Chapter 272: Chapter 45 Confronting All Sides (Two-in-One Chapter)
Three thousand miles beyond the border.
In a valley shrouded in poisonous fog.
There stood a temple, with numerous birds enveloped in whirlwinds of wind, shuttling through the poison miasma and descending into the temple.
Inside the temple, an array was activated to keep the poisonous fog at bay.
The birds perched on the temple’s railings and pillars, some landed and transformed into the shape of children, petite and delicate in appearance.
This was a branch of the Tianji Palace.
In the world of demonic forces, Tianji Palace’s status was not inferior to that of the Dragon Gate, the Holy Palace, and other such entities. Although it wasn’t known for its combat power, its hall master was extremely mysterious. Coupled with the bird demons that held vast intelligence networks and traversed among various factions, their broad connections made them heavily relied upon by major forces.
“You all received the message, right? That young man is slaughtering demons everywhere!”
“He’s too brazen, intruding alone into our demonic territory. This place is not the Dayu Divine Dynasty!”
“It’s all because those Wan Shan Demon Kings fled from the border; no one there can keep that young man in check. He must have a protector from the Four Stands Realm secretly following him.”
“That young man came to Liangzhou from Qingzhou, protected all along by that person from the Four Stands Realm, which deterred the Demon Kings from risking an attack and killing him. Now, by venturing in deep alone, he’s digging his own grave!”
Seven or eight boys and girls of varying appearances, all short in stature, gathered together. The leader was a girl around the age of thirteen or fourteen, dressed in a red skirt, delicate and fetching, yet her expression was indifferent and mature.
“Master Ming is dead, killed by that young man!”
A boy clad in black spoke softly.
His voice was immature, yet his eyes were filled with dark shadows.
The others were silent, having already been informed through the earlier whistle signals.
Tianji Palace moved freely among the demons without any of them laying hands on them, save for the occasional madman.
But should any demon harm someone from Tianji Palace, they would surely pay with their life!
Now, the young man from the Human Race had dared to kill their Master Ming so brazenly, and he too should face the same fate!
“You’ve transmitted the message, right? Just now, I contacted the other states, and the news about the young man has spread. Those Great Demons and Demon Kings who hold grudges against the Li Family will certainly come!”
“As long as the young man stays here, his death is guaranteed!”
The girl in the red skirt, her eyes as clear as bright snow, spoke with a chilly voice.
Seeing this, the other children nodded, with murder flashing in their eyes.
“Has it been found out who that Four Stands Realm protector secretly following the young man is?”
The girl in the red skirt continued to inquire.
A few children looked at each other, and another girl, as delicate as a porcelain doll in a green skirt, shook her head:
“We thought it was Li, but I personally investigated the matter, and he has not left the Mo River.”
“It is not Li.”
Another child with snow-white hair shook his head, a cold smirk in his eyes, and said, “You would never guess who it is. I watched from a distance when Wan Shan Demon King attacked, and although the person concealed his moves during the fight, I recognized them.”
“I’ve researched the archives before, and it’s related to an incident with the Buddhist sect thirty years ago. If I’m not mistaken, that person should be the Thief Saint, Feng Boping!”
“What?”
At his words, everyone else was shocked.
The bird demons listening nearby also widened their eyes in astonishment.
“The Thief Saint? He’s protecting the young man?”
“Does the Divine General Mansion have some secret connection with the Thief Saint?”
“Good heavens, if the Buddhist sect gets wind of this, the Li Family will be in big trouble.”
“It’s more than just the Buddhist sect. If other Divine General Mansions find out, it’s top-level confidential information that could fetch a good price!”
Their voices buzzed with excitement, for this was rare leverage against the Li Family. However, they only had information that the Thief Saint was protecting the young man and no solid evidence of collusion with the Divine General Mansion.
If it was only based on protection, it wouldn’t be enough to affect the Divine General Mansion.
After all, who the Thief Saint chose to protect was his prerogative, and without hard evidence, these claims would merely amount to slander without proof.
“I will report this to the hall master and let our elders investigate personally. If we can follow the vine and find the melon, gathering evidence will be great news for us.”
The girl in the red skirt said excitedly, with her eyes sparkling.
They of the Tianji Palace thrived on intelligence; knowing information was their greatest weapon.
The more valuable the information they held, the greater the benefit to them.
At that moment, a bird shuttled through the poison miasma and descended into the temple.
“Report to the elders, the young man has just slain Pingshan Ancestor to the west and is now heading this way,” said the bird demon in an old woman’s voice.
“What, Pingshan Ancestor is dead too?!”
The other bird demons were shocked.
That was a Great Demon of the Unwithering Realm, nearly on par with the Three Great Chiefs, having cultivated for ten thousand years, and it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say he was half a step into the Four Stands Realm. He died too?
“Didn’t he flee?”
“Didn’t anyone warn him?”
“They did. He wanted to try his hand and said he wanted to see what that young whelp was capable of.”
“…”
The bird demons fell silent.
The girl in the red skirt’s expression turned dark as she said, “This poison fog is unlikely to block his probes. That young man was able to tear apart three Immortals with his bare hands, which is extremely terrifying! We must disperse immediately, stay in contact with the sound whistle, and a Demon King is already on his way here. I will go to meet him, and tell him to wait for a while longer until the other Demon Kings arrive so we can kill the young man together.”
“Yes.”
All the bird demons nodded in agreement.
Following this, numerous birds flew out of the secluded valley of poison gas.
Their innate Cultivation Technique on their wings created air vortexes that kept the surrounding poison fog at bay, allowing them to carve out a path.
With the birds dispersing, the temple quickly emptied, desolate and silent.
