Chapter 72: Ancient Demon Fei Bo La Er

"That's right, this is only the first stage." A cluster of blue light appeared behind Cha Ruisi, and from it stepped a Mage dressed in a bright red robe.

He displayed a smooth, broad forehead, countless black tattoos tangled on his scalp, his ten fingers coated with black nail polish, and majestic magic radiated from his body.

"Red‑robed Mage!" Luo Silien's eyes sharpened.

"As you can see," the red‑robed Mage said, gesturing lightly, then looking toward the sky portal.

"I've been waiting a long time; the ceremony should have been completed three years ago. If it weren't for that Green Dragon, Degeng City would have become a ruin long ago."

"The power of the ancient demon." He looked at the sky, a hint of envy in his eyes.

"Exactly! The time to fulfill your promise has come, Sai Er, you promised me that I would obtain the power of the ancient demon lurking in the shadows of the Yinbu Tu Kingdom!"

The red‑robed Mage's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Ah, indeed, this is what I promised you."

Then the Mage abruptly turned, affixed a black talisman to Cha Ruisi's chest, and a massive dark will instantly enveloped him.

"What is this!?" Cha Ruisi asked anxiously.

The Mage smiled and said, "Of course it's the ancient demon's power you were expecting."

"The 'Fei Bo La Er' that has been suppressed underground in the Yinbu Tu Kingdom for thousands of years will be reborn within your body; she will return to the embrace of the Bottomless Abyss, and we will receive a reward."

"As for you," he sneered, glancing at Cha Ruisi, "it's an honor to serve as the flesh for Fei Bo La Er's resurrection; after all, these days it's hard to find anyone with a soul as evil as yours."

Cha Ruisi was angry and fearful, yet could do nothing; the black magic poured from the chest talisman as if solid, then formed a massive black cocoon that completely enveloped him.

"Ahhhhhhh!!"

Cha Ruisi's scream grew weaker until the black cocoon covered his head, and he vanished completely.

The sky portal had expanded to dozens of meters wide, and a black claw suddenly emerged, tentatively probing the portal's edge.

Then countless black shadows crawled out, falling toward the ground; the crimson blood moon shone on the demons' bodies, reflecting scarlet keratin and claws, descending like countless falling meteors.

"Humans! Hehe! Humans! Eat! Delicious!"

The weakest Qie Mo, Kua Sai Mo, and Ji Mo fell to the ground first; their frail bodies shattered limbs upon impact, yet they cared little for pain, crawling up with greedy eyes.

Next came their commanders—Babu Mo, Fu Luo Mo, Tie Qi Mo.

The demons fell from the abyss's gaping maw onto the streets, unleashing a brutally savage massacre.

The crowd had already turned chaotic, scattering; a Babu Mo with ram's horns and red slime oozing over its body crashed down onto the plaza, snatched a human whose legs had been crushed by the impact, and chewed his skull.

Luo Silien frantically chanted spells, layering protective enchantments upon himself; demons are chaotic beings that attack anything before them.

The nearby red‑robed Mage lounged, admiring the Babu Mo devouring a human, as if unafraid of attack.

After finishing its snack, the Babu Mo greedily eyed several Mages; the magical mana aura on them seemed exceptionally tasty.

The red‑robed Mage snorted at the Babu Mo's foolishness: "Filthy thing, I am a subordinate of His Majesty Fei Bo La Er; open your dog eyes and see clearly."

The Babu Mo hesitated upon hearing Fei Bo La Er's name, then shook its head and dismissed it; no one could stop it from eating! It tensed its muscles, pointed a single hand at the red‑robed Mage, and a Dark Art immediately cloaked the Mage.

Then it surged like a shadow toward the frail red‑robed Mage.

"Damn demons, they're all brainless idiots!" the red‑robed Mage gritted his teeth; he had intended to conserve power to avoid surprises, but these demons disrupted his plan.

Fortunately, the early‑appearing demons were relatively weak; even Babu Mo was only comparable to a seventh‑level adventurer.

The Mage's body lit up with dense runes, and the black mist from Dark Art was instantly dispelled by a Minor Spell Nullification Barrier.

Then he raised his ruby‑inlaid staff and began chanting.

Four‑Ring Conjuration spell—Radiant Mist! A heavenly gate opened above Babu Mo, and clusters of golden‑glowing dense fog enveloped it; Babu Mo howled in pain, its sight obscured, and the fog, imbued with extreme positive energy, burned its flesh like acid.

Ignoring the dying Babu Mo, the red‑robed Mage turned his attention to Luo Silien, threatening, "You'd better not make any moves; perhaps I'll let you become my slave for being obedient."

He finished, his gaze at Luo Silien turned greedy; the half‑elf shivered, for the elf's beauty indeed attracted humans, yet this male Mage seemed off. Luo Silien silently prayed, "Master, please come quickly, I don't want to be…"

Perhaps the elven god Ke Rui Long heard his call; the next moment, a gust roared overhead as a massive creature whooshed by, spreading endless pressure.

