Chapter 321
Just from the way he responded to Long Haochen’s fatal blow, it could be seen that Ah’Bao’s strength indeed exceeded the strength of that young Fiend Shen Can by far. The key point to that difference was in fact his external spiritual energy exceeding 20,000 units.
It was the first time Long Haochen became aware of how terrifying external spiritual energy could become after reaching a certain level.
However, his attack didn’t stop at that. As Long Haochen let out a mouthful of blood, a resonant dragon cry shot up from him. Although Asura Thrust had been deflected, Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light instantly turned into two mini dragons of light and rain, which went straight at the opponent.
Long Haochen’s way of thinking was simple; facing such a powerful opponent, he couldn’t possibly win only by going all out. It would just be a matter of time before the opponent would kill him. His only choice was to rely on burst attacks with instant destructive power great enough to overpower him. Therefore, he used the entirety of his techniques, and aimed at least at wounding the opponent seriously.
Inside of the Illusory Paradise, the recovery speed of Long Haochen’s spiritual energy was severalfold faster than anyone else’s. Even compared to this Ah’Bao, Long Haochen was confident that his recovery of spiritual energy was greater. Under such circumstances, he was the least afraid of fighting without reservations. If he could wound Ah’Bao, by proceeding with a series of attacks, he would have a chance.
Ah’Bao naturally didn’t expect Long Haochen to actually still have tricks up his sleeve. And especially not that they would be so powerful.
Long Haochen spouted another mouthful of blood, not because of the wounds from Ah’Bao’s attacks, but because of having chained all his most powerful attacks consecutively. His energy channels were under heavy stress, causing him to splurt out his own blood unconsciously. But even under these circumstances, the Dual Dragons of Light and Rain were still released successfully.
With violent bang sounds, Ah’Bao coughed once again. His body was sent flying by the attack, two blue and golden little dragons unwaveringly winding around his body.
Long Haochen stood straight in his original place. Not giving himself any time to recover, a golden fog of light ascended from his body in a flash. It was Storing Power.
His total amount of internal spiritual energy was around six thousand, but after this combo of three consecutive attacks, he had already consumed over five thousand units. That was to say, his remaining spiritual energy was far from enough for a second Asura Thrust.
However, here in the Illusory Paradise, with the help of the Light Elemental Fairy Yating, Long Haochen managed to stubbornly release a second Asura Thrust.
Bright Discipline already took over the position of Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light, and Long Haochen couldn’t help but splurt out another mouthful of blood, because he already used his Storing Power’s ability to its peak. In the air, the golden fog was flocking outright, not restoring his spiritual energy, but entering directly into him to become a part of the Asura Thrust together with the stored energy.
This guy is a madman! That was Ah’Bao’s current thought.
Since the launch of Long Haochen’s first Asura Strike, his combination of attacks was chained up without the slightest pause, reaching the limit of
his own body’s capacity. Not giving himself the slightest second to merely gasp for breath, it could be said that this Dual Dragon of Light and Rain was unleashed by going over the limits of his own body. This even caused him to injure his own body, and the overdraft of his body from this tyrannical fighting style was a burden the Soul Linking Chains were not even able to share among his teammates.
Not only that, but a red radiance appeared at that time on Ah’Bao’s body, it was the Lock ability. Then a similarly red glow appeared around Long Haochen’s body as he launched the ability Sacrifice.
He was going over his limits, as if his life depended on it! But this was also the best timing he could choose to do that.
Even considering Ah’Bao’s strength, he couldn’t help but feel somewhat afraid of Long Haochen’s act of not holding back at any cost. Such a madman that didn’t even consider any aftereffects of the attack would very possibly hurt him seriously.
At this time, Ah’Bao didn’t show any more reversation. An oppressive force full of an antique aura was released from his body, and his originally black spiritual energy turned a dark purple color. Even his eyes became completely purple.
A pair of black dragon wings unfolded on his back, and his white skin was covered with fine deep purple dragon scales. Struggling to get free, his both arms broke past the binding of the Dual Dragon of Light and Rain ruthlessly.
Affected by his impulse, Long Haochen’s stored Asura Thrust seemed to take only a split second to be launched.
An ear-piercing hissing sound spread to the surroundings, causing violent twists in the air, and under the effects of the ability of Sacrifice, Long Haochen’s attack directly cut through the air. Strangely enough, the surroundings of his body seemed devoid of fluctuations of spiritual energy. But all of this was only the beginning, before a very weird scene emerged.
All this concentration of spiritual energy was gathered in one point.
Ah’Bao’s grave expression became all the more unsightly. With a wave of his right hand, a thin sword appeared. Thrusting its sharp end forward, he directly aimed it against Long Haochen’s Asura Thrust.
“Ding.”
After a deafening exploding sound filled the air, Ah’Bao coughed hard, finally spouting a mouthful of purple blood himself. His entire body, completely glowing purple, was immediately pushed back a distance of more than ten meters by Long Haochen’s attack. The thin sword in his hand shattered into small pieces, unexpectedly reduced to nothing.
However, after completing this attack, Long Haochen also fell to the ground, gasping desperately for breath. In his mouth was already a Great Spiritual Recovery Pill, as his whole imposing aura collapsed at an astonishing speed.
Ah’Bao’s eyes were igniting with raging flames. Wounded. He had actually been wounded twice in succession by this human far from being his equal in strength! Since that was a madman, then he should just be left to meet a mad death.
Ah’Bao’s body abruptly became more robust, both of his arms turning into dragon claws and a series of purple blackish bolts of lightning started hovering around his body.
However, an incomparably cold killing intent instantly filled the air right at that moment, and all the surroundings became dark black. It seemed that right at this time, the Illusory Paradise turned entirely grey.
A black silhouette appeared noiselessly next to Long Haochen, silently gazing at the nearby Ah’Bao. Her left hand raising unhurriedly, an immense grey luster gradually took shape at her back. As it formed the shape of a sword, the frantic killing intent reached its peak.
“Perhaps I am unable to defeat you, but I can drag you to the other world with me.” Cai’er’s cold voice reverberated in the air. She hadn’t given Long Haochen a mere look, but her killing intent still reached its supreme limit.
The killing intent bursting out from the Spiritual Stove of Samsara and the Dagger of Samsara gave a terrifying feeling of total destruction. Even Long Haochen distinctly felt that a change seemed to have occurred on the Spiritual Stove of Samsara, whose killing intent was even more substantial than in the past.
The killing intent from her Spiritual Stove was usually dispersing in all four directions, but now it was locked entirely on Ah’Bao’s body.
“Brother Bao, be careful, that’s the Spiritual Stove of Samsara and the Dagger of Samsara.” Yue Ye’s alarmed cry resounded. Immediately afterwards, both Leng Xiao, Yue Ye, as well as the other two demon powerhouses swiftly appeared at Ah’Bao’s back.
Among those four was the previously proud orange clad demon, who looked severely beaten, and had apparently suffered serious injuries. The other one who directly appeared at Ah’Bao’s back was the second ranked among the ten demons that came to the Illusory Paradise. A young man clad in a purple robe. He was the one that intervened to kill the mage Demon Hunter, narrowly gaining control over the battlefield.
At the same time Cai’er appeared, the members of the 21st Demon Hunt Squad appeared in succession at Long Haochen’s back, and stood together with Zhang Fangfang..
That was to say that the other warrior Demon Hunter had also died from the injuries he had received during the previous battle.
The battle between Long Haochen and Ah’Bao had been so intense in the use of formidable spiritual energy that everyone from the demon side had naturally sensed it. And it was the same for Cai’er and the others.
The members of the 21st Demon Hunt Squad had arrived in time, heavily injuring the orange mage while turning back the tide of the battle. By the means of their top level coordination, Zhang Fangfang had temporarily taken Long Haochen’s usual duties, and together they had forced the enemy back. Now, they stood shoulder to shoulder, opposing Ah’Bao here.
In terms of the overall situation, the members of the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad were still better off. Only Long Haochen was completely exhausted, after facing his opponent who turned out to be quite a big-shot.
But the same didn’t hold true for the demons. They all understood how powerful Ah’Bao was, and yet, he had been wounded by Long Haochen.
Yue Ye’s shock was naturally the greatest. She knew Ah’Bao since young, and if she had to pick someone as a target of admiration among the younger generation, that would definitely be Ah’Bao.
Furthermore, she also clearly understood Long Haochen’s level of cultivation, and to her, these two were impossible to compare at any point.
However, this very situation was entirely different from what she had imagined.
Although Long Haochen was totally worn up, Ah’Bao had also sustained injuries, and they were caused by Long Haochen’s attacks? And in a one versus one fight?
In terms of numbers, Long Haochen’s group had eight members, whereas the demon group numbered only five, including a seriously injured person. Ah’Bao had also suffered severe injuries, but as a whole, the gap between the two sides wasn’t so large anymore, though the demon side likely had the upper hand.
Ah’Bao’s blank look gazed fixedly at the black wings spreading from Cai’er’s back. Seeing the black wings expanding ominously, and sensing the killing intent that could burst out at anytime, his eyes gradually narrowed and his dragon claws retracted with cracking sounds.
“Let’s leave.” Ah’Bao ordered indifferently.
“Brother Bao!” Leng Xiao called out in resignation.
Ah’Bao coldly swept her a glance, lightly unfolding the wings on his back and sweeping them close to the ground.
The others didn’t dare say anything further, and Yue Ye gave Long Haochen and Cai’er a profound glance before rapidly following Ah’Bao, leaving quickly.
The killing intent dispersed slowly, and Long Haochen hesitantly got up. His face did not relax in the slightest because of the departure of the enemy. Instead, it looked even more serious.
“If this wasn’t the Illusory Paradise, I’m afraid that we would have been doomed.” Long Haochen murmured quietly.
Sima Xian asked in a low voice, “Boss, how powerful was that guy?”
Chapter 322
Long Haochen nodded, giving him the reply, “Very strong. The demons that came this time seem to have suppressed their strength before entering the Illusory Paradise. That Ah’Bao is at least at the eighth step, or may even have reached the ninth step. His external spiritual energy has reached 20,000 units. Even with the combined power of Asura Strike and Asura Thrust, I could not break past the natural defense of his physical body. He is afraid of Cai’er’s Spiritual Stove of Samsara, so for now, we have to be steady and cannot let emotions affect our decisions. He is bound to become one of our future great enemies. And he’s very possibly the successor of the Demon God Emperor.”
Hearing this, everyone’s expression changed completely. The successor of the Demon God Emperor, just what kind of status was that?
Chen Ying’er said, unconvinced, “So what about it? Haven’t we just chased them off?”
Cai’er replied indifferently, “The reason why he was wounded by Haochen and prefered to escape was because he is more afraid of death than us. Being the successor of the Demon God Emperor, he will become the future ruler of the demons, and is thus not willing to take risks. Otherwise, we would have all died here today. Even by utilizing the full force of the Spiritual Stove of Samsara, I have only one sixth of certainty to take him down. To him, we are the same lowly existences as the six Demon God Slayers in relation to the Demon God Emperor when they appeared in front of him on that day.”
Standing in front of Long Haochen, Zhang Fangfang expressed his appreciation, “It’s fortunate that you came here in time, otherwise I would also have ended up dying here today. We have after all underestimated those who came from the demon side. To the best of my knowledge, the other two aside, at least three more of the ten of us have already died in battle. And the spiritual stoves acquired by the demons are exceeding seven.”
He didn’t inquire Long Haochen’s team about how they appeared in the Illusory Paradise, but only provided them with all the information he had.
Long Haochen furrowed his brows, “Let’s go then. We should recover those three spiritual stoves first and bury the corpses of those magical beasts before discussing how to move forward.”
Returning to the previous battlefield, they saw the corpses of the mage and the warrior from different Demon Hunt Squads, in a very miserable state. Long Haochen recovered their corpses and transported them to the Tower of Eternity, planning to hand them back to their own team after leaving. In fact, the death of a Demon Hunter was considered a fatal blow for the whole team, and would very possibly cause the disbanding of this Demon Hunt Squad as a whole. Moreover, this time almost only core team members came, so those demons would naturally show no reservation to kill them upon encountering them. Just like the Demon Hunters would kill them without any reservations.
