Volume 1, Chapter 19: Mythical Character Lottery! The Great Demon God Chiyou!

[Ding! The lottery page has been opened!]
[Drawing your reward now!]
[As the host is drawing a mythological figure for the first time, your odds for mythological figures have been specially boosted. May you have the best of luck!]
[Congratulations, host! You have obtained the legendary mythological figure—the Demon God, Chi You!]
[Chi You's current combat power level is: Third Grade of the Heaven-Roaming Realm!]
[Ding! Warning: Every time a mythological figure acts, it will consume a massive amount of the host's vitality. Due to the host's low cultivation level, this legendary mythological figure can only be summoned for three days until you reach the "Breaking Through the Inevitable" realm!]
[Countdown to Chi You's remaining time: 72 hours]

The Great Demon God, Chi You?!
It was exactly what he was wishing for!
Upon learning he had drawn the Demon God Chi You, Zhu Youjian was ecstatic, barely able to suppress his laughter.
This ancient demon god was not only a peerlessly valiant god of war but also a master of both sorcery and military strategy.
With his powerful assistance, what was there to fear from the witchcraft of the Demon Qing shamans?
Zhu Youjian secretly gloated; with the addition of the Demon God Chi You, he was already certain of victory in this gamble.
The illustrious reputation of the Demon God Chi You was enough to make the four corners of the world tremble, not to mention his expertise in the very witchcraft Zhu Youjian desperately needed right now.
He calculated how to cleverly utilize the power of this mythological figure to let the Demon Qing shaman know that the foundation of the Holy Ming was far beyond her imagination.
However, Zhu Youjian remained calm on the surface, waiting for the right moment to give that shaman a "surprise."
He shook his head slightly, brow furrowed as if weighing the pros and cons.
This gesture made the Demon Qing shaman and her companions frown, secretly thinking: Could it be that Zhu Youjian isn't taking the bait?
Meanwhile, those on the Holy Ming side felt a sense of relief, assuming Zhu Youjian would refuse this seemingly unfair trial.
"Your Majesty, this bet is unfair. The other side is proficient in witchcraft, and none of us know anything about that wicked, ghostly stuff!" a minister whispered, his eyes full of worry.
"Your Majesty, please think twice. The risks of such a wager are far too great; you must not fall into the Demon Qing's trap," another minister echoed, fearing that Zhu Youjian might act on impulse and succumb to the enemy's schemes.
"Your Majesty, we really don't need to take this risk. Currently, the score is one win and one loss; we can absolutely choose not to continue this gamble."
"Exactly, the Demon Qing can't afford to lose; they were just cheating!"
Other ministers chimed in, all trying to persuade Zhu Youjian to abandon this unfair match.
The Blood Moon Shaman's voice was eerie: "Emperor Chongzhen, are you feeling cowardly? If you dare not accept the challenge, you might as well announce to the world that your Holy Ming Empire is timid and incompetent."
Zhu Youjian suddenly changed his tone, a playful smirk curling his lips: "No, I accept this gamble. However, let us increase the stakes. If I can break your hex, your Demon Qing must return all the captives and civilians of my Holy Ming, and compensate my Empire with one hundred million Immortal Essence Stones."
In this fantasy world, the currency was not the mundane gold and silver, but Immortal Essence Stones, which contained dense spiritual energy.
These stones were not only a medium of trade but also essential for cultivation.

