Demon Beast

**Demon Beasts** or **Spiritual Beasts** (妖兽Yāo shòu) are animals or creatures that have the ability to absorb spiritual energy (Qi) granting access to greater powers, abilities, intelligence, sentience and longevity. Demon Beasts evolve much in the same way as humans evolve through Cultivation. Like cultivation stages, Demon Beasts have increasingly higher grades that rival human cultivators.

## Demon Core

Similar to the human Cultivation process of forming cores and later on molding them into souls, Demon Beasts absorb spiritual energy concentrated into a "Demon Core" - often depicted as an Orb. As more energy is collected the core becomes larger and denser. A Demon Beast ascends a "grade" by reaching a level of density in their Demon Core. Grades are human terminology.

As condensed forms of spiritual energy, Demon Cores can be used to by cultivators to refine pills that allow them to further increase their cultivation by absorbing the spiritual energy to augment their souls. Cultivators at higher stages can make use of denser spiritual energy provided by the demon cores of high-grade Demon Beasts.

## Evolution

Unlike cultivators, Demon Beasts can be born as as a higher grade. An Infant Carp Beast for example can be born anywhere between the 5th and 6th grade. As Demon Beasts acquire more spiritual energy they can ascend.

### Low Grade Demon Beasts (1-3)

Low grade demon beasts have powers and abilities that rival Qi-Refinement and Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. A flock of grade-2 Demon Birds are able to force Foundation Establishment cultivators to flee. Low-grade demon beasts largely operate on instinct with some limited intelligence. Demon Beasts form a Demon Core upon reaching grade 3.

### Medium Grade Demon Beasts (4-6)

Medium grade demon beasts have powers and abilities that rival Core Formation cultivators. Mid-grade demon-beasts exhibit greater intelligence able to recognize danger and defend themselves through protective abilities or by dodging. Attacks are calculated. Medium grade Demon beasts are able to use magical treasures to assist them during combat. A single Sixth-grade Demon Beast can single-handedly take on multiple Core Formation cultivators.

### High Grade Demon Beasts (7+)

High grade demon beasts have power that rival Late Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators. High-grade demon beasts take on the forms of giant beasts that can effortlessly destroy islands. Their presence causes great disturbances and are usually found in places where cultivators rarely travel. High-grade Demon Beasts are highly intelligent with lifespans that match Nascent Soul cultivators. Groups of high-grade Demon Beasts have been known to band together to destroy well-defended human settlements such as the Blackrock City of the Wondrous Depths island in the outer star seas. They can form parties to hunt human cultivators.

### Metamorphosis Stage

Eighth-grade is the initial metamorphosis stage. It is theequivalent of an early Nascent Soul stage.

To reach the Eighth-grade, a Demon Beast has to go through an ascension tribulation. It is extremely deadly process and most beasts die because of it. Grade 8 Demon Beasts can freely transform between a humanized form and their original beast form. Glacial Quintessence is useful for demon beasts, because even a drop of it is capable of protecting them against ascension tribulation.

Different demon beasts have to withstand different lightning tribulations. The more powerful a demon beast is, the more formidable their lightning tribulation becomes. Heavenly spirit beasts like dragon and phoenixes have to withstand even 13 waves of lightning strikes during their metamorphosis stage lightning tribulations.

The appearance of a demon beast's human form was somewhat dependent on their true form. For example, demon beasts like demonic foxes would usually undergo metamorphosis to become handsome men and beautiful women, while demon beasts with hideous forms to begin with usually had ugly human forms as well.

Theoretically speaking, once a demon beast exceeded the tenth grade, they would be assigned the same cultivation base titles as human cultivators. Of course, it was also acceptable to continue to refer to them as eleventh grade or twelfth grade beasts. It was just that human cultivators normally wouldn't refer to them as such.

After all, once a demon beast exceeded the tenth tier, they would become one of the most powerful beings in the human world. How would a human cultivator dare to regard such a fearsome being as just an ordinary demon beast?

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## Trivia

* The donghua is inconsistent in its translation, as it has been called *demonic beast*.

## Links and References

1. ↑ Chapter 544 (Novel)
2. ↑ Chapter 948 (Novel)
3. ↑ Chapter 1195 (Novel)
4. ↑ Chapter 1140 (Novel)
5. ↑ Episode 1 (Donghua)