The elder narrowed his eyes, seemingly weighing the truth of Xiao Man's words.
Seeing his hesitation, Xiao Man delivered a potent blow, "The Four Great Sects, in ancient times, relied on their bloodline inheritances as the foundation to seal the Demon Lord Yu Ju. They also employed divine artifacts as conduits, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth to continuously fuel the grand sealing formation. As long as heaven and earth endure, the power will be inexhaustible, and the seal will never break. Yu Ju will be eternally incapable of breaking free, and naturally, you will not be able to open it either!"
"Divine artifacts?"
"Yes, divine artifacts!" Xiao Man struggled to sit up, "One of them is the Shen Nong Ding."
The elder frowned. He had heard of the Shen Nong Ding. It could absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and elixirs refined with it were far superior to those made in ordinary cauldrons. Countless alchemists were obsessed with the Shen Nong Ding, yet no one knew its whereabouts.
"You know the whereabouts of the Shen Nong Ding?"
"I do," Xiao Man spat out a mouthful of blood, her expression listless as she slumped to the ground, seemingly unable to withstand the elder's pressure.
Seeing this, the elder retracted his oppressive aura, "Where?"
"In..."
The elder frowned, not having heard clearly. He immediately moved beside Xiao Man, crouching down, "Where is the Shen Nong Ding?"
"The Shen Nong Ding is in..." Suddenly, Xiao Man moved. A small cauldron appeared, growing impossibly large, trapping the elder within. Xiao Man wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, "The Shen Nong Ding is right here. If you want it, take it!"
The elder, suddenly confined within the Shen Nong Ding, was shocked. Just as he was about to use brute force to break free, Xiao Man's voice echoed from within, "Old man, think carefully before you act. If you destroy the Shen Nong Ding, you will be personally severing the path for your master to emerge!"
The elder ground his teeth. A cunning creature. No wonder Xu'er fell into her hands. Even someone as powerful as he had been tricked by her. However, Xiao Man underestimated him. The Shen Nong Ding was a divine artifact, but not everyone could wield it. Xiao Man was too weak to control it. Still, this person indeed knew many things he didn't!
He had only discovered that the seal was related to divine artifacts, but not that it was also connected to the ancient Four Great Sects. He was, after all, a demon, and if he lingered here too long, he might attract that old monster from the Heavenly Sword Sect. He had to capture this person and leave quickly.
Xiao Man trapping the elder was also to buy herself time to escape. However, despite her utmost efforts, she could only delay him for a quarter of an hour. The Shen Nong Ding was a cauldron she had contracted, connected to her life force. If the Shen Nong Ding was damaged, she would also be injured!
Xiao Man coughed up a mouthful of blood. She knew the elder had escaped. Swallowing a pill, she pushed her speed to its limit, heading towards the Heavenly Sword Sect. If anyone could subdue this person, it would likely be that Nascent Soul stage mighty figure of the Heavenly Sword Sect!
The elder seemed to sense Xiao Man's intention and gave her no chance. Despite Xiao Man's all-out efforts, she only managed to escape a hundred miles. Before she could even reach the Heavenly Sword Sect, she was struck down by the elder.
Xiao Man crashed to the ground but dared not hesitate. She scrambled up and continued to flee. If she couldn't move through the air, she would go on the ground!
"Still running!" The elder was furious. An attack struck Xiao Man's leg. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground again. Even this did not make her give up. Dragging her injured leg, she continued to escape.
"You are quite resilient. Then I shall break both your legs and see how you run!"
The elder unleashed another attack. Xiao Man summoned a defensive shield, but it shattered into pieces instantly, unable to withstand even a single blow.
Xiao Man crawled to a large tree, leaning against it. She looked at the elder approaching slowly and sneered, wiping the blood from her lips with her sleeve, "I'm not running anymore. Kill me if you wish."
"Dying is not an easy thing," the elder said slowly. "You killed my son and ruined our demon clan's grand plan for resurgence. If I killed you easily, wouldn't that be letting you off too lightly?"
"What do you want to do?"
"Naturally, I want to see what you know first!" The elder grabbed Xiao Man's head and sent his spiritual power into her mind. However, upon touching Xiao Man's memories, he was repelled by a force, staggering back several steps and spitting out blood. "What a powerful restriction!"
Xiao Man was stunned. A restriction? She had a restriction within her. Right, the Sect Master of the Heavenly Shield Sect had mentioned that she possessed the power of two Nascent Soul stage mighty figures. Could the restriction within her have been set by a Nascent Soul stage mighty figure? Who could it be?
"It seems you indeed know many secrets!"
The elder calmed himself. Touching her internal restriction meant the person who placed it would sense it. Time was running out for him. He had to capture her first!
The elder decided to take Xiao Man away and then slowly force the information he wanted from her!
Making a swift decision, he would leave first!
The elder reached out to grab Xiao Man, but a sword descended from the heavens, slashing directly at his arm. The elder started in surprise and quickly withdrew his hand. Two figures had already appeared, blocking in front of Xiao Man.
"Are you alright?"
Seeing the two appear, Xiao Man breathed a sigh of relief, "You two have come at the perfect time. One moment later, and I would have been drinking tea with King Yama."
"With me here, Yama wouldn't dare to take you," Nangong Yu drew the sword stuck in the ground. "Who are you?"
"He is of the demon race. The demon I killed in Wuji City was his son."
"If he's an enemy, then there's no need to be polite."
Yan Yuqing glanced back at Xiao Man's disheveled state, his brow furrowed. "Old man, how dare you! I haven't harmed a single hair on her, and you dare to beat her to this state!"
"You immature brat, I am only looking for him. Leave now, and I can spare your life!"
"Keep him occupied!" Xiao Man said coldly. "Keep him occupied until the old Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect arrives. He touched the restriction within me, and the old Sect Master already knows. He'll be here soon!"
The elder was already uneasy. Upon hearing Xiao Man say that the restriction within her was placed by the old Sect Master of the Heavenly Sword Sect, he became anxious. Fortunately, the cultivation of the two before him was only in the early stage of the Nascent Soul, with unstable foundations. They wouldn't be able to kill him in a short while, but they could certainly suppress him for a moment. However, taking Xiao Man away would not be easy!
The elder released his pressure, expecting his half-step mighty being cultivation to suppress the two. To his surprise, one of them was completely unaffected, while the other was only slightly slower. Although these two couldn't kill him, they could still cause him considerable trouble!
Seeing Nangong Yu and Yan Yuqing engage the elder, Xiao Man quickly swallowed two pills and began circulating her energy to heal. Fortunately, her constitution was special, and her injuries recovered quickly, though it still required time for full restoration.
"A'Man, quickly dodge!"
Xiao Man opened her eyes and found herself enveloped in a red light. She wanted to move but couldn't. The red light bound her, as if dragging her somewhere.