Chapter 715 - 700: Chaotic Situation, the Bizarre Ancient Flame Demon

Whether they were Demon Beasts or creatures like the Ancient Flame Demons, once they grew powerful enough to approach Transformation, their Spiritual Wisdom would fully awaken.

At this stage, their innate viciousness and brutality would be somewhat restrained.

They became far better at seeking fortune and avoiding disaster.

When Shen Lang’s vast, ocean-like Divine Thought spread out in all directions, carrying with it a suppressive aura to warn the Flame Demons...

The horde of constantly roaring Flame Demons fell silent in unison, ceasing all movement.

Although they had stopped their charge, the Flame Demons surrounded their prey in the center as if they were a well-trained unit.

At the same time, the great battle between the experts of the Imperial Dragon Sect and other sects and the experts from the White Bone Hall also came to a temporary halt because of Shen Lang’s appearance.

Zu Wei and the others were overjoyed to see Shen Lang.

But when the people from the White Bone Hall saw him, their expressions all turned ugly.

In this strange Stone Forest, once the balance was broken, the members of the White Bone Hall would likely soon meet with disaster!

The people from the White Bone Hall didn’t even give the Imperial Dragon Sect a second thought, but they were scared to death of Shen Lang.

It was because they were so terrified of Shen Lang and didn’t dare to face him directly that they had resorted to underhanded methods, plotting to annihilate everyone from the sects associated with him here in the Yumu Cave Blessed Land.

They hadn’t expected that at this critical moment, just when it seemed the people from the Profound Dao Sect could no longer hold on and were about to be slaughtered by the Ancient Flame Demons, Shen Lang would suddenly show up!

The ten people from the White Bone Hall, already thinking of retreat, exchanged strange glances and began looking for an escape route.

"This Ancient Array is no small matter. With our abilities, it’s impossible to break it in a short time. Now that Shen Lang has appeared, what should we do?"

"All the major sects in the Stone Forest are trapped in this Grand Array. With so many Flame Demons inside, no matter how strong Shen Lang is, he can’t possibly deal with all of them. Should we just wait and see what happens?"

"What the hell do you know? If it were just that kid Shen Lang, I have ways to kill him. What we’re afraid of is that Zombie, Duanmu Xie!"

"Watch out for those old guys from the Blood Wing Demon Sect. They’ve been conserving their strength, waiting for an opportunity. Now that Shen Lang is here, they might make a move too!"

"Shen Lang has appeared. It’s impossible to deal with the Profound Dao Sect and Xiu Hua Sect anymore... While he’s fighting the Flame Demons, let’s head deeper into the Stone Forest and use the cover of this Stone Forest Array to avoid him!"

In just a short moment, the group from the White Bone Hall had secretly communicated via Divine Thought and decided on a course of action.

At this moment, no fewer than eighty experts from the various sects had all gathered around Shen Lang.

Every single one of them was dead set on advancing and retreating with him.

"What do you shameless old bastards think you’re doing? Get lost! Scram!" Dongfang Jian cursed loudly when he noticed what was happening.

More than half of these old masters from the various sects simply looked up at the sky, ignoring Dongfang Jian completely.

Dongfang Jian was furious, unleashing a torrent of profanities he had apparently been saving for years, free of charge.

He was an Elder Ancestor of a sect, after all. The sheer creativity and endless stream of curses even left Shen Lang stunned for a moment!

The Profound Dao Sect’s second Elder Ancestor, Feng Buping, as well as the Evil Wind Valley’s Elder Ancestor, Xuanfeng Yi, felt their old faces flush with embarrassment. They turned their backs, pretending not to know the man.

The Elder Ancestor of the Red Flame Sect braced himself, approached with a sycophantic smile, and whispered, "Brother Dongfang, please, go easy on us. Give us a break. We’re all in the same boat now."

"A break my ass! Haven’t you all squeezed our Profound Dao Sect enough over the years? You think I’m too old to remember? Now you’re in trouble and you want our help? Pay up!" Dongfang Jian barked.

"Huh?" The Red Flame Sect’s Elder Ancestor was stunned, not understanding.

Dongfang Jian gave a sly grin. "You sons of bitches see that our Xiaolang is here and think you can just freeload off us? It’s not that simple."

"So, hand over the goods... For example, the Hearts of the Flame Demon you’ve collected. As long as you can satisfy me, you can stay here... And I guarantee, Xiaolang will break this damn Grand Array and get you all out."

The old masters from every sect were all dumbfounded.

Only a scoundrel like Dongfang Jian could demand benefits so brazenly.

But beggars can’t be choosers.

In the current situation, if they didn’t agree to Dongfang Jian’s demands, they would have to leave this protected area. Even if they could hold out for a while, they would eventually be smashed into meat paste or burned to ashes by the Ancient Flame Demons.

And even if they were lucky enough to survive, how could they ever find their way out of this disorienting Stone Forest Array where they couldn’t even tell north from south?

At this, Dongfang Jian said smugly, "If you’re unwilling to hand over any goods, we won’t force you. You can just stay here and play with the Ancient Flame Demons... They’ve been lonely and pitiful for so many years. Maybe they’ll deliberately spare your lives so you can keep them company for a few more days!"

Dongfang Jian was indescribably pleased with himself, looking around and shaking his head gleefully.

For so many years in the Purple Chu Country, the Profound Dao Sect had been oppressed and squeezed by the major sects. They had suffered countless grievances!

It wasn’t until Shen Lang burst onto the scene that they could finally vent their frustrations!

Only now could they be so arrogant and domineering without anyone daring to make a peep. In fact, others had to come fawning and begging them for help!

This kind of prestige was something that even Zu Wei and the others from the Imperial Dragon Sect might never get to enjoy!

