"Extremely strong."
"Just how strong is it?" Xiao Wenbing pressed.
"Its defense is flawless. Its offense is invincible."
"You mean they're invincible?" Xiao Wenbing asked, his face pale.
"You could say that."
"So, are we going to lose this battle?" Xiao Wenbing's face grew increasingly grim. If they lost this battle, who knew what the consequences would be? But the catastrophe of three thousand years ago was bound to repeat itself.
"No, judging from the current situation, the situation in the cultivation world is still better."
"What?" Xiao Wenbing's heart tightened and he felt a pang of anxiety. If it weren't for his superior composure compared to the past, he would have already shouted out.
However, his brows were still furrowed tightly. Why did the Mirror God suddenly become incoherent? Could it be that he had gone mad from cultivating the power of the Treasure God Earth God?
"Didn't you just say that the Omnipotent Ball is indestructible?"
"Yes, if the Omnipotent Bead had not been consumed at all, and tens of thousands of experts had launched a full-force attack together, it is estimated that only the Treasure God and the Divine Tree Ancestor could withstand it."
Xiao Wenji, feeling somewhat relieved, asked, "And now?"
"Now..." the Mirror God said slowly, "Once your attack is over, their spiritual energy will be almost gone. What use is a magic weapon without spiritual energy?"
Xiao Wenbing nodded repeatedly. The Mirror God was absolutely right. Even if the Omnipotent Pearl was truly indestructible, its prerequisite was that tens of thousands of demons would provide them with powerful spiritual energy. In contrast, although the strength and magical artifacts of the cultivation world varied greatly, the power of their individual magical treasures far surpassed that of the opposing side.
Therefore, when the two are combined, the cultivation world is not at a disadvantage; on the contrary, it has gained a slight advantage. Now, the only thing that worries Xiao Wenbing is that if the demon realm is only at this level, then why did they go through all the trouble to break the seal?
Did they really think they could defeat the many experts from the cultivation world who were on high alert with just this little bit of strength? His mind raced. Could there be some political struggle in the Demon Realm, so they sent these people here to probe their strength?
However, even if they are sacrificial stepping stones, they shouldn't only be carrying one magic weapon.
Well, the Food King once said that even if they have magical treasures, they are two or three levels lower than before. So what exactly are the demons up to?
They don't really want these people to come and die, do they?
"What do you think?" Xiao Wenbing asked the three people behind him.
"Conserve our strength and launch a relentless attack," Zhang Yakan said slowly.
"Concentrate our strength, press on, and take them down in one fell swoop. Then we'll see what other tricks Mo Huizi and her ilk have up their sleeves," Feng Baiyi said coldly.
Xiao Wenbing smiled; their opinions really did reflect their individual personalities.
“Master, I am…” Butterfly Fairy tilted her head and suddenly said softly.
Xiao Wenbing was greatly surprised. How could Butterfly Fairy speak up on her own initiative? That was a rare sight indeed. So he asked, "What do you want to say?"
The butterfly fairy blinked her beautiful big eyes and said, "I think we should leave here. It's too noisy."
Xiao Wenbing was taken aback, and was immediately speechless with anger. Then, hearing the two women's giggles, he was also amused by Quanxian's words and laughed.
"Look, things have changed," Zhang Yaqi said, her smile fading.
Turning around, sure enough, the cultivators from the cultivation world were no longer randomly smashing things. Perhaps warned by the Food King, under the command of Hui Zhe and the Lion King, the human and demon races began to take turns attacking.
While the humans attacked, many experts among the demon race recovered their strength on the sidelines, and when the demon race made their move, the human cultivators began to rest.
It seems that Hui Zhe and his group have made up their minds to wage a protracted war against the demon cubs.
…………
As the cultivators began to change their attack methods, disagreements arose within the demon race as well. Just as the demon leader was painstakingly expelling the death energy from his body, Elder Yan stepped forward and said softly, "My lord, the strength of the cultivation world has exceeded our expectations. I'm afraid we won't be able to seize this landing point."
The demon leader stared with a grim face at the various magical treasures raining down from the sky, which continuously erupted in bursts of light and fire on the light screen formed by the omnipotent bead.
"My lord, we don't have much time left. The saints are already urging us for a reply." Elder Yan took another step forward, emphasizing his anticipation.
What do you want to do?
“Venerable Quini has given us the best solution.”
The demon leader shivered involuntarily; even with his unparalleled cultivation, comparable to the King of Food, he felt a pang of fear.
Should we let him out?
"Yes, we have no other choice."
The leader suddenly turned his head and stared intently at Elder Yan, saying, "You are the oldest elder in my clan, and I understand what you mean. However, you should also understand what I mean." He paused for a moment and then said heavily, "If we release him, then this realm... we can forget about getting our hands on it."
Elder Yan lowered his head. He was no less puzzled by this question than the young clan leader in front of him. However, he still insisted on his opinion: "My lord, I believe in the decision of the saints."
"The Saint's decision?" The demon leader murmured several times, finally gritting his teeth and saying, "Fine, retreat."
"Yes..." Elder Yan replied respectfully. Although his suggestion was adopted by the clan leader, he felt no joy whatsoever. He had no idea what kind of impact the monster they were about to unleash would have on the world.
At the command of the demon leader, the demons began a slow and orderly retreat, moving steadily toward the passage.
Just like when they arrived, or rather, the only difference was that the Universal Pearl replaced the large net they had brought with them, standing high above their heads to defend against the powerful attacks from the cultivation world.
The demon leader and Elder Yan, among other demons with the highest cultivation levels, walked at the back. Only their extraordinary abilities could barely support the ever-shrinking light barrier.
Gradually, the lakebed became empty again, and the demon army retreated as abruptly as when they arrived.
