Chapter 768: The Brat

I must get the demon banner, but I'm not sure I can defeat this overseer myself…

Mo Hua silently pondered.

This demon cultivator overseer was at the peak of Foundation Establishment, experienced, brutal, wielded a black demon banner, and possessed demon transformation abilities.

Though he didn't seem as strong as Huo Fotuo, he still looked extremely troublesome.

Especially here in the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, where demon cultivators were numerous and I was alone—it would be even harder to act…

"Steal it?"

Mo Hua's mind stirred.

In the following time, he carefully observed every move of this demon cultivator overseer and found him cunning and alert.

The black demon banner was carried on his person, hidden deep within his storage pouch, never used lightly.

Even when sleeping, cultivating, or meditating, he kept the storage pouch tucked against his chest.

Clearly, the banner was extremely important.

It was even possible that if the banner was lost, he would die…

"Can't steal it…"

Mo Hua shook his head.

This old demon cultivator truly wouldn't give any easy openings.

"Since you won't let me steal," Mo Hua's gaze turned cold, "then I'll have to find a way to kill him…"

After that, Mo Hua still used the Spirit Vision Array to constantly monitor this demon cultivator overseer.

This overseer was strong—what demonic cultivation technique he practiced, what form he took after demon transformation, what kind of Four Symbols demon tattoos were carved on his body—Mo Hua knew nothing of it.

And with the demon banner in hand, in the Ten Thousand Demons Prison, he didn't need to act personally when disturbances arose, so he never revealed his true strength.

But every enemy has a weakness—humans do, demonic beasts do, and demon cultivators certainly do too.

Mo Hua still waited patiently for an opportunity.

Until this late night.

Mo Hua guessed it was late night.

The Ten Thousand Demons Valley was perpetually dark, with no sense of time, but during certain "late night" periods, the demon cultivators grew noticeably quieter.

During this late hour, the overseer left alone, moving suspiciously, winding through countless turns.

Mo Hua followed, followed, then lost him.

"What's he sneaking off to do?"

Mo Hua frowned, climbed back along the array core passage to the core chamber, and used his spiritual sense to connect with the Spirit Vision Repeater Array—finally locating the overseer's trail in a remote corner.

The demon cultivator overseer had appeared inside the demonic beast prison.

Mo Hua froze, then climbed along the array core passage to near the prison.

The prison was still bloody, filled with demonic beasts, but the patrolling demon cultivators were gone.

Either changing shifts or resting.

Mo Hua searched briefly, then finally spotted the overseer inside one of the prison cells.

It was an isolated cell, with thick stone walls, housing a single demonic beast.

Mo Hua glanced once, surprised.

He had seen this demonic beast before.

It was that black bear demon…

Before entering the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, he had tampered with its chains; the black bear demon broke free and killed two demon cultivators.

He never expected to meet it again after entering the Ten Thousand Demons Valley.

Now, the black bear demon was bound by thicker chains, weighed down by shackles, layered with arrays—completely immobilized.

And the demon cultivator overseer was drawing blood from the black bear demon.

He pulled out a sharp knife and a white porcelain dish, stabbed the blade into the black bear's paw, and watched the blood gush out, dripping into the white dish.

The black bear demon's eyes blazed with fury, surging with savage intent, struggling a few times—but could not break free.

The overseer's gaze was greedy; he lifted the dish and drank the black bear's blood in one gulp, then licked his lips, revealing long, ugly fangs.

After drinking, the overseer was still unsatisfied, murmuring:

"Black bear paw blood—truly delicious. Too bad, it's the Second Elder's 'forbidden delicacy'…"

Mo Hua understood.

The Second Elder…

No wonder this overseer dared only sneak sips, afraid of being discovered by other demon cultivators.

And he dared not steal too much at once.

If he drank too much, the black bear demon would lose too much blood; when the Second Elder returned, he'd surely notice—and he'd never be spared.

After finishing one dish of blood, the overseer looked longingly at the black bear demon.

He wanted another bowl—but he dared not.

He suppressed his hunger, tucked away the knife and dish, glanced left and right, confirmed no one had noticed, then turned to leave.

Mo Hua looked at the suppressed, furious black bear, then raised his head to watch the "thief" overseer, deep in thought.

The overseer, after leaving the prison, suddenly felt a chill run through his heart.

He turned around, eyes dark and menacing, scanning the surroundings—but all was empty, save the low, struggling roars of the demonic beasts.

The overseer frowned.

"Lately, why do I always feel someone's watching me…"

But this is the Ten Thousand Demons Prison—where would a person come from?

Neither are demonic cultivators.

A common demonic cultivator, brimming with demonic aura, how could they possibly hide it from themselves?

