Chapter 47: Chapter 46: Notorious Reputation, Scared Witless
The Dog-headed Demon leader possessed an incredibly strong Life Force. Despite being sliced in two, it did not die right away. Its turquoise-yellow eyes stared at Qin Feng, full of venom and resentment. With its last ounce of strength, it said, "The... Priest... will not... let... you... go..."
Qin Feng’s eyes narrowed, and he gave a cold smile. "I don’t know if he’ll let me go, but you’re definitely dead!"
The venom in the Dog-headed Demon leader’s eyes grew to an extreme intensity. Its head went stiff, and it breathed its last.
Just as the Dog-headed Demon died, a mysterious figure in a dark and gloomy corner of the abandoned Crystal Jade Ore’s center stopped what it was doing. The figure was completely wrapped in a black robe and radiated a thick, dark, and oppressive aura.
The mysterious figure in the black robe stood no more than five feet tall. Faint purple flames burned in its eyes, and its entire body radiated a terrifyingly oppressive aura. At its feet was a mysterious Profound Array, hundreds of feet wide, formed from blood. Beside it lay several corpses that had been completely drained. A closer look would reveal them to be the missing elite disciples of the Qin Family.
This Profound Array was immense and malevolent, spanning hundreds of feet and exuding an indescribable, bloody evil. Bright red blood flowed along shallow, crisscrossing channels on the ground, outlining a complex and esoteric pattern of terrifying gore.
However, the pattern of the Profound Array was incomplete; the blood covered only a little more than a third of the Array.
"That Thorn Mastiff was such a waste. I sent it to gather some blood offerings, and it actually got itself killed! As expected, low-level beings like Dog-headed Demons can only serve as cannon fodder. It’s a shame that while the seal has cracked a little, the gap isn’t large enough. It can only accommodate these worthless inferiors coming through!!" A hoarse, low sigh echoed in the darkness.
"Unfortunately, the Saint Son is about to be born, so I cannot leave this place! You lot, go and make a trip. Bring me the expert who killed the Thorn Mastiff. While you’re at it, capture every living thing that has entered the Crystal Jade Ore. Bring them all back—dead or alive. His Highness the Saint Son will be born soon and requires fresh blood offerings imbued with Spiritual essence!"
ROAR! ROAR! A few low, guttural responses rumbled from the darkness.
Back on the surface, the Qin, Ning, Yu, and Song families had, after some effort, completely annihilated the fierce bandits from the Iron Ridge Mountain Range. After some contention, the families agreed to jointly explore and develop the underground Crystal Jade Ore.
Since the mine was on Qin Family territory, they claimed the largest share, while the other families took smaller portions. Upon learning that the Qin Family had already sent elite disciples to investigate the underground Crystal Jade Ore, the other families, not wanting to be left behind, dispatched their own elite exploration teams that very night.
Down below, after the death of their leader, the remaining Dog-headed Demons fell into disarray. They became chaotic and were easily cut down and scattered by Qin Feng.
Qin Feng stood and thought to himself, ’Something strange must have happened down here. Earth Abyss Demon Fiends have actually appeared. They may only be a low-level cannon fodder race like the Dog-headed Demons, but based on that leader’s last words, there must be bigger things lurking deeper inside! I don’t know how deep this place goes or what dangers lie ahead. Rushing in recklessly would be foolish. Even if there are Treasures like Crystal Diamonds, it’s not worth my life!’
Behind him, Qin Shou and the others also looked worried. The memory of the hundreds, even thousands, of Kobolds made their skin crawl. If Qin Feng hadn’t killed the Dog-headed Demon leader as fast as a bolt of lightning, the four of them might have all died in there.
"We’re pulling back," Qin Feng said, his expression grave. "There must be High-level Demon races in here. High-level Demons are powerful and possess terrifying Talent Powers. Not a single one is weaker than the Condensing Vein Realm. Most importantly, their intelligence is on par with, or even surpasses, that of the Human Race! We can’t handle beings like that right now. If we were to run into a Royal Saint Son, we would very likely lose our lives here for good!"
The others’ expressions changed, each one turning grave.
The Earth Abyssal Esophagus was an incredibly mysterious place. Legend told of nine Demon Emperors who had emerged from it. Each of these Great Emperors had once been a Demon Venerable who ran rampant, ruling over countless Demon Fiends. They had even managed to escape the terrifying digestive law of the Earth Abyssal Esophagus and flee into the wider world, where their vicious reputations became infamous as they continued their reign of terror.
