"Taotie?"
Daoist Dragon Seven, as he spoke, used his finger as a brush and traced two characters in the air before him. The two large characters were none other than Taotie.
"My lord, are these the characters?" Daoist Dragon Seven asked.
"Indeed," Taotie replied.
"Could it be that you are the Taotie, one of the most ferocious Spirit World Spirits from the ancient era?"
When Daoist Dragon Seven asked this, his expression was conflicted, his mouth hanging wide open.
And the moment those words left Daoist Dragon Seven's lips, the faces of Daoists Dragon Eight and Dragon Nine shifted once more, as though something had come flooding back to them, and they were deeply shaken.
"Oh? You've actually heard of my name?" Taotie sounded somewhat surprised.
"My lord, the nine of us brothers once obtained an ancient inheritance, which is how we achieved what we have today. Within that inheritance, there were records of you."
"You are one of the most powerful Spirit World Spirits of the ancient era, and furthermore…"
Daoist Dragon Seven stopped himself mid-sentence.
"And furthermore what? It certainly wasn't anything flattering, I imagine."
"No matter. Otherwise, what did you think — why would I have been sealed away in this place?"
Taotie let out a laugh, showing no shame whatsoever. If anything, he wore it like a badge of honor.
"Could it be…"
"It was you that this Demonic Coffin was sealing?"
All three Daoists suddenly realized the truth, yet the fear in their eyes only deepened.
This was a kind of terror the three of them had never experienced in all their lives.
Precisely because they had heard the stories, they understood exactly what kind of being they were now facing.
"That's right. Back in the day, my murderous intent ran too rampant, and I did kill quite a few innocent people. My master sealed me here, using a colossal formation to wash away all that killing intent."
"Most of it has been cleansed now, but I never expected that the moment I emerged, I'd be treated as some nameless nobody by you little vermin."
As Taotie spoke, his eyes narrowed, and he turned his gaze upon the three Daoists.
"My lord, it was our ignorance — we failed to recognize the great mountain before us. Please forgive us."
Daoist Dragon Seven was the first to drop to his knees.
Right after, Daoists Dragon Eight and Dragon Nine followed suit, kneeling on the ground as well.
All three were trembling with fear, though they had at least seen enough of the world to hold themselves together. Ordinary lackeys would have wet themselves on the spot.
These three managed — barely. They trembled, but at least they hadn't soiled themselves.
"Forgive you?"
A wicked smirk curled across Taotie's lips.
The next instant, a torrent of killing intent erupted from within him.
The killing intent was so overwhelming that in the span of a single breath, it nearly filled this boundless world.
Only two areas remained untouched — the space around Chu Feng and Egg Egg.
"Is that… killing intent?"
Though the killing intent had not been directed at her, Egg Egg's beautiful eyes were filled with shock.
Even standing on the sidelines, she could feel the sheer horror of it.
Everyone possessed killing intent, but its strength depended on one's nature and one's experiences.
Nature referred to one's innate ferocity.
Experience referred to the number of lives one had taken.
And this Taotie's killing intent was absolutely terrifying.
Whether in terms of nature or in terms of the sheer number of lives extinguished, both had reached an unimaginable scale.
Others measured their kill counts by heads.
His kill count would need to be measured in starfields.
This was a true grand demon — and one of the highest order.
"Has this guy really had his murderous intent washed away?"
"Why doesn't it look that way to me?"
Egg Egg felt a knot of unease in her chest.
Facing this kind of existence, even if it was on their side, she couldn't help but worry about her and Chu Feng's safety.
It wasn't that Egg Egg was cowardly — it was simply that this being was far too terrifying.
And just then, Taotie retracted his killing intent.
It had only been released for a brief instant, but looking at the three Daoists now — drenched in sweat, screaming incessantly, their eyes nearly bulging out of their skulls — each lay sprawled on the ground, barely possessing the strength to even lift themselves up.
The three of them looked like men on the verge of death.
But Taotie hadn't attacked them. He had only released his killing intent.
So the three of them had been frightened into this state.
Pure terror alone had reduced them to this.
If Taotie wished, he could have scared them to death using nothing but killing intent alone. This… was the gap in their power. An absolute, insurmountable gap!
"Spare our lives, my lord! We did grow accustomed to acting arrogant, relying on our older brothers' abilities. But had we known your identity beforehand, not even ten thousand guts would have been enough for us to dare disrespect you!"
The three of them wanted to kneel and beg for mercy, but they no longer had the strength to even kneel. They could only lie face-down on the ground, weeping bitterly and wailing without end.
Taking a closer look at them, Egg Egg covered her nose, her face twisted in disgust.
The three of them had, at last, soiled themselves after all.
"Begging for mercy — do you think that will do anything?"
"What I despise most are scum like you — acting all cocky and untouchable when you think you've got the upper hand, then immediately groveling the moment you realize you're outmatched. You only know how to bully the weak and fear the strong. You look like men, but you don't even have the guts of one."
"Back in the day, forget just the three of you — your other six brothers would have been buried alongside you."
Taotie cursed and berated them without restraint, while the three Daoists' faces had turned ashen with terror.
"But you're lucky. My temperament has changed since then — I don't kill lightly anymore. Otherwise, it would betray the formation my master set up for me."
"Especially now that I've only just emerged, I won't kill easily. Otherwise, given my old temperament, you'd all be dead — including those little pests from the Situ Spirit World clan before." Taotie said.
"Thank you for sparing our lives, my lord! Thank you for sparing our lives!"
Hearing this, the three Daoists hurried to express their gratitude.
"Letting you go today is already an act of mercy."
"So remember this — this boy…"
At this point, Taotie pointed at Chu Feng.
"This boy is my brother. His name is Chu Feng. If the day ever comes when I learn that something terrible has befalli him, then all nine of you brothers will die without question."
Taotie declared.
"Ah?"
"My lord, if he… he… something happens to him, you'll blame us for it? What if it wasn't our doing?" Daoist Dragon Nine asked.