Hu Yanbo banished the absurd notion of "drawing an advance on someone else" from his mind and looked at Marquis Glorious Light and Marquis Rock, who still brimmed with excitement and anticipation.
In the real world, only an instant seemed to have passed.
"Our business here is finished. The depths of the Nether God Secret Realm are no place to linger," Hu Yanbo said. "I'll take you out now."
With a wave of his hand, he brought out his signature vessel-the Yunmo Star Ship.
"Get in." Hu Yanbo boarded first, with the other two close behind.
On his way to rescue them, he had spared no effort, performing consecutive ultra-long-range teleportations to race against time.
Now that the crisis had passed, there was no need for that.
The hatch closed. With a low hum from its engines, the ship became a streak of light and headed steadily toward the secret realm's exit.
Inside the ship, Marquis Glorious Light and Marquis Rock watched the bizarre scenery and raging energies of the secret realm rush past through windows displaying simulated exterior views. Their hearts filled with anticipation for the future and gratitude toward Hu Yanbo.
For a time, the atmosphere grew relaxed and peaceful.
Yet beneath that calm, a deadly threat was racing across the secret realm at a speed far beyond the ship's, closing in for the kill!
While Hu Yanbo was taking Marquis Rock away and restoring Marquis Glorious Light, out on the fringes of the Dark Corrosion Cavern...
Blood Fang King, who had fled in disgrace earlier, lay concealed among a forest of broken crystal pillars.
His enormous slit pupils seethed with venom, fear, and the deepest resentment!
"Human! That damned soul master!" Blood Fang King growled. "My Inheritance Crystal... my opportunity! This cannot end here!"
When his now-dead descendant first discovered the Divine Envoy Inheritance Crystal, that descendant had informed him through the communications system using the language of consciousness.
As a King-level Immortal and a member of the Demon Race Alliance, Blood Fang had knowledge far beyond the ordinary. Almost immediately, he had recognized that it was very likely the legendary Divine Envoy Inheritance Crystal!
An immense opportunity lay right before him!
Blood Fang King had immediately arranged a meeting point with his descendant, intending to take possession of it himself, and promised his descendant tremendous rewards afterward.
Yet he never could have imagined what happened next!
Just as he was about to arrive, those two human Marquises-Marquis Rock and Marquis Glorious Light-had joined forces and killed his descendant!
That was what had led to the pair being driven into a desperate corner earlier.
He had thought victory was assured, only for a human King-level Immortal to appear out of nowhere. Not only had his prize slipped through his fingers, but his soul had also been injured!
"If I can't have it, you won't get it so easily either!" Overwhelming hatred drowned out his fear, and a vicious plan took shape in his mind.
"I'll report this! Ask someone stronger to intervene! Even if I don't get the greatest share of the rewards, I'll watch that human be torn apart and vent this hatred!"
Without further hesitation, Blood Fang King used the communications system to contact an exceptionally powerful demon King Rank expert he knew was in the Nether God Secret Realm.
The demons' communications system was backward to begin with, and the one in the secret realm had merely been set up by Demon Race Alliance experts who had come there.
That made it even less reliable. Amid the raging energies and spatial turbulence, the system worked only intermittently, usually allowing nothing more than broken exchanges in the language of consciousness.
All Blood Fang King could do was pray that the ruthless, powerful King Rank expert happened to be somewhere with signal coverage and was willing to answer his call.
Once, twice... the signals vanished without a trace.
Blood Fang King's heart sank. Just as he was on the verge of despair and preparing to try other, slightly weaker King Rank experts-
Bzz... bzzzt...
An intermittent, barely intelligible response came through the communications system, carrying unmistakable impatience and annoyance at being disturbed:
"Speak. Location!"
A response! Lord Blade Mantis King had received his call!
And it seemed he was somewhere nearby!
Ecstatic, Blood Fang King sent his coordinates as quickly as he could.
"Wait."
The connection immediately cut off.
Blood Fang King released a long, strained breath of relief, his enormous body trembling slightly with excitement.
He knew that, given Blade Mantis King's temperament, he would arrive soon!
He curled up and waited for the moment of revenge.
Blood Fang King did not have to wait long.
The space before him rippled silently like the surface of water.
Two figures appeared one behind the other, as though stepping out of nothingness, and quietly descended upon the area.
