Chapter 366: The World Is So Small!

Sshhh!

Countless sharp spikes shimmering with a metallic texture pierced out from the ground, moving at extreme speed, swearing to turn them into a hornet's nest!

Facing this sudden attack, the four of them reacted in different ways.

Although Cang Lan was closest to the ground, her reaction and speed were the fastest; the moment she was attacked, she dodged directly, turning into a silver light and rushing into the high sky.

Luzhi and the other were not close to the ground to begin with, and with Qingteng's quick reaction, the two of them also successfully fled far away, dodging the tree branches' attack.

Only Mo Qi, who had been blinded by the bloodlust, did not react in time; he was still gnawing on the snake-lizard's skull until his soles were pierced, only then realizing the problem.

However, he did not stubbornly resist; after being injured, he howled while fleeing outward, relying on his not-so-slow speed to barely dodge the surrounding slaughter of more tree branches.

In just a few blinks, the earth was pierced by thousands of tree branches, their sharp tips pointing straight toward the sky, as if a giant sea urchin had appeared.

They also noticed one point: the moment the branches attacked Mo Qi, the bloodstains on them vanished in the blink of an eye.

It was absorbed directly!

And after failing to capture prey, those greedy tree branches seemed unsatisfied, actually turning their direction directly... and charging straight at the weakened six-headed snake-lizard!

"No!"

"My Lord! I..."

Upon seeing the tree branches, the six-headed snake-lizard had thought it was saved, but it never expected that the newcomer would treat it as prey as well!

"You aren't keeping your word!"

"I clearly already guarded the gate for you! You cannot treat me like this!!!"

It struggled to get up, wanting to resist with all its might, but its movements suddenly paused.

"Ahhh!"

The tree branch that had pierced into its heart grew violently, stabbing directly out from its chest, piercing it from the inside out.

"You! No—"

Sshhh, sshhh, sshhh, sshhh!!!

The final roar never had a chance to be uttered; thousands of tree branches, like battle swords, carried astonishing Sword Intent as they swayed, stabbing it full of holes, sword after sword.

A Void Refinement Great Demon, Divine Soul completely destroyed!

Not only that, those tree branches were like straws, directly devouring its corpse.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...

In just a moment, the massive beast was left with nothing but bones and a thin layer of skin draped over the skeleton.

A gust of wind blew, the skeleton collapsed, and scattered all over the ground.

After finishing the devouring of the snake-lizard, the tree branches seemed to feel satisfied; they stopped attacking everywhere and slowly retracted back into the ground.

Leaving only empty holes in the ground, telling the tale that the scene just now was definitely not a hallucination.

"..."

Cang Lan and the other three changed back from their transformed states into human form and gathered together, their expressions heavy; looking at each other, they all saw the terror in the others' eyes.

The Great Demon that had been locked in a bitter battle with the four of them just moments ago, forcing them to exhaust all their efforts, had now turned into a pile of remains...

And all of this, in total, did not exceed the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

After a long while, Luzhi looked at the Cave Abode, which had returned to calm and seemed no different from an ordinary island, and spoke in a deep voice:

"What... was that? A tree demon?"

Qingteng took a deep breath and spoke uncertainly: "I suppose so? It has to be..."

But now there was an unavoidable problem.

This is overseas!

There isn't even much land here, so where would a tree demon come from?

Could it be that a Demon Plant cultivated in True Person He's Cave Abode broke through on its own?

"Never mind what it actually is, what do we do now?"

"We can only retreat."

Luzhi let out a long sigh and said helplessly: "We are absolutely no match for that tree demon now; before the other party changes their mind and takes action, we had better go find His Highness to discuss this."

The other three nodded; although they were unwilling, they could only choose to bow their heads here.

A head-on fight would definitely lead to death.

Because that tree demon... was undoubtedly a Heaven Realm Great Demon!

And until the four of them left, the tree demon underground did not make any reaction, as if it did not care about them at all.

"Your Highness, we... have failed."

Hearing the unwilling voice from beside him, Ren Yidao finally withdrew his gaze from the island, turned his head, and saw the four guards kneeling on one knee in front of him in a disheveled state.

"Oh? Oh, oh, everyone get up."

He seemed to have finally come back to his senses, shook his head, raised his hand to signal them to rise, and said casually:

"It is nothing, you have already done very well."

Ren Yidao was not comforting them, but evaluating them quite seriously: "That six-headed snake-lizard was infused with an excessive amount of vitality, otherwise it would have been killed by you long ago."

