Chapter 179: An Higher Grade Demon Has Emerged

Chapter 179: Chapter 179: An Higher Grade Demon Has Emerged

A spatial portal had appeared beside Xavier.

It was approximately two meters tall, and its surface shimmered with strange spatial energy.

Victoria, Mira, and Maya were standing closest to it.

The energy required to maintain the portal was enormous. Xavier didn’t have time to explain what was happening.

He immediately pushed Victoria, Mira, and Maya through the opening.

Then, before anyone could react, he grabbed Sarah and sent her through as well.

Once all four women had entered, he closed the portal.

The Nine Nether Abyss Formation was indeed powerful. One of its special properties was its ability to stabilize the surrounding space, making it extremely difficult for anyone to use spatial abilities.

Ordinary spatial techniques were practically useless inside it. Even someone who had comprehended the Law of Space would likely find their abilities heavily suppressed.

However, Xavier’s rune armor was no ordinary spatial treasure.

Its capabilities were comparable to those of a Heavenly-level artifact. The Nine Nether Abyss Formation simply wasn’t powerful enough to interfere with its functions.

As for why he had also sent Victoria away, it was because he wanted her to protect Mira and Maya.

He couldn’t risk leaving the three women inside the formation.

Desmond Hale stared at Xavier’s actions with growing interest.

"I must admit, Mr. X, you continue to surprise me."

His smile returned.

"I never expected you to possess such an extraordinary ability. The more I learn about you, the more interested I become."

His gaze swept over the empty space where the four women had been standing.

"You sent your companions away but chose to remain behind. Does that mean you’re planning to stand against me?"

He spread his arms.

"Well, it doesn’t matter. The feast has already begun!"

His voice echoed throughout the manor.

"Everyone, do your best to survive! I hope you can put on a wonderful performance for me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure flickered and vanished.

At the same moment, the Nine Nether Abyss Formation was fully activated!

A terrifying dark-red glow spread across the sky, gradually swallowing the remaining light of the setting sun.

The entire Shelby Family manor was soon covered in an oppressive atmosphere.

At that moment, something strange began happening throughout the estate.

Nearly a thousand members of the Shelby Family, along with their servants, started walking out of their residences. Men and women, young and old, all moved in the same direction with blank expressions.

They looked like lifeless puppets, completely unaware of what they were doing.

One after another, they headed toward the central square of the manor.

This was the mind-controlling effect of the Nine Nether Abyss Formation.

Ordinary people were unable to resist its influence. Martial artists below the Star Sea Realm were equally vulnerable, falling under its control almost instantly.

Even some Star Sea Realm experts had been caught off guard and lost their ability to think clearly.

Only a handful of experienced martial artists at the Star Sea Realm could withstand the formation’s mental influence and retain their awareness.

Desmond Hale had announced his intentions from the beginning. He wanted to offer the entire Shelby Family as a living sacrifice to his Demon King.

Naturally, the first step was to gather everyone in one place.

And the central square was precisely where he had established the Demon King’s Altar.

High above the manor, Charles watched the scene unfolding below with a deeply troubled expression.

"Damn it! He’s even destroyed our family’s protective formation!"

His fists tightened.

"It must have been Desmond Hale!"

As the patriarch, Charles possessed considerable strength and several means of protecting himself. The illusionary influence of the Nine Nether Abyss Formation wasn’t enough to control him.

However, that offered him little comfort.

The Shelby Family’s protective formation was their strongest defensive measure. It had been their most reliable trump card in emergencies, and now it was completely useless.

Without it, protecting the thousands of people living in the manor would become much harder.

Before Charles could think of another solution, several figures flew toward him.

They were among the most important elders of the Shelby Family, each possessing at least the eighth star of the Star Sea Realm.

Within moments, five powerful martial artists had gathered around Charles and Liam.

"Patriarch, what happened?"

"Liam, you’re here too? Do you know what’s going on?"

"Who would dare attack the Shelby Family?"

"Why does my head hurt so badly? It feels like something is pulling at my mind!"

One of the elders looked around anxiously.

"Patriarch, why haven’t you activated the family’s protective formation?"

They had been caught completely off guard.

Sarah’s villa was located near the edge of the estate, while the earlier confrontation between Xavier and the Seventh Elder at the manor entrance had ended too quickly for them to understand what was happening.

As a result, they had only just discovered that something was seriously wrong.

Charles didn’t waste time explaining every detail.

"Desmond Hale is a member of the Abyss Cult. He was responsible for controlling the Seventh Elder, and he’s now activated the Nine Nether Abyss Formation around the entire manor. His intention is to sacrifice every member of our family!"

"What?! Desmond Hale is with the Abyss Cult?"

One elder stared at him in disbelief.

"But he’s the Mountain Venerable’s son! How could someone like him be involved with that organization?"

"The Seventh Elder is dead?"

Another elder’s expression darkened.

"That bastard! We can’t allow him to get away with this!"

"The Nine Nether Abyss Formation... Our family is in serious danger!"

The elders began speaking over one another, their anxiety growing with every passing second.

Charles’s face turned cold.

"Quiet!"

His powerful voice immediately silenced them.

"Our family is facing a disaster. I don’t have time to stand here answering questions!"

He quickly began assigning tasks.

"Hank, find the Second Elder immediately! Yuna, go and wake the Ancestor from his seclusion!"

He then turned toward the remaining elders.

"The rest of you, go down there and stop our people from reaching the central square. No matter what happens, don’t let them get to the altar!"

