"Mao Mao."
The phantom cat moved swiftly, vanishing into the shadows in less than a breath.
"What is it?" Leng Xingzhi watched the phantom cat's vanishing silhouette, a dark light flowing in his eyes.
"He saw his enemy, so he's a bit agitated." Chu Lingwei wasn't too worried about Mao Mao's safety; the phantom cat had been prepared this time upon seeing that person again.
"I'll go take a look."
"Senior Brother, I want to go too."
Chu Lingwei followed closely behind her Senior Brother, wanting to avenge Mao Mao.
Leng Xingzhi nodded, and the two disappeared into their flying swords.
Nangong Luo, watching them leave, his eyes flashed, and he quickly followed.
"Senior Brother, something's not right here."
Nangong Luo followed behind them, his brows furrowed. They were clearly not far from Xinghe City; the lights of Xinghe City could be seen, yet this place was incredibly desolate and eerie.
It felt as if they weren't standing on solid ground.
"Mao Mao."
Chu Lingwei knew in her heart that they had likely entered a trap set by a great demon. She called out to Mao Mao using telepathy but received no response.
"This is likely a demon's personal domain." Leng Xingzhi walked slowly, even with a faint smile on his face, adding a touch of warmth to the surrounding desolation.
"Personal domain?" Nangong Luo's entire face contorted. "A demon royal."
In the demon race, strength was paramount, and of course, there were some born into royalty.
Moreover, not all demons could manifest personal domains; only demon royalty possessed this ability.
"Regardless of whether he's royalty or not, harming others is unacceptable." Chu Lingwei, unable to reach Mao Mao, remembered how the phantom cat had nearly had its spiritual energy drained by Zuo Ao Ran two years ago. Her eyes chilled, and the bell in her hand flew out, its "dinglingling" sound echoing in the space.
The bell in her hand, outwardly just an ordinary magical artifact, had been nurtured by space itself and could withstand attacks from all divine-grade magical artifacts.
The bell floated in the space, its sound initially faint. As Chu Lingwei infused it with spiritual energy, the sound grew louder, and the entire domain slowly began to change.
"I didn't expect Junior Sister to possess a divine artifact," Nangong Luo's eyes widened as he murmured in amazement.
Artifacts capable of destroying a demon's personal domain were all above divine grade.
Leng Xingzhi's lips curved into a smile, sensing that his Junior Sister was angry.
"Who are you?!"
Zuo Ao Ran felt his personal domain changing. He emerged from the shadows, staring fixedly at Chu Lingwei. When he confirmed that Chu Lingwei was the person who had almost taken his life, his voice turned vicious, "So it's you."
"So you're a demon."
Chu Lingwei let out a scoff, her eyes full of disdain.
"The debt from that day, along with the Yin Soul Wood in your hand, are all mine." Zuo Ao Ran's eyes changed, revealing vertical green pupils. A green light emanated from his entire body.
His spiritual energy was gone, replaced by a faint red light that continuously devoured the surrounding spiritual energy.
Demonic energy.
Chu Lingwei had known he was a demon for a long time. The bell still floated in the air. She glanced at it once before her Ice Jade Cold Frost Sword flew out, thrusting towards Zuo Ao Ran.
"Overestimating yourself."
Zuo Ao Ran gave a sarcastic smile. He had been ambushed by her back then because he couldn't use his demonic power. Now, crushing her would be as easy as crushing an ant.
"Senior Brother, Junior Sister is no match for him."
Nangong Luo, seeing his Junior Sister attack so readily, wanted to rush forward to help.
"It's alright; let her practice today."
Leng Xingzhi's eyes were fixed on Chu Lingwei, watching her body deftly evade the great demon's attacks without a trace of worry.
In front of him, no one could harm his Junior Sister.
Seeing their Senior Brother's words, Nangong Luo could only watch from the side, thinking that if his Junior Sister were to get hurt, he would be the first to charge in.
"Who exactly are you?"
Zuo Ao Ran's brows furrowed. How was this possible? Within his personal domain, she could unleash her full power without any constraint?
"You can consider me the one who will kill you."
A great demon whose hands were stained with the blood of human cultivators – if Chu Lingwei could, she would find a way to kill him.
Zuo Ao Ran looked at the two people behind Chu Lingwei. They hadn't made a move, not because they were trapped by his personal domain, but because they simply didn't want to.
This was utterly unbelievable.
His personal domain had no effect on these individuals.
Fear began to rise in Zuo Ao Ran's heart. If his personal domain was useless, he might very well perish here.
"You all shall die."
Zuo Ao Ran lowered his eyelids and cast a spell with his hands. Today, he had to ensure these few died here and that he obtained the Yin Soul Wood.
"What is he doing?"
Nangong Luo felt the air around him constrict like a net, threatening to trap him. He immediately summoned his spiritual beast and magical artifacts, launching an attack at Zuo Ao Ran.
Chu Lingwei also sensed the anomaly. She had to end this quickly, or they might all be trapped.
"Xuantian Burning Fire!"
Chu Lingwei channeled the power of the Xuantian Burning Fire to her sword tip and charged straight at Zuo Ao Ran.
"How dare you."
Zuo Ao Ran felt the threat of death, and terror enveloped his entire being.
I cannot die.
Zuo Ao Ran thrust his hand at his vital blood point. A green light descended from the sky, causing Zuo Ao Ran's body to undergo a drastic transformation.
"Junior Sister, be careful, he's going to transform!" Nangong Luo exclaimed, pulling Chu Lingwei back quickly.
Leng Xingzhi looked up; even the moonlight overhead was tinged with a faint green.
His slender fingertips danced, and a surge of spiritual energy flew from his moving fingers, causing the green light under the moonlight to vanish instantly.
"Today, you will all die."
At this moment, Zuo Ao Ran had transformed into his demonic form: a green dragon-headed snake body, with two horns on its head that were at least two meters long. Its body rapidly slithered towards Chu Lingwei and the others, as if intending to swallow them whole.
Strike the snake at its seven inches.
Chu Lingwei looked at the spot seven inches from Zuo Ao Ran's head. Without fear, she advanced, using the hovering bell to block, and leaped forward, thrusting her sword towards Zuo Ao Ran's vulnerable point.
The sword deeply pierced the flesh. The enormous snake body twitched once and then collapsed onto the ground.
Watching the massive snake body crash down, he transformed back into Zuo Ao Ran's form, lying on the ground, his demonic energy surging outwards uncontrollably.
"How is this possible?"
Zuo Ao Ran refused to believe it. His demonic power hadn't even been unleashed, and his inner core had been so easily destroyed. How could this be possible?
Chu Lingwei was also a little bewildered. This great demon seemed a bit weak.
Soon, Zuo Ao Ran's demonic energy dissipated, and a wisp of a phantom image flew out of his body. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Leng Xingzhi stepped forward and casually waved his hand. The phantom image gradually shrank, eventually becoming a finger-sized Zuo Ao Ran, resting in Leng Xingzhi's palm.