Taixuan Wuji did not have a powerful grand sect-protecting formation, but they had a stone beast left behind by their ancestors to guard the sect. The ancient divine beasts had long vanished without a trace, yet within this stone beast remained the preserved roar of the divine beast Xiezhi, long extinct.
This was also why Aunt Ping had deliberately lured her here!
In the Xiezhi’s mouth was the Butian Stone.
Chao Jinsui stepped forward, about to rush up—but the next moment—
The stone Xiezhi let out a massive roar. The sound was like a great bell ringing right beside one’s ear, shaking the heavens and earth with resounding echoes!
Especially since this was an enclosed tower, the sound reverberated without end.
She hurriedly retreated dozens of steps, but it was still too close.
That single roar left her mind blank, a constant ringing filling her head.
But she reacted quickly.
The divine beast Xiezhi was a creature of righteous aura, able to distinguish good from evil, loyal from treacherous—no evil could approach it.
This roar was the divine beast’s signature ability. For those of extreme wickedness, a single roar could even shatter their hearts and livers!
Even a righteous cultivator like Chao Jinsui could barely endure it, what about the Demon Clan?
Demons themselves were the embodiment of evil.
She retreated far away and saw Yan Xueyi’s figure. Taking advantage of the moment the Xiezhi stopped roaring, she shouted loudly:
“Yanyan! Go!”
“Have the Demon Clan withdraw immediately! Hurry!”
The great demon boss paused in his steps.
Soon, in the sky outside, vast black smoke rose upward, gradually forming a symbol in the air.
—It was the signal for the Demon Clan to retreat.
In the chaotic battle, the Demon Clan had held an overwhelming advantage, nearly beating the people of Taixuan Wuji until they cried for their fathers and mothers, yet now they suddenly all stopped.
But next, whether human or demon, they all heard a world-shattering roar faintly coming from not far away.
Even from such a distance, whether human or demon, their minds were shaken into dizziness, and they immediately began to retreat.
The great demon boss closest to it did not leave.
To call the Demon God the embodiment of ultimate evil would not be an exaggeration. As the reincarnation of the Demon God, the great demon boss felt as if ten thousand tiny hammers were striking his head within the divine beast’s roar. His head throbbed as if splitting apart, black qi spilling from his eyes in an instant, black blood seeping from the corners of his mouth and ears.
The demon endured the shaking pain and raised a protective barrier of demonic qi.
But the stone statue remained in place, still roaring.
Chao Jinsui was closest of all—her mind was nearly shaken completely blank.
They had no way of approaching the stone statue. The moment they got close, that terrifying roar would explode inside their minds.
Moreover, the design of this tower was extremely ingenious—it even had echoes!
—The divine beast Xiezhi is a creature of upright righteousness, able to distinguish good from evil, loyal from treacherous.
The demon boss suddenly transformed into a mass of surging demonic qi. The demonic qi swelled immensely, nearly filling the entire tower. Sure enough, the stone statue stiffly turned its head, as if it had found its target, and lunged fiercely toward that mass of supreme evil qi!
After the stone statue charged out of the Treasure Pavilion, in the vast open space, although its roar was terrifying, at least there was no echo anymore.
Chao Jinsui gripped her sword and chased after it.
In the distance, the tall Demon Clan youth’s long hair fluttered in the wind. Watching the stone Xiezhi rushing toward him, though blood stained the corners of his mouth, he did not care at all. He drew the Fumo Sword—
Black demonic qi surged all around, wildly gathering toward him. The Fumo Sword slammed fiercely into the ground.
The ground split into countless spiderweb cracks, accompanied by terrifying cracking sounds.
As the stone statue came running toward them, everything collapsed with a thunderous crash!
The rushing stone statue fell into a massive deep pit. The collapsing structures buried it, barely weakening that terrifying wave of sound.
Countless strands of black demonic qi formed a massive net, lunging toward the stone statue! Like a cage of black qi, it trapped the statue firmly underground.
The divine beast’s roar could weaken demonic qi. The black demonic qi kept fading, only to be filled again by even more surging demonic qi.
Across that deep pit, the great demon boss looked at her from afar. His beautiful phoenix eyes gazed at her. Black blood still seeped from the corners of his mouth and ears, yet he smiled faintly at her.
With just a single glance of mutual understanding, Chao Jinsui already knew what to do.
Only a righteous cultivator like her could approach this stone statue.
Evil and demonic paths could not come near.
Gripping her sword, enduring the violent shock to her mind caused by the thunderous roar, she flew toward the stone statue!
But the closer she got, the more intense the ringing in her brain became.
Though her heart and organs would not be shattered, this would not work—if she forced herself closer, she would still be shaken into an idiot by the sound.
She thought of the fourth level of the Kunlun Sword Art, the only defensive technique within it, called the Golden Body Realm.
She was still only at the Qianjun Realm, but she could not care about that anymore—
She activated the sword art. The Kunlun Sword suddenly expanded, golden inscriptions appearing upon it, forming countless golden sword sigils that became a protective barrier around her!
The barrier she could sustain was not enough to cover her entire body, so she layered the golden sword inscriptions to protect only her ears and her heart meridians.
It was indeed much more bearable. Enduring wave after wave of the thunderous roar’s shock, she barely approached the stone statue.
—But she knew she had only one chance to strike.
The demonic qi coiling around the stone divine beast also surged violently, pressing the statue firmly into the ground, showing no sign of weakening.
Yet she saw that the demon boss stood atop the deep pit, beneath his flowing hair, black blood continuously streaming from his mouth and ears.
