Not a Misunderstanding, but Prejudice

On the battlefield, the prodigies were temporarily forced back by the berserk Fire Armadillo, with only Ao Yunlie standing at the forefront to buy everyone a chance to catch their breath.

Ao Yunlie had transformed into his demonic form, a burly, golden lion. Most remarkably, on the lion's cheeks, there was a long string of strange, tattoo-like totems that shone brightly.

This is precisely the most unique aspect of his visualization of his true demonic form. With the blessing of these totems, the power of his signature Mountain-Shaking Golden Lion Roar will be further enhanced.

Thanks to this, he roared incessantly at the Fire Armadillo, the resulting sonic waves surging like a tangible force, managing to barely hold his own against the fiercely howling Fire Armadillo. The lion and the armadillo were like two Savage Wilderness beasts meeting on a narrow path.

Behind the lion focused on fighting its enemy, Qu Zhaixing, dressed as a scholar, had a cold glint in his long sleeves, poised to attack Ao Yunlie's back.

A wave of emotion surged through You Su's heart, as if a chill was creeping over him.

He seemed to sense something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger the Unseen it.

You Su immediately wanted to rush over and stop Qu Zhaixing, but he and Hua Ranhua were already far away from Ao Yunlie, and after concentrating their firepower on the Fire Armadillo, they were even further away.

By then, it was too late for him to save her.

But You Su couldn't just stand by and watch someone die, so he immediately disregarded Hua Ranhua and rushed to the battlefield like a thunderbolt.

"Brother Ao! Behind you!"

Even faster than his physical form was his voice!

The lion's head snapped to life, its eyes blazing with fury, and Qu Zhaixing's palms were already inches away!

At this critical moment, Ao Yunlie miraculously dispelled his demonic form and transformed back into human form.

His human form was also the tallest among those present, but the distance he had created from his previous sphinx form was enough for this battle-hardened warrior to dodge Qu Zhaixing's attack!

Ao Yunlie's eyes were bloodshot, and his spiked club, carrying the momentum of sweeping away thousands of troops, forced the astonished Qu Zhaixing to retreat.

The two attacked in the blink of an eye, but without Ao Yunlie's restraint, the Fire Armadillo, which had been briefly ignored, would not let go of this fleeting opportunity. Thick smoke billowed from its mouth again, and the earth-shattering fire dragon once more poured out of its mouth!

As if the end of the world had arrived, the rain curtain was instantly torn apart by the fire dragon. Ao Yunlie and Qu Zhaixing were right in front of the Fire Armadillo. The firelight illuminated their blank faces. At such close range, there was no way they could avoid it.

Before they could even react, the two were bathed in pillars of fire that nearly distorted the air.

Everyone was immediately terrified. Their first instinct was to save people, but the fire dragon's rampage continued, so they had no choice but to scatter to both sides, lest they be caught in the fire dragon's breath.

You Su finally arrived. Without hesitation, he drew a near-perfect semicircle in the air with his Ink Pine Sword, charging straight towards the Fire Armadillo's face.

The sword rubbed against the Fire Armadillo's scales, sparking a fleeting burst of sparks. You Su was shocked. Although the Ink Pine Sword was not Immortal Sword, he knew its sharpness all too well. The Fire Armadillo's defense was so formidable!

But You Su's purpose in attacking it was definitely not to break its defenses, but to attract its attention. And clearly, he achieved his goal!

The Fire Armadillo continued to breathe, but instead of facing forward, it raised its head, trying to drive away the annoying bug on its head.

The others also realized that although the breath attack was devastating and extremely fast, there was one place it couldn't reach: the top of the Fire Armadillo's head!

As the pillar of fire moved away, Ao Yunlie and Qu Zhaixing were also freed from the flames. They were now naked, their bodies charred black. Raindrops evaporated instantly when they hit their torn flesh. Both of them were swaying precariously, severely injured.

If You Su hadn't diverted the Fire Armadillo's scorching breath in time, the two of them would probably have been burned to ashes like the plants.

"Qu Zhaixing! You're asking for it!"

Someone roared from the crowd; it was Ao Yu, who was mixed in with the ranged units.

He had witnessed everything that had just happened, and now he charged forward menacingly, two golden Law Seals forming on his hands, intending to crush Qu Zhaixing to dust.

Qu Zhaixing's followers naturally wouldn't stand idly by, and they all jumped out to stop Ao Yu.

"You dare, you Demon Race!"

Although Ao Yu was furious, he was ultimately no match for the combined strength of his opponents. After several heavy blows, his momentum was abruptly halted.

Get out of my way!

Ao Yu was furious. His brother, whom he admired so much, was focused on defending them from the enemy, but these treacherous humans had taken the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. How could he not feel resentment and grief?

