Chapter 53: Demon Ruins, Eight out of Ten…
“Don’t kill me! I know there’s an ancient ruin nearby! It likely contains a Great Demon’s inheritance! I’ll take you there!” An Earth Demon clad in a black robe prostrated on the ground, begging loudly for mercy.
As an Earth Demon, he shouldn’t have been this pathetic. However, the moment he entered the Secret Realm, he was bitten by a poisonous snake. Just as he barely suppressed the toxin, he encountered two Earth-rank Flame Demons traveling together.
The two Flame Demons exchanged a glance. The shorter one said, “Speak. Where is the ruin?”
The Earth Demon: “You can’t kill me after I tell you. The ruin’s gate has a formation, and I am an Array Master! There are many formations in the Burning Sea Secret Realm; you will need me later!”
“Lord Yan Ye, this is an Array Master.” The speaking Flame Demon looked at the taller one, clearly the decision-maker.
Yan Ye said, “Slave Contract.”
The Earth Demon gritted his teeth, acting fierce: “I’d rather die!”
Yan Ye wasn’t surprised. Demons were arrogant by nature; there were few in the entire Demon Realm willing to accept a slave contract just to live. “Then swear an oath to the Demon Womb Sea.”
The Demon Womb Sea was the place of reincarnation for the Demon Realm. A demon swearing to the Demon Womb Sea was equivalent to a human swearing to their most worshipped god, and it truly received a response.
After the Earth Demon swore the oath, Yan Ye’s expression relaxed slightly. “For the duration of our time in the Secret Realm, we are companions. Your name?”
“Yang Zhen,” the Earth Demon said. His complexion wasn’t good, but bound by the oath, he had to lead the two Flame Demons to the ruin.
After Yan Ye saw the ruin with his own eyes, he said to the other Flame Demon beside him, “Tell the other demons to assemble at the ruin.”
Yang Zhen wore a cloak, hiding his face beneath the hood. Yan Ye knew he was resentful, but he didn’t care. Just an Array Master without a team to protect him—or perhaps he had a team but hadn’t regrouped yet and fell into his hands. That was just Yan Ye’s good luck. If this demon wanted to live, he had to help him.
Under the cloak, Yang Zhen—or rather, Zhao Sihai—had no fear or resentment in his eyes, only mockery.
These demons were really easy to trick.
【Temple Master, I have lured a squad of Flame Demons here.】 Zhao Sihai communicated with Yun Wuxiang.
[En.] Far away in the Core Area, Yun Wuxiang had thousands of mirror fragments of varying sizes floating before him. Each fragment displayed a different scene. Some screens had already gone black, while others were constantly moving.
These were the Projection Talismans he had drawn some time ago and given to Song Yilou to scatter all over the Secret Realm near the Core Area.
On one mirror surface, a Water Demon found a map on a dead demon’s corpse. “Lord Hai Jie’er, here is a map of a ruin. It seems very close to us. Shall we go take a look?”
“It is indeed close. Then let’s go see. Notify the other demons to assemble there.”
The demons had visited the Burning Sea Secret Realm twice before. Entering and regrouping had long become a standard procedure. Those with groups would start searching for teammates based on pre-arranged contact methods immediately after landing.
During the contact process, if a demon in the team discovered an unexplored ruin near their landing point, the assembly point would naturally be set at that ruin.
More than one person could see the ruin. It was perfectly normal for two teams to meet outside a ruin.
No one would suspect interference, as these were all their own decisions.
“Yan Ye, why didn’t Yan Feng come in with you this time? Was Hai Ningduo’s hand too heavy?”
The speaker had two dark blue ribbons resembling rabbit ears growing from her head, hanging down the sides of her skull. Her hair color seemed to glow with a faint blue fluorescence, and her features were pure. At first glance, she looked like a spirit from a storybook guarding some deep-sea miracle.
But the moment she opened her mouth, her upturned eyes revealed arrogance and malice, instantly transforming her from a spirit into an evil demon. No amount of beauty could mask the flamboyant ferocity inherent to demons.
“This is truly Hai Ningduo’s fault. How could he leave the opponent with a breath of life, denying him the glory of dying in battle and instead letting him live to experience the shame of defeat?”
“Hai Jie’er, are you provoking me because you want to fight right here?” The tall Flame Demon with two red horns on his head looked gloomy. He raised his chin high, scorching flames already igniting in his hands.
Hai Jie’er glanced at the crowd of subservient demons behind him and sneered, “Fight me? You have fewer demons on your side than we do, and you’re missing Yan Feng.”
