My hesitation gone, I suddenly reached out and snatched at the red soul stone.
Because the soul stone was shining with red light, the moment my hand touched it, it was covered by that dazzling crimson glow.
This action was noticed by many around me, and they subconsciously looked up.
They then looked towards the soul gem on the corpse-ghost's heavenly fetus and saw me stealing the gem.
All of this was within my expectations.
Now, I couldn't afford to care about anything else; I just wanted to get the soul stone quickly.
As I grasped the soul stone, I felt as if I were holding a block of extreme ice.
The chilling temperature made my entire hand feel frozen.
Not only that, the instant I covered the soul stone.
The corpse-ghost's heavenly fetus seemed to be stimulated.
It suddenly trembled.
Its three tentacles in front swung back.
They thrust towards me, the stone thief.
Each tentacle opened a mouth full of slime, intending to swallow me whole.
They also let out strange, low growls of "gu gu gu."
"Not good, someone's up there!"
"Who is it? Hurry down..."
"He's stealing the gem."
"..."
Shouts erupted from below.
Yun Xia Gu and Xia Qiu Xi, hiding not far away, were also extremely anxious, constantly monitoring my situation.
Ready to support me at any moment.
I gripped the soul stone and yanked it outward.
I discovered that the thing was firmly embedded in the flesh of the corpse-ghost's heavenly fetus.
Prying it out was indeed quite a struggle.
Moreover, three fleshy tentacles were already shooting towards me from behind.
Over a dozen demonic cultivators from the sides were rushing towards the altar.
They were shouting loudly.
In my desperation, I let out a low roar:
"Come out for me!"
With that, I exerted more force with my left hand, ignoring the icy chill.
My fingers dug into the flesh of the corpse-ghost's heavenly fetus.
The foul-smelling green juice spurted out with a "zi zi zi" sound.
The soul stone, the size of a child's fist, was directly ripped from the flesh of the corpse-ghost's heavenly fetus by me.
In an instant, the corpse-ghost's heavenly fetus began to shake even more violently.
Green juice splattered outwards like a fountain.
The corpse-ghost's heavenly fetus seemed to be vomiting, spewing black ichor from its top.
The walking corpses and the innocent souls that had been swallowed into its body were spat out one by one, along with the black ichor.
I only glanced at them and then stopped paying attention.
Excitedly, I looked at the soul stone in my hand:
"Got it!"
But amidst the joy, the three fleshy tentacles behind me were closing in.
Sensing danger, I was about to dodge.
However, three steel needles shot from afar.
"Swish swish swish," they struck precisely on those three tentacles.
The three tentacles suddenly swayed, shifting slightly.
I seized the opportunity and leaped down fiercely.
All three tentacles missed their mark, failing to hit me.
My heart was filled with dread; it was a close call.
It must have been Yun Xia Gu and the others, providing support from the shadows...
But I knew the real danger was just beginning.
I had been discovered, exposed.
I had to leave this place immediately.
The surrounding demonic cultivator guards had already closed in.
"Bold outlaw, how dare you steal our sect's supreme treasure!"
"You court death!"
"Kill him!"
"..."
The dozen or so demonic cultivators around me growled, raising their weapons and closing in.
After I removed the soul stone, its red light receded.
Now, apart from its coldness, it was just a red stone.
I retreated a few steps, quickly pulled out a prepared talisman, and wrapped the stone.
I placed it in my pocket and secured it.
Looking at the dozen or so demonic cultivators charging forward, my expression turned grim.
I quickly formed a sword finger with my left hand and immediately let out a low shout:
"Heaven and Earth, the Myriad Ways, borrow the powers of the universe,敕!"
Instantly, from the sword bag on my back, two peach wood swords shot out with a "swoosh swoosh," directly piercing two demonic cultivators.
Those two demonic cultivators looked stunned. One reacted swiftly and dodged immediately.
The other, unable to evade in time, was wounded in his left shoulder.
Beside me, two other demonic cultivators attacked from the left and right.
Their bodies surged with demonic energy, their long sabers and swords hacking towards me.
At the same time, I drew my Eight-Star Wood Sword.
I blocked with a backhand parry.
With two "bang bang" sounds, both attacks were blocked by me.
Simultaneously, I pressed forward, stabbing one and kicking another down.
But I was still surrounded.
Just as I was contemplating which direction to break through, two sharp cries rang out from behind the demonic cultivators.
"Ha!"
"Ha!"
Followed by a few screams.
"Ahhh..."
I looked up to see Yun Xia Gu and Xia Qiu Xi, who were here to support me.
Because both of them were disguised as demonic cultivators, their appearance did not arouse suspicion.
However, as they got closer, several demonic cultivators behind them were caught off guard, spilling blood and falling dead.
They had forcefully carved a bloody path.
"This way!"
"Hurry!"
Both of them called out.
I didn't hesitate and charged in their direction.
I retrieved my other two peach wood swords.
I stored the Eight-Star Wood Sword, the weakest in attack, into the sword bag.
In one hand, the Six-Star Gold Sword, its golden elemental demonic energy surging with sharp, fierce might.
In the other, the Seven-Star Fire Sword, its fire elemental demonic energy intimidating and searing hot.
The demonic cultivators on both sides naturally wouldn't let me leave.
They had already controlled the guarding zombies and protected the malevolent spirits.
With "whosh whosh whosh" sounds, they lunged towards me.
But at this moment, I had only one thought: to fight my way out.
Seeing the evil spirits charging, I swung both swords.
With two "boom boom" strikes, they would either be killed or retreat...
Fortunately, there were no particularly high-level demonic cultivators. With the support of Yun Xia Gu and Xia Qiu Xi,
I quickly fought my way out of the altar and rendezvoused with them.
However, this did not mean I was safe.
Because the alarm horn had already sounded within the demon palace city.
The "buzz buzz buzz" sound echoed through the demon palace's forests.
The entire demon palace was once again on high alert.
Escaping had become extremely difficult...