Chapter 437: Approaching the Demon City, Seeking a Wise Strategy

The remnants of the Demon Race had finally been cleaned up, yet the group had suffered no small amount of damage.

Feilian had been struck by the Thunder Method and had become somewhat simple-minded, much like the dim-witted son of a landlord who hadn't yet gained his wits; meanwhile, Shanglu was also unconscious, presumably having suffered grave injuries.

Yet no one had expected that inside that gargantuan object was actually a half-grown child.

However, even though they looked pitiful, no one felt a shred of compassion.

Kindness toward an enemy is cruelty toward oneself.

Therefore, whether it was Feilian, Shanglu, or the remaining Demon Soldiers, all were taken into the Mountain and River Map.

The Mountain and River Map was originally the Shanhai Huanjing; its original purpose was to suppress and contain evil spirits, but it had been damaged during the ancient Conferment of the Gods, and was later used to temper disciples.

After the heads of several major sects poured their full strength into it to infuse it with Qi, combined with the power of Luoli, and after seven times seven days of repairs, the Shanhai Map regained its power to suppress evil.

Once inside the Shanhai Map, wanting to come back out was not as easy as it had been during the martial exercises.

Fuyin Zhenren had ordered Shoucheng to carry the Shanhai Map in case of an emergency, and he had not expected it to actually come in handy.

Xin Yi had also carried Liu Xia back; now he was completely unable to move, yet he was laughing and crying by turns, which made Chengkai's heart crawl with unease.

And Chengkai was no less worse off; although he had forced himself to fight, his fighting spirit had now completely faded, and he was struggling to hold on.

Zhao Wuyang was also in a state of collapse; he looked as if he had exhausted all his strength and would certainly not wake up for a while.

As for Sangmu, there was no need to even mention him; his body was in tatters, covered in wounds, looking every bit like a bloody man.

Of the group, only Xin Yi and Zhanli remained, and it was unknown how much longer those Daoist avatar clones could hold out.

Fortunately, Shoucheng said that besides them, there were two other parties led by Chaolan and Mucang, approaching the Demon Race capital from a side route, though it was unknown if they would encounter strong enemies along the way.

Thus, the group discussed having Shoucheng and the others take the four away from the Netherworld to return to the Human Realm for treatment, especially Sangmu, who would likely be in danger if delayed too long.

Shoucheng was skilled in Earth Escape; as long as they crossed the Ruoshui Source, they could reach the Jiemen in an instant.

Chengkai originally did not want to leave; he had not yet avenged Zhaoming Zhenren! But after Shoucheng's earnest persuasion, he reluctantly agreed.

After all, this battle had consumed a great deal of energy, and no one could guarantee how much longer the avatar talismans could hold; if the talisman arts were to break halfway, the group would have to rely on Chengkai to bring them back.

The living are always more important than the departed; to stubbornly insist on one's own way would be to put the cart before the horse.

After sending Chengkai off and resting for a moment, Xin Yi's group finally set out; though they had arrived with great momentum, they were now a sparse and scattered few, looking somewhat forlorn.

Fortunately, with Zhanli leading the way, their pace was not too slow, but Xin Yi was worried in his heart, wondering how Long Qi was doing and if he had encountered any strong enemies.

However, it was clearly Xin Yi's overthinking; not only did Long Qi and the others not encounter any obstruction, but aside from some unavoidable factors, the journey was truly smooth beyond belief.

This was all thanks to Adao's caution; he took some unknown backroads that were in the middle of nowhere, and Long Qi once suspected that this little brat was lost.

And the unavoidable factor was also Adao, who nagged incessantly along the way; one moment he was complaining that Long Qi didn't listen to advice, the next he was looking down on Long Qi's meager abilities—in short, he found fault with everything.

Long Qi had no choice; he couldn't very well bicker with a little brat, but he had lost quite a bit of face in front of Chiyanzi.

Forget it, forget it; he's just a little monster, it's not worth it, not worth it...

