novelraw Chapter 96 : Tsk, It's Really Perky
Chapter 96 : Tsk, It's Really Perky
With her previous experience of infiltration, Chu Sang's entry into the demon palace this time was as familiar as entering her own backyard.
The treasure vault had already been thoroughly ransacked by her, with nothing of value left, so she didn't go there this time. Instead, she turned to another place, the forbidden area of the demon palace.
Last time, she had actually reached the entrance of the forbidden area, but there was a demonic formation at the entrance that she couldn't pass through, so she had to settle for the treasure vault.
But this time was different.
The four arrived at the entrance of the forbidden area.
Tantai Ming tried to enter but found his steps blocked by an invisible formation. He scratched his head, "Even the treasure vault didn't have a formation protecting it, yet this remote place has one set up."
"It seems the so-called treasure vault was just a decoy. The Demon Lord has stored the truly important items here," Mu Chihuai's analysis was mostly correct.
"Step back, it's my turn!" Chu Sang stepped forward to the entrance, her fingertips forming seals as magical symbols flowed.
Her method of breaking the formation was fine.
But the problem was—
She was actually using demonic energy?!
All four were dumbfounded, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Wasn't the demonic energy just supposed to be a cover? How did she actually start using it??
"What other surprises does Little Junior Sister have that we don't know about?" Tantai Ming licked his lips.
Demon race people generally value strength over techniques.
This has led to them lagging behind the cultivation world in talisman crafting, pill refining, tool refining, and formations.
Chu Sang had no difficulty learning even the Eight Trigrams Sect's top-tier formation techniques, let alone this small demon race formation.
Among the texts she had stolen from the treasure vault earlier, there were quite a few books on demon race formations. She had read them twice and fully comprehended them, making breaking this formation child's play.
A flash of light passed, and a large hole opened in the formation before them, just big enough for several people to pass through.
"Is it... broken?" Tantai Ming, a layman in formations, couldn't understand anything about them. As the main combat force and vanguard of the team, he was the first to try pushing open the heavy, tall iron door, and indeed, it moved.
Before he could rejoice, a terrifying burst of demonic energy suddenly erupted from behind the door.
"Be careful!" Chu Sang's expression changed. She instantly threw out several Golden Armor Talismans and launched several sword intents to slow the giant creature's attack, taking the opportunity to pull Tantai Ming to a safe place.
Mu Chihuai and Tang Yanling also retreated several meters to avoid being injured by the demonic energy.
A mountain-sized, two-headed lion-scale beast appeared before the four.
The demon beast was entirely black, with strong limbs and razor-sharp claws. Its body was covered in a layer of hard black armor that gleamed coldly. Invisible demonic energy swirled around it, and the layer of black mane on its back moved like dark clouds, exuding a fierce and terrifying aura.
"There was actually another layer of ambush hidden under this formation..." Tantai Ming said, still shaken.
If Little Junior Sister hadn't reacted quickly enough just now, he would probably have been smashed into a pulp by this demon beast's claws.
Chu Sang was unsurprised. After the painful lesson of having his possessions stolen, Yan Wangxing had indeed become smarter this time.
This was an early Nascent Soul stage demon beast. It would take some effort for the four of them to kill it, but it wasn't invincible.
Tantai Ming pierced the demon beast's abdomen with his sword, delivering the final blow.
The mountain-sized figure crashed to the ground.
The commotion and spiritual energy leak attracted nearby demon soldiers and generals. Yan Wangxing, like a startled bird, rushed over quickly.
"It's you again!" Yan Wangxing's face was covered in dark clouds, his handsome face twisted with anger. He sneered, "You dare to walk into the trap yourself. Seeking death!"
Chu Sang: "......" Wait, she was still wearing her human skin mask. Was this guy from the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit? How did he recognize her?
It wasn't that Yan Wangxing was particularly clever. It was mainly because in his several decades of life, this was the first time he had encountered such an audacious thief who dared to steal from him... Combined with the painful experiences of being tricked several times before, the first person who popped into his mind was Chu Sang.
There was no one else under heaven who would dare to be so bold.
Since she had been discovered, Chu Sang saw no need to hide anymore. She tore off the dull human skin mask on her face and grinned, waving at him, "Hello, old acquaintance. What a coincidence, we meet again!"
Yan Wangxing: "Guards, kill her!"
"Little Junior Sister, so your old acquaintance is this Demon Lord?" Tang Yanling was dumbfounded. "Didn't you say you were close enough to die for each other? It... doesn't seem like it."
His eyes were red with anger, looking like he wanted to tear her to pieces on the spot.
"Yes, close enough to die for each other," Chu Sang nodded, explaining reasonably, "Before, I stabbed him twice. Now it's his turn to stab me."
"No time to talk, run!" She grabbed her senior sister and ran.