She could not let him keep holding on.
Only one strike—this strike must succeed!
In that instant, the ringing in her mind seemed to fade away.
The frenzied stone beast, in her eyes, seemed to become nothing more than a target—reduced to a single point she had to strike.
She took a deep breath.
The surrounding spiritual energy surged wildly, almost forming a vortex of spiritual energy. Such an immense volume of spiritual energy was continuously compressed—compressed—
The third level, Qianjun Realm, which she had long been unable to break through, was pushed to its absolute limit.
With all her strength, she thrust a single sword strike straight toward the stone statue’s throat!
The stone statue let out an even more terrifying, piercing shriek, shaking her head into a blank, ringing void.
But the dreadful sound finally stopped.
The stone statue’s head crashed heavily to the ground.
Chao Jinsui let out a breath of relief.
She was about to rush forward to retrieve the Butian Stone—
The next moment, she was suddenly yanked back. A tall figure lunged and knocked her down. The two of them rolled across the ground, and she was tightly shielded beneath him.
Then came a thunderous explosion.
The stone statue exploded.
Flames soared behind them!
The aftermath of the blast nearly flattened the surrounding area.
But the demon boss, with his tall frame, shielded her completely.
She heard him let out a muffled groan. More black blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, which he casually wiped away.
His thin lips moved, as if saying something.
The great demon boss: “You…”
The great demon boss: “That piece of the Yin-Yang Fish… is probably gone.”
She had been willing to leap into a sea of fire without even blinking for that thing—it must have been very important to her.
The great demon boss: “I’ll go help you find another one. I’ll definitely find an identical one.”
This demon suddenly noticed that she remained silent for a long time, her expression dazed. He reached out to touch her head, thinking she had been shaken stupid—
Sui: “Yanyan, what did you say? I can’t hear you!”
He also touched his own ears—
Demon: “What did you say? Say it again?!”
The two deaf people began speaking louder and louder—
Unfortunately, they talked past each other for a long time, trying hard to guess each other’s lip movements.
In the end, neither understood what the other was saying.
They fell silent for a moment, then suddenly both laughed.
When you’re deaf, you can say anything.
This demon boss suddenly lowered his head and smiled: “I want you.”
She could not hear clearly. She only saw his gaze upon her gradually deepen, becoming especially profound.
She could not make out his lip movements. Her ears were filled with ringing, and she said, “Yanyan, you’re so cute.”
The next second, he froze.
There was still blood at the corner of his mouth, which she gently wiped away.
The demon lowered his eyes, obediently letting her wipe his face again and again.
Yet those beautiful phoenix eyes lifted beneath long lashes, staring straight at her, as if trying to see through her entirely.
He pressed his face into her warm palm, like a predator staring at prey he was certain to claim.
His breathing was not hurried, even carrying a trace of coolness, yet when it brushed against the skin of her wrist, it burned with startling heat.
His gaze seemed to convey the signal of a predator about to launch an attack.
But when she tried to withdraw her hand, he seized it tightly.
She was truly a strange person—
On the surface, she looked like a cold and fragile beauty, not particularly aggressive. In truth, she was all hard bones, like bamboo that could not be bent. With someone like her, you could only be gentle, show weakness before her—the more pitiful the better. Absolutely never show any aggression.
If you tried to seize her by force, to break every bone in her body, she would clamp down on your throat without mercy.
If you were hard, she would be even harder.
She possessed a fearlessness completely unlike her appearance—especially toward herself, she was ruthless.
Her Dao heart was firm, never wavering.
Yet such a person held a contradictory softness and tenderness.
As if she had fed him a potion of enchantment.
Making this violent beast, whose possessiveness was terrifyingly strong, willing to pretend to be a miserable and obedient little dog before her.
Only hoping she would pat the little dog’s head, allow this vicious hound to approach.
He lowered his head, the scent of blood still lingering on him, letting her wipe away the blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
—He did not even stop her when she reached out and pinched him.
He only would not allow her to let go.
This vicious hound stared at her greedily while murmuring:
“I want you.”
“I lured you to the Demon Realm, did you still think you could run away?”
He held her hand, pressing against her soft palm, his breath scorching against the skin of her wrist. The vicious hound could finally act without restraint, no longer needing to pretend before her to be a miserable, drowned little dog.
—After all, she could not hear.
The ringing in her ears gradually faded, and she asked, “Yanyan, what did you say?”
She had an instinct that his expression was strange, as if he had said something.
But he suddenly laughed:
“Nothing.”
A moment later, the two of them both recovered from that deaf state and returned to normal.
The relaxed atmosphere vanished completely, because the closer they walked toward the center of the ruins, the more shattered everything they saw became.
She looked at the powder scattered across the ground, her expression gradually turning worried.
She could only pray that the Butian Stone truly lived up to its name, that even after being blasted, it would remain intact.
Seeing her like this, the great demon boss who had never comforted anyone before—hesitated, about to speak, still thinking—
He suddenly paused. “Found it.”
He casually lifted his natal spirit beast out from beneath a pile of rubble.
Xiao Yanjing’s eyes rolled white, as if it had swallowed some deadly poison, looking like it would not live much longer.
If it were usual times, this appearance would earn it nothing but its master’s disgust.
But now, the great demon boss seemed to have finally discovered a tiny bit of usefulness in his spirit beast:
“When the explosion happened, it opened its mouth.”
Although this foolish Jiao’s habit of opening its blood basin-like mouth was usually deeply despised by its master, at this moment, Xiao Yanjing had displayed the fine qualities of a trash can.