"Could it be… that he's been targeted by some evil 'demonic spirit'?"

The overseer thought of that eerie, sinister demonic cultivation diagram, and suddenly shivered.

"Impossible," the overseer shook his head slightly, "the demonic spirits are all sealed inside the diagram—how could they possibly escape…"

The overseer's gaze sharpened, and he turned to leave.

Mo Hua, however, remained in the prison, studying the black bear demon, gradually forming a plan in his mind.

He crawled again along the corridor to the demonic cultivators' mess hall.

Demonic cultivators have a mess hall too.

This was something Mo Hua had discovered earlier.

Inside the mess hall were both cooking stoves and alchemy furnaces.

The cooking stoves were used to stew various demonic beast meats.

Most cultivators of the common sort couldn't afford spiritual meat, so they ate demonic meat—but only from herbivorous demonic beasts.

Because carnivorous demonic beasts inevitably ate humans.

But demonic cultivators were different; they longed to directly "consume" humans, so they ate anything, regardless of whether it was herbivore or predator.

The alchemy furnace beside it was used for pill refining.

But this kind of alchemy furnace was a crude one, not refining complex demonic medicines, but rather simple pills like "Abstention Pills," meant as fodder for demonic beasts.

Both the cooking stoves and the alchemy furnaces were coated in thick layers of blood grime, reeking of a nauseating stench.

Mo Hua covered his nose and mouth, disdainfully picked out some raw meat, cooked meat, and unnamed blood pills brimming with potent blood qi, and stuffed them into his storage pouch.

To avoid being discovered, he took only a little of each.

After selecting them, Mo Hua returned the same way to the prison and tossed all the meat and pills to the black bear demon.

The black bear demon, just drained of blood and resting with closed eyes, suddenly startled.

Seeing something thrown before him, he roared and bellowed incessantly.

Only when he recognized the food and sniffed it did he extend his massive paw, drag the meat toward him, and wolf it down.

Yet even as he ate, he growled lowly.

Mo Hua shook his head in dismay.

This big black bear is so stupid…

He doesn't even understand the principle of quietly growing rich.

In this environment, if you have meat, shouldn't you hide it, eat it secretly?

Eat in secret to fill your belly, restore your primordial energy, and build up your strength.

Why are you eating while growling, as if afraid someone will steal it from you…?

Mo Hua sneered, lowering his evaluation of the black bear demon by a notch.

This big dumb bear is nowhere near as clever as my own big tiger.

Back when I was at Great Heishan, feeding that big tiger, it was as cunning as a ghost—it knew to hide its food, sneaking and slinking so no one noticed.

It even knew how to "perform," putting on a pitiful, battered, helpless appearance.

Mo Hua felt a pang of nostalgia.

"I wonder how the big tiger is doing."

"With me gone, does anyone even feed it dried fish?"

"I wonder when I'll be able to go back and see it…"

Mo Hua even missed it a little.

In the prison, the black bear demon finished eating and immediately perked up, eyes gleaming with ferocity.

Mo Hua shook his head again in disappointment.

This bear is useless—completely lacking in cunning.

But there are no other demonic beasts available for now; I'll have to make do.

After that, whenever Mo Hua had free time, he stole some meat to feed the bear demon.

And the black bear demon's blood qi slowly filled, his demonic aura gradually intensified, and his strength steadily recovered.

After an unknown length of time—roughly after Mo Hua had sent seven Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches to Elder Xun—the overseer finally, once again under cover of deep night, slipped out of his room and crept toward the prison.

He was coming again to steal blood.

Mo Hua perked up.

He arrived ahead of time, entering the prison and hiding in the corner, blending into the darkness, revealing not a trace of his aura.

Like an invisible, perilous demonic spirit.

After a stick of incense had burned, the demonic cultivator overseer entered the prison.

As usual, he released his spiritual sense to scan the area.

But as a demonic cultivator, though his physical body was robust, his spiritual sense was weak; moreover, after demonic transformation, his mind had become erratic, and his spiritual sense had declined somewhat—so he could not detect Mo Hua at all.

Besides, he was now desperately hungry.

In the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, the demonic cultivators' rations were poor.

Black bear paw blood was an especially rare delicacy.

Overcome by hunger, the overseer's gaze turned greedy; he hurried toward the black bear demon, drew his sharp knife, and prepared to drain its blood.

But as soon as he drew near, sudden chaos erupted.

A thick stench of blood surged—the black bear, previously with closed eyes, suddenly opened them, roared, and slammed its massive paw toward the demonic cultivator overseer.

This black bear was a little smarter, knowing to wait until the overseer drew near before striking.