Tantai Ming and Mu Chihuai followed closely behind.
The four immediately began their desperate escape.
Following Little Junior Sister might not bring many good things, but it certainly exercised their bodies.
Before they could escape the city, they found the entire city had been surrounded by a powerful demonic energy barrier.
Whether flying on swords or digging underground, they were completely sealed in, with no way to escape.
A barrier in front, pursuers behind.
They were trapped beasts.
Chu Sang wasn't very panicked. She tilted her small face up, thoughtfully stroking her chin.
To be able to set up such a large demonic energy barrier in such a short time, it seemed Yan Wangxing's injuries had mostly healed, and his strength had definitely recovered to at least the Divine Transformation stage.
But as far as she knew, Yan Wangxing had a loving encounter with heavenly lightning just half a year ago. With new and old injuries combined, it should have been impossible to recover in just a few short months.
Unless he had a Heaven-grade Reversal Pill.
But such Heaven-grade superior healing pills could no longer be refined in the current cultivation world, let alone by these physically strong but simple-minded warriors of the demon race.
However, in the original story, Qin Xixue's mustard seed space did have a bottle of Heaven-grade Reversal Pills.
The answer was obvious.
Chu Sang thought.
This female protagonist was truly two-faced. One moment she was telling the young beast realm lord that she was giving him her only Heaven-grade pill, and the next she was giving one to the Demon Lord to gain favor.
It seemed that the relationship between Yan Wangxing and Qin Xixue had returned to normal?
Chu Sang had to admit she felt a bit frustrated. She had worked so hard for so long, constantly disrupting the plot, but the story seemed to be returning to its original track under some irresistible force, heading down the old path of the original work.
No.
She absolutely would not allow this to happen.
There was a cold light in the young woman's eyes.
"Senior Brothers and Sister, I'm sorry to trouble you, but please help me with something!"
For the four of them to break through a barrier set up by a Divine Transformation stage cultivator was a pipe dream, and they didn't have enough time either.
Not to mention this was demon cultivator territory, with thousands upon thousands of demon cultivators here, including no small number of Golden Core and Nascent Soul stage cultivators.
No matter how tricky the four of them were, they couldn't outmaneuver an entire Demon Realm of demon cultivators.
Mu Chihuai: "What do you want to do?"
Chu Sang turned to look at the three, a smile spreading across her small face. "Help me lure away these demon soldiers."
She summoned Xiao Bai. "Try to lure away these demon soldiers and generals, stall for as long as you can... If you get caught later, hide in Xiao Bai's domain."
Mu Chihuai heard the implication in her words. "You want to separate from us?" He frowned. "Where do you plan to go alone?"
The situation was urgent. Even with the four of them together, they could barely put up a fight. Separating would only be more dangerous.
Being alone would be even more perilous.
"We left in such a hurry earlier, I suddenly remembered I hadn't properly greeted my old acquaintance," Chu Sang's smile faded. "And I want to give him another unforgettable gift while I'm at it."
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"Have those damned human cultivators been caught yet?"
Yan Wangxing, his face dark, ordered the demon attendants below, "Be especially careful of that youngest girl in red clothes! It doesn't matter if you can't catch the others, but you must bring that person to me!"
"Bring her to me alive if possible, dead if not!"
Yan Wangxing thought for a moment, then changed his mind, "Try to bring her to me alive."
He smiled coldly. Once he captured this person, he would certainly torture and humiliate her thoroughly!
"The demon city has been sealed off. Those few can't escape far. Please rest assured, Demon Lord!"
"How many people are left in the demon palace? Have them all go out to capture her. You must bring that girl back to me!" Yan Wangxing could hardly wait.
After all the demon palace guards and soldiers had been sent out to capture people, Yan Wangxing was in a great mood. With nothing else to do, he summoned several dancing girls and beauties to drink and make merry, thoroughly enjoying himself.
A voluptuous beauty with an exposed waist finished her dance. Her red sleeve's gauzy fabric brushed across his face. Yan Wangxing grabbed the thin, wind-like gauze with one hand, pulling the beauty into his arms, a seductive smile on his lips.
The beauty shyly nestled in his embrace, her jade-like hand picking up a cup and pouring a glass of fine wine.
Yan Wangxing wrapped one arm around the beauty's slender waist, his other hand holding her jade-like hand as he drank the wine. He felt even more content, already imagining how he would torture Chu Sang when she was captured.
"My lord, what are you thinking about? Why do you seem so distracted?" The dancer leaned against his chest, a slender jade finger lightly circling on his chest, landing on his heart.
Yan Wangxing narrowed his eyes, picking up a strand of her hair and sniffing it lightly. "...The beauty looks somewhat unfamiliar. Who sent you into the palace? Why haven't I seen you before?"
As he spoke, he tightly gripped her wrist with one hand.
