Chapter 250: Pursuit

Once Xu Chen regained his vision, he saw a woman a full head taller than him standing naked before him.

With a curvaceous figure, not a stitch of clothing, fair skin, red hair, and exquisite features, her proportions were so perfect they were beyond reproach; the sight of her long, slender legs and full, towering breasts made Xu Chen's heart pound uncontrollably.

She was a mature woman whose appearance and physique were perfect to an excessive degree, carrying an air of extreme, bewitching beauty and cold allure.

If not for the pair of blood-red bat wings behind her, covered in pale golden, mysterious patterns, Xu Chen would never have been able to associate her with a creature of the Underworld.

However, pretty as she was, the terrifying aura radiating from her was like a surging ocean, and the powerful pressure caused him to stop breathing entirely.

"Be careful, Benefactor~"

Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master, who were resting nearby, were both terrified out of their wits by the sudden appearance of this woman and her powerful aura; they abruptly unleashed their respective Divine Pattern Battle Techniques and roared as they blocked Xu Chen behind them.

"Two little human insects, do you actually think you can lay a hand on this Demon Lord?"

The woman let out a cold snort, and a terrifying aura as deep as an abyss and vast as the sea enveloped the two, pressing down on them so hard they had no courage or strength to resist.

"Demon... Demon Lord..." The Old Witch Master seemed to recall something, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

Xu Chen hurriedly grabbed them both and said, "Don't attack, this is an ally!"

"An ally?!" Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master trembled all over, filled with immense terror and confusion.

Xu Chen stepped forward to shield them behind him, and with a dry throat, looked at the naked Youtong Demon Lord and said, "We have an agreement; you cannot kill my people. Also, could you please put on some clothes?"

Youtong Demon Lord lowered her head to glance at her chest, and immediately, scales interwoven with red and black emerged, forming a tight-fitting garment that quickly covered most of her body, though her two long legs and half of her chest remained exposed.

"Fine, I won't kill these two insects, but the place we are going is very far away, so there is no need to bring them along as dead weight." Youtong Demon Lord gave Xu Chen a cold glance and withdrew her aura, and the terrifying pressure vanished instantly.

Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master collapsed onto the ground with a thud, drenched in sweat and gasping for air; they didn't even dare to look up at this terrifying, bewitching woman.

Xu Chen thought for a moment and nodded, "Leaving them behind is fine, but we must get out of this cavern first."

"Such a trivial matter, stop nagging!"

Youtong Demon Lord spread her blood-red bat wings and gave a violent flap. Xu Chen, Tu Jiu, and the Old Witch Master felt a blur before their eyes, and when they could see their surroundings again, they were no longer in the cavern. Black mist churned all around, and the range of their Divine Sense revealed a pitch-black, desolate mountain valley; they were clearly already on the surface.

"If you have anything else to say, say it quickly. I cannot stay here for long; my aura will soon be detected by some powerful beings, and a great battle will be unavoidable then." Youtong Demon Lord coldly reminded him.

Xu Chen hurriedly turned to Tu Jiu and the Old Witch Master and said, "I have now found the path to leave Minghuang, and Youtong Demon Lord will take me there. You two don't need to continue risking your lives with me; let us part ways here!"

Upon hearing this, the two were both shocked and overjoyed. They knelt on the ground together, bowing their heads in reluctance, choking back tears as they said, "If we hadn't met our Benefactor, we would not have survived. We cannot repay such great kindness, we only wish to follow our Benefactor and help you leave Minghuang..."

"Hmph, overestimating yourselves. If it were so easy to leave the Underworld, wouldn't those high and mighty fellows have started fighting long ago? Hurry back; it won't be long before Minghuang becomes unstable. Let's go!"

Youtong Demon Lord snorted impatiently. With a flap of her wings, golden and red light swirled up, and in the blink of an eye, she took Xu Chen and vanished into the pitch-black, cold wilderness.

"Benefactor is gone!" Tu Jiu sat on the ground and wiped away tears, his face full of reluctance.

The Old Witch Master climbed up, looked in the direction where Xu Chen and the woman had disappeared, and said with trembling fear, "That woman has such powerful strength; she must be a supreme Great Demon of the Underworld. I wonder if Benefactor will be in danger?"

Tu Jiu shook his head blankly, "That woman doesn't seem to have any malice toward Benefactor. With her help, Benefactor will surely be able to leave Minghuang; this is a good thing. I just don't know if we will ever have the chance to see Benefactor again?"

The Old Witch Master clenched his fists and said, "Benefactor said he lives in a place in the Mortal World called the Song Kingdom, belonging to a tribe called the Taiyuan Sect. If we can find the path to the Mortal World, we will surely be able to see him. This place is not a good place to linger; let's head back first."

"Let's go!"

Both were supreme experts of Minghuang and knew they could no longer keep up with Xu Chen, so they soon left the spot.

Not long after they left, a tyrannical aura swept over. Soon, a massive black shadow flickered into existence, over a hundred zhang tall, like a demon god. After lingering in the spot for a moment, it flickered and vanished in the direction Xu Chen and the woman had gone.

Xu Chen had no concept of how strong Youtong Demon Lord was; he only knew that after she was resurrected using the Soul Beast Blood Egg, her strength was terrifyingly immense. She carried him through Minghuang, tearing through the Void like lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he didn't know how far they had traveled, all while constantly changing direction.

"Are you being followed?"

