Jiang Chen spoke, his gaze sharp as he looked toward the palace across from him.
Within that palace's formation, a Heavenly Demon Lord was suppressed. This great demon was so fearsome that even the sect master of the ancient Holy Way Sect had been unable to kill him, and could only use the formation to seal him away.
That went to show just how terrifying the Heavenly Demon Lord truly was. Jiang Chen had always considered this kind of existence a grave menace.
So, after winning the allegiance of the eight brothers of the Giant Stone Clan, his very first thought was to use their power to destroy the Heavenly Demon Lord once and for all.
However, Jiang Chen knew this would be no simple matter.
The Vermilion Bird divine beast had been resting nearby, carefully recuperating. Hearing Jiang Chen's words, it opened its divine eyes in surprise, regarding him with some astonishment.
It had never imagined that this human youth could harbor such grand ambitions — the desire to slay the Heavenly Demon Lord right here?
The eldest stone giant thumped his solid chest. "Don't worry, Chen Shao! If it's a fight you need, just leave it to us brothers. We've got tough skin and thick flesh — point us in the right direction and we'll smash whatever you want!"
Jiang Chen didn't beat around the bush. He shook his head with a smile. "I don't need you to just smash what I point at. My only target right now is the Heavenly Demon Lord sealed in that palace. He's an ancient demon lord, an invader from beyond the domain who trespassed upon our Divine Abyss Continent. If he ever breaks free from the seal, it will mean catastrophic devastation for the entire continent."
Jiang Chen understood the Giant Stone Clan brothers' way of thinking, so while his words weren't exaggerated, they were perfectly calculated to ignite the eight brothers' battle lust.
"The Heavenly Demon Lord? That demon race you mentioned, Chen Shao? Good! It's time we showed them what the eight brothers of the Giant Stone Clan are made of!"
"That's right! One punch from each of us and we'll flatten him into a meat patty! One spit from each of us and we'll drown him on the spot!"
The second stone giant looked honest enough, but he had a small habit of bragging from time to time.
Jiang Chen also knew that killing the Heavenly Demon Lord would be far from easy. The ancient Holy Way Sect hadn't been able to kill him, so Jiang Chen certainly wouldn't let his guard down.
He glanced toward the Vermilion Bird. "Senior, stop pretending to be asleep. I know you've been eavesdropping the whole time. You've been suppressing the Heavenly Demon Lord since ancient times to the present — you're the most qualified to speak on this."
The Vermilion Bird let out a soft sigh. After several days of rest, its condition had recovered slightly, but it clearly wasn't going to make any sudden dramatic improvements.
"I wasn't pretending to sleep. Jiang Chen, don't say I didn't warn you — the Heavenly Demon Lord is extremely difficult to kill. The Holy Way Sect's combat power was formidable, wasn't it? Their attacks were terrifying, weren't they? But even when they used the formation to trap the Heavenly Demon Lord and unleashed every attack they had, they still couldn't destroy him completely."
The Vermilion Bird spoke in the ancient Beast Language, which the eight Giant Stone Clan brothers couldn't understand. They asked Jiang Chen in confusion, "Chen Shao, what's this big fire bird chattering on about?"
"It's speaking in the ancient Beast Language. It's saying how terrifying the Heavenly Demon Lord is. Back then, the Holy Way Sect managed to trap him and used every attack at their disposal, but they could only keep him sealed — they couldn't kill him. Senior Vermilion Bird says that with just you brothers, you probably wouldn't be able to kill the Heavenly Demon Lord either."
The last part of Jiang Chen's words was a slight embellishment.
The eldest stone giant bristled at this. "Chen Shao, there's no such thing as a truly unkillable race in this world. Even back in the Primordial Age, we Giant Stone Clan wouldn't dare claim we couldn't be killed. What kind of bird demon race is that strong?"
"Send the eight of us to try! Heh, demon race or god race, it doesn't matter — with all eight brothers stepping up, I refuse to believe we can't flatten him!"
"Exactly! When it comes to raw power, can anyone compare to us Primordial Giant Stone Clan?"
The demon race had invaded during the Ancient Age, so the eight brothers from the Primordial Era had no real concept of demons and absolutely refused to bow to them.
"Senior Vermilion Bird, don't just clam up on me. Run the analysis for us — what are the actual odds of killing him for good?"
Jiang Chen wasn't about to let this opportunity slip.
The Vermilion Bird looked at Jiang Chen's earnest expression and felt a twinge of admiration. It had come to deeply realize that this young man possessed an indomitable spirit — someone who never knew when to surrender and dared to fight against any odds.
"Senior, you know I'm serious. If we destroy the Heavenly Demon Lord, your mission will be over. You'll be free to leave this place and seek your chance at nirvanic rebirth."
The Vermilion Bird found it impossible to stay silent now.
After a moment's thought, it spoke. "To kill the Heavenly Demon Lord, the first thing you must do is force him out of the seal. Otherwise, attacking him from outside is meaningless — the formation acts as a barrier, and your attacks cannot breach the outer formation seal to truly wound him."
"If he breaks free from the seal, his combat power will surge to its peak in an instant. Moreover, his intellect is sharp and he is extremely cunning. Compared to the Heavenly Demon Lord in a battle of wits, the eight Giant Stone brothers wouldn't stand a chance."
"There is another option — reinforce the Holy Way Sect's formation. Directly strengthen the formation's energy, bolstering both the trapping array and the killing array. The reason the formation and seal couldn't kill the Heavenly Demon Lord back then was largely because the trapping and killing arrays weren't powerful enough. If you can push both arrays to their absolute limits, there's a chance you could destroy the Heavenly Demon Lord directly."
The Vermilion Bird's suggestions were clear.
Two approaches.
The first: if the eight Giant Stone brothers were to fight the Heavenly Demon Lord directly, the demon would need to be freed from the seal first. Otherwise, with the formation in the way, there would be no way to engage him.
The second: directly upgrade the trapping and killing arrays, using them to annihilate the Heavenly Demon Lord. After all, having endured suppression from the ancient era to the present, the Heavenly Demon Lord's power was far from its peak.
If the Holy Way Sect hadn't been destroyed during the ancient Demon-Subjugation War — if strong cultivators had been stationed here every day, sustaining the formation and launching continuous attacks — the Heavenly Demon Lord would likely have been wiped out long ago.