Chapter 660: Great Demon 23

"The circumstances are different." Tan You twisted her small, slender body. The demonic beasts below the eighth rank saw nothing but a blur, but those of the Ninth Rank and above clearly witnessed her transformation. The small, exquisite Golden Ring Snake was gone from Bai Ze’s palm, replaced by a female Cultivator in a golden dress.

Cang Long blinked dramatically. "Whoa, you’re so bright and golden, it makes me want to snatch you up and take you home."

Tan You shot Cang Long a look, her tone half-joking, half-serious. "I’ve recently gained some insight into a few ancient arrays, and I was just worrying about not having a test subject..."

The Nine-tailed Fox used several of her tails in unison to push Cang Long forward. "Cang Long has thick skin and tough flesh, and he isn’t afraid of getting struck by lightning. He’s perfect for you to test your arrays on."

Cang Long’s face flushed with anxiety. "It’s true I have thick skin, but I’m no Immortal Monarch! You think I can just walk into that God Trapping Array?"

Remembering the power of the God Trapping Array that day, Cang Long felt a terror that came from the depths of his soul.

Tan You smiled, brushing the topic aside. "Let’s not talk about that. In the end, being able to see everyone again is something to be happy about. I just didn’t expect all of you to actually come for a simple hatching day."

The Nine-tailed Fox beamed. "None of us had ever seen a Golden Ring Snake, so we were mostly just curious. The rumors don’t do you justice—you’re truly beautiful. And if I look closely at your features, your alluring aura, or perhaps your demonic aura, seems to have diminished significantly."

The Daoist companion of the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird also studied Tan You intently. "You look more like a celestial now."

Tan You casually reached out to stroke one of the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird’s feathers. "All of you will become Immortal Monarchs in the future. Besides, I’m only at the Ninth Rank right now; I still have a long road ahead of me."

"Oh, right. I’ve had some recent insights regarding arrays. I have one that can purify a demonic beast’s bloodline."

Cang Long, the Nine-tailed Fox, the Red Flame Tiger, and the other demonic beasts all stared with wide eyes. As the Demon Clan had propagated over the ages, were there any pure-blooded demonic beasts left? One could say that in the entire Ten-Direction Great Mountain, only Tan You and Bai Ze were pure-blooded.

Tan You had completely reverted to her ancestral form, becoming a Golden Ring Snake. Bai Ze were born and nurtured by the heavens themselves; a new one would only appear after the previous one perished. Besides them, which of the other demonic beasts didn’t have the blood of other demon clans flowing in their veins?

A mixed bloodline obstructed the path of cultivation, just as with Cultivators, where fewer Spirit Roots meant a faster cultivation speed.

Take Cang Long, for instance. He possessed the bloodlines of a Thunder Dragon and a Cold Dragon, and even a trace from a clam spirit. I mean, who could blame him? His maternal grandmother was a clam spirit. After all, everyone knows about the... inclinations of the Dragon Clan, right?

In fact, looking across the entire Demon Clan, most demonic beasts possessed some Dragon Clan bloodline; it was just a matter of whether the concentration was weak or strong.

So, after tens of millions of years of cultivation, the demonic beasts were all intimately familiar with the suffering caused by mixed bloodlines. How could they not be tempted upon hearing that Tan You had a method for bloodline purification?

Cang Long was always the quickest to seize an opportunity. He was the first to respond. "Uh... Jin Huan, weren’t you just saying you needed a demonic beast to test your array on? My skin is thick, and I’m not afraid of getting zapped one bit!"

The Nine-tailed Fox was a step behind. ’When it comes to snatching up opportunities, Cang Long is always the first,’ she thought. ’He was the first one to follow that guidance array last time, too, even though he ended up getting knocked out by the Tianyuan Sect’s array.’

’But the scoundrel never learns his lesson. The moment he sees an advantage, he has to claw it into his own hands.’

The Nine-tailed Fox shoved all nine of her tails into Tan You’s hands. "Jin Huan, let me try too! I have some red fox blood in me, so my bloodline isn’t completely pure."

