Yuan Zhu opened his mouth, about to speak, when he suddenly looked beyond the mountain forest and said, "Look, they're already here."
Qin Sang turned his head and saw several streaks of escape light appear outside the forest at some point, speeding toward them.
At a rough count, there were as many as six!
A chill instantly rose in Qin Sang's heart.
In the blink of an eye, the newcomers landed beside them.
When they revealed themselves, Qin Sang was shocked. Without exception, all of them were great demons transformed into human form, and their auras were all suppressed to the Core Formation stage.
Even the stupidest person would realize something fishy was going on here.
Counting Yuan Zhu, a full seven Transformation-stage great demons had entered the Hall of Seven Kills at the same time.
It was said that Nascent Soul stage cultivators entering the Hall of Seven Kills had to use another, more potent kind of jade talisman, which were limited in number. With so many great demons appearing out of nowhere, it was impossible for the Grand Shaman and Lingzhuzi, who controlled the grand formation, not to notice at all.
Qin Sang remained secretly on guard, scrutinizing these transformed demon beasts.
Their appearances were no different from ordinary humans, and though they carried demon qi, that was not uncommon in the Canglang Sea.
The six escape lights varied in speed. The first two descended to reveal a man and a woman, both exceptionally handsome and beautiful.
The woman possessed a noble bearing and a striking, pretty countenance. She wore a phoenix crown upon her head, and the patterns on her garments resembled phoenix plumage, vividly lifelike and exquisitely gorgeous.
The man dressed far more plainly, wearing a dark black robe with a sword hanging from his waist, his expression cold and aloof.
Seeing the two, Yuan Zhu stepped forward at once and pointed to Qin Sang, taking the initiative to introduce him. "This is Fellow Daoist Mingyue of the Biju clan."
"Fellow Daoist Mingyue, this is Fellow Daoist Gu Heng of the Flood Dragon royal clan. And this is Fairy Caiyi, descendant of the Black Phoenix..."
Yuan Zhu introduced them to Qin Sang.
By now, Qin Sang had gradually regained his composure, exchanging greetings with them one by one as if nothing were amiss. Hearing their origins, he couldn't help feeling secretly astonished.
Except for Yuan Zhu and Gu Heng, the others all hailed from different demon clans.
The demeanor and etiquette of these transformed demon beasts were no different from those of humans.
The demons were clearly led by Gu Heng. He waved a hand to cut off Yuan Zhu, glanced at Qin Sang, and asked with a frown, "I don't believe I've seen Fellow Daoist Mingyue before?"
Yuan Zhu smiled slightly and said, "There are quite a few fellow daoists sent into the Demon Sea by our various clans, each bearing their own weighty responsibilities, so it's only normal you haven't met. Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Gu—we can all sense Fellow Daoist Mingyue's Xuanjia Talisman, and the demon qi on him is more than enough to prove his identity..."
The demons nodded. Demon qi this pure truly could not be faked.
Fairy Caiyi asked rather curiously, "Since Fellow Daoist Mingyue successfully sneaked in, why did you arrive so late?"
Qin Sang's thoughts turned quickly, and he concocted an excuse. "I inadvertently blundered into an ancient restriction, and it took quite some effort before I fortunately managed to extricate myself."
"The Hall of Seven Kills is filled with ancient restrictions everywhere, human restrictions that we aren't familiar with at that, so running into mishaps is only normal. Fortunately, we still have plenty of time."
Yuan Zhu stepped in to smooth things over. "As for the other fellow daoists, there's likely little hope left. After all, obtaining a jade talisman is no easy feat. Furthermore, we are in cultivator territory, where danger can strike at any moment. With Fellow Daoist Mingyue here, that makes eight of us—enough to accomplish the mission given to us by the Flood Dragon King. There is no need to wait any longer. Fellow Daoist Gu Heng, what exactly is the mission? It should be time to explain it to us, right? I feel uncomfortable all over right now; I don't want to stay in cultivator territory a single day longer. I just want to finish the task quickly and go back to unravel the secret art and restore my true body."