His body gradually swelled, and in an instant he transformed into a golden lion that looked remarkably like Ao Yunlie, letting out the same deafening roar. The only difference between him and Ao Yunlie was that the gold on his body was not as rich and sacred as Ao Yunlie's.

In the sky, a snow-white crane several meters long cried out, and with a flap of her enormous wings, hundreds of crane feathers shot out at once. This crane was none other than the demonic form of the Miss He of the Snow Feather Crane Clan.

With the combined attack of the two demons, the cultivators who were blocking his way were instantly forced back.

The remaining Demon Race Demon Cultivator also gathered around, their eyes filled with wariness and hostility.

Even the Little Saint Son leaped up and stood in front of the demons.

"Get out of my way! I need to save my brother!" Ao Yu roared at the Little Saint Son, his voice even more powerful and resonant in his lion form.

"It's all a misunderstanding, don't act impulsively."

The Little Saint Son tried to keep his tone as calm as possible. No one could say for sure whether the impulsive lion demon was rushing over to kill Qu Zhaixing or to save his brother.

"I'll make you regret it!"

Ao Yu felt that these humans were too hypocritical and were all birds of a feather. He could no longer tolerate it and launched an attack on the Little Saint Son first.

Of course, the Little Saint Son wouldn't just stand there and let him fight, so he had no choice but to accept the challenge. His followers joined forces with Qu Zhaixing's followers and began fighting against the Demon Race.

The disciples of the Xuanxiao Sect couldn't help but curse as they watched the group of humans and demons locked in combat. This was clearly a battle fought with one side against a common enemy, yet the Fire Armadillo was still alive and they had already started fighting amongst themselves.

They had no time to deal with these people, and instead mustered their courage to help You Su was dancing in the tiger's mouth.

Just then, Ao Yunlie exhaled a puff of green smoke and finally woke up.

He struggled to sit up, his once-bright blond hair now charred black; he had never felt so angry before.

It can be said that among these Demon Race, he was the Demon Cultivator who trusted humans the most. He was the one who had been pushing hard for the plan for humans and Demon Race to join forces to defeat the Fire Armadillo. He endured countless doubts and pressures from his fellow demons, but he still stood up against all opposition.

He didn't believe there were any irreconcilable conflicts between the human and demon races, and that any remaining conflicts would temporarily subside in the face of shared interests.

But Qu Zhaixing's actions truly broke his heart. Watching his compatriots fight a bitter battle with the human race to save him, he was filled with regret. He raised his spiked club and walked towards Qu Zhaixing.

Qu Zhaixing's physical body was far less powerful than Ao Yunlie's; he collapsed to the ground, barely alive. Tragically, his habit of carrying the invitation with him to quickly tear it up had now become a bad thing. Even Ao Yunlie's invitation had been roasted beyond recognition, so there was no way he could still hold that thin paper talisman.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but no sound came out. Ao Yunlie had already raised the spiked club high above his head, a resolute glint in his eyes.

Qu Zhaixing closed her eyes resignedly, her eyelids drooping, revealing only a deep sense of resentment.

"Fellow Daoist Ao! Stop!"

An ice spike struck, forcefully knocking Ao Yunlie's spiked club away.

It was Zang Zhong, dressed in a beast-patterned robe, who intervened and saved Qu Zhaixing from the brink of death.

"Zang Zhong?"

Zang Zhong is a cultivator from the Northern Ao Continent who believes in the supremacy of the strong. He is the one among this group who gets along best with the cheerful and straightforward Ao Yunlie.

Ao Yunlie seemed surprised that it was Zang Zhong who would stop him in the end. His expression was somewhat taken aback, but he quickly regained his extreme indifference.

"You want to protect him too?"

"Fellow Daoist Ao, this is probably a misunderstanding. Please do not act rashly." Zang Zhong looked reluctant, as if he did not want to be enemies with Ao Yunlie.

"Misunderstand?"

Ao Yunlie's cracked lips curled into a sorrowful smile. "What misunderstanding could there be?"

"Qu Zhaixing wouldn't be so stupid as to attack you at that time."

Zang Zhong stepped forward and put his hands behind his back to show that he had no hostile intentions.

Just then, another mournful roar rang out, and a huge lion was knocked to the ground by a boulder, causing the ground to tremble violently three times.

"Foolish brute!"

The Little Saint Son stepped on the boulder and let out a cold snort.

Seeing his younger brother being brutally crushed by the Little Saint Son, Ao Yunlie instantly gripped the spiked club tightly, peeling away the charred skin on his face to reveal fresh, tender flesh.

He shook his head at Zang Zhong like a newly born demon, his tone filled with unprecedented sorrow:

"This is not a misunderstanding..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he pushed off with both feet and rushed towards the Little Saint Son with lightning speed.

