Jin Bao'er was about to intervene when the man beside her stopped her. His gaze, cold and menacing, fixed on the black mist, his voice laced with potent threats and killing intent.
"Roll away yourself, or must I do it myself?"
As the words fell, the sluggishly moving black mist abruptly paused, then surged forward with accelerated speed, as if deliberating whether to leave.
Long Li Xing had no time for their hesitation. The encroaching black demonic energy behind him already occupied more than half of the underground palace. He sneered and lightly raised his right hand—a simple, casual gesture.
However, the black mist blocking their path seemed to sense the danger. It panicked, clearing the way without a word and even helpfully opening a panel for them to exit.
Jin Bao'er blinked, wondering what this black mist was. Then, through the opened panel, she saw the arm of a child, about seven or eight years old.
Seeing this, Long Li Xing was unsurprised. He scooped Jin Bao'er into his arms and soared upwards.
At the same moment, the black demonic energy behind them finally filled the entire underground palace.
"Boom!!"
The two figures barely escaped the bamboo house when it began to shake violently, as if unable to withstand the pressure. A large amount of demonic energy erupted from all sides of the house.
The bamboo house, unable to hold on any longer, collapsed with a roar! The formation that had condensed demonic energy above also shattered at that moment!
The sealed demonic energy, like greedy specters, swept wildly towards the entire bamboo forest, spreading outwards like a runaway steed.
By now, Jin Bao'er and the man had already rushed out of the bamboo forest!
The loud noise and ominous black mist behind them alerted the Lin Lang tribe. Numerous immortals rushed over, with the Lin Lang patriarch arriving first.
However, he only saw a sky full of demonic energy and was dumbfounded! By the time he reacted, the entire Lin Lang tribe had descended into chaos! Just as everyone finally managed to disperse the demonic energy—
Countless demons emerged from the black mist, their grotesque and bizarre bodies revealed. With chilling, bloodthirsty smiles, they charged madly towards all the cultivators. At first glance, these demons were far more powerful than those from the previous immortal-demon war.
A hellish scene was about to unfold!
At that moment, everyone thought so!
They abandoned the idea of dispersing the demonic energy, disregarding those beside them, and instinctively turned to flee! The entire Lin Lang tribe was instantly gripped by fear.
When the first demon charged forward, the Lin Lang patriarch finally reacted. His face pale, he counter-attacked, and simultaneously roared at his panicked tribesmen behind him.
"What are you panicking for? Hurry up and help!"
Some of the higher-cultivation tribesmen finally came to their senses and rushed forward to assist, while some low-level cultivators immediately tried to escape.
Only a few tribesmen looked surprised but not overly frightened.
Jin Bao'er stood outside the bamboo forest, taking it all in, her mind already working.
Clearly, there were demon spies within the Lin Lang tribe! And their identity and cultivation seemed to be quite high.
"Bang!!"
A dull thud echoed. The force the Lin Lang patriarch had just unleashed had not yet reached its target when the first demon suddenly stopped in mid-air as if it had collided with something.
Those who witnessed this froze, their minds unable to process what was happening, when the second, then the third demon… all stopped in mid-air as if hitting something, and then crashed heavily to the ground! A visible large lump could be seen on its head. Even the demons behind them, sensing the anomaly, abruptly halted.
Around the bamboo forest, a faint pink light flickered intermittently. When the demonic energy and demons touched it, they seemed to be scorched by intense flames, emitting cries of pain.
Soon, the entire bamboo forest was sealed by something. The demons and demonic energy within churned and surged, but they could only churn within the forest and were unable to break through the barrier.
Seeing this, Jin Bao'er breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, her power was still a natural counter to demons! Otherwise, with so many demons erupting and slaughtering lives, even if she weren't from this era, she would feel guilty.
After all, the eruption of demonic energy was her responsibility! She had never expected the bamboo forest to be in such a state. Fortunately, she had decisively set up a barrier when they left, preventing a major disaster.
However… she looked at the man beside her, her expression filled with surprise.
"You knew what that was, didn't you?"
Otherwise, he wouldn't have pulled her out so suddenly. The demonic energy hadn't been very intense at first; no one expected so many demons to suddenly rush out of the opening.
Long Li Xing had already regained his arrogant and nonchalant demeanor, unconcerned by the current situation. He said with a cold face.
"Demonic realm passage! I didn't expect them to move the passage here. It seems they intend to absorb all the negative emotions of the human race and convert them into demonic energy to nourish the demons. That's a good method!"
After speaking, he turned to Jin Bao'er. Noticing the confusion in her eyes, he smiled.
"Negative emotions absorb the vital essence from within humans. Over time, the physical bodies of humans in the Upper Realm will become increasingly weak, and the innate talent of newborns will also decline. The spiritual energy of the Upper Realm will be unable to repair itself, and cultivators will grow weaker… eventually, the entire population of the Upper Realm will be annihilated without anyone realizing it. What a brilliant scheme!"
Why hadn't he thought of it? Few demons could execute the Demonic Realm Heavenly Demon Formation, let alone deploy it over such a large area of bamboo forest; the requirements would only be more complex! That hidden demon god had actually thought of this! He had to admit, he admired it.
A smile appeared on the man's face.
Jin Bao'er: "..."
It was truly difficult to imagine that this man would eventually become the great and powerful expert who saved the lower realm from war and divided the continent! She'd better focus on how to fuse with him sooner rather than later.
But for now… she frowned. If Long Li Xing was right, and combined with what the demon leader had said, the demon god's plot was likely this. To gradually erode the strong cultivators of the Upper Realm, leading them into decline without their knowledge!
Simultaneously, he would orchestrate Long Li Xing to become a demon god, triggering the immortal-demon war, inciting hatred between the human and dragon races, and causing them to wear each other down. Then, he would lead the demons to lie in wait, secretly growing stronger.
What a cunning plan! The more she thought about it, the colder she felt. How many years had this demon god been planning? Looking at the speed at which the Heavenly Demon Formation was operating, it would take at least a century or two to have any effect.
At this moment, the Lin Lang patriarch finally realized whose handiwork the barrier restraining the demons was. He released his divine sense and scanned the surroundings for a long time before his gaze quickly fixed on Jin Bao'er.
Naturally, Jin Bao'er also detected this divine sense and subconsciously looked at the man beside her, saying calmly.
"You should hide for now! It's too obvious for you to be with me. It'll be difficult for me to explain!"