Demon!
That single word seemed to carry a strange power. Chunyu and Qiao Wuchang's faces went pale, and even breathing became difficult.
"We're out of time. We're leaving immediately."
Linghu Yang made his decision swiftly, then was about to use his Lightness Skill to move toward the city gate.
"Wait... Guarding Lord, could you give me the time it takes to burn one incense stick? I still have my wife and children..."
An Yuanhe Mountain deacon's expression shifted several times before he suddenly shouted.
"Get lost!"
Linghu Yang's figure did not pause in the slightest, though he was regretting it inwardly.
If he had been a little more vigilant, or if the message from his sect had arrived earlier, perhaps he could have escaped long ago.
But now, the Demon Seed had appeared!
Delaying even for the slightest moment could be tantamount to joking with his own life!
Forget the family of a mere deacon—even the deacon himself could not make Linghu Yang delay for an instant!
His movement technique was astonishing. Chunyu and Qiao Wuchang could see nothing but one after another of his phantoms, and their expressions changed drastically as they gave chase.
Along the way, they occasionally saw scattered strange people slaughtering others, but the three Yuanhe Mountain cultivators treated it as if they had seen nothing.
At last, Linghu Yang took the lead and burst through the city gate.
The next moment, when he saw the scene beyond the city gate, his expression collapsed bit by bit. "Damn it, damn it all!!!"
The farmland and official road outside the city gate had completely vanished.
The only thing visible was layer upon layer of Black Mist!
The enormous Black Mist was like thick city walls, surrounding Black Stone City in its entirety.
"This is..."
Behind him, the sound of fluttering robes suddenly rang out.
When Chunyu saw this scene, even her frosty expression became utterly shocked.
"The Demon Domain has formed. This place has become a dead end. We... can't get out!"
Linghu Yang's voice turned terribly dry and hoarse... like that of a dying man struggling in his final moments.
If one looked closely at this moment, one would discover that the eyes of this Yuanhe Mountain guard seemed to hold... wisps of despair?
White Cloud Martial Arts School.
"Something... isn't right."
Fang Xi looked up, feeling that the weather seemed to have grown much gloomier.
Everything around them was dim, as if dusk had fallen and the sun was about to set.
Meanwhile, his Spiritual Awareness was issuing frantic warnings, as if some danger were lurking nearby.
This made Fang Xi's mood grow somewhat agitated.
"Quick!"
"Hold the main entrance!"
"Take up your weapons!"
"Fire! These monsters are afraid of fire!"
The Martial Arts School disciples fell into a panic. Only after discovering that those strange people feared flames and did not dare approach did they finally feel a little more at ease.
"What... is going on?"
Fang Xi wiped the black soot from his face and looked at Mu Piaomiao.
The Senior Disciple Sister looked even more disheveled. Her originally clean, tidy skirt was already covered in bloodstains.
"I... I don't know..." Mu Piaomiao's eyes were unfocused as she murmured, "Could some sort of strange Yao Beast have infiltrated the city?"
"If that's the case, there are at least two kinds." Fang Xi pondered for a moment. "One seems to have been parasitized by a tree. Even the Martial Hall Master has difficulty dealing with it, and it's highly contagious... The other has black markings covering its face, and its strength surpasses that of an ordinary Martial Disciple with Three Changes of Qi and Blood!"
He had already collected several drops of the second monster's blood and carefully sealed them in a jade bottle for future study.
But as for the first kind, that strange plant seemed to possess life. Fang Xi did not dare touch it rashly.
Suddenly, a figure charged through the wall of flames and landed inside the Martial Arts School.
The many disciples were startled, but after seeing who had arrived, they relaxed slightly. "Master! Master is back!"
"Father!"
Mu Piaomiao burst into tears of joy, only to see Mu Canglong's face deathly pale. One of his arms hung limply, with fresh blood still seeping out.
He waved a hand and shouted harshly, "Piaomiao! Don't come over!"
"Father, what happened to you?" Mu Piaomiao froze in place, at a loss.
Mu Canglong looked toward everyone around him and took a deep breath. "Any disciple of my Martial Arts School who wishes to return home should leave at once. Anyone who wishes to remain in the Martial Arts School must hand over a hundred jin of grain!"
"Grain?!"
Hearing this somewhat nonsensical demand, Fang Xi asked in confusion, "Master, why?"
"Because of the Demon!"
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Mu Canglong's mouth. "Black Stone City... can't be left..."
Before he could finish, his expression changed, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood.
At the same time, dark patterns emerged from beneath his collar and spread along his veins.
"It's that kind of monster!"
Seeing this, a Martial Arts School disciple was scared out of his wits. "The Master is going to turn into a man-eating monster too..."
He had personally seen several senior disciples have their faces covered by those pitch-black markings, after which they had become utterly devoid of familial affection.
With a scream, he snatched up a torch and ran out of the Martial Arts School, disappearing without a trace.
Once he fled, the other apprentices scattered like a startled flock of birds and beasts.
