Yang Zhen’s snow-white beard and hair fluttered as he slammed his palms down, clasping them together with force.
In midair, the pair of phantom giant hands followed his movements, whistling through the air as they crashed heavily toward Lin Xue and Zhang Zongnian.
Lin Xue shut her eyes in despair, ready to embrace death.
Zhang Zongnian’s face mirrored the same hopelessness, mixed with deep grief and rage.
His great vendetta remained unavenged, and yet he was about to die at the hands of his enemy. The sorrow and unwillingness gnawed at him.
But since things had come to this, he could only leave his fate to the heavens.
The only small comfort was dying together with Miss Lin.
He hoped that in the next life, they could reincarnate together and meet earlier.
He sighed, awaiting death to descend.
Lin Xue and Zhang Zongnian waited two breaths, but the giant hands never struck them.
Lin Xue opened her eyes and found that a large folded fan had suddenly appeared, blocking their path in midair, wedged between the two giant palms, holding them apart and preventing them from closing.
The Yin-Featured Man on the ground had flung his fan from afar, shielding them from this fatal attack.
Yang Zhen, seeing his killing blow thwarted by the Yin-Featured Man and unable to slay Lin Xue and Zhang Zongnian, sighed inwardly.
It seemed these powerful Demonic Beasts intended to intervene.
He knew the situation was no longer in his favor; if he tried to forcibly attack Lin Xue again, he likely wouldn’t get the chance.
He had just used that Bone-Eroding Pill, consuming several years of his lifespan, yet in the end, it had all been in vain.
The Foundation-building Pill was beyond his reach for now.
Yang Zhen’s old, wrinkled face showed a trace of despondency as he ceased his pursuit.
He withdrew his hands, and the pair of phantom hands in midair slowly dissipated.
The Yin-Featured Man had a hint of smugness at the corner of his lips as he watched the two giant hands gradually fade.
He stretched out his hand and recalled the fan from midair.
The fan returned to his hand and instantly shrank, reverting to its normal size.
With a flourish, the Yin-Featured Man snapped the fan open with a “whoosh” and fanned himself in front, pretending to be at ease.
Shaking his head with a laugh, he said, “Hehehe, so this is all a Foundation-Stage cultivator is capable of.”
Taking advantage of this moment, the Immortal Crane finally carried Lin Xue and Zhang Zongnian close to the ground.
Lin Xue, seeing that she and Zhang Zongnian were temporarily out of danger, breathed a sigh of relief and guided the Immortal Crane to descend.
The Immortal Crane flapped its wings and landed about ten paces away from the group of Demonic Beasts.
“Stop!”
“Halt!”
“Who goes there? How dare you disturb our Demon Princess!”
“Block the criminals, protect the Demon Princess!”
Over a dozen Lesser Beasts wielding weapons shouted noisily, their voices overlapping in chaos as they rushed forward to stand before the red-robed demoness, blocking Lin Xue from approaching their group.
The tall, burly Black Bear Spirit also gave a loud shout, stepped forward, and stood protectively before the red-robed demoness.
With his pair of round bear eyes, he glared at Lin Xue and bellowed, “Hey! You two, don’t come any closer! If you offend my Miss Yan Zhi, this old Bear won’t let you off!”
Lin Xue obediently halted, stopping the Immortal Crane and, together with Zhang Zongnian, jumped down from its back.
She withdrew the demonic energy from the Immortal Crane. It turned back into a Paper Crane, which she stowed in her Storage Pouch.
Only now did the group of Lesser Beasts get a clear look at Lin Xue’s appearance.
Seeing this half-human, half-snake demoness before them—her face stunningly beautiful and ethereally graceful—the dozen or so still not fully formed Lesser Beasts all had stars in their eyes.
Their gazes lingered greedily on Lin Xue; some even stared slack-jawed, drooling uncontrollably.
The Black Bear Spirit was also momentarily stunned. His bear eyes blazed as he stared at Lin Xue, unable to tear his gaze away.
Even the Yin-Featured Man’s eyes flashed with amazement, so enraptured he forgot to fan himself.
Previously, Lin Xue wasn’t sure if the Yin-Featured Man was human or demon. Now that they were closer, she noticed his eyes were vertical pupils.
One glance revealed these were the eyes of a beast.
So, the Yin-Featured Man was also a demon, though for the moment she couldn’t tell which beast he’d cultivated from.
All the male demons present were fixated on Lin Xue, admiring her beauty.
As for Zhang Zongnian at her side, naturally, all the demons chose to ignore him.