But from today’s situation, it was visible that the Demon Hunters were in a state of absolute disadvantage.
However, it was already too late to say anything now. Who would have expected that this time the assets that came from the demon side, including several successors of the seventy-two demon gods, came after suppressing their own strength through secret methods.
After burying the corpses of the magical beasts without even touching their magic crystals, Long Haochen led his comrades in front of those three spiritual stoves.
A fantastic scene happened; Yating slowly floated to the front of those three spiritual stoves, murmuring some incantations which surrounded the three spiritual stoves with a soft golden light. Immediately, the three spiritual stoves glowed with a soft radiance, as they arrived before Long Haochen while following Yating.
Facing the three spiritual stoves, everyone immediately looked fervent at this sight, but Long Haochen turned towards Zhang Fangfang, telling him, “Brother Zhang, pick one of those first.”
“Eh? Me?” Zhang Fangfang looked at Long Haochen with some astonishment.
It was impossible to deny that he longed for these three spiritual stoves, but he had already suppressed the desire deep inside of him. The fact that Long Haochen’s whole team was brought magically to the Illusory Paradise as a whole was not a matter of strength, but their own secret. And furthermore, if not for the presence of these people from the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad here, survival would be very hard for him. Thus, he naturally didn’t hope for too much. In the previous battle, he saw personally the deep mutual understanding and the great strength of their whole team. Although, with the exception from Long Haochen and Cai’er, none of them had broken through to the sixth step yet, their cooperation was plentily formidable. Never did he expect Long Haochen to let him first pick a spiritual stove.
Long Haochen explained, “Brother Zhang, you were the one who discovered these spiritual stoves, and without you, we wouldn’t necessarily have been able to drive those demons away. Don’t be modest, Brother Zhang, please just go on.”
Zhang Fangfang took a deep breath, unconsciously looking at the others at Long Haochen’s side. Regarding Long Haochen’s words, no one opposed in the slightest, and no one even looked unsatisfied in any way.
After a short time of internal struggle, Zhang Fangfang’s face returned to a serene look, declaring earnestly, “Brother Long, thank you. However, I can’t accept. I cannot deny that I long for spiritual stoves. However, if not
for the help I had from you during this battle, I wouldn’t even be alive. You are my saviors so for now, how could I take one of the spiritual stoves you gained from having fought such a hard battle.”
“Brother Zhang…” Long Haochen was about to keep insisting, before being prevented from saying anymore by Zhang Fangfang. With resolution, he declared, “Brother Long, how about that, I just have a little request. I hope that I could stay with your group for the time being. If our luck is good enough to encounter more spiritual stoves, how about giving me one at that time? I really don’t want any of these three.”
This being said, the members of the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad exchanged surprised looks when seeing Zhang Fangfang, but they were all full of respect. Not everyone was able to renounce something as enticing as spiritual stoves. Although they made an agreement to let him have the next spiritual stove they would run across, who could guarantee that they would still encounter any more spiritual stoves?
Long Haochen wasn’t an unreasonable person, and time wouldn’t wait for them. After a short time of reflexion, he replied, “Okay then, since this is what you want, I won’t show reservation.
Lin Xin, the red spiritual stove is yours. Sima, that spiritual stove glinting in a frantic red is for you. And Yuanyuan, assimilate the silver-colored spiritual stove. Start assimilating now, we will give assistance by guarding you during this time.
Everyone in the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad was not only full of trust towards Long Haochen, but also trusted his judgment. Hearing him, none of them spoke anymore, and the three immediately started the absorption of the three spiritual stoves.
Because this was merely a temporary absorption, and they wouldn’t directly be able to use them, so it took only a short time before the three of them completed their respective assimilations.
Lin Xin and Yuanyuan had tolerable reactions, just showing happy expressions, but having just assimilated his spiritual stove, Sima Xian
shouted loudly, “So invigorating! This almost electrocuted me to death.”
Long Haochen smiled, “The spiritual stove Lin Xin assimilated is called Heart of Flames, and forms a flame of extremely high temperature. It cannot help the fire element mages in cultivation nor does it carry any additional ability, but it causes the quality of the flame released by the mage to reach the greatest levels. Its temperature will also reach a terrifying level. The Heart of Flames Spiritual Stove may not seem to be of great value, but it is ranked in the top five among all spiritual stoves that can be absorbed by mages, and in practice, it is of formidable utility.
Yuanyuan’s spiritual stove is a rarely seen space elemental spiritual stove, and matches perfectly with her. It is known as the space elemental spiritual stove with the highest utility. If the flames from Lin Xin’s Heart of Flames Stove can be said to have the risk of producing bad aftereffects upon overuse, Yuanyuan’s spiritual stove is however absolutely not the least dangerous. This spiritual stove is called Spatial Gate, and simply said, it enables Instant Shift. If I’m not remembering it wrong, the Spatial Gate can be used multiple times every day, and the frequency and range will depend on its degree of evolution. And to a warrior of spatial element, taking possession of this spiritual stove gives an enormous boost to any other spatial elemental techniques that can be learned. Wang Yuanyuan and Lin Xin had pretty good luck.”
“Then, boss, how about me? What about the spiritual stove you told me to assimilate? It really electrocuted me without limits…” The expression on Sima Xian’s pained face looked far from merry.
With a laugh, Long Haochen explained, “Didn’t you want a spiritual stove of high bursting power? This is what you wished for. It’s a rather uncommon spiritual stove, and very rarely seen. It is of the thunder element and anyone can absorb it.” Arriving at this point, he gave Zhang Fangfang a look. His original intention had been to let Zhang Fangfang choose this spiritual stove, because in contrast, he couldn’t surrender the two spiritual stoves given to Wang Yuanyuan and Lin Xin, especially the one for Wang Yuanyuan. As known, the spatial elemental spiritual stoves after all even exceeded the top three ranked in rarity.
“Sima Xian’s spiritual stove is called Purple Thunder, and doesn’t carry any active, but a very powerful passive ability instead. As long as your body can bear it, after assimilating this spiritual stove, all your attacks will carry a powerful lightning force. As for the specific level it can reach, we will know after trying it ourselves in the future. However, I need to warn you that because of the tyrannical and brutal aspect of this Purple Thunder Spiritual Stove, I’m afraid that at the time you will undergo its real trial, the degree of difficulty will be rather high. You have to prepare well mentally.”
Sima Xian appeared satisfied, “Very good. I like this one.” His straightforward personality aside, he was actually a rather thoughtful person. Although Long Haochen didn’t tell him about its real level of power, he could tell out that even among all uncommon elements, the thunder was the most powerful one.
Having already obtained four spiritual stoves, Long Haochen finally felt the pressure on his shoulders ease. These were a lot of rare heavenly treasures, and all of them were very useful. These four spiritual stoves already made their trip worthwhile, but there was still some time, though it was hard to say whether there were still any free spiritual stoves left.
Everyone got in action once again, and with the addition of Zhang Fangfang, their group now reached a total number of eight people. Even when encountering those demons, they would still be able to put up a fight. But that would be on the premise that the entirety of the demons weren’t gathered.
Time passed little by little, and on their road, they didn’t encounter any other spiritual stoves. Long Haochen also didn’t sense much, just encountering the corpses of magical beasts, which they buried just like before.
With the descent of night, the Illusory Paradise seemed to look the same as outside; there actually existed both a day and a night. The eight of them were gathered together, looking for a rather covert place to have some rest.
This was how they passed their first day since entering the Illusory Paradise, but this was just the beginning. According to Ling Xiao’s information, the following days were still going to be filled with opportunities, but even more danger.
Chapter 323
Before their departure, Ling Xiao had given the ten Demon Hunters designated to enter the Illusory Paradise detailed information about their possible future encounters inside.
Generally speaking, the Illusory Paradise would be rather peaceful and they would just encounter the magical beasts guarding the spiritual stoves they’d find. However, some special circumstances could also appear. For instance, if the concentration of killing intent was too intense in the Illusory Paradise, it could very possibly cause changes to the surroundings.
The Illusory Paradise would produce approximately twenty spiritual stoves every single time, but before these spiritual stoves were truly absorbed, they would remain masterless objects. And that was to say, even if one had temporarily absorbed a spiritual stove, in case he died, the spiritual stove would regain its freedom.
Ling Xiao had told them about a story that had happened once, around three hundred years ago, when the Illusory Paradise had opened. At that time, differences had risen among the people from the Temple Alliance, and they had resulted in an intense battle. That time, a change had happened in the Illusory Paradise, and that change had started on the second day, ending with only two people who had returned alive.
Furthermore, Ling Xiao had told them sincerely that the best method of gaining a spiritual stove in the Illusory Paradise was rather to gain the approval from the magical beast acting as its guardian. This dependable method would also enable the humans inside to avoid infuriating the Illusory Paradise.
However, this time it didn’t end so peacefully. The demon’s slaughter was bound to enrage the Illusory Paradise. Perhaps the spiritual stoves they already gained were not few, but in case a change appeared on the second day, only those possessing Illusory Gems like Long Haochen or Cai’er would be able to leave prior to the end of the period of three days.
Long Haochen gathered his comrades, including Zhang Fangfang, and talked with them about the possible changes Ling Xiao had told them about.
“Since the situation is like this, I estimate that the Illusory Paradise will very likely show some changes. In case this happens, we will also face an incredible crisis. Since we have already obtained four spiritual stoves, if we leave this place now, it can be considered a fruitful trip. But in case we stay, we will very possibly be unable to leave even if we want to do so later. We will have to wait for the end of the three day period to leave. Should we leave or stay? Decide, everyone.”
“Of course we should stay. This is an opportunity that arises only once a century! Who would not be willing to take a risk to gain some more spiritual stoves?” Lin Xin said without any hesitation.
Sima Xian twitched his mouth, saying with disdain, “What a miser you are! However, I also think we should stay.”
Everyone from the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad soon came to the same decision. They wanted to stay.
In the end, everyone finally looked at Zhang Fangfang, who declared with a smile, “Since you all have decided to stay, I will very possibly be able to obtain a spiritual stove, so I am naturally willing to risk my life with your noble group. Although I feel that staying is a dangerous choice.”
Zhang Fangfang’s greatest quality was his sincerity. Long Haochen could feel that he was a straightforward person and spoke from the deepest parts of his heart, thus he had acknowledged him since long before.
That’s right, choosing to stay was undoubtedly quite dangerous. But Long Haochen was also inclined to make this choice, and it was for a simple reason, they had a way out.
It wasn’t the Illusory Gem, but the Tower of Eternity. As long as Long Haochen was given enough time, he would be able to take his comrades covertly inside the Tower of Eternity to get them to survive in case of excessive danger. By the end of their time in the Illusory Paradise, he would just have to come back with Cai’er to leave for the exit.
For this reason, no matter what kind of danger they met, they would have a way out.
Slightly pondering, Long Haochen took out his Illusory Gem, handing it to Zhang Fangfang
“Brother Zhang, we can at least be considered good friends. You are above us all in standards, but didn’t take account of our former enmity and even assisted me several times. Take this, it is an Illusory Gem. In case you encounter a danger you are unable to resist, no matter in which state the Illusory Paradise is, you can get transported back by relying on this Illusory Gem, getting away from the danger.”
Zhang Fangfang showed some surprise, “Something like this exists?
You’re giving it to me, but isn’t it of use to you too?”
Long Haochen smiled calmly, “Although Brother Zhang didn’t say it out loud, I know that you have some doubts deep inside why my team is here with me. However, this is the secret of my team, and I cannot tell you about it. But what I can tell you is that since I managed to bring them here, I can bring them out as well. Be at ease, this Illusory Gem is something you have to take. It can be used to save your life at the most crucial time.”
Zhang Fangfang muttered to himself irresolutely, “Okay, then I won’t be overly modest.”
Then, he took the Illusory Gem with alacrity.
After they finished eating their rations and started to rest, unfortunately, a change happened in the whole Illusory Paradise.
