Chapter 19 The Demon King Makes His First Appearance, Space Reverses a Thousand Miles Away
"Ksitigarbha Entanglement, emerge!"
Rock spikes pierced the ground, and the rosewood burst forth from the earth the instant the earth dragon was unsheathed.
The half-demon who had grabbed her was startled and immediately transformed into his original form. His gray fox tail swept out like a giant whip. Huali took three steps back and picked up a piece of wood and chopped it down with force.
The wooden stick snapped with a crack, and as the fox tail trembled and retracted, Huali stepped forward. "Buddha Bone Prison, freeze!"
A semi-transparent barrier instantly appeared around the fox demon. It opened its mouth wide and roared, charging forward with all its might, but to no avail.
Although the process from being dragged to the ground to successfully rescuing himself was very fast, the scene before him was clearly not where the demonic vine had appeared earlier.
Ao Bai, who had been captured along with Hua Li, sniffed the air: "What's that smell? It smells so good."
The old banyan trees that used to block out the sky have disappeared, replaced by clusters of short trees with large red flowers, and the fragrance comes from the red flowers.
Before Karin could get a good look, a childish voice rang out, "Let me go! You damned human!"
With her attention diverted, Huali raised an eyebrow at the trapped fox, who had now transformed back into his half-demon form. He looked only seven or eight years old, with red lips and white teeth, and his two fox ears on his head had turned into airplane ears from anger, baring their teeth at her.
"Ao Bai, what's his background?"
Ao Bai leaped to the half-demon's side. Upon seeing Ao Bai, the half-demon's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and even the fox fur at the tip of its tail bristled. "Where did this lowly beast come from? Get out of my way!"
Too lazy to argue with a brat, Ao Bai rolled his eyes: "It's not a magical beast, it's a demonic beast, and it doesn't have any demonic energy on it."
What a pity.
She was just one demon core away from completing her KPI, but this kid could transform into human form, so he must be at least level five.
So here's the question.
"Do I know you? Why are you arresting me?" Huali asked sincerely.
"There's a reason I captured you!" the half-demon sneered. "You'd better release me, or the Demon King won't let you off the hook!"
Demon King? If you need anything, consult Xianbo.
Without saying a word, Huali took out the communication stone.
The Demon King was among the top-ranked big shots, and Hua Li spotted him at a glance. She squinted and carefully examined the information above: "Lord of the Holy Capital Demon Realm... Peak Nascent Soul Stage?" That powerful?
"Scared now? If you're scared, let me go!"
Hua Li nodded and put away the communication stone. She then took out a dagger used for peeling fruit from her Qiankun bag. "Before your demon king arrives, I'll take care of you first."
A look of terror flashed in the half-demon's eyes, but he forced himself to remain calm. "What...what are you going to do?"
This little demon is young and lacks demonic power, yet even she was able to trap it, indicating that this place should not be far from where the demonic vines were earlier.
Hua Li looked at her wrist; the love bracelet Mo Ziyan had given her was still there. It was just a pity that she had no spiritual power and couldn't see the direction of the red thread. She could only wait for Lian Zhuo to come to her.
With no danger on either side, Huali smiled with relief and deliberately tried to scare the little half-demon in front of her, "What else can I do but capture you and take your pills?"
The fox-eared boy's tail bristled instantly, his eyes filled with terror. "The Demon King is nearby. If you dare to hurt me, he won't let you get away with it."
Ao Bai stretched and said, "The Holy Capital Demon Realm is a hundred and eight thousand miles away from here. How could the Demon King possibly appear here? Moreover, it is said that this monarch is extremely mysterious, and no one has ever seen his true face."
Huali couldn't help but wonder: "The Demon King rules over the entire demon race. What if someone impersonates him because we can't see his face? Or is there some kind of token, like the Imperial Seal of the State? That's how it's portrayed in TV dramas."
Ao Bai shook his head, "Absolutely impossible. Do you think the Nascent Soul stage is a joke? In the entire Xuanhuan Continent, including the cultivation world, the demon race, and the demon realm, there are only less than ten people who have achieved this."
"This includes those old men who are over a thousand years old; if they don't break through soon, they'll only perish."
"Who are the young ones? The Demon Lord? And that Buddhist disciple Tan Chen?" Hua Li had never had a concept of cultivation levels before, but recently she has slowly gained a real understanding through these practical battles.
Tang Wanwan, at the peak of Foundation Establishment, could draw the Heavenly Extreme Magic Artifact, the Nine Moon Bow, while the demonic beast Bifang, at the half-step Golden Core stage, could destroy half a mountain with a single wing.