The Little Saint Son was clearly caught off guard by Ao Yunlie's fierce attack and was instantly knocked back more than ten meters away.

Seeing that their leaders had started fighting, the remaining humans and demons who were fighting also became even more ruthless.

The team that had been fighting side by side instantly collapsed. Some fought, some ran away, and some watched the show. The scene descended into utter chaos, with screams and cries of agony filling the air.

"Elder brother!"

Ao Yunlie couldn't hold on any longer and transformed back into human form, his handsome face covered in blood.

In his eagerness to save his brother, he acted without restraint, and the Little Saint Son, angered by this, also attacked without regard for the severity of his blows.

Ao Yunlie wiped away the blood from his younger brother, his voice filled with self-reproach:

"Brother ruined you... From the very beginning, I shouldn't have been so naive as to believe that humans and demons could truly coexist..."

He turned around immediately, and his scorched hair turned snow-white in an instant.

The Little Saint Son over there also stood up, his gaze turning sinister.

"Tear up the letter and leave the island."

Leaving behind this final order, Ao Yunlie vanished in an instant, leaving only a stunned Ao Yu standing there.

He knew the reason his brother's hair had turned white. His Golden Lion clan was invincible on the battlefield, relying on this forbidden blood-burning technique. But this technique was not used to turn the tide of battle, but to perish together with the enemy, because the one who cast the technique would also pay the price with their life.

Ao Yu couldn't hold back his tears. He stubbornly wiped them away and roared:

"Kill them!"

Although initially only some cultivators from the Western Wilderness Continent and the Southern Yang Continent joined the battle, those who hated the Demon Race were far more than just them, and they also took the opportunity to emerge.

In terms of the number of cultivators, the human race has an overwhelming advantage over the Demon Race. There are even two Demon Cultivators, including Ji Xueruo, who have entered the cave to search for treasures. Therefore, even though the Demon Race is fearless, it is gradually showing signs of decline.

Even Lu Xie Jie, who was helping You Su from the head of the Fire Armadillo, lost interest in continuing the fight upon seeing this. Instead, he retreated lightly, preparing to join the out-of-control battle to rescue his compatriots.

You Su was inwardly groaning, but had no way to extricate himself, so he could only shout to Lu Xie:

"Brother Lu! Tell them all to calm down! Let's kill the Fire Armadillo first!"

Lu Xie gave him a deep look and shook his head. He and You Su had only met by chance, but he still had a good impression of this human who truly did not discriminate against Demon Race.

"There are no misunderstandings in this world, only prejudices and barriers that are as hard to melt as icebergs. Whether we kill the Fire Armadillo or not, they all want my Demon Race dead. Brother You, you have done more than enough. You should run."

As soon as he finished speaking, he leaped up like a rabbit and transformed into a unicorn-like mythical beast the size of a bull, charging into the crowd.

"We can't control it anymore! Let's retreat!"

The True Disciple from Book Immortal Peak also shouted anxiously to You Su, saying that with the Fire Armadillo in its current berserk state, it was simply beyond the control of You Su and the others.

"These people are insane!"

Another senior brother echoed this sentiment, but unfortunately, he was swept away by Fire Armadillo's tail and sent flying more than ten meters away as he spoke.

Riding on the back of the Fire Armadillo, You Su, unwilling to see more innocent people injured, had no choice but to issue orders:

"Withdraw!"

He took the first step, flying extremely far, and lifted Qu Zhaixing, who was crawling on the ground, up in one swift motion, with the Ink Pine Sword pressed against his vulnerable throat.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, lightning bolts flashed, and torrential rain poured down. This was the perfect opportunity to annihilate the Fire Armadillo, but just when all was about to be accomplished, a villain's scheme ruined everything.

Instead of immediately executing the criminal, You Su planned to take him to the center of the battlefield to be executed, hoping to end the war in the process.

"I didn't... want to hurt him... I wanted to... help him..."

Qu Zhaixing's voice was barely audible, barely managing to squeeze out a few words.

He seemed to have regained some strength, and starlight began to emanate from his long sleeves again, just like the move he had used to attack Ao Yunlie, only much less powerful.

"Are you looking for death?!"

You Su's first reaction was that this person was still determined to ambush him, but then he felt something was off. Who would be so brazenly building up their strength after all this?

A flash of lightning, and suddenly he seemed to realize something, and actually reached his hand into Qu Zhaixing's sleeve.

The starlight clung to his hands, seeping into his skin and nourishing his veins.

You Su was shocked; Qu Zhaixing hadn't lied after all!

He looked up abruptly and realized that Hua Ranhua, who had reminded him to pay more attention to Qu Zhaixing, was gone!