The surroundings flickered as it seemed that the fog covering the boundless forest became thicker, until condensing into dots of light spreading in all directions. Slowly, the Illusory Paradise’s illusory feel was replaced by a sense of reality, and the life energy became stronger from that. However, a somber and desolate atmosphere arose.
Daybreak.
When the first signs of the morning light started to show, Long Haochen jumped up with alarm.
Before starting to rest, they had planned for everyone to take turns to hold vigil, and the one currently keeping watch was Lin Xin. However, he was currently staring up, as if looking at an inconceivable sight.
His sound of alarm had immediately woken up everyone, who stared at him, unable to hide their absolute shock.
Their shock was due to the changes in the sky. There, they saw a dense multi-colored cloud float, encircled by a soft fluctuating energy. This dazzling magic cloud was very moving, and from its core, a colored luster slowly dropped down.
Even the radiance of the sun became softer because of that magic cloud. And all the life energy inside the Illusory Paradise seemed to rotate around it.
“Is that… a spiritual stove?” Zhang Fangfang cried out in astonishment.
In the midst of that magic cloud was a glint of light that appeared even larger than those released by the other twenty spiritual stoves they had seen the day before. And from this, it could be seen how abnormal this spiritual stove was compared to others.
Unconsciously, all looks focused on Long Haochen. The most knowledgeable in the group regarding spiritual stoves was him.
However, all they saw was a bitter smile from Long Haochen, “I don’t know about this spiritual stove either. Out of everything my father had told me about spiritual stoves, there was nothing like this. If this is really a spiritual stove, then there can only be one explanation. This could be one that has never appeared in the continent before, a brand new spiritual stove.”
Shock was reflected on all faces. They were in fact all Demon Hunters, and remembered as such an unbound rule in the Demon Hunt Mission Tower.The feat of discovering a new type of spiritual stove that had never appeared before alone would be rewarded with a hundred thousand contribution points.
From its first issuing to now, this mission had only been completed five times, and this was a mission that had existed since the very beginning, going on from generation to generation.
No one would know about the power of a completely new and unknown spiritual stove, but since it appeared in the Illusory Paradise, and moreover by its own, how could this multicolored spiritual stove possibly be weak?
“What are we still waiting for? Let’s head out!” Chen Ying’er said with excitement and full of impatience.
“No, wait.” Long Haochen stopped the others that had started to get restless, “Don’t you find this very strange?”
“Mh?” Everyone looked at him.
Han Yu said with a serious tone, “It appears very strange indeed . Yesterday, Captain told us that some change would very possibly appear in the Illusory Paradise, and today, such a mystical scene appeared in front of us. Perhaps this is really a spiritual stove, but it may also be an enormous trap to lure us.”
Zhang Fangfang nodded in response, “I agree. How could we be attracted to fight each other without a sufficient enticement? Even if the Illusory Paradise didn’t set any traps, this multi-colored spiritual stove moving so slowly in the sky, with its location being in full sight, we will not only meet our allies there, but also some demons for sure. Haochen, what’s your opinion about that? ”
Long Haochen looked at the multicolored brilliance moving slowly down from the sky. After pondering shortly, he declared, “Going there is unavoidable, even if it’s only to save our fellow comrades who came here with us. However, I need to warn everyone once again, if you run across some powerful magical beast, no one is allowed to attack it. Even if they take the initiative to attack us, we have to stay on the defensive. This is an important directive, that no one can ignore. Otherwise, it will very possibly waste all our previous efforts.”
Hearing the serious tone of Long Haochen, the others nodded in succession, expressing their approval.
After a short time of pondering, Long Haochen had Zhang Fangfang and Han Yu stay together, handling the defense in the rear, while the rest of the formation didn’t change. Under his lead, everyone headed directly in the direction of that multicolored mass descending to the ground.
After advancing for less than a hundred meters, Long Haochen suddenly stopped in his tracks, “Has anyone found traces of those colored patches of fog? They seem to have disappeared.”
Everyone looked around and indeed, the very peculiar shining patches of fog glowing in all colors had all disappeared. The surroundings only looked like a huge ordinary forest with a rich vegetation and nothing more.
Long Haochen declared in a deep voice, “It looks like we weren’t mistaken, a change is really happening in the Illusory Paradise.”
“Boss, what should we do?” Sima Xian asked.
Long Haochen lifted his hand, handing Bright Discipline to Han Yu behind him, as he took out the Glorious Holy Shield for himself, “We still have to advance. Don’t forget what I said before, no one is allowed to attack the magical beasts.”
Cai’er followed behind Long Haochen all along, observing his confident lead with a gentle look. As expected, her intelligence and her perception were no lower than Long Haochen’s. However, she just willingly acted as support for him. She wouldn’t meddle in his decision unless Long Haochen was doing a fundamental mistake in his lead. Trust was after all built during this kind of difficult experiences.
This was a perfect example of something appearing to be seemingly close, while actually being very far away. In truth, they travelled for a whole hour in pursuit of this multicolored cloud, but were still unable to discern traces of the pieces of light falling into the forest.
Chapter 324
However, the surrounding changes were very visible. They clearly sensed that the atmosphere became gradually more solemn, and at the same time, the life energy didn’t seem as soft as before.
“Houu.”
A deep and low thundering sound echoed in front of them, and suddenly, an immense figure rushed straight at Long Haochen.
This figure jumped from a tree above, and appeared so suddenly that even with his superior senses, Long Haochen didn’t notice its presence in advance.
“Don’t move, everyone!” Stepping forward, Long Haochen took out the Glorious Holy Shield, holding it vertically.
With a loud bang, Long Haochen’s body was propelled backwards, and both of his feet left deep marks on the ground. However, that massive black silhouette bounced back as well, landing nearby.
The intense light released from the technique Bright Vengence shone brightly on Long Haochen’s figure, as he, without any intent to attack, recovered Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light from his other hand.
“Don’t worry, my friend.” Long Haochen did the best to let his own voice sound the gentlest possible, as he looked at that three meters tall figure.
This was actually the first magical beast they had encountered before, the massive gorilla.
The gorilla clearly had a look filled with ill intent, but staring at Long Haochen, he let out an appeased roar.
The Light Elemental Fairy Yating flew up to him, whispering something in the gorilla’s ears.
Long Haochen didn’t understand the beast language, but Yating understood his words. Thus, he immediately told her, “Yating, tell this friend that we don’t have any evil intent. We only felt the changes on the Illusory Paradise, and believed that our comrades could be in danger, thus came here to help.”
Yating rapidly translated Long Haochen’s words to the gorilla, who slowly walked in front of Long Haochen, doing a thumbs up gesture like the last time.
Long Haochen didn’t have any hesitation to push his own hand against his finger, showing an honest expression.
He vaguely understood that the gorilla was able to sense the intentions in it’s enemies’ hearts through some method.
Long Haochen truly didn’t have any evil intent, and being the innately kind-hearted Scion of Light, he was purely filled with clean thoughts, to the point that probably no one among all humans could compare to him in that regard. A short time later, the loathing and angered look in the gorilla’s eyes vanished gradually, as he nodded in Long Haochen’s direction before heading back to the depths of the forest.
Yating immediately transmitted to Long Haochen the message to follow him.
Under Long Haochen’s lead, everyone rapidly followed the gorilla, heading in the dense forest.
After walking for less than a hundred meters, they saw some formidable magical beasts with visibly irascible looks, who immediately showed aggressive reactions upon seeing Long Haochen’s group of outsiders.
It was a chance that they had that gorilla to lead the way. With a low bellow of his, all the hostility towards Long Haochen vanished.
Looking at the magical beasts around him, Long Haochen noticed to his astonishment that these magical beasts were all around the seventh or the eighth rank in strength. There weren’t any especially powerful existences among them, but their strength resided in their quantity, as they were close to twenty in number. On top of that, these magical beasts were advancing in the same direction as them, towards the multicolored shiny cloud.
Looking at Long Haochen, Zhang Fangfang couldn’t help but be filled with respect. The experience they had right before vindicated Long Haochen’s choice. What had astounded him the most was that Long Haochen had actually established a peaceful relationship with those extremely fierce magical beasts, and clearly obtained their acknowledgement. No matter what, this was something he couldn’t even have thought of.
In truth, this was the first time someone obtained the true acknowledgement of the magical beasts from the Illusory Paradise like Long Haochen did. The process of how he achieved this was however actually pretty simple; first, he made the right choice to treat the magical beasts as well as the environment in the Illusory Paradise with respect, never committing any destructive act. This way, he at least hadn’t roused any ill will from the magical beasts. As for the second point why he had gained its acknowledgement, it was simply due to the physique Long Haochen had as the Scion of Light.
What was acknowledged by the Illusory Paradise was not simply the status as Scion of Light possessed by Long Haochen, but the status as Scion of Nature which was extremely rarely seen, and enabled the bearer to reach the utmost level of harmony with nature.
Undoubtedly, the existence of a Scion of Nature was even less probable than that of a Scion of Light, but it didn’t mean that it hadn’t appeared before. The previous Scion of Nature to appear was the founder of the Illusory Paradise, the goddess of nature. Thus, she should be called Daughter of Nature.
Following possessors of a physique such as that of the Scion of Nature, the next ones to follow in the ranking would be the two most related to the energy of life, water and light. Those were even above the wood and earth element in importance. As the Scion of Light, Long Haochen naturally showed concern towards the Illusory Paradise, and the test given to him by the gorilla was a test the Illusory Paradise itself gave to him. After passing it by relying on his sincere nature, he had gained the acknowledgement of the Illusory Paradise and all its inhabitants. Since they managed to blend with the inhabitants of the Illusory Paradise, this implied that the rather weak group of Long Haochen gained the support of the Illusory Paradise.
This thought didn’t cause Long Haochen to relax. It instead increased his worries towards the rules of the Illusory Paradise even further.
After a day of contact, he discovered that although the Illusory Paradise restricted the strength of its visitors, it also restricted the strength of the residents in the same way. Otherwise, given the massive life spiritual energy in the Illusory Paradise, how could it be that no magical beast had reached the ninth or the tenth step?
Although these magical beasts weren’t few in quantity, could they really resist a group as strong as Ah’Bao’s?
Long Haochen had personally experienced the formidable strength of Ah’Bao, and clearly understood that he had only managed to injure Ah’Bao because of the element of surprise. But in an open one against one battle, Long Haochen actually wouldn’t stand a chance against Ah’Bao.
It could be said that because of their own secrets, Ah’Bao’s strength was in fact not that strongly restricted by the rules of the Illusory Paradise. With the addition of Long Haochen’s squad, perhaps they could resist them as a group, but if the demons were determined to attack the magical beasts’
ranks to get the multicolored spiritual stove, it would be a hard task to defend themselves.
Under the lead of the gorilla, they gradually penetrated into the denser jungle, and less than half an hour after their entrance, strong fluctuations of spiritual energy already affected Long Haochen’s senses. The battle had started, and it felt extremely intense. However, the most critical part was that he sensed no other existence except from those of darkness and life spiritual energy.
Long Haochen clearly understood what this implied. It most likely meant that from the original Alliance group, only Cai’er, Zhang Fangfang and he himself were still alive.
The darkness energy unmistakably belonged to the demons, and no matter which element the magical beasts of the Illusory Paradise had, they all possessed a strong amount of life energy. With the support of the Illusory Paradise, Long Haochen’s judgement couldn’t be mistaken.
After passing through a large forest of shrubs, the battlefield appeared in front of them.
It was set on a little hill, surrounded by hundreds of magical beasts. The most surprising thing was that these magical beasts were absolutely not frantic, but instead appeared very organised. They didn’t even produced the slightest sound or superfluous noise of rage.
On the other side was naturally the demon group. Ah’Bao appeared once again in Long Haochen’s line of sight, his injury already healed. Even the demon that the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad had heavily injured, had recovered as well. After a simple count, the total number of demons present was nine.
That was to say that with the exception of the fiend, who had used the blue flames and had been killed by Long Haochen’s group, the demons didn’t suffer any losses even after the past day of trial. And, they all had assimilated spiritual stoves.