"Under normal circumstances, its vitality should only be enough for its heads to regenerate ten times; beyond that, it would be impossible."

"So under normal circumstances, you actually already beheaded it several times."

Speaking of this, seeing the four people's complexions look a little better, Ren Yidao changed the subject and added with a smile:

"However, because it was under control, although it possessed astonishing vitality, its strength may have dropped by about thirty percent, and it could only use its main body and instinctive spells."

The expressions of Cang Lan and the others, which had just relaxed, tightened up again; the state of mind they had finally recovered a little was ruined by Ren Yidao again.

The whole thing fell apart.

Ren Yidao looked at their pained and conflicted expressions with a smile, nodding in satisfaction.

That's right, I just wanted to see this look on your faces.

After waiting for a moment, Ren Yidao continued, "As for that tree demon at the end, it was purely an accident; you really don't need to take that to heart."

Who could have expected to encounter a Wuxiang Realm tree demon in the middle of the ocean?

"It was hiding beneath the island just now, and even I didn't notice it, so you have even less reason to blame yourselves."

"The fact that the four of you were able to escape unscathed is already enough to be proud of."

Although the tree demon didn't seem to have much interest in them and was unwilling to leave the island, allowing them to escape successfully.

But regardless of how one puts it, a Heavenly Demon is a Heavenly Demon, and they had indeed escaped from the hands of a Heavenly Demon.

Such a battle record is extremely dazzling no matter where it is placed, and it will be of great help to their future.

The position of a Heaven's Pride is not a Golden Token of immunity; the position is not stable and unchanging.

There is also competition within the clan; resources will not unconditionally tilt toward you forever, and they might be transferred to someone else's head!

They need to be constantly vigilant against the fellow clan disciples who are greedily eyeing their current positions from below.

If they don't want to be replaced, then the only way is to keep moving forward and continue to widen the distance between them.

Why is Qingteng so willing to cling to Ren Yidao?

Is it just because he is the Crown Prince? Is it coveting that top-tier bloodline as if the Demon God had been reborn? Or is it simply because he is good-looking?

All three factors are present, but none of them take up the majority.

More of it is to obtain more resources.

Becoming the Crown Prince's guard, traveling with the Crown Prince, fighting against a Heavenly Demon... these are all credentials that can make her status in the clan more stable.

Very realistic, and also very true.

However, Ren Yidao doesn't care; on the contrary, he thinks this is quite good.

Greed, although it is a disaster in many cases, can also be the source of motivation for hard work.

One is strong when one has no desires, but people with desires are easier to control.

"Alright, don't overthink it. With me watching here, you should all tend to your injuries first."

The four of them looked at each other, finally managed to accept this explanation, and silently began to recover.

After adjusting their breathing for a while, Qingteng, who was the least injured, was the first to wake up, happening to see Ren Yidao standing with his hands behind his back, quietly looking at the island in the distance.

Compared to those burly men, his back was not broad, and the gold-red Feather Garment added a bit of softness to his figure.

Clearly just standing there quietly, yet Qingteng felt complex emotions of loneliness and confusion from him.

What is he thinking about?

Is he feeling unwilling to accept this?

"..."

Qingteng thought for a moment, then shook her head gently.

Yes, although His Highness comforted us so casually before, he should be the one who is the most unwilling to accept this.

The appearance of a Heavenly Demon means they must return to Demon Emperor City to seek reinforcements, which has already drawn a period to this journey.

Regardless of the facts, their outing this time is no longer perfect.

And imperfection, for the Crown Prince who is now under the spotlight of everyone, means a stain, and he will be subjected to malicious criticism.

For a proud person like the Crown Prince, this is too unfair.

Qingteng thought, feeling more and more that the Crown Prince was pitiful.

But... is this true?

Is Ren Yidao really there feeling sad all by himself?

Of course not.

Huhu has always been the type to rather hurt others when feeling sad than to be sad all by himself.

Qingteng, standing behind him, could not see Ren Yidao's face, otherwise she definitely would not think so.

Because his expression at this moment was quite... subtle.

Ren Yidao stared at the island in the distance, dozens of thoughts flashing through his mind:

"Eh?"

"For real?"

"Is there really such a coincidence in this world?"

"The world is so big, yet the world is so~ small!"

"Right, what about that thing? I think I still have it on me... Eh! It really is here."

He muttered to himself there, marveling at the wonder of fate.

And Qingteng thought silently for a while, finally taking the initiative to speak: "Your Highness, are we returning to Demon Emperor City afterward?"

Hm?

