153: Chapter 153 The Demon Lord of the True Demon Realm

The middle-aged man calling himself True Lord stood in mid-air. His face was pale, with faint, uncleansed blood at the corner of his mouth. His magnificent Daoist robe was stained with dust and dark brown smudges, clearly showing he had just undergone a bitter struggle.

He had heard the news of the Exquisite Heart Lotus's birth from the discussions of Loose Cultivators in Hong State and had rushed over with all his might, despite his worsening injuries. Seeing the miraculous lotus maturing, greed blazed in his eyes as he reached out toward the center of the lake without a second thought.

“Hmph!”

Jing Chengfeng, who was closest to the lake, had long been on guard. With a cold snort, he pressed his withered palm into the air! A surge of powerful and condensed Nascent Soul Spiritual Qi transformed into an invisible giant palm, arriving first despite being launched later, and struck True Lord Qianyang's wrist fiercely!

Bang!

The muffled sound of clashing energy rang out! The middle-aged man's body swayed, and he was forced to withdraw his hand, his expression turning as dark as water. “I am True Lord Qianyang! A mere Early Stage Nascent Soul dares to block me?!”

“True Lord Qianyang?!”

“Is he that True Lord Qianyang who was hunted by demons from another Realm in Cao State? To think he actually escaped to this place!”

The Loose Cultivators by the lakeshore were in an uproar as they recognized his name; he was quite notorious in the neighboring states.

However, it was precisely because of his notoriety that he was soon targeted by the Demon Race of the True Demon Realm. Only after repeated bitter battles was he able to escape from the hands of two Demonic Lords.

Jing Chengfeng cast a subtle glance back at Xia Yingying, who was watching nervously from behind.

The little ancestor of the Moonshadow Sect is here; this Spirit Medicine must not be lost!

More importantly, with that blow just now, he had keenly sensed that although the opponent's Aura was strong, it was shallow and unstable, and his Spiritual Qi circulation was sluggish. His injuries were far more severe than they appeared on the surface.

“This item already has an owner. Fellow Daoist, please return!”

Jing Chengfeng took a step forward and summoned a simple 'Flowing Cloud Whisk.' As the whisk waved, thousands of silver threads transformed into incredibly tough chains of cloud energy, sweeping toward True Lord Qianyang from all directions.

“Courting death!”

True Lord Qianyang's face was unsightly to the extreme; he hadn't expected that he wouldn't be able to intimidate the man and would even be attacked first. He gave a furious roar and performed hand seals. Behind him, the phantom of a scorching 'Crimson Sun Treasure Wheel' emerged, with raging flames attempting to incinerate the cloud chains wrapping toward him!

The two instantly clashed, their Magic Treasures booming as they collided, sending spiritual light flying in all directions. Jing Chengfeng fought steadily, using the flexible nature of the Flowing Cloud Whisk to constantly deflect force and keep the opponent entangled.

True Lord Qianyang relied on his Middle Stage Realm and Crimson Sun Flames to attack aggressively, but because he was hindered by his injuries, his power was greatly diminished.

After dozens of rounds of intense fighting, Jing Chengfeng's face turned slightly pale, clearly having consumed a significant amount of energy. Meanwhile, True Lord Qianyang's injuries were aggravated, blood overflowed from his mouth again, and his Aura became increasingly chaotic—he had clearly fallen into a disadvantage!

“Old fool! I shall remember this!” Seeing that there was no hope of seizing the treasure, True Lord Qianyang felt the urge to retreat. After throwing out a harsh threat with false bravado, he turned into a crimson light of escape, intending to flee.

The direction of True Lord Qianyang's escape light was toward the territory of Hong State.

Suddenly, the void ahead twisted violently, and a pitch-black spatial crack tore open silently, from which a heart-palpitating, tyrannical Aura began to spread.

From the crack, two figures slowly stepped out.

They looked like humans, about ten feet tall, with skin like glowing red iron covered in crimson patterns that flowed like magma. Their hair resembled blazing purple flames.

The difference was: the Flame Demon on the left had a rugged face and violent eyes, while the Flame Demon on the right appeared slightly more sinister, with a more condensed Aura.

“So noisy.”

The violent Flame Demon on the left casually flicked a finger toward True Lord Qianyang, who was about to escape.

A streak of deep purple flame flashed and vanished, instantly piercing through True Lord Qianyang's protective spiritual light and entering his body!

“Ah—!”

The shrill, short scream came to an abrupt end. True Lord Qianyang, along with the crimson glow of his escape light, instantly turned into fly ash and scattered with the wind.

“As soon as I come out, there's a little bug making noise.”

The violent Flame Demon withdrew his finger, his tone indifferent, as if he had merely crushed an ant.

