A sacred artifact was a treasure that only Demon Saints were qualified to wield. Across the entire Demon Domain, there were precious few of them, and each one possessed the power to rend heaven and earth.
As Demon Kings, they had all seen at least a few sacred artifacts and felt the destructive energy emanating from those treasures, so they naturally had some understanding of them.
Hearing Shaya suddenly declare that she had caught a sacred artifact left them all dazed. Their first reaction was disbelief.
But Shaya's appearance didn't seem feigned—she had truly seized hold of something.
After a brief moment of hesitation, several burly Demon Kings rushed forward, positioning themselves beside Shaya and reaching into the vortex. When their hands closed on the space within, they found nothing but emptiness.
They turned their heads and regarded Shaya with suspicion.
Shaya cried out urgently, "Grab my hand!"
Only then did the Demon Kings realize their mistake, and they seized Shaya's arms. The instant they made contact, their expressions shifted—because they could indeed feel a tremendous force resisting Shaya from beyond.
They let out low growls as demonic energy surged forth. Shaya suddenly seemed to receive divine assistance, and she forced herself a step backward. Her arms, which had been submerged in the vortex, were immediately pulled free.
In the next instant, more than a dozen pairs of eyes stared at what Shaya now held in her hand—shocked and greedy. Strictly speaking, the object hadn't been fully extracted; only a portion was visible.
It was the hilt of a weapon. No one could tell what kind of weapon it was, but this exposed section radiated an incredibly pure and dense demonic energy.
It was an existence far more refined than anything the Demon Kings themselves possessed.
"It really is… a sacred artifact!" one Demon King whispered, his eyes turning red in an instant. The other Demon Kings were equally ecstatic.
Although they hadn't fully extracted the object from the vortex—only catching a fleeting glimpse—with the keen eyes of so many Demon Kings present, no one doubted what they had seen.
This was unmistakably a sacred artifact, the kind that only a Demon Saint could wield!
In that moment of shock and astonishment, a far greater force suddenly erupted from the vortex. It was so powerful that several Demon Kings felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. They cried out in alarm, their internal demonic energy thrown into disarray.
Shaya let out a scream of pain. Blood sprayed from her pale hands, and her body lurched backward. She collapsed onto the ground, and even the Demon Kings who had been helping her stumbled back in retreat.
The vortex ahead returned to its former calm. The half-visible sacred artifact—its true form still unknown—had vanished without a trace. But the Demon Kings continued to stare into the vortex as though trying to peer into its depths, searching for any sign of the artifact.
Shaya's ragged breathing brought them back to their senses. The Demon Kings remembered to look at her, wanting to ask about the situation.
What they saw made them catch their breath. Shaya's hands were a mangled mess of blood and flesh, with the white of bone exposed on her palms—clearly injured in her struggle against the sacred artifact. Such wounds looked ghastly, but for a Demon King, they were nothing remarkable. What truly drew attention was the wisp of distinctive demonic energy lingering around Shaya's injuries.
Every Demon King studied it, and every expression grew more fervent. Because they recognized that wisp of energy as the aura left behind by the sacred artifact—proof that what had just happened was no mirage or illusion.
Shaya had truly pulled a sacred artifact from within. Unfortunately, at the final moment, she had fallen short, unable to reveal its true form—a regret that lingered over them all.
"Shaya, what kind of sacred artifact was it?" the Shadow Demon asked, his voice betraying unusual excitement. He who always maintained his composure now sounded slightly trembling.
Shaya's eyes flickered with the light of recollection. "A warhammer!"
"A warhammer!" The Demon Kings drew in a quiet breath.
Bao Qi spoke gravely, "What did you see in there? Were there any dangers?"
Shaya shook her head. "No danger. It seemed to be a very peculiar world. I saw the sacred artifact, and I also saw… the corpse of an Ancient Saint!"
The Demon Kings' eyes lit up, and they all turned to gaze at the vortex.
The intelligence Shaya brought back was sparse, but it was more than enough. And that fleeting glimpse of the sacred artifact exerted a lethal attraction on every Demon King present.
Bao Qi took a deep breath and declared in a clear voice, "You all heard her. Since there's no danger inside—"
Before he could finish, the Shadow Demon suddenly let out a strange creak of laughter. What shocked the other Demon Kings was that his voice came from the opposite side. When they looked over, they saw that the Shadow Demon had slipped into the vortex in a flash. The dark shadow he'd left behind was clearly an illusion—it collapsed and dissipated the moment he entered.
"Mokotuo!" the Bone Demon Feili roared, unwilling to be outdone, and shot after him in an instant.
The other Demon Kings had no patience left to listen to Bao Qi's speech. If they delayed any further, they feared they wouldn't even get to see the aftermath. They scrambled over one another and plunged into the vortex, disappearing one by one.
Bao Qi stood in place, wearing a peculiar expression as he watched his former colleagues rush to their doom. He had lost all enthusiasm for speaking. Once they had all gone, he glanced at Shaya. "What exactly was in there?"