As the Queen's words fell, all eyes turned to the Heavenly Demon known as Itachi. Several Black Demons, whose auras were powerful, at least at the 50th Demonic Tier, watched him with a mixture of envy and greed.
Envy stemmed from the Queen's favor towards him; greed arose because his Heavenly Demon body held immense appeal for Black Demons.
Yet, everyone knew this Heavenly Demon was the Queen's exclusive property. To rashly devour him would undoubtedly incur the wrath of the Black Demon Queen.
Heavenly Demons were sentient life forms born from the convergence of demonic energy under fortuitous circumstances. They were far more difficult to birth than Black Demons and possessed greater potential.
If Black Demons formed from the fusion of dark spiritual energy were commoners, then Black Demons formed from demonic energy were akin to nobles. They were naturally favored by numerous dark laws. At the same tier, a Heavenly Demon could defeat seven Black Demons at the very least; this was a crushing advantage in terms of life form.
The reason the Black Demon Queen kept Itachi, the Heavenly Demon, was simple: she intended to cultivate him until he reached the 50th Demonic Tier and comprehended laws before devouring him. At that point, she could directly replace him, acquire the Heavenly Demon body, and forge an indestructible demonic form.
At the end of the line.
The Heavenly Demon known as Itachi wore a black robe with red clouds, possessed smooth, straight black hair, and had two tear troughs extending from the inner corners of his eyes to his nose. His expression was indifferent, his gaze deep, as if hiding countless secrets within.
Upon hearing the Black Demon Queen's words, his gaze swept coldly over the kneeling A-class powerhouses of Lighthouse Nation. After a slight pause, he met the Queen's expectant gaze and said, "None!"
The Black Demon Queen's temperament was unpredictable. As steady as he was, he understood the principle of "calamity stemming from the mouth" and thus buried all his inner thoughts.
Upon hearing this, the Black Demon Queen paused, then let out a delicate laugh. "I thought you would say to keep them all. After all, you've been mingling with these filthy humans since you returned from Xia Nation. If the scene hadn't been so large, I might not have even noticed you were a Heavenly Demon."
Itachi, the Heavenly Demon, felt somewhat speechless at the Queen's words.
He was the steady clone of Uchiha Itachi. Upon returning from Xia Nation, his first action was to find a large number of awakened seeds, gather a host of junior transcendent beings, and then prepare to select and plunder the abilities he desired.
Unlike Black Demons, Heavenly Demons, once consciousness was born, possessed extremely high intelligence. They did not need to consume human flesh and blood to improve their IQ; he did not need to eat humans from birth.
Even so, he would not abandon the plundering of foreign transcendent beings' abilities out of humanistic considerations simply because they were human. After all, his main body had tasked him with development, not saving foreigners.
Unexpectedly, because he had identified many transcendent seeds using his True Eye, he was hailed as a model of human-demon cooperation in Lighthouse Nation, attracting the Queen's attention. After the Queen successfully seized power, he ultimately became her exclusive property.
Itachi did not respond to the Queen's teasing. He lowered his eyelids, looking at the ground before him, minimizing his presence as much as possible.
The Black Demon Queen glanced at him playfully, finally shifting her gaze away. She said with a smile, "Humans have a strong reproductive capacity. Raising humans allows us to obtain blood food persistently, so the apparent human powers need to be maintained. As for these low-level transcendent beings..."
The Black Demon Queen paused, her expression instantly turning cold. She delivered the judgment that decided the fate of the kneeling transcendent powerhouses of Lighthouse Nation: "Eat them all!"
As her voice fell, thick black mist instantly filled the hall.
Dozens of kneeling transcendent beings changed color dramatically, each unleashing their techniques and darting towards the outside of the hall. Some attempted to tear through space, banishing themselves into the void for a chance at survival. However, the entire hall was enveloped in black mist, the space incredibly stable, making it impossible to tear open.
This black energy obstructed the flow of spiritual energy and origin power within their bodies, greatly reducing their strength while simultaneously granting other Black Demons certain enhancement buffs.
Thus, soon, dozens of piercing screams echoed. Those who had darted out were captured and torn apart by the more agile A-class Black Demons, devoured, and their origins refined and instantly absorbed by the black energy.
From beginning to end, Itachi, the clone of Uchiha Itachi, stood with his hands hanging down, his eyelids slightly lowered, concealing the anomaly in his heart.
In less than five minutes, the dozens of A-class Lighthouse Nation transcendent beings who had been kneeling were all devoured, leaving not a single drop of blood. And throughout it all, the Black Demon Queen had not partaken in even a morsel.
Seeing everyone finish dividing the Lighthouse Nation transcendent beings, she swayed her right leg, crossed over her left, and looked at Itachi, her voice coquettish. "Mr. Itachi, why aren't you eating? Don't you find it to your taste?"
Itachi lowered his head slightly and respectfully replied, "Human flesh and blood are of no use to me. Eating it would be a waste. It's better to let everyone else eat more."
"How humble!" the Black Demon Queen said with a smile. "Indeed, in the Abyssal Demon Realm, you noble Heavenly Demons view Black Demons like pigs and dogs, let alone filthy humans."