The leader was a demon expert nearly three meters tall, covered in fine, dark-gold scales and shaped like a mantis standing upright.
He had four arms, their edges gleaming with a chilling sharpness, as though they were themselves the keenest of blades.
His intricate compound eyes were cold and merciless, devoid of any flicker of emotion as he silently regarded Blood Fang King.
Blood Fang King's enormous body froze instantly!
A terrifying aura, far purer, more absolute, and more despair-inducing than the one he had felt from that human King Rank expert, crashed down upon his soul!
I'll die!
One strike, and I'll die!
That was the most instinctive, hysterical scream from the depths of Blood Fang King's soul!
"B-Blade Mantis King!"
Blood Fang King's voice filled with primal awe. He had almost lost even the courage to raise his head.
Though both were King-level Immortals, the gulf between their power and status was as vast as heaven and earth!
The other stood above a million King-level Immortals, while he had barely crossed the threshold of that realm.
"Where is the human?"
Forcing down the trembling of his soul and the urge to prostrate himself, Blood Fang King disclosed everything he knew as quickly and respectfully as possible. "L-Lord Blade Mantis King! That human King Rank expert's strength and detector far surpassed mine, so I dared not make any move!"
"But I remember his aura and appearance!"
With that, Blood Fang King channeled his divine power.
In an instant, light and shadow gathered rapidly in the space between him and Blade Mantis King, tracing an image!
The figure of a human man enveloped in flowing black flames appeared in clear detail. His face was stern, his bearing imposing, and a tiny silver space secret pattern flickered faintly between his brows.
Then, beside that figure, a lotus on the verge of blooming took shape, its edges shimmering with an illusory black glow. Each petal seemed composed of countless spatial blades, rendered in lifelike detail!
"My lord! This is what that human King Rank expert looks like! He used an extremely terrifying soul attack technique in the form of this black lotus! My soul suffered a heavy blow after only brief contact with it!" Blood Fang King's voice carried lingering terror.
"He is also the one who stole your Divine Envoy Inheritance Crystal, Lord Blade Mantis King."
Blade Mantis King's cold, merciless compound eyes swept over the images suspended in space, taking in every detail of Hu Yanbo's appearance and the strange black lotus.
The dark-green expert behind him, who had remained silent all this time, also spoke slowly:
"His appearance and aura, and especially this strange soul lotus technique... as far as I recall, none of the Human Race's hundred thousand King Rank experts matches him."
They might not possess precise databases like the Machine Race, capable of instant comparisons, but a King Rank expert could remember the aura and appearance of anyone with some reputation or strength after paying them a little attention!
All the more so when they belonged to an enemy faction!
"It doesn't matter."
A cold voice without the slightest trace of emotion emerged directly from the mantis-like creature's hideous mouthparts.
"He's unlucky to have run into us."
"As long as he dares remain in the Nether God Secret Realm, the Human Race's roster of a hundred thousand King Rank experts will soon contain nothing but those familiar faces you remember."
Before his words had faded, Blade Mantis King casually crossed his two foremost arms in a slash!
Riiip-!!!
He tore a huge, savage spatial rift open with his bare hands!
Rumble...
Visible folds in space surged outward like waves from that enormous rift, slamming into the surrounding giant dark-purple crystal clusters, which were harder than alloys!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Countless enormous crystal pillars and clusters that had grown for hundreds of millions of years shattered under the terrifying spatial ripples like glass struck by a hammer. Teeth-grating cracks rang out as fractures instantly covered their surfaces, before they exploded!
Countless crystal fragments containing strange energy shot in every direction like a torrential downpour!
Deeper within, the once relatively stable energy tides were thrown into utter chaos. They turned violently turbulent, releasing muffled howls as though the entire cavern were groaning in pain!
Such was Blade Mantis King's strength. With a casual movement, he had affected everything from the outskirts of the Dark Corrosion Cavern to its interior!
Without so much as another glance at the destruction he had caused, Blade Mantis King stepped into the savage rift, which was still tearing at the surrounding space.
The dark-green figure behind him followed silently.
Blood Fang King followed them in as well.
All three figures vanished into the space interlayer in an instant!
Would things truly turn out as Blade Mantis King had said...?
If Hu Yanbo was found, would the human roster of King Rank experts really... no longer have any record of him?
Before you continue