The ferocious maw gaped wide, the stench thick enough to choke.
Her longsword barely managed to brace against the fangs at the critical moment. Carried by the violent impact, she flew backward, rapidly putting distance between herself and the Rock Snake King.
The massive serpentine body coiled and surged forward with a speed that belied its enormous frame. Demonic energy boiled and churned in its wake, felling trees like stalks of wheat along the way and sending thunderous crashes echoing through the night.
Qin Xue had barely regained her footing when a ferocious force lashed out from behind. She whipped her longsword around, channeling her Emperor Yuan to shield her back.
A deafening crack rang out as a thick snake tail swept sideways. Her Emperor Yuan barrier nearly shattered under the blow, and Qin Xue stumbled forward several steps involuntarily. A cloud of greenish poison mist rushed toward her face.
Qin Xue was startled. She had always known that these Demon Kings were not to be trifled with, but only now, having actually crossed blows with one, did she truly understand the extent of its power.
She had originally only intended to slow the Rock Snake King down, but now she realized that without giving it her absolute all, she wouldn't be able to hold it back at all.
"Snake King, forgive me!" Her longsword flicked rapidly, blossoming into countless blooms of sword light that dispersed the poison cloud before her, then merged into a vast curtain of sword energy that enveloped the enormous serpentine body.
She had pushed every last shred of her skill to its absolute limit.
"Excellent!" The Rock Snake King had clearly been driven to fury. It let the rain of sword strikes fall upon its body, slicing through its hardened scales as blood streamed down, then raised its head and roared to the heavens: "The covenant is broken! All of you, come quickly!"
Qin Xue's face changed drastically. "Snake King, you—"
The Rock Snake King laughed darkly. "It was your human race that broke the covenant first. If your sects are slaughtered and your clans annihilated, you have only yourselves to blame."
Centuries ago, that powerful being had passed down the ancient ways of the demon race and forged a covenant with the great demons of that era — the two races must not harm one another without cause. For hundreds of years, both sides had kept the peace.
Yet this Myriad
The human population had grown ever larger. Though their presence did not significantly interfere with the demons' survival, those humans brimming with vital blood and possessing remarkable cultivation were themselves objects of craving for many powerful demons. If they could feast freely on these cultivated humans, it would provide tremendous benefit to the demons' growth.
Many Demon Kings had long desired to use these humans as blood sacrifices, but the covenant's constraints had kept them firmly in check.
Now, however, centuries had passed and the covenant's binding power had greatly diminished. All that was needed was a trigger, and the demon race could cast the covenant aside entirely.
Only now did Qin Xue understand. The Rock Snake King's interference with the
Waves of powerful demonic energy suddenly surged upward from every direction. One by one, Demon Kings emerged, each one no weaker than the Rock Snake King.
In the rainy night, these Demon Kings converged toward the area from all sides.
Qin Xue's heart was thrown into chaos.
At Qinghong Pavilion, figures emerged one after another, gazing into the distance. The Shadow Leopard's breakthrough, the struggle between Qin Xue and the Snake King, the Snake King's earth-shaking roar — the commotion was so immense that how could anyone in Qinghong Pavilion fail to hear it?
"Mother is over there!" In the crowd, a young girl bearing a resemblance to Qin Xue cried out, her face stricken with panic.
The Second-Grade Opening Heaven cultivators who permanently manned Qinghong Pavilion wore grave expressions.
With their strength, they had nothing to fear from those Demon Kings. No matter how powerful a Demon King might be, none had yet reached the level of breaking through the constraints of Heaven and Earth. Though their grades were not high, they were still of the Opening Heaven Realm — a tier entirely above the Demon Kings.
But they could not act without authorization. If they did, the peace that had been maintained in the Myriad Demon Realm for centuries would truly be shattered, and the entire realm would likely descend into chaos.
That was a responsibility they could not bear.
"Qin Xue is a fool — how dare she attack a Demon King." One of the Second-Grade cultivators cursed, stepping forward as he spoke. "I'll go bring her back."
When it came to internal affairs of the demon race, how could humans intervene?
But the Second-Grade Opening Heaven cultivator had barely taken two steps before a figure blocked his path. It was the girl who resembled Qin Xue. Her cultivation was low, but she spread her arms wide and stood firm. "Elder, you can't go! The Leopard King is breaking through, and that Snake King has a grudge against it. If you bring Mother back, the Leopard King will surely die!"
"If I don't bring your mother back, she will also surely die. And if she is killed by a Demon King, Qinghong Pavilion won't even have the ability to avenge her." The Second-Grade Elder looked down at the girl.
The girl's expression faltered with indecision.
"Step aside!" the Elder barked.
Not knowing what to do, the girl's eyes brimmed with tears.
With a sigh, a middle-aged man stepped out of the crowd. "Let me go instead." He, too, was of the Emperor Revered Realm.
The girl cried out in surprise and relief: "Father!"
The middle-aged man lovingly ruffled the girl's hair and turned to the Second-Grade Opening Heaven cultivator. "Elder, please watch over Shuang'er."
The Elder frowned and said in a low voice, "Don't act on impulse."
The middle-aged man smiled faintly. "Don't worry."
With those words, his figure transformed into a streak of light and shot outward.