The man with green eyes was startled. He shouldn't have been hit by the poisoned needle; such a hidden weapon wouldn't harm him. However, he had been careless. There was a small cut on the back of his hand, faintly red and ominous! And their Celestial Demon clan's blood was blue.
"Blood poison?" The green-eyed man looked at the wound on his hand, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, followed by a cold laugh. "Should I call you naive or foolish? The blood of our Celestial Demon clan is the most potent poison in the world. You actually dared to use blood poison on me, don't you find it ridiculous?"
"The most potent blood in the world, are you sure it's your Celestial Demon clan?" Nangong Yu asked softly. Thus far, he hadn't encountered anyone whose blood surpassed Xiao Man's. Even Bai Jiang couldn't do anything to Xiao Man. The blood of mere Celestial Demons was no threat.
The green-eyed man licked the wound on the back of his hand. "I admit, Meteorite Rock can restrain our Celestial Demon clan, but that doesn't mean Meteorite Rock can kill us."
"Is that so?"
"The games should be over. Die!" The green-eyed man gathered his energy and lunged forward, his fingernails instantly elongating by an inch, aiming directly for Nangong Yu's dantian. Nangong Yu brought his sword down fiercely, sending the green-eyed man crashing to the ground.
He seemed dazed from the fall, struggling to get up, but his body felt weak, unable to stand. He was like a drunk cat, flailing its limbs desperately but unable to right itself.
"What's happening?" The green-eyed man looked up at Nangong Yu, who then stepped on his head, forcing it back down.
"The most fearsome blood in this world isn't your Celestial Demon clan's blood, but Man'er's blood," Nangong Yu said with a cold tone. "No beast can survive without her blood poison! Even the King of Poisons must make way for her!"
"Impossible. Our Celestial Demon clan are gods, possessing the supreme bloodline. How can we be defeated by the blood of a mere human? Absolutely impossible."
"If you wish to deceive yourself, I won't accompany you in self-deception." Nangong Yu pierced the green-eyed man's dantian with his sword and extracted the man's demon core. "Huo Wu should like this thing."
The green-eyed man died with his eyes wide open. He was so sure of victory, only for his opponent to make a comeback, and with such a tiny wound! He had been careless!
Nangong Yu pocketed the demon core and went after Xiao Man. According to Sect Leader Wen, Yue Tianxia was accompanied by two Celestial Demons. He needed to rendezvous with Xiao Man quickly.
Xiao Man encountered no further obstacles and headed straight for the royal palace. For some reason, as soon as she entered the palace, Xiao Man heard someone calling her name, much like when she was in the Ruo Shui River. Following the calls, Xiao Man found a palace with a round, domed roof.
Around the palace were carvings of golden crows with outstretched wings, and a sun hung above the main entrance. The palace gates were open, and the voice was emanating from within.
Xiao Man hesitated for a moment before flashing inside. Within, there was only a bridge leading to an altar. On the altar sat a sarcophagus. Yue Tianxia and another person stood beside it, their faces ecstatic, trying to open the sarcophagus but failing.
"Yue Tianxia."
Xiao Man roared, but Yue Tianxia didn't respond. Instead, the Celestial Demon beside him turned, looking at Xiao Man with cold eyes.
"You've arrived, which means Tian Qing is dead," the man's tone was devoid of emotion, as if his companion's death meant nothing to him. "I underestimated you."
"I'm not looking for you today. I'm looking for him." Xiao Man's gaze fixed on Yue Tianxia. "Yue Tianxia, the score between us must be settled properly."
"Before settling accounts with him, we must settle one," the man produced an iron whip. The whip was covered in barbs and writhed as if alive with his movements, sending shivers down one's spine.
Xiao Man glanced at Yue Tianxia, who was still attacking the sarcophagus, as if he hadn't heard her roar. In his eyes, nothing else existed besides the sarcophagus.
"In that case, I will kill you first and then settle accounts with him."
"Such bold words," the man chuckled. "Are all the youngsters these days this arrogant?"
"Come and die." Xiao Man charged forward. The man remained still, flicking his wrist. The iron whip struck towards Xiao Man, colliding with her sword and sparking furiously. The force of the blow sent Xiao Man back to the outer perimeter, unable to approach the central altar.
"The Celestial Demon clan, to control the cultivators of Cang Xuan, corrupted their bloodlines with poison pills. Such defiance of heaven will ultimately bring retribution upon your clan."
"Retribution?" The man laughed mockingly. "Back then, humans and Celestial Demons joined forces to destroy the Xuan clan, yet humans have lived on for ages. The Xuan clan, hiding in the wilderness, dared not emerge for tens of thousands of years. Now Cang Xuan is under our dominion, the Celestial Demon clan's domain. We can destroy the world with a flick of our hands. Who dares seek retribution from us?"
"I do!" Xiao Man declared firmly.
"You?" The man burst into laughter. "I thought youngsters these days were merely arrogant, but I didn't expect them to be utterly presumptuous, intending to judge the gods..."
"What kind of gods are you?"
"There's a saying, 'The victor is king, the vanquished is a scoundrel.' We won, so we are gods. You lost, so you are scum!" The man stroked his iron whip, a sinister smile on his lips. "Even with Xuan Xin's blessing, you are nothing more than an ordinary person, powerless to contend with us gods. Today, I shall send you to reunite with Xuan Xin, so she understands that no matter how she struggles, she cannot defeat our Celestial Demon clan!"
The iron whip in the man's hand pursued Xiao Man with full murderous intent. Xiao Man mustered her full concentration to counter the man's attacks. This person was even more terrifying than the previous green-eyed man, his aura completely contained.
Moreover, this man possessed a calm disposition, unaffected by her words, and exceedingly confident in his cultivation. However, sometimes, too much confidence leads to arrogance!
The man had assumed that since Xiao Man had pursued him here at all costs, she would not rest until her objective was achieved. Who knew that upon seeing she was outmatched, Xiao Man would turn and flee!
A flicker of a crack appeared on the man's face for a moment before returning to normal. He did not pursue Xiao Man. "The main business is more important. This must be taken back."
Seeing that Yue Tianxia was completely unable to break the seal, the man had to step in himself. However, he tried every method, but could not budge the seal on the sarcophagus. Let alone take the item inside, he couldn't even move the sarcophagus an inch.
Yue Tianxia's eyes were red, drool trickling from his mouth, clearly demonized, but still under the man's control, not yet having lost his sanity. "This seal seems similar to the seals in the Land of No Return. Could the key to breaking the seal lie with that woman?"