"Why?"

Ren Yidao put away the thoughts in his mind, turned his head and blinked, puzzled: "What's wrong? Are you homesick?"

Qingteng:?

You're asking me why?

Although she didn't speak, the expression on her face had already betrayed her thoughts:

Do you really think there is any other way besides bringing reinforcements?

Huh?

That is a Heavenly Demon!

Do you really think you can suppress it?

Can you?

Although Qingteng values Ren Yidao at this moment, she has not reached the point of blind worship and does not believe he can accomplish such an inconceivable feat.

"Oh~ so that's what you're worried about."

Ren Yidao also realizes where the problem lies, but he does not intend to explain, smiling: "You don't need to worry about this; I have my own methods, and I will try it out in a moment."

Qingteng thinks Ren Yidao is preparing to reveal his identity, so she deliberates for a moment and advises:

"Your Highness, although you are the noble Demon Race Crown Prince, there are many Demon Race overseas, and not all Demon Beast know of the Demon Emperor, nor are all Great Demon willing to submit to the Demon Emperor City."

The most typical among them are those four Zhenhai Great General who were sent out, who eventually evolved into the Four Seas Dragon Kings after a long period of time.

"So..."

Qingteng does not state it explicitly, but the meaning is almost clear.

Your Highness, don't take yourself too seriously.

Ren Yidao is stunned for a moment, then shakes his head and laughs, waving his hand: "Haha, I am certainly aware of that. Don't worry, I don't intend to rely on that to negotiate with it."

Qingteng still wants to persuade him, but she happens to notice Cang Lan waking up and subconsciously shuts her mouth.

After getting up, Cang Lan does not ask questions but asks Ren Yidao directly: "What are your plans? Do you need me to go with you?"

Although she was regulating her breath, she did not block her senses and had been listening to the two's conversation.

Qingteng does not trust Ren Yidao's methods, but Cang Lan is different.

As the only lucky person present who has truly witnessed and experienced Ren Yidao's methods, Cang Lan actually has a considerable degree of confidence in Ren Yidao.

The Heavenly Demon is very powerful.

But this man before her once chased her for over a thousand miles while riding a Heavenly Demon Ghost Star ape...

"It's fine, I'll go alone."

Because it involves some secrets and he is not one hundred percent sure, Ren Yidao does not intend to take anyone else with him.

"Since you two are both awake, I don't need to guard you anymore. You take the two of them and retreat further back; I'll go check the situation."

After giving a brief instruction, Ren Yidao returns to the vicinity of the island with excitement in his heart.

Ren Yidao does not land directly on the island; he stands in mid-air without touching the ground, looking down at the devastated ground with a strange expression.

"Ahem, hello?"

The island is completely calm, and the tree demon gives no response at all, as if it is treating him like air.

He doesn't care at all.

Being ignored like this, Ren Yidao is not surprised. He first coughs twice, then deliberates on his wording and tentatively asks:

"Um, let me ask you a question."

He says:

"Do you... know about the Sword Spirit Body?"

As soon as the words fall, Ren Yidao's ears twitch slightly.

Oh?

Although it is very faint, Ren Yidao hears a very weak movement coming from underground.

Rustle...

This reaction gives Ren Yidao fifty percent certainty in his heart. He lets out a sigh of relief and continues:

"I am quite familiar with a Sword Spirit Body, and our relationship is rather... um, close. I learned a few moves from her."

"What a coincidence, the sword technique she taught me is exactly the same as the move you just used."

Ren Yidao points his fingers like a sword and stabs forward lightly, displaying a faint but extremely pure Sword Intent.

"Do you have any clues about this?"

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

The tree demon still does not reply, but the rustling sound becomes louder and is constantly approaching the surface!

Eighty percent.

"Still not answering? Then, I'll change the question."

The true identity of the tree demon is about to be revealed, and Ren Yidao relaxes completely, teasing:

"Have you..."

"Heard of Jian Xinxin?"

The rustling sound stops at this moment, and the entire island falls silent.

Ren Yidao's playfulness surges; he points to his own face and smiles:

"Do you know why I know him? Because my relationship with him is very special. Don't you think I look a lot like him? I am actually his..."

The earth roars, and the entire island seems to be shattering!

Before Ren Yidao can say the words "illegitimate son," he feels an extremely strong killing intent and abruptly changes his words:

"Junior brother!"

"Stop, stop, stop!"

"I am his junior brother!!!"

Wait a moment!

Let's talk this out!

Don't make a move yet!!!

Sister-in-law—