Chapter 584 Rabbit and Falcon, a Bloody Slaying

Beneath the sinkhole, at the Nine Transformation Lotus Pool.

The Bear Demon’s dodge was futile. The exploding Daoist Soldier unleashed a torrent of chilling Sword Qi, riddling the demon’s body with countless bloody holes.

The Bear Demon roared in fury. It had a robust constitution, and though it was covered in blood, the wounds were not fatal.

However, while the self-destructing Daoist Soldier had failed to kill it, the vibrant lotus flowers below suddenly began to stir.

The lotuses of the Nine Transformation Lotus Pool were not merely beautiful and alluring—they possessed their own deadly attacks.

Just then, wounded by the Ice Arrow and knocked backward, the Bear Demon’s blood splashed into the pool. Instantly, the stalks of several lotuses elongated, their petals unfurling as scarlet, thorny tongues, long as serpents, shot out from their centers.

The scarlet tongues coiled around the Bear Demon, and just like that... the magnificent, thirty-foot-tall Great Demon of the Demon King Stage was dragged into the heart of the flower and devoured.

The Bear Demon didn’t even have time to let out a terrified roar before it was all over.

Meanwhile, above the sinkhole, at that very instant—the moment Song Ciwan pinpointed the source of the danger—she decisively activated her Heaven-Stealing Day-Changing Skill. She used a Five-star Spiritual Material she had just acquired in the Ice Crystal Forest to swap places with the Abdominal Insect.

In the blink of an eye, the Abdominal Insect, originally deep within the sinkhole, was ripped from its location and appeared before Song Ciwan, just inches from her face.

The Abdominal Insect, completely unable to process what had happened: "..."

The Abdominal Insect was stunned for a moment before letting out a piercing shriek.

Yet, in that split second, a fraction of a moment before the Abdominal Insect’s shriek could erupt, Song Ciwan flicked her finger. The Samadhi True Fire, which she had cultivated to its absolute peak, descended upon the creature.

The Samadhi True Fire—a union of the Heart Sutra Fire, the Bright God Fire, and the Calmness Fire—possesses a unique power to suppress all things with a Demonic Nature.

The Abdominal Insect was intensely venomous, its Divine Techniques were bizarre, and it was as much fiend as it was demon—similar in nature, to some extent, to the Demon Scholar’s Night Traveling Lamp.

The Samadhi True Fire was its perfect counter!

The Abdominal Insect’s shriek came after the Samadhi True Fire had already ignited. In a flash, the three-foot-long Demon Insect was wreathed in fire, its entire body twisting in the raging flames.

Though its Cause and Effect Skill was powerful, even the mightiest Divine Technique needs an opportunity to be unleashed.

Suppressed and sealed by the Samadhi True Fire, the Abdominal Insect struggled to use its skill, but ultimately failed.

In moments, it was shrieking and writhing, before the Samadhi True Fire burned it into a charred husk.

[Death Qi. From the death of a Late-stage Demon King variant Demon Race, the Abdominal Insect. Four catties and eight taels. Available for trade.]

Song Ciwan placed the charred corpse on the Heaven and Earth Scale, collecting the Abdominal Insect’s Malice as well.

[Malice. The Malice left after the death of a Late-stage Demon King variant Demon Race, the Abdominal Insect. Five catties and seven taels. Available for trade.]

’The Abdominal Insect’s Malice was exceptionally heavy!’

Above the sinkhole, Song Ciwan had dispatched the Abdominal Insect with lightning speed. Below, the other demons were still reeling from utter shock and disbelief.

They were stunned by the Abdominal Insect’s disappearance, but they were even more horrified by the Bear Demon’s death.

Of course, the demons below had not witnessed the Abdominal Insect’s death, so they did not yet have a strong sense of it.

For them, the image of the lotuses suddenly stirring and devouring the Bear Demon on the spot was a far more visceral and terrifying shock.

It wasn’t that the demons hadn’t done far more horrific and bloody things in the past. But there is a world of difference between doing something yourself and witnessing a companion devoured in such a way. The shock and impact were on another level.