Although the second Elder Ancestor Feng Buping and the others felt their faces burn with embarrassment, they were inwardly overjoyed. They knew Dongfang Jian’s personality. He might be a bit of a rogue, but he wasn’t truly shameless. In fact, in many ways, he was much smarter than them.

Now, Dongfang Jian was shamelessly blackmailing these people, clearly eyeing the Hearts of the Flame Demon in their possession.

Outside of this place, a Heart of the Flame Demon was an incredibly rare treasure. It had a price, but no market—it was simply that hard to find!

Even in a place like this, teeming with Flame Demons, they were hard-won. Many had paid a significant price to obtain them.

Now, Dongfang Jian was demanding Hearts of the Flame Demon right off the bat. Counting the number of people here, Feng Buping and the others were blooming with joy...

The old masters from the various sects glanced furtively at Shen Lang, only to see his gaze fixed on the depths of the Stone Forest, completely ignoring what was happening here.

Some who had hoped Shen Lang would step in and say a few words immediately discarded the thought.

Shen Lang’s silence was a clear sign that he was indulging Dongfang Jian!

Unfortunately for them, they didn’t realize they were actually quite lucky that it was only Dongfang Jian making a move.

If Shen Lang hadn’t sensed a formidable presence deep within the Stone Forest and wasn’t preoccupied with preventing the surrounding horde of Flame Demons from going berserk, given his personality, had he been the one to speak, these people would have been lucky to leave the Stone Forest with just their underwear!

When had Shen Lang ever been polite to those who weren’t his allies?

Immediately, a few of the quicker-witted masters stepped forward, took out some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and Hearts of the Flame Demon, and began to bargain with Dongfang Jian.

Only Duanmu Rongrong refused to play along with Dongfang Jian’s scheme. Not only did she refuse to hand anything over, she started a direct shouting match with him.

The two engaged in a war of words, trading insults back and forth. As they argued, the topic shifted from the situation in the Stone Forest to a personal grudge they’d had for centuries.

Things like how Dongfang Jian was whispering sweet nothings to her one moment, then running off to peek at someone bathing through their window the next;

Or how Dongfang Jian stole his junior sister’s underwear and hid it by his bedside...

In just a few sentences, a mountain of dirt from Dongfang Jian’s past was aired out, causing the old man’s face to turn into a kaleidoscope of colors—green, then purple, then red.

The surrounding group of old masters all looked up at the sky, pretending to admire the scenery, desperately trying to keep themselves from laughing out loud.

Outside, a horde of Flame Demons watched menacingly. Inside, a man and a woman were exposing each other’s dirty laundry. The scene was truly bizarre.

’This is a bit troublesome. There are at least three powerful Flame Demons hidden deep in the Stone Forest, and an elusive aura from atop the volcano has locked onto this location. If a real fight breaks out, I’m afraid it won’t end well...’

Shen Lang’s gaze swept coldly over the people from the White Bone Hall. He let out a soft snort before turning his attention back to the Flame Demons.

Shen Lang hadn’t made a move this whole time precisely because he sensed something unusual and thus didn’t act rashly.

The bodies of these Ancient Flame Demons were formed from rocks forged in Hellfire for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. They were an exceptionally rare type of refining material.

And their power source, the Heart of the Flame Demon, was an even more precious treasure—one that could only be chanced upon, not sought.

If he had encountered these Ancient Flame Demons outside, even a few hundred of them, Shen Lang might have tried every means to either slay them or subjugate them one by one.

But the Ancient Flame Demons in this Stone Forest were not so simple...

Right now, Shen Lang was anxious about matters concerning the Dragon Scale Divine Hall and was unwilling to get bogged down by unnecessary complications here.

If a powerful Flame Demon equivalent to the Emperor Martial Realm was hidden beneath the volcano, Shen Lang could naturally handle it with Duanmu Xie’s help.

But in a place like the Yumu Cave Blessed Land, where even Five Elements Spirit Meridians and Elemental Power Fragments had appeared, who could say for sure that a Flame Demon at the Quasi-Emperor Martial Realm, or even stronger, wouldn’t burst out from underground?

A King of Flame Demons, or perhaps even a Flame Demon Emperor...

That would be far beyond what Shen Lang could handle.

It was precisely because he was wary of such a being that after arriving in this area, Shen Lang had been careful not to use his Silver Eyes of Truth to inspect the situation at the bottom of the volcano.

Although the Silver Eyes of Truth were powerful, they required Divine Thought to operate and were therefore not untraceable.

Back then, at the summit of the Profound Dao Sect’s Extreme Thunder Peak, he had been discovered by the Qilin sealed inside just by looking at it, and its subsequent rampage had blasted him so hard he coughed up blood.

And at the edge of the Earth Rift, when he used Zuo Wentian’s Soul Power to probe the Divine Power in the Valley of Death, he was discovered early on and repelled back to the rift.

When facing such powerful beings, Shen Lang did not dare to casually use his Silver Eyes of Truth for a detailed look once he got close.

Because he didn’t dare to look, he was currently unsure just how powerful the being beneath the volcano was, and so he had no desire to make an enemy of it.

Otherwise, he would have slaughtered all these Ancient Flame Demons long ago.

"ROAR!"

Just as the two sides were maintaining a fragile balance, and while Duanmu Rongrong and Dongfang Jian were happily trading insults, a world-shaking roar erupted from within the Stone Forest.

The mountains shook and the earth quaked as a colossal figure shot into the sky with a monstrous aura, hurtling straight toward Shen Lang!

"What a powerful aura! Everyone, fall back! Now!"

Feeling the mountain-like pressure, Shen Lang’s expression changed slightly as he roared the command!