"Demon King? You?"
Chen Xiao stared at Xiao Hei in disbelief, his mind a complete blank.
"What about me? Father, do you perhaps think I don't have the qualifications?"
Xiao Hei pouted, expressing his dissatisfaction with Chen Xiao's questioning tone.
Chen Xiao thought to himself, 'Does that even need to be said? With your qualifications, how could you possibly be a Demon King?'
However, it was best not to voice such thoughts, as it would be too discouraging for the child's enthusiasm.
"No, I just feel... the Demon Venerable seems to value you quite a bit."
Chen Xiao finally came up with this perfunctory explanation.
Xiao Hei agreed wholeheartedly, nodding and stating with utmost seriousness, "If it weren't for the difference in species, I'd suspect he was my biological father."
"..."
Chen Xiao was speechless and offered no comment.
The two got into the car, and Xiao Hei took Chen Xiao to the Qingqiu Secret Realm.
On the way, Chen Xiao asked, "By the way, how has your mother been recently? Why didn't she come to pick me up with you?"
Chen Xiao had expected Li Qin to accompany Xiao Hei in picking him up, but he hadn't anticipated that only Xiao Hei would arrive.
Last time, he had left in too much of a hurry, and Chen Xiao hadn't had a chance to catch up with this old friend.
"My mother is no longer in the Qingqiu Secret Realm."
Xiao Hei said with a resentful expression, "When she heard from my adoptive father that you were coming to the Qingqiu Secret Realm, she left decisively."
Chen Xiao was once again speechless, thinking to himself, 'I haven't done anything to wrong her, so why is she acting like we're sworn enemies?'
Xiao Hei also shook his head and sighed, "Heh, women, truly incomprehensible and unfathomable."
Chen Xiao was slightly taken aback. Where did this sense of world-weariness come from?
The scenery of the Southern Border was beautiful and pleasant, especially after leaving the city. The trees were lush and verdant, the ecological environment was excellent, and the air was even sweeter, far surpassing the north.
There were many mountains and trees here, with the Ten Thousand Great Mountains stretching out endlessly.
The vegetation coverage was vast, and the pristine ecological environment had not been significantly damaged by society's entry into the industrial age.
Xiao Hei drove the car, heading deep into the mountains. After more than three hours, the car arrived at a secluded canyon.
There were no more roads here, and ahead was a stone wall covered in moss and vines.
Xiao Hei showed no intention of stopping, stepping on the accelerator and driving directly towards the stone wall.
Chen Xiao noticed that on the moss-covered stone wall with climbing vines, an ancient formation diagram suddenly lit up, emitting a bluish-green ethereal glow.
'Does this formation diagram have facial recognition? It's quite advanced!'
'However, Xiao Hei probably can't drive the car directly through...'
Chen Xiao smiled slyly. As expected, things unfolded as he had anticipated.
When the car was about two meters away from the stone wall, the formation diagram on the stone wall suddenly dimmed and lost its light, until it completely disappeared.
Xiao Hei's heart tightened, and he cursed inwardly, quickly applying the brakes.
But it was too late; the car crashed headlong into the stone wall.
*Bang—*
The imagined collision of the car with the stone wall did not occur.
This was because, at the critical moment, a tall and stout figure forcefully blocked the car's path, stopping the advancing vehicle with a single hand.
"White Demon King? Why him? What is he doing?"
Xiao Hei was utterly bewildered, as the stout man blocking the car was none other than Bai Guangda, one of the Four Great Demon Kings.
"Let's go down and meet them."
Chen Xiao got out of the car directly.
Xiao Hei, however, looked confused. What did he mean by 'meet them'? Wasn't it just Bai Guangda?
"Long time no see, White Demon King!"
Chen Xiao stared at Bai Guangda, who had already jumped onto the car roof, with a playful and teasing expression.
"Hmph, I've never seen you before, so how can there be a 'long time no see'?"
Bai Guangda said in a deep, rumbling voice, "You kid are extremely cunning and treacherous. Last time, you secretly followed me to the Southern Border and almost caused a great disaster!"
Chen Xiao glanced at Bai Guangda and said calmly, "Didn't you also benefit from misfortune? If it weren't for that incident, you would never have entered the Divine Sea realm in your life!"
When they last met, Bai Guangda was only at the Nascent Soul realm.
Now, he already possessed the cultivation of the Divine Sea realm.
It was clear that Tu Shan Che must have forcibly 'pulled the sprouts to help them grow' for him, just as he had done for Xiao Hei, by administering spiritual pills and elixirs.
Upon hearing this, Bai Guangda felt a surge of pride, but he said verbally, "Listening to your words, do you mean I should thank you for that?"
Chen Xiao couldn't be bothered to deal with him. At this moment, Xiao Hei poked his head out of the car and shouted at the car roof, "White Demon King, what are you doing? I'm taking my father to see my adoptive father, why are you causing trouble here?"
"You little brat!"
Bai Guangda glared at Xiao Hei. "Although we are both Demon Kings, you are merely my junior, and your strength is far inferior to mine. If you dare to speak to me like this again, I'll smash your fox head with one palm!"
Xiao Hei, startled, retracted his head and said sheepishly, "White Demon King, please don't make trouble. We're in a hurry. Don't tell me you're not even listening to my adoptive father anymore?"
Bai Guangda's eyes flickered for a moment, and he finally said with a stiff upper lip, "I listen to what should be heard, and I don't listen to what shouldn't be heard. Although I admit that the Demon Venerable's wisdom and might are comparable to mine, it doesn't mean he's never wrong. After all, even I, this Demon King, occasionally make mistakes."
Hearing this, Xiao Hei rolled his eyes, utterly speechless.
Because of a few flattering words last time, this big clumsy bear had remembered the phrase 'wise and mighty' and was now telling everyone about his 'wisdom and might.'
"White Demon King, then what is the reason for you blocking the road here?"
Xiao Hei asked helplessly, "Is it just to prevent my father from entering the Qingqiu Secret Realm?"
"Naturally!"
Bai Guangda said in a deep, rumbling voice, "The Qingqiu Secret Realm is a sacred land of the demon race, how can a mere human set foot in such a place?"
"Ahem, my mother has been in the sacred land for the past few days, and I didn't see you saying anything."
Xiao Hei immediately retorted.
"Your mother is your mother, and he is he! Are they the same?"
Bai Guangda couldn't articulate why they were different, but he knew they were, and that he shouldn't let him in.
"White Demon King, to tell you the truth, my father's abilities are a thousand times stronger than yours. If you don't move aside, be careful he smashes your bear head with one palm!"
Xiao Hei threatened.
Bai Guangda did show some fear, after all, Chen Xiao was personally invited by the Demon Venerable, so he was definitely not ordinary.
However, the look of fear flashed and disappeared. He immediately snorted, "Hmph, so what if he's personally invited by the Demon Venerable? I, Bai Guangda, am already a great Demon King of the Divine Sea realm. I don't believe a mere human can smash my bear head!"
Chen Xiao smiled slightly and said calmly, "Not only can I smash your bear head, but I can also break the wings of that stinky chicken and shatter the kidneys of that foolish cat... Since we're here, don't hide anymore. Come out quickly!"