novelraw Chapter 197 : Surrounding the Cities from the Countryside
Chapter 197 : Surrounding the Cities from the Countryside
"Little Junior Sister, the Fire Flower is a precious thing. You have a top-grade fire spirit root. This is an important ingredient for refining the heaven-grade pill Nine Revolutions Fire Spirit Pill, which can enhance the cultivation of fire spirit root cultivators. I've never found one before. I didn't expect to find a nearly mature Fire Flower here on the Fire Plateau of the demon realm. If we miss this one, we might not get another chance in this lifetime."
He shook her shoulder. "I want it."
Hearing the uses of the Fire Flower, Chu Sang also felt eager. She brushed off Sixth Senior Brother's hand. "Be quiet. Watch me."
Her fingertips pinched a few yellow talisman paper dolls.
These paper dolls were a new creation she made after learning Third Senior Brother's puppet technique and Second Senior Sister's illusion technique.
When thrown out, the small paper dolls transformed into several dignified-looking cultivators.
Over a hundred demon beasts were crouched near the volcano's mouth, waiting for the Fire Flower to bloom. Hearing the commotion behind them, several Flame Tiger beasts on the outskirts immediately sensed the disturbance and charged over.
Wen Renyue immediately waved her bell, controlling those few Flame Tigers and turning them back to attack the other demon beasts.
These demon beasts had all come to compete for the Fire Flower. Before the flower bloomed, they had coexisted peacefully. But these controlled beasts charging into the group was like water hitting hot oil. The false peace was shattered, and the scene instantly boiled over.
Hundreds of mountain-sized demon beasts became embroiled in a chaotic battle. Amid the beast roars shaking heaven and earth and the utter chaos, no one noticed a few figures darting through.
A vibrantly colored Fire Flower had been nurtured in the volcano's lava sea, its bud about to bloom.
Lava sparks jumped wildly. Fortunately, they had enough magical treasures and talismans to barely withstand the high temperature here. Upon approaching, they discovered a patch of black soil exposed amidst the rolling lava.
The Fire Flower was growing on that single exposed patch of ground.
Chu Sang sensed something wasn't right, but before she could stop him, the impulsive Tantai Ming leaped forward to pluck the Fire Flower.
"Whoosh—"
The next second, the world spun, and his vision suddenly rose. Then he found himself face to face with a pair of small black bean-like eyes.
Huh?
What is this thing?!
Both sides doubted their senses for a moment.
After a brief moment of big eyes meeting small eyes, the creature reacted, letting out a rough roar, "You fools, hurry over here! Someone's trying to steal the Fire Flower!"
The ground suddenly trembled violently. The initially small exposed patch of black-red soil began to rise higher and higher, revealing more and more area. When the creature finally revealed its true form, everyone saw that it was actually a giant fire turtle!
It had been here for who knows how long, with its shell covered in a thick layer of black-red soil. The Fire Flower had coincidentally grown on the soil on its back.
It seemed this giant turtle was the guardian beast of the Fire Flower.
Indeed, good things don't come easy.
Tantai Ming quickly jumped back in fright, but it was too late. They had already been surrounded by the demon beasts that had reacted.
A three-headed hunting wolf wreathed in flames sniffed wildly, its eyes glowing red-green with greed, saliva almost dripping from its mouth. "Humans, hahahahaha, it's humans! I smell the delicious scent of human cultivator flesh and blood. So many delicious human cultivators, all mine. Don't you fools try to fight me for them!"
"You fool who only knows how to eat, have you considered why such a large group of human cultivators would suddenly come to the demon realm? Could it be that the cultivation world is plotting something? We should quickly report this to the King."
"The King is busy right now. A group of Foundation Establishment stage little cultivators running over here are just appetizers for us! There's no need to trouble the King to come back!"
"That's right, who cares? Anyway, once our King successfully obtains that thing, he will lead the demon realm to sweep across the three realms! By then, the cultivation world will be gone, so who cares about their petty affairs! Brothers, let's attack together!"
Before the lead three-headed wolf demon could finish speaking, a sharp sword intent slashed out, instantly cutting off one of its three heads. With a splat, the head fell to the ground, rolling like a ball to Chu Sang's feet, where she stepped on it.
She tapped the head with her toe, smiling brightly. "Oh? What great plan? Why don't you tell us about it?"
"Roar! You die!!"
It charged forward, eyes red with rage and howling. Chu Sang flicked her toe, returning its head to its face. Black energy formed a sword in her palm, infused with fire spirit power. She swung the sword horizontally.
