Qin Yi and Ye Ling were back to back, unaware of the danger lurking behind them. But someone was aware.
Liu Su relied not on sight but on soul power to perceive the surroundings, feeling every change in her heart. Unless blocked, her soul power wasn't strong enough to penetrate certain barriers, but there were no blind spots. She watched the grass demon grow from the ground to its full form with a cold gaze.
She hesitated, unsure whether to warn them or let the two learn a lesson the hard way. Qin Yi and Ye Ling were joking around, and while Liu Su might complain, she knew Qin Yi hadn't let his guard down. She could sense the movement of his muscles and true energy, aware that despite the laughter, he was always ready to spring into action and was attentive to his surroundings.
This was good. Having a relaxed mindset while facing danger was beneficial; being too tense could lead to losing half the battle already. However, lacking experience could be fatal. Just being alert couldn’t make up for that lack of experience.
For example, could they really be sure there was nothing behind them just because they had just passed by? That kind of thinking was flawed. This was the demon realm, where no one could predict the bizarre events that could occur. They needed to set up a formation or place a treasure for protection and early warning.
But it didn’t seem like the right time for them to learn a lesson… If they made a noise, it could draw the attention of the demons fighting nearby, and that would be troublesome…
With a sigh, Liu Su took the initiative and swung her wolf fang club, smashing the grinning grass demon into a pulp.
The grass demon didn’t even realize how the club moved on its own before it died…
This sudden movement alerted Qin Yi, who quickly turned his head to see the demon's corpse under the club. He secretly glanced at Ye Ling, who was still focused on the battle, and quietly sent a thought to Liu Su: “Thank you.”
Liu Su coldly replied, “I wanted you to learn a lesson, but it didn’t seem like the right time. Are you still going to be careless?”
“I wasn’t careless; I just didn’t expect this…” Qin Yi said, feeling embarrassed. “Should I have set up a defense first?”
Liu Su was satisfied with his conclusion and nodded. Qin Yi took out several formation stones he had scavenged from Dong Huazi and quickly set up a protective formation. He asked, “Do you think the key here is the black lotus or the peach?”
“The area where they are fighting is essentially a giant demon refining formation. This time, they are not refining demon cores but the essence of demon blood, which has gathered into this black blood demon lotus. This lotus can have up to nine petals, and this one has already grown four, making it quite valuable.
It can be used as material for various high-grade elixirs, especially valuable for soul and spirit cultivation. If it were a nine-petal blood lotus, it would be even more incredible, something even many powerful beings would want. But I think here, growing five petals would be the limit.”
Liu Su spoke calmly, but Qin Yi was already captivated by the mention of the soul.
“Don’t let greed take hold of you,” Liu Su seemed to guess his thoughts. “Once desire arises, your actions may stray from your true purpose. Remember what your goal is.”
Qin Yi didn’t respond to that but continued to ask, “What about the peach?”
“The peach is mostly a kind of witchcraft that affects their minds, making them unaware they are in a formation, instead treating the peach as a sacred item to fight over. Whoever wins and eats the peach is likely to become a puppet of the caster.”
Qin Yi gasped.
This wasn’t something a well-informed cultivator could point out; who could figure this out on their own? He was sure that what Dong Huazi had seen was definitely not this scene. The setup here had likely evolved several times. This arrangement was clearly harsher than any scheme to lure demons for their cores; it had deeper motives.
This place had an owner; it was definitely not an abandoned site!
Qin Yi pondered deeply. The owner was surely a powerful cultivator or witch, someone he couldn’t contend with right now. Perhaps even their actions were being watched. In this situation, trying to seize the blood lotus would be courting death.
He really needed to let go of that greedy thought. After all, this wasn’t his possession. What sense did it make to covet something just because he knew it was good for soul cultivation? Had he read too many novels? Liu Su remained calm, even though that item would be highly useful for her; she didn’t even entertain the thought of taking it.
Qin Yi felt ashamed. He thought he was calm, but Liu Su was always on edge. In reality, when it came to mindset, he was light-years behind her.
From how the owner set up the stone tablet, as long as they didn’t disrupt his plans, staying here shouldn’t be a problem. If he truly wanted the blood lotus, maybe he could try to visit the owner and see if he could exchange something for it?
“Brother, brother…” Ye Ling suddenly whispered, “Did you see? I saw several demons that can use magic!”
Qin Yi pulled his thoughts back for a moment, seriously observing the chaotic battle of demons and quickly noticed that many of these demons could indeed use magic.
He wasn’t talking about Ye Ling’s black fire or the wind blades from the eagle demon; those were innate abilities that all demons had. However, high-level demon cultivators had their own cultivation methods and various battle techniques, which were hard to create on their own without guidance.
He saw a two-tailed fox that not only could use wind blades like the eagle demon but could also clearly control where each wind blade went. This wasn’t something a fox should be able to do; their innate abilities should be illusions or charm-related.
Not only could it use wind blades, but it also employed a whirlwind technique, sweeping several centipedes that got too close into the air, leaving them in pieces when they fell back down.
This was clearly a structured inheritance!
However, this fox also died in the chaos, pierced through the heart and lungs by the strange light from the third eye of a three-eyed wolf demon.
“What a pity. A fox in the xianxia world…” Qin Yi sighed.
Ye Ling remarked, “That was a male fox.”
“You actually know what I was thinking?”
“I’ve read your ‘Journey to the West,’” Ye Ling counted on her fingers. “There were three foxes: the nine-tailed fox, the jade-faced fox, and the white-faced fox, all female. I really wanted to ask back then, does your idea of a fox only include females?”
‘Journey to the West’ was unfairly blamed… Most modern people think of fox demons as female; the term ‘fox spirit’ has become a common phrase. Qin Yi had even seen a handsome male fox demon named Zang Ma, but that didn’t change the deep-rooted gender perception of fox demons.
“Let the male die; it doesn’t matter.” Qin Yi couldn’t explain, so he changed the subject. “There are plenty of magical techniques here, not just that fox. I think you should be able to find a demon cultivation system here.”
Ye Ling nodded. “I need to figure it out myself. Forget about techniques; I don’t even have a clue about cultivation.”
You’re so young and already this strong, yet you have no clue about cultivation… Qin Yi looked at the bloody battlefield and suddenly felt like he might have overlooked something very important…
This special formation targeting demons, from extracting cores to this bloodbath, how much hatred did the owner have for demons?
Wait a minute…
Ye Ling is a demon!
Qin Yi’s heart skipped a beat. He cautiously peeked around the rock to check the ground ahead.
On the ground, there were faint patterns resembling human meridians, slowly spreading toward the rocks. They were moving steadily, and it looked like they were just a few feet away from covering everything.
This demon refining formation really would spread!
So it wasn’t just the danger behind them; even the ground hidden by the rocks was something they couldn’t ignore! Qin Yi learned a valuable lesson and didn’t have time to think further. He quickly pulled the confused Ye Ling and turned to run.
Several demons in the midst of battle seemed to sense something, turning to glare at the two of them.
(End of Chapter)