Chapter 95: Demon King Fortress

Li Mu kept moving deeper along the tunnels of this Demon King Fortress.

But he found that the fortress tunnels were dug unbelievably deep!

They stretched on endlessly; he could barely see the end!

Just.

He didn't know whether it was because Li Mu chose not to take the fortress's main gate.

In these tunnels, Li Mu didn't encounter a single demon beast.

"No!"

"Just looking at the two Rock Armor Lizards we met earlier."

"They can't be called demon beasts; they are members of the Demon Race bearing the Bloodline of the North Xuan Demon King."

"Although in terms of species, both belong to the same kind of demon beast."

"But the former already possesses a considerable degree of human intelligence!"

"I still have to keep a steady hand and not let my guard down."

It seemed to confirm Li Mu's speculation.

He took two more steps forward and actually saw a row of torches hanging on the wall of the tunnel.

Although this is perfectly normal in human society.

Seeing it in a Demon Race fortress, however, still surprised Li Mu a lot!

"Whoosh…"

"Wooo…"

The whole tunnel was extremely quiet; the only sounds were the gusts of wind sweeping the corridor and Li Mu's long, steady breathing.

Shadows mingling with the silence made the deep passage feel even more eerie, causing one's heart to rise up to the throat.

It reminded Li Mu of the feeling he had in his past life, watching horror movies alone at night in front of a computer.

What truly scares people is never the moment a ghost appears.

It's that the ghost never shows up.

Using the environment, atmosphere, and sound effects to tease your nerves, that feeling is the hardest to endure.

Just like what Li Mu is experiencing right now.

If a Demon Race actually sprang out of the tunnel, and Li Mu fought it blade to blade, there would be nothing to fear.

But ever since he entered the tunnel, nothing has happened.

The key is that he must stay vigilant, ready for danger that could arrive at any moment.

It truly is hard to stay relaxed.

"Although, with my current six consciousnesses and five senses, even in this environment my vision remains unaffected."

"It can only be a psychological effect."

Thinking that, Li Mu reached out, took down a torch from the wall, held it up, and illuminated the path ahead, making the road clearer.

"Indeed!"

"Now it feels much better inside."

Li Mu first glanced behind him.

After confirming nothing dirty was following from behind, he raised the torch and slowly walked forward.

"……"

Because he had been groping his way forward in the dim, narrow passage for a long time.

Li Mu completely lost his sense of time.

He didn't even know whether he'd been walking for an hour or half a day.

Until a corridor appeared in his view, and Li Mu turned, his sight finally brightened.

But before Li Mu could continue forward, his ears twitched, and a rustling sound came.

"Is the fortress's first battle finally about to begin!"

"Clang!"

Excited, Li Mu swiftly drew the Vengeance Blade at his waist, but unlike before, he didn't immediately charge out with the sword.

After all, his main mission this time was infiltration.

If he charged out, the half‑day spent in the tunnel would have been wasted.

Better to stay hidden in the corner!

Seizing the right moment to kill the opponent silently is the true way!

He thought that.

Li Mu pressed his body tightly against the wall, gripping the Vengeance Blade, holding his breath and focusing as he waited for the Demon Race at the upcoming corner.

Clank, clank…

But unlike Li Mu's expectation, each step the opponent took produced a heavy metallic thud.

This momentarily confused Li Mu, who has extensive combat experience with demon beasts.

"The Rock Armor Lizards I encountered in the forest already possessed a certain human intelligence."

"They understand tactical coordination and how to minimize the living strength of a team."

"Could it be that the Demon Race in this fortress has further evolved, now knowing how to use human weapons?"

"Probably…"

"If they lacked considerable intelligence, the Demon Race in the Demon Domain couldn't have built such a massive fortress, could they?"

Although countless conjectures flooded his mind, Li Mu remained calm and composed.

He also cocked his ear to listen, silently estimating in his heart the distance between the opponent and this side.

"Five!"

"Four!"

"Three......"

Li Mu tightly gripped the Revenge Blade in his hand, his breath unconsciously held, and his heartbeat pressed down as low as possible.

Afraid that he would expose his position before even making a move.

"Clang, clang......"

"Finally!"

A shadow of the Demon Race appeared at the corner!

"Zero!"

When Li Mu finished the final countdown in his heart, the guy behind the corner also finally revealed himself.

"First Absolute!"

"Slash!"

Li Mu let out a low roar, and the red-black Seven Absolute Blade Qi of the Revenge Blade in his hand instantly burst forth.

"One strike!"

The Revenge Blade, carrying the force of ten thousand jun, slashed toward the Demon Race's head!

"Clang!"

The surprising clang of metal echoed suddenly in the corridor.

Li Mu's long blade in his hand actually clashed head-on with the giant axe wielded by the blue-faced, fanged Demon Race.

"As expected!"

"I didn't expect the Demon Race to actually know how to use weapons!"

"Roar!"

But just as Li Mu was stunned.

This beastman, standing over two meters tall with a blue face and fangs, let out a low roar.

He suddenly shoved his giant axe upward, directly knocking Li Mu's Revenge Blade aside.

"Roar!"

The axe-wielding beastman let out another low roar, swinging his giant axe with fierce vigor as he chopped at Li Mu.

"Whoosh!"

But the beastman's giant axe only split the air.

"He's huge, yet his speed isn't slow at all!"

"As for his strength?"

He's probably about the same as the earlier Rock Armor Lizard, a second-rank Demon General.

Li Mu's feet shifted slightly, and without much movement, he easily dodged.

At the same time, Li Mu continued to size up the axe-wielding beastman.

