A terrifying aura then spread outwards, stirring the black fog into a tempestuous churn, accompanied by a nauseating stench of decay that was almost enough to make one vomit their last meal.
Li Yang Chuanqi and the others noticed the anomaly and quickly ordered a retreat.
As Zheng Dong retreated, he stared at the arm emerging from the ground. The next moment, another hand stretched out, and then, a demonic zombie exceeding one hundred meters in height crawled out from beneath the earth.
This damned creature was actually a Overlord-level demon!
Demons came in many forms, broadly categorized into mixed-blood, pure-blood, and true-blood based on their lineage.
As for this demonic zombie, it was merely a mixed-blood demon.
However, its growth level was Overlord, making it a formidable opponent, not just for Zheng Dong, but perhaps even for Li Yang Chuanqi.
Everyone was stunned.
Zheng Dong reacted the fastest, grabbing Xia Mengqiu by his side and fleeing.
In such a situation, slowness meant death.
The demonic zombie, having just emerged from underground, seemed unaccustomed to its surroundings and did not immediately attack.
However, its appearance caused a stir among the archaeological teams of all nations.
After all, they were not very far apart.
Li Yang Chuanqi's expression turned grim. He hadn't expected the mission to be so dangerous and his first thought was that the Star Leaf Nation had set them up.
The leaders of several other countries shared this sentiment.
It was no wonder the Star Leaf Nation's own archaeological team hadn't entered, claiming they had suffered too many losses and weren't ready for further exploration.
This was clearly an attempt to use other countries' archaeological teams as scouts.
Li Yang Chuanqi quickly regained his composure.
He decided to stay and buy time, to see if he could deal with this Overlord-level demonic zombie.
If a fight broke out, it would be difficult to protect the high-level beast tamers within the team.
Therefore, he instructed Professor Guo Lan to lead everyone away, as far as possible.
Then, Li Yang Chuanqi turned to the legendary leaders of the other countries and said,
"Gentlemen, we must act together. Otherwise, none of us will escape."
Six archaeological teams from different countries had entered this time, each with a legendary beast tamer.
With six legends acting together, there was still hope of defeating the Overlord-level demonic zombie.
The legends weighed the current situation and nodded, gathering around Li Yang Chuanqi.
Li Yang Chuanqi was also very powerful, possessing seven Emperor-level pet beasts. With a few more years, he might have become a Titled Legend.
However, in the current situation, it was not a time to show off.
If he could leverage external forces, Li Yang Chuanqi would naturally not reveal all his trump cards.
While Li Yang Chuanqi and the other legends were dealing with the demonic zombie, Professor Guo Lan led Zheng Dong and the others deeper into the black fog.
Fortunately, the visibility remained around fifty meters and did not increase.
Professor Guo Lan glanced back at Li Yang Chuanqi, hoping he was alright and would soon join them.
However, before they had gone far, the black fog churned in the distance, and numerous King-level demons began to surround them.
There were about twenty or so of them.
Simultaneously, the archaeological teams of other countries faced similar situations.
Faced with this, they had no choice but to fight together.
Professor Guo Lan and three other professors also summoned their King-level pet beasts, totaling seven.
Facing over twenty King-level demons, they were struggling.
Fortunately, none of the participants in this archaeological expedition were novices; they had all experienced numerous real battles and summoned their strongest pet beasts.
However, most of them were General-level pet beasts.
Even the Master-level Lei Tianqi and Ye Xue'er summoned General-level pet beasts.
Of course, both of them held back, retaining their King-level pet beasts contracted through cross-level summoning.
After all, they had only encountered one King-level demon attack and had no intention of helping others.
Zheng Dong also encountered a demon.
Although it was a mixed-blood demon that resembled a bat, its growth level was King-level. Its wingspan exceeded ten meters, and it unleashed the ultimate skill, Death Sonar, which was also terrifying.
Death Sonar inflicted significant damage to the spirit and soul, rendering earplugs useless.
Circles of tangible yet formless black sound waves continuously spread outwards.
Not only Zheng Dong but also Xia Mengqiu and others beside him were attacked.
They immediately felt as if they were being gnawed by countless insects.
This pain was more unbearable than internal injuries; it was a direct trauma to the spirit and soul.
Facing the attack, Zheng Dong didn't need to act. Little Purple and Youyou joined forces to counterattack.
Little Purple used Starry Sky Black Hole, while Youyou unleashed Samsara Karma Fire.
