Chapter 581: A Way Out

In a desolate wilderness.

Ming Nianwei and Zhou Ruxuan stood side by side.

In Zhou Ruxuan’s hands was a complete long spear. The mere tremor of the Second-Grade Qi Blood Divine Weapon’s aura was enough to cause the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to violently fluctuate.

Wisps of chilling intent materialized from thin air, threatening to freeze all of creation.

With the aid of the Qi Blood Divine Weapon in her hands, her Cultivation and strength had actually climbed to the Fifth-Grade Realm.

And even among Fifth-Grades, she was considered a powerhouse.

“A misunderstanding!”

“This is all a misunderstanding!”

Across from them, a man in the crowd raised his hands high and shouted urgently,

“Sister Shiyao, it’s me, Yangg Yi.”

“Yangg Yi?”

Qian Shiyao paused, her eyes fixing on the speaker, a look of astonishment on her face.

“Is it really you?”

“It is.”

Yangg Yi nodded repeatedly.

“After I left the Zhu Mansion, I went to Mang Mountain. Now I’m working under Mountain Patrol Captain Niu Dali.”

He pointed to the horned, burly man beside him and said,

“We rescued Qian Hu from the Sanhe Gang not long ago. He lost too much blood and is unconscious. We didn’t do this to him.”

“Mang Mountain?” Ming Nianwei’s gaze swept over the crowd of Demons, her guard not lowering in the slightest. The Fuyao Sword still hovered before her.

“You joined a Demon Race faction?”

“…” Yangg Yi gave a bitter smile.

“I had no choice. For a Loose Cultivator like me, there’s nowhere to go besides Mang Mountain or the East Sea.”

“How do I know if you’re telling the truth?” Zhou Ruxuan leveled her spear.

“Hand him over, and we’ll let this go.”

“This…” Yangg Yi looked at the Ox Demon.

“No.”

The Ox Demon’s voice was a low rumble.

“Before the Town Stele is refined, this kid’s bloodline is still useful.”

“Besides…”

“He carries the bloodline of Luh Wu. He is a descendant of a Venerable of my Demon Race. How could I hand him over to the Human Race?”

“RATTLE…”

Before it had even finished speaking, the crowd of Demons behind it raised their Weapons in unison, pointing them at the three women.

“Don’t attack!”

“Don’t attack!”

Yangg Yi’s face was a mask of anxiety.

“We’re all friends, why must we draw blades against each other?”

“Friends?”

Ming Nianwei shook her head.

“Humans and demons cannot coexist. The Demon Race of Mang Mountain has colluded with the Dragon Abomination to wreak havoc everywhere. The Divine Dynasty has already dispatched troops to suppress them. We can’t be friends.”

“Attack!”

She barked the command, and the Fuyao Sword shot out like a bolt of lightning.

After obtaining the Demon Core from Jianmu, her strength had soared as well, and she now possessed Fifth-Grade Magic Power.

The Sword Light flickered, heading straight for the Ox Demon.

Zhou Ruxuan reacted after her but arrived first. With a slight shake of the long spear in her hands, her entire body shot forward several dozen feet.

Even Qian Shiyao drew a short sword.

“ROAR!”

The Ox Demon let out a low roar. The sound carried a strange Strength, actually causing the incoming attacks to falter for a moment.

In the next instant, the two sides clashed.

*

*

*

On the mountaintop.

Zhu Ju sat cross-legged on a large rock.

His eyes were shut tight, the space between his brows glowing, as the Qi Blood within him flowed along a profound and mysterious path.

As he refined the Innate Origin Qi, his physical constitution began to change.

At the same time, the energy from the Tier Two Demon Heart surged into his body at an even faster rate, causing his Cultivation to grow without pause.

The speed of his progress was frightening to behold.

‘Upper Seventh Grade!’

‘I can finally see a shadow of the Middle Third Grade.’

Opening his eyes, Zhu Ju exhaled a long, turbid breath. Within his Sea of Consciousness, his Divine Thought vibrated, following some sort of connection.

Soon, a message came from Ming Nianwei, who was thousands of miles away.

“Master.”

“You sound exhausted.”

“Yes. We ran into some trouble. We saw Qian Hu, but unfortunately, we couldn’t rescue him.”

