Chapter 110: Kui Ox

Across an infinitely vast plain, a red shadow flashed by at extreme speed, carrying a terrifying wave of heat. Wherever she passed, vegetation withered and rivers began to boil.

"Why is this happening?"

Nvkui arrived at the bank of a frozen river. Seeing the ice slowly melting, she was struck by a moment of bewilderment. The reflection in the water showed a face with green features and fangs, hideous and terrifying.

"Is this really me... have I become a monster?"

Nvkui collapsed onto the riverbank. Violent energy surged from within her, releasing a massive heatwave that turned the ground crimson and the rocks black. This land, once locked in ice, had been plunged into the height of summer in an instant.

...

"What is going on here?"

Above in the Heavenly Court, Nuwa looked toward Nvkui’s location, filled with shock and suspicion. Corpse aura? Is it not only dead creatures that possess corpse aura? Why would a living person be filled with so much of it?

"It is the Hou." Li Tian frowned, a minor matter he had ignored countless years ago suddenly surfacing in his mind.

"The Hou?" Nuwa pondered for a moment, and then she remembered. "Speaking of which, we bear some responsibility for the Hou. Perhaps we should go down and take a look."

"Agreed." Nuwa nodded. With a flash, she and Li Tian appeared in the lower realm, standing before Nvkui.

"That look is truly too unsightly." Li Tian looked down at Nvkui and pointed a finger. Instantly, the heatwave within her was suppressed, her complexion faded from a deathly blue back to a natural tone, and her fangs retracted in a heartbeat.

"Who are you?" Nvkui was startled by the two figures who had suddenly appeared. Noticing the changes to her body, she instinctively touched her cheeks. Upon realizing her fangs were gone, she was filled with joy and surprise. She rushed to the riverbank to check her reflection, and seeing that she had returned to her original appearance, she was overjoyed.

"Thank you both for your help!" Although she did not know the identities or motives of this man and woman, it was an undeniable fact that they had helped her.

"It was merely a small effort," Li Tian said with a smile, then cautioned, "In the future, you must be careful not to come into contact with the blood of any living beings, otherwise you will revert to that form again."

"Please, immortals, help me!" Nvkui grew anxious at the thought of returning to her previous state.

"You currently possess the strength of an early-stage Quasi-Saint—something countless people dream of. Are you sure you do not want it?" Li Tian asked with a smile.

"Early-stage Quasi-Saint?" Nvkui was stunned. She knew that all the primordial treasures in the Great Desolation were held by powerful primordial deities. Among the entire human race, aside from the Three Ancestors, the strongest were only at the peak of the Daluo Golden Immortal realm. How could she have become a Quasi-Saint?

"This is your destiny." Li Tian nodded and smiled slightly. "Now, go back to your father. He needs your help."

"Thank you, immortals." Thinking of her father, who was currently at war with Chiyou, Nvkui nodded. After bowing to Li Tian and Nuwa, she hurried back in the direction from which she came.

"Xuan-Yuan and Chiyou seem to be on the verge of a final battle. Shall we go and take a look?" Nuwa watched Nvkui’s figure fade and turned to ask Li Tian.

"Yes, it is time for us to make an appearance." After observing the situation on the battlefield of Zhuolu, Li Tian nodded slightly. "However, we must return to the Heavenly Court to prepare. Given our status, appearing without proper ceremony would be beneath us."

Nuwa smiled. "Indeed."

...

Meanwhile, upon learning of Nvkui’s disappearance, Xuan-Yuan had immediately dispatched his strongest warriors to search for her. At the same time, he had learned of her condition from the guards who had seen her. When he heard descriptions of a green-faced, fanged creature, he frowned. Thinking of Yinggou, he brought Duobao and others to examine him, hoping that as disciples of the Sages, they might be knowledgeable enough to identify the cause.

However, after a careful examination, Duobao and his companions could only shake their heads. They had never heard of such a condition and did not know how it had come to pass, noting only that the body was filled with corpse aura and the soul had dissipated—it could no longer be considered a living being.

Hearing this, Xuan-Yuan was stunned. If that was the case for Yinggou, had Nvkui also...?

...

Just as the searches yielded no results and many were preparing to give up, a soldier arrived with news: Nvkui had returned!

"Nvkui, where have you been?" Xuan-Yuan met her under the guidance of the soldier. Seeing that his daughter remained unchanged and had not become a "monster" like Yinggou, he was overjoyed and hurried to greet her.

"Father." Nvkui approached Xuan-Yuan, tears streaming down her face, and recounted everything she had experienced.

When she described how a simple touch from a stranger had restored her, Xuan-Yuan was left in a daze. A condition that even Brother Duobao could not identify had been cured by a mere touch? He questioned Nvkui in detail about the appearance of the two individuals, but as she knew little, she could provide no useful information. Seeing this, Xuan-Yuan did not press her further, but told her that if she ever saw them again, she must notify him immediately, before sending her off to rest.

...

With the matter of Nvkui settled, Xuan-Yuan turned his full attention to the war against Chiyou. Gathering his council, they began discussing how to break the Nine-Nine Celestial God-Slaying Formation.

"The Nine-Nine Celestial God-Slaying Formation relies on malevolent energy. As long as we find a way to disperse that energy, the formation will collapse on its own!" Duobao suggested.

The group’s eyes lit up. As expected of a disciple of the Sages, he had found the key. However, they soon began to argue over how to neutralize the malevolent energy, with everyone holding different opinions.

Finally, a human warrior recalled a divine beast he had once seen on a mountain called Liubo Mountain, known as the "Kui Ox," and suggested it. Hearing that this beast could command thunder, the group was excited—the power of lightning was the natural nemesis of malevolent energy! Furthermore, capturing a single beast was the simplest and least costly of all the proposed plans.

With the plan settled, a group of immortals from the Jiejiao sect, guided by the human warrior, flew toward Liubo Mountain, while the majority remained behind to hold off Chiyou. After all, Liubo Mountain was quite far from Zhuolu.

At this moment, everyone was filled with confidence. Once the Kui Ox was brought back, they could formally engage Chiyou in battle. After this, the human race would finally usher in peace!