Chapter 104: Eighth-Rank Leopard Demon

Within the Cold Ruins, black qi churned violently.

Yet amidst that black qi, an anomalous golden light drifted slowly forward. The golden light formed a small protective dome, within which a human figure could be seen flying slowly through the black mist. Though not bright, it was exceptionally conspicuous.

Jiuyou released his Divine Sense, scanning the area within forty to fifty li. At such a distance, it neither drained his mind excessively nor left him unable to react the moment a problem arose.

Beneath the cyan rainbow light stretched a charred, blackened expanse of land. Withered trees lay toppled in every direction, even massive boulders had been eroded into pockmarked ruins, and scattered everywhere were the bones of nameless demon beasts, enormous and ghastly.

The miasma pressed tightly against the light dome formed by the Crimson Sun Pearl, emitting sizzling, grating sounds, as if it might breach this layer of protection at any moment and devour Jiuyou whole.

Jiuyou's brow twitched slightly. He felt something was still amiss.

He casually retrieved a century-old spiritual herb from his Storage Pouch and tossed it out. The instant the herb flew beyond the light dome, it was swallowed and corroded by the black qi. The next moment, it had become a withered stalk, devoid of the slightest trace of spiritual nature. The black mist surged, and the withered herb turned to ash, dispersing into the air.

Jiuyou's heart tightened. He quickly produced the white-jade bottle and summoned a milky-white barrier that pressed flush against the inner wall of the Crimson Sun Pearl's light dome. Only with two layers of protection did he feel somewhat at ease.

Raising his eyes to survey the surrounding miasma, he couldn't help but recall the time he had ventured into the ancient battlefield where humanity and demon beasts had clashed during the ancient era, back when he was in the Tianyuan Sea. Though that place was not a gathering ground of yin-cold, more living beings had died there, forming a dangerous zone similar to the Cold Ruins, one that made people hesitate to approach.

Back when he was in the Tianyuan Sea, he had also ventured deep into the ancient human-demon battlefield, and the fringe areas had never been this intense. By all logic, the deeper one went, the denser the miasma should become. Could it be that the miasma in the depths of the Cold Ruins had grown so concentrated that even the outer edges rivaled the depths of other danger zones?

Jiuyou's heart ran cold. He allowed himself no trace of complacency.

He urged his streak of light forward and continued deeper.

After roughly half an hour, he arrived before a narrow canyon. This place was one of the entrances to the depths of the Cold Ruins marked on the jade slip map.

"Beyond this point lies the interior of the Cold Ruins. But if the outer miasma is already this thick, can demon beasts truly survive and spiritual herbs truly grow within? Or perhaps... there is another world hidden inside?"

Doubt surged in Jiuyou's heart.

He drew a deep breath. The Golden Sun Mountain materialized beside him, rotating slowly. The golden flames released by the ancient relic dispersed all miasma within half a zhang of him.

With a flash of movement, he vanished from the canyon mouth. In the span of a breath, he reappeared within the valley.

Jiuyou swiftly flew into the depths of the narrow canyon.

Within the canyon, all was silent, save for the sound of his streak of light splitting the air. A cyan rainbow was exceptionally conspicuous against the black miasma.

The deeper he flew, the more bewildered Jiuyou became.

He abruptly realized that the miasma within this canyon was actually growing thinner. With his powerful Divine Sense and perception, it was absolutely impossible for him to be mistaken. The surrounding miasma was indeed decreasing. This defied all common sense. Dong Yanwei had also ventured deep into this canyon, yet had not mentioned a single word about this.

He flew for what felt like an unknown span of time, until a gleam of white light appeared before the cyan rainbow.

Jiuyou accelerated his flight, and the white light grew ever brighter.

His figure burst forth from the miasma, and before his eyes, the world opened up.

This realm, at some unknown point, had been covered in a blanket of white. Snowflakes drifted from the sky, the earth was adorned in a silver coat of cold frost, and a bone-chilling wind swept toward him, carrying a faint trace of baleful aura.