“Oh!” Zhu Ju said.

“Tell me about it.”

Though his Cultivation was low, his Realm had not regressed. His Divine Thought was even more condensed than before.

With the help of the Divine Splitting Secret Technique, it wasn’t difficult to contact Ming Nianwei from thousands of miles away.

Of course, only someone like Ming Nianwei was worthy of him splitting off a sliver of his Divine Soul to reside in her Sea of Consciousness.

“Qian Hu has fallen into the hands of the Mang Mountain Demons. According to Yangg Yi, they seized him from the Sanhe Gang.”

“The Luh Wu bloodline is very important to the Demon Race, so Qian Hu’s life should not be in danger.”

After briefly explaining the situation, Ming Nianwei sent another thought.

“Master.”

“Many factions have entered the Divine Mansion so far: the Sanhe Gang, the Wenda Sect, the Mang Mountain Demons…”

“We’ve also encountered several Loose Cultivators, none of whom are weak.”

“Mm,” Zhu Ju said.

“Memorize my location and come as quickly as you can. If you don’t find any other opportunities, leave the Divine Mansion first.”

“Yes.”

Ming Nianwei acknowledged.

Cutting off the Divine Thought connection, Zhu Ju pondered for a moment before rising and heading down the mountain.

A short while later, a deafening roar assaulted his eardrums. A torrent of water from high in the sky crashed endlessly against the ground.

A waterfall!

The waterfall Li Xianshan had mentioned was immense.

It was hundreds of yards high and nearly half a mile wide, its roar unending, with a thick mist of water that hung in the air without dispersing.

Under the illumination of the Formless Divine Light, a massive cavity could be seen behind the waterfall, connecting to the outside world.

‘As the Divine Mansion World connects with the outside, there will be more and more points of contact. Unless someone refines the Town Stele and actively severs the connection to the outside world, entry and exit will become very easy.’

Zhu Ju mused to himself, taking a few steps forward before suddenly stopping.

In his perception, there was an aura on either side of the waterfall. The auras weren’t strong—in fact, they were easy to overlook.

But these two faint auras were like a great net, blanketing a radius of several miles completely.

Fifth-Grade!

Upper Fifth Grade, at that!

Fortunately, these two Fifth-Grades were Demons, not Sect Disciples who treated killing those in higher Realms as child’s play.

The moment Zhu Ju sensed them, two gazes shot toward him through the air.

“SWISH!”

A fishing line tore through the void, stabbing straight for the space between Zhu Ju’s eyebrows.

The thin line was like a sharp arrow, carrying an unstoppable, piercing Qi.

“TING…”

Zhu Ju flicked a finger, his Qi Blood bursting forth, and sent the fishing line flying.

“A human!”

The Demon Qi flared, and an old man wearing a bamboo hat and a straw rain cape appeared not far away.

He stared directly at Zhu Ju, his fishing rod swaying, the line darting about like a nimble Swimming Fish.

“This is now the demon territory of Mang Mountain. Leave at once if you don’t want to die.”

“The demon territory of Mang Mountain?”

Zhu Ju pursed his lips as armor silently enveloped his Physical Body.

“Since when?”

“Demon-Devouring Iron?” The old man’s brow furrowed, his face filled with disgust.

As a member of the Demon Race, he naturally detested Demon-Devouring Iron, which suppressed Demon Qi. However, this kind of material was often refined into the Human Race’s Qi Blood Divine Weapons, so he had grown used to it.

“Elder Luh Wu is a venerable predecessor of the Demon Race. His Divine Mansion naturally belongs to the Demon Race.”

“Hmm…” Zhu Ju rubbed his chin.

“I just want to leave.”

“Not here,” the old man snorted coldly.

“This entrance has been claimed by Mang Mountain. You can find another way out somewhere else.”

“Human!”

“Don’t force my hand!”

Zhu Ju flexed his fingers, glanced at the other Fifth-Grade Great Demon who was slowly approaching, and then chuckled softly. He took a slow step back, and his entire figure silently merged into the water vapor.

Under the watchful eyes of the two Fifth-Grade Great Demons, his aura vanished bit by bit.

‘That man is so strange. His Cultivation is clearly not strong, yet he gives off a feeling that he’s not to be trifled with.’

The old man mused,

“Strange!”