Chapter 375: Don't Let Your Guard Down

Yuan Hua's figure flickered, turning into a streak of light as he shot across the crimson land. He arrived at the peak of Demon Mountain and slowly descended.

But as he raised his eyes to scan his surroundings, everything was eerily quiet. Only the magma churned and steamed in the volcanic crater below; there was no sign of any Celestial Demon.

"Hm?"

Yuan Hua froze, his face etched with confusion. He sent out his Divine Thought to investigate, only to find that the immense Demonic Qi that had previously covered Demon Mountain was now gone without a trace. He couldn't sense the slightest aura.

'Could the summoning have failed?'

At that moment, Zhou Chen, Dongfang Wan'Er, Lv Yunsheng, and the others flew up from the base of the mountain. Arriving at the crater, they also looked around in confusion.

Zhou Chen took a step forward, coming up behind Yuan Hua. "Elder Yuan, what's going on?"

Yuan Hua said nothing. He simply leaped into the volcano, landing inside a magnificent hall embedded in the crater wall.

The roof of the magnificent hall was long gone, and a long fissure cut across the floor, revealing the churning magma below.

A fierce battle had clearly taken place here not long ago.

Zhou Chen, Dongfang Wan'Er, Lv Yunsheng, and the others followed him down.

Zhou Chen took a few steps forward, slowly scanning his surroundings. Suddenly, he glanced down and froze. "This is...!"

At Zhou Chen's feet lay a round head, its eyes wide open. It was Elder Taiyin.

Wha—!!!

???

'Elder Taiyin is dead?'

Yuan Hua was suddenly stunned.

'An expert at the Fourth Layer of the Refining Dust Realm... dead just like that?'

After all, just a short while ago, Yuan Hua had battled Elder Taiyin for over a hundred rounds and had been unable to defeat him.

'And yet, in the blink of an eye, Elder Taiyin had died so silently?'

Recalling the sight of the colossal Celestial Demon crawling out of Demon Mountain, Zhou Chen suddenly voiced a thought. "Could it be that Elder Taiyin suffered a backlash while summoning the Celestial Demon?"

Lv Yunsheng glanced around. The entire crater was silent, and he couldn't sense any Demonic Qi. He paused, looking puzzled. "But what about the Celestial Demon? Where is it now?"

Seeing this, Zhou Chen smirked scornfully. "Looks like Elder Taiyin failed in the end. How ridiculous. He wanted to restore the former glory of the Celestial Demon Sect, but he just ended up getting himself killed by the backlash. Pathetic."

Zhou Chen was about to say more.

But Yuan Hua suddenly held up a hand to cut him off. His expression grave, he scanned their surroundings. "Don't underestimate the enemy. We don't know what's really happened here."

As he spoke, he gestured, and the Celestial Secret Mirror in Lv Yunsheng's hand abruptly flew up, arcing through the air before landing in his palm.

Then, Yuan Hua slowly raised the Celestial Secret Mirror and pointed a finger. A speck of light flew from his fingertip and into the mirror's surface.

Suddenly, the Celestial Secret Mirror began to glow. Its surface grew hazy as light and shadows flickered within it. At last, an image materialized: a young man in flowing white robes, carrying a massive, dark sword on his back.

Seeing this, Zhou Chen started, then cried out in alarm, "It's Shen Daoxing!"

Dongfang Wan'Er was also stunned and visibly surprised.

Only Lv Yunsheng's expression was grave. He frowned slightly, lost in his own thoughts.

Suddenly, a solid beam of light shot out from the Celestial Secret Mirror, pointing in a specific direction.

Yuan Hua waved his sleeve.

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash,

a section of the hall's wall blasted open, revealing a passage that led deep downward.

Zhou Chen let out a cold laugh, his face twisting into a sneer. "Excellent! So Shen Daoxing has been hiding here, conspiring with the Demon Sect. Perfect. We'll just eliminate all these monsters in one fell swoop today."

With that, Zhou Chen drew a chillingly cold longsword and, transforming into a streak of light, charged into the newly opened passage.

But he had only just stepped inside.

ROAR!

A terrifying roar, loud enough to shatter eardrums, erupted from within.

Then, without any warning, a terrifying, one-eyed red monster suddenly appeared in the passage.

CLANG!

The longsword rang out, vibrating from the impact.

Zhou Chen's sword struck the monster, but it had no effect at all.

The next moment, the one-eyed monster's massive hand shot out and snatched Zhou Chen. It opened its gaping maw, ready to throw him in.

But at that very moment, a speck of white light flared brightly, crossing an immense distance in a flash.

Aurora Sword Intent!

A white rainbow suddenly materialized, streaked through the passage, and vanished.

The one-eyed monster froze. A large hole abruptly appeared in its chest, and then, with a loud BANG,

the one-eyed monster exploded into a shower of red.

Zhou Chen, who had been in its grip, crashed gracelessly to the ground.

The next moment,

Yuan Hua's imposing figure silently walked past Zhou Chen. He said calmly, "Zhou Chen, you cannot be careless. This is Celestial Demon City. Who knows what else is hidden within?"

Zhou Chen quickly scrambled to his feet and bowed respectfully to Yuan Hua. "I will heed your teachings, Elder."

Then, he fell in cautiously behind Yuan Hua.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Yuan Hua calmly began to walk forward.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

With a series of explosions,

the red monsters hidden in the darkness shattered one by one, dissolving into motes of light that faded into nothing.

Meanwhile, deep within Demon Mountain, inside a magnificent hall,

Mola knelt on the floor beside Shen Daoxing, his head bowed reverently as he slowly lifted a wine pot to pour a drink.

Shen Daoxing was chatting with a small red snake beside him, discussing matters of cultivation.

Suddenly, Mola looked up as if sensing something. He turned his head to the side, his brow furrowed.

The next moment,

Ripples spread through the air in front of Yuan Hua. Without any warning, a pitch-black spatial rift tore open, and a terrifying, red-faced, fanged head poked out. Before anyone could react, the monster opened its massive, blood-red mouth.

CRUNCH!

With a sickening crack,

the head of Yuan Hua, who had been walking at the front with his hands behind his back, was gone—swallowed into the terrifying monster's mouth.

SPURT!

A crimson Blood Arrow shot high into the air from Yuan Hua's headless neck, splattering all over Zhou Chen, who was right behind him.

For a moment, Zhou Chen froze, his eyes slowly widening in sheer terror.

No one said a word. Without a moment of hesitation, Zhou Chen, Dongfang Wan'Er, Lv Yunsheng, and Tao Sheng simultaneously leaped into the air, turned, and fled for the exit.

In just a few bounds, they flew out of the passage.

An elder of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land, a mighty expert at the Fifth Layer of the Refining Dust Realm, had his head bitten off in a single, horrifying instant.

The terror of the creatures within Celestial Demon City was undeniable. With their strength, Zhou Chen and the others knew they stood no chance. It was an unspoken understanding; their only option was to escape immediately.

After Zhou Chen, Lv Yunsheng, and the others had fled, the terrifying head crunched down a few more times on what was in its mouth. Then, it slowly retracted and vanished back into the spatial rift.