Although Starry Sky Black Hole couldn't suck the demon in, it made it difficult for the demon to escape. Facing Samsara Karma Fire, the demon could only desperately resist.
Samsara Karma Fire, however, had a significant restraining effect on demons, and this mixed-blood demon could not extinguish it at all.
Forced to do so, the mixed-blood demon had to call for help from other demons around it.
To quickly deal with this mixed-blood demon, Zheng Dong extended his left hand, and a vine shot out, entangling the mixed-blood demon, and then unleashed Purifying Flame.
Purifying Flame had an even stronger restraining effect on demons than Samsara Karma Fire.
The purifying flame, like white mist, touched the demon and ignited like hot oil, turning from mist into rolling waves of fire.
This mixed-blood demon had almost no ability to resist and was burned to death by the Purifying Flame.
In the end, nothing remained; it was completely purified.
Of course, it was Ling'er who released the Purifying Flame.
Without the quasi-divine skill Annihilation Purification imprinted, Zheng Dong could not release the Purifying Flame.
Seeing Zheng Dong quickly deal with a King-level demon, Xia Mengqiu's eyes widened. Every time she saw Zheng Dong, his strength seemed to increase by leaps and bounds.
She really wanted to ask Zheng Dong how he cultivated.
But now was not the time for idle chatter.
Two more mixed-blood demons gathered. One resembled a hellhound but exuded the smell of rotting corpses, while the other resembled a parrot but was much larger and could not fly.
Mixed-blood demons were actually mutated by demonic pollution and were controlled by demons.
This made Zheng Dong suspect that a pure-blood demon might be hidden here.
Seeing the two King-level mixed-blood demons approaching, Zheng Dong remained unfazed.
Little Purple and Youyou each conjured numerous clones, using them to block one demon, while their main bodies cooperated with Zheng Dong to deal with the other.
Before long, both mixed-blood demons were completely purified by Purifying Flame, leaving no trace behind.
Subsequently, Zheng Dong and Xia Mengqiu helped Professor Guo Lan eliminate several King-level mixed-blood demons.
Thus, the situation began to improve.
After a fierce battle, the remaining mixed-blood demons were also eliminated.
The casualties were not significant, with the worst being a high-level beast tamer who lost three pet beasts.
But before everyone could rejoice, they felt a violent spatial fluctuation.
Immediately, everyone vanished from their original positions and was teleported into a massive city.
Zheng Dong appeared on a wide street, alone, with collapsed buildings all around him.
The street was very wide and did not seem to be built by humans, as each jade slab paving the ground was as flawless and pure white as mutton-fat jade, worth a fortune.
Even the most extravagant imperial city in the Yanhuang era would not dare to pave like this.
After all, such a large amount of jade could not be found.
This made Zheng Dong realize that he had likely entered a divine city.
He would have to explore slowly to determine what kind of divine being had left behind this divine city.
In such a place, he should be able to find many resources.
Even if he found nothing, he could still make a fortune by prying off the jade stones beneath his feet.
However, Zheng Dong was not in the mood for such things.
He had suddenly been separated from Xia Mengqiu and the others and teleported here.
This indicated that the relic space was controlled by someone.
The controller had not revealed themselves but had separated everyone, certainly with ill intentions.
As Zheng Dong analyzed, a demon appeared before him.
It was a General-level pure-blood demon.
Pure-blood demons were generally humanoid supernatural beings with a pair of bat-like wings on their backs, marked with strange red and black patterns.
The one Zheng Dong encountered had a gray-white horn with a spiral pattern on its head, an ugly face, and skin on its face that resembled a monkey's backside.
From this, it could be deduced that this demon was male, and a lower-tier pure-blood demon.
This was because higher-tier pure-blood demons had black and red horns.
Upon seeing Zheng Dong, the demon became excited.
It hadn't eaten fresh flesh, whether human or from other supernatural beings, in a long time.
It felt like it was losing its mind, with saliva dripping down.
If it hadn't seen Youyou on Zheng Dong's shoulder, it would have pounced on Zheng Dong and taken a bite.
"Human, what do you want? I can help you!" the pure-blood demon tempted.
This surprised Zheng Dong.
Indeed, all pure-blood demons were cunning.
Unlike mixed-blood demons, which lacked brains.
As long as their strength surpassed yours, they would attack directly.
If their strength was comparable, they would try to lure you into a trap.
This also served as a reminder for Zheng Dong.
This divine city was vast, and to find an exit, he needed a guide.
