Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 694: Chapter 443: Falling into Demonic Ways

The Red Moon hangs high, exuding an bewitching and ominous presence!

Xu Yang sat beside the lake, gazing up at the vast sky, silent and wordless.

It’s here!

Indeed, it has come!

He did not possess the ability to foresee the future, and his initial training of the Admiring Eye of Heaven was not enough to spy on confrontations of such a world-class level, between two great Heavenly Daos. However, Longhai University was situated at a node of the Heavenly Demon, and obvious anomalies had emerged recently; thus, he concluded that something big was bound to happen, and he had been waiting here, like guarding a stump waiting for rabbits.

As expected, the Red Moon came once again, breaking the once-in-six-hundred-years routine!

Why did this happen?

Was it because in these past few years, he had singlehandedly driven “Calamity,” “Fate,” and “Merit,” through means like “involution,” forcing the Great Cavern Heavens to purge the Black Lotus Sect and other Heretic God Sects, the Claws and Fangs of the Heavenly Demon, casting a sense of crisis upon the Desire Realm, thus they spared no expense to shatter the norm and intensify their erosion?

Or was this precisely the pace of the Desire Realm’s plan, unaffected by his minor actions, whether to advance or delay, and wholly unfolding according to plan to further sound the trumpet for invasion?

Xu Yang was unsure.

Regardless, this return of the Red Moon must be the result of the Desire Realm’s concerted effort, having invested heavily.

This world’s position and strength were too formidable; even the Desire Realm could exploit it only gradually, using the Red Moon that came once every six hundred years to slowly erode, infiltrate with its power, deepen its influence, and eventually pry open the passage.

Now, they had broken the established practice, and merely after a few years, they beckoned the Red Moon once more. Undoubtedly, they had paid a tremendous price.

With such a heavy investment, how could there be no returns?

“Gurgle gurgle!”

Beneath the reflection of the Red Moon, the lake surface, tinged with an enchanting hue, suddenly surged with a multitude of ripples.

Following that, a horrifying silhouette emerged from the lake, revealing itself to be a monstrous fish of shocking appearance.

Its head and horns were imposing, but they were malformed and grotesque, lacking any aesthetics, only conveying a sense of distortion. Its body was vast, its scales a blood red. Though clearly a freshwater species, it resembled a deep-sea shark or whale.

As it surfaced, it paid no heed to Xu Yang, who was fishing by the lake, and instead began to prostrate itself towards the Red Moon.

Xu Yang watched this and did not interfere.

Years ago, he had discovered this Demon Fish, a byproduct of the previous Red Moon.

Because Longhai University was located at a node, the influence of the Red Moon’s night was more pronounced. Under the projection of the Heavenly Demon’s power, many creatures had mutated, with this Demon Fish lurking in the lake being the most severely affected.

However, it did not rashly act and attract the siege from all sides. Instead, it had been lurking in the university’s lake, devouring all the fish and shrimp within a year and growing into a Spirit Monster of considerable prowess.

Regrettably, before it could advance further, Xu Yang returned to Longhai University and immediately discovered the situation in the lake. He laid down a Formation to restrain it, leaving it suppressed at the lake’s bottom for years, going a long time without feeding.

The reason he chose suppression over direct slaughter was to use it for research, to see to what extent the Red Moon’s influence could demonify a creature.

Now it appears…

The Demon Fish broke through the Formation, shot out of the water, facing the sky to worship the moon, accepting the demonic taint.

Seeing this, Xu Yang did not intervene but quietly waited by the side.

As experimental material, collecting data, there naturally was no reason to prevent it.

In just a short while, the crimson abnormal hue faded, and the pristine moonlight shone down on the world once more.

“A moment!”

Xu Yang murmured, thoughtfully.

According to past practice, each descent of the Red Moon would last for an hour, which is why the night of the Red Moon was also called the Hour of the Red Moon.

But this time, breaking the norm, the Red Moon only lasted for a quarter of an hour, missing three-quarters of its span.

This was good news; it indicated that this world’s Heavenly Dao still had the strength to resist, preventing the Desire Realm from doing as it wished.

But…

“Glug!”

“Splash!”

A strange sound was heard, and the crimson blood water scattered like ink.

It was the Demon Fish, its malformed top bursting open, sprouting a pair of horns, its scales and flesh exploding in a bloodbath, unfurling pairs of ghastly fin-wings – it seemed neither fish nor dragon, bristling with sharp teeth, it lunged at its target.

When Xu Yang first discovered it, it almost possessed the Cultivation of a Golden Core demon. Although it had been suppressed at the lake bottom and starved for several years, its strength had not regressed much. Now that it broke free and worshipped the Red Moon, it had achieved a breakthrough, advancing fully into the Golden Core Realm.

The might of a Golden Core Demon Beast could be imagined.

It lunged forward, shrouded in a blood-red Extreme Evasion, its momentum like a rainbow.

It sought vengeance, to repay the blood for blood, to erase years of bitter hatred from being suppressed at the lake’s bottom.

However…

Xu Yang lifted his hand and thrust forward with his fishing rod.

A stroke so casually effortless, plain and unadorned!

Yet this casually effortless, plain and unadorned poke…

“Puff!!!”

The tip of the slender bamboo fishing rod, akin to the sharpest divine weapon, effortlessly pierced through the fish’s head, scales, and even its skull, finally protruding from the tail end.

A Demon Fish, lunging forward, yet before it could manifest its ferocity, became a skewered fish on a hook.

Xu Yang shook his head, flicked the fishing rod, and the several-foot-long Demon Fish fell to the shore.

“Its strength is comparable to a Golden Core, but sadly, its intelligence is lacking and it has few Divine Powers, its beastly nature overwhelming its rationality.”

“It must be due to insufficient time, lacking accumulation. Given a period of time, it could have surely risen to become a genuine demon of the Golden Core Realm.”

“And that’s just the impact of the Red Moon’s timing on a common creature at the Heavenly Demon node. If those Heretic God Sects, the Claws and Fangs of the Heavenly Demon were to encounter such an opportunity, let alone advancing to Golden Core, ascension to Nascent Soul, or even Deity Transformation would not be out of reach.”

“The Red Moon returns, the erosion intensifies, Desire Realm… you’ve truly gone all in!”