“So everyone else is dead without exception?” Behind him, Zhang Fangfang revealed a bitter smile. In fact, this time, there had been a lot of captains from commander grade Demon Hunt Squad among the Alliance’s group. The death of seven of them would be a severe blow to the Demon Hunt Squads.
The present situation was very clear. The objective of Ah’Bao’s group was to reach the hundred meters tall hill, and the magical beasts bravely blocked their way forward. The battle was extremely fierce, and although the magical beasts couldn’t compare to the demons in individual strength, their coordination was extremely good. They were neatly organized and surrounded the demons from all sides. Their cooperation was the determining factor in blocking the demons’ way.
The gorilla let out a furious roar, looking back at Long Haochen’s group before rushing to the hill.
Long Haochen and his comrades followed with haste. Because the gorilla was opening the way, roaring lowly, the magical beasts battling the demons didn’t block their way.
As they appeared, Long Haochen’s group naturally attracted Ah’Bao’s attention. Seeing them, he actually went straight for the mountain. Determination filled Ah’Bao’s eyes. Transforming his arms into a pair of dragon claws, he tore a magical beast to shreds, leading the other eight to charge at great speed.
Right at that time, a resonant sound was clearly heard on these hills, and the attacks from the magical beasts instantly became a lot fiercer. With united strength they forcibly drove the demons back to their original place.
On the top of the hill, a six or seven years old looking girl emerged. Shehad a cute jade-like appearance. Her skin looked fair, and her most noticeable trait was her baby-face. Her long light blue hair was braided into twintails, and with a slight movement of her hand, she pointed her tender finger downwards. As she spoke, her voice sounded quite frail.
She’s commanding the magical beasts? Long Haochen looked at this young lady with shock, following the gorilla to the peak of the mountain.
The smell of life energy was even more vigorous here, and came with an exuberant feel. That beautiful young lady’s face was however filled with anger, and her big dark green eyes were filled with great determination.
Chapter 325
The gorilla came to her side, naturally looking at her with a lot of confidence, letting out a low shriek.
Hearing the gorilla, the young lady turned her head to look at Long Haochen’s group. Her gaze wandered over every member, stopping at Long Haochen only a second later. Her dark green eyes were immediately filled with an intense shock.
“Human, you’re the Scion of Light?” The young girl said these words in a very clear voice.
Long Haochen nodded, “Hello, little sister. We have come here to help you. What do you need us to do?”
He didn’t immediately give the others the order to join the battle, because he could see that this young girl had a good control over the battlefield. Under her lead, the casualties among the magical beasts were optimally minimized, and the demons were surrounded in an efficient way. In this situation, their addition would perhaps not be beneficial.
The little girl revealed a happy smile, replying, “Finally, there are some good news. That’s perfect. Scion of Light, protect me for now, please. Let’s talk after I turn this filthy group into nutriments for the Heavens.”
“Okay.” Long Haochen gave a straight reply. He took position near the young girl, and watched the battle in the distance from the hilltop, while giving simple orders to have his comrades cultivate.
“I am Long Haochen. You can call me directly by my first name.” Long Haochen told her with a smile.
As the girl commanded the battle, she turned her head and replied, “I am Ye Xiaolei. Although I don’t really like this name, it has been chosen by my older sister for me, and I cannot change it. You can call me Xiaolei.”
After saying this, her voice turned odd, issuing a series of orders. The magical beasts below once again changed their formation, increasing their aggression. At that moment, magical beasts kept joining the battle on the hillside. It looked like the nine demons wouldn’t were pressured hard. And furthermore, their battle power would be consumed as the battle kept going on.
Zhang Fangfang stood on the side, tightly compressing his lips. He was currently filled with complete shock. It was the same for the others who also had unusual expressions on their faces, occasionally peaking a glance towards the young girl.
The reason for this was simple, it was because that so-called Ye Xiaolei girl emitted a faint multi-colored radiance. But except from her, no other multicolored existence was on this hilltop.
Could she be the multicolored radiance that descended from the sky?
Zhang Fangfang had another issue he was puzzled over. Why would this young girl call Long Haochen Scion of Light? It could be said that they already held a considerable advantage because they were on the side of the Illusory Paradise! But how did Long Haochen manage to achieve this so smoothly?
The battle kept going on, and Long Haochen cautiously watched Ye Xiaolei’s command. Although he didn’t understand the language used by Ye Xiaolei, he could determine her commanding patterns.
Ye Xiaolei’s orders were actually not that complicated. First of all, she made these magical beast act as a whole, just the same as an army in battle, not letting them break ranks.
This way there wouldn’t be any meaningless sacrifices.
On the frontlines were magical beasts with astonishing defensive strength that could meet force with force, attacking the demons head-on, whereas the magical beasts on the rear were adept in magical attacks. This sort of battle formation was the same as the one used by humans.
More importantly, when the magical beasts in the front received severe wounds, Ye Xiaolei would immediately order them to draw back and retreat to the rear, joining some magical beast specialized in healing. Conjuring layer upon layer of green radiance, they would quickly heal the wounds, before the recovered magical beasts would return in battle.
Every time a powerful ability was launched by the group of nine demons, Ye Xiaomo would then put all her energy into ordering the magical beasts to retreat or launch their own wildest attacks, to either evade, block, or break through the enemies’ abilities.
The group of nine demons couldn’t be said to have such great coordination, but their individual strength was high. Even the strength of Yue Ye was a lot greater than in the past. Ah’Bao was all the more powerful, to the point that the magical beasts were unable to cause any damage to him. But even under those circumstances, they were being held back, unable to break through the magical beasts’ ranks, and the damage they managed to inflict to the magical beasts was limited as well.
Long Haochen had originally been unable to calm down, but with a commander such as Ya Xiaolei here, even those strong demons had a hard time assaulting them. This was after all the Illusory Paradise, her home ground.
However, Long Haochen also felt curious about the identity of this Ye Xiaolei.
The multi-colored light she emitted implied that she was very possibly the origin of the multi-colored cloud of light which had been soaring in the sky. However, how was it that she was shaped like a human. Could it be that she…
At this point, Long Haochen felt some astonishment deep inside, thinking about the words his father had told him before, regarding the tiers of spiritual stoves.
Long Xingyu had told Long Haochen that spiritual stoves were also classified into tiers, encompassing five different levels. Among them, the Saint Spiritual Stove Long Haochen possessed only reached the fifth, which was also the lowest one.
The tiers of spiritual stoves were divided based on their utility as well as their might and potential for growth, and also their overall evaluation.
The reason why the Saint Spiritual Stove was only at the fifth tier was that its particular nurturing ability had never been published by the Knight Temple, or else, it would very possibly have reached the third tier.
The great majority of the spiritual stoves of the fifth tier were either defensive or support-oriented, but very few were offensive spiritual stoves. Generally, they only carried a single ability, and had merely a possibility of evolving twice. The Saint Spiritual Stove was the only exception to this among spiritual stoves of the fifth tier. In the opinion of a lot of people, the greatest utility of the Saint Spiritual Stove lied in its use by a user with a relatively low level of cultivation, acting as the core of his team. However, with the increase of one’s cultivation, the Saint Spiritual Stove’s utility will decrease.
At the fourth tier, diverse spiritual stoves would be present. The overwhelming majority of them didn’t only possess one ability, and this was their main difference with the spiritual stoves of the fifth tier.
Spiritual stoves of the third tier also possessed two or more abilities, and were bound to reach a certain level of power in battle. The Saint Spiritual Stove Long Haochen possessed only had a pulling or attracting ability, whose ranges were also limited. They were effectful, but they couldn’t be called really powerful.
Cai’er’s Thousand Strikes Spiritual Stove belonged to the third tier. It was just that it had yet to evolve, which was the reason why the Thousand
Strikes Spiritual Stoves was at the moment only able to activate a single offensive ability. However, in case she managed to let it evolve, the Thousand Strikes Spiritual Stove would gain a great amount of strength.
At the second tier were the most powerful spiritual stoves known to humans. Among the seventy-four spiritual stoves known in total, only seven reached this tier, each of which had at the least three abilities. Of course, their backlash effects were also be quite severe. There were also some with a single ability among this tier, but it would be an ability with incomparable power. Like for instance the Spiritual Stove which Cai’er’s father possessed.
Being able to get a spiritual stove of the third tier would let the user’s strength rise by a wide margin. As for a spiritual stove of the second tier, it was even known as having the ability of turning around an undesirable situation in times of war. And furthermore, the higher ranked the spiritual stove was, the more would it increase the user’s strength.
If Sheng Lingxin had attained the ninth step of cultivation, even inflicting damage to demon gods among the top ten in the ranking wouldn’t be impossible by using his Spiritual Stove of Return to Childhood.
As for spiritual stoves of the first tier, only one existed at the present time, and it was Cai’er’s Spiritual Stove of Samsara.
Spiritual stoves of the first tier weren’t classified as such for the number of abilities they possessed, but for the bursting power erupting when they were unleashed. The requirements for a spiritual stove to be classified at the first tier were very simple, it only had to make up for two steps of difference.
If a spiritual stove could permit its user to kill powerhouses two steps above their own cultivation, this spiritual stove would then be ranked at the first tier. Until this day, only Cai’er’s Spiritual Stove of Samsara had managed to fulfill these criteria. Of course, its backlash was also very well known to Long Haochen.
At that time, when Long Xingyu had told Long Haochen about the five tiers of spiritual stoves, he had also told Long Haochen a last thing; that in legends, another type of spiritual stoves existed, which could even exceed the first tier. However, it had been said to have only appeared in legends.
It had never existed in the history of the Temple Alliance, but it had been reported that once in the Glorious Era, the emperor of the most powerful of the three empires had possessed that kind of spiritual stove.
In legends, that type of spiritual stove was known as intelligent spiritual stove. That was to say that the main body of the spiritual stove didn’t take the shape of a heavenly treasure, but had a genuine living body, possessing advanced knowledge and intelligence. The possible evolutions for such a spiritual stove were unlimited, thus making its assessment hard.
However, Long Haochen had assumed at that time that this kind of spiritual stove was only part of legends and nothing more. But it didn’t mean that it couldn’t appear.
Looking at the commanding Ye Xiaolei, Long Haochen couldn’t help but feel secretly astonished. Could this young girl be one of the legendary spiritual stoves Father spoke about?
He couldn’t ascertain it, but if this was true, Ye Xiaolei’s identity wouldn’t be hard to predict. The older sister she just spoke about would then be the founder of this Illusory Paradise, whereas she should be its guardian.
Even with Long Hoachen’s disposition, he felt dazzled just by thinking about that. An intelligent spiritual stove, even surpassing Cai’er’s Spiritual Stove of Samsara! However, he quickly stopped himself from having such thoughts. No matter what, he couldn’t do anything detrimental to this young girl, and couldn’t permit anyone to do so either.
This feeling was truly sincere, and had emerged when Long Haochen had seen Ye Xiaolei for the first time. He didn’t know where this feeling came from, but it caused a change in his own heart, bestowing smile on his face. It was a feeling that gave him comfort and ease.
However, it was only the kind of feeling one gets from accomplishing good deeds. Not deeds one would do for the sake of some reward or to heighten oneself, but deeds coming from the depth of one’s heart. This would put one at ease, and set his mind at rest.
Chapter 326
Just when Long Haochen was deeply pondering, a change appeared on the battlefield below.
Completely suppressed by the magical beasts, the strength of the nine demons suddenly weakened, and the magical beasts attacking them suddenly pulled back.
There was a simple reason for the sudden decrease in the strength of their attacks. Ah’Bao suddenly showed signs of withdrawing, placing himself in the midst of his allies. His body was covered by an orange glint, and it looked as if the demon, who had been wounded by the 21st general grade Demon Hunt Squad, was telling him something at the same time. His expression was as indifferent as before, but the orange spell was visibly not as peaceful.
“Be careful, they are most likely preparing something.” Long Haochen told the nearby Ye Xiaolei in a low voice.
“Yeah.” Ye Xiaolei gave a calm reply, but her expression immediately became extremely serious. Although nothing had happened yet, she also felt something was amiss.