Moreover, although this divine city was dilapidated and looked worse than an ordinary human city, the hidden threats within were likely enough to kill even a legendary beast tamer if they were not careful.
Therefore, Zheng Dong immediately ordered Little Purple and Youyou to attack and deal with this pure-blood demon first.
Little Purple once again used Starry Sky Black Hole. Even a General-level pure-blood demon could not escape the gravitational pull of the starry sky black hole.
Of course, it was difficult for Little Purple to suck it into the black hole and kill it instantly.
Then, Youyou also unleashed Samsara Karma Fire.
Upon seeing Samsara Karma Fire, the pure-blood demon quickly pleaded for mercy.
"No, no, no, we can discuss anything. I'll tell you whatever you want to know!"
The pure-blood demon could directly communicate with Zheng Dong using its mental power.
"However, I don't think you're very trustworthy, and you demons are symbols of cunning. It's better to kill you!" Zheng Dong said with a smile.
"No, no, no, I'm not. I'm different from other demons. I'm kind, and I'll do anything for you."
Knowing it couldn't escape, this pure-blood demon abandoned its pride as a pure-blood demon.
Of course, for demons, anything could be done to survive; pride was worthless.
Zheng Dong had no intention of letting it go. The Samsara Karma Fire released by Youyou could burn it to death at any moment.
And the Starry Sky Black Hole used by Little Purple also limited its escape.
"I won't kill you, but you tell me, what is this place? Who is in charge?"
Hearing Zheng Dong's question, the pure-blood demon's mind began to race.
You don't even know what this place is, so don't blame me for deceiving you.
Unfortunately, as soon as it had this thought, it was subjected to the burning of Samsara Karma Fire.
Under Zheng Dong's command, Youyou released a large amount of Samsara Karma Fire, engulfing the pure-blood demon in a sea of flames, causing it to cry out in agony.
"Answer my question, no hesitation, not even for a second. Speak quickly!" Zheng Dong said to the pure-blood demon with a smile.
This smile made the pure-blood demon question its existence.
Who was the real demon?
Why did it feel like Zheng Dong was more like a demon?
"This place, I don't know what it is either. I only know it should be an abandoned divine city," the pure-blood demon said hurriedly.
However, Zheng Dong ignored it and had Youyou increase the intensity.
"I... I... I really don't know..."
From its appearance, it seemed the pure-blood demon genuinely didn't know, but Zheng Dong wasn't entirely convinced and continued to ask:
"Who is in charge here?"
"One-Eyed Demon."
"What level?"
"Emperor-level!"
Zheng Dong frowned and had Youyou increase the intensity of the Samsara Karma Fire.
Given that they had encountered Overlord-level demonic zombies before, it was unlikely that only an Emperor-level demon would be in charge here.
Immediately, the pure-blood demon let out a more tragic cry and quickly corrected itself,
"Damn it, I misremembered. Spare me! It's not the One-Eyed Demon, it's the Night Demon General!"
Night Demon General!?
Zheng Dong still felt something was amiss and continued to have Youyou increase the intensity.
This time, the pure-blood demon was on its last legs, its voice becoming weak.
"I... I dare not lie to you again... It's Lady Demoness..."
Seeing this, Zheng Dong had Youyou reduce the intensity of the Samsara Karma Fire.
"Is she also pure-blood?"
The pure-blood demon quickly shook its head. Just as it was about to say something, a terrifying beam of black lightning directly engulfed it.
When the black lightning disappeared, only a large pit remained in its place. The pure-blood demon had not even left a speck of ash.
This also surprised Zheng Dong.
What was that lightning just now? It was so terrifying!
Looking at the pit on the ground and then at the sky, Zheng Dong realized that the sky was always covered by black fog.
However, he could sense that lightning was about to fall from behind the black fog.
Without hesitation, Zheng Dong, along with Little Purple and Youyou, used spatial teleportation to leave the area.
With a rumble, another beam of lightning struck the spot where Zheng Dong had been, creating a large pit.
Immediately after, Zheng Dong heard more thunder, rumbling incessantly, accompanied by beams of massive lightning falling like a cascade.
The lightning was not targeting anyone specifically; anyone struck by it could only blame their own misfortune.
Throughout the entire relic space, black lightning continuously fell.
Even many demons were forced to dodge in panic.
Zheng Dong also recalled that this lightning might be the Original Sin Lightning that Lei Tianqi and Ye Xue'er were looking for.
However, if this was indeed Original Sin Lightning, it was unlikely they would be able to obtain it.