Chapter 483: Chapter 9: Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell
Yang Jing, in the guise of the Starfall True Demon, burrowed deep underground.
He knew that to beings of the Nascent Soul Level, a single Xuyu Coral was far more valuable than a Great Celestial Demon at the Golden Core Realm. The moment the Tribulation Sea Old Demon mentioned its existence, the Moon Demon King would immediately change his attitude.
Of course, he wasn’t about to pin all his hopes on a Nascent Soul Demon King.
Yang Jing had devised an escape plan long ago, back when he first chose the Starfall True Demon’s body.
It was a ploy of substitution—the classic strategy of the Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell.
While the fierce battle raged on the surface, Yang Jing seized the opportunity. With the two Nascent Soul Level beings completely preoccupied, he instantly released the Starfall True Demon from his Inner World.
Through the thick layers of earth, with the Tribulation Sea Old Demon locked in a fierce battle with the Moon Demon King, Yang Jing estimated that they would be unable to sense the situation unfolding underground.
Still, he cautiously used the Cloud Escape technique to hide his form.
The Starfall True Demon had been suppressed in the Inner World for a long time. Under the Wanhua Child’s care, the traces of Celestial True Gang and various other magic techniques left on its body had been completely erased.
It suddenly found itself underground, still dazed and completely unaware of what was happening in the outside world.
The next instant, the billowing Demon Fire from the Powerful White Bone Demon burned through the layers of earth and bored its way down.
The Starfall True Demon panicked and scrambled to dodge, but Yang Jing immediately unleashed his Demon-Imprisoning and Demon-Suppressing Divine Techniques, forcing it to face the Demon Fire.
The billowing Demon Fire made the Starfall True Demon shriek incessantly. It had been suppressed in the Inner World for so long that it was already in a wretched state. The moment the Demon Fire seared it, it was pushed to the brink of death.
A moment later, a wave of Taiyin Demon Qi seeped into the ground. Struck by this intensely cold Demonic Qi, the Starfall True Demon was subjected to a violent clash of heat and cold. It died instantly, its very body shattering into pieces.
A glint flashed in Yang Jing’s eyes. He instantly transformed, becoming one of the inconspicuous fragments. With a quick roll on the ground, he picked up faint traces of the Demon Fire and Yin Qi, blending in perfectly among the remains of the Starfall True Demon’s corpse.
’If only the Inner World could completely block all auras, both inside and out.’
This thought arose in Yang Jing’s mind as he lay disguised as a meteorite fragment.
Compared to an independent Small Realm, the Inner World was more like a Spatial Restriction attached to the Nine Heavens World—just a more refined version. It couldn’t completely sever the connection between the auras inside and out.
If he hid inside his Inner World, he could conceal his form, but not his aura. If the Tribulation Sea Old Demon and the Moon Demon King were to investigate carefully, they might even discover the Inner World’s existence.
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Seeing that he had actually managed to persuade the Moon Demon King, the Tribulation Sea Old Demon was secretly delighted. He had already made his decision: no matter the cost, he had to buy back that Xuyu Coral.
’If the Moon Demon King demands an exorbitant price, he can’t blame me for joining forces with the other Nascent Soul Cultivators from the Southern Demon Sect to take the Xuyu Coral back by force.’
The Moon Demon King was sinister and cunning. Although he had a good idea of what the Tribulation Sea Old Demon was thinking, he paid it no mind.
’I preside over the Demon Realm and have a Demon Venerable backing me,’ he thought. ’Unless the Tribulation Sea Old Demon can get a Divinity Transformation Demon Cultivator from his Sect to intervene, I have nothing to fear.’
’If I really get my hands on this Xuyu Coral, I’ll definitely keep this treasure that can endlessly produce Longevity Elixirs for myself. I’ll be able to fleece these death-fearing Demon Cultivators for the rest of their lives.’
’The Tribulation Sea Old Demon alone is in no position to bargain with me.’
The two Nascent Soul Level beings looked at each other and smiled, each nursing their own secret schemes.
Just then, the Moon Demon King’s expression suddenly changed.
The Tribulation Sea Old Demon had been watching the Moon Demon King closely. Seeing the change in his expression, his own suspicions were immediately aroused.
"Moon Demon King, has something happened?"
"The Starfall True Demon is dead,"
the Moon Demon King said, glancing at the Tribulation Sea Old Demon.
"How is that possible? Moon Demon King, are you toying with me!"
The Tribulation Sea Old Demon flew into a rage. The Starfall True Demon was a Great Celestial Demon. While it might not be much in the eyes of Nascent Soul Cultivators like them, it was still powerful enough to rule its own territory in the Demon Realm. How could it have just died for no reason?
"See for yourself."
As the Moon Demon King spoke, he waved his hand, shattering the thick layers of ice. He then used his Great Magical Power to tear open the earth below.
The power they had unleashed during their Magical Combat was immense. Even now, the black ice that had formed below had yet to melt, and it radiated dense Yin Qi.
Countless Celestial Demons had been frozen to death by a cold so extreme it felt as if it had seeped from a primordial, nether-like era.
The Starfall True Demon had been clever enough to flee deep underground, yet it had still been unable to save its own life.
Layer after layer of earth was torn away, revealing the Starfall True Demon’s corpse deep below.
Traces of both Taiyin Demon Qi and White Bone Demon Fire still lingered on the Starfall True Demon’s body.
Caught between the heat and the cold, under the lingering power of the two Nascent Soul Techniques, the Starfall True Demon’s physical body had been shattered into a dozen or so pieces of varying sizes. It was a mangled mess of frostbite and burns, completely unrecognizable.
The Tribulation Sea Old Demon recalled his Powerful White Bone Demon, his earlier conviction instantly wavering. If this Starfall True Demon were really the Tribulation Cultivator who had stolen the Xuyu Coral in disguise, it would never have died so easily in the mere aftershocks of a battle between two Nascent Soul Cultivators.
He took out the Ten Thousand Miles Soul-Locking Mirror. Of the densely packed points of light that had once covered its surface, only a single one remained, fixed upon the corpse of the Starfall True Demon.
’Could it be that the thief really has some method to instantly teleport ten thousand miles away?’
Not even a Nascent Soul Cultivator was capable of such a feat. The Tribulation Sea Old Demon’s mind was in turmoil; he was unwilling to accept this reality.
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