This three-headed fire wolf was at the late Nascent Soul stage, while Chu Sang was only at early Nascent Soul. But to speak without modesty, she was invincible at the Nascent Soul stage. This sword strike even reached the power of peak Nascent Soul. The wolf's second head was also cut off. It howled in rage; it took decades to cultivate a head, and this damned human! It was determined to take her head as a ball to kick!
"What are you fools watching for? Hurry up and attack!"
The demon beasts charged forward together. Both sides engaged in fierce combat. Fire breath surged, and the earth trembled. The lava erupted faster. There were over a hundred demon beasts present, including Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and even early Divine Transformation stage beasts. However, their team also had Divine Transformation cultivators. Moreover, human cultivators advancing to Divine Transformation was more difficult than demon beasts, so human Divine Transformation cultivators had even stronger foundations.
Half an hour later, the battle was overwhelmingly one-sided.
This group of demon beasts finally realized belatedly that they were no match for these human cultivators. They tucked their tails and tried to flee.
"Run then. If you can escape, I'll let you go," came the woman's lazy, light laugh from behind, piercing their ears like demonic sound.
Provocation, blatant provocation!
Damn it, you say run so we'll run? Fine, we'll run! Think we're afraid of you?
This was their territory. If they couldn't win the fight, surely they could outrun them?!
The demon beasts immediately used all their strength. Some dug holes, some burrowed underground, some jumped into the lava. Whether they had four legs, six legs, or eight legs, all were put to use. But before they could escape to safety, their bodies suddenly lost control... Wait, wait, wait, they wanted to run, not deliver themselves to that woman!
Their bodies were completely out of control, walking back. The more they struggled, the faster they threw themselves into her arms. The demon beasts were so angry their lungs nearly burst.
Chu Sang took out an infinitely extendable pig-tying rope and tied them all up. She also set up a formation around them to ensure they absolutely couldn't escape.
With no way to escape, the demon beasts were in tears, having no idea where these harbingers of doom had come from.
Wen Renyue and the Beast Taming Sect disciples retrieved their magical tools. She crossed her arms and turned her head. "Little Junior Sister, these demon beasts seem to be plotting something big. They just mentioned the Demon King wanting to obtain something to counter-attack the cultivation world?"
She wasn't the only one who heard it. Everyone else present had heard it too, and their expressions turned grim. These demon beasts were indeed plotting to attack the cultivation world. Fortunately, they had come this time and learned of the plan in advance. They could notify their sects to prepare defenses. Otherwise, if the cultivation world were attacked from both sides, it would be finished.
"We didn't want to alert you initially, but just now we heard you seem to be discussing some interesting plan. Why don't you tell us about it? Perhaps we could even cooperate. Sweeping through the cultivation world is too small a goal. In my opinion, we should sweep through the demon realm along with it. What do you think of this plan?" Chu Sang smiled innocently, and it must be said, she looked quite pretty.
That three-headed wolf... now one-headed wolf beast, however, trembled in fear. The sword was already at its last vulnerable neck.
"I-I don't know... I don't know anything. I'm just an errand runner. I don't know what plans the King has. If you really want to know, you should ask Elder Fire Mystic Turtle! It's a red demon close to the King, specially tasked by the King to guard the Fire Flower. That shows how much the King trusts it!"
Unexpectedly, this cowardly wolf demon spilled everything. The old turtle was also furious. It moved slowly and hadn't even had a chance to run before it was caught.
Seeing the gentle gaze of the red-robed young woman fall on itself, it immediately broke out in a cold sweat. Trying to appear fierce while inwardly trembling, it said, "I'm stationed at the Fire Plateau on the King's orders to guard the Fire Flower. You despicable human cultivators, if you have the guts, don't run. When our King returns, he definitely won't let you off!"
"Ah, so the Demon King isn't here?"
Chu Sang suddenly realized.
No wonder this place was so quiet. They had made such a big commotion and deliberately suppressed their cultivation to lure the enemy in deeper, but that great Demon King hadn't even shown his face. So it was because he wasn't home.
Not being home was a good thing. She unilaterally declared that this home was about to change its name and owner.
The old turtle realized it might have accidentally revealed something important and covered its mouth in horror.
But wait, this group had come barging in so grandly, yet they didn't even know this basic information?! Damn, it had accidentally let slip. Without the Demon King here to suppress them, these human cultivators would surely become even more unrestrained.
"Where did your King go?"
Having experienced saying the wrong thing once, the old turtle was filled with grief and indignation as it shut its mouth, absolutely refusing to reveal another word!
