Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

Hiu! Pa!

Black Jack's magical crystal smoke was blossoming in the distance. A bright red mushroom umbrella was blossoming under the dome.

When Theresa and Princess Summer followed the signal, they found that Black Jack had gathered his entire harem.

Thankfully, they were not far away when they were blown by the space ripples.

Besides, they were quite lucky. Other than Theresa and Princess Summer, who encountered a Demonic Halberd Pig, the rest of them barely encountered any strong demon beasts or devils. They all found each other unharmed.

"Excellent!"

Princess Summer and Hela hugged each other in excitement. Keer was dancing in excitement, too.

Even his sisters who were half-demons were greatly relieved.

No one had expected that they would be able to cross the border between the Glorious Mortal World and the Blood Demon Sector without drawing blood. They had thought that a brutal battle was coming.

Weird.

Black Jack counted the people and found that none of them were missing. He was both relieved and suspicious. "It shouldn't be. Logically speaking, there are always patrol teams of the demon race on the border between the human world and the demon world. Even if they don't kill anybody they see, they should at least interrogate them and determine their background. Why is the defense of the demon world so lackluster today? There are no demons at all? Keer—"

He called the cat girl Keer.

The catgirl shook her tail and lay down, pressing her ears close to the ground. She held her breath and listened for a moment, before she said, "Follow the southwest direction. There are sounds of fighting no more than ten kilometers away. It should be a large-scale battle, but I can't hear it clearly. The humus here is too thick for the noises to reach us."

"More than ten kilometers to the southwest?"

Black Jack frowned. "That's 'Thousand Gates Mountain'. Have the demons started fighting among themselves on a large scale again?"

The members of the harem group discussed among themselves according to their experience and knowledge.

Princess Summer quietly pulled the confused Theresa aside and explained to her.

Since it was named 'Bloody Demon Sector', it was naturally a place where battles took place all year round. Corpses were everywhere, and blood was flowing everywhere.

The brutal devils were not united. Instead, they were divided into at least seven main tribes that were governed by seven 'grand lords' and engaged in endless wars.

Maybe it was because the resources of the Blood Demon Sector were too scarce to feed the over-expanding population.

Or rather, due to the evil nature of the devil race, it was their destiny to prey on the weak and kill each other until the ultimate king of the seven devil kings was selected in the competition of survival of the fittest. Then, they would unite the entire Blood Demon Sector and lead the magnificent army of the seven devils to march into the glorious world.

"In the tales of the bards, a real devil king would emerge among the seven devil kings every thousand years. He could unite the seven tribes, break the barrier, and march into the human world.

Princess Summer told Theresa, "Judging from the time, it has indeed been thousands of years since the 'battle of the apocalypse'. It's about time that a new devil king was born. Sister Hera and the rest of them speculated that the regular infighting among the demons escalated into a brutal civil war. All the troops of the demon race were involved, and there was no time to defend the border between the demon world and the human world. After all, the army of the human world was unlikely to attack the demon world.

Theresa nodded and asked, "Then, what is 'Thousand Gates Mountain'?"

Princess Summer pricked up her ears and listened to the description of the two half-blood sisters who were born and raised in this place. Then she turned around and explained to Theresa, "The terrain of the Blood Demon Sector is very different from that of the Glorious Mortal World. There are no mountains or rivers, no sun, moon, or stars, nor are there any splendid palaces or magnificent castles. There are only complicated tubes, forked ditches, vertical shafts, and countless 'slits' above and below. Every fracture is equivalent to a city. When the countless fractures are combined, it will be a three-dimensional world that looks like a honeycomb or an ant nest. The devils call it the 'Devil Nest'.

"The devil's nest is so complicated that it's like a giant maze. Even the devils who are born and raised in this place might be lost. The army will be marching and mobilizing. Naturally, they cannot crawl slowly in the tubes.

"Therefore, in the Blood Demon Sector, the sections far away from each other are mostly connected by teleportation arrays, or 'demon gates'.

"Through the 'demon gate—magical teleportation array', one can be teleported from the first floor to the 999th floor instantly. It is the main mode of transportation in the Blood Demon Sector.

"Naturally, it can be seen from the common sense of the military that whoever controls the 'demonic gate' will be holding the key to victory and failure. The more teleportation arrays and nodes a tribe controls, the more influential they will be.

"In the words of the devil race, 'Thousand Gates Mountain' is a super-large transmission center with thousands of 'demonic gates' that can lead to any place in the entire nest. They can even appear behind hostile tribes unpredictably. Naturally, they are the most important strategic locations.

"However, there is an unwritten rule that has been passed on for thousands of years. The Thousand Gates Mountain is a place of peace shared by all the demons. It is a prohibited military zone. Not a single drop of blood is allowed to stain the 'sacredness' of the Thousand Gates Mountain. Whoever dares to attack or even take over the Thousand Gates Mountain will become the enemy of all the demons. Even the demons who did not have a grudge against them will attack them together.

Theresa was dazed. "Why?"

"Because the technology to manufacture 'demonic gates' has been lost.

Princess Summer said, "Once the devil gate is damaged, it is almost impossible to repair. Besides, the devil gate is the key to maintain the devil nest. If the connection between the devil nests is cut off, the devils will be suffocated to death.

"Therefore, although the battles between the devils often revolve around the attack and defense of the demon sects, few of them will destroy the demon sects directly. The Thousand Gates Mountain, where thousands of demon sects are gathered, is the holy land of the devils. Whoever dares to fight in this place will likely destroy the entire Blood Demon Sector.

"Of course, that is the logic. But more importantly, I'm afraid that the strategical value of the Thousand Gates Mountain is too high. If any of the tribes of the demon world take control of the Thousand Gates Mountain, the balance that has been established for thousands of years will be disrupted, and they will become the supreme dominators of the demon world. It is not something that other demons are willing to see.

"However, today, it seems that a devil lord finally couldn't hold back his ambition any longer and marched toward the Thousand Gates Mountain despite the universal condemnation. It also means that the devil lord is confident that he can unite the entire devil world and become the new devil king thousands of years later, right?"