Even from such a distance, Long Haochen could faintly feel that the energy surrounding Ah’Bao felt just like that of someone about to use a forbidden spell. That orange demon’s spell seemed to resist its activation, as if it wanted to reverse the situation on the battlefield. But at that time, signs of dispute seemed to appear between the two demons.
This is abnormal! If Ah’Bao is the prince of the Devil Dragons, would his words really get refuted? Unless…
“Be careful, they are probably trying to break the restrictions of the Illusory Paradise.” Long Haochen said hastily.
Right at that time, that demon mage was finally persuaded by Ah’Bao, returning its attention back to the battle. Now, an orange radiance was released from their bodies.
That orange color wasn’t really intense, but it was strong enough to give a strange feeling. The breath of life seemed to freeze fazed by the appearance of that orange color. More astonishing, this radiance looked like its strength didn’t exceed the ten thousand units of spiritual energy.
How could this happen?
Both Long Haochen and Ye Xiaolei seemed at a loss. They had felt the pressure of this orange radiance before, but how was it that it still remained within the scope of the restriction?
Zhang Fangfang suddenly said, “A Star Demon! That person is probably a Star Demon. Be careful, he is using the Technique of Great Prophecy.”
Hearing the words Great Prophecy, huge changes immediately appeared on Long Haochen’s face. The Technique of Great Prophecy was a powerful magic specific to the Star Clan, which only the Star Demon God’s direct lineage was able to use. It came with a compensation so high that even the Star Demon God himself had to pay with a part of his life essence to use it. But without the support from the Demon God Pillar, using the Technique of Great Prophecy would cost the user his life.
The Technique of Great Prophecy didn’t really belong to the magic category, but couldn’t really be rated otherwise either. It could instead be called a godly technique. Would the use of this technique enable him to avoid breaking the rules of this place?
Right at that time, Ye Xiaolei suddenly shivered at Long Haochen’s side. Immediately afterwards, the multicolored glow from her became more intense, and a tyrannical breath of life was emitted from her, spreading in every direction. At that time, Long Haochen’s group of eight noticed with astonishment that their own spiritual energy was instantly strengthened.
This wasn’t a simple restoration of spiritual energy, but their spiritual energy was just increasing in the same way as if they were cultivating.
Long Haochen, Cai’er and Zhang Fangfang were better off, and the three of them felt with a nice surprise an increase of their own strength at a rate of ten units of spiritual energy per second. In a few seconds, their spiritual energy had already risen hundreds of units.
But the other five felt totally different.
Lin Xin, Wang Yuanyuan, Sima Xian, Han Yu and Chen Ying’er were currently at the peak of the fifth step, and this sudden increase of spiritual energy caused them to feel that the bottleneck that had been limiting them was being shaken.
As intelligent people, how could they not grasp such an opportunity? Immediately rushing their spiritual energy, they made an all out effort to break through.
The breath of life released from Ye Xiaolei wasn’t only powerful, but also gentle, and was easily accepted by any existence of a different attribute than death and darkness. Absorbing such a massive breath of life was the same as absorbing an elixir, causing an instant burst in strength. Even to a powerhouse such as Ah’Bao, resisting this would take some time and effort.
Without a doubt, Ye Xiaolei started to go all out after sensing the crisis.
However, on the other side, that orange light also looked increasingly intense, and in the sky, a large orange star-shaped pattern appeared, carrying intense and strong glitters of stars. Every time it glittered in the sky, Ye Xiaolei’s face would look somewhat paler.
“Long Haochen, this technique of Great Prophecy is sealing me. The seal will last for an hour. Protect me, just for this hour. When I throw it off again, they will all die.”
Ye Xiaolei’s frail and childish voice was filled with rage and determination, but she slowly sat in a cross-legged fashion, placed her palms together on her chest and shut her eyes.
At that time, the breath of life from her increased severalfold, turning into the shape of a green ring of light spreading onwards.
A sort of moaning sound came out from Lin Xin, Wang Yuanyuan, Sima Xian, Chen Ying’er and Han Yu, and pairs of spiritual wings extended from the five of them for the first time. This was the crucial time of their breakthrough, the opening of their spiritual cavities.
The gift Ye Xiaolei offered them was invaluable, helping the five of them to break through the bottleneck of the sixth step. If they had cultivated normally, even several more months wouldn’t necessarily have been enough for them to accomplish this.
However, at the time she released the green ring of light, Ye Xiaolei’s body was surrounded by an orange light, sealing her inside and stopping all the aura from surging out.
The Technique of Great Prophecy was an extremely powerful godly technique, of incredible and various uses. With such immense compensation cost, how could its power be lacking?
Simply said, if it was used on an ordinary person, and if the chosen prophecy was death, it would just cause immediate death.
But Ye Xiaolei was not an ordinary person. At that time, even the technique of Great Prophecy used on her could only temporarily seal her and nothing more.
At the same moment the seal closed, a loud bang suddenly erupted on the demon that used the technique of Great Prophecy, echoing in the air. As a
rain of blood splattered in the air, dozens of magical beasts rushed forward like arrows.
This was the great cost that came with the technique of Great Prophecy. However, relying on it could undoubtedly change the whole situation on the battlefield.
Along with his death, two soft spiritual stoves as well as an orange Crown of Heritage were set free. It was clearly the sign of his status as a Star Demon as well as his reaps from this travel to the Illusory Paradise.
Ah’Bao’s face became grave and stern, but this was absolutely not because he was moved by his comrade’s death. It was by swearing an oath that he had gotten this ally to use the Technique of Great Prophecy at the crucial time. Although the cost they paid was considerable, if they managed to obtained Ye Xiaolei that stood on top of the mountain, it would have been worth it. It was not just him, but even the Demon God Emperor would covet Ye Xiaolei.
The demons didn’t spare any cost to attack the Southern City’s Mountain Pass, also devoting a lot on this trade with the Temple Alliance. For them to dispatch ten demons to enter the Illusory Paradise, there had only been one goal, and that was Ye Xiaolei.
The Temple Alliance’s side believed themselves to have the advantage in this trade, but they didn’t know that Ye Xiaolei was of utter importance to the demons, and particularly to the Demon God Emperor. However, this secret was only known to the Demon God Emperor and Ah’Bao, who shared a father and son relationship.
Having lost Ye Xiaolei’s lead, the magical beasts’ attack became frantic. Filled with wrath, they initiated mad attacks at the demons. Although they contained a great level of strength, after the loss of their coordination, their efforts became fruitless.
A purple glow was released from Ah’Bao’s eyes, enveloping the seven of them in its range, and all of the group was immediately surrounded by a purple black haze.
However, no matter whether it was in terms of attack or defense, they immediately reached their peak condition, and started to do carnage. The magical beasts that came in contact with Ah’Bao’s powerful limbs became unceasingly torn to shreds, and from his chest emerged a black longsword, which wasn’t grasped in his hand, but autonomously launched attacks while floating in the air. With every attack from it, a magical beast would be killed. This great might became the vanguard of their attack, until reaching the hillside. At this point, all that was left were the limbs and corpses of the magical beasts.
Long Haochen and his group stood motionlessly on the hilltop.
Zhang Fangfang looked at Long Haochen with some anxiety, but didn’t say anything
The current Long Haochen had a very serious face, but still looked unflustered, not showing any signs of acting. The battlefield underneath was in total disarray, and the group of eight demons started to make a breakthrough, but Long Haochen couldn’t act yet.
Five of them still needed time to adapt to the changes after their breakthrough, having gained the boost from the spiritual cavities and the spiritual wings. And furthermore, given how frantic the situation below was, even if they joined, they couldn’t do very much. Because of Ye Xiaolei’s sealing, the magical beast were totally out of their minds with rage. Joining the melee could even be regarded as an enemy attack by them.
The breath of life released by Ye Xiaomo had caused a good increase to their total amount of spiritual energy, in addition to having helped Lin Xin and the other four to break through to the sixth step. Now they had to return this gift. And furthermore, even if not for that, Long Haochen would still give priority to the protection of his comrades. He had made his preparations well, and if things didn’t go as planned, he would bring Ye Xiaolei along with them to the Tower of Eternity.
Of course, that was just the last resort. Unless it reached the point of no return, he would absolutely not do so, for the simple reason that although the Tower of Eternity had holy properties, it was still filled with energy of
death. It was impossible to predict which effect entering it would have on her.
Chapter 327
Long Haochen turned his head to look at Zhang Fangfang, telling him in a serious tone, “Brother Zhang, if things don’t go well, just activate the Illusory Gem and leave, we have our own ways to return.”
Zhang Fangfang nodded in response. Seeing Long Haochen, he understood that this young captain had a card up his sleeve, and had at least an escape plan ready. This was related to the other party’s secrets so he naturally didn’t ask.
Seeing the battlefield below, Long Haochen’s expression was severe. After all, the magical beasts in the Illusory Paradise gained a burst of strength from Ye Xiaolei’s boost, a group of them reaching the eighth rank, which was approximately equivalent to the strength of human powerhouses of the seventh step. Although they were mostly acting out of instinct, these hundreds of magical beasts were up against a group of eight, surrounding them and attacking fiercely.
But even in those circumstances, the battle went as a one-sided carnage.
Of the eight demons, Ah’Bao was in the middle and his fighting style was simple and straight. The attacks of the magical beasts were totally useless against him, and he didn’t avoid any, just launching his own attacks against them. All the magical beasts in front of him would hardly escape the fate of being torn to shreds. At the same time, he relied on his own strength to block the overwhelming majority of the attacks directed at him, playing the equivalent role as Long Haochen’s in his team.
At his side were two sturdy demons, resembling one another but, they didn’t have human appearance. From afar, they looked like Earth Dragons, but with smaller builds, only reaching two and a half meters in size, with long tail behind their back.
However, the difference in build didn’t mean they were any weaker than Earth Dragons in strength. In the opposite, their purely offensive combat methods were actually not that much inferior to Ah’Bao. Their sturdy forearms and their horn forming an obtuse angle were life-destroying weapons, while their black scales gave them an extreme defensive strength.
Just by themselves, the three of them stopped all the attacks directed to their group.
In the rear of the group of eight were three other close quarter warriors, among which Leng Xiao acted as the core. At the two at the sides of Leng Xiao were demons issued from variations of magical beasts. The first had an imposing build, appearing like a giant bear. From his body, deep yellow light was continuously released. At every rush from the magical beasts, he would energetically stamp on the ground, launching intense shocking surges of energy, causing even large areas of cracks to appear on the ground.
On Leng Xiao’s other side was a lion-shaped powerhouse with a human body, also extremely tough in strength.
Yue Ye and another female mage were positioned between these two subgroups, releasing their magic from there. Although the core of the entire team was Ah’Bao, its conductor was Yue Ye. The staff in her hands was exchanged for a deep purple one, and intense surges of magic spread continuously from it, giving the other demons a magic boost while healing them.
The other demon female at her side was clad in red, looking the same as a human, with the exception that her temper was a lot more fiery. Her figure was quite something, particularly her watermelon-like chest, combined with her slim waist and her rising butt. This figure reached a level a human wouldn’t possibly be able to reach.
On her hand were two coral-shaped staves, shaking in the air and dark red glows were continuously shot from it. All the magical beast victims of her attacks were pulverized with an extremely great power, and all she used were single-target attacks; no large scale attacks were launched by her.
The level of coordination these eight achieved could definitely not be called perfect, and obviously, it hadn’t been for a long time since that they formed a team. However, under Yue Ye’s lead, they didn’t have any loophole. But even if there was, their overwhelming dominance in strength would be enough to make up for that.
After this short observation, Long Haochen discovered their secret. In fact, with the exception of Yue Ye and that red-clad red haired girl whose identity was unclear, the other demons definitely reached a phenomenal level of external spiritual energy, reducing all of the magical beasts into a disadvantageous position.
After the loss of Ye Xiaolei’s lead, the attacks from the magical beasts gradually became more and more chaotic. This lump of frantic attacks lost all discipline, and without a brain to lead the armies, they ended up only being pushed by these eight demons. No matter how berserk their attacks were, they were still unable to stop the advance of the group of demons.
