426: Exposed!!! (4K monthly ticket requested)

In the room, Chen Yuan opened his eyes, and a sharp glint flickered in his sinister, triangular snake pupils before quickly receding.

During this day of waiting, he adjusted himself to his Peak condition to handle any situation that might arise. Now, only one step remained before his successful escape. The smooth progress of the past few days did not make him drop his guard; instead, he knew that the more critical the moment, the less he could relax.

He stood up, waved his sleeve towards the main door, and the Restriction laid upon it dissipated like smoke. Then he stepped forward, pulled open the door, and walked out.

At this moment, outside, streams of Demonic Qi flew out of the courtyard, gathering in the sky. Hundreds of Demon Soldiers from the Hooked Snake Clan revealed their ferocious figures, congregating under the shouts of their respective Tianguan Demon Generals.

Chen Yuan's expression remained unchanged. He too stepped out of the courtyard and joined the ranks. However, in this brief interval, he noticed that the sky above Yin Mountain had changed dramatically at some point. Countless shimmering silver leaves filled the sky, like a myriad of stars adorning the night, exceptionally splendid.

Above, there was a powerful Formation fluctuation, discernible from a great distance.

Chen Yuan's brows furrowed slightly. When did this Formation appear?

He had stayed indoors all day, not venturing out. Being in a Demon Den, out of caution, his Primordial Spirit perception had not extended outwards, to prevent inadvertently touching some Restriction or being noticed by an Old Demon in this Demonic Mountain.

Upon seeing this scene, a sense of vigilance couldn't help but rise in his heart.

Is this the Yin Mountain's Mountain Protection Formation? Or is it because the mountain's teleportation Formation is about to activate?

He felt some surprise and suspicion, but he showed no outward signs, blending in with the Demon Soldiers. A golden light flashed deep within his green pupils.

The other Demon Soldiers also seemed curious about this scene, making a noisy commotion, which was quickly suppressed by the leading Demon General.

Soon, the assembly of hundreds of Hooked Snake Clan Demon Soldiers was complete. Several Tianguan Hooked Snakes stood quietly in front, their Demonic eyes gazing outside the Immortal Cave, calmly waiting for the Celestial Dog Clan's superior to lead them to the teleportation Formation.

Time slowly passed.

The first quarter of the hour of Zi Shi arrived.

No one from the Celestial Dog Clan came.

The second quarter of the hour of Zi Shi arrived, and still, no one from the Celestial Dog Clan came.

As the third quarter of the hour of Zi Shi was about to arrive, which was the agreed-upon time for the next teleportation, the Demon Soldiers seemed somewhat confused, making various strange commotions. For these demons, discipline was non-existent, and the leading Demon Generals, who had initially been respectfully waiting, also became strange, beginning to "whisper" among themselves.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan, who was among the ranks, saw this situation, and his green snake pupils slowly narrowed into a thin line. His heart also slowly sank.

It wasn't until the stipulated time of the third quarter of Zi Shi passed that he vaguely sensed an unusual aura!

With a change in the pre-arranged schedule, he naturally wouldn't be naive enough to think that these demons were careless, causing the delay.

What happened?

Chen Yuan's heart felt heavy, but he didn't lose his composure. He calmly analyzed and speculated on various possibilities in his mind.

The sudden appearance of a large Formation above Yin Mountain, the passing of the agreed-upon teleportation time, and no one from the Celestial Dog Clan arriving—these events, one after another, revealed an oddity that caused a cold glint to flash in Chen Yuan's pupils.

As his thoughts churned, time slowly elapsed, and these Hooked Snakes began to show signs of impatience and dissatisfaction. Then, around the sixth quarter of Zi Shi, suddenly, the air shrieked, and a tall Demonic figure plummeted down, revealing the Celestial Dog that had been the leader yesterday!

However, this time, behind the Celestial Dog, a group of Demon Soldiers clad in beast armor appeared, riding on black Demonic clouds. Each held a bone weapon, brimming with Evil Qi and ferocity!

The previously restless Hooked Snakes were startled by this sight and immediately quieted down.

And among them, one of the leading Demon Generals, the strongest of the four Tianguan Hooked Snakes, who was in the Dao Fruit Realm, stepped forward to negotiate with the descending tall Celestial Dog. Although he had waited for a long time and was internally fuming, his clan was subservient to the Celestial Dog Clan, so he could only suppress his anger and still had to show sufficient respect and reverence. His cold snake pupils now held emotion as he sullenly saluted, saying,

"Esteemed Adult, yesterday, it was planned that our clan and the Six-Armed Clan would be teleported outside the mountain at the third quarter of Zi Shi. We have been waiting here for a long time; the time has already passed. And..." Saying this, the Hooked Snake looked at the fierce Demon Soldiers behind the Celestial Dog, with a hint of surprise, "This is...?"