Their bloodlines possessed incredible powers, and their descendants inherited a portion of these abilities. For this reason, they were honored with the title of Royal Race.
The others were unaware of these details, but they could sense the terror involved. If cannon fodder like the Dog-headed Demons—mere Low-level Demon Monsters—were this frightening, then High-level Demons, to say nothing of the Royal Race, would certainly be even stronger. Knowingly walking into immense danger wasn’t bravery; it was a death wish.
Although Qin Feng was confident he could protect himself, he couldn’t guarantee the safety of the men with him. They were the core team he had worked so hard to assemble. It would be a terrible waste to get them all killed here for the sake of some unconfirmed Treasure. It was better to retreat for now and plan for the long term.
Just as they decided to retreat, the sound of shuffling footsteps suddenly echoed from a dark mining tunnel not far away. The steps were numerous and close together. Within a few breaths, a group of people emerged from a three-way fork in the tunnel.
From a distance, someone spotted Qin Feng’s party. A sharp voice barked out, "Who goes there! What are you doing skulking around?" The same voice then continued with a cold rebuke. "Which Qin Family squad are you? What are you gawking at? The Seventh Young Master is here, and you still haven’t come to pay your respects! You’d better hand over everything you’ve found, and be quick about it!"
"Qin Fang?" Qin Feng froze for a second before a cold smirk touched his lips. ’So Qin Fang came to this abandoned mine himself, disregarding his status. This is perfect. It’s time I repaid him for all the times he plotted against me and tried to have me killed!’
In the distance, Qin Fang swaggered out of the darkness, holding a torch and surrounded by his entourage. The very first thing he saw was the smirking youth.
Qin Feng? Qin Fang was dumbfounded. His expression changed drastically, and it felt as if his scalp was about to explode. His face turned grim, his expression shifting again and again. After a long moment, he suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted fiercely.
"Run! It’s that Demon, Qin Feng!!!" With that, he turned and fled. He shot off like a cheetah, moving with incredible speed. It was clear he was running for his life.
The men with him had been about to shout and flex their authority, but his words stunned them silent, as if they’d been struck by lightning. When they saw his panicked figure desperately scrambling to escape, their jaws hit the floor.
’Is this really the same Young Master Qin Fang who was hailed as the Qin Family’s Revival Lord, the chosen one, the high and mighty prodigy?’
’He took one look and ran for the hills! Scared out of his wits!’
"You idiots! That’s Qin Feng! The Demon who single-handedly crippled that whole terrifying gang of butchers from the Law Enforcement Hall in the Barbaric Mountain Range! If you don’t run now, are you trying to get yourselves killed?!"
Seeing the others still standing there in a daze, a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Heaven roared. After shouting, he vanished in a streak. He ran with such speed it was like he was running for his life.
As if afraid he still wasn’t fast enough, he gritted his teeth, and to Qin Feng’s utter shock, slapped his own chest, causing a burst of bloody light. He shot forward as if supercharged, his speed skyrocketing. He had actually resorted to self-harm, using a Dharma Gate that burned his life energy to escape even faster.
In an instant, he shot to the front of the pack. The others followed his lead. One by one, the Martial Artists who knew similar self-destructive Dharma Gates began spitting up blood as they desperately accelerated, not caring about the cost.
The sound of people coughing up blood rose and fell in waves. What a spectacular sight!
Qin Feng watched this scene in utter amazement. ’Just a moment ago, Qin Fang and his people were acting all high and mighty, looking as if they had us cornered. Why did they all flee the second they saw it was me? I saw them clearly. Qin Fang’s group has more than ten people, including two or three experts at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Heaven and at least six or seven Martial Artists at the Martial Arts Fourth Layer!’
’What’s wrong with these people? Why are they so scared of me? They’re even resorting to self-harm... Tsk, tsk. How much blood have they lost?!’ Qin Feng was completely baffled.
Behind him, Qin Shou’s face was a mask of exasperation. ’This guy still has no idea just how terrifying he is. A Martial Arts Fourth Layer who can instantly kill someone at the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Heaven. A man who killed hundreds of Qin Family elites in just a few days. If he isn’t terrifying, who is?! Not run? Should they have stayed here to die?!’
’Qin Muhai was just unlucky enough to run into you, that’s why you killed him!’ Qin Shou actually felt a bit of sympathy for the deceased Qin Muhai. ’He didn’t even get a chance to run!’