Long Haochen was standing on the mountain top, still motionless, only occasionally looking at Yue Ye. If he could command the magical beast, perhaps they could still stop the enemies like they did before, but he couldn’t. All he could do now was to rely on the terrain to try to stall for time.
An hour was a very long period of time, and under the influence of Ah’Bao’s spell, these demon powerhouses didn’t feel the least exhausted, pushing forward every second. Every step they took forward, quite a few magical beast’s blood and internal organs would scatter in the air.
After the sealing of Ye Xiaolei by the Great Prophecy Technique, the reinforcements of magical beasts surging from all directions lessened. This was another piece of bad news.
Cai’er calmly joined Long Haochen’s side, telling him in low voice,
“Should this be done?”
Although she didn’t put it clearly in words, Long Haochen understood what she meant, and lightly shook his head in response, “Now is not the time yet.”
Cai’er lowered her head, and didn’t say anything more.
Long Haochen turned back to Han Yu, doing a hand gesture to him.
Han Yu immediately understood his meaning, and joined his side, stating the chant of a slow incantation. Meanwhile, Yating who was behind Long Haochen also started to chant.
At this moment, the group of eight demons was gradually closing the distance between the hilltop. Of course, as they advanced, the attacks of the magical beast became even more frantic. With the rise of the danger facing Ye Xiaolei, they wouldn’t shrink even if they had to sacrifice their own lives.
A faint mantle of light spread from the mountain, shrouding the battlefield.
Getting moisturized by this golden light, the injuries sustained by the magical beasts were immediately healed to a certain extent, and their power increased to some extent.
Immediately, another even more intense surge of light was sprinkled, and even more magical beasts were healed to an even greater extent. This sudden boost and recovery made the group of magical beast even more ferocious, bringing the rush of the group of eight demons to a stop.
These two spells naturally came from Long Haochen and Han Yu. Although Long Haochen wasn’t capable of using large-scale healing magic, Yating could! Although she couldn’t directly use magic by herself, she transmitted the spell to Long Haochen after completing its incantation.
Ever since they met Ye Xiaolei, it seemed as if they had become a part of the Illusory Paradise, obtaining the full support from the latter. In these circumstances, everyone recovered their spiritual energy at a greatly accelerated speed.
Long Haochen turned around, calling Chen Ying’er to join him and mumbling something in her ears.
After staying sluggish for a short time, Chen Ying’er nodded in response.
The look she gave Long Haochen suddenly became quite different.
Sima Xian and Wang Yuanyuan were already at either side of Long Haochen, prepared well. It seemed that the enemies were now only at a distance of a hundred meters, but this could be covered in a few dashes by a powerhouse.
Healing spells started to emanate unceasingly from the mountain, and the magical beasts receiving its effects didn’t only recover from their injuries, but also calmed down from their frenetic state. To them, the fact that healing magic was released from the top of the mountain implied that Ye Xiaolei was all right. And so long as they could maintain their own judgement, the powerhouses before them were nothing to fear.
Long Haochen told Yating, “Use the language they can understand to tell them that Ye Xiaolei is only temporarily sealed, and will need some time to liberate herself. We’ll need to delay the enemy for at least an hour.”
Yating nodded lightly, flying in front of Long Haochen and grumbling some words. Under the effects of the light essence, her voice was spread afar.
Hearing Yating’s voice, the group of magical beast immediately burst out in utter rage. The fact that Ye Xiaolei had been sealed by these enemies was to them a total disgrace. But their morale was instantly raised up, and supported by the healing spells from the mountain, the magical beasts’ attacks became more co-ordinated.
It wasn’t that Long Haochen hadn’t thought about commanding these magical beasts with Yating’s help, but in these circumstances, this would obviously not show very good results. This was because he was absolutely not familiar with these magical beasts, not knowing about their specialities let alone their names. If he really commanded them, the group of magical beasts would perhaps become even more confused. Thus, what he could do was only to give these magical beast a healing support and to raise their morale.
On the other side, Chen Ying’er had at some point sat on the ground, with the little pig McDull sitting on her lap. The girl and the beast seemed to be communicating over something, and immediately, Chen Ying’er took out some huge magical crystals, placing them in front of McDull.
McDull appeared somewhat surprised, but quickly made up his resolve under Chen Ying’er’s encouragement. Watching those magical crystal that were clearly at the seventh rank, he shut his eyes.
Zhang Fangfang also joined the ranks of the healers, only, his healing spells were honestly speaking, far from reaching Han Yu’s level. After all, he had in his own team a specialized healer, and didn’t need to give much investment to the field of healing as a Guardian Knight. However, he was after all a powerhouse at the peak of the sixth step, and was still capable of a simple Great Recovery technique. Though large-scale healing spells were unfamiliar to him, single targeted ones weren’t. His series of Great Recoveries were aimed at the rather severely wounded magical beasts, and gave support to the magical beasts beside Yating and Han Yu’s large-scale healing.
With their help as well as the news that Ye Xiaolei was sealed, the magical beasts forcibly held back the eight charging demons. In particular, the large-scale healing abilities being of light element, their effects were no different from offensive spells in the demons’ eyes. Although it was unable to inflict real wounds to these demons, it still had the effect of weakening Ah’Bao’s boosting spell that all his allies benefitted from.
Long Haochen gave a glance to the sky, before looking at Ye Xiaolei next, hardening his inner determination and resolve.
This wasn’t his first time commanding a battle that could be said to reach the scale of war, but this time was clearly the most dangerous. In case Ah’Bao’s group of eight reached them, it would be hard to say for how long they would be able to resist. At least for now their strength was still way far from their grasp.
Chapter 328
However, with so many powerful magical beasts, their side managed to block the main force of the enemies.
One hour; all they needed was one hour.
In a dim flicker of light, Long Haochen revealed an ice-cold look, looking right into Ah’Bao’s eyes. Their looks clashed with each other in midair, as if producing countless sparkles.
In terms of strength, Long Haochen was still far from an equal to him, but he was not the slightest bit inferior to him in temperament, and in particular, in terms of mental strength, Long Haochen was on par with the other party.
Ah’Bao’s cold glace was concentrated on Long Haochen, but he was actually a lot more shocked than the latter. His eyes were focused on Long Haochen’s group over the mountain, that wasn’t blocked the slightest by the magical beasts.
To him, this had to be the conspiracy from the humans. The fact Long Haochen managed to bring so many people through the Illusory Paradise was already above his expectations, but he saw atop of that that Long Haochen’s group was clearly in perfect symbiosis with the magical beasts from the Illusory Paradise. Not only were they not attacked by the magical beasts, but instead had their support.
This was the most important reason that caused him to compel the other powerhouse from the Star Demon Clan into using the Great Prophecy. The
arrival of Long Haochen’s group caused him to feel an intense surge of crisis. In case Ye Xiaolei fell into their hands, all their past efforts would have been for nothing. For this reason, he had no choice but to sacrifice an extremely important comrade, and to make use of an oath for that.
At that moment, their distance towards the peak of the mountain was shrinking, and Ah’Bao had a very clear view of the terrain. It appeared that Long Haochen’s group absolutely didn’t know the importance of Ye Xiaolei, and that they just stood on her side. Their sole goal looked to be to stop them and no more.
With this discovery, Ah’Bao finally relaxed. Although the magical beasts surrounding them were a lot, he still had confidence in being able to break through their ranks. Still having a deep impression from the wounds Long Haochen left on him the day before, although he felt the desire to make him yield, he still made the right decision at the crucial moment. However, this didn’t mean that he didn’t hold any grudge. On the contrary, considering he never had to suffer any wound for so many years, how could he accept the fact that Long Haochen was the one to commit this offense towards him.
Giving a look to the top of the mountain, Ah’Bao’s attacks became all the more powerful. Although they slowed down, their group still steadily approached the hill.
Yue Ye occasionally looked to this hilltop. If one were to ask who was the most unsteady person in the battlefield, that would definitely be her.
When she saw Long Haochen take part in that battle, she felt contrasted feelings. Actually, what she wished the most for was to see Long Haochen’s group emerge victorious. If Long Haochen’s group won, there wouldn’t be any loss for her, but conversely, what if Long Haochen’s group was forced into desperate straits? Then, wouldn’t she be the one to end up punished from that? That frightful girl, full of murderous spirit, was also here, and could take her life at any time.
If they really managed to make it through, and if Ah’Bao completed his goal, she would be bound to an undoubtable death.
This won’t do, I have to do something. That guy from the Star Clan said that his Great Prophecy would only persist for a hour. I have to help Long Haochen’s group to stall for time.
At this point of thinking, Yue Ye’s offense and her command started to lose gradually in power. Not only that, but she did an extremely critical mistake, narrowly enabling a robust magical beast to break through their ranks. Immediately, the entire formation of the eight demons started to be in disorder to some extent.
Yue Ye obviously knew that she had no real way to block the advance of the demon powerhouses, but given her intelligence, this was naturally done on purpose, as an attempt to tell Long Haochen that she was doing her best to help them.
“Yue Ye, what are you doing?” Ah’Bao shouted coldly, turning back and giving her a ferocious glance. Quickly, a purplish black radiance fell onto Yue Ye, causing her aura to gain in strength. Her magical force was instantly restored to its peak.
“Thank you, Brother Bao. I am all right, be at ease…” Yue Ye told him in appreciation.
As far as it went, the relationship between Yue Ye and Ah’Bao was very subtle. Strictly speaking, she didn’t originally have any link with this brother Bao, but due to some total coincidences, although she should normally never have been able to meet Ah’Bao due to her secret identity as a half-human, she came across him once.
Ah’Bao didn’t know how this could have happened either, but among the countless beautiful demon women that were given for him to choose, the only one to his liking was Yue Ye.
It was only that the matter of marriage between the two of them was totally impossible. The Devil Dragon Clan was extremely exigent in the matter of the purity of their bloodline, and generally, only members of the same clan could be chosen as partner. Even if an outsider was taken as wife, she wouldn’t become an official wife.
If Yue Ye was just an ordinary girl, things would be better off and she would just become Ah’Bao’s woman. No matter from which clan she would be from, this would be regarded only as a great honor, a glorious matter.
However, Yue Ye’s father was the Moon Demon God, second among all demon gods! Given her position as the most beloved daughter of the Moon Demon God, how could she be made a mere concubine for Ah’Bao?
Thus, the two of them had a very subtle relationship, and Ah’Bao argued strongly on this matter with the Demon God Emperor many times personally. Perhaps it was a thirst for something he couldn’t obtain, but he had the absolute resolution to gain Yue Ye’s heart, and even expressed his absolute will to make her his official wife.
For this reason, the Demon God Emperor almost crippled him from the right of inheritance in an excess of rage. But unfortunately, the Demon God Emperor only had this one son, and if he were to do that, the throne could only possibly be given to Leng Xiao.
It had been nearly two years that the two of them, father and son, fought over this matter.
The first time Long Haochen encountered Yue Ye, Leng Xiao had actually been sent to bring a letter to Yue Ye from her brother.
First of all, Ah’Bao’s strength was a result of his identity as the crown prince of the Devil Dragons, not only was he very powerful but also wise and farsighted, and dearly liked by the Demon God Emperor. Seeing the relationship between the two of them, as a son and his father, being destroyed over a matter of marriage was something the Demon God Emperor was completely unwilling to see.
Although Leng Xiao’s talent was also significant, it was still far from that of Ah’Bao, especially since Ah’Bao revealed such talent lately over the years, displaying a podigious burst of talent stemming from his lineage as a Devil Dragon.
Demons were different from humans, when a human sovereign would see his own son gain too much power, he would definitely try to reduce the strength of this crown prince to deepen his own ruling, but the demons were exactly the total opposite. Any demon ruler would be hoping to see his own son become all the more powerful the earlier possible, and the very best to him would be to see him have the ability to kill him for kingship.
Thus, the Demon God Emperor had finally been persuaded by his son, and ‘that day’, it was for this matter of marriage that he came to look for the Moon Demon God.
The Demon God Emperor’s deal was simple. He could let his son choose Yue Ye as a formal wife, but in this case, his son would have to pick two women of his own clan as concubines, and would have to pledge to all his clansmen that his future successor would be picked in priority among the sons of these concubines.
