The view stretched endlessly, making it impossible to discern if there were tens of millions or billions of malevolent spirits within.
The sight of them packed shoulder to shoulder, heads touching, almost triggered Wan Lei’s nyctophobia.
At the very center of that space was a core. Once he refined it, the pearl would be his.
Wan Lei gritted his teeth, mustering all his strength, and desperately urged the formation to refine the core.
“Wan Lei, are you done yet? We can’t hold on much longer. These malevolent spirits are attacking us like they’ve gone mad.”
Wan Lei, engrossed in the refinement, suddenly heard Qi Manyao’s call.
“I’m almost done refining. Perhaps this pearl summons the malevolent spirits to protect itself, or perhaps the spirits outside sense the threat and don’t want me to refine the pearl. This is a self-preservation mechanism.”
“I understand all that, but can you hurry up?”
“Done. Refinement complete.”
At this moment, the refinement finished. Wan Lei withdrew the formation and took the pearl into his hand. He could sense that with a single thought, he could command the spirits within the pearl to go forth and slay enemies.
But… he couldn’t control the spirits outside.
The spirits outside had already gone wild, furiously attacking them.
Wan Lei glanced at the demon army in the distance. He was tempted to manipulate the spirits to slaughter the enemies, but he reconsidered.
This move would be best used by surprise once the demons were all gathered. If he used it now, and even a few demons escaped or told others before they died, then all the demons would know that Wan Lei could control malevolent spirits, and they would guard against him.
Impatience could ruin great plans. Wan Lei put the pearl away.
“Let’s go.”
Wan Lei transformed back into his demonic form and, with Qi Manyao and Qian Niao, flew into the distance.
Behind them, countless malevolent spirits pursued them madly.
“Brothers, I’ll lead the spirits away with this pearl. You all escape quickly, escape! Don’t let my sacrifice be in vain!”
Wan Lei shouted as he led the two forward, his figure a tiny speck being swallowed by the tide of spirits in the eyes of the distant demons.
Perhaps the demon pearl was crucial to the malevolent spirits, or perhaps due to some innate dependence, countless spirits chased Wan Lei and his companions, leaving fewer to attack the demons.
Gao Huo watched the fleeing, disheveled figures and sighed.
“Alas, Brother Du Bing advised me not to be blinded by treasure, warning that I might even lose my life. I didn’t listen, and now the tide of malevolent spirits has come.
Now, Brother Du Bing, to save us, has led two fellow tribesmen to lure away the tide of malevolent spirits. He fears neither death nor hardship, all for the sake of giving us a path to survival. Such great kindness, I… I, Gao Huo, can never repay in this lifetime!”
“General, please stop. Brother Du Bing has fought to the death to carve out a path for us. We cannot let his sacrifice be in vain. We… we should leave quickly.”
Wan Lei could never have imagined that he would one day save demons, and move them to tears.
If he knew the demons’ current thoughts, he would surely be deeply touched.
However, at present, he was only concerned with escaping for his life.
“Grab onto me, and I’ll use my Wind Blade遁术 to get you out!”
Wan Lei grabbed one in each hand, and with Qian Niao and Qi Manyao, they fled swiftly. He was heading towards the blinking light on his communicator; there were humans there, and he needed to find his companions.
Soon, he saw a familiar figure ahead, one of his teammates, Han Xiaoyun, the son of one of the Four Immortal Venerables.
At the same time, Han Xiaoyun, who was wandering aimlessly, also saw them and… the tide of malevolent spirits behind them.
Han Xiaoyun: Listen to me, thank you…
Upon seeing three demons and a surging tide of malevolent spirits approaching, Han Xiaoyun’s hair stood on end. She immediately picked up her Heavenly Water Bow and shot several spiritual arrows.
Wan Lei waved his hand, dispelling the arrows, and shouted,
“Stop shooting, Xiaoyun, run quickly!”
Han Xiaoyun was startled. How would a demon know her name? And call her so familiarly.
Immediately, she recalled the technique Wan Lei had used when they first met their contact in the Sea of Bitterness.
“You are Wan Lei?”
“Yes, hurry up and go, hold on to me.”
At this moment, Wan Lei had also flown next to Han Xiaoyun. Han Xiaoyun flew directly onto his shoulder. Wan Lei was currently three zhang tall in his demonic form, more than enough to accommodate Han Xiaoyun.
The trio became a party of four, but the outcome remained the same: a desperate dash for survival.
Han Xiaoyun stood on Wan Lei’s shoulder, drawing her bow and firing a barrage of arrows behind them.
“Stop shooting, you can’t kill them all. Save your spiritual energy and let’s find a way out together.”
Wan Lei reminded her.
They ran for a full half-hour. Perhaps it was because they were too far from the demons’ lair, or perhaps they simply couldn’t keep up, but the tide of malevolent spirits gradually receded.
They finally had a chance to stop and rest. Looking around, they realized they were surrounded by numerous tombs.
Before they could ponder this, three figures suddenly darted out from behind a nearby tomb and attacked them.
It was Wan Qianxin, Xia Yubing, and Bao Bao.
“You damned demons, release Xiaoyun immediately, or I’ll make sure you die without a burial place!”
Xia Yubing roared, brandishing his dual sabers.
Seeing this, Han Xiaoyun rejoiced. She jumped down from Wan Lei’s shoulder.
“You guys are here! That’s great, I thought something had happened to you.”
Seeing Han Xiaoyun fly towards them, and the three “demons” remaining motionless, the trio was surprised.
What was going on?
“Xiaoyun, are you alright? Did these demons harm you? Why are you with demons?”
Xia Yubing remained vigilant.
Wan Lei sneered upon hearing this.
“Xia Bing, next time you encounter a situation where a companion is being held hostage, don’t waste words. Just charge in and kill the demon to save your companion. By shouting like this, the enemy knows you care about the hostage and will use them to threaten you, making you hesitate.”
“Who are you? How do you know my name?”
Xia Yubing asked foolishly.
Wan Qianxin, hearing this, was quite exasperated. As sons of Immortal Venerables, why was he so outstanding while Xia Bing was so笨 (stupid)?
“This is Wan Lei, you idiot. Haven’t you forgotten Wan Lei can shapeshift?”
As he spoke, Wan Lei retracted his Thousand Faces mask. He and Qi Manyao returned to their human forms, and Qian Niao also reverted to its original state.
“Oh, it’s Captain! How did you find each other? And why are you disguised as demons?”
Xia Yubing said, looking at Qian Niao and asking curiously,
“Who is this companion? Why isn’t he reverting to his original form?”
“Oh, his name is Qian Niao. He’s actually a demon.”