"So there truly is another world hidden within. Not the slightest trace of miasma can be felt here. This defies all reason. No wonder the miasma at the edges is so dense. But why has the miasma been driven to the outer perimeter while the interior remains untouched? Could it be... this is also the handiwork of that Tier 10 Demon King?"

Jiuyou mused inwardly, yet he did not let down his guard in the slightest.

Just then, a sound of something tearing through the air suddenly came from behind him, and a chill wind arrived with it.

It was as if something had abruptly launched an attack, locking directly onto his back.

His Divine Sense jolted violently, foreboding disaster. Jiuyou spun around swiftly while simultaneously retreating. In the blink of an eye, he had withdrawn several hundred steps, gazing into the distance.

There behind him stood a white snow leopard over ten zhang in length.

Beneath its massive head grew two razor-sharp fangs as large as adult arms. Its eyes gleamed with an eerie light, it tread upon the void, its visage fierce and savage, staring dead at Jiuyou.

And at the spot where Jiuyou had originally stood, a white claw-light was slowly dissipating, a sight that sent a chill down one's spine.

Jiuyou's expression flickered, and rage surged within his heart.

"A mere Eighth-Rank demon beast dares to ambush this seat?"

The words had barely left his mouth when he vanished from where he stood. When he reappeared, his figure was already suspended above the snow leopard. The Golden Sun Mountain swelled to several hundred zhang in size and slammed down viciously toward the demon beast.

The Eighth-Rank leopard demon let out a roar at Jiuyou. Demon light flickered across its body, and suddenly three phantom projections, identical to its form and appearance, burst forth. These were leopard demon avatars condensed from demonic power, treading the void with surging demonic energy, charging forward at speed to collide with the Golden Sun Mountain.

Unfortunately, the Golden Sun Mountain was a top-tier ancient relic. How could a mere Eighth-Rank demon beast hope to withstand it?

The three phantom projections slammed into the colossal mountain one after another, erupting in flashes of blue light, yet failing to stir even the slightest ripple. The Golden Sun Mountain did not slow in the least; its momentum only grew more fearsome.

The leopard demon transformed into a streak of white light and darted to the side, but it was clipped by the edge of the colossal mountain and sent flying backward, crashing into the cliff wall at the canyon entrance and smashing a massive crater into it.

The Eighth-Rank leopard demon roared in pain, scrambled swiftly to its feet, shifted to a new position, and fixed its vicious gaze upon Jiuyou once more.

Jiuyou let out a cold snort, staring at the leopard demon. He felt that something was off.

"Strange. This beast is at least a great demon capable of taking human form, with intelligence no less than that of human cultivators. It clearly sensed my cultivation level, and I just wounded it with a single blow. By all logic, it should have fled long ago. Why does it still dare to stay?"

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Whatever scheme you're plotting, since you refuse to leave, this old man will see you off personally."

Before the words had even faded, the Eighth-Rank leopard demon suddenly opened its maw wide, and streams of snow-white mist billowed forth from its mouth, spreading rapidly in all directions.

Seeing this, Jiuyou retreated, his Divine Sense locked firmly onto the leopard demon behind the white mist.

But at that very moment, wisps of white mist materialized out of thin air all around him, boxing him in from every side, then swiftly surged toward him.

Jiuyou stared at the white mist suddenly emerging from all directions, and his heart cried out in alarm.

"No... this is a formation! Someone is manipulating everything from the shadows!"

He realized with a jolt that he had fallen into a trap that someone had long since prepared.

The white mist was not a demon beast's supernatural power, but rather the activation sign of a formation. The snow leopard's cold breath was merely bait. The true killing stroke was this hidden maze-killing grand formation concealed in the darkness.

Jiuyou's expression turned grim. He recalled the Golden Sun Mountain to his side, and the Golden Lotus Lamp flew out from his sleeve, hovering above his head. Golden light cascaded down, shielding him within. His Divine Sense expanded to its full extent, desperately searching for the formation's eye.

Yet this formation was extraordinarily sophisticated. The formation's eye was hidden extremely deep, and for the moment, he could not lock onto it.

The white mist grew denser and denser. The cold grew heavier and heavier.