Chapter 118: Stabbing Demon Reappearance (Part 2)

"The cause, of course, is that Whale Layman seized the Stabbing Snake's moment of unpreparedness and wounded its core; therefore, it had to take a risky path, trying to use a living spirit body to heal!" Dao Ling said, puzzled.

"What a reason! How did the two thousand ordinary people of Maple Forest Town die? If it weren't for the Stabbing Demon's indiscriminate killing, how would Senior Whale have been so angry to act? Now Senior Whale is seriously injured, and you, as the founder of the Spirit Beast Hall, only care about your Stabbing Demon—what… what… how big a mess will your filthy business cause? Bah!" Dao Min, the True Person, seemed to have hit a taboo and had to stop speaking.

"The disciple from the herbal garden is just an inconsequential person; why does big sister insist on protecting him?" Dao Ling couldn't help but retort.

"I'm furious! Do you still remember the Dao oath that immortals and demons cannot coexist? Or are you going to stay forever hidden in a turtle shell, never taking the final step? Hmph, useless things, a bunch of useless things!" Dao Min, the True Person, cursed even harsher, dragging everyone in the secret realm along.

Dao Ling's face changed; he clasped his hands and shouted, "Big sister, I'll talk to the Stabbing Demon right now and make sure it doesn't go mad!"

"Dong dong dong…" The rapid attack sounds rang out again.

Dao Ling took a stride and vanished.

At the teleportation array leading to Lotus Peak, Wei Yuning stopped. Because the Stabbing Demon's attacks had ceased.

He looked up in confusion; faintly, a silhouette appeared beside the Stabbing Demon.

As minutes passed, Wei Yuning pulled out a handful of spiritual stones to restore his spiritual energy, while staying ready to flee.

Suddenly, a strange voice whispered in his ear, "Qing Mo, I am Dao Ling, I have a matter… please help!"

Wei Yuning's expression changed; he finally met this behind‑the‑scenes guy. If it weren't for Dao Ling's special relationship with the Stabbing Demon, he wouldn't need to live like a sewer rat, fearing every step out of the door.

"What help?" Wei Yuning, though harboring deep hatred for Dao Ling, dared not confront him outright.

"Give me a bit of… life essence!" Dao Ling's tone was filled with a strange emotion.

"What is life essence?" Even with Wei Yuning's mind racing, he dared not think in that direction; he tried to keep his tone as neutral as possible.

"…It's a male… figure it out yourself! Hurry, the Stabbing Snake must breakthrough now! If delayed, it will lose its true self and can only follow instinct!" Dao Ling said anxiously.

Wei Yuning looked around; fortunately it was dark, and there was no one on either side.

…

"Swoosh," the jade bottle in Wei Yuning's hand vanished.

After about half an incense stick's worth of time, Wei Yuning anxiously stared at the void when suddenly his heart thumped hard, a severe palpitations feeling surged from the air, his blood seemed to halt, and the already dim night grew even darker.

At that moment, the lingering spiritual power on Wei Yuning's body instantly formed a green magical illusion armor over his skin, his vision turning a sickly green; a faint chill seeped inside, causing the near‑stagnant blood to flow again.

"The Great Demon Lord has emerged!" a panicked voice shouted from afar.

"It's bad, the Great Demon Lord has emerged!"

"..."

More people began shouting.

Suddenly, an authoritative voice rang out, "Fellow disciples, do not panic; this is not a Demon Lord, this is not…"

Wei Yuning heard clearly; it was the voice of Dao Ling's founding ancestor.

"Boom—boom—boom," a massive explosion roared from the northeast, instantly drowning out Dao Ling's voice.

"What's happening? The Stabbing Demon isn't in that direction. What big incident occurred?"

Wei Yuning looked at the void in confusion, then glanced toward the northeast.

"Moo-ao-ao…" the Stabbing Demon's roar sounded again.

However, Wei Yuning felt this roar was different; compared to before, it was at least eight decibels louder and emotionally fuller, saturated with intense despair.

He leapt forward and immediately jumped onto the teleportation array.

Lotus Peak.

Unsurprisingly, the Ice Storm formation array on Lotus Peak was still active.

Wei Yuning still couldn't reach the safer Snowfall Great Hall and had to stay by the teleportation array. Nevertheless, this spot was far safer than staying on Keli Peak, and the two peaks were about twenty li apart.

"Wooo," the wind rose, and a massive black cloud formed in the sky; within the dark cloud swirled a red vortex, and at its center lay a black cavity that, at first glance, resembled the blood‑thirsty pupil of a gigantic monster.

The Stabbing Demon's howl grew even more mournful; that pain and unwillingness caused creatures within a hundred‑mile radius to fall into panic.

A silhouette appeared in the teleportation array—it was Hong Zhi, the steward.

"Qing Mo, how did you… oh, you're clever, you actually knew to hide here!" In an instant, Hong Zhi guessed Wei Yuning's thoughts.

"Hehe, can't help it, this Stabbing Demon seems mad!" Wei Yuning said.

"It's not mad! It has ascended to Great Demon Lord and is heading to the Demon Realm!" Hong Zhi said.

"Isn't that a good thing? Why does it seem like it's going to die?" Wei Yuning wondered.

"It's different; judging by its appearance, it must be forced to go to the Demon Realm. Usually, non‑native Demon Realm beings that become Great Demon Lords stay in their original realm or consolidate before ascending. Heading straight to the cut‑throat Demon Realm is courting death; there are many Great Demon Lords there." Hong Zhi explained.

"Forced?" Wei Yuning muttered to himself.

Both eyes lit up simultaneously as they looked toward the northeast.

"The Demon Cave—the explosion just now was at the Demon Cave! The Demon Cave has always been the Stabbing Demon's lair; it houses its demon root. With the root destroyed, the Stabbing Demon was forced to ascend to the Demon Realm! But who destroyed the Demon Cave? Could it have been the ancestor?" Hong Zhi analyzed excitedly, a puzzled expression on his face.

Wei Yuning's eyes lit up, as if he understood something.

The sky's vortex expanded, enveloping half of Nine Clouds Peak; the wind whistled, presenting an apocalyptic scene.

"Uncle Zhishi, what is that huge red vortex?" Wei Yuning asked.

The Stabbing Demon continued to howl, but from this position it was invisible, only its increasingly louder voice could be heard.

"That's the Demon's Eye, also commonly called the 'Great Demon Eye', a tool often used by demon cultivators for teleportation. The Great Demon Eye is a massive cross‑realm transmission array for ultra‑long distances, and it appears only when the demon race ascends." Hong Zhi explained.

"Uncle, look, the Great Demon Eye seems about to shut down!" Wei Yuning said.

In just a moment, the massive vortex suddenly contracted, and the wind abruptly lessened.

"May the Dao Ancestor bless us; that plague spirit actually left!" Hong Zhi clasped his hands, thanking the unseen Dao Ancestor.

Wei Yuning mimicked him, saying, "Thank the Dao Ancestor for the blessing!"

As the red Great Demon Eye was about to close, a clear voice of divine awareness pierced his mind: "You hate demon cultivators, don't you? Haha, in the future you'll never escape them!"

Wei Yuning's expression changed.

The sky's Demon's Eye vanished.