The demon leader was still entangled by four tentacles. Unable to dodge, he was drenched in filthy blood. His body trembled, and he felt a chill run through his body. His limbs became stiff and numb, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. An extremely sinister aura rushed straight to his heart.
He immediately realized that the opponent's attack contained an incredibly vicious and powerful resentment, and that if he didn't handle it properly, today would be the day he died.
This person was also decisive. He immediately abandoned everything, focused all his energy on maintaining a little warmth in his heart, and used his spiritual power to draw out the poison bit by bit.
When he escaped danger, the first thing he saw was several elders surrounding him. It was clearly their arrival that made the monster retreat on its own; otherwise, he would not have had time to remove the poison in peace.
However, when he thought about it, he couldn't sense the existence of the light shield. He searched with his divine sense but still found nothing. He immediately realized that the magic treasure had been taken by that monster. Overwhelmed with anger and anxiety, he swayed and almost fell to the ground.
Volume Four: The Divine Artifacts Chapter 230: Half-Immortal Artifact
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"You truly deserve to be called the renowned Food King Senior. I now believe that your abilities are unfathomable. You could even defeat a fully grown dragon."
Facing the haggard-looking King of Food before him, Xiao Wenbing praised him with all his might, saying, "Fortunately, I had the foresight to leave you in the Divine Wood Palace, otherwise it would have been such a waste."
The King of Food let out a heavy snort. This time, he transformed into billions of beings, achieving an incredibly stunning effect, but his own losses were also enormous. If he hadn't absorbed the essence and flesh of over a thousand demon cubs, he would have been lying on the ground long ago.
Therefore, as soon as the old man returned to the cultivators' territory, he ignored the fact that others were still smashing down with their magic weapons and immediately came to Xiao Wenbing's side to watch the battle with him, and to take a break and recover.
Xiao Wenbing seized an opportunity to ask indirectly, "Senior, what was that last thing you spat out? Why did the demon leader suddenly become stunned?"
“That’s death energy.” The Food King paused slightly, a strange color flashing across his face, seemingly a hint of pride, yet also a faint trace of sadness.
"Death energy?" Xiao Wenbing was startled. What kind of magic was this? He had never heard of it before. Turning his head, he saw that both women shook their heads slightly, clearly unaware of it. As for Butterfly Fairy? Xiao Wenbing's gaze swept over her pretty face. It would be a miracle if she knew.
“Indeed, this is the death energy that has accumulated for three thousand years…” The Food King’s voice deepened, and his old face was sinister and frightening.
Butterfly Fairy trembled and hid beside her master, not daring to show her face. In her heart, her master was the greatest, so she did not consider the fact that her cultivation was above her master's.
Xiao Wenbing's heart skipped a beat, realizing that this place had originally been the territory of the man-eating flower. However, it had suffered a catastrophic destruction three thousand years ago.
So, pointing to the ground, he asked, "The carnivorous flower clan?"
"Hehe." A faint glint of tears seemed to appear in the Food King's eyes, but it vanished in an instant. "Below lies the largest cemetery of our carnivorous flower clan. Three thousand years ago, I personally buried my comrades here. Today, I'm not fighting alone..."
Xiao Wenbing shivered, and even the two women's expressions changed slightly.
They finally understood why the Food King's strength was so terrifying. He was able to single-handedly kill over a thousand people in an army of tens of thousands of demons, and then launch a surprise attack on the enemy's commander, seizing the treasure and returning home.
This series of brilliant achievements is something that even the Dragon King and Phoenix Lord might not be able to accomplish in person.
The Food King was just an ordinary member of the Divine Tree Clan. The reason he achieved such a victory was that he had been preparing for this day for three thousand years.
Although Xiao Wenbing and the others didn't know what special abilities the man-eating flower clan possessed, they could guess that the King of Food must have had other methods. He must have absorbed the power of his companions' corpses deep underground to reach such a terrifyingly invincible state.
Otherwise, even with his exceptional skills, it would still be impossible for him to achieve such a feat.
Just then, a white light seemed to flash briefly in the Food King's arms. The Food King frowned slightly, reached out and patted his chest, releasing a powerful surge of evil energy that instantly suppressed the restless magical artifact.
Xiao Wenbing forced a smile, not wanting to discuss the corpse with him any further. Seeing this, he quickly asked, "Senior Food King, you must have had a very fruitful trip down there... This is..."
