Xu Yi ignored Ji Buwang's safety, focusing her attention on the Soul Severing Bell.
Since the other party had handed over Ji Buwang, she should fulfill her promise.
Xu Yi took out a stone bead, the size of a thumb, from her storage ring and crushed it between two fingers.
A strong scent of blood mingled with flecks of golden light permeated the hall.
The golden palace trembled violently once more.
However, the emotion this time was entirely different from the previous one.
After floating in the air for a few breaths, the scent of blood, like a scent-following beast, pounced on the Soul Severing Bell without hesitation.
A thin veil of light red instantly enveloped the Soul Severing Bell.
"Screech!"
The exhilarating cry was almost piercing to the eardrums.
Even though Xu Yi and Ji Buwang couldn't understand the language of the demonic beasts, they could feel the excitement in their tone.
Ji Buwang exclaimed in surprise, "Is this the blood essence of a Demon King?"
Xu Yi nodded, a smile in her eyes, "The Monkey King gave it to me. It was originally intended to awaken the divine soul of the Golden-Winged Peng in the Soul Severing Bell, and it's perfect to use now."
Since the Monkey King wanted her to break the seal of the Soul Severing Bell, he naturally taught her how to do so.
Xu Yi had thought that if the artifact spirit could voluntarily expel the divine soul of the Golden-Winged Peng, she wouldn't need to use this drop of Demon King's blood.
One had to know that this drop of essence blood was even more precious than the piles of demonic beast corpses in her storage bag.
With the help of the essence blood, the divine soul of the Golden-Winged Peng, which was originally at a disadvantage, instantly reversed the trend and gained the upper hand.
Half an hour later, the Soul Severing Bell lost its luster and fell from the air.
A faint golden phantom of a Golden-Winged Peng flapped its wings, hovering above Xu Yi and Ji Buwang, displaying an arrogant and condescending demeanor in its gaze.
The golden palace had unknowingly returned to calm, as if it were welcoming the king's return with the utmost humility.
While appreciating the majestic posture of the Golden-Winged Peng, Xu Yi and Ji Buwang also waited for it to speak.
However, what Xu Yi did not expect was that after circling in the air, the Golden-Winged Peng suddenly shrank its body, finally landing steadily on Xu Yi's shoulder.
Xu Yi felt a weight on her shoulder, and a golden bird shadow appeared.
Xu Yi was somewhat flattered, "Demon King? What do you mean by this?"
The Golden-Winged Peng did not reply. It suddenly lowered its head and nudged Xu Yi's cheek with its fluffy head, acting affectionately, its previous domineering demeanor completely gone.
Xu Yi was stunned.
Ji Buwang was also speechless; both of them were astonished by the Golden-Winged Peng's peculiar actions.
"Demon King? Demon King?"
Xu Yi softly called out to the Golden-Winged Peng a few more times, but the Golden-Winged Peng's eyes showed only ignorance and dependence on her.
Xu Yi shook her head at Ji Buwang, stating that the Golden-Winged Peng's consciousness was unclear, as if it had returned to its nascent state, having just gained spiritual intelligence and knowing nothing of the outside world.
The reason the Golden-Winged Peng was so affectionate towards Xu Yi was likely because Xu Yi had helped it defeat the artifact spirit outside with her essence blood. It regarded Xu Yi as one of its own kind, or even a mother, hence its extreme dependence on her.
"Did the Monkey King tell you what to do in this situation?"
"I'm afraid the Monkey King didn't expect such a situation to occur either." Xu Yi gave a wry smile.
Originally, they had intended to let this divine soul help them find the Demon King's whereabouts, but now it seemed that plan was unworkable.
Xu Yi furrowed her brows. This trip to Shenzhou had been full of twists and turns. Every time Xu Yi felt she was about to complete her mission, various incidents would arise, making it impossible to guard against.
Had the enmity between the Demon King and the human race become a foregone conclusion?
"No, we still have a breakthrough."
Ji Buwang narrowed his eyes and looked at the golden throne above the hall.
Prompted by him, Xu Yi's eyes lit up, and she also cast her gaze in the same direction.
Jin Yuanbao, who was hiding behind the golden throne, trembled all over, suddenly feeling a premonition of something ominous.
Jin Yuanbao was no larger than a palm, round and smooth with soft edges. It had a pair of soybean-sized eyes and a narrow slit for a mouth in the center.
Without a word, it turned and tried to burrow into the palace wall. As its body was halfway into the wall, it heard a sinister female voice.
"Stop!"
Jin Yuanbao paused, then intended to feign deafness as before, but the next sentence completely froze it in place.
"The Demon King is still in my hands. Aren't you going to do anything about him?"
The voice was calm but filled with threat.
Jin Yuanbao stiffened in place for a moment, then finally had to pull itself out of the wall and move, step by step, from behind the golden throne to the front.
"I've already brought the person to you. Why are you going back on your word?"
Jin Yuanbao's ability to speak was enough to surprise Xu Yi and Ji Buwang.
Even more surprising was Jin Yuanbao's childish voice, sounding like a baby who hadn't yet been weaned.
The methods Xu Yi had prepared for Jin Yuanbao suddenly felt inappropriate.
"Who are you?"
Xu Yi subconsciously lowered her voice.
"I am the guard captain of the Demon King's palace! A confidant of His Majesty the Demon King!"
Jin Yuanbao's childish voice revealed an unconcealable pride.
"Guard captain?" Xu Yi raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean there are other guards in this Demon King's palace besides you?"
"Of course," Jin Yuanbao snorted lightly. "But besides His Majesty the Demon King, no one else can see them."
"Why?" Xu Yi pressed.
"Naturally because..." Jin Yuanbao paused midway, glaring warily at Xu Yi. "This is a demonic clan secret, and I cannot tell you."
To be honest, Xu Yi couldn't muster any anger looking at the short, plump little Jin Yuanbao.
If she hadn't been afraid of angering it, she would have wanted to pinch its small round head.
Ji Buwang spoke, "Was it you controlling the palace to chase us just now? How did you do it?"
"I wasn't chasing you. I sensed the Demon King's aura, so I wanted to lure you in. Who knew you flew faster than the wind birds? As for the second question, it's related to the Demon King, and I can't tell you."
Jin Yuanbao looked at the Golden-Winged Peng on Xu Yi's shoulder, its voice suddenly tinged with a sob.
It had thought that after nearly a thousand years, the Demon King had finally returned, but unexpectedly, what had come was a divine soul whose intelligence had not yet fully developed.
Jin Yuanbao experienced great emotional ups and downs in a short period, finding it difficult to calm its agitated heart.
"You saw what happened just now. Do you know where the Demon King can be found?"
Xu Yi and Ji Buwang looked at Jin Yuanbao; this was their last remaining clue.
"I don't know. If I knew, why would I be waiting here for the Demon King's return?"
Ji Buwang could actually see a look of disdain in the soybean-sized eyes, making him want to laugh and cry.
Jin Yuanbao seemed to have not spoken to anyone for a long time. Seeing that Ji Buwang did not reply, it continued, "It's very strange, really. Even if the Demon King only left behind a wisp of remnant soul, he should know everything in the world, but this... sigh, I don't know what's going on now either."
"You mean this remnant soul shouldn't look like this."
"Yes," Jin Yuanbao replied decisively.
Xu Yi nodded thoughtfully.