Chapter 44: Showdown and Sudden Change: The Dispute Begins

In the banquet hall, silence fell suddenly.

The various spirits and monsters, who had been clinking cups and chatting animatedly, stopped at once and looked toward the mountain spirit avatar being escorted in.

After a moment, they began to discuss it.

"Hehehe, look, the grandfather of those seven Huluwa has been brought over!"

"He doesn't look like much! Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance; I never expected the person who could grow those seven Hunshi Demon Kings to be just such an ordinary old man."

"You joined our Great King's command too late; earlier on, I participated in the operation to capture this old man alongside the Centipede Commander. I'd seen this old man long ago! I thought he had died long ago, but I didn't expect him to still be alive~"

"Heh~ you don't think about it; this old man can grow seven Huluwa, so he must be hiding secrets. The Niangniang and the Great King have kept this old man alive all along just to torture the truth out of his mouth. Perhaps the secret behind this is another stroke of good fortune!"

"Makes sense, and letting this old man watch his carefully raised seven Huluwa be refined into pills—isn't that a wonderful thing!"

In the banquet hall, there were only twenty or thirty minor demons at the Condensation stage, but their chattering made the entire cave hall plaza sound as if hundreds were present.

Fang Longye and Qingshe, who had long been hiding in a corner of the cave hall, watched these unbridled minor demons and could not help but shake their heads.

The spirits and monsters gathered under the Snake and Scorpion Demons had been reduced to less than one in a hundred following the repeated battles with the Huluwa.

The twenty or thirty monsters currently qualified to sit at the banquet based on their cultivation levels were already the elite under the Snake and Scorpion Demons, aside from the Golden Centipede avatar.

However, it was likely that the Snake and Scorpion Demons only wanted these few minor demons there to play the role of sidekicks.

They did not expect these minor demons to be of any help to them.

Jinshe waved her hand, and the minor demons tactfully fell silent.

The hall was silent for a time.

Only the sounds caused by the Scorpion Demon drinking and the roaring of the Alchemy Furnace flames remained.

Jinshe looked at the old man, who was bound and standing silently below the throne, straightened her body, and said with a beaming smile: "Old man, thank you for raising the seven Huluwa, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to refine the Seven-Heart Pill."

She then paused and continued: "I don't know what relationship you have with that mountain spirit who calls himself the Mountain God. If you can contact and notify him, then have him rush over now; perhaps he can still stop me from saving these seven little ones!"

It was as if flames of rage were gushing from the old man's eyes, and he said in a crazed manner: "Demon, if you have the ability, go find the Mountain God directly; why must you lay your poisonous hands on these seven children?"

Not far away, Fang Longye, standing in invisibility, saw the old man's expression of grief and indignation and his constant struggling, and could not help but praise him inwardly.

Look at that acting skill; he vividly displayed his worry and pity for the Huluwa, his anger and a trace of fear toward the demons, and even acted out a trace of dissatisfaction with the Mountain God he was supposed to know.

After all, in the script he had written, he was just an ordinary Human Clan old man who had only received the Gourd Seed and grown the Huluwa after being guided by the Mountain God.

As a result, he was now trapped in the demons' cave, and the seven Huluwa he had raised with such hardship and regarded as grandsons were about to be harmed by the demons. Yet, the Mountain God who had guided him showed no reaction; it would be impossible to say he had no feelings of dissatisfaction.

Unfortunately, all his flirtatious glances were cast at a blind man.

With the current not-so-bright brains of the Snake and Scorpion Demons, how could they think that much?

Jinshe sneered: "Old man, do you think I, the Niangniang, don't know that the so-called Mountain God you speak of gave you the Gourd Seed just to create these seven spirits to deal with us husband and wife? I truly don't believe that the mountain spirit has had no further contact with you~"

Having said that, she used a soul-bewitching technique directly on him and asked: "Speak! Has the Mountain God you speak of contacted you again? What other schemes does he have?"

"The Mountain God gave me a Seven-Colored Lotus Platform, saying that if the seven children had the platform, they could increase their strength. But the children can only take turns using the platform to improve their strength; they cannot approach the Seven-Colored Lotus Platform together, otherwise, disaster will surely occur."