"Oh? Even daring to snatch my Dependents?"

"Dragon?!"

The red‑robed Mage thought, "This is bad," as he looked up; a sea of red light filled his vision, twisted mana surged wildly, crushing the Minor Spell Nullification Barrier. "Damn!"

The red‑robed Mage's eyes widened; at the critical moment, he activated the Ring on his hand, and the Spellcraft's power enveloped his body, instantly teleporting him hundreds of meters away.

Before he could catch his breath, a spherical bolt of lightning raced toward the Mage; the red‑robed Mage had to activate his Ring again to flee.

The spherical lightning erupted at his original spot, covering a twenty‑meter radius with scorching white thunder; the bolts, like dancing electric serpents, melted the ground.

The Mage's complexion darkened; in an instant he exhausted two uses of his Arbitrary Door Ring, its energy completely depleted.

Naimi Xisi, soaring in the sky, had just exhaled a lightning breath and immediately began preparing a spell; the incantation was chanted at breakneck speed, finishing just as the Mage completed his teleport.

Four‑Ring Necromancy spell—Painful Finger! The red‑robed Mage had just begun chanting when a wave of excruciating pain halted his casting; he knelt in agony, teeth clenched, blood spattering, the searing pain rendering him unable to speak.

Reciting spells became impossible.

Naimi Xisi glanced regretfully at the red‑robed Mage; a 10th‑level Spellcaster, if only he could be controlled… dying like this was a pity.

The next moment, scarlet twisted mana surged again; this time the unprotected red‑robed Mage was obliterated into dust by the overwhelming mana assault.

Juan Ce Long flapped its massive wings, descending to the ground; Luo Silien bowed respectfully and said, "Master."

The Mages behind the half‑elf were dumbfounded; how could they not know when Luo Silien acquired a Juan Ce Long master? Only a female Mage gazed thoughtfully at the dragon's dim amber pupils.

Juan Ce Long bowed its head, looking toward the sky portal.

He truly hadn't expected Cha Ruisi and the Sai Er to cause such a commotion; the Abyssal Ritual, now the Sai Er and Yinbu Tu Kingdom will likely be locked in endless conflict.

Regarding the Bottomless Abyss, Juan Ce Long's draconic heritage is well‑known; although the portal appears indestructible, it actually has two weaknesses.

First, its altar; when the ritual activates, the altar is covered by the same barrier, and non‑divine power cannot breach it.

Second, the portal's anchor point.

He looked at the black cocoon formed around Cha Ruisi; this must be the so‑called anchor point.

The Abyssal Ritual is divided into Mother and Child symbols; the altar represents the Mother, serving as the conduit to summon the Abyss to tear the crystal barrier.

The "anchor point" is the Child; its existence continuously sustains the portal's expansion until it reaches maturity.

Thus, destroying the anchor point will cause the portal to collapse on its own.

Naimi Xisi frowned; this black cocoon body does not seem easy to destroy, and a large number of demons are rushing toward them, wanting to protect the sub‑body's safety.

Most importantly, the Psychic Ability's intuition told Naimi Xisi that breaking the black cocoon body would cause something very bad to happen.

They decided to act at the altar that seemed the least likely.

The altar's ritual essentially operates on Spellcraft power; if they can, relying on Juan Ce Long's mastery of Spellcraft bindings, find even a hint of a flaw, they also have a chance to drive the power deep inside.

Juan Ce Long extended two dragon claws, clasping them together in a spherical grip at the chest; a milky white light rose from the claws, taking the shape of a crystal sphere.

Their gaze emitted white light, and deafening dragon language gathered the magic of Divination.

Four‑Ring Divination spell — Probe! An invisible force spread downward along a scarlet light pillar, and Naimi Xisi's eyes constantly switched between white and scarlet light.

They saw it.

The layered barrier, etched with countless formations in profane Abyssal Language, was an absolutely evil protective magic.

Through the formations, they looked inward and saw a huge circular formation, divided into three layers, with Spellcraft Runes carved in Abyssal Language.

Just as they were about to focus on those Spellcraft Runes, their eyes suddenly widened as if they had witnessed something inconceivable.

"What is that… wait?!"

Naimi Xisi opened their mouth wide; beside the altar, which should have been empty after the ritual started, stood two people they knew extremely well, slumped near the gate not far from the formation, in a fainting state.

They were the two unlucky ones who, in order to investigate Tang Mu's cause of death, accidentally stumbled into the altar at the last moment before the ritual began.

"Ma Luo?! Ao Li Fu?!"

Starting to try illustration now; today's featured monster is Ba Bu Mo, later I'll try to find pictures of monsters—this is a huge project; if there are none I won't post. Will it affect viewing? I'd like opinions—better with pictures or without?

(End of chapter)