Only a few people remained.
"Let them go... It's better that they left."
Seeing this scene, a strange smile appeared on Mu Canglong's face.
"Father..." Mu Piaomiao's eyes were red, and large teardrops rolled down her cheeks.
"Ah... Don't worry. Although your father has been poisoned by a demonic curse, my True Energy is suppressing it. I can still hold out for some time..."
Mu Canglong looked at his daughter with affection and comforted her.
"Master, what did you mean when you said that Black Stone City couldn't be left?" Fang Xi did not leave. Instead, he watched Mu Canglong with great interest and suddenly asked.
"I mean exactly what I said. The entire Black Stone City has already become a prison. No one can get out..."
Mu Canglong shook his head. Looking at the few disciples who remained, he said bleakly, "Setting aside the danger of the Demon Calamity... we will most likely die here anyway, because we lack food."
Fang Xi suddenly understood.
If Black Stone City had truly become some kind of prison, what would be in shortest supply?
Large cities had the most people, but what they lacked was supplies!
Even a small city like Black Stone City needed the many farms and villages nearby to provide grain and vegetables. Every day, the convoys transporting supplies stretched for a great distance.
Once the city was sealed off and supplies could no longer enter, it would become... a living hell in the blink of an eye!
But what does he mean by "can't get out"? No...
Fang Xi's eyes gleamed. "The Demon Calamity? Do you mean the 'Demon' among the Yao Demons? Is there a Demon wreaking havoc in the city?"
"Exactly!" Mu Canglong simply sat down cross-legged on the ground and answered with a bitter smile. "No matter how powerful a great demon is, there's no need to fear it, because demons can be wounded and can die! As long as Martial Artists can injure them, Daliang has enough manpower to bury even the most powerful demon beneath a mountain of numbers."
That line sounds just like something a player would say... So-called players—even if the opponent is a god, as long as it dares reveal its health bar, they can kill it for you to see!
Fang Xi silently gave him a thumbs-up in his heart, then heard Mu Canglong continue, "...But Demons are different. Demons are immortal! Even the weakest Demon cannot be destroyed! Demons are deathless and undying, so whenever one ravages a place, Daliang will usually abandon it..."
His voice was filled with despair.
Fang Xi's only thought was—Report to the GM, someone's using a god-mode cheat!
Only now did he realize just how troublesome the Demon among the Yao Demons was!
Deathless and undying? For real?
Fang Xi found it hard to believe.
Or perhaps... these Martial Artists are simply too weak.
What Martial Artists can't destroy, we cultivators may not be unable to destroy.
Even if Qi Refining Stage cultivators can't destroy it, perhaps a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator could wipe it out with a backhand strike...
And even if a Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator couldn't do it, there are still Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators...
Thinking this way, Fang Xi immediately felt much better.
At the same time, his interest in those Demons increased greatly.
This world really is fascinating. Ordinary Yao Beast Meat is a supreme treasure for body refinement, while Demons are actually deathless and undying. Wouldn't that be exactly what cultivators dream of?
"Does Black Stone City now... have a Demon Lord?" Tang Xuan took several steps back. His expression was filled with terror, yet also carried a trace of hope. "Master... The government and Yuanhe Mountain are said to have even had True Energy Martial Masters. They should be able to, they should be able to..."
Mu Canglong shook his head. "There was once a Martial Dao Grandmaster who slew a Demon Lord ninety-nine times in a short period... Yet the Demon Lord still could not be destroyed. It quickly resurrected. Meanwhile... that Grandmaster was ultimately exhausted to death... When Martial Artists face a Demon Lord, it's like mortals facing Yao Beasts. They have no way to deal with it."
"Our only hope now is to gather enough food, and then wait..."
At this, Liu Taotao's eyes lit up. "Wait for the imperial court to rescue us?"
"No." Mu Canglong shook his head. "Wait for the Demon to eat and drink its fill... to completely lose interest in this place, and then leave of its own accord..."
An emotion called despair began to envelop the heart of everyone in the Martial Arts School.
"Ah, look! What's that?"
Liu Taotao looked up and suddenly cried out.
Fang Xi followed his gaze, and his expression instantly became incomparably solemn.
He saw... a giant tree!
The enormous black crown continued to grow and expand... like a vast black bowl descending to cover the entire Black Stone City.
Root-like tendrils hung down from the tree crown, wreathed in a thin Black Mist.
An indescribable terror spread through the hearts of everyone who saw it.
Meanwhile, the monsters rampaging outside seemed to have received some kind of command and began converging toward the center of the city.
Then, tendril after tendril descended, burrowing into the backs of their necks and suspending them all in the air, where they swayed in the wind...
"Is this... some kind of relationship between worker ants and a queen ant?"
Fang Xi muttered to himself, "These monsters are merely extracting nutrients and ultimately watering the main tree, helping it grow?"
"I never thought I'd be able to see such a magnificent and strange life-form in this world..."
Before you continue