Chapter 369: Chapter 86: Requesting Affirmation and the Transformation Thunder Tribulation!

Lin Chen and Jiang Liqian simultaneously stepped back, took out their magical treasures, and activated their protective True Essence.

They assumed a posture ready for battle at any moment.

The reason was that what was speaking before them was not a human.

It was a demon!

A transformed great demon!

No... to be precise, it was a great demon halfway through transformation!

This was a demon that half resembled the Human Race.

From afar, it looked like an unusually tall old man.

He was nearly ten feet tall, robust, draped in clothes made of leaves, and adorned with a few pink peach blossoms.

Looking at his human-like face, it was full of wrinkles, like tree bark, bumpy and pitted.

At this moment, he forcibly squeezed out a smile, which only made him more unsettling.

Looking at this old man’s head, it was not hair but intertwined slender vines and branches, with a large peach growing from it.

More disturbing were this old man’s limbs.

The left arm and leg were clearly human flesh and blood, but the right arm and leg were thick tree trunks.

This old man, who was part human, part tree, sent a chill down one’s spine.

This was a tree demon!

Lin Chen and Jiang Liqian exchanged a glance, both showing expressions of shock.

A transformed great demon was equivalent to a Divinity Transformation Cultivator of the Human Race!

Yet before them, this tree demon, while not fully human-shaped, had already half-passed the transformation thunder tribulation.

At least it was a Nascent Soul Peak great demon, or... a half-step Divinity Transformation!

"What kind of luck is this? To encounter a great demon about to transform!"

Lin Chen took a deep breath but dared not act recklessly.

At this moment, the old tree demon still smiled amiably and repeated the question he asked earlier:

"Friend, do I resemble a human?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen’s mind went blank, almost instinctively ready to answer.

But his powerful divine sense quickly snapped him back to reality, prompting him to remain silent.

Glancing at Jiang Liqian, she too was momentarily stunned, but the jade pendant on her neck glowed, quickly bringing her back to her senses.

Looking at Li Zhenqian and Zhou Tieshan, however, they lacked the cultivation depth to resist.

Both seemed to have lost their minds, about to answer without thinking.

"You don’t..."

As the words were about to leave their mouths, Jiang Liqian’s expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly used a Silence Technique to seal Li Zhenqian and Zhou Tieshan’s mouths.

Lin Chen reacted swiftly, casting a technique to knock both unconscious.

At this point, Jiang Liqian spoke with difficulty, but she managed to say:

"Senior, may I ask you to wait a moment?"

The tree demon elder paused upon hearing this but did not refuse, merely nodding and saying:

"Fine, one quarter of an hour."

With that, he stood silently aside, watching the group.

Only then did Jiang Liqian stand beside Lin Chen, her expression serious as she transmitted her voice:

"Senior Brother Lin, we are in big trouble!"

"This is a transformed great demon seeking an oral seal! And judging by its appearance, it seems someone previously gave it, but it failed... resulting in this appearance."

Lin Chen nodded slightly, sharing the same thought.

He knew little about the oral seal, having only seen ancient texts, experiencing it for the first time.

It was said that when demon beasts reached the fourth tier (Nascent Soul) peak, they must undergo a transformation thunder tribulation to become human-like.

However, demon beasts focus on bloodline and rarely possess magical treasures for protection, making the tribulation far more difficult than for humans.

Thus, some great demons on the verge of transformation rarely harm human cultivators.

This allows them to obtain a special means given by the Celestial Dao: the oral seal!

Using a cultivator’s words, they seek help to pass through the transformation thunder tribulation.

At this time, if a cultivator answers "resemble a human," the chances of the great demon passing the thunder tribulation greatly increase.

However, if they answer "do not resemble," the great demon loses the opportunity to pass the transformation thunder tribulation.

Lin Chen only knew that if he answered "do not resemble," he would certainly provoke this great demon’s wrath.

If that happened, facing the wrath of a transformed great demon, all four of them would face certain death!

That was why Lin Chen and Jiang Liqian stopped Li Zhenqian and Zhou Tieshan from speaking earlier.

If they had answered "do not resemble," all four of them would have met a tragic end!

...

Lin Chen took a deep breath and said to Jiang Liqian:

"Junior Sister, we have no choice... we can only answer ’resemble a human’!"

Jiang Liqian nodded at this, but replied:

"Sigh, if only it were as simple as you think... but giving the oral seal has significant implications!"

"We can only answer ’resemble a human’... but can we bear the consequences of this answer?"

Lin Chen frowned and asked: "What consequences?"

Jiang Liqian’s knowledge was clearly much deeper than Lin Chen’s, as she explained:

"The oral seal is a power granted by the Celestial Dao to demon beasts, existing over countless epochs."

"But the thunder tribulation power is also a demand of the Celestial Dao, unavoidable."

"Thus, the oral seal... is actually the transformed great demon shifting part of its thunder tribulation onto the cultivator offering the seal."

"This is the Celestial Dao, with every action predetermined."

"Simply put, if you answer it resembles a human, you’re accepting this karma. When the transformation thunder tribulation strikes, its power will be transferred to you."

"It greatly impacts a cultivator’s fortune and future karma."

After pausing, Jiang Liqian continued:

"Look at this tree demon, neither fully human nor tree, clearly having received an oral seal once."

"But unfortunately, the person who gave the oral seal likely couldn’t bear this karma, so the tree demon’s first transformation failed..."

"Although it’s unclear how it managed to attempt the transformation thunder tribulation again... it’s evident the karma of a second oral seal is much greater than the first!"

Lin Chen frowned deeply and asked: "So, the tree demon failed... what happened to the first person who gave the oral seal?"

Jiang Liqian answered decisively:

"They must have met their demise! That person couldn’t withstand the power of this karma..."