But not smart enough—it didn't wait until the overseer was truly within reach, until the moment of bloodletting became unavoidable, before acting.

The overseer's gaze trembled in shock, and he immediately stepped back.

But he still brushed against the bear's paw; half his body went numb, and one arm was slashed open, drenched in blood.

The bear demon was massive and heavy, its strength among the highest in demonic beasts.

Moreover, this was a second-rank late-stage bear demon.

With its demonic power fully gathered, even a mere brush of its strike left the overseer severely wounded.

"Wretched beast!"

Looking at his blood-drenched arm, the overseer was both shocked and furious.

He never imagined that after guarding the Ten Thousand Demons Prison for so many years, always in peace, today he would be undone by this wretched beast!

The overseer swiftly stepped back another pace.

The black bear demon lunged forward one step, but was immediately restrained by its shackles, its throat choked, its claws locked, unable to advance an inch.

The overseer exhaled in relief.

But at the same time, he felt a pang of doubt.

This black bear demon was grievously wounded and had not been fed; it had always been weak and gasping—how could its demonic power now be so vigorous?

"Thankfully, the chains are holding it…"

The chains bore a second-rank late-stage array; this demonic beast could not break free.

Without the shackles restraining it, a sudden swipe from this wretched beast would have crippled me.

The overseer felt a surge of relief.

But just then, a faint "creak" sounded.

The overseer turned toward the sound—and his expression shattered.

The array on the chains was slowly dimming, fading…

And without the array's reinforcement, the chains, under the black bear demon's immense force, were slowly warping, bending, until they snapped completely.

Before the chains fully broke, the overseer had already stepped back in advance.

But the black bear demon, now freed, moved faster—striking from behind, it lunged at the overseer with full force.

The overseer's pupils shrank—he dared not hold back. His eyes flashed crimson, he let out a low roar, and his body swelled violently; both arms sprouted thick fur, transforming into gray bear paws, his fingertips hardening into jet-black claws.

The overseer was, in truth, a gray bear demon cultivator.

Facing the mountain-sized black bear demon, the overseer was under immense pressure and had no choice but to unleash his demonic transformation.

Thus, a gray bear demon cultivator and a black bear demon beast clashed in battle.

Instantly, demonic power surged through the prison, and a stench of blood filled the air.

Demon cultivator and demon beast fought desperately, roaring nonstop, fists striking flesh, blood spraying everywhere—fierce beyond measure.

After fighting for a while, the demon-transformed overseer tore a claw across the black bear's chest, then used the recoil to leap backward, creating a distance of several zhang, panting heavily where he stood.

His body was covered in wounds.

Moreover, directly clashing with a second-rank late-stage demonic beast—even as a demon cultivator—he was stretched to his limit; his flesh trembled, his bones tingled with numbness.

On the other side, the black bear demon did not press forward.

Though it was a demonic beast with surging blood qi, it was still wounded, having eaten only the meat and blood pills Mo Hua had secretly fed it—its strength had not fully recovered.

So after a fierce exchange, failing to finish off the overseer in one burst, it was now running low on energy.

But its eyes grew increasingly vicious, and drool dripped slowly, drop by drop, from its mouth.

Outside the prison cell, sounds emerged.

It seemed the battle's demonic energy had been too violent, too loud—drawing the attention of patrol and garrison demon cultivators.

The overseer grunted, his expression displeased.

Though he had been careful, he had still been discovered.

But it didn't matter—as long as he warned and threatened them to keep silent, to keep this from reaching the Second Elder.

Besides, with others arriving, they could help subdue the bear demon together, sparing him from standing alone.

"Just need to hold on a little longer…"

The overseer focused his mind, locking eyes with the black bear.

But a glance out of the corner of his eye made him freeze—then his heart clenched in alarm.

He saw the chains binding the black bear demon.

On the chains, there were damp, crimson liquids.

At first he thought it was demonic blood—but upon closer look, it wasn't pure demonic blood; it resembled something mixed…

Spirit Ink?

"Spirit Ink?!"

The overseer's pupils widened sharply.

This Spirit Ink was fresh—still wet, not yet dried or darkened.

Clearly, someone had just used this Spirit Ink to redraw the array, tampering with the chains!

How could this be?!

The overseer's thoughts churned chaotically; before he could think further, a chill crept down his back, his scalp prickling.

Behind him… someone was there!

The overseer turned pale, whirling around—but his tall frame made it hard to see Mo Hua immediately.

Just then, firelight flared from the darkness.

Two blinding flames ignited within the prison cell.

They were two fireballs.

A powerful, profound surge of spiritual sense spread instantly.