Given how great the Demon God Emperor’s position was among all the demon race, being a little flexible like this wasn’t much of a matter to him. Even if some disapproved, they would be suppressed by father and son, so this matter could already be said to be considered as fixed.
Although the Demon God Emperor could be said to have reached these terms with his son, this move actually came with two gains. Not only would it satisfy his own son’s desire, but it would at the same time further deepen the relationship between the Moon Demon God and himself, securing even further his own position as the ruler.
Because of these changes, Ah’Bao managed to bring Yue Ye to participate along in this operation. Otherwise, given Yue Ye’s strength, the demons would naturally rather pick a more suitable individual than her.
As for Yue Ye, did she actually like Ah’Bao? No matter whether it was to the Demon God Emperor or Ah’Bao, this matter was something the two of them had basically not even put in consideration. Even the Moon Demon God didn’t give a thought over that. From their opinion, this was simply not of any consequence; after all, among all demons, was there even someone who could compare with Ah’Bao?
It was actually because of the deep feelings that Ah’Bao held towards her that Yue Ye felt fearless and dared make such a critical mistake. If this was someone else, perhaps Ah’Bao would have just slapped him without any reservation, but because it was her, he instead didn’t spare any cost to heal her.
Brother Bao, you are really treating me well, but I wonder why, I just cannot fall for you. Perhaps I can become your wife, but I actually don’t love you. In my heart, you are more of an elder brother, not a husband.
Yue Ye secretly thought that she couldn’t keep doing mistakes forever either, as this would appear too conspicuous. After she returned to her normal state, the demons advance kept going in accordance.
However, it could also be seen at that time that after battling for so long, the group of eight demons was starting to grow tired.
Yue Ye turned her head to look over the direction of the mountain, giving a glance to Long Haochen who was standing there. The current Long Haochen was just single-mindedly staring at Ah’Bao, not even giving Yue Ye a glance.
Seeing him, Yue Ye’s eyes started to look a bit blurry. She didn’t know either about her own thoughts about Long Haochen, but she could at least be sure that in her own heart, this young human knight appeared in a frequency that surpassed that of Ah’Bao.
What’s to be done? Just what’s to be done for me in the end? Yue Ye secretly sighed. Even given her intelligence, she was currently confused.
Long Haochen didn’t know that Yue Ye was subject to such internal struggles, but seeing her previous performance, he naturally understood her intention.
Long Haochen already made the resolve not to let this girl be sacrificed.
Even if they had to be defeated in the end, he wouldn’t sacrifice Yue Ye.
This girl was very intelligent; having such an asset within demons was of great value.
Cai’er also saw Yue Ye’s display, but her look toward her became colder. This was because she happened to discern some hidden bitterness on her as she looked at Long Haochen.
At that instant, she even had the instant urge to trigger the restriction placed on Yue Ye, and kill her. She was just a too powerful a threat. In terms of appearance, Yue Ye wasn’t the slightest inferior to Cai’er, and even exceeded her in maturity.
Chapter 329
Girls understood other girls the best, and the most sensitive to them were other girls. At that instant, Cai’er felt that Yue Ye didn’t treat Long Haochen as a mere acquaintance. Although she had absolute confidence in Long Haochen, that feeling still made her extremely uneasy.
Unconsciously, she drew closer to Long Haochen, and at that instant, Long Haochen happened to turn his head, “Cai’er, listen to me. No matter what happens, you are forbidden to trigger the power of your spiritual stove, understood? If things don’t go well, I will take my chance and use the Eternal Melody while bringing along Ye Xiaolei.
“Eh?” Cai’er turned back, her face appearing a bit red. It was a good thing that she was wearing her veil, making her embarrassment not visible. I… Am I actually feeling jealous?
Long Haochen asked with some surprise, “Cai’er, what’s up with you?”
Cai’er hastened to lower her head, “I am okay, I will do as you say.”
Believing that she was worrying about him, Long Haochen held her tightly, “Let’s do our best. No matter how it ends up, we should at least try our best for the Illusory Paradise.”
“Yeah.” Cai’er gave a light response, the jealousy inside of her disappearing mysteriously along. That’s right! Why am I even getting so insecure without any basis? Who would even be able to take him away from me? He’s my only one fool after all.
On the field, the battle was become increasingly more violent. When Ah’Bao discovered that the strength of his comrades had started to plummet, he immediately came to the decision of stopping their advance. This way, their pressure wouldn’t get reduced for some time. Meanwhile, one purple-black gem after another came out from his chest, flying towards all of his allies.
These purple-black gems were of extremely great use to help elite demons to recover. After every one of them took one, their recovery accelerated immediately.
Lin Xin opened his eyes wide, “Are those demon pills? I really want to get one to do some research.”
Wang Yuanyuan had an unhappy reaction, “Go then. No one is stopping you.”
Lin Xin revealed a playful smile, “How heartless from you! Yuanyuan, we are part of the same group. How can you have the heart to send a lamb like me in the tiger’s den.”
Wang Yuanyuan slightly smiled back, “Okay okay, don’t keep spreading nonsense. They are drawing closer and closer, prepare for battle.”
Long Haochen had brought forth his Glorious Holy Shield along with Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light.
After taking those purplish black gems, the eight demon clearly recovered their strength to some extent, and although the attacks from the magical beasts were still as fierce as before, they were also starting to become exhausted, and weren’t as bold and powerful as before anymore. Their numbers continuously went down as well.
Without Ye Xiaolei, not only they lost their leader, but also their persistent support and sustenance. According to their current speed, it would take Ah’Bao at most ten more minutes. That was to say that Long Haochen’s group of eight would need to hold for more than half an hour, but was something hopelessly optimistic.
Lightly touching the Eternal Melody on his neck, Long Haochen sighed secretly to himself. It looked like he would really have to make this choice.
Of course, this was his last trump card, that he wouldn’t reveal unless it was absolutely necessary.
Giving a look to Ye Xiaolei that still appeared enveloped in the orange cover, Long Haochen suddenly remembered something he told his father before: I want to become a Guardian Knight, because I want to protect those who are precious to me.
Thinking about this, Long Haochen’s face clearly looked more relaxed.
Come, since it has come to this, just come at me.
Some orders started to be issued from him, and everyone rapidly organized in a formation.
Chen Ying’er was seated right before Ye Xiaolei, together with her, and surrounded by the others, protecting them in the middle of formation. The little pig McDull seemed to have fallen asleep, and looked quite sound asleep.
Long Haochen was the vanguard, followed by Zhang Fangfang himself followed by Han Yu.
The three knights were unexpectedly standing in a row. On Long Haochen’s two sides were Wang Yuanyuan and Sima Xian, and Cai’er disappeared gradually in the air. Lin Xin was at the rear, currently mumbling an incantation. Since there was the need for an incantation, he certainly wasn’t using some offensive magic.
Every step Ah’Bao took would leave a deep footprint on the hills. His body was already multi-colored from the blood of the magical beasts, but both of his eyes appeared just as filled with gloom and emptiness as before, as if all this slaughter was totally unrelated to him.
As the tiredness of his mates increased, the black gems only needed a short moment to take effect, but increased the burden on Ah’Bao’s. Still, the
strength he displayed became even more terrifying.
Some damage appeared on the scales on his body; after all, it wasn’t as if his body was unbreakable. However, his attacks also became all the more violent.
After they passed halfway to the top of the mountain, the total number of magical beasts killed in the hands of Ah’Bao’s men was already over his own total. Corpses of magical beasts flew unceasingly, thrown by him in the air. And that odd magic sword was already retrieved, for the sake of sparing spiritual energy.
In fact, although Ah’Bao hadn’t really yet reached the ninth step in strength, his internal spiritual energy still exceeded 50,000 units. In a state of continuous consumption, more than half of his total reserves were used up.
Of course, this was because they were in the Illusory Paradise. In this place, Long Haochen’s group gained a severalfold increase in recovery, whereas the demons couldn’t get any energy to replenish, and could only rely on pills and techniques to recover their own spiritual energy.
Even so, this didn’t pose any challenge to him, still filled with confidence in winning. After the sacrifice of two of his teammates, who were also successors of the Star Clan and the Fiend Clan, he had to succeed no matter what. As long as he returned back with Ye Xiaolei, then no matter whether it would be the Demon God Emperor or himself, becoming the future ruler of the whole continent would be no problem, or even to…
The distance to the hilltop was already close to fifty meters, and the gloom in Ah’Bao’s eyes gradually took shape, and on his body appeared a special aura, just like the aura that was full of light released by Long Haochen. This aura was completely unyielding.
When identifying a target, he would go all out to forge a path towards it, without ever cowering before it. Even with his head broken and blood flowing, this reality wouldn’t change in any way.
An incapable being, even as the son of the Demon God Emperor, wouldn’t possibly be able to rule the demons and succeed to the glory of the first demon god.
As the distance was closing in, at the time they were about to reach the hilltop, a dark golden radiance suddenly erupted.
That black golden essence was truly overly massive, a thick pillar of light that extended over five kilometers afar. At the time it appeared, all the light in the air instantly turned into darkness, and the instant of its appearance, it was as if the sun was being extinguished.
The mountain range was completely enveloped in this dark golden color, and all the Illusory Paradise seemed to become dark golden at once. Such a sudden change even brought shock to the faces of the both the eight demon powerhouses and to the magical beasts too.
The magical beasts were just filled with shock, but their attacks were still just as rapid as before, but those eight demon powerhouses’ expressions changed completely. Even the firmly determined and unyielding Ah’Bao couldn’t help but fall back at that time, totally bewildered at this sight.
That dark golden pillar rapidly linked the sky and the earth, and its surroundings were totally black. The dark golden color released from it gave off a heaven-shattering might, filling the world with its light, making the changes on it appear all the more distinct.
It was indeed really huge, to the point that even from these distant places, its appearance could be recognized.
On the entirely dark golden massive pillar were countless strange symbols. More importantly, a massive golden dragon was crawling on this huge pillar of light.
This was clearly the symbol of the supreme ruler, the Demon God Emperor, his first demon god pillar!
“His Highness! It’s His Highness.” The one speaking these words was the Earth Dragon-shaped demon on the left side of Ah’Bao. He suddenly had a fanatical look, and the same went for the similar demon on the right side. These two went so far as to throw their heads onto the ground, immediately paying respect.
That’s right, to demons, the Demon God Emperor was the absolute symbol. With him here, who would possibly be able to harm them? What could these weak magical beasts possibly do.
It wasn’t only the two of them that crawled onto the ground, but also the bear and the lion-shaped demon powerhouses on either side of Leng Xiao. Only Ah’Bao, Leng Xiao, Yue Ye and that red-clad red-eyed girl had bewildered looks filled with uncertainty.
At the time these four demons finally crawled down to the ground, the magical beasts that were in a state of shock received a very simple order from Yating, in spiritual language, to attack!
The attacks from the magical beasts erupted once again, and at that time, because the four demon powerhouses went bowing down, their entire formation was immediately broken.
Bang.
A fearful magical beast with the shape of a large elephant abruptly lifted up his paws, trampling fiercely on the back of one of the Earthworm-shaped magical beasts.
Even with such powerful external spiritual energy, in such an exhausted state, in addition to feeling the shock from seeing the first demon god pillar, he basically didn’t have the time to defend.
An ear-piercing sound of cracking bones resounded, and this Earth Dragon-like powerhouse had his chest entirely pierced with this stamping attack. Although he wasn’t human-shaped, this was his vital part! At that time, his internal organs were made mincemeat, thus even a forbidden ranked healing spell wouldn’t be able to save him.
A look of disbelief drew on his widely opened eyes, and he murmured the final words, “This… Can’t be… Your Highness, why… Discarding your own… people…”
The other Earthworm-like powerhouse was a bit better off, as Ah’Bao saved him at the crucial time.
“That’s not his Highness Demon God Emperor, but an illusion! Be prepared for battle!”
Unfortunately, his instruction didn’t make it at time, and although he did this rescuing act at time, the surrounding magical beasts were just far too numerous.
