Chapter Twenty-Three: The Farewell to the Blood Demon

Jett, scan the valley on that planet and see whether Thunder Cudgel has finished the job,” Tang Yi ordered the ship.

Beep... beep... scan complete. One active human lifeform detected. Confirmation complete: ninety-nine percent match with Thunder Cudgel,” Jett replied.

“Good, that’s him. Beam him straight into this restaurant,” Tang Yi said.

“Proceeding immediately. Transferring... complete!” As Jett’s voice fell silent, a shaft of white light blazed within the restaurant, and Thunder Cudgel was transported inside.

“Golden-light warrior! Wow, that really is cool!” Hua Shaojie exclaimed when he saw that Thunder Cudgel was indeed the same cultivator from the earlier image, wrapped head to toe in golden radiance and wielding golden-light techniques with both hands.

“How is it? Not bad, this look of mine, is it? Great body, too!” Thunder Cudgel said with satisfaction, admiring the body he had chosen.

“Fine. Since you’ve picked one, eat first, then we head back to Earth immediately. We still have business to attend to. Thunder Cudgel, eat up,” Tang Yi said.

“Wow, it smells amazing. I haven’t eaten anything for so long I don’t even know how to start...” Thunder Cudgel said, making everyone nearly spit out their food.

...

“Blood Demon, have you been well during this time?” Tang Yi appeared inside Blood Demon Cave.

“Hmph, I thought you’d gone back on your word. Does building a transport array really take this long?” Blood Demon said angrily.

“It wouldn’t have taken that long, no. But finding the materials took three-quarters of the time. Enough of that—are you ready? We can transfer you at any moment now,” Tang Yi said.

“Tomorrow. Come back for me tomorrow. I need to pack some things today,” Blood Demon said after a moment’s thought.

“Hmm? What do you have to pack? I really can’t imagine, but that’s none of my business. Fine, I’ll come again at this time tomorrow,” Tang Yi said, and vanished at once.

“Sigh... if only I had divine powers like Tang Yi...” Blood Demon lamented, staring at where Tang Yi had disappeared.

...

Changbai Mountain, Flying Cloud Peak.

“Qiangzi, how far has your relay station been laid?” Tang Yi asked over the communicator, speaking with Zhang Qiang, who was out installing signal relay stations.

“Brother Tang, my current position is almost to Horse Tail Star in the Pegasus Galaxy. In another three to five days, I think we’ll be able to get in touch with Elder Lu and the others,” Zhang Qiang replied.

“Good. Bear with it a little longer. When you get back, I’ll reward all of you properly,” Tang Yi said cheerfully.

“Then goodbye, Brother Tang. I’m going back to work,” Zhang Qiang said, ending the call.

...

The next day.

Inside Blood Demon Cave, Tang Yi appeared once again before Blood Demon. By now, Blood Demon’s frame had shrunk to about the size of an ordinary man, standing just over two meters tall.

“To make things easier for everyone, I’d like you to enter this cultivation chamber first. That way I’ll feel more at ease,” Tang Yi said, taking out the cultivation chamber used by the accelerated training class and enlarging it instantly before motioning for Blood Demon to step inside. Fortunately, Blood Demon was big enough; otherwise it would have been difficult to handle.

“All right!” Blood Demon answered simply and climbed in without hesitation. The moment he entered, he discovered the chamber’s secret and immediately regretted it, shouting at Tang Yi, “Tang Yi, what do you mean by this? Going back on your word again? How is this any different from Blood Demon Cave!”

“You don’t need to shout. Once we get there, I’ll let you out. After that, you’ll truly be free. For now, you have to stay put. Even if you don’t behave, there’s nothing you can do about it. Heh heh...” As he spoke, Tang Yi shrank the chamber down and slipped it into his pocket. Blood Demon instantly felt as though the sky had gone dark.

On the broad square of the Tang family group atop Flying Cloud Peak stood a gigantic transport array.

“Blood Demon, come out! We’ve arrived,” Tang Yi said, enlarging the cultivation chamber and releasing Blood Demon.

“Hmph, Tang Yi, you’ve gone too far. It was even darker in there than in Blood Demon Cave. I demand compensation. You’d better figure something out,” Blood Demon barked at him the moment he emerged.

“Enough. This is the greatest turning point of your life. Are you ready?” Tang Yi asked.

“Hm? This transport array is rather unusual?” Blood Demon studied the array on the square in earnest, walking slowly around the perimeter. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen sunlight. This feeling is wonderful,” he said as he moved toward the edge.

Tang Yi noticed but did not care, continuing, “That’s right. My transport array is fully intelligent. It can be operated manually or remotely, and it can even start and stop automatically on a schedule...” He had not finished speaking when, with a loud crash, Blood Demon suddenly shot upward at speed and slammed into an invisible protective barrier, rebounding back down.

“Heh heh. Listen, Blood Demon. I admit you’re powerful, and you do have an undying body. But being impossible to kill doesn’t mean I can’t trap you. Don’t try anything clever. I was prepared for this. I set up six layers of defensive formations all around here; even if heaven and earth collapsed, you still wouldn’t get out. Just stay put and wait for the transfer,” Tang Yi said, looking down at Blood Demon on the ground and teasing him.

“All right, Tang Yi. You win. But at least tell me where you’re sending me,” Blood Demon said helplessly, struggling to his feet.

“To be honest, I don’t know exactly where you’ll end up. That way, we’ll never see each other again. Isn’t that nice?” Tang Yi said, taking out the transport array’s activation device.

“Fine... fine... so you’re even crueler than I am!” Blood Demon snapped in fury.

“Heh heh... thank you for the compliment. You can go in now. Once the transfer is over, you’ll be free, and we’ll all be at peace. How nice is that? A two-for-one deal. That’s called a win-win, understand?” Tang Yi guided Blood Demon into the transfer range of the array.

The transport array began to flash with multicolored light, spinning like a lantern wheel, faster and faster and faster, yet the transfer function still would not activate. Blood Demon, at the center of the array, was already completely immobilized, unable to move an inch. If not for the extraordinary toughness of his body, anyone else would already have been torn apart by the force within the array. He could not even speak; he could only curse Tang Yi endlessly from inside, cursing his ancestors for eighteen generations and more, yet nothing changed.

“Increase it... keep increasing it... set it to the maximum distance. Increase it...” Tang Yi kept fiddling with the activation device for the super transport array, doing his utmost to raise the transfer distance to the largest possible value. “Honestly, I never thought to set a maximum back then. Now I have to do it manually, and my fingers are almost rubbed raw, and it still isn’t at maximum. I brought this on myself...” he muttered, grumbling at himself while continuing to press the button to increase the distance. Blood Demon, meanwhile, continued to endure that inhuman torment.