Although Xu Chen couldn't see anything, he could feel the intense, icy killing intent radiating from Youtong Demon Lord, making him feel terrified.

"Shut up!" Youtong Demon Lord snorted and suddenly tore through the Void, appearing in a wilderness.

Immediately, an incomparably cold and tyrannical aura swept over, instantly transforming into a black shadow that stood between heaven and earth, standing several miles away from them.

"Youtong, you really didn't die!" The shadow's voice was cold, echoing in Xu Chen's Sea of Consciousness; even the heavens and earth seemed to be humming in resonance.

"Heitian, what do you want?" Youtong Demon Lord's dark eyes flashed with a faint golden light, her voice equally cold, causing the churning black mist in the sky to turn into ice and snow that drifted away.

"Hehe, what could I want? Naturally, to kill you!" The massive black shadow sneered.

"You think you can kill me with just a clone?" Youtong Demon Lord snorted.

"Aren't you also left with only a Demon Soul right now? I don't even need a blade to kill you!"

"Then what are you waiting for?"

"No rush. The aura of this little lover of yours is quite strange—not quite human, not quite Underworld Clan. It actually piques my interest. Hand him over to me, and I will let you live a few more days. When the great war begins, I will take your life then." The black shadow stared at Xu Chen standing nearby.

Youtong Demon Lord lowered her head to glance at Xu Chen, seemingly hesitating for a moment.

Xu Chen was shocked and said, "Youtong Demon Lord, do you intend to break your word?"

Youtong Demon Lord said, "You don't know Heitian's strength. I cannot beat him right now. One person dying is better than two people dying."

Just as Xu Chen was about to retort, he felt a massive force wrap around him and suddenly throw him toward the black shadow.

"Youtong Demon Lord, you liar! You deserve to be trapped in the Mortal World for another three thousand years in your next life..."

Xu Chen roared and struggled, but he couldn't control his movements at all, and could only watch helplessly as he got closer and closer to the black shadow.

"Hahahaha, Youtong, you are sensible!" The black shadow laughed loudly, opening a giant hand covered in pale golden scale phantoms to grab Xu Chen.

"Damn it, women really can't be trusted!" A golden light suddenly exploded from Xu Chen's body, transforming into two illusory Shell Light, which flapped once and teleported him away.

"Eh? It really is a bit strange!" The black shadow grabbed at empty air and couldn't help but let out a surprised 'eh'. A golden light flashed on its giant hand, and it followed like a shadow to grab Xu Chen again.

Xu Chen flapped the shell again, only to find that the space around his body had suddenly become like Space Solidification, leaving him unable to move.

"Little insect, struggling is futile. Behave and let me devour you!" This time, the black shadow grabbed Xu Chen as easily as catching a small fly, lifted him up, and fed him toward its open mouth.

Just as Xu Chen was about to be swallowed by the black shadow, a red light suddenly blanketed the sky, sweeping the black shadow into it. Accompanied by an earth-shattering boom, the Void exploded. The red light wrapped around the black shadow and tumbled into it, and the Void whistled as it quickly sealed shut. In the blink of an eye, the giant black shadow was gone from the spot.

"Youtong, you dare to plot against me!"

Turbulence churned in the Void, and an earth-shattering roar came from within.

"Hmph, you thought I was truly afraid of you? When you plotted against me back then, I swore that as long as I lived for one day, I would kill you!" Youtong Demon Lord stood in place, her large red wings gently flapping behind her.

Xu Chen stared, dumbfounded, at the turn of events, realizing that from start to finish, he seemed to have never moved at all.

"What just happened?" Xu Chen was completely bewildered.

"Let's go, the Void cannot trap him, we'll talk on the way!" Demon Lord Youtong flapped his wings, wrapping around Xu Chen and vanishing from the spot.

Xu Chen only felt a blur before his eyes, and his surroundings instantly plunged into darkness.

"Do you know why I am called Demon Lord Youtong?" Amidst the high-speed flight tearing through the Void, Demon Lord Youtong's voice rang out in Xu Chen's Sea of Consciousness.

"How would I know?" Xu Chen replied irritably.

"Because what you just experienced was merely an illusion released by my Youtong, in reality, I never threw you out at all!"

Xu Chen instantly felt his hair stand on end and broke into a cold sweat, while simultaneously realizing with a start: "I understand now, I had already fallen into your illusion the moment Heitian appeared earlier."

"Not bad, but this method can only work against him once or twice. Next time he catches up, perhaps we will only be able to fight to the death. In a moment, I will hold him off, and you run yourself!"

Xu Chen was silent, then asked: "Is there really no way to deal with him?"

Demon Lord Youtong was also silent for a moment before saying: "It is not that there is no way. If I can secure an opportunity, you use that bottle to take him in; he definitely won't be able to escape."

Xu Chen was speechless for a moment, then shook his head and said: "I cannot fully control that bottle; it works sometimes and fails others. If the bottle doesn't cooperate, it will be the end of us."

Demon Lord Youtong seemed equally speechless and did not speak for a long time, instead carrying Xu Chen as he traveled at high speed through the Void, while also constantly changing direction.

The two did not know how much further they had run when suddenly Demon Lord Youtong's body stopped, appearing atop a tall, pitch-black mountain peak. Immediately following, a terrifying aura shattered the Void, and a massive humanoid phantom flickered into existence, standing on the mountain ridge opposite the two.

(End of this chapter)