Chapter 424: Chapter 242: The Demon King’s Revenge
"The problem is that this fourth-rank Demon Fiend’s identity is special. It’s a member of the Cloud-Splitting Light Demon clan!"
"A Cloud-Splitting Light Demon?" Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow.
Like Bone Demons, Light Demons were a powerful race. Though they had many branches, they were not numerous, and every single one was a terrifying entity.
Upon reaching adulthood, a Light Demon would be a third-rank existence at the Heroic Body Realm.
The Cloud-Splitting Light Demons were one such branch of the Light Demon race.
Gu Zheng had only ever read about this particular Demon Fiend. Its most notable characteristic was its ability of Shattering Void.
"Yes, a Cloud-Splitting Light Demon!"
Zheng Weiyang said gravely, "The fourth-rank Demon Fiend we killed was, quite unfortunately, the offspring of the ’Cloud-Splitting King’—and its only one. The ’Cloud-Splitting King’ is at the peak of the fourth rank and was about to break through to the fifth. When its only child was killed, it abandoned the breakthrough, came over from the passage, and brought with it hundreds of thousands of Demon Fiends of all kinds to besiege us."
’Hundreds of thousands of Demon Fiends?’
’Aren’t those just Demon Points and energy for the taking!’
Gu Zheng felt a flicker of joy.
Outwardly, he showed little emotion. He frowned and said, "Zheng, are you saying that the ’Cloud-Splitting Demon King’ has surrounded the Zheng Family’s Ancestral Land? That outside the Spirit Realm Space, there are now hundreds of thousands of Demon Fiends?"
"It’s more than that."
Zheng Weiyang gave a bitter smile. "The ’Cloud-Splitting King’ itself is at the peak of the fourth rank. It has two subordinates—one at mid-fourth-rank and the other at late-fourth-rank. Among the Demon Fiends it gathered, there are two more at the fourth rank. And beyond that, the ’Cloud-Splitting King’ even roped in an Evil God, which sent down an Evil God Avatar, as well as an incarnation."
’Damn. What a lineup.’
’By that count, that’s five fourth-rankers and one Evil God Avatar.’
’Wait, no. An Evil God Avatar *and* an incarnation? It sent both?’
Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow. "Zheng, are you telling me there are a total of five fourth-rank Demon Fiends surrounding the Zheng Family’s Ancestral Land—one at peak fourth-rank, plus an Evil God Avatar and an incarnation?"
"...Yes." Zheng Weiyang sighed.
’...Alright, then.’
’No wonder the Zheng family members were so on edge, even inside the Spirit Realm Space.’
’So their home was basically under siege by Demon Fiends.’
’And these were deadly fourth-rank Demon Fiends, a single one of which could annihilate a city.’
Under these circumstances, the Zheng family could only remain trapped in their Spirit Realm Space, unable to leave.
If Gu Zheng wanted to get out, he too would have to fight his way through this grand army assembled by the Demon Fiends and the Evil God.
Of course.
As far as Gu Zheng was concerned, he couldn’t be happier to slaughter Demon Fiends. He was in desperate need of Demon Points, after all.
"The help you mentioned, Zheng—are you asking me to deal with the ’Cloud-Splitting Demon King’? Or the Evil God’s avatar and incarnation?" Gu Zheng asked directly after his inner commentary.
"The ’Cloud-Splitting King’ will be handled by our Zheng Family’s ancestor. As for its two subordinates—the fourth-rank Light Demons—and the Evil God’s incarnation and avatar, we have people to deal with them as well."
Hearing this, Zheng Weiyang sat up straight and said seriously, "The favor I wish to ask of you, Gu, is to deal with the other two fourth-rank Demon Fiends. One is a Nine-headed Serpent, and the other is a Flame Demon."
"Of these two fourth-rank Demon Fiends, the Nine-headed Serpent is mid-fourth-rank, while the Flame Demon has only just recently broken through to the fourth rank."
"No problem," Gu Zheng agreed without hesitation. "It’s my honor to be of assistance, Zheng. Besides, we need to get out of here as well. If we don’t drive these Demon Fiends away, we’ll be trapped here all the same."
"Haha, to have your help, Gu, is our Zheng Family’s honor!" Zheng Weiyang said with delight.
Now that Gu Zheng had agreed, the matter was as good as settled.
Two fourth-rank Demon Fiends, but on Gu Zheng’s side, there were five with a King’s Body, plus Gu Zheng himself.
With this much power, dealing with the Nine-headed Serpent and the Flame Demon would be effortless.
"My apologies, my apologies, I’m late!"
As the two were chatting, a tall, elderly man strode in through the door.
"Gu King, my apologies. I was delayed and am only just now arriving. Tonight, I will drink three penalty cups to make it up to you, Gu King!"
"This is the Patriarch of our Zheng Family," Zheng Weiyang said, rising at the right moment to introduce him to Gu Zheng.
"Greetings, Patriarch Zheng." Gu Zheng rose and cupped his fist in a salute. "Patriarch Zheng, you’re being too formal. We were the ones who trespassed. That Zheng invited me for tea and that you’ve allowed us to rest in your Ancestral Land—we are the ones who should be expressing our gratitude."
"Besides, compared to drinking, I much prefer slaying Demon Fiends."
The Patriarch of the Zheng Family, Zheng Jiuyang.