Even for those prominent princes whose cultivation had reached the "Breaking Through the Inevitable" realm, their personal wealth rarely exceeded a few million stones.
One hundred million Immortal Essence Stones was a staggering fortune for a behemoth like the Holy Ming Empire, equivalent to their total tax revenue for half a year.
In the resource-scarce lands of the Southern Frontier's Demon Qing, this amount was nearly equivalent to a year's tax income; its loss would be enough to cripple their vitality.
Upon hearing this, the crowd was momentarily stunned.
The ministers of the Holy Ming, however, could not hide their anxiety.
After all, the art of witchcraft was a secret, unfathomable, and extremely wicked specialty of the Shaman Sect.
No one in the entire Holy Ming understood such arts.
To gamble against the Demon Qing in their own field of expertise was no different from throwing an egg against a rock—it was pure suicide!
When the Blood Moon Shaman heard the increased stakes proposed by Zhu Youjian, she gave a cold smile and replied: "Very well. Since that is the case, let us begin."
With that, the Blood Moon Shaman began to dance slowly, her body wreathed in an eerie blood-red aura, as if intending to devour all things in heaven and earth.
She formed seals rapidly with her hands, chanting ancient incantations.
As the chanting rose, a thick mass of blood-colored clouds gathered over the capital of the Holy Ming, blotting out the sun and plunging the world into darkness.
"Witchcraft: Descent of the Blood Moon!"
The Blood Moon Shaman let out a low cry. A massive, blood-red moon slowly rose within the clouds, emitting a heart-stopping, ghostly light.
Beneath the blood moon, countless crimson tentacles emerged from the clouds, twisting and writhing in the air like living creatures, emitting shrill, piercing roars.
Wherever these tentacles passed, space seemed to warp and distort as if being corroded, and even time appeared to be devoured by them.
The Demon Qing envoys watched the witchcraft performed by the Blood Moon with expressions of pride and mockery.
"Haha, the Holy Ming Empire is finished now. The Blood Moon Shaman is a Ninth Grade powerhouse of the Heaven-Roaming Realm; her witchcraft is invincible even back in the Demon Qing!"
"That's right. Once the Blood Moon Shaman wins, we can stand on the Shanhai Pass, look down upon the lands of the Holy Ming, and toy with their women as we please!"
"Hmph, in front of the Blood Moon Shaman, the Holy Ming Empire is nothing more than ants."
Zhu Youjian, however, offered a cold laugh.
"System, summon Chi You!"
Suddenly, a massive rift tore open behind Zhu Youjian.
An ancient and majestic aura surged out from the crack, instantly scattering the oppressive blood-colored clouds without a trace.
From the rift, a majestic figure stepped out slowly. He had the face of an ox, wings on his back, horns on his head, and held a cold, shimmering tiger-soul blade in his hand.
It was the Great Demon God summoned by Zhu Youjian—Chi You.
Chi You was surrounded by monstrous, heaven-shrouding demonic energy. Every step he took was accompanied by a thunderous roar that shook the earth, as if the entire world were trembling beneath his feet.
His arrival was like a violent storm, instantly sweeping across the entire martial arts arena.

The demonic energy blocked out the sky and sun, pushing the already tense atmosphere to its boiling point.
Everyone felt as if their hearts were being tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand, making it difficult even to breathe.
Weapons flew out of control into the air, intertwining and spinning until they formed a massive, chilling vortex.
"The Ancestor of Weapons... the Great Demon God, Chi You!"
Zhu Youjian whispered, a cold glint in his eyes.
The expression of the Demon Qing shaman turned ghastly at this moment; she never expected that Zhu Youjian would have such an ace up his sleeve.
Her gaze darted back and forth across Chi You, shock filling her heart: "Another powerhouse at the Heaven-Roaming level? We already saw one astonishing demon expert, and now where did this giant of the demonic path emerge from? Since when did the Holy Ming Empire become so unfathomable?"
Facing the shock and awe of the crowd, Chi You seemed entirely indifferent.
His gaze swept over them and settled on Zhu Youjian—a look of coldness and arrogance that transcended the mortal realm, treating all living things as mere ants.
"You are the master who summoned this Demon God?"
Chi You's voice was deep and majestic, every word like thunder from the ancient past, shaking the soul of everyone present.
Although Zhu Youjian was the summoner and had just broken through to the First Grade of the "Integration" realm, he still felt his spirit tremble and struggle under Chi You's pressure.
This was the massive chasm between their realms and strength.
Zhu Youjian took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner shock, and replied respectfully: "It is indeed this junior. I am honored to meet the Great Demon God, Chi You."
Hearing this, Chi You frowned slightly, a flash of doubt and unwillingness crossing his eyes: "What era is this? Where are the Flame Emperors and Yellow Emperors? And where is my Nine Li tribe?"
Zhu Youjian spoke slowly, his voice firm and clear: "This is a later age. The Flame and Yellow Emperors have long since faded into the river of history, and the Nine Li tribe has become a legend. This land is the territory of my Holy Ming Empire."
Upon hearing this, the demonic energy around Chi You erupted suddenly, surging like a volcanic eruption, shrouding the entire arena in total darkness.
His eyes became hollow and profound, as if piercing through time and space to gaze at the distant past.
No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.
Was he mourning the glory of the past?
Or lamenting the loneliness of the present?
However, just as everyone was holding their breath in anticipation, Zhu Youjian's voice sounded again: "I beg the Great Demon God to intervene, break this evil witchcraft, and save my Holy Ming Empire from this crisis."
Yet, to everyone's shock, the Great Demon God Chi You did not move as Zhu Youjian had wished.
He remained standing where he was, like an immovable mountain.
Zhu Youjian's heart sank; he realized that this ancient and powerful demon god might not be so easy to control.