Chiyanzi, standing to the side, had no heart to pay attention to these things; he was only thinking about what had just happened.

Chiyanzi had indeed discovered something unusual; there was a trace of a familiar aura where he had found Long Qi.

That kind of aura was just like an immortal's, and that was the feeling Tu Mi had given Chiyanzi back then, yet he was very certain that it was definitely not his master.

But if it wasn't his master, then who could it be?

Long Qi also sensed the unusual nature of the situation. Adao's "Hongwu" could isolate the aura of the living, making it impossible for the dead souls to discover them, yet that old man had recognized them at a glance, showing that he was far from ordinary.

After stopping them with all his might, he insisted on divination, yet refused to accept any gold—no matter how one looked at it, it defied all reason.

Moreover, even if that old man was skilled in divination, he himself hadn't said anything yet, so how did he know the path ahead was dangerous?

Suspicious, too suspicious...

Although he was puzzled, they had at least left the Ghost Market, and there was no use thinking about it now; he couldn't very well run back and ask the person.

Never mind getting an answer, it was uncertain if he could even find the place again.

This journey had truly been peaceful; one had to say, the little yellow weasel hadn't spent these three years in vain. If he could just refine his tongue a bit more and not be so noisy, it would be perfect.

Watching the little brat who was walking with his head down without looking back, yet still chattering incessantly, Long Qi shook his head helplessly.

What a pity, what a pity; such a fine child, why did he have to grow a mouth?

Just as Long Qi was feeling heartbroken, Adao suddenly turned his head to look at him, startling Long Qi so that his heart skipped a beat—

Could it be that he had noticed he was being criticized?

But in a flash, he felt relieved; he was only thinking about it, he hadn't said it out loud. If you don't do anything wrong, you don't fear a knock at the door; thinking about it isn't a bad deed, so what was there to fear?

Thinking this, Long Qi felt much more at ease and looked back openly and squarely.

Please... do... bookmark 6... 9... shu....!

However, Adao merely glanced at Long Qi a few times, curled his lip, and shifted his gaze away, turning instead to look at Chiyanzi.

He...

What does he mean?

Does he look down on this young master?

Long Qi was about to flare up, but he saw Adao first bow, then ask: "Twenty miles ahead, we will see the Demon Race capital. Uncle-Master, having come to rescue Master this time, do you already have a foolproof plan?"

Chiyanzi was stunned for a moment, then realized that the "Uncle-Master" was addressing him.

Although the little child before him was a monster, he was Lingxiang's bona fide disciple, so calling him "Uncle-Master" was indeed within the rules.

As for a "foolproof plan," never mind foolproof, the group hadn't even "planned" a single countermeasure.

Ever since they had met up, they had been traveling day and night, and once they arrived, one thing after another kept happening; they really hadn't stopped to plan properly, and now that a junior had asked them to their face, he felt quite ashamed.

Just as Chiyanzi was looking troubled and weighing his words, Long Qi, standing to the side, jumped up.

"You brat, I've tolerated you for a long time. What was that disdainful look you just gave me?"

As Long Qi spoke, he made a move to pinch Adao's cheek to give him a "lesson," but he didn't expect Adao to dodge it with a flash of movement.

"So, you have a good plan?" Adao tilted his head arrogantly and squinted at Long Qi, his expression quite like Lingxiang's.

Long Qi, who was already surprised by Adao's improvement in Body Movement, showed obvious embarrassment on his face after hearing this question.

"This... this..." Long Qi stammered for a long time, but he couldn't "this" out any reason.

That was true; he had only been in a rush to save Lingxiang, and he truly hadn't thought these matters through in detail.

"Look, you are clearly not someone who knows how to plan, so why should I waste my breath asking that extra question?" Adao said, his mouth curling so much it could hang an oil bottle, "I was trying to save face for you, yet you don't know how to cherish it; you really are a reckless brute."

Hiss...

That's not right...

It was clearly meant to be a lesson for this brat, so how did he end up getting the upper hand again?

(End of this chapter)