The old man avatar refined by the mountain spirit feigned a dull appearance and answered as if honestly.

"Seven-Colored Lotus Platform? Seven-colored gourds~ Haha! I understand, Husband. This Seven-Heart Pill requires the cooperation of the Seven-Colored Lotus Platform to be refined!" The Scorpion Demon laughed heartily after hearing the mountain spirit's plausible answer, looking as if he had suddenly realized the truth.

"It seems that is indeed the case. I was wondering why, after so many days, the Huluwa hadn't been refined into the Seven-Heart Pill. I previously thought it was because the heat wasn't sufficient." Jinshe nodded in agreement.

She waved her hand immediately, and the ropes on the old man avatar of the mountain spirit snapped instantly. The mountain spirit avatar feigned being controlled by the soul-bewitching technique and reached into his bosom to take out a seven-colored lotus platform. Although it revealed no spiritual aura, it looked like an extraordinary item at first glance.

Jinshe beckoned, took the lotus platform into her hand, and channeled her Dharma into it, causing it to shine brilliantly.

"It truly is a good treasure!" She smiled broadly, "Only such a spiritual object can be used to cooperate in refining that mysterious and peerless Seven-Heart Pill!"

Then, disregarding the demons around her—likely because she was very confident in the strength of her and her husband—she decisively threw the Seven-Colored Lotus Platform into the Qingyang Cauldron in the center of the cave hall.

In front of all the demons, she activated the alchemy Dharma techniques to refine the Seven-Heart Pill.

Fang Longye, who was under various concealments, felt his heart stir, realizing that the mountain spirit's plan had begun. He gave a wink to Qingshe beside him and used divine sense transmission to tell her to act according to the previous plan.

"Hahaha, demons, you've been tricked! This Seven-Colored Lotus Platform will only make the seven children work together with one heart to eradicate you wicked demons! It won't have any drawbacks or turn into some Seven-Heart Pill!"

The mountain spirit suddenly manipulated the old man avatar to laugh loudly; even at this moment, he was still putting his all into showing off his acting skills.

Of course, Fang Longye could see that he was clearly stalling for time.

"What?!"

The expressions of the Snake and Scorpion Demons changed wildly.

The many demons in the cave hall also revealed panicked expressions, staring tightly at the already brightly shining Alchemy Furnace in the middle of the plaza.

Fearing that the Huluwa would suddenly jump out.

Just at this moment!

Fang Longye thought to himself.

Taking advantage of the Snake and Scorpion Demons' shock and anger, his avatar flashed to the side of the Scorpion Demon and used the Heaven-Blade obtained from his true self to slash at his abdomen while he was off guard.

The edge was sharp, and the chilling, murderous aura was like a forest.

The Scorpion Demon was caught off guard and was struck by the blade.

Roar! With a backhand strike, he sent the avatar flying and was about to unleash an attack divine ability to completely wipe him out.

But he was met with an attack from Fang Longye's true self—Summoning Wind and Rain!

A violent storm came from an unknown place; the wind blew and the rain lashed, scraping away flesh and bone and eroding the soul.

The minor demons throughout the cave vanished into thin air in the aftermath.

The sneak attack succeeded!

Caught off guard, the Scorpion Demon's flesh and blood were instantly wiped away by more than half, leaving only white bones.

Five-colored halos swirled, turning into dense, ox-hair-like needles that radiated a sharp, annihilating aura, instantly piercing through the Scorpion Demon's body.

Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Needles! Then, Fang Longye raised the Heaven-Filling Dharma Conch, and ripples spread out from around the conch.

With halos everywhere, the powerless Scorpion Demon shrank and turned into a small black scorpion, which was then collected into the space of the Dharma Conch.

And just as Fang Longye launched the sneak attack, Qingshe also manipulated the Qingshan Seal that Fang Longye had temporarily lent her and struck at Jinshe! The small stone seal, carrying the momentum of Mount Tai Pressing Top, severely wounded Jinshe with a single blow—all of this happened in the blink of an eye.

The situation changed suddenly!