swept across the desert, forming sandstorms that roared like ferocious dragons.
Gu Qingfeng narrowed his eyes, observing. He realized the natural environment of these sand dunes couldn't simply be called harsh—it was utterly ruined. And the moment they arrived, he sensed a mysterious, sinister aura.
"What is this place?" Gu Qingfeng asked.
"Worthy One Chixiao, this is the Sandscape Demon Domain."
"Demon Domain?
There are demonic creatures here?"
"Yes, and they are exceptionally terrifying."
Gu Qingfeng nodded, sensing the sinister aura of this Sandscape Demon Domain. Enveloped by such an aura, it was perfectly normal for demonic creatures to be born.
Horse King shuddered uncontrollably upon hearing this place had demonic creatures. Not just him—even Zijin and Ziqing, with their Seven Luminosities Great Sun cultivation, had their expressions shift repeatedly upon learning demonic creatures roamed the Sandscape Demon Domain.
Because the existence of demonic creatures was far more frightening than demons. Most demons, like humans, were born generation after generation. But demonic creatures were different—they were born from natural gestation. They required no cultivation; from birth, they possessed terrifying power. Some powerful demonic creatures could annihilate a Great Desolate Spirit Demon as easily as crushing an ant.
Not just Zijin and Ziqing, but even Guntong and Bai Yanyan, both Great Desolate Spirit Demons, regarded the demonic creatures of the Sandscape Demon Domain with trepidation. They were old demons of the swamp and knew full well how terrifying the creatures here were. Fortunately, the number of demonic creatures in the Sandscape Demon Domain wasn't large, and they generally only roamed within it, rarely venturing elsewhere.
Otherwise, the Sandflow Small Hidden Realm would likely have been overrun by those creatures long ago.
Gu Qingfeng watched for a while, then asked, "How much farther is the One-Slice-of-Heaven Forbidden Zone you mentioned?"
"Not far. It's inside this Sandscape Demon Domain."
"Let's go, take a look."
Guntong hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Worthy One Chixiao, the demonic creatures of this Sandscape Demon Domain are particularly fearsome. If we encounter some minor creatures, it's manageable—I can handle them. But if we run into those ancient demonic creatures... I am far from a match..."
"With me here, what's there to fear? Doesn't matter if they're minor or ancient demonic creatures."
"This...
Very well."
Though Guntong didn't want to take the risk, he dared not defy Gu Qingfeng's will due to his overwhelming strength. Gritting his teeth and steeling himself, he led the way into the Sandscape Demon Domain.
Fortunately, their luck held. They encountered no demonic creatures along the way. Soon, Guntong brought Gu Qingfeng and the others to the One-Slice-of-Heaven Forbidden Zone.