Wait a minute, where is my master?

"What does he mean by that?"

The Demon Kings, protected by their Spiritual Power Shields, were puzzled and didn't understand the reason behind the little Taoist's question.

However, they were clear that this was now a matter of life and death.

"At this juncture, if any of you have any trump cards left, let's use them all together. Otherwise, we'll end up like Mao Jin," one of the Demon Kings with wings on his back suddenly suggested telepathically, encouraging everyone to act together in hope of a slim chance of survival.

"If you ask me, it's better to beg for mercy. You all felt that terrifying surge of Spiritual Power just now, didn't you? Do we even qualify to go up against someone like that?"

A Rhinoceros Demon with a single horn on its head argued back via telepathy.

"Foolishness, every one of us here has hundreds, if not thousands of human lives on our hands. This little Taoist obviously came to slay demons and exorcise evil spirits. If he can say 'kill' and immediately dispose of the powerful Mao Jin, will he accept us just like that? Better to lay all our cards on the table and take our chances. As for who can get away, that's up to fate," the Chicken Demon with wings on his back said impassively, continuing to share his point of view.

"Brother Chicken does make some sense," another voice chimed in.

The Demon Kings communicated telepathically, and within the span of two breaths, they had a plan.

They decided to follow the Chicken Demon King's advice and each use their most powerful techniques, then flee.

Across from them, Jin Xu, having heard their entire discussion, maintained a mild expression on his face.

Spiritual Power circulated within his body as the "Fire Condensing Skill" was quietly activated.

They're all planning to use their trump cards against me, so it wouldn't be too much if I made the first move, right?

Fierce flames rose from the right hand of the little Taoist, and the terrifying pressure of Spiritual Power swept across the entire cave, even warping the air with its horrifying temperature.

Behind Jin Xu, Little White instinctively activated the Ice Attribute Spiritual Power within its body, cooling itself and the Spider Demon beside it.

It was simply too hot.

However, the Demon Kings directly facing this fearsome fire felt their fur curling from the heat. Especially the Chicken Demon with the wings, whose plentiful feathers made him suffer the most in this moment.

But the Chicken Demon's determination was indeed strong.

The moment the fire appeared, he shouted loudly, "Fellow Daoists, our chance for survival is right before us. If we don't act now, when will we?"

Upon hearing the winged Demon King speak, the rest of the Demon Kings began to make their moves.

The Rhinoceros Demon with the horn lowered its head sharply, its horn lighting up with an earthy yellow glow before shooting straight at Jin Xu's forehead.

And next to it, a Porcupine Demon King, whose back suddenly exploded with countless sharp quills, leapt into the air, forming a mini sword formation like a set of proportionally-shrunken flying swords, aiming to trap the little Taoist within.

As for the remaining Demon Kings—

They ran!

They ran without any hesitation, without any second thoughts!

In front of the huge passage blasted open by Jin Xu's "Hand Palm Thunder," several Demon Kings who had made the same choice to flee exchanged a momentary glance.

"I wouldn't have guessed that you guys, who seem all fierce and tough on regular days, would make the same choice as me!"

The winged Chicken Demon looked at the Bear Elf and Snake Spirit beside him with a sense of irony.

Then, he became puzzled.

"What's that smell, why is it so fragrant? Huh! Where is this firelight coming from?!! It's over..."

In front of the huge passage shattered by "Hand Palm Thunder," a firelight appeared out of nowhere, engulfing several of the treacherous Demon Kings in whirls of flame.

Those Demon Kings who had betrayed their comrades were instantly reduced to ashes.

"This 'Fire Condensing Skill' isn't great for Alchemy, but it's quite effective for refining demons," Jin Xu muttered under his breath as he looked down at his right hand. At his feet scattered pieces of rhinoceros horn and porcupine quills.

The young Taoist couldn't help but sigh upon seeing that among the group of Demon Kings who shouted slogans, only two of them acted while the rest ran away. These demon cultivators really had dirty hearts, actually betraying their own teammates.

Thus, Jin Xu threw a fireball condensed with the "Fire Condensing Skill" towards the direction in which they were fleeing.

Now, the only evidence that they had been in this world was the flying ashes left in the cave.

In front of the young Taoist.

The Rhinoceros Demon King and Porcupine Demon King, who were already gravely injured because their life-bound magical treasures had been shattered, became even more enraged upon realizing they had been betrayed. Their Dao hearts destabilized, and they vomited a mouthful of black blood.

"Hmm?"

Jin Xu saw the two demons spitting "saliva" at him and with a wave of his right hand, the flames instantly evaporated the fresh blood in mid-air and immediately engulfed the two demons.

From then on, all the Demon Kings in Ten Bamboo Cave, except for that undercover ox, were wiped out.

...

Deep within the forests of Qing State.

A withered old man in a grey robe was riding on a black leopard he had caught on a whim, rushing through the depths of the forest.

As he ran, he held a jade token in his hand, seemingly sending out messages continuously.

About half an hour later, the black leopard carrying the withered old man arrived in front of a large tree thick enough for five men to wrap their arms around. The grey-robed old man got off the leopard, patted its head to signal that it could leave.

The Golden Core Realm Leopard Spirit fled into the depths of the forest as if escaping.

In front of the large tree.

The withered old man formed incantations with his hands and walked in a strange pattern around the tree for two and a half circles. Then, about twenty meters away from the tree, an entrance suddenly appeared at the bottom of a deep pool.

Sensing that the entrance had opened, the old man took a step towards the edge of the pool and then, raising his hand, patted himself with a Water Avoidance Spell and submerged into the depths of the pool.

Deep in the forest.

The black-robed figure, who was fleeing hastily and feeling fortunate to have dodged a bullet, suddenly felt an itch in his throat.

He stopped in his tracks to investigate what was happening inside his body when a severe pain suddenly surged in his eye sockets.

From within his left eye, a thirty-centimeter-long, winged centipede emerged!

"Heh... heh..."

In pain, the black leopard let out wheezing sounds and raised its paw to its eye.

But the centipede seemed as tough as cast iron; the Golden Core Realm's swipe did no harm to it at all.

Instead, it made the creature even more aggressive, burrowing towards the leopard's other eye.

The Golden Core Realm leopard demon tried to mobilize the spiritual power within its body to resist, but it was too late. It discovered a golden silkworm-like Gu Worm on its Demon Core, unknown when it had latched on, and the spiritual power inside had already been consumed by it.

"Heh... Heh..."

Its throat, corroded by the Gu poison, could only make wheezing sounds.

The black leopard felt its limbs grow weak, and the world spun around it. It stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.

After collapsing, its previously smooth and lustrous fur visibly withered away, and in mere moments, the Golden Core Realm demon turned into a dried-up corpse.

The summer evening mountain wind was fierce, blowing the fallen dried-up corpse around like dead leaves in autumn, scattering it everywhere.

Where the black leopard had fallen, only two Gu Worms remained.

One was the winged centipede that had burrowed out of the black leopard's eyeball, and the other was the golden silkworm-like creature.

The two Gu Worms lingered on the spot for a while, as if savoring the flavor of the Golden Core Realm demon.

After a while, the golden silkworm crawled onto the centipede.

The large centipede flapped its wings and flew towards the direction of the pool.