46: Chapter 46 You want to block my door? First, taste what falls from the sky!

The lineup before his eyes was far larger than he had anticipated.

It wasn't that the defenders of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons were particularly strong, but rather that this "battle-ready" posture itself was abnormal. In the original story, although Demonic Qi permeated the entrance of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons, it was only in scattered wisps, far from being dangerous.

This current stance clearly indicated they knew in advance that someone would come to cause trouble.

The Heavenly Dao was accelerating.

He took a deep breath and didn't linger in place. He grabbed Xia Lengbai's wrist and turned to retreat into a pile of jagged rocks nearby.

Xia Lengbai didn't speak, allowing him to drag her along. Not until they hid in a dimly lit rock crevice did she shake off his hand and ask in a low voice, "Force our way in?"

"Force your ass," Shen Xiao said, leaning against the rock wall. His gaze passed through the gap in the rocks, staring at the soaring blood-red aura and the Yao Race army in the distance. "That is the King-Welcoming Formation, connected to the ley lines of the entire Cave of Ten Thousand Demons.

If you try to force your way in, it's equivalent to making an enemy of the entire Cave of Ten Thousand Demons. By then, we wouldn't even need Lin Yun to make a move; we'd both just die right here."

Xia Lengbai was silent for two seconds. "Then what do you mean?"

"Make the people inside come out on their own."

Xia Lengbai frowned, clearly not understanding his logic.

Shen Xiao didn't rush to explain. Instead, he took a Medicinal Pill from his bosom and tossed it into his mouth, chewing while recalling the settings from the original story.

The Legacy of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons had the heart of the demon emperor at its core.

In the original story, Lin Yun was able to obtain this thing because he was the child of Luck chosen by the Heavenly Dao, and all the Yao Race tacitly accepted him as the one destined by heaven.

But Shen Xiao remembered a detail mentioned in the original story—the line of the Flame Fire Demon Emperor had a generational enemy.

The Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan.

They were an ancient Yao Race from the Far North Ice Plains, whose Bloodline inherited a type of Extreme Cold Death Ray that was naturally opposed to the Flame Fire Demon Emperor's blazing power.

Back when the two clans vied for the position of Demon Emperor, the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan lost miserably and was almost wiped out, with only a few scattered descendants hiding in the Ice Cave of the Far North, barely clinging to life.

But the question was, did the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan have anything to do with the Legacy of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons?

The original story didn't explicitly state it, but Shen Xiao remembered a passage of narration mentioning:

"The blood feud between the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan and the Flame Fire Demon Emperor's line is branded into the memories of every generation of Demon Emperors. Even though the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan has been destroyed for ten thousand years, the Flame Fire Bloodline still regards them as a threat second only to their natural enemies."

That was enough.

Shen Xiao looked up at Xia Lengbai. "How much Ice Soul Spiritual Power do you have left?"

Xia Lengbai was slightly stunned, then immediately understood his meaning. "You want to impersonate the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan?"

"Smart." Shen Xiao grinned. "The Flame Fire Demon Emperor's line has a generational enemy, the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan, who wield the Extreme Cold Death Ray. The Yao Race of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons have this aura carved into their bones; as long as they sense this aura appearing near the entrance, they won't be able to sit still."

Xia Lengbai didn't answer immediately, instead narrowing her eyes as if calculating the feasibility of this plan.

A few breaths later, she spoke slowly, "My Ice Soul Spiritual Power can indeed simulate the aura of the Extreme Cold Death Ray, but it can't fool experts. The Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan's aura has a unique sense of deathly stillness, which is something intrinsic to their Bloodline; pure Ice-type spiritual power cannot imitate that."

"That's why I'm adding ingredients for you." Shen Xiao reached out, and a ball of golden halo condensed in his palm; it was the energy of the [Guiyuan Dao Seed]. "This is the pure energy I obtained when I plundered Nangong Li's alchemy talent. Fusing it with your Ice Soul Spiritual Power should be able to forge the aura of the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan."

Xia Lengbai stared at that halo, her eyes flickering slightly.

She didn't ask why Shen Xiao was willing to take out such a precious thing—after all, she had just tested his trump cards earlier.

But Shen Xiao's actions clearly exceeded her expectations.

"How much certainty do you have?" she asked.

"Seventy percent." Shen Xiao put away the halo. "The remaining thirty percent depends on Luck."

Xia Lengbai was silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

The two set off immediately, taking a wide detour to reach a hidden valley ten miles north of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons entrance.

The valley was surrounded by mountains on all sides and was low-lying. Coupled with the fact that it was shrouded in thick fog year-round, it was an ideal location for forging an aura.

Shen Xiao chose a relatively high rock, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate [Symbiotic Shackles].

This was one of the abilities bestowed upon him by the System within his body—it could briefly fuse his own aura with a target's, forming a pseudo-resonance state of "shared aura."

Simply put, as long as he activated this function, his and Xia Lengbai's auras would overlap. What people outside would detect was a single, complete aura, not two separate individuals.

Of course, the price was that he had to bear all the backlash and the impact of the Heavenly Dao's probing.

"Ready?" Shen Xiao looked at Xia Lengbai.

Xia Lengbai didn't answer, instead extending her hand directly, a ball of dark blue ice crystals condensing in her palm.

The ice crystals rotated in her palm, emitting a bone-chilling cold, and the surrounding air began to condense into tiny ice shards.

She took a deep breath and tapped with her fingertip; the ball of ice crystals slowly rose into the air, hovering above their heads.

Immediately after, Shen Xiao injected that wisp of [Guiyuan Dao Seed] energy into the ice crystals.

The golden halo merged into the dark blue ice crystals, and the moment the two energies collided, they erupted into a strange resonance.