It gave them a chilling sense of shared vulnerability—

The Corpse Demon twisted around and said faintly, "How terrifying! I feel like I’m going to be scared to death a second time. Oh, what’s the point of killing some Celestial Pride? I’m not doing it..."

Before her faint words had even finished, she twisted, and her entire "body" dissipated into a wisp of gray smoke and vanished.

"Hmph!" a Beast Demon cursed under its breath.

It had the head of a human and the body of a beast. Now, reverting to its original form, it rolled on the ground and instantly vanished.

The Abdominal Insect was gone, the Bear Demon was dead, and the Corpse Demon and Beast Demon had also fled. The ambush had become a total farce.

The remaining demons scattered like frightened birds, fleeing deeper into the Ancient Divine Palace.

Though they were all of the Demon Race, they belonged to different clans. Sticking together for an easy fight was no problem, and they might even seem like firm allies. But when faced with a true test, they were revealed to be nothing more than a disorganized mob.

The sky was as black as ink; there was still no hint of dawn in the eastern sky.

Song Ciwan waved her hand, using her Scattering Beans into Soldiers technique. She summoned two Four-star Daoist Soldiers to scout the path ahead as she followed closely behind, using the Wind Manipulation Technique to slowly descend into the sinkhole.

Of course, these two Daoist Soldiers were not made to look like Xing Lan.

Instead, one wore armor and held a long saber—a Magical Treasure—and was as tall and sturdy as a warrior-guardian. The other wore a Magic Robe and held the Wuyou Bell, taking the form of a handsome Daoist.

The appearance of the Daoist Soldiers could be decided at will, but could not be changed once set.

Song Ciwan commanded the Daoist Soldier to clear the path with the Wuyou Bell.

CHIME—

The lingering chimes echoed ethereally through the deep passage of the sinkhole, the sound slowly reverberating. The bell’s rhythm was gentle, like a soft breeze on the skin, as if it could make one forget all their troubles.

Below, the red lotus that had devoured the Bear Demon swayed gently in the pool, appearing to dance to the chimes with exceptional grace and ease.

Who could imagine that this same red lotus had just devoured a Great Demon whole?

Only when Song Ciwan and her two companions had passed completely through the sinkhole’s passage and arrived above the Nine Transformation Lotus Pool did the red lotus slowly cease its dance. It floated quietly on the water’s surface once more, its posture serene, like a beauty in quiet repose.

Using Wind Manipulation, Song Ciwan alighted on the western bank of the Nine Transformation Lotus Pool. Her gaze fell upon a patch of blood floating on the water’s surface.

It was the Bear Demon’s blood!

But as Song Ciwan’s gaze shifted, the surface of the pool rippled. GLUG, GLUG. A few bubbles rose, and in the churning water, the Bear Demon’s blood disappeared.

The surface of the water became clear once more.

Song Ciwan then shifted her gaze to the left.

A sword floated there—the Magical Treasure of her Daoist Soldier, the Void Escape Sword!

The Bear Demon had been devoured by the red lotus, but the Void Escape Sword that had been plunged between its brows was now left floating on the surface of the Nine Transformation Lotus Pool.

As if drawn by some powerful temptation, Song Ciwan’s feet moved involuntarily, taking her one step closer to the pool.

Her expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, she scoffed.

’This Nine Transformation Lotus Pool is certainly mysterious,’ she thought. ’It seems the danger I sensed before came not only from the Abdominal Insect but also from this very pool.’

’But according to the information I received, the pool’s danger is primarily triggered by greed.’

Song Ciwan spoke, issuing an order, "Song Feng, go and pluck a few Lotus Seeds."

Song Feng was the Daoist Soldier holding the Wuyou Bell, the one whose form was as light as a willow catkin.

The Daoist Soldiers possessed no discernible independent consciousness, but that didn’t stop Song Ciwan from casually giving them names and commanding them as if they were subordinates who did.

It was a type of Blinding Technique, but it was also one of Song Ciwan’s private amusements.