At the mention of Yan Feng, Yan Ye’s face turned a few shades uglier. Hai Jie’er was intentionally mocking him, and seeing his displeasure, the smile on her lips deepened.
“You aren’t going to fight anyway. What’s with the posturing? Truly childish.” A voice, dispirited and decadent yet carrying a few stinging barbs, interrupted the standoff between the two demons.
Both Yan Ye and Hai Jie’er changed their expressions, their eyes revealing an attitude of avoidance—not out of fear of the newcomer, but purely disgust.
Hai Jie’er looked behind the newcomer. “Mu Miao, since you’re here, don’t tell me that little… is here too?”
A man with branch-like horns on his head and a face that could be called elegant and handsome—if not for his bitter expression—slowly lifted his eyelids. In a tone that sounded half-dead, he said, “Yes, here. All here.”
A green ball of energy ran over from the outside, holding a black object in its hand. “Look! I caught a scorpion!”
Mu Miao: “Little Highness is amazing.”
Inside the Flame Demon team, Zhao Sihai narrowed his eyes when he saw the black scorpion. That scorpion looks so familiar.
【Temple Master, I think I see Young Master Song.】
[It’s him.] Through the talisman carried by Zhao Sihai, Yun Wuxiang saw the familiar black scorpion.
【Then should I regroup with Young Master Song?】 Zhao Sihai asked.
[No need to bother. He won’t die.] Just as Yun Wuxiang finished speaking, the Little Highness tore the black scorpion in his hand into two halves.
Zhao Sihai’s heart skipped a beat. 【Temple Master, Young Master Song shouldn’t be completely dead yet. Should I bring him back?】
[Unnecessary.] Yun Wuxiang’s voice remained calm as usual, yet Zhao Sihai felt dangerous vibes suppressed within those two words.
He didn’t know what the relationship between Song Yilou and the Temple Master was before, but not long ago they had shared a bed. Seeing the other party violently torn in half, did the Temple Master really have no reaction at all?
Whether he did or not, it was quite panic-inducing.
While Zhao Sihai was scaring himself with his own imagination, Yun Wuxiang glanced at the black scorpion currently climbing up his own leg. The black scorpion that was dismembered was Song Yilou, no doubt.
But the Ghost Gu was most bizarre in its ability to split and regenerate.
Where there was one Song Yilou, there could be many Song Yilous.
The black scorpion turned into a person, his upper body pressing onto Yun Wuxiang’s lap, arms wrapping around his waist. When Yun Wuxiang reached out to push him away, those hands immediately hugged him tightly, using immense strength.
This lunatic Song Yilou seemed to be in a bad mood. Yun Wuxiang had seen Song Yilou go mad with low pressure before, but this appearance, like a small animal seeking comfort, was truly a first.
But he wasn’t Song Yilou’s mother, nor was he someone who would comfort him. He grabbed Song Yilou’s head, dug it out, and looked into those yin-filled, terrifying ghost pupils. “You could still laugh after dying so many times. What are you making a fuss about this time?”
The image of a group of Song Yilous smiling while running into his sword was still fresh in Yun Wuxiang’s memory.
“I don’t like dying at the hands of others. Same goes for demons.” Song Yilou’s tone was sinister, like an evil ghost dragging someone down into the abyss of hell.
Poisonous creatures always had a strong desire for revenge. “I want to kill that little thing. Cut him in half, or into four pieces? Let me think… maybe it’s better to just chop him into mincemeat.”
Yun Wuxiang: “That is a Sky Demon. Are you confident that you won’t die by my hand before you have the strength to retaliate against a Sky Demon?”
“Of course. Just a guy with empty strength and the stupidity of a toddler. Once we enter the ruins, I have plenty of ways to scheme him to death.”
Song Yilou smiled. “The Temple Master still needs me before the ruin closes. There is plenty of time.”
A mere True Demon by comparison, planning to scheme a Sky Demon to death.
Yun Wuxiang didn’t think he was boasting. Song Yilou was the one who originally discovered that ruin. This guy’s insect army was best at finding these things; the seal on Cangfeng Island was dug out by him.
As for what was inside… just a maze hiding many traps. Regarding demon ruins, eight out of ten were pits designed to entrap demons. One would be especially pit-filled, and the last one would be a death trap.
This ruin was the last kind.
Yun Wuxiang continued to watch the scene in front of the ruin’s gate.
The Little Highness held half a black scorpion in each hand, displaying them to the adult Wood Demon. “Miao-miao, it broke.”