"Little Junior Sister, this turtle is a thousand-year-old one. It would make a great nourishing soup. Since it won't talk, it's useless. We might as well start the fire and heat the oil. Otherwise, when the Demon King returns, we might not get to eat such good ingredients."
Mu Changqing wasn't joking, nor was he threatening. He was genuinely hungry.
Demon beasts ate each other, survival of the fittest. Weaker demon beasts either became subordinates of the strong or food for the strong... Mu Changqing had been confined in the Lingqing Sect for so many years, it had been a long time since he'd eaten demon beast meat. Especially a fire-attribute demon beast nourished by pure fire source; this was a great tonic for him.
Tantai Ming always got excited when it came to food. "I have a pot, I have a pot!"
Mu Chihuai: "Spicy or sesame sauce flavor?"
Wen Renyue scolded, "That's enough from you all. You really have no humanity. Have you asked for the ingredient's consent?" She turned to look at the terrified fire turtle, almost drooling. "Little turtle, do you prefer to be steamed or braised? I prefer braised!"
"......"
Damn.
Can you human cultivators be any more perverted?
If you're going to kill, just kill. Why torture with words before death? The Fire Mystic Turtle was furious. Its gaze suddenly turned vicious, and it spat out a fireball, aiming straight for Chu Sang's vital points!
However, she had long been prepared. A Golden Armor Talisman shot out, negating the attack.
Moreover, the red-robed man beside her with the mysterious aura gathered a terrifying demonic power in his palm.
Wait, demonic power? Weren't these people cultivators? How did a demon beast mix in among them?!
This person had concealed his aura earlier, so it hadn't noticed. Only now did it realize this person was using legitimate demonic power! It never expected there would be a traitor in their demon realm!
However, the Fire Mystic Turtle wasn't panicked at all. Although it moved slowly, its shell was one of the hardest substances in the world, with incredibly strong defensive power. Whether demonic power or spiritual power, nothing could penetrate its formidable shell defense!
The next second, accompanied by a "crack," its supposedly invincible shell actually developed a crack!
The Fire Mystic Turtle was shocked and terrified. It tried to squeeze out all its demonic power for defense but found it couldn't summon any demonic power at all. It seemed to be suppressed by another, more powerful bloodline. Its whole body trembled, and it... couldn't control a feeling of submission arising!
This instinctive awe and submission was even greater than the Fire Demon King's suppression of it!
Stronger than the Demon King... only the Demon Emperor!
But the current Demon Emperor was a middle-aged nine-tailed fox. Moreover, the Demon Emperor and various Demon Kings were in a struggle; it was impossible for him to come here.
The Mystic Turtle was an old turtle that had lived for thousands of years. It had been involved in various major events in the demon realm and, unlike these young and impetuous little demon beasts, knew many secrets.
A terrified and unbelievable thought flashed through its mind.
It almost instantly cried out, "Aiya, my little prince, you've returned! Don't you remember your old servant?"
?
Chu Sang looked at the equally confused Mu Changqing. "Third Senior Brother, you know it?"
Mu Changqing: "I don't know it."
His memory was poor; he usually categorized those who looked ugly as "don't know."
Hearing the young man's firm attitude, the old turtle was even more tearful. "I'm that Fire Mystic Turtle that has lived for three thousand years. When the Demon Emperor was still around, I was His Majesty's loyal subordinate. When you were little, you loved to play on my shell. This old turtle even held you when you were small! Later, when the Demon Emperor left, I returned to the Fire Plateau and mixed in with the current Fire Demon King. This old servant thought the Demon Emperor's lineage had all... I never expected you, little prince, to still be alive. This old turtle is truly overjoyed!"
Judging by its excited tone, it didn't seem to be pretending. It might really be an acquaintance.
Although Mu Changqing had a poor memory, he hadn't lost it completely. He thought for a moment and did recall an old turtle taking care of him when he was little. After looking at this rather crudely shaped fire turtle before him several times, he nodded with some difficulty. "Mm, it is indeed that old demon servant by my Imperial Father's side."
"Can we trust it?"
"My Imperial Father was always lenient with his people. Those under him all..." Mu Changqing paused, thinking of his father's tragedy of being betrayed by his subordinates.
His expression turned cold again, and he shook his head. "This old turtle followed the current Fire Demon King after my father's death. It's probably not loyal either. We might as well kill it and make soup."
"Little Majesty, for the sake of our past relationship, please don't kill me... Oh right, didn't you want to know the Demon King's plans? I know them!"