Lin Xue felt uneasy as she noticed all the heated, hungry gazes from the male demons locked onto her, their attention uncomfortably intense.
She had never experienced such a scene before.
Lowering her head, she tidied her clothes, her face showing a hint of embarrassment.
The scene was utterly silent.
A frosty snort suddenly sounded from behind.
The red-robed demoness, her face full of displeasure, shoved aside the Black Bear Spirit in front of her, then kicked away several blocking Lesser Beasts, striding forward.
She stared coldly at Lin Xue, a hint of hostility in her eyes.
This demoness was indeed striking, with a tall, fiery figure and especially full bosom, which quivered enticingly with every step, as if ready to burst free from her robes.
On her face were a few streaks of colorful markings.
Atop her head perched a pair of cat ears, and behind her swayed a fluffy tail, giving her a wild, untamed beauty.
Yet the proud tilt of her face and downturned lips lent her an intimidating air, making her appear somewhat mean-spirited.
Lin Xue glanced at the demoness’s ample chest, then looked down at her own, sighing inwardly: “We’re both demons, so how did she manage such a transformation—how can she be so big and perky?”
If only she could reach out and squeeze it, the sensation must be incredible.
The Yin-Featured Man was the first to recover, fluttering his fan and smiling at the red-robed demoness, “This Snake Spirit does have some looks, but compared to you, Miss Yan Zhi, she’s far inferior.”
The Black Bear Spirit hastily scratched his head in agreement, “Yes, yes, yes! That Snake Spirit may be quite pretty, but in this old Bear’s heart, you’re still the most beautiful, Miss Yan Zhi!”
The Lesser Beasts all joined in, shouting messily, “The Demon Princess is unmatched in beauty—no one can compare!”
Only then did the red-robed demoness’s expression ease a little.
She sized up Lin Xue, glanced at her snake tail, then looked at Zhang Zongnian, noting that both their cultivations were low. A trace of disdain flickered in her eyes.
She lifted her gaze to Yang Zhen, who was slowly descending and now stood a dozen or so zhang away, and asked coldly,
“You human Foundation-Stage cultivator, you trespass into my Xixia Mountain and even chase down my Demonic Beast subjects right before my eyes—do you really hold neither Xixia Mountain nor Luoyun Cave in any regard?”
Yang Zhen stroked his long beard and pointed at Lin Xue.
“This Snake Spirit killed my descendant and stole from my clan, fleeing all the way here. I was merely pursuing this thief, not intentionally offending Xixia Mountain’s territory.”
“I ask Miss to hand over this Snake Spirit to me, so I may avenge my descendant and retrieve my family’s possessions. Once it’s done, I’ll leave at once and not linger here.”
The red-robed demoness sneered, “What kind of joke is that, human cultivator? If this little Snake Spirit was caught on your Human Race’s land, of course you’d deal with her as you please.”
“In your territory, she killed your descendant and stole your things—how you punish her is your Human Race’s business. I don’t care.”
“But your skills were lacking, and she escaped. Now she’s on Xixia Mountain’s land, which makes her one of Xixia Mountain’s subjects. How to handle her is up to us!”
“On our territory, we follow the Clan Rules of Xixia Mountain! Whoever dares offend our rules—no matter who they are—will be slain!”
“You, human cultivator, broke the agreement and trespassed into our Demonic Beast land without permission. According to the rules, your life and death are for Xixia Mountain to decide! I could kill you here and now!”
“Since you’re here, don’t even think of leaving. My father has been poisoned and needs the blood of a human cultivator to suppress the toxin.”
“Offer up all your blood as punishment for offending the Clan Rules of Xixia Mountain!”
The Lesser Beasts all raised their weapons and shouted:
“Demon Princess, mighty and just!”
“Well said, Demon Princess!”
“Human cultivator, don’t run!”
“Leave your blood to cure our king!”
Lin Xue’s heart skipped a beat at these words. She glanced at the tense-faced Zhang Zongnian beside her.
Zhang Zongnian was also a human cultivator who had trespassed into this land of Demonic Beasts.
According to the so-called Clan Rules of Xixia Mountain, would he also be sentenced to death?
Would these demons soon want his blood, too, to treat the red-robed demoness’s father?
That would be disastrous.
By bringing him into this den of demons, hadn’t she doomed him?
Without a change in expression, she quietly took out the Paper Crane from her Storage Pouch, gripping it in her hand as her eyes swept around, searching for an escape route.
She prepared to seize Zhang Zongnian and flee at the first sign of trouble.