Mu Miao: “If it’s broken, find a new toy.”
The Little Highness pouted. “I haven’t played enough yet. Where are there new toys?” He looked up and saw the other two teams.
“Miao-miao, there are so many people here. Can we play Eagle Catches Chicks?”
Hai Jie’er and Yan Ye, who were being pointed at by the green ball, twisted their faces in displeasure, signaling furiously to Mu Miao with their eyes.
Mu Miao was emotionally stable in his dispiritedness. “Apologies, Your Highness, we are not here to play. You must first complete the coursework assigned by His Majesty: first, scour a ruin.”
Yan Ye immediately said, “We yield this place to you. We’re leaving.”
Hai Jie’er: “We are leaving too.”
Mu Miao’s slow voice sounded: “Wait a moment.”
“The gate of this ruin has a formation seal,” he said, his eyes sweeping toward the locked gate of the ruin.
“Yan Ye, there’s an extra person in your team. He’s an Array Master, right?” Mu Miao said leisurely. “Don’t deny it, I saw everything.”
Yan Ye glared angrily, finally gritting his teeth. “Disgusting Wood Demon.”
Wood Demons could extract the perceptions of vegetation and control low-level demonic plants. As long as there were plants, nothing could be hidden from them.
The Secret Realm was mostly plants, followed by demonic beasts. This meant their every move had been under Mu Miao’s surveillance. How could it not be disgusting?
Hai Jie’er’s face also turned green. She didn’t want to share the same space with the Wood Demon for even half a moment. Just as she was about to lead her team away, Zhao Sihai heard Yun Wuxiang’s command and spoke up: “The formation requires demon power of five different attributes to attack simultaneously and shatter the nodes to break it open.”
Hai Jie’er shot a fierce glare at him.
Yan Ye: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
Zhao Sihai began to fabricate: “I didn’t know your team was entirely Flame Demons earlier! The teams I’ve seen usually have one demon of every type, just in case.”
Mu Miao: “Hai Jie’er, wait before you go. Help out first.”
“Miao-miao, it’s so boring. Can I play with them?” The Little Highness tugged at Mu Miao’s sleeve, looking up to ask.
Mu Miao: “Playing with these will result in punishment when we get out. I’ll find you some later that won’t result in punishment. Let’s do the coursework first, then play.”
“I don’t want to do coursework, I want to play now!” The Little Highness started to be unreasonable.
No one here wanted to deal with the unreasonable Little Highness of the Wood Demon Clan. Yan Ye urged Zhao Sihai, “Yang Zhen, point out the nodes quickly.”
Zhao Sihai pretended to look for the nodes on the ruin’s gate for a while before marking the positions Yun Wuxiang had explained beforehand.
There was a Metal attribute demon in Hai Jie’er’s team.
Yan Ye was Fire. Mu Miao needed no explanation. The attribute Zhao Sihai faked was Lightning. Exactly five types.
After the formation was broken, a pillar of light rose beneath the demons’ feet. In the blink of an eye, all the demons present were teleported into the ruin.
Zhao Sihai returned to the Daoist temple, his gaze falling on the man beside Yun Wuxiang. He really didn’t die.
Following Song Yilou’s line of sight, he looked at the mirror surface, which displayed the demons inside the ruin.
Yun Wuxiang asked, “You’re not going in?” Weren’t you going to take revenge inside the ruin?
Song Yilou withdrew his gaze from the mirror and looked at Yun Wuxiang. “I suddenly thought of a question.”
“Temple Master, all these demons have horns. Will you have horns after you become a demon?” Compared to trapping demons, Song Yilou was more concerned about this.
What would a horned Temple Master look like?
“The Temple Master’s horns will definitely be better looking than those demons!”
Yun Wuxiang: “To your disappointment, I will not have horns.” Inner Demons were perfect replicas of the main body; where would horns come from?
Song Yilou: “I don’t believe it unless you become a demon and let me take a look.”
Yun Wuxiang manually ended this nutritious-less conversation. “I’ll give you a ride.” With a wave of his sleeve, he sent Song Yilou into the ruin via a Teleportation Talisman.
Let Song Yilou go play kill-confirm with those demons. He had other things to do.
There were more than just these three teams of demons entering the Secret Realm; it was just that their landing point was too close to the Core Area. Plus, there were two troublesome Wood Demons. It was better to pack them into the ruin and trap them first.
As for the rest…
It seemed a demon had touched one of the array eyes. He had to go take a look.
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