The color of the ice crystals changed from dark blue to an eerie silver-gray, and the aura they emitted also changed from pure cold to a deathly, gloomy chill—just like corpses buried deep under ten-thousand-year ice layers, carrying a decaying, hair-raising sense of oppression.

The aura of the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan.

It worked.

Shen Xiao didn't hesitate and immediately activated [Symbiotic Shackles].

A pale golden pattern spread out from his chest, winding around his limbs like vines, and then extended onto Xia Lengbai's body.

Their auras completely fused in that instant, becoming one with the silver-gray ice crystals above their heads.

From the perspective of external perception, there were two "vanguards of the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan" standing in the valley at this moment.

"Do it." Shen Xiao gave a low shout.

Xia Lengbai formed hand seals, and the ball of ice crystals above her head suddenly erupted with blinding light.

A cold, deathly, and strongly aggressive aura surged out from the valley like a tangible substance, spreading in all directions.

Wherever that aura passed, vegetation withered, rocks cracked, and the air was filled with a foul, rotten smell, as if it had touched something that shouldn't be touched.

The entrance of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons.

Niu Kaishan was standing on the altar, his hands resting on his giant axe, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding Cultivators like lightning.

He had been standing for three days and three nights without the slightest fatigue; instead, the longer he stood, the more energetic he became.

The Demon Emperor was about to return, and the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons had been sealed for a hundred years.

This order was issued directly by the Demon Emperor Hall; he didn't need to know the reason, only to execute it.

But just as he was about to withdraw his gaze, a sudden aura made his whole body tremble.

That aura was very faint, as if it had drifted from a very far place, but he would never mistake it—that aura carried a coldness and deathly stillness branded into his Bloodline memory; it was the aura unique to the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan.

"Impossible..." Niu Kaishan muttered to himself, "Weren't the Nether Moon Demon wolf pups wiped out long ago?"

But that aura truly existed, and it was becoming clearer and clearer.

Niu Kaishan closed his eyes, his demon consciousness probing toward the source of that aura like a giant net.

A few breaths later, he opened his eyes abruptly, a terrifying fierce light erupting in them.

It really was the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan.

And there was more than one.

What he sensed were two "vanguards of the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan" lurking in the valley ten miles away, seemingly brewing something.

Niu Kaishan's brain worked at high speed.

The appearance of the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan at this time was definitely not a coincidence.

The heart of the demon emperor was about to be born, and within the Nether Moon Demon Wolf Clan's Legacy, there was a secret technique that could forcibly seize the Legacy through Bloodline resonance the moment the heart of the demon emperor was born.

They had come to snatch the heart of the demon emperor.

Niu Kaishan took a deep breath and turned to look at the lieutenant behind him. "Guard the entrance. Without my order, no one is allowed to enter without authorization."

The lieutenant was stunned. "General, are you going personally?"

"The Nether Moon demon pups dare to covet the Demon Emperor's Legacy?" Niu Kaishan snorted coldly, grabbed his giant axe, and leaped down from the altar. "I'm going to teach them what Bloodline suppression is!"

Before the words had faded, he waved his large hand, mustered half of the elite demon troops, and transformed into a stream of light, charging toward the source of that aura.

The Yao Race army at the entrance of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons was instantly reduced by half.

Shen Xiao sensed the approaching Demonic Qi in the valley, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"They're here."

Xia Lengbai sensed it too, and she looked at Shen Xiao. "Retreat now?"

"No, hold on a little longer." Shen Xiao stared in the direction of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons entrance. "Wait until that bull is far away, then we'll retreat."

Xia Lengbai didn't argue and continued to maintain that aura.

Ten breaths later, Niu Kaishan's aura had completely disappeared from their sensing range.

Shen Xiao stood up abruptly and grabbed Xia Lengbai. "Go!"

The two didn't hesitate, directly severing the link of [Symbiotic Shackles], turned, and sprinted toward the entrance of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons.

When they arrived near the entrance, it was indeed as Shen Xiao had expected—having lost Niu Kaishan's command, those remaining Yao Race, while still vigilant, had a clearly loosened formation.

The energy flow of the King-Welcoming Formation had developed a brief gap due to the lack of command after Niu Kaishan left.

Shen Xiao didn't hesitate, pulling Xia Lengbai along, their figures passing through that gap like ghosts.

A few demon soldiers nearby noticed something unusual, but before they could react, the figures of Shen Xiao and Xia Lengbai had already merged into the shadows of the cave.

The interior of the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons was deeper and darker than Shen Xiao had imagined.

The cave was permeated with a dark red mist, like congealed blood, carrying a strong, fishy stench.

The surrounding rock walls were embedded with countless Ore emitting a faint glow, and the light was dim, barely enough to see the path ahead.

Shen Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when he heard a "ding" in his mind—the System panel popped up a crimson warning.

[Alert!

Due to the stimulation of the external archenemy's aura, the 'heart of the demon emperor', in order to protect itself, has activated the 'Ten Thousand Spirit Blood Sacrifice' mode.

The Legacy completion speed has increased by 300%, and it will indiscriminately absorb the energy of all high-level life forms within the cave!]

Shen Xiao's pupils contracted suddenly.

Before he even had time to curse, a massive suction force came from deep within the cave, like an invisible giant hand that violently grabbed his limbs and Dantian, pulling all his spiritual power outward.

That wasn't ordinary suction; it was a tug directly at the level of the Soul.

The spiritual power in his body was like kindling that had been ignited, surging outward uncontrollably, flowing toward the depths of the cave.

Xia Lengbai also felt that suction. Her face instantly turned pale, and she gritted her teeth to steady herself, looking at Shen Xiao. "What's going on?"

Shen Xiao didn't answer, because he didn't know the answer himself.

But what he did know was that if they didn't run, they would both immediately become nutrients for the heart of the demon emperor.