"Die!" The dancer's face, which had been smiling flatteringly, instantly turned ice-cold. The hand on his chest suddenly grew long, blood-red nails, striking directly at Yan Wangxing's vital points!
Yan Wangxing waved out a palm of demonic energy, sending the person flying several meters.
The entire palace shook, and the other dancers in the hall panicked, screaming and fleeing.
Thousands of spider silk threads shot out. Hong Niang, in her transformed state, had recovered her peak demonic power. Her late Nascent Soul cultivation was quite formidable.
Yan Wangxing's arm was cut by several wounds from the spider silk. His face twisted even more, extremely gloomy. He slammed the spider against the wall with one palm.
"Who? Who sent you?!"
"I sent her."
The moment that familiar clear female voice sounded, it made one reflexively shudder. Yan Wangxing immediately turned his head to look back, gnashing his teeth, "Chu Sang?!"
She actually dared to come back?!
He sneered, "So you can contract a late Nascent Soul stage demon beast. You do have some skill. But to think you can defeat me with this is simply too foolish."
"...I'm sorry, Master. I can't beat him." Hong Niang changed back to human form, struggling to get up from the ground, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth, a shameful expression on her face.
Yan Wangxing had now fully recovered his strength and was a genuine Divine Transformation stage cultivator. Hong Niang had only just reached the late Nascent Soul stage, and Chu Sang was even worse, still stagnating at mid Golden Core stage.
No matter how they looked at it, they only had the option of waiting to die.
Just as Hong Niang was about to self-destruct her Nascent Soul to buy her master an escape route, Chu Sang turned her head and gave her a reassuring look. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
Even though the opponent was just a small Golden Core stage cultivator, and Yan Wangxing could crush her as easily as an ant if he wanted to, the lessons from previous encounters made him hesitate to act rashly. Instead, he narrowed his eyes, coldly staring at Chu Sang, guarding against any earth-shattering, ghost-crying tricks she might pull out.
She was only at mid Golden Core stage this time, not peak, so she definitely couldn't summon the lightning tribulation again.
Yan Wangxing's heart relaxed slightly, and he sneered again, gathering vast demonic energy in his hand.
"Be gentler with us girls. How about I give you something more fun to play with?" Chu Sang recalled the injured Hong Niang to her beast pouch for recovery, then turned to smile at the gloomy-faced Yan Wangxing. Without another word, she took out the Hundred Ghosts Banner and threw it out.
In an instant, the terrifying pressure of ghost energy filled the entire palace. Yan Wangxing's face changed dramatically, and he even took two steps back, looking up in fear—
This pressure was genuinely at the Divine Transformation stage! It was actually on par with his own??
She was just a mere Golden Core cultivator.
Where did she get all these bizarre things from?!
Compared to Yan Wangxing at the same level, the Divine Transformation stage Ghost King, who lacked rationality and only knew brutal killing, was obviously more ferocious and terrifying.
As for how ferocious, Yan Wangxing would certainly have a lot to say about that.
With both at the same level, it wasn't realistic for Yan Wangxing to defeat the Ghost King, but it was also difficult for him to lose.
As a ghost energy attack came at him, he was about to gather demonic energy to defend when his body suddenly felt light. He staggered back a step, a familiar feeling of powerlessness sweeping over his entire body. He was sent flying several meters by a heavy blow.
Yan Wangxing cursed inwardly. Damn.
"Twice the fun, familiar, isn't it?"
This guy never learns, falling for beauty twice.
Chu Sang straddled him, a position that was quite insulting. Yan Wangxing's face instantly turned red, whether from humiliation or something else was unclear.
Chu Sang smiled, grabbing his chin and prying open his mouth. She took out a pill and fed it to him.
"What... what did you make me eat?"
Yan Wangxing was furious.
He could clearly feel the demonic energy in his body instantly disappear. He couldn't use even a bit of demonic energy.
It seemed the Demon Sealing Pill refined by Sixth Senior Brother was quite effective, able to seal his power for half an hour without issue.
"Call me mommy, and I'll let you go."
"Bitch! I'll kill you!" Yan Wangxing shouted. "Guards!"
Chu Sang patted his face. "Save your strength. Don't bother calling. Did you forget you sent them all out to hunt me down?"
"Little beauty, even if you shout until your throat is raw today, no one will come to save you."
As she spoke, she slapped his buttocks. "Tsk, worthy of being one of the male protagonists, it's really perky."
Yan Wangxing was dying of shame and anger. He growled, "I will kill you! I'll tear you to pieces! I'll throw you into the demon caves to feed the demon beasts!!"
"You keep saying the same few lines over and over. I'm tired of hearing them. Why don't we play something more fun?" Chu Sang took out a small knife and gestured on his back. "Let me carve something on you. What should I carve... hmm... how about a turtle?
“What do you prefer, a softshell turtle or a regular turtle?"