The Food King casually pulled out a fist-sized, net-like magic weapon from his robes and said, "This treasure can be big or small, and its wonders are endless. Even after being eroded by my three consecutive breaths of death energy, its spiritual essence has not been erased. It is truly rare and precious. Hmm, in our cultivation world, I really can't think of any material that can be used to refine a magic weapon that can resist the erosion of death energy."
"That can't be right?" Xiao Wenbing asked in surprise, "Senior, there are many materials that can resist the erosion of death energy."
The King of Food rolled his eyes at him and said, "What if it's death energy extracted from a corpse that has been soaked in Netherwater for three thousand years?"
"Netherwater? You...you've been to the underworld?" Xiao Wenbing was greatly surprised. The underworld? Is that a place for people? After a moment's hesitation, he finally asked.
The King of Food looked down at the fierce battle raging in the sky. He didn't answer the question, but instead gave a disdainful smile. That expression was his answer.
Xiao Wenbing nodded slightly, his gaze even more strange than that of someone looking at a dead man: "To be able to freely travel between the two realms and still survive, your cultivation is truly... truly unfathomable."
The King of Food smiled coldly, feeling extremely pleased. Being able to safely traverse the two realms and retrieve the Nether Water from the Underworld was the most triumphant thing he had ever done. Now that Xiao Wenbing mentioned it, he was naturally quite proud.
However, he frowned again, and the small net in his hand jumped once more. Clearly, although his skill was high, he still could not completely suppress this super magic weapon.
"If you trust me, senior, may I have the honor of taking a look?" Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly and volunteered.
The Food King didn't hesitate and readily handed over the magical treasure in his hand. With his cultivation level, he naturally wasn't afraid of Xiao Wenbing's shameless refusal to return it.
Xiao Wenbing took it and pretended to look at it for a few moments. Of course, in this situation, he had already awakened the Mirror God, so the one who was really observing this magic weapon was someone else.
As the white light swept across his hand, Xiao Wenbing's face showed surprise. After a long while, he said, "It's unbelievable. No wonder this treasure is not afraid of the death energy refined by the White Nether Water, and you were able to snatch it away."
"You can tell?" This time it was the King of Food's turn to be greatly surprised. Even with his vast knowledge, he couldn't recognize the origin of this thing. He never expected that a young junior could see it. How could he not be very surprised?
After carefully examining the confident Xiao Wenbing, the Food King began to take him seriously. Considering that the unprecedented magic weapon, the Tranquil Heart House, was also created by this young man, he couldn't help but have some faith in him.
"Although this treasure is incredibly powerful and its crafting technique is quite unique, what's truly rare is its material." Xiao Wenbing smiled and said loudly, "The materials used in this treasure are extraordinary."
"What exactly is a '宄'?" Even with the Food King's composure, his curiosity was piqued.
"This is silk."
The King of Food frowned and pondered for a moment before saying, "It does indeed have some characteristics of silkworm silk, but as far as I know, no silkworm silk has such magical effects that even the death energy of the Netherworld Water and the attack of Heavenly Thunder are powerless against it."
“Yes, of course, it doesn’t exist in our realm,” Xiao Wenbing replied with a smile.
"So it's a unique product of the Demon Realm?"
"Otherwise, although I can't guarantee 100% that they don't exist, logically speaking, even in the Demon Realm, there shouldn't be this kind of silkworm."
The King of Food frowned deeply and said with dissatisfaction, "This is not it, that is not it, could it be the Immortal Realm?"
He had only said it casually, but when he looked up, he saw Xiao Wenbing looking at him with astonishment and admiration in his eyes. The old man's heart stirred, and he asked, "Could it really be something from the celestial realm?"
"Indeed, it is silk produced by the silkworm immortals of the celestial realm, which is why it has such miraculous effects and is not afraid of the attack methods of the cultivation world."
A glint flashed in the Food King's eyes, and he said, "So, this is actually a celestial artifact?"
“No, although the materials are from the celestial realm, the crafting techniques are still from the cultivation world, so the user cannot unleash the full power of this magic weapon. However, it is fortunate that way…” Xiao Wenbing smiled slightly and said no more.
"Fortunately what?" the Food King asked.
"Fortunately, the cultivator did not know the proper method. Although he managed to achieve a connection between mind and blood, it was only a superficial phenomenon. That's why you had the opportunity to seize it and use your spiritual power to suppress it, preventing it from returning to its original owner."
The Food King nodded silently, took back the small net, scanned it twice with his divine sense, and suddenly exclaimed, "Strange, where is the mark on this magic weapon?"
“Senior, items from the Immortal Realm should not be taken lightly. The mark on this magic weapon is engraved on silkworm silk, and it cannot be erased using methods from the cultivation world,” Xiao Wenbing explained.