A burly man behind him chimed in with a muffled, booming voice, "Fellow Daoist Yuan is right! Damn it, when I was in the Demon Sea leading my boys, I killed whatever cultivators I came across however I pleased! Ever since turning into this wretched shape, I've had to grovel and swallow my anger all day long, putting up with this miserable crap!"
...
The demons empathized, speaking up one after another to grumble.
Gu Heng gave a wry smile.
"Is Gu any different? Fortunately, once this mission is completed, we will be free. The Great Kings made their promise long ago: they will not let us endure this suffering in vain. As soon as we return, they will restore our true bodies and personally assist those who made great contributions in transforming into human form.
"The mission is actually very simple.
"After you returned to the clans last time, the reports you submitted were carefully vetted by the Great Kings, who selected three locations. They have ordered us to set up a spiritual formation in one of them.
"To be safe, Fairy Caiyi and I each carry a full set of the materials required to lay out the formation. Now that both of us have made it inside, there is naturally no need to worry about failing."
Hearing Gu Heng's explanation, the demons exchanged glances. One of them asked, "What kind of spiritual formation is it? I heard that humanity's rise had much to do with the Hall of Seven Kills. Could the esteemed Flood Dragon King intend to destroy this sacred human ground?"
"We don't know the formation's purpose either. It is a profound ancient formation; we were only taught how to set it up. However, the Hall of Seven Kills contains countless immortal restrictions. Could a mere spiritual formation—and one set up in the Outer Hall at that—possibly destroy this place?" Fairy Caiyi said in a hesitant tone.
"Why bother about what the formation is for? Our strength is humble; we have no qualifications to partake in the demon kings' schemes. We need only follow orders," Yuan Zhu said impatiently. "Fellow Daoist Gu, where was the formation site chosen?"
Gu Heng cast a glance toward Flower Immortal Lake not far away. "The Flood Dragon King required us to set up the formation in a concealed spot with ancient restrictions capable of blocking the fluctuations generated during setup. There were several other requirements as well, and in the end, only three locations barely qualified. There was a reason for having everyone rendezvous here: one of those places is inside Flower Immortal Lake."
"Flower Immortal Lake?"
The demons turned their gazes toward that expanse of toxic land, their expressions varying.
Yuan Zhu suddenly said to Qin Sang, "Fellow Daoist Mingyue, this wasn't reported by you, was it? You hail from the Biju clan, so you must be able to come and go freely in Flower Immortal Lake."
Qin Sang's heart tightened.
Having heard this much, he had already pieced together the general picture.
These demon beasts were not Transformation-stage great demons at all! Instead, they had used some unknown secret art to transform into human shapes, exploiting a loophole in the fiend demon pills to infiltrate the Canglang Sea and plot against the Hall of Seven Kills.
He felt secretly annoyed with himself; he had been scaring himself earlier and missed a golden opportunity.
The aquiline-nosed man who had perished under the Dongming Cold Flame fire bead was very likely a biju in true form. He had also been a spy dispatched into the Canglang Sea, which explained why his physical body had been exceptionally strong, why he could spit poisonous mist, and why he had carried no magic treasures—only items like the Xuanjia Talisman, bone flute, and star conch.
Yet what Qin Sang couldn't understand was:
The biju had clearly died at his hands, so why were these demons completely oblivious?
How could he have known that to avoid trouble, the Biju Demon King had secretly concealed the biju's death, reporting fabricated claims to the Flood Dragon King based on baseless rumors previously caught from human cultivators?
Even after realizing these demon beasts were not Transformation-stage great demons, Qin Sang still did not dare act rashly.
The weakest among Yuan Zhu and the other demons was at the late Demon Core stage.
What Qin Sang feared even more was that the escape techniques Gu Heng and Fairy Caiyi had just displayed were not inferior to his own in the slightest.
Chapter 961