However, he saw that besides wielding the giant axe, the opponent also wore leather armor stitched from demon beast hides.

But this leather armor bore many damages and scars.

It must have just come from a battle earlier.

"Could there be other Demon Race members nearby?"

"Looks like we need to end this fight quickly, lest further complications arise!"

"Second Absolute!"

He made up his mind.

Li Mu's Revenge Blade in his hand once again burst forth two streaks of red-black blade qi.

Before the axe-wielding beastman could attack again, Li Mu took the initiative, brandishing his blade and charging at him.

"Whoosh!"

"Hum!"

In the instant he neared the axe-wielding beastman, Li Mu sidestepped to dodge the incoming giant axe, while the two streaks of Seven Absolute Blade Qi struck the beastman's chest.

"Pfft......"

Accompanying it, a muffled blade sound rang out.

Immediately after, scarlet blood spurted wildly from its chest.

The Revenge Blade pierced the beastman's abdomen; Li Mu's hand gripping the Revenge Blade bulged, veins protruding as he exerted force.

"Crack!"

A sound of bone shattering rang out, mixed with the sound of flesh tearing.

Li Mu's terrifying physical strength of nearly two million kilograms erupted fully at this moment, directly cleaving the axe-wielding beastman in half while still alive.

"Hah......"

If it weren't for worrying about exposing his whereabouts and alerting the other Demon Race members hidden in the fortress...

I might as well just finish him off instantly with the Purple Thunder Sword Technique or the Seven Absolute Blade Qi.

Looking at the axe-wielding beastman cleaved in half, dead beyond death, Li Mu sheathed his blade and muttered helplessly.

But there's no helping it; just the momentum and destruction these two moves can cause.

As soon as I use them, probably half the fortress will hear them loud and clear.

Then all this lurking would have been for nothing!

Ding!

Congratulations, Host, you have successfully killed a Third-tier Demon General giant axe beastman!

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained Tenfold Harvest!

Seeing the two prompts appear on the System Virtual Screen before him, Li Mu curled the corner of his mouth, but just as he took the beastman's Demon Crystal and was about to leave.

From behind him, a harsh shout suddenly rang out.

"Stop!"

"Yo he?"

"The Demon Race that came this time, could they possibly speak now?"

"No way!"

"We must resolve it quickly before they send out a distress call!"

Li Mu's eyes lit up, and he raised his blade, ready to strike.

But then a cultivator squad rushed toward Li Mu.

The squad consisted of four men and one woman.

At the front, a young man wearing a Xiaotian Peak Dao robe shouted angrily at Li Mu.

"Li Mu?"

"It's you!"

"What are you doing here?"

The Dao‑robed youth was clearly surprised to see Li Mu, but when he saw the dazzling Demon Crystal in his hand, his expression instantly darkened.

"Li Mu, this giant axe beastman was first discovered by our squad!"

"You just got lucky and picked up a stray!"

"Hand over the Demon Crystal to us immediately!"

The Dao‑robed youth gestured imperiously, scolding Li Mu in a commanding tone.

"Just because you found it, does it belong to you?"

Li Mu was also infuriated by the thief's reasoning and retorted bluntly without hesitation.

"Then where is your home?"

"Give me a direction!"

"I'm going to find your mother!"

"Clang!"

"You damn it!"

"Looking for death, huh?"

The Dao‑robed youth, enraged, drew his long sword from his waist, ready to duel Li Mu, but the two companions beside him each restrained his arms from left and right.

"We are still within the Demon King's fortress; everything must be handled cautiously, never act rashly."

"Let me speak to him, speak!"

At this moment, the sole female cultivator in their group stepped before Li Mu, pointing at the gutted giant axe beastman and speaking resolutely.

"Li Mu!"

"If you honestly return that Demon Crystal to us, we can pretend nothing happened!"

"But if you still refuse..."

"Then don't blame us for disregarding brotherhood!"

By the end, the female cultivator's words were full of threat.

However, the reply to her was.

"Snap!"

Li Mu crushed the Demon Crystal outright and, in front of them, absorbed it!

Ding!

System identified that the host successfully absorbed a Third-tier Demon General-level Demon Crystal, gaining Tenfold Heavenly Dao Blessing!

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained Tenfold Harvest!

Seeing two new unread messages pop up on the System Virtual Screen before him, he felt his cultivation now infinitely close to the pinnacle of Second-tier Concentration Realm.

After completing all this.

Li Mu, as if no one were there, slipped all the valuable materials from the giant axe beastman's body into his pack before the five of them.

Then he gave the female cultivator a faint glance and turned to leave.

Ignore!

Barefaced disregard!

This Li Mu, a petty trash of the Refining Qi Realm, must have eaten a bear's heart and a leopard's gall!

How dare he treat what they just said as if it were a fart?

Does he still think his people are still in the Ziyang Sect?

Or that so‑called Heaven's Pride that everyone must hold in high regard?

Seeing Li Mu, a mere trash, disregard all five of them so completely, the Dao‑robed youth and the female cultivator both showed a flash of anger on their faces!

Soon.

After the five of them exchanged glances,

they brandished their swords and rushed forward, encircling Li Mu and blocking every possible escape route.

"Li Mu alone possesses at least 50,000 sect contribution points of Pan Wenbo, as well as numerous Heavenly Treasures, Demon General-level Demon Crystals, and an Inner Core!"

"Big guy, when you act, do it cleanly and efficiently."

"Don't disturb the Demon Race in this fortress!"

After the Dao‑robe youth gave a brief command to his companion, his gaze at Li Mu flickered with a cold glint.

Clearly, the sight of wealth sparked his ambition, and now he's taken a murderous heart.