Volume 4, Chapter 232: The Stone Box
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As the demons' large force gradually disappeared into the mysterious hole, the attacks in mid-air strangely ceased at some unknown time.
"They're gone?"
The one who asked the question was not Xiao Wenbing, but Hui Zhe, the current sect leader of the Jade Cauldron Sect, who was known throughout the world for his maturity and prudence. And looking at him was the old Lion King with his eyes as big as copper bells.
An eerie silence fell over the air; there were no exhilarating cheers, nor any joyful celebrations.
What permeated the air was a bewildering sense of astonishment.
The demon army was not defeated. Although the Devourer King killed a thousand of them in one fell swoop by using the death energy of the earth's veins, these people were the lowest in cultivation among the demons. Although it had a certain impact on the demons' combat power, it was not fatal.
The two sides' main forces have not actually clashed yet. At most, they've exchanged flying swords and magical artifacts, engaging in a mock warm-up game.
In fact, both human and demon experts were waiting for the final battle to begin.
However, unexpectedly, at this final moment, the demons silently retreated from the passage.
It's like someone has already gathered all their strength, ready to unleash a full-force attack, but their opponent suddenly waves goodbye, pats their backside, and disappears without a trace, leaving all that strength with nowhere to go, causing extreme discomfort.
"Senior Food King, what do you think?" Hui Zhe looked around, and finally his gaze fell on the Food King. Only this senior who had participated in the great battle three thousand years ago could possibly see through the Demon Clan's intentions.
The Food King's face was solemn. He said in a deep voice, "The demons will not give up until they achieve their goal, unless they change their nature. Otherwise, they will never give up their attempt to invade the cultivation world."
“Exactly, so their actions…” Xiao Wenbing completely agreed with the Food King’s assessment.
"Hmph." The Food King sneered disdainfully, looking completely confident.
"Please enlighten me, senior." The Lion King stepped forward and asked humbly.
Then, amidst the expectant gazes of tens of thousands of people, including humans and demons, the Food King suddenly spread his hands and said, "How would I know what they're up to?"
Everyone was taken aback, and couldn't help but curse inwardly, "If you don't know, why are you pretending to be all-knowing?"
However, considering his incredible prowess just now, fighting countless demon cubs single-handedly, no one dared to speak disrespectfully to him.
Even if you want to find a scapegoat, you have to pick the weak one, right?
But from any perspective, this Elder of the Man-Eating Flower is by no means an easy target.
"look."
A loud shout drew everyone's attention. Xiao Wenbing pointed to the ground and shouted loudly.
In an instant, everyone, whether human or demon, whether at the Tribulation Transcending Golden Core stage or not, looked in the direction of that finger.
Another dark stone box rose from the passage, and two demons carried this large box, big enough to hold two people, out of the passage. Upon closer inspection, their hands did not touch the stone box, but rather held it in mid-air, about half a foot and a half away from their palms.
As if drawn by some mysterious force, the black box hovered above their heads, an eerie and unpredictable sight.
"What is this? What do they want to do?"
Almost everyone asks themselves this question, but no one can give a satisfactory answer.
"It's the Demon Clan leader and Elder Yan!" the Moonlit Wolf King suddenly shouted, his voice filled with surprise.
Not only him, but everyone felt increasingly incredulous. These two could be said to be the two with the highest status and personal cultivation among this group of demons. However, judging from their cautious appearance at this moment, it was hard to know what strange thing was in that big box.
"Could they... be here to surrender?" a cultivator seemed to be talking to himself, but his voice was a little too loud, and the sharp-eyed people around him heard him clearly.
"Absolutely impossible." The King of Food said coldly. Hoping that the demon cub would surrender? Hmph, it would be more realistic to hope that you fail to transcend the tribulation.
"Perhaps it's a negotiation," the dove-like cultivator guessed.
"Not necessarily, it should be a challenge," the hawkish cultivator retorted.
Carefully, the demon leader and Elder Yan put down the large box in their hands. Just when everyone thought they were about to speak, they simultaneously did something that shocked everyone.
Two figures disappeared into the passage leading to the Demon Realm with lightning speed. Their speed alone was enough to make everyone present feel ashamed. Then, a strange color flickered in the passage, and the round opening gradually closed until it disappeared.
"They...they've sealed off the cave entrance!" another person shouted.
At this point, even a complete idiot could see that the Demon Clan leader and Elder Yan's purpose in coming here was not to negotiate, surrender, or issue a challenge; they had come to deliver this box to the cultivation world.
"What is this thing?" Even the old Taoist priest Xianyun couldn't help but mutter to himself.
"This disciple will go and take a look."
The old Taoist priest was taken aback. He reached out and grabbed at empty air. Xiao Wenbing had already darted down in a flash. The old man's expression changed. What good things could those demon brats have sent? If this continued, wouldn't it be too dangerous?
Just as the old Taoist priest was about to use his movement technique to give chase, his vision blurred and two beautiful figures had already followed ahead. He felt relieved; with these two protecting him, he should be more than safe.
Xiao Wenbing volunteered to go down not because he was selfless or fearless, but because from afar, he could see that the large box was engraved with some magical patterns. If he wasn't mistaken, he was very familiar with these patterns; they were the language of the gods.
The language of God! Needless to say, what's in this must be related to God.
If there can be a Mirror God, a Spirit Gathering Platform, and even a true deity like the Treasure God in the cultivation world, then why can't there be something related to gods in the demon realm?
Although the Mirror God stated that deities are strictly forbidden from interfering in matters of the mortal realm, Xiao Wenbing genuinely scoffed at this rule. As the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way; even the strictest laws have loopholes.
If it's truly impossible to interfere with the lower realms, then where did the Treasure Gods come from? They can't possibly be natural products of this realm.