Cradling an armful of fox tails, Tan You couldn’t resist giving them a good stroking before breaking into a smile. "Aren’t you afraid I’ll lead you into a trap? Cang Long threw quite a tantrum the last time you all were trapped."

Cang Long had always been shameless. "I threw a fit, sure, but it wasn’t directed at you. That array was laid by the Tianyuan Sect; it had nothing to do with you, right? Jin Huan, we’re on the same team! We should obviously get first priority for something this good."

Tan You was at a loss. "Fine. As long as you’re not afraid of getting struck by lightning."

Cang Long’s brow furrowed. "Struck by lightning?"

Tan You said, annoyed, "The power of thunder and lightning can temper your muscles and bones, precipitating the impure bloodlines out of your body. Of course it’s going to be painful. I can only say that it won’t be fatal, but you will suffer. Naturally, if you’re truly afraid, we can do it in multiple sessions."

"But the results won’t be as good as doing it all at once. It’s your choice. Do you want to completely cleanse the bloodlines in your body in a single session, or do it in two or three?"

Cang Long shook his massive head. "Fine. Jin Huan, you said it’s not fatal. As long as I make it out of the array alive, I can endure any hardship."

A sly smile played on Tan You’s lips. "Really?"

A chill ran down Cang Long’s spine. "Of course it’s true! Am I, Cang Long, the kind of demonic beast who goes back on his word?"

As Cang Long prepared to be the first to enter the array for bloodline purification, even more demonic beasts from the Ten-Direction Great Mountain flocked to Tan You’s territory upon hearing the news. Everyone was eager to witness just how a demonic beast’s bloodline could be purified.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Tan You set up an array. It didn’t look like the God Trapping Array, so Cang Long and the other demonic beasts breathed a collective sigh of relief. ’See? Tan You is one of us,’ he thought. ’She wouldn’t do something as cruel as harming her own kind, would she?’

Alas, Cang Long’s relief was premature. The moment he stepped inside, another, smaller array materialized within the larger one. Chains formed from the primal energy of the world shot out from all sides, binding him securely within the small array.

While Cang Long was still stunned, Tan You’s voice drifted in from outside the array. "Bloodline purification is an extraordinarily painful process. I have to use this method to prevent you from trying to brute-force your way out."

Cang Long understood her implication, but he was a Great Demon who had been famous in the Ten-Direction Great Mountain for ages—practically the strongest Great Demon after Bai Ze. Was he really going to be intimidated by her words?

So, Cang Long laughed heartily. "Fine! Didn’t I already tell you? My skin is thick. I’m not afraid."

Tan You chuckled. "We’ll see about that."

The instant she finished speaking, three bolts of Heavenly Thunder descended from the sky with swift and ruthless precision. Cang Long was struck until he was seeing stars. When he opened his mouth, a puff of black smoke billowed out. "Did you have to be so brutal? You didn’t even give me a moment to prepare."

Tan You crossed her arms. "What’s there to prepare for? Let’s just get this over with!"

As the Heavenly Thunder descended, Tan You carefully guided its trajectory, ensuring it struck every single part of Cang Long’s body. It was a rare opportunity; no one understood this array yet, and a test subject had conveniently delivered himself to her. Of course she was going to use this chance to understand it completely.

To be fair, while she had seen the array in her inherited memories, this was the first time she had ever set it up in this world, so Tan You still felt a bit uncertain about it. Now that she had Cang Long as a test subject, she could finally let loose and research it to her heart’s content.

While Tan You focused on familiarizing herself with the array’s adjustments, Cang Long was suffering in silence. The initial few bolts of Heavenly Thunder were still manageable, leaving only a few faint marks on his body.

After all, he was a Thunder Dragon to begin with, so Heavenly Thunder of this magnitude couldn’t even scorch him. Seemingly noticing this, the subsequent bolts grew increasingly vicious, one after another. Cang Long started to suspect that Tan You was actually trying to smite him to death.