"Yes, my lord!" The five giant bats spoke in human tongues, and with a single flap of their wings, they dissolved into five wisps of wind and vanished from sight once more.
The bull-headed giant, witnessing this, let out a cold snort. With a flick of his hand, a golden horn suddenly materialized in his grasp. He raised it to his lips and blew with all his might.
In an instant, a sound that pierced the vast heavens rang out — its tone deep and ancient, permeated with an indescribable aura of primordial savagery.
The massive azure bulls that had been mixed among the blood bats — upon hearing this sound — immediately had their eyes turn blood-red and white mist spew from their mouths. They simultaneously let out low bellows and charged out of the rolling black miasma, converging toward the giant's position.
Then the horn's note in the giant's mouth suddenly shifted. The deep tone gave way to a ringing, metallic clamor of clashing arms. With a flicker of his body, he transformed into a streak of silver light and shot off into the distance.
Behind him, tens of thousands of thunder bulls merged into a vast, surging tide that rolled forward with unstoppable momentum, following in his wake.
The bizarrely ugly youth watched this scene, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, but he immediately let out a sharp, piercing shriek of his own.
The blood bats, hearing his call, also stirred into a commotion. Then, as though receiving an order, they instantly dissolved into over a dozen streams of blood clouds and scattered in every direction.
The number of blood bats was more than tenfold that of the thunder bulls, so even after splitting into over a dozen squads, each one still numbered in the tens of thousands.
Thus, even the direction that the herd of thunder bulls had just taken was boldly followed by two squads of blood bats, showing not the slightest concern about being discovered.
As for the youth himself, he folded both wings and transformed into a streak of blood light that plunged into the largest of the blood clouds, vanishing in a flash.
The demonic energy that still surged and scattered across the high sky, after the departure of these two types of demonic beasts, suddenly fell into a deathly silence.
But no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, the demonic energy began to churn violently. Hissing sounds erupted from within, and one after another, massive serpents — glossy and pitch-black — emerged, each of a different length. The largest exceeded a hundred zhang, while even the smallest measured twenty to thirty zhang.
Moreover, at the forehead of each giant serpent, a vivid crimson blood-eye had appeared — these were a rare flock of Three-Eyed Demonic Pythons.
The number of these giant serpents was clearly far fewer than the thunder bulls and blood bats — only five or six thousand — but gathered together, the terrifying aura they exuded far surpassed that of the previous two types of demonic beasts.
Atop the largest of them, a demonic python over three hundred zhang in length, stood a high-ranking demon wearing a jet-black mask and clad in fearsome teal armor.
He stood with arms crossed, coldly surveying all around. When he failed to find any trace of the previous two demonic beasts, his pupils contracted slightly — a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
But then he suddenly stomped down on the demonic python beneath him.
The serpent immediately reared its upper body upright and let out a deep, thunderous roar. Then the blood-eye on its forehead flashed, and two strange blood-colored horns sprouted from its head. At the same time, its back rippled and distorted as a pair of teal flesh-wings burst forth from within its body.
The other three-eyed demon serpents nearby sensed what was happening and surged out of the demonic energy one after another, raising their heads in a unified roar as though paying homage to their king.
Only the green-armored demon remained perfectly still, standing firmly atop the mutated giant serpent's head, his gaze utterly cold, his body not so much as flinching.
"We've been apart for a mere ten thousand years, yet Brother Wei's life-bound spirit serpent has advanced yet again. I dare say it can now hold its own against an early-stage Saint!" After every last serpent had emerged from the demonic energy, a clear, resonant male voice rang out from behind.
A foul wind swept through the darkness, and a monstrous insect more than three meters long materialized within the black mist.
The creature was roughly six meters in length, its entire body a pale purple. Long, slender antennae sprouted from its head, fangs jutted from its mouth, and its forelimbs were enormous and blade-shaped — it looked like a colossal mantis.
Perched atop this giant insect stood a small figure no taller than a meter.
The little figure looked like a child of seven or eight, with a topknot tied straight up, wearing a pale green Daoist robe. Three small golden swords were tucked into each shoulder, and as his bright black-and-white eyes darted about, he appeared utterly adorable.
"So it's Brother Hunzhu. A few years back I happened upon a rare spiritual herb and fed it to my natal spirit serpent — that's how it managed to break through to its current realm. But you, old friend, haven't aged a day; if anything, your cultivation has only grown more refined!" The green-armored demon swept a cold glance over the child, his voice frigid as ever.
"This trip to the Spirit Realm — I too have been preparing for many years. Naturally, my cultivation has seen a bit of a breakthrough as well." The child laughed heartily in reply.
"Since Clan Hunzhu has also arrived, let us move together. Even if there are any troublesome bones to gnaw on nearby, they won't be able to withstand the combined might of our two clans." The green-armored demon made the suggestion with a flat, indifferent tone.
"That is precisely my intention. Children, come out, all of you!" The young boy beamed with joy upon hearing this and readily agreed, then turned toward the demonic energy with a sharp shout.
The moment his voice fell, a humming sound arose from the sea of dark energy—at first faint, but within moments it swelled to a roar like surging waves.
Demonic insects surged forth in a dense mass from the black energy.
Each of these demonic insects was the size of a human head, and aside from being much smaller, they bore an identical appearance to the enormous mantis beneath the young boy's feet. But their numbers were overwhelming, utterly blotting out the sky—they poured ceaselessly from the demonic energy for the time it takes to eat a full meal before finally coming to a stop.
By now, these demonic insects occupied virtually all the low-altitude space beneath the demonic energy, their pairs of short purple wings vibrating in unison, numbering a full seven to eighty thousand. Such a vast swarm, seen from afar, would strike terror into even a Body Integration cultivator's heart!