The Celestial Dog, seven zhang tall and exuding a powerful Dao Fruit aura, lowered its blood-moon-like red eyes, exhaling a dense Evil Qi from its nostrils. "An order has come from the Sacred Shrine: all teleportations inside and outside the mountain are cancelled, and the teleportation Formation is closed."

As he spoke, sharp, needle-like white hairs pricked out from the Celestial Dog's face, and its fangs bared in a sneer. "An outsider has intruded into Yin Mountain. We are ordered to patrol, and all who enter or exit Yin Mountain must undergo inspection, including you!"

As soon as the words fell, with a rustling sound, the Demonic clouds behind the Celestial Dog poured out to both sides, encircling the Hooked Snake Clan's demons.

This gloomy, thunderous voice caused a stir among the Hooked Snake Demon Soldiers. Among them, a pair of green pupils narrowed slightly, and his heart was startled.

"What is this for? Our clan has served the Sacred Clan diligently. This time, we even sent our clansmen batch after batch to the battlefield to fight outside the mountain. Is the Sacred Clan doubting us? This truly disheartens us."

The black snake scales on the leading Hooked Snake Demon General's face bristled, and his pupils flickered with anger.

Being demons, they were naturally violent. Although the other party's cultivation was similar to his own, due to their clan's background, he was subservient, calling the other party "Adult," yet being treated this way naturally made him angry.

The Celestial Dog's blood-red Demonic eyes gleamed coldly, more white hairs appeared on its face, and its Demonic eyes were filled with blood. A powerful aura, like surging waves, crashed down.

"Not just you, but all other clans entering the mountain must undergo interrogation. This is an order from our clan's Sacred Shrine. Do you dare to object?"

"Boom!"

A Qi explosion suddenly erupted.

The pressure-induced Qi wave exploded and surged towards the Tianguan Hooked Snake, causing the demon to grunt and retreat several steps in the Void Realm.

Then, the Celestial Dog directly waved its hand, revealing a silver wooden token. It struck the Void Realm in front of it, and the token flew three zhang away, vibrating with a buzzing silver light.

Subsequently, the Dao Fruit Realm Celestial Dog unleashed several Demonic lights to activate the token. Instantly, the token's silver light surged, emitting over a dozen wisps of silver mist that scattered and flew downwards in all directions.

These silver mists, it was seen, actually merged into the surrounding ancient silver trees below.

As the silver trees swayed, countless silver leaves fluttered down. An invisible wind gathered these falling silver leaves, swirling them into a giant, nascent Celestial Dog form. Then, this dog stepped forward and flew above the Hooked Snake Demon Soldiers.

This entity came above the Hooked Snake Demon Soldiers, circling in the air, and silver leaves scattered down, landing on each of the Demon Soldiers.

Then, these leaves seemed to have encountered fire and spontaneously ignited.

Chen Yuan was among them. When he saw these white dogs appear, he had already guessed what the other party intended to do. When the silver leaves fell on him, they actually stimulated the Demonic Qi within his body.

Before this, Chen Yuan, with a shift of thought, sealed his Blood Qi, along with the Demonic essence Qi refined in his other acupoints, and actively drew out the Demonic Qi from the Hooked Snake's essence blood.

Although it was only a bit of essence blood, this Demonic blood had undergone Awakening and been refined to sufficient purity in the Dragon Transformation Pool of Xian Ti Mountain. The Demonic Qi within it was dense enough to cover his human Qi.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

Then, the silver leaves that had fallen on him began to burn fiercely!

Just like on the other Hooked Snakes!

This beast was using the Spiritual Root essence Qi of Yin Mountain to identify whether they had Demonic Bloodline and to find the invading outsider.

Chen Yuan had already realized that his presence had been exposed!

As the silver leaves on hundreds of Hooked Snakes ignited, the extraordinarily divine Celestial Dog transformed into fluttering tree leaves and dispersed.

The entire process lasted for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Seeing this result, the Celestial Dog's red eyes flickered, seemingly with some regret.

If it had found any problems, it could have killed the foolish fellow who dared to yell at it just now. For their Sacred Clan, these fellows were merely servants and cannon fodder.

There was also a hierarchy of contempt among demons!

But now that they were invading the human world, they would let these fellows off the hook!

"According to our clan's order, until that outsider is found, no demon is allowed to leave their designated area without permission. You just need to cooperate obediently. Don't be disobedient, or the consequences will be so severe that even your clan's king will be powerless to intercede."

The Celestial Dog finished speaking in a sinister tone, then stomped its foot, creating a booming sound as it departed.

Meanwhile, the Demon Soldiers who had formed the encirclement scattered, landing around the courtyard and guarding it, creating a deterrent.