The Food King's small eyes darted around as he asked, "Then can you erase it?"
Xiao Wenbing pondered for a moment and said, "I may not be able to, but there is one person who can."
Feng and Zhang listened silently to each other. They exchanged a knowing glance and smiled, knowing that Xiao Wenbing was referring to the precious god.
That being was, after all, a deity; dealing with a mere treasure from the celestial realm would naturally be a piece of cake. However, there was one matter that couldn't be discussed openly with the Food King.
As expected, the Food King hesitated upon hearing this.
If the mark on this magical artifact cannot be erased, then not only can it not be used, but one must also be constantly wary of the artifact turning against them, making it a huge burden.
His brief attempt revealed that, based on his own knowledge, he was indeed helpless against the mark. He wanted to ask Xiao Wenbing for help, but couldn't bring himself to do so. He wondered if the young man was referring to the Divine Tree Ancestor.
The King of Food was naturally unaware of the existence of a deity in this realm. He was even more unaware that although the power of the Divine Tree Elder had reached an unimaginable level, in terms of cultivation, it was only at the Golden Core stage.
If this old man were to erase the mark, the only result would be that the magical artifact would be completely destroyed by the powerful energy, leaving not even a trace.
Volume 4, Chapter 231: The Omnipotent Bead
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Xiao Wenbing and the Food King's attention wasn't on the battlefield, because everyone knew that this great battle would likely last for at least half a day. And even after half a day, it would probably just be a pause because both sides were tired.
So instead of being on edge and worrying unnecessarily, it's better to conserve your energy and perhaps be able to lend a hand later, or even do something underhanded.
Perhaps you can even take advantage of someone's misfortune and snag some unexpected bargain. Of course, if you happen to snag a half-finished immortal artifact like the Food King, that would be truly exceptional luck.
Because they all had the same idea, they would leisurely study this newly acquired magical artifact on the side.
As for the cultivators around them who were vigorously smashing things down, they were equally too busy to pay attention to these few people, or perhaps they deliberately ignored them because of the special status of these few old and young people.
In short, a large space was naturally left empty around them, and the old man and the young man, Shi Wang and Xiao Wenbing, did not seem to mind at all, appearing quite relaxed and at ease.
However, Zhang Yaqi's words aroused their concern. This master of the Qiankun Ring, who was also at the Golden Core stage, suddenly asked after watching the great battle between humans, demons, and monsters: "Wenbing, where are the magic treasures of the Demon Realm?"
"What?"
“Look,” Zhang Yaqi said solemnly, pointing to the demons below who were desperately defending themselves, “Since they came out, they have only used one magic weapon, the Spirit Pearl that can unleash all spiritual power. Apart from that, they have not used any other magic weapons.”
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback. When Zhang Yaqi asked him about it unintentionally, he immediately realized that something was wrong.
The Demon Realm is hailed as the greatest enemy of the cultivation world, having caused immeasurable calamity here three thousand years ago. While their reputations are often undeserved, the strength they have displayed is indeed hard to believe.
"Senior King of Food, you participated in that great war three thousand years ago. What do you think of the current demon cubs' cultivation levels compared to before?"
The Food King pondered for a moment, then immediately said, "On average, it's definitely not inferior to what it was three thousand years ago. However..."
"But what?"
After a slight hesitation, the Food King said, "However, when I fought with them, I found that the magic weapons they used were indeed several levels lower than before."
“How could this be? I dare say there must be something fishy going on.” Xiao Wenbing said decisively, “They must have been hiding their strength.”
"Yes, we should tell those younger ones to conserve some energy, so that when they counterattack, we won't be powerless to fight back." The Food King muttered, and with a tremor, he appeared in front of the Lion King and Hui Zhe.
Ignoring their negotiation, Xiao Wenbing secretly asked the Mirror God, "Mirror God, what kind of magical treasures are those spirit orbs?"
"It's the All-Purpose Bead."
What is its function?
"This bead is a special product from the same furnace. It can transform the user's vital energy into a whole, making it indestructible."
After considering for a moment, the Mirror God said, "The power of this thing on its own isn't high; it's only equivalent to a common level-two magic weapon in your cultivation world. However, the more people involved, the greater its power. A scene like this, with tens of thousands of people working together, is indeed a rare sight..."
Xiao Wenbing felt no sympathy for the sighs expressed by the Mirror God. For the cultivation world, a united demon was not a good thing.
"What would be the power of tens of thousands of universal spheres combined into one?"