Chapter 444: Is the Grand Marshal a Suanni?

"Ayan, if one day you suddenly discovered that you were different from others, would you mind?"

Tumi Xianzi's sudden, unprovoked question left Xiao Chiyanzi momentarily bewildered.

"What do you mean by 'different from others'?"

"This... is actually quite complicated," Tumi Xianzi said with a troubled look, "for example, one's background, one's identity, one's body, one's..."

"Would Master mind?" Xiao Chiyanzi asked without waiting for Tumi to finish, not even raising his head.

"Why would I mind?" Tumi said almost reflexively, "Whoever you are, whatever you look like, you are my disciple. What would I have to mind?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chiyanzi looked back at Tumi: "If Master doesn't mind, then I don't mind either."

Tumi Xianzi froze for a moment, then laughed dumbly: That's right, what was there to mind? It was she who had been caught up in appearances.

"Ayan, remember, who you are is not important; who you want to be is what matters. What others say never counts."

A fleeting feeling caused Chiyanzi an inexplicable palpitation, but it lasted only an instant, leaving him unable to grasp it.

Could it be an illusion?

However, the Grand Marshal did not think so.

That was the King's Dread! Looking across the entire Demon Realm, only the Demon Lord and Wumin Jun possessed it; how could this old Daoist before him...

"Brat, who exactly are you?"

"I have already said I am but a wandering traveler. What is the reason for your relentless questioning?" As Chiyanzi spoke, he exerted force with his hands, pushing the Grand Marshal back.

Although Tumi Xianzi had never spoken of it to him, Chiyanzi knew his own background was certainly unusual, but since Master did not say, he had never asked much either.

How could Master ever harm him? There must be a reason.

Yet people are always curious; even if they don't say it aloud, a seed is buried in their hearts, and one day, due to some event, it might sprout.

And the Grand Marshal's questioning became the catalyst for this seed to sprout.

Chiyanzi still remembered every bit of his time with Tumi from many years ago; he firmly believed his Master was never one to shoot without a target, and he imagined she must have long foreseen this day.

The Grand Marshal narrowed his eyes; he believed the person before him must not be left alive, otherwise, he would surely become a future threat. Taking advantage of the fact that this person had not yet realized it, killing him now was the best strategy.

As a powerful official, the Grand Marshal could not be said to be loyal to the Demon Lord, but for the entire Demon Race, he could be said to have exhausted all his efforts.

With Wumin Jun having defected and turmoil suddenly arising now, the Demon Race was in a precarious position both internally and externally; if there were any more variables, he feared it would end in the annihilation of the entire race.

As the Grand Marshal of the Demon Realm, he would never allow such a thing to happen.

The change happened in the blink of an eye; a violent wind swept in instantly, affecting the entire battlefield.

Whether they were people of the Daoist Sect or soldiers of the Demon Race, all were staggering in the gale, and before long, they were toppling over.

Clusters of mist rose from thin air, swirling with the gale and gathering around the Grand Marshal, with streaks of lightning dancing within, emitting a piercing sound.

Just then, a giant claw broke through the wind; the claw tips were sharp as knives, and the pitch-black scales shimmered with a ghostly light, making one's whole body turn cold.

The giant claw tore through the thick mist and slammed heavily onto the ground; Long Qi felt a violent tremor beneath his feet.

The gale stopped abruptly, the thick mist dissipated along with it, and before everyone's eyes appeared a...

A dragon of unknown origin...

The reason it was called "unknown" was that the monster appearing before them looked like a dragon, yet it did not quite resemble the dragons described in books.

After all, no one present had ever seen a real dragon, and their knowledge of dragons was limited to what was said in books.

But who could say that what the books said was all correct?

The creature before them had horns like ancient trees, eyes like long lanterns, long whiskers that were nimble, and a mane that was elegant; at a glance, it indeed looked like the dragon in the books, but this body...

The dragon described in books had a body like a long snake and scales like a swimming fish, but the scales on the creature before them did not resemble a long snake; instead, they were like those of a tiger or leopard, and its tail was like that of a deer.

Isn't this a "four-unlike"... Hiss...

Wait, why is this appearance so familiar? It seems I've seen it somewhere...

Long Qi racked his brains, yet he still couldn't remember, but he was very certain he had definitely seen it.

At this moment, the monster spat out a cloud of mist from its mouth, and Long Qi's eyes lit up.

"Suanni! It's a Suanni!" Long Qi shouted.

Lingxiang's incense burner was carved with this creature; at the time, it looked small and exquisite, and Long Qi even thought it was quite fun, never expecting it to be such a colossal beast!

"Of the nine sons of the dragon, the fifth is the Suanni; it likes quiet and enjoys sitting, and is deeply fond of smoke and fire."

This was what Lingxiang had once told Long Qi; looking at it now, it was indeed fitting.

With a great enemy before him, this old fellow was still sitting calmly, drinking hot tea; wasn't that fitting!

Hearing what Long Qi said, Chiyanzi was greatly shocked.

If it were truly as he said, relying only on a few mortals like them, how could they possibly be a match for a Suanni?

But was it really so? Shouldn't a Suanni be an auspicious omen? How could it be willing to serve as a subject to others and become a Demon?

Before he could figure it out, the monster's sudden roar caused the surroundings to tremble incessantly.

Please... collect... 6... 9... novels...!

The blue tiles of the nearby palace halls jingled, but the crisp sound was drowned out by the roar.

Most of the Daoist Sect's Clone Talisman Technique shattered and broke in an instant, and the buzzing in everyone's ears did not stop.

What an overbearing roar!

But before everyone could recover, the monster raised a sharp claw and smashed it toward Chiyanzi.

Dust and smoke surged suddenly; only then did Long Qi react, hurriedly calling out to Chiyanzi loudly.

"Old man! Old man!"

The dust and mist were endless, making it hard to see in any direction; Long Qi was filled with a hundred emotions.

Old man, you must not have anything happen to you!

Just as he was about to step forward to search, he was grabbed by the collar.

"I am still alive and well, why are you wailing?"

It was Chiyanzi, who had just relied on instinct to dodge aside the moment the monster's claws descended.

Seeing that Chiyanzi was safe and Wuyang, Long Qi finally set his heart at ease, yet after a moment of reflection, he felt something was not quite right.

Where had he heard this old man's words before?

That's right, it was Lingxiang.

Every time Maidong went to Qingwei Peak, he would always be making a racket, and every time, Lingxiang would retort with this exact line in a huff.

They were truly worthy of being senior and junior siblings; even the words they used to shut people up were the same.

However, this was not the time to dwell on such things; the monster before them was not so easy to deal with.

Long Qi held up his sword, just thinking about how to face the enemy, when his robe was tugged again.

"What is it now..." Long Qi said helplessly.

This old man, really, at a time like this, what exactly was he doing?

But when he turned to look, it was actually Adao tugging at him.

This little brat, with it being so dangerous here, why did he come out?

"Do not forget the purpose of this trip; if you waste time here with this monster, will you still have the strength to save Master?"

One sentence awakened the confused man, but even so, if he did not fight it, how could he get past such a formidable foe?

Lu Ying, who had been sent flying, flashed out; looking at his agile posture, that previous strike did not seem to have done much to him, and now, acting as if nothing had happened, he was even brushing off his sleeves.

"Since there is an urgent matter ahead, then hurry along; leave this old monster to me."

"What?" Long Qi picked his ear, looking incredulous.

Had he heard correctly?

This guy wanted to deal with the Suanni alone?