Cangchen and Chi Li exchanged a look, sly light spilling from their eyes.
Chi Li spat a streak of fire toward the Spirit Pearl, and the Demonic Qi clinging to it instantly recoiled.
Hehe~
What it carried was the Nirvana Flame unique to the Fire Phoenix Clan, ranked among the top ten on the Divine Flame Ranking. This Demonic Qi was no match for it.
The flames then formed a dense net, wrapping around the entire Spirit Pearl and leaving only a tiny opening.
As the temperature gradually rose, the Demonic Qi coating the Spirit Pearl began to stir restlessly.
Cangchen then controlled the water sphere and brought it close to the Spirit Pearl. The sphere contained pure water spiritual energy, and the Demonic Qi seemed to find a breach, surging rapidly toward it.
Very soon, the Demonic Qi on the Spirit Pearl was completely driven out by the Nirvana Flame.
Chi Li gazed excitedly at the Water Spirit Pearl, now without a trace of impurity, her grin stretching wide across her face.
Whoosh—
The Spirit Pearl was tucked into Chi Li's storage pouch, its aura completely concealed.
The two beasts immediately retreated toward the dense forest. Without the spiritual energy supplied by the Spirit Pearl, the Demonic Qi would soon disperse in every direction.
These beasts had already been lured and bewitched by the Demonic Qi. Unable to find a vessel to store itself in, the scattered Demonic Qi would choose to enter the bodies of the creatures that carried its aura, gradually driving them berserk.
That was not the frightening part. The truly terrifying thing was the demonized Magic Beast deep within the forest. It was immensely powerful; perhaps only cultivators above the Golden Core Realm could subdue it.
But...
That was no longer something they needed to worry about!
Cangchen and Chi Li were not the sort of Spirit Beasts who loved meddling in others' affairs. They had never enjoyed much of a reputation in the Upper Realm; watching a good show was more their style.
They had already obtained the treasure. They needed to leave before that Magic Beast realized what had happened, or the two of them might not even be able to escape.
Fortunately, not a trace of Demonic Qi remained on the Spirit Pearl, so it could not track their auras. At worst, they could give the Spirit Pearl to Jiang Lu and have her place it in her storage space.
The existence of that space was certainly not something ordinary cultivators or beasts could sense.
Just as they reached the first line of defense, they heard a roar from deep within the forest, ten thousand times more miserable than before!
The Demonic Qi had dispersed and entered the beasts' bodies!
They exchanged a glance, and their fleeing footsteps quickened even further.
Whoosh—
The enormous beast deep in the forest suddenly opened its eyes. Its deep pupils narrowed into slits, threaded with red veins, its gaze filled with scarlet bloodlust.
A terrifying aura churned endlessly around its body, wave upon wave of pressure radiating outward. The chirping of insects and singing of birds immediately fell silent, leaving only the heavy breathing of this powerful beast in the entire forest.
The Spirit Pearl's aura—
Had disappeared...
It stared darkly toward the dense forest. Damn it!
It had obtained this Spirit Pearl by chance. Unfortunately, it had already become demonized and could not absorb its energy. Yet it could taint the Spirit Pearl with its Demonic Qi and use it to control low-level beasts.
Every so often, beasts in the Immortal Cultivation Realm would riot because the beasts deep within the forests were advancing in rank. Their strength was formidable, and the surrounding beasts would be driven away.
Thus, layer upon layer of pressure spread from the inner regions to the outer regions, and the beasts on the outskirts began to riot.
This time, it had merely wanted to conduct an experiment, using Demonic Qi to control their actions. Now, it seemed that experiment had failed!
The outside world did not know of its fury, but beasts of comparable strength merely scoffed. Did it really think they did not know what that old thing was planning? Did it take those cultivators for fools?
As competitors, they were naturally happy to watch the show. As for helping it, not a chance.
Roar—
Roar—
Roar—
Roars filled the sky from the outer reaches of the forest. The cultivators sitting on the ground immediately scrambled to their feet, fear written across their faces. What was happening?
What a terrifying sound.
Jiang Lu's eyes flew open. With a slight furrow between her brows, she immediately rose from the ground and looked toward the source of the sound.
Why had the beasts suddenly begun roaring? Even from so far away, the sound was still this terrifying.
The surrounding cultivators were alarmed by the commotion. One after another, they took their magical artifacts in hand and warily watched the direction from which the sound came.
"What is going on? That sound is terrifying."
"These beast roars are definitely not from a few hundred or a few thousand creatures. I suspect there are tens of thousands!"
"Tens of thousands!"
"That's right! And they're beasts that have already entered a berserk state! They no longer have any consciousness of their own. They are nothing but puppets under someone's control, and their attack power is several times greater than before."
"Then... then... what do we do?"
They were only Qi Refinement cultivators. Even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators would have no ability to resist these beasts!
Tens of thousands of them occupied a tenth of the forest's outskirts!
"Someone has already sent word to the city lord. I'm afraid this is no longer something we can stop. We must seek help from those major forces!"
"That would be best, but by the time they arrive, I fear we..."
Everyone's faces were filled with terror. A Beast Tide was not the same as an ordinary beast riot. When beasts rioted, they did not distinguish between enemy and ally.
Jiang Lu watched the varied expressions on everyone's faces, and her heart sank.
Her hand lightly rested on the cloth pouch at her waist. Why had those two still not returned?
Her sixth sense told her that this matter was inseparable from the two of them. She only hoped they had not been injured.
"Master, Master!"
Just as she was thinking, Cangchen and Chi Li's voices sounded in her mind, and their figures immediately appeared.
A red and a yellow blur darted into her cloth pouch while no one was paying attention.
Jiang Lu could not help letting out a breath. They had finally returned.
"What did you two go off to do?"
Jiang Lu asked within her sea of consciousness.
"Master, Master, we discovered something major outside..."
Chi Li and Cangchen took turns telling Jiang Lu everything they had seen and heard. They did not like that so-called notion of not telling someone because it was for their own good.
All misunderstandings arose from that so-called concern for someone's good.
They believed Jiang Lu was not someone whose resolve wavered easily. Telling her so she could prepare early was the right course.
"What!"
"Demonic Qi!"
Jiang Lu's pupils widened. She was no longer the clueless novice who knew nothing. She knew full well how deeply the Immortal Cultivation Realm loathed Demonic Qi.
It was still impossible to determine whether the one deep within was a Magic Beast or a demonic cultivator.
However, just as the two of them had thought, Jiang Lu knew that the current situation was no longer something they could handle. She also had no idea when reinforcements would arrive.
It would be best if they discovered the abnormalities in these beasts themselves. It was not that she was hard-hearted, but the abnormalities of these Magic Beasts absolutely could not be revealed by a Qi Refinement Middle Stage cultivator like her.
"I heard that a Magic Beast riot has broken out in the dense forest beside West River City. Third Senior Brother, shall we go take a look?"
From a spirit boat in the sky came a soft, delicate voice, carrying just the right amount of gentleness and curiosity.
Before you continue