The sinister Flame Demon took a greedy, deep breath, a look of intoxication appearing on his face:

“Mmm... as expected, the Spiritual Qi of this world... though mixed with some annoying 'Turbid Qi,' it is far more abundant and delicious than the barren Devilish Qi of our True Demon Realm!”

His gaze then fell upon the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart Lotus, which was swirling with seven-colored radiance and emitting a fragrant aroma, and wild joy erupted in his eyes:

“What a treasure! To stumble upon such an Opportunity right after coming out!”

The violent Flame Demon urged, “Enough talk! Hurry up and collect it, and while you're at it, clean up these little bugs on the shore! We still need to stabilize the spatial passage. If we delay the Devil Emperor's plan, neither of us can afford the consequences!”

The devilish flames around him surged, and a terrifying pressure crushed toward the people by the lake like something physical. “Ants, die!”

Around the lakeside, everyone was shocked.

“Demons from another Realm!!!”

“A... Soul Transformation Realm demon! True Lord Qianyang was burned to death in an instant!”

“It's over! It's all over!” Especially the Loose Cultivators from Hong State; they were terrified to the point of despair, their faces ashen as they collapsed limply to the ground.

The experts from the eastern bank of the Qing River, such as Jing Chengfeng, Jing Hong, and Yun Menglu, were also shaken to their cores by this terrifying pressure.

In their despair, almost everyone's gaze shot toward the petite and exquisite figure in a light water-green gauze dress among the crowd from Liuyun Temple.

‘She is the Personal Disciple of the Sect Master of Moon Shadow Sect! She must have a life-saving trump card bestowed by Sect Master Ling!’

This was their only hope!

Xia Yingying, focused upon by countless expectant gazes, had a deathly pale face. She tried her best to straighten her slender body, but her heart was racing like a panicked deer:

‘Sister Xinxi, what should I do...’

Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Yue Xinxi practically wanted to cover her face.

Is my mouth blessed or something?! Just before coming here, I was thinking that a Soul Transformation-level combatant wouldn't appear for this Spirit Medicine harvest, and now they've suddenly arrived—and two of them at once!

‘And these two are still the ones I'm familiar with—the Flame Demon Clan!’

Yue Xinxi recognized the opponent's Aura; it shared the same source as Xuanxin Demon Venerable, with whom she had almost perished together years ago.

‘Use Yingying's life-saving trump card? No!’

Yue Xinxi immediately rejected the idea. That thing was the final protective charm; using it would definitely alert Ling Hao. Who knew if that playboy Sect Master would take the Opportunity to "punish" Yingying?

Moreover, under everyone's watchful eyes, if she let Yingying flee alone, her Dao Heart would likely be damaged.

‘Forget it, forget it, I really have a life of toil!’

Consuming my Soul Power like this, I'm afraid I won't recover for half a year or a year.

Yue Xinxi sighed as her Soul Power began to burn intensely. ‘Yingying, the body...’

Just as Yue Xinxi was preparing to take over Xia Yingying's body and force an eruption despite the great damage to her Soul Power—

“Who are you calling ants?”

A charming female voice filled with endless fury pierced through the suffocating demonic pressure.

A stream of light like pink clouds appeared in front of Xia Yingying.

The light dissipated, revealing a woman dressed in a pink gauze silk robe. Her figure was exquisite, and her face was beautiful. Her bright almond eyes were wide with anger as she shouted, “Who gave you permission to touch my Junior Sister?”

Chi Wanhe's Aura of Nascent Soul Perfection (actually Golden Core Perfection, raised by one major Realm within the Sect's range) exploded forth. Though she was charming, her protective Aura was incomparably sharp, pointing directly at the two Flame Demons in the sky.

“Eldest Senior Sister!”

Seeing that familiar pink figure and willful posture, Xia Yingying's heart settled instantly. Overjoyed, she couldn't help but cry out.

‘Yingying's Eldest Senior Sister?!’

In the Sea of Consciousness, Yue Xinxi suddenly froze, nearly interrupting her Soul Power circulation.

How could she be here?! Shouldn't she be in the Moonshadow Sect hovering around that playboy Sect Master? Then she realized—Ling Hao must have sent her! To protect his Junior Sister in secret!

What startled Yue Xinxi was that her Soul Transformation-level perception hadn't noticed her following at all along the way.

Only... Yue Xinxi looked at Chi Wanhe's pink-skirted, shouting figure, and her heart rose again.

This girl is usually very charming and clingy in the Sect. Although her talent is extremely high, can this Nascent Soul Perfection against two Soul Transformation Demon Venerables... Her Aura is sufficient, but can she do it?

This was not only Yue Xinxi's question but also the question of all the survivors by the lake.

Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation—a single word's difference, worlds apart!

The sharp contrast between Chi Wanhe's charming figure and the overwhelming demonic power cast a shadow over the sliver of hope that had just risen in everyone.