Under the intense pressure of spiritual awareness, the two fireballs slammed together at high speed, their internal spell structures collapsing, merging into one another, generating a twisted, terrifying force of spiritual energy fusion.

A dark, mutated fireball, its surface flowing with magma, resembling a meteor, coalesced.

A pair of Bai Xi hands pressed this "meteor" against the back of the demonic cultivator supervisor.

A terrifying surge of spiritual energy erupted abruptly.

The mutated flame surged wildly.

The demonic cultivator supervisor, at the peak of Foundation Establishment and further corrupted by demonic transformation, felt a sudden, searing pain in his chest; flames poured before his eyes, and when he looked down, he saw a black, gaping hole torn through his chest.

The flesh around the wound was charred to ash.

The flesh writhed and regenerated even as the lingering flames burned it to nothing.

"What kind of terrifying spell is this?!"

The supervisor's eyes widened in horror, disbelief etched upon his face.

In that life-and-death instant, he immediately reached out, pulling out his storage bag, intending to retrieve flesh-repairing pills to halt his wound.

He did not want to die!

But the moment he pulled out the storage bag, he sensed a foul stench.

Something had drawn near.

Then a bloodied maw clamped down on his shoulder.

The black bear demon, startled by the Small Meteor Spell's flames but quickly regaining composure, saw the demonic supervisor severely wounded; his eyes instantly turned red, and with a stench-laden rush, he lunged forward, jaws like steel, biting down hard on half the supervisor's upper body.

The supervisor struggled to break free, but suddenly his fingers slipped—his hand went empty.

Someone had seized his storage bag!

Rage burned in his heart, then cold dread flooded his soul.

He knew he had no chance of survival…

The black bear demon, without mercy, chewed his body with its bloody maw.

The supervisor, with his last strength, struggled to turn his head, desperate to see, to understand.

He was filled with unbearable resentment, his eyes nearly bursting.

"What… what killed me…?"

But when he looked behind him through his blood-blurred vision, he saw nothing—no human, no demonic creature.

No one had tampered with the chains.

No one had cast that terrifying spell.

And no one had stolen his storage bag.

The demonic supervisor, eyes filled with blood-tears, mouth full of blood, spoke slowly, word by word:

"Who… exactly…?"

Before he could finish, a "crack" echoed—and the black bear bit him clean in two.

When other demonic cultivators arrived, they saw only their supervisor, severed in two by a massive black bear, slowly being stuffed into its mouth and gnawed.

"Monster!"

"Save the supervisor!"

"Damn it!"

"Kill this beast!"

In an instant, the demonic cultivators erupted in fury, chaos spreading everywhere.

The black bear demon, having eaten a man, was driven into a frenzy; it roared and charged at the other demonic cultivators.

The demonic cultivators could not resist—they were flung back dozens of zhang.

The black bear demon kept charging out of the prison, still not stopping, eyes blood-red, claws like a whirlwind, slaughtering demonic cultivators, smashing into walls that boomed with each impact.

The other imprisoned beasts also responded to one another, their ferocity exploding.

Throughout the Ten Thousand Demons Prison, ten thousand demons howled as one, the entire place boiling like oil dropped into cold water.

Even Elder Xun Ziyou outside the Ten Thousand Demons Valley could faintly sense the commotion and turmoil within.

"The Ten Thousand Demons Valley is in turmoil?!"

The inner-disciple elders and disciples of the Grand Void Gate and the Chongxu Sect stiffened, their expressions grim.

Elder Xun Ziyou was consumed with dread and immediately sent a message to Mo Hua:

"What happened?"

Inside the Ten Thousand Demons Valley.

Mo Hua remained in the prison cell; only after the black bear demon and the other demonic cultivators had charged out and left chaos in their wake did he quietly act, erasing all traces of the array on the chains.

Then Mo Hua checked again.

The array had been erased by him.

The prison cell lay in ruins; many traces had been destroyed by the bear demon.

The wound from the Small Meteor Spell remained on the demonic supervisor's body.

But the supervisor had been eaten by the black bear demon.

"Perfect!"

Mo Hua nodded, ensuring no evidence remained, then rose and left.

He dodged and weaved through the demonic crowd, found a place unnoticed, and followed the array-pivot passage back to the array-pivot chamber.

At that moment, he opened the Grand Void Token and saw Master Xun's message.

Mo Hua replied:

"Nothing much—I let a Sun Dahei run off; the demonic cultivators are chasing it for fun…"

Outside the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, Master Xun, who had been anxiously worried about Mo Hua, stared at the reply and his expression turned utterly bewildered.

He looked up again at the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, where faint tremors could be felt, and couldn't help sighing:

"This kid is too much of a handful…"

(End of Chapter)

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