The Celestial Demon Lord gazed down from his lofty vantage, his demon eyes flickering as he took in the entirety of the surroundings within dozens of miles. The majestic bearing of an ancient Celestial Demon race's demon lord was on full display.
The three Heavenly Position powerhouses of the Southern Dipper Li Clan wore expressions of turmoil, exchanging glances and each seeing a trace of panic in the other's eyes.
They were all Heavenly Position powerhouses, and they could naturally sense the overwhelming aura radiating from this self-proclaimed Demon race powerhouse before them — an aura so powerful it instilled in them a sense of helplessness.
If it were a human race powerhouse, they would not have feared him psychologically — they might even have swarmed him, fighting first and talking later.
But upon learning that he was of the Demon race, the three of them felt their spirits dampened.
In the ancient Demon Sealing War, hundreds upon hundreds of races across the entire Divine Abyss Continent had nearly all been drawn into the vortex of war against the Demon race.
The Southern Dipper Li Clan was no exception. However, their territory was relatively smaller and their resources far fewer than those of the human race, so they had not been a primary target of the Demon race. Yet their fear and wariness of the Demon race were no lighter than the humans'.
In the end, in that ancient battle, no indigenous race had been spared.
"You three, listen well."
The Celestial Demon Lord's majestic voice rang out once more.
"For the great service you have unwittingly rendered, I shall give you a chance."
The three of them wore unnatural expressions and exchanged glances, clearly wanting to retreat. They had breached the Boundary Steles only to run amok among the humans and plunder what they could. In plain terms, they had simply wanted to seize some benefits while causing a bit of chaos.
But they had never imagined that their scheme would backfire so spectacularly. They had yet to reap any benefits, and it looked as though they had kicked a hornet's nest.
"Heh heh, don't even think of fleeing. Within the range of my Celestial Demon Domain, even if you had the speed to fly to the heavens or burrow into the earth, you would not escape."
The Celestial Demon Lord's tone was not harsh or severe, yet these few casual words were enough to extinguish the three's thoughts of escape in an instant.
They had never imagined that even their fleeting thought of fleeing could be seen through at a single glance.
"I have just broken free from the seal, and I am in need of some usable material. The three of you are not lacking in aptitude. I currently require a batch of capable retainers."
"Remember, this is my reward to you. Do not haggle, and do not fail to appreciate the favor!"
The Celestial Demon Lord's indifferent tone made the three of them tingle with dread.
Retainers? The three of them were exalted figures among the Southern Dipper Li Clan — absolutely top-tier powerhouses of the clan.
Those who had always stood at the pinnacle being told to serve as someone else's retainers? Psychologically, they simply could not accept it.
Lei Xiaotian was the first to roar: "To hell with your pipe dreams! You want me to be your lackey? Do you even have the ability?"
Lei Xiaotian let out a tiger-like roar and called to his companions: "Zhongli! Chi Yun! Together — take him down!"
A fierce gleam flashed through Zhongli Yan's eyes, as evil courage surged within him.
Zhongli Yan held an even more noble status within the Southern Dipper Li Clan — he bore the most exalted bloodline, belonging to the clan's royal lineage.
In the past, he had been the one to enslave others. Now, being told to become someone else's slave was, to him, worse than death itself.
"Kill him!" Killing intent surged violently in Zhongli Yan's eyes.
Chi Yun's face flushed red as his killing aura spiked: "Attack!"
Three figures transformed into streaks of light and hurtled toward the Celestial Demon Lord with frenzied speed.
With every gesture, the three unleashed terrifying killing moves, charging at the Celestial Demon Lord without the slightest restraint.
When three Heavenly Position powerhouses struck together, the momentum was indeed staggering. The void erupted with devastating sonic booms as countless spatial ripples pulsed and oscillated, as though they would shred heaven and earth to pieces.
Jiang Chen and the others, even at this distance, could feel the terrifying tremors — the fearsome vortex of battle that seemed as though it could swallow them in at any moment.
The Zhuque Divine Bird warned: "Jiang Chen, if you wish to leave, now is the only chance!"
Jiang Chen's heart stirred. Leave? Leave now