Judging from his aura, he had at least unlocked the Five Orifice Divine Techniques, reaching the second stage of the King’s Body.
’In terms of the number of people at the King’s Body Realm, the Zheng Family seems to have quite a few—at least five.’
’And that’s just members of the Zheng family, not including those loyal to them, like Xu Jianzhu. There should be a few more like him.’
"Haha, I’ve long heard that the Gu King’s favorite pastime is slaying Demon Fiends, and that you’ve even cleared out dozens of passages in the process. Seeing you today, I didn’t expect you to still be so fond of it."
Zheng Jiuyang laughed heartily.
"Patriarch, Gu has already agreed to help us deal with the Nine-headed Serpent and the Flame Demon," Zheng Weiyang chimed in.
"Excellent!"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Jiuyang’s expression turned solemn. Facing Gu Zheng, he performed a deep bow. "Gu King, for your willingness to take action, this great kindness, I, Jiuyang, thank you in advance on behalf of everyone in the Zheng Family. Once we have repelled the Demon Fiends, we will present you with a token of our gratitude!"
"Patriarch Zheng, you’re too kind." Gu Zheng returned the gesture. "There’s no need for any gifts. Slaying Demon Fiends is simply a hobby of mine. Besides, I have to return to Jing Country, so I have no choice but to kill these Demon Fiends anyway."
"Haha!"
Zheng Jiuyang laughed, seemingly delighted by Gu Zheng’s frankness.
"In that case, there’s no time to waste! We set out now to slay the Demon Fiends!"
Zheng Jiuyang waved his hand grandly, turned, and led the way.
"Alright."
Gu Zheng stepped forward to follow.
Sen Taibai followed quietly.
Zheng Weiyang brought up the rear.
The group of four left the reception hall and shot straight into the air, heading for the entrance to the Spirit Realm Space.
While passing over a training ground, Gu Zheng saw a Tripod Cauldron.
It was the Original Dragon Tripod!
This Tripod Cauldron, one of the Nine Tripods, was being used as an incense burner and was placed in the southeast corner.
There was a Tripod Cauldron in each of the other three cardinal directions as well.
Fragrance wafted from all four directions, interlinking with each other to form an Array.
’An Array to aid in cultivation?’
Gu Zheng glanced at it a couple of times before looking away.
’Now that I’ve seen the Original Dragon Tripod, there’s no rush.’
SWOOSH!
WHOOSH!
The sound of rending air filled their passage.
The group of four arrived at a mountaintop with a large contingent of guards and entered an open, swirling portal.
The moment they stepped through the portal, immense waves of demonic aura swarmed them from all directions.
In every direction, from the sky to the ground, there was nothing but Demon Fiends.
The entrance to the Zheng Family’s Ancestral Land was located on a Stone Mountain.
At this moment, all four sides of the hundred-meter-high Stone Mountain were swarming with Demon Fiends, a tide of them stretching as far as the eye could see.
At the foot of the Stone Mountain, squads of warriors were arranged in formation. Beyond them, Array Plates and Array Banners pulsed with light, forming a massive Defense Array that enveloped the Stone Mountain and blocked the charge of the Demon Fiends outside.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
A continuous stream of muffled impacts rang out.
All sorts of Demon Fiends crashed into the protective barrier in wave after wave, sending ripples spreading across its surface.
In mid-air, all of the Zheng Family’s experts, from Super Body to Heroic Body and King’s Body realms, were in formation and ready for battle.
Outside the protective barrier, high in the sky, black clouds roiled and golden light surged, colliding with one another and periodically erupting with tremendous booms.
"It’s the ’Cloud-Splitting King’. That thing is on the attack again."
Zheng Weiyang explained from beside Gu Zheng, "The one fighting it is our ancestor."
’To be able to fight a peak fourth-rank Cloud-Splitting Light Demon without losing, the Zheng Family’s ancestor must undoubtedly be in the third stage of the King’s Body, or perhaps even at its peak.’
’Compared to other Noble Families, the foundations of the Eight Great Vassal Kings’ families are clearly much deeper. Each of their families must have at least one member at the third stage of the King’s Body.’
"The number of Demon Fiends is vast, so the Defense Array can’t be maintained indefinitely. It needs to be restarted periodically. When it reboots, the Demon Fiends will be at their most frenzied. Gu, we’ll be counting on you in a moment," Zheng Weiyang explained.
"Understood."
Gu Zheng nodded, then sent a Divine Strange Sound Transmission to Sen Taibai, "When the fighting starts, you stall the Flame Demon first."
"Yes, Master," Sen Taibai nodded respectfully.
’The Nine-Headed Serpent Demon Fiend and the Flame Demon.’
’The former is stronger, so I’ll deal with it first.’
’As for the Flame Demon, Sen Taibai’s Frozen Domain is a perfect counter. Stalling it for a while won’t be a problem.’
HUMMM—
The void trembled.
"Gu, the Defense Array is about to shut down for a restart!" Zheng Weiyang shouted.
As his voice fell, the protective barrier enveloping the mountaintop flickered once and vanished.
"AWOOO—"
"ROAR!"
"SKREEE—!"
"GAKK!!"
"..."
The screams, howls, and roars of countless Demon Fiends instantly erupted, reverberating through the sky and across the land...
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