If they are like this, how terrifying must those at the Nascent Soul stage be?
Ao Bai tilted his head and thought for a moment, "And there's Wen Jin from Sunset City. Does the host remember when I first arrived in Fufeng City, I sensed another mission participant lighting up a star?"
Huali nodded.
"The direction we were heading was towards the Demon Clan's Sunset City."
"Hey! Look behind you! Danger! Danger! Let me go!"
Hua Li was discussing the land with Ao Bai when the little half-demon suddenly went berserk and rammed into the barrier. At the same time, the bright red flowers around them seemed to have a mind of their own and continued to grow taller.
The dark purple rhizomes are intertwined, and the flower buds are as large as a car hood. As the petals peel away layer by layer, the inner walls are covered with barbs, making a creepy cracking sound.
"Holy crap, a man-eating flower! Are all you half-demons this crazy that you can keep this thing as a pet?" Huali was startled and ran away.
"Don't run away! Let me go! It's all your fault for stopping here. This is a Soul-Devouring Flower. If you get its venom on you, you'll die!" The little demon jumped up and down in a panic, but it couldn't break through the barrier.
Karin reached out and grabbed the card back in her hand the instant the barrier disappeared. She turned around and yelled, "So why did you have to grab me?"
The freed half-demon ran even faster than her, and finally couldn't help but blurt out the truth, "You have many demon cores on you! I was injured in Chenliu City and need demon cores to recover!!"
What an unexpected disaster! Huali was practically spitting blood! She should have given the demon core to Lianzhuo.
The Soul-Devouring Flower uproots itself and twists its roots into a giant sphere, shrinking inwards to continuously envelop the people inside.
The little demon roared and transformed into its original form, its body instantly growing several times larger. It opened its mouth, bit off half of its root and spat it out, then roared at Huali: "What are you standing there for? Come on up!"
Unexpectedly, the monster was still thinking of her at this crucial moment. Huali immediately grabbed its tail and was thrown onto its back.
"Let's get this straight, I saved you, so as a way of repaying you, you have to give me all the demon cores on your body!" the little demon said shamelessly as she ran.
Karin was so angry she almost fell over! "Bullshit! If you hadn't arrested me, none of this would have happened! Was it you who injured the Astronomical Observatory's Fusion Star?!"
The half-demon's legs moved with lightning speed; in a single leap, his limbs landing on the inner wall of the spherical vines, he ran in circles towards the ever-shrinking exit above, shouting, "I was saving him! Chen Liucheng..."
The putrid spores shot out from behind, but the half-demon nimbly dodged them all. However, the Soul-Devouring Flower was relentless. Its roots wriggled wildly, bursting out of the soil and wrapping around the half-demon's legs, dangling it upside down and flinging it toward the bloody opening of the flower bud.
"Ahhh!" The demon and the human were flung into the air and then plummeted to the ground.
Without a second thought, Huali pulled out a fire-type card, threw it out, and roared, "Explosive Bomb, break!"
"No! Stop!"
The moment the flower bud burst open in the flames, a large cloud of pink mist suddenly sprayed out from the heart of the Soul-Devouring Flower.
It was too late for Huali to hold her breath. Her body went numb, and she lost all ability to move, falling with the half-demon.
"Ugh, you foolish humans!! Didn't I tell you to stop?!"
Huali screamed in despair, "Who knew this thing could spray powder? We're doomed..."
The falling body suddenly stopped.
Huali felt a sudden dizziness, as if space itself had frozen and inverted. She was as if she were in a mirror, watching day turn into night, a blood moon rise, and the Soul-Devouring Flower instantly turn into dust.
Ao Bai: "This is the Sumeru Domain, which creates a spatial flip thousands of miles away. It's a move from the Nascent Soul stage!"
Huali was forced to stand still in mid-air, only able to catch a glimpse of a blurry figure out of the corner of her eye.
The man on the throne wore a half-gilded mask, with exotic patterns embroidered in silver thread winding from the corners of his eyes to his ears. A silver chain adorned with red coral beads swayed as he casually brought his fingers together.
"My King!!!" The half-demon fox burst into a deafening cry, "Chenliu is now in ruins! The mission you entrusted to me has failed!"
"Noisy".
As the two words were uttered from his thin lips, the little demon vanished instantly.
At the same time, Karin's body suddenly plummeted. Space reversed again, and night turned into day.
Huali looked around with lingering fear and found that everything in sight was deathly silent, even the faintest insect chirps had disappeared.
She rubbed her arms, taking a long time to recover from the immense pressure. "That was... the Demon King..."
Ding—Mission Four has begun.
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