She then turned to the Black Demons below and said playfully, "See? This is the magnanimity of the noble Heavenly Demons. Compared to it, you are all too crude. You only know how to eat raw, without even knowing how to cook it. At the very least, make it into raw human steaks, cut them with knives, and eat them piece by piece!"
Upon hearing this, the Black Demons below all grinned sinisterly, their gazes towards Itachi filled with malice.
Itachi smiled faintly. If he could, he truly wished to imprint the sole of his size 45 foot onto the Black Demon Queen's beautiful face. But he was too weak now, so he could only endure.
However, what was this Abyssal Demon Realm that the Black Demon Queen spoke of? Weren't Black Demons formed from the fusion of dark spiritual energy? Why did they have memories of the Abyssal Demon Realm?
Itachi's mind was filled with deep confusion, accompanied by a sense of inexplicable unease.
"Speed up your cultivation to the 30th Demonic Tier as soon as possible. With an unlimited supply of demonic energy, you shouldn't disappoint me, Mr. Itachi!" the Black Demon Queen said coquettishly, looking at him. "You are still too weak now to be compatible with me. I look forward to your progress!"
"I'll give you one year. If you cannot reach the 30th Demonic Tier, I might not be able to control my affection for you and forcibly merge you into myself..."
The Black Demon Queen's voice was seductive, but the content within made Itachi's heart sink slightly.
Immediately, the Black Demon Queen turned her gaze to the Black Demons below.
"Among you, those who have devoured the A-class transcendent beings just now should have inherited their memories. I command you to transform into their respective identities and each perform your duties, responsible for raising the humans in your respective areas!"
The Black Demon Queen's gaze sharpened, and she warned, "Remember, you must ensure they continue to reproduce. If I find any of you indulging in gluttony, or failing to manage the low-level Black Demons in your areas, don't blame me for being ruthless!"
As the Queen's voice faded, piercing laughter erupted. All the Black Demons present, including Yakutos, the Sword Demon, began to twist, eventually transforming into the likenesses of the A-class transcendent beings they had devoured.
Including Friesen, the Vice President of the Sea Eagle Society, who was replaced by a Black Demon at the 70th A-class Demonic Tier.
At a glance, the hall was crowded with humans, all Black Demons transformed into various races, their auras appearing upright and without any darkness.
Witnessing this scene, Itachi felt a chill run down his spine, inexplicably recalling the scene from the Journey to the West TV series where various demons transformed into Buddhas of the Spirit Mountain and turned their lairs into Spirit Mountains.
Cooperating with Black Demons was akin to seeking skin from a tiger. When Lighthouse Nation first cooperated with Black Demons, they had once resisted the invasion and rampant presence of sea beasts and anomalies. At that time, they had proudly used public opinion to show off and urged Xia Nation to do the same.
The result was now them reaping the bitter fruit: the transcendent organizations were dismantled from within and then replaced.
If Lighthouse Nation was like this, what about Romantic Nation? Bone Country, and North Bear Country? Had they also been replaced by Black Demons?
Upon considering this, Itachi felt as if he had watched "Boruto," his entire body turning cold.
"Everyone withdraw. Mr. Itachi, stay behind!"
As the Heavenly Demon Itachi's thoughts flowed, a soft, charming voice came from the stage. Instantly, all the transformed humans of the Black Demons retreated, leaving only the Black Demon Queen, seated on her demonic throne, smiling at him.
"Your Excellency, please instruct me!" the Heavenly Demon Itachi said, bowing his head slightly and respectfully.
"Now that sea beasts are rampant, and Lighthouse Nation is our demon race's human-rearing ground, we should negotiate with them. Only after humans multiply and more Black Demons grow can we clash head-on. Your Heavenly Demon race has always been exceptionally wise. How about I entrust this task to you?"
"Negotiate with sea beasts? Is that possible?"
The Heavenly Demon Itachi was taken aback. In his impression, sea beasts had always been bloody and brutal, launching frenzied attacks on the mainland at the slightest disagreement. Where was the possibility of negotiation?
"I just praised your exceptional wisdom, yet you seem a bit foolish. But it's understandable, you are a wild Heavenly Demon."
The Queen glanced at him mockingly, but ultimately explained, "They launch their assaults merely for immortal energy. Immortal energy is ineffective for us demons, so giving it to them is fine. However, desires are endless. You decide how much to give."
"Do you know our race's current immortal energy reserves?" Itachi asked, simultaneously contemplating how to negotiate in reverse, ensuring these Black Demons could not recuperate and grow.
"Our current immortal energy reserves are three million strands. Above Lighthouse Nation, there are 206 immortal energy vortices. A large portion of these will dissipate into the heavens and earth. About 30% can be guided and stored by me, yielding approximately 210,000 strands daily."
"And demonic energy?"
"That is not for you to know!" the Black Demon Queen said with a smile. "The bottom line for negotiation is to give them six million strands of immortal energy per month. If you exceed that, you will have no reason to exist!"
Upon hearing this, Itachi lowered his head deeply and solemnly bowed. "I will definitely not fail this mission!"
"You may withdraw. After I contact the Sea King, I will order you to go to the Pacific to negotiate with him!"
"Yes!" The Heavenly Demon Itachi bowed and turned to walk out of the hall.
The Black Demon Queen watched his retreating figure, her red lips curling slightly.