The other Earthworm-shaped powerhouse had an arm and a leg crushed, and his chest and head also sustained a heavy blow, he immediately lost consciousness from the heavy blow.
The demons on the rear were better off as Leng Xiao and Yue Ye reacted quickly. Yue Ye used a defensive spell at that time to protect that huge bear. It wasn’t that she wanted to save him in particular, but the lion-type demon had a defense that couldn’t compare with the bear-type, thus saving him wouldn’t necessarily be of use.
The results were clear, the lion demon was torn to fragments by the demons, whereas the bear was saved, but lost a paw in the act, and with frantic counterattacks, Leng Xiao however barely managed to steady her position.
This change just happened too fast, aiming at the group of eight demons. Even the very own son of the Demon God Emperor, Ah’Bao, couldn’t immediately react to that.
On the hilltop, Zhang Fangfang looked totally dumbstruck. At the time the deep golden pillar of light surged out, he was totally intimidated, to say nothing of the demons below.
However, that dark golden pillar immediately vanished to nothingness.
The Demon God Emperor? There wasn’t even a shadow of him.
The small pig McDull appeared in Chen Ying’er’s arms with a worn out face, immediately falling in deep sleep.
That was exactly Long Haochen’s plan, to have McDull imitate the Demon God Emperor’ appearance to distract the attention of the eight demon powerhouses.
But the final results even exceeded Long Haochen’s expectations. McDull finally could be said to have failed his imitation, but even achieving the mere imitation of the appearance of the terrifying demon god pillar belonging to the Demon God Emperor was just too hard a task. It took up three magical crystals of the seventh rank, and the imitation was just rough, lasting for no more than ten seconds. In fact, McDull was supposed to only be able to imitate one’s appearance, not his pressure and aura, or at least was it so with his current level of cultivation. But even so, this produced great results.
However, the demon powerhouses were still taken in, and this was exactly because of the excessively majestic position of the Demon God Emperor to their race.
It ended up with two dead, and two severely wounded demons, among one severely wounded. One was just unconscious, but the other had a hand broken. This was an extremely devastating blow to the whole demon group commanded by Ah’Bao.
They had originally been advancing at a constant pace, but it took a mere instant to suppress them to such extent. At this point, they wouldn’t be able to keep advancing, and furthermore, the magical beasts’ attacks became all the more violent, causing their group to be now unable to resist.
Long Haochen was looking from beginning to end at Ah’Bao, but he didn’t immediately become optimistic just because of the present situation. Even a cornered beast would keep fighting on, to say nothing of the crown prince of the demons.
Ah’Bao’s originally unexpressive look suddenly became incomparably deep. The demons familiar with him understood that this was the sign that his rage was already reaching its ultimate peak.
The appearance of an imitation of a Demon God Emperor was an utter disgrace to the demons, to say nothing that Ah’Bao clearly couldn’t accept the damage that happened before his eyes.
The long purple-black sword appeared once again, but this time, it appeared directly in Ah’Bao’s hand, while he carried his wounded ally in the other hand. However, his killing intent now reached an unforeseen level. Each attack of his now reached a peak level close to ten thousand units of spiritual energy, with the entirety of his external spiritual energy breaking out. The scales on his body continuously kept flickering in light.
It could be said that Ah’Bao managed to resist the attacks from the overwhelming majority of the magical beasts with only his individual strength. Right at that time, he suddenly let out a prolonged dragon cry, and his tall and thin build suddenly changed in response, at a great speed.
Chapter 330
A prolonged dragon cry shook the whole field, accompanied with a series of deep purple glows that abruptly spread out from Ah’Bao’s body, forcing the attacks from the surrounding magical beast to an immediate stop, while filling them in a temporary state of fear, causing them to draw back.
Taking advantage of this occasion, the remaining five demons that still had some fighting strength gathered together, and with another dragon cry ringing out at the same time as Ah’Bao, coming from Leng Xiao.
A heavy deep black spread out from them, and at this time it could be seen the clear difference in their cultivation. The purplish black released from Ah’Bao’s body was visibly a lot richer than that of Leng Xiao.
That purplish black sword floated form Ah’Bao’s hands during the time his whole body metamorphosed, scales enlarging, and thickening. His originally tyrannical just gained all the more substance.
Although his internal spiritual energy didn’t look to have increased, he still gave a strong sense of danger to everyone.
Immense wings were spread out from his back, his four claws setting on the ground, as his majestic and fierce terrible appearance landed in the midst of the mountain.
Looking at the sky while echoing a dragon cry, Ah’Bao’s body expanded once again, and from head to tail, reached now a size over ten meters in length.
Yue Ye slightly looked down, so that no one saw a flicker of hatred flash through her eyes. To her, no matter how powerful Ah’Bao was, and how high his position within demons was, he was still in the end a Devil Dragon in truth. And that was to say that his current self was his true self. In contrast, Yue Ye regarded herself primarily a human; the Moon Clan was also very close to humans in terms of physique. This was all the more in her case who carried some human blood, and held some hatred deep inside towards the overwhelming majority of the demons.
Moments before, Ah’Bao gave that successor from the Star Clan the order to use Great Prophecy, her original impression was that if one day Ah’Bao encountered a threatening situation, even herself as his wife would get discarded in the same way. To the demons who only thought about benefits, this was highly possible. But would he actually do the same with his own wife? Girls always have a different way of thinking, and in such an intense battle, Yue Ye was however having a wild inner fight. And these thoughts kept surging in her like the spring bamboo after the rain, and then raised up her head again, looking all the more fervently towards a certain someone on the hilltop.
Changes happened rapidly halfway up the hills, and although being ten meters tall, the Devil Dragon didn’t not necessarily hold the advantage against the surrounding magical beasts, but his real strength wasn’t something ordinary magical beasts of the seventh or eighth rank could possibly compare with. In particular, the boost they received from Ye Xiaolei was finally starting to disappear with time.
With a dragon cry from Ah’Bao, the purplish black dark golden sword abruptly disappeared, directly falling onto his forehead and taking the shape of a long purplish black horn. Opening his mouth wide, he let out a purplish black breath to the front.
With a loud bang, a violent explosion was produced, forcibly sending at least three massive magical beasts flying into the sky, before actually being disintegrated to nothing, as if melting instantly.
After he let out this breath, it could be distinctly seen that the horn on Ah’Bao’s head was igniting like a black flame, the wings on his back
flapping abruptly in a rush towards the top of the hill.
In the instant he flapped his wings, he gave Yue Ye a glance downwards, nodding to her.
Yue Ye obviously understood his meaning, shouting loudly, “Be careful!”
These two words were truly enjoyable in Ah’Bao’s ears. Even trapped in a siege, seeing the concern of his beloved one set his fighting spirit further aflame.
This call was however not seen in the same way from Long Haochen’s ears, because Ah’Bao whose back was facing Yue Ye didn’t see that as she shouted this, her look was actually totally directed to Long Haochen.
Ah’Bao erupted with the further increase in strength after revealing his true body, as if returning to his original peak. Not only that, but the external spiritual energy now reached its ultimate peak. Although his internal spiritual energy was still peaked by 10,000 units, his physical power was now totally incomparable with his human form. When the magical beasts blocking his way clashed against him, they were directly reduced to pieces, and the horn on his forehead was especially unyielding.
Taking a deep breath, Long Haochen calmly stamped on the ground, raising a light fog surrounding all his body. It was precisely Storing Power.
It was not only him, but a similar fog of light also appeared under Han Yu and Wang Yuanyuan’s bodies.
To a close quarter vocation, be it a warrior or a knight, the ability Storing Power appeared perhaps of very little use, but in Long Haochen’s hands, it could produce countless battle strategies.
Sima Xian slightly stepped back, not storing any power, but the Energetic Ball of Light revolved around him at great speed. Lin Xin’s chant kept going on since back then, not stopping at all, and actually kept going on. From this, the level of difficulty of this spell could be clearly seen. His
forehead was already soaked in sweat. Having just broken through the sixth step, this spell was truly challenging for him to use.
While there were still no traces of Cai’er, Chen Ying’er’s incantation started, her two hand holding the crystall ball as the Creature Summoning Gate started to open.
The eight of them all had their specialities, but they were now all focusing on their strongest part, doing their utmost to resist the enemy’s attack.
Zhang Fangfang was also staring attentively. Although he was capable of using Storing Power too, he actually didn’t use that, but stood there calmly, staring at the magical beasts being frantically slaughtered in front of Ah’Bao. In a very special state, his body was rapidly covered in fluid, and in his left hand, his shield clearly gained a transparent appearance.
This was Brilliant Body, symbol of a knight of the seventh step. Although Zhang Fangfang didn’t reach yet the seventh step in strength, being at the peak of the sixth step, he could rely on his control over his spiritual energy to barely use this powerful knight ability.
Closer; Ah’Bao was drawing closer and closer. After returning to his original form, all the magical beasts present were now unable to stop his advance. Everyone knew about the massive pressure coming out from him, but no one hesitated, knowing that their group would end up defeated the instant he would manage to capture Ye Xiaolei.
Ah’Bao’s purplish black dragon eyes were full of an endless cold and rage. The pressure he bore was far surpassing Long Haochen’s. Behind him, both Yue Ye and Leng Xiao would definitely not give up. Having lost so many of their allies, if they didn’t bring Ye Xiaolei back, their reputation was bound to take an enormous blow, and their father would surely punish them severely.
Under these circumstances, Ah’Bao already didn’t have any other possible choice, and could only go all out, believing in his own strength. How could mere humans from Long Haochen’s group possibly stop him?
This was completely impossible. By now, no thoughts of revenge appeared in his head, his only target being Ye Xiaolei.
Finally, when his distance to the hilltop was close to five meters, the sound of his breathing could already be heard by Long Haochen. The instant he raised his head, it happened to come in contact with Long Haochen’s. This golden fog was something Ah’Bao knew clearly about, and he knew what these humans were doing. But even so, what was so terrible about that. After he already passed through so much hardships, how could he be lacking anything to pass this last resistance?
Bang-
The purplish black flames from the horn on Ah’Bao’s forehead spread widely to his whole body, enveloping it entirely in flames.
This was the signature skill of the Devil Dragon Clan, Defiance!
Relying on this ability, he could increase for a short time his fighting strength. Although the rules of the Illusory Paradise still suppressed him very greatly, at the time these purplish black flames spread, his body produced violent twists all around, actually temporarily shielding him from the regulations of the Illusory Paradise for a short time.
This time would of course not last for too long, but to him, this was enough. The terrible purplish black radiance that abruptly surrounded him around shook off all the magical beasts heading to him at once, and with another flap of his wings, he faced Long Haochen’s without any fear.
Long Haochen had been waiting very long for this. On his back, Yating’s voice actually sounded somewhat rough because of the pressure she put on her incantation. The golden light on Long Haochen’s body finally condensed to form his pair of spiritual wings, letting him appear literally as the Scion of Light.
Gripping the handle of Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light in his two hand and firmly concentrating his energy on his right foot, Long Haochen did a hacking motion towards Ah’Bao who was flying in his direction.
This blow was extremely profound, launched as light flickered all around Long Haochen’s body, his whole being entering a state close to that of a spiritual being.
At this instant, it looked totally devoid of threat and empty of power, but in the instant the attack was unleashed, all the surrounding light seemed to deepen, as if all the surrounding light essence was absorbed in his attack. At the time of this attack, it seemed that the only golden entity left was his body.
In the air, a faint golden radiance spread out from the sky, illuminating Long Haochen’s body, and on his forehead, nine purple pattern appeared visible, but became totally golden a split second later.
This attack of Long Haochen wasn’t only containing all his strength, but also the entirety of his comprehension.
Faced against such a massive pressure, Long Haochen entered an extraordinary state. This simple attack seemed to transcend the entirety of the limitations placed in the Illusory paradise.
Pam.
Blue Rain, Hibiscus of Light clashed against the horn of the imperial price of the Devil Dragons, Ah’Bao, seemingly bringing the air to a standstill, and all the surrounding attacks from the magical beasts and people seemed to stop right at that moment.