Chapter 172: The Sky-Swallowing Inner Core

The demon king had been too close to the Sky-Swallowing Beast and was struck directly by its soul-devouring red light. Although the Soul-Suppressing Incantation just now had forced his soul back into his body, he was still gravely injured—his spirit unstable!

“Old man, talisman!” Yun Jiao reminded sharply.

“Oh—oh!” The old man following behind hurriedly pulled out a Spirit-Stabilizing Talisman and handed it over.

Yun Jiao pressed the talisman onto the demon king’s massive wolf head, stabilizing his spirit in time. The demon king then returned to human form. She took out a few pills and fed them to him, and only then did he begin to recover.

“Thank you, Divine Healer Yun,” the demon king said gratefully.

“You’re welcome.” Yun Jiao waved a hand, then added, “Just remember to pay. The consultation is free, but the medicine isn’t.”

“…”

Yuan Jiang, having just finished sending the lost souls to the underworld, also landed beside them. Yun Jiao handed him a pill as well, which he swallowed quickly before saying, “Thank you, little junior niece, for your help. Without your timely aid, I might have lost my soul to the beast’s power.”

Still, that massive Soul-Suppressing spell just now…

He glanced quietly at his master, who stood beside Yun Jiao with a calm, indifferent expression.

Well, never mind—it didn’t even feel surprising anymore.

╮(╯﹏╰)╭

“It’s not over yet!” Yun Jiao reminded, pointing forward.

The others turned to look. Not far away, the creature that had been rolling on the ground was still there—its whole body pitch-black, occasionally letting out pained cries. Compared to its previous mountain-sized form, the Sky-Swallowing Beast was now no bigger than a dog.

Yuan Jiang’s expression darkened. Gripping his sword tightly, he declared, “We can’t let this abomination continue to endanger the Three Realms.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he formed a seal, sending several sharp wind blades slashing toward the creature. But with a metallic clang, the blades were deflected by some invisible force.

The group froze for a moment—then a man’s voice suddenly echoed through the air.

“I didn’t expect you to actually defeat a fully-grown Sky-Swallowing Beast.”

The space beside the beast twisted, and a dark green figure appeared.

It was a man who looked about twenty, wearing long green robes. His body was lean, his demeanor refined—like a frail scholar—but his black eyes were deep, as if a storm could erupt from them at any moment.

His lips curled into a faint, shadowy smile. The Sky-Swallowing Beast beside him let out a whimper, seemingly recognizing him, as if complaining.

At once, Yun Jiao and the others understood who he was.

“Lin Ting!”

“Sheng Huan!” the demon king beside her blurted out at the same time—but the name he called was different. His face showed utter shock and disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe his eyes.

The three of them stared. What? They knew each other?!

“Jizhou,” the man said coldly, “it’s been thousands of years, but you still remember me. Unlike the rest of your ungrateful kind, who’ve forgotten the very reason they’re still alive.”

The demon king’s expression was tangled with emotion. After a moment, he finally spoke. “Sheng Heng… how can you be here? You—you were already—”

“Dead?” The man let out a chilling laugh. “I still have unfinished business. How could I die so easily? Even if I had fallen to the underworld, I would have crawled my way back.”

The demon king’s eyes widened. He looked at the Sky-Swallowing Beast beside him and said, “You… you were the one who released it!”

“That’s right.” The man didn’t deny it. His smile deepened as he glanced down at the beast. “It grew too quickly—I could barely control it. Luckily, you all weakened it for me…”

“…” What did that mean?

Before they could react, the Sky-Swallowing Beast whimpered louder, rubbing itself pitifully against the man’s leg like a spoiled pet, even rolling over to expose its belly in submission. The man bent slightly and gently stroked its fur, his voice soft. “Good boy. After raising you for so many years, you’ve finally matured. Now it’s time for you to repay me.”

His tone was gentle, but his eyes suddenly turned cold. The hand resting on the beast’s body glowed with green light—and in an instant, he thrust it straight through the creature’s chest. His movements were so fast that in the blink of an eye, a golden inner core appeared in his palm.

The Sky-Swallowing Beast didn’t even have time to scream before its body disintegrated into countless motes of black light, scattering and vanishing.

Everyone was stunned. What the hell just happened?

Sheng Heng held the glowing inner core, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He looked over at them and said, “Thank you for restraining this creature. Otherwise, taking its inner core would’ve been much more troublesome.”

They froze. So that was it—he had released the beast on purpose, to let them weaken it so he could harvest the core!

“Today’s an important day,” he said, glancing up at the sky. “I have other matters to attend to. I’ll take my leave.”

As he spoke, the space behind him twisted again, opening into a dark portal. He was about to step inside when Yuan Jiang’s face hardened.

“Trying to run?!” He swung his sword, launching a fierce spell toward the man.

But the other didn’t even try to dodge. Instead, his hand flicked slightly, as if removing a veil of concealment—and another figure suddenly appeared beside him: a young girl in pink.

“Li’er! Wait!” The demon king’s face changed drastically. Without thinking, he lunged forward, blocking Yuan Jiang’s attack with his own body.

“Demon King!” Yuan Jiang shouted, but it was too late. The man had already taken the girl and stepped into the black vortex, disappearing completely—as if he had never been there.

“Li’er…” The demon king clutched his wound, his face pale, filled with panic. “Why did he take Li’er? He knows—he clearly knows that Li’er is…” His voice cut off suddenly, as if realizing something terrible. His entire body trembled with anxiety.

“Demon King, what’s going on?” Yun Jiao asked, her gaze cold and sharp.

The demon king obviously knew that man—and not just as an acquaintance. But why did this involve Ji Li, that little cat demon? Yes, Sheng Heng had just taken her away!

“Who exactly is that man? Why did he take Ji Li?”

The demon king looked at them, realizing he couldn’t hide it anymore. He gritted his teeth and finally confessed, “Sheng Heng… he was the former Demon King.”

“What?” The three were stunned. So the demon realm really had a thing for infighting, huh?

“There have been three demon kings in total,” the demon king explained gravely. “The first was our lord, Zi Chen. The second was him. And I am the third. Sheng Heng and I both served under Lord Zi Chen as generals. Later, when chaos erupted in the demon realm, Lord Zi Chen sacrificed himself to seal the demonic energy in the Crimson Abyss. Sheng Heng, enraged by the betrayal of the various clans, declared himself Demon King and slaughtered every tribe that had rebelled. The demon realm ran red with blood—many clans were completely wiped out. After that, he disappeared. I thought he had died… but I never expected him to return now.”

Yun Jiao’s expression darkened. She looked at the demon king again and asked directly, “Then… who exactly is Ji Li?”

The demon king froze instantly.

(End of chapter)