Everyone understood how serious the situation was.

They didn’t waste another moment and immediately followed his instructions.

Once the others had left, Liam spoke up.

"Patriarch, those orders might help us delay the formation, but they won’t solve the actual problem."

His expression was stern.

"Do you have any idea where Desmond Hale is hiding? We need to find him. As long as he’s alive and controlling the formation, our family won’t be safe!"

Even Liam understood that the best way to deal with a threat like this was to eliminate its source.

Xavier, who had been standing nearby, also turned his attention toward Charles.

After Desmond Hale’s figure disappeared, Xavier had tried to locate him but couldn’t detect his presence anywhere.

That left him with little choice but to cooperate with the Shelby Family for the time being.

He certainly had the ability to escape the formation if he wanted to.

However, he hadn’t stayed behind to rescue the Shelby Family.

His main objective was Desmond Hale.

Since that man had dared to target him and attempt to turn him into a sacrifice, Xavier naturally intended to return the favor.

Besides, members of the Abyss Cult possessed all kinds of strange abilities. Allowing someone like Desmond Hale to escape would only create more trouble in the future.

Xavier preferred to eliminate such threats whenever he had the opportunity.

"If our protective formation were still intact, locating him wouldn’t be difficult," Charles replied with a bitter expression. "Unfortunately, Desmond Hale has already destroyed it."

He paused, but his expression soon became slightly more relaxed.

"Still, we haven’t reached the point of despair. Once the Ancestor comes out of seclusion, finding Desmond Hale should be relatively easy."

Charles clearly placed great faith in the family’s Ancestor.

There was a reason for that confidence.

The Shelby Family’s Ancestor had survived since the Great Destruction Era and was now more than one hundred and twenty years old.

As the saying went, an experienced elder was a treasure to any family.

Although the Ancestor was only at the eighth star of the Divine Power Realm, his age hadn’t diminished his ambitions. He was still determined to reach the Venerable Realm.

More importantly, he had comprehended two different laws.

One was the Law of Combat, while the other was the Law of Perception.

These two abilities made him far more formidable than an ordinary martial artist at the same cultivation level. Even against someone at the peak of the Divine Power Realm, he had the strength to put up a serious fight.

With his experience and abilities, Charles believed that once the Ancestor emerged, dealing with Desmond Hale would no longer be a major problem.

"All right. So what should we do until then?"

Liam asked.

He also had considerable confidence in the Ancestor’s abilities.

"For now, our priority is to protect our people," Charles answered.

He looked down at the countless members of the Shelby Family who were moving toward the central square.

"I have a bad feeling about what will happen once they reach that altar. I doubt any of them will survive."

Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind.

He turned toward Xavier.

"Mr. X, could you open another spatial portal like the one you used to send General Quill and the others away? If possible, we could evacuate the entire Shelby Family before the formation completes its work."

Charles’s tone became noticeably more respectful.

"Naturally, the Shelby Family will reward you generously for helping us through this crisis."

He had considered making this request earlier, when he witnessed Victoria and the others escape through the portal.

However, he had been too preoccupied with understanding the situation. Besides, his earlier interaction with Mr. X hadn’t been particularly pleasant, so he had hesitated to ask.

Now that thousands of his people were in danger, he could no longer afford to worry about his pride.

Unfortunately, Xavier shook his head.

"I’m afraid I can’t do that. Using that ability consumes far too much energy."

He wasn’t deliberately refusing to help.

Considering Liam’s relationship with Maya, Xavier wouldn’t have minded assisting the Shelby Family if he could do so without compromising his ability to deal with Desmond Hale.

But the long-distance teleportation function of his rune armor was simply too demanding.

Perhaps because it was forcing its way through the spatial restrictions of the Nine Nether Abyss Formation, the armor had consumed the energy stored in one of his star spaces in less than three seconds.

That was an astonishing amount of energy.

If he attempted to transport thousands of people, the consumption would be unimaginable.

And he couldn’t afford to exhaust himself at such a critical moment.

After all, he still had to deal with Desmond Hale.

Xavier possessed recovery medicines such as the Evergreen Pill, but they could only restore his physical condition. They couldn’t replenish the chaotic energy stored within his star spaces.

Once that energy was depleted, many of his strongest abilities would become unusable.

That was the last situation he wanted to face while trapped inside the Nine Nether Abyss Formation.

"I understand. There’s no need to explain further!"

Charles and Liam nodded.

They knew how difficult it was to use spatial abilities under the restrictions imposed by the Nine Nether Abyss Formation. Mr. X’s ability to open a portal despite those restrictions was clearly extraordinary. It wasn’t something he could casually repeat without consequences.

Although they were disappointed that he couldn’t evacuate the entire Shelby Family, neither of them found his explanation unreasonable.

However, before they could continue their discussion, a sudden change caught their attention.

A thick beam of crimson light shot upward from the central square, piercing the darkened sky.

A powerful wind swept across the manor. Dust and stones rose into the air as the ground trembled beneath their feet.

Then, something enormous began emerging from the pillar of red light.

A gigantic foot appeared first, followed by a massive body and a head. Before long, the creature’s entire figure had emerged.

At first glance, it looked remarkably similar to a human.

But its eyes were completely black, without even a trace of white. They resembled two bottomless holes, giving anyone who looked at them an unsettling feeling.

Intricate red markings covered the exposed parts of its skin, visible through the gaps in its armor.

"Abyss Demon!"