This made the faces of the several leading Tianguan Hooked Snakes turn ugly, as they experienced the humiliation of being a lower-class demon. But then, they belatedly realized what kind of outsider had caused the Sacred Clan to make such a big fuss. Thinking of the implications, the aggrieved Hooked Snake Demon General turned around and sternly relayed the Celestial Dog's warning to the Demon Soldiers below, then dismissed these fellows.

Chen Yuan thus returned to his original room!

Closing the door, Chen Yuan's pupils instantly darkened, but in just a breath, he maintained a normal expression. This time, he did not set up any Restrictions in the room. He realized his existence had been exposed, and that "outsider" was very likely himself. Such an action would only give the impression of having something to hide.

At this moment, if an Old Demon in Yin Mountain were secretly peeking and found this room impenetrable, wouldn't it attract attention?

Although this possibility was small, who could say for sure?

At this moment, in his flickering pupils, he was pondering why and when he had been exposed?

He had arrived from Xian Ti Mountain, honestly blending in with the Demon Soldiers, doing nothing. Logically, he shouldn't have been discovered.

Could it be that he had dug up the ancestral grave of these demons in Xian Ti Mountain, taking their ancestor's Demonic bones, and they had found out?

No!

If they had found out, the Celestial Dog wouldn't be helping with this big show; people from Xian Ti Mountain would have come first. And how would they confirm it was an outsider?

That Celestial Dog said that all teleportations, both outside and inside the mountain, were stopped, and all other demons in Yin Mountain had to be investigated.

Chen Yuan's intuition told him that these actions were specifically aimed at finding him!

His green eyes lowered, flickering with a golden light. He looked out the window, then slowly lowered his eyelids, and his lips moved slightly.

"The plan has changed. The Yin Mountain Celestial Dogs have very likely discovered my existence and are currently searching for outside intruders. Currently, the entire mountain is sealed, and the teleportation passage to the outside of the mountain has been blocked!"

His voice was cold, and at this moment, his transformed triangular snake pupils narrowed into a thin line, flickering with a greenish-golden light, appearing very ferocious.

The bright moonlight cast his shadow long through the window frame, constantly shifting.

Soon, an old, strange cry first echoed in his mind.

"Chen boy, are you sure?"

"We've come to the last step, and you tell this old man such news? Does this mean you can't get in or out now, trapped here? This old bone of mine can't take it anymore!"

Chen Yuan ignored the old man's strange cry. "All signs indicate so."

At this moment, another voice rang out!

"Brother Chen, don't be anxious. It seems the demons only know you've arrived here, but they can't pinpoint your location yet. With Brother Chen's Divine Ability, if you're careful, there's always a way. If the passage to outside the mountain is closed, you can wait for the opportune moment to break out and then find another way."

The voice of Jade Unicorn Jin Yushan came, helping Chen Yuan analyze the current situation.

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan's ferocious pupils blazed with a cold light, and his tone carried an emotion.

"No, the passage to outside the mountain being closed is only temporary!"

"The tens of thousands of soldiers behind Chen will force them to reopen it."

"It just depends on whether these beasts here will give Chen this much time!"

As soon as these words were uttered, the voices in Chen Yuan's mind fell silent.

Meanwhile, on the other side, at the edge of a high cliff on the vast Yin Mountain, waterfalls flowed, and beside them, silver osmanthus trees swayed, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Above, a giant "moon" hung directly overhead, seemingly within reach, and even higher, there was a brilliant celestial curtain formed by countless stars!

It truly felt like one could pluck the stars!

Under a tall silver tree, there was a chessboard, and two individuals were playing a game.

One was clad in golden feathered robes, wearing a purple-gold crown. His golden hair was like threads of gold, his brows were reddish-gold, and his narrow, sharp eyes had cold, golden pupils that flickered with a chilling light. His entire body exuded a radiant, flame-like 寶光.

Opposite him was a plump, short old man with curved eyebrows, white brows hanging down, and prominent cheekbones, giving him a benevolent and smiling appearance.

At his feet, a small white dog lay curled up, looking old, its eyes drooping at the old man's feet, like a weary old dog.

"I never thought that you, a Disciple of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, would be so skilled at chess."

"It seems the Western Pure Land truly is a land of ultimate bliss. If only those fellows didn't always think about incorporating us, making us Yao Race serve as cattle, horses, and mounts for them to accumulate Karma, hehe. Otherwise, this old bone of mine might even go and see what that place is truly like."

At this moment, the benevolent old man looked at the golden-haired man, his tone laced with idleness.

"Old man, if my Revered Master hears that, he won't be pleased," said the golden-haired man, whose Qi was as deep as an abyss. He spoke expressionlessly, then placed a piece, and slowly continued, "An outside bug has intruded into Yin Mountain, but the old man doesn't seem to be in a hurry at all?" (End of Chapter)