In the blink of an eye, Wan Lei employed his Thousand Faces technique, and instantly, the appearances of the three of them transformed.
Three demon races appeared on the scene. Wan Lei's transformed guise was precisely that of the three demons he had previously slain, companions of Qian Niao.
To avoid any flaws, Wan Lei adjusted Qian Niao's form to match the power level of an upper-tier demon lord. If any speaking was required, Qian Niao would handle it.
Qi Man Yao and Qian Niao exchanged stunned glances. While transformative divine abilities were numerous in the world, an ability like Wan Lei's, which could alter not only appearance but also aura, bloodline, race, and cultivation pressure, was something they had never witnessed.
It could be said that if Wan Lei were sliced open and studied, his very blood would be that of a demon.
"What kind of divine ability is this? So powerful?"
Qian Niao's eyes blazed with desire. If he possessed this ability, the first thing he would do was transform into someone else, disappear into anonymity, and return to his homeland to live a peaceful life.
"This is the first style of the Divine Ability Boundless, Thousand Faces, taught to me by the Monkey King."
"Teach me quickly, good brother."
"Forget it. How can a demon learn a divine ability from the righteous plane?"
Wan Lei shook his head. It wasn't that he was being stingy with his knowledge. This divine ability, after being created by the Great Sage, was personally imparted to him. Although the Great Sage hadn't explicitly forbidden him from passing it on, Wan Lei couldn't casually teach it to others; he would need the Great Sage's permission, which was also a sign of respect.
To this day, he hadn't taught it to anyone, not even Fang Xiao Yu.
Of course, even if he were to teach it, he wouldn't teach it to Qian Niao. This wasn't due to a lack of trust in Qian Niao.
The reason was that if Qian Niao were ever captured by demons from the negative plane and subjected to soul-searching, this divine ability could be leaked to the demon race. In such a scenario, millions of demons could disguise themselves as righteous plane armies, infiltrate bases, and cause widespread slaughter, or even invade the righteous plane. This would be catastrophic.
Enemies in plain sight were not frightening; those hidden in the dark were. With countless demons entering the righteous plane and masquerading as ordinary people, one couldn't simply kill everyone indiscriminately.
"Qian Niao, when we speak later, remember to be arrogant. There are no demon gods here; the upper-tier demon lords are the most powerful. Speak with authority, and don't pay them any mind."
"Alright, I understand. Let's go."
Qian Niao waved his hand grandly and swaggered, leading the two towards the demon gathering place.
Wan Lei had used his Dharma Body before, so he felt no discomfort with a height of ten meters; it merely made everything he looked at seem a little smaller.
Qi Man Yao had never been this tall before and felt unaccustomed, constantly looking around.
"Stop looking. Calm yourself. Just pretend you're a demon and rein in that wary expression."
Wan Lei transmitted his voice to Qi Man Yao.
"Are you scolding me?"
"I..."
One truly couldn't reason with a woman.
The three quickly flew into the demon army. Many demons saw them but only cast a glance before looking away, assuming they were their own kind returning to the army.
Qian Niao flew forward without a word. Suddenly, an upper-tier demon lord approached and said with a smile,
"Du Bing, you've arrived too. Have you found any other of your kind?"
"It's Gao Huo. We came from that direction. We haven't encountered any of our kin or any humans along the way, but we did run into quite a few memetics."
"Sigh, indeed. We were teleported to such an unfamiliar place, though it looks like it might be a remnant of our demon race.
It's just that we were supposed to complete our mission and receive rewards, but that human saint ruined our plans. I'm so angry, I could just tear Wan Lei apart limb from limb when I find him."
"Hahaha, take your time finding him. But why are you all gathered here instead of searching for people?"
Qian Niao asked casually.
"Look over there."
Gao Huo pointed into the distance. The three turned their heads and saw a vast, earth-yellow lake. The lake's surface was continuously churning, as if there were a spring bubbling up from within.
"What is that?"
"We don't know what it is, but the aura from within is growing stronger. We suspect there's a treasure in the ruins about to emerge, so we're all waiting here to see if we can obtain it.
If it's a good treasure, we'll hand it in after we go out, and everyone will receive rewards."
"Oh, alright then."
Qian Niao nodded and continued flying forward as if nothing were amiss, attempting to blend in.
"Sigh, Du Bing, where are you going? Aren't you waiting for the treasure to appear?"
Gao Huo called out to them.
"Hmph, what business is it of yours? You're all blinded by treasure. I'm going to find my own kind. Perhaps I'll even capture Wan Lei alive.
A bunch of money-grubbing fools. This place is so strange, filled with memetics everywhere. Be careful, what comes out might not be a treasure but some terrifying evil entity."
Wan Lei was startled by this remark. "Damn it, Big Brother, don't jinx it! If it's something bad, won't that just create more trouble?"
"Fine, fine, you're so noble, so amazing. Go find them yourself. When the treasure comes out, I won't report your contribution."
The three remained silent and continued flying forward. Just as they reached the center of the demon crowd, they suddenly heard the demons around them shouting.
"Look quickly, the treasure is about to emerge."
"What is that thing?"
"Such a powerful aura."
The three turned to look and saw that from the center of the churning lake water, a bead emanating demonic energy was slowly rising. Judging by its immense power, it was clearly no ordinary object.
The surrounding demons stirred restlessly, each wanting to seize the treasure but also fearing the danger, hesitant to approach.
Greed and cowardice were vividly displayed on their faces.
"Hmph, a bunch of cowards. I'll go get it."
Gao Huo snorted disdainfully, scanned his surroundings, and then flew towards the center of the lake.
However, just as he reached the edge of the lake, the bead suddenly emitted a blinding black light. In an instant, the entire lake began to churn violently.
Following this, countless demon ghosts, each standing three zhang tall, crawled out of the water with bared teeth and claws.
These demon souls, with their vacant yet greedy eyes, appeared mindless and ethereal. Their mutated forms were twisted and misshapen, presenting a bizarre spectacle that made it difficult to distinguish between memetics and souls.
"It's an evil spirit tide! Quickly, form defensive formations!"
The demons shouted loudly, descending into chaos. Some tried to flee, while others held up shields to hold their ground.
The number of evil spirits emerging from the lake was simply too great. In just this short period, tens of thousands had appeared.
Wan Lei recalled what Squirrel had told him before: after death in the boundless universe, people were destined to wander in the sea of suffering, unable to enter the underworld. When their lifespan was cut short, they would fall into the sea of suffering and become mindless evil spirits.
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While watching a movie, I suddenly found a still that was exactly as I had imagined demons to look. I've posted the picture in the group. Anyone who doesn't know what demons look like can go and take a look. The character art at the bottom of the pinned post also shows them.