The carapace-backed demon possessed the bloodline of the Nine-Lives Black Tortoise.
Upon the black carapace on his back, the phantom silhouette of a divine tortoise manifested. Black mist swirled around his body like streams of dark water, flowing ceaselessly about him.
This was one of the carapace-backed demon's grand divine abilities. What seemed like frail currents of water were extraordinarily resilient in truth, blending the power of his tortoise shell to rival an ordinary defensive magic treasure.
Among all the demon kings present, even the Flood Dragon King, who was in the late Transformation stage, was not necessarily much stronger than the carapace-backed demon when it came to defense.
Yet in a place like this, the carapace-backed demon dared not show the slightest carelessness. He unleashed his grand divine ability right away, treading cautiously among the spatial rifts.
The mountain was lofty, but the surrounding air was thick with spatial rifts and miasma-like mist, preventing their vision from reaching very far.
As far as the eye could see, a vast marsh stretched beneath the mountain. Shrubbery even grew within it, though even the leaves were pitch-black.
Looking down, the marsh was eerily calm, devoid of any trace of ferocious beasts, which only made it feel all the more sinister and oppressive.
Compared to the marsh, the mountain felt slightly better.
The entire mountain was bare and stony, affording a broad view.
Upon it stood a collapsed ancient palace, reduced to broken walls, crumbled ruins, and rubble strewn everywhere. Aside from that, there were two other spots where strange lights surged, indicating the presence of ancient restrictions.
One was halfway down the mountain, right in the direction they were taking to descend, and the surrounding space appeared relatively stable.
The carapace-backed demon deliberately drew closer to the ancient restriction.
The Flood Dragon King frowned slightly, but did not stop him.
To avoid the spatial rifts, they had no choice but to take circuitous paths, advancing in fits and starts. It took them a long time just to arrive near the ancient restriction.
Right at that moment, the carapace-backed demon in the lead suddenly changed expression and retreated in panic.
"Fall back!"
The carapace-backed demon shouted an urgent warning.
Though the demon kings did not know what had happened, they immediately retreated along their original path without hesitation.
"Wrapped within that strange light is a spatial rift. It seems the rift tore into the restriction, and the two have intertwined, locking in a clash. If I had noticed it even a moment later, I might have disrupted the balance..."
The carapace-backed demon's face was pale.
A chill ran through the demon kings upon hearing this. If the restriction had erupted and triggered spatial tremors, it would have been catastrophic.
"There must be a reason the humans never dared explore further inward. We had best not act rashly. You have worked hard, Brother Hei. This king has recovered; let me take the lead for the next leg."
The Flood Dragon King stepped to the front.
With that lesson learned, the Flood Dragon King deliberately steered clear when they were about to pass the ruined palace. In the end, the demon kings all reached the foot of the mountain unscathed. Although it had consumed a great deal of time, the descent had gone smoothly enough.
At the foot of the mountain lay a stone road that was clearly artificially constructed, but it had been submerged by the swamp, leaving only a short stretch exposed.
The marsh was dead silent, reeking with the stench of rot.
The demon kings observed with caution. Finding no unusual signs, they held a brief discussion and took turns scouting ahead according to their original plan.
...
*Boom!*
"Not good!"
"Brother Lu, watch out! It's a top-tier ferocious beast!"
By this point, the demon kings had already crossed more than half the marsh without major incident. Only once had they encountered drifting spatial rifts by accident, which had been a close shave.
Unexpectedly, just when they began to think the marsh was relatively safe, disaster struck without warning.
The one scouting ahead was a tall, lean demon king whose true form was a deer demon. Clearing a path through the shrubs, he had just skimmed across a patch of mire when the mud pit below abruptly exploded.
Mud splashed everywhere, accompanied by an overwhelming stench.
A slender, elongated figure shot out from the mire, swift as lightning. Its gaping, bloody maw was lined with fangs as it lunged viciously toward the Deer Demon King—it was actually a ferocious beast shaped like a giant python.
Before the beast erupted into attack, none of them had sensed the slightest anomaly.
Under ambush, the Deer Demon King remained composed. Nine-colored brilliance flashed across him, and he instantly surged forward several zhang, brushing right past the beast's gaping maw.
The ferocious beast let out a strange roar. Its slender body abruptly coiled and whipped around, lunging once more.
Now prepared, the Deer Demon King handled it with greater ease, shifting sideways to dodge.
Reinforcements from the other demon kings arrived as well.
A phoenix silhouette, an azure spear, a tortoise shell...
Multiple attacks struck in unison, methodical and precise.
The beast was immobilized by the phoenix silhouette, and the tortoise shell slammed heavily into its head immediately after.
Maddened with pain, the beast was then struck by the azure dragon spear, which drove straight into its gaping mouth. Fangs shattered, and blood spewed forth as the spear ran completely through the beast, leaving it on the verge of death.
Unexpectedly, the Deer Demon King let out a sudden gasp of alarm.
The mire convulsed as mud splattered wildly in all directions. In an instant, three identical ferocious beasts soared into the air like three colossal pillars, perfectly encircling the Deer Demon King within their midst.
"Three more were hiding! All apex ferocious beasts!"
The demon kings were appalled.
To think so many top-tier ferocious beasts were hidden in a single place!
Ignoring their dying companion, all three beasts fixated on the Deer Demon King. Spewing breath like clouds of blood from their maws, they pounced in unison.
Fortunately, the Deer Demon King was no ordinary figure. Never letting his guard down, he promptly summoned a treasure refined from his own antlers, cleaving through the blood clouds and darting toward an opening he had spotted.
*Whoosh!*
The Deer Demon King broke out successfully.
Curiously, the three beasts paused for some reason, abandoning the chase.
Right at that moment, a horrifying scene unfolded.
A silver glint barely visible to the naked eye flashed across the Deer Demon King. A diagonal fissure appeared across his head, splitting his entire body in two, yet the two halves of his corpse continued flying forward from the momentum.
The Deer Demon King's eyes were still rolling, but soon lost their light, and he tumbled into the mire, completely lifeless.
"A spatial rift!"
The Flood Dragon King cried out in horror.
A shiver ran down the spines of all the demon kings. The Deer Demon King's strength ranked around the middle among them, yet he had lost his life so easily.
Before they had even found the True Dragon's remains, they had already lost a member of their group.
"Brother Lu!"
The carapace-backed demon's eyes flared with rage and grief.
These beasts were not entirely consumed by ferocity; their intelligence was remarkably high. Knowing an invisible spatial rift lay here, they had set a trap to drive their prey straight into it.
In the heat of the moment, surrounded by seemingly open space, the Deer Demon King had never imagined a spatial rift lurked there, leaving him utterly defenseless.
*Gurgle, gurgle...*
The mud bubbled as the scent of blood filled the air, the stark white brains and crimson blood striking the eye with chilling vividness.
"Don't be rash!"
The Flood Dragon King held back the enraged carapace-backed demon. Sweeping his gaze around, he said in a solemn voice, "Something is wrong. Here..."
Before he could finish, commotion erupted deep within the miasma.
Several beast roars echoed one after another from the surroundings, drawn by the battle and the smell of blood. An exceptionally powerful aura was rushing toward them from behind, formidable enough that even the Flood Dragon King found it troublesome.
"Not good! Move!"
The demon kings' expressions changed drastically. How could they dare linger any longer?
Retreating along their original path would take even longer, leaving them no choice but to press forward.
To think that a mere swamp harbored so many top-tier ferocious beasts!
Only now did they truly understand how dangerous the Inner Hall was. No wonder the humans had occupied the Hall of Seven Kills for so many years yet had only explored such a tiny fraction of it.
Exerting their respective techniques, the demon kings slew several apex ferocious beasts one after another and finally broke out of the marsh before the beasts could encircle them. Glancing at one another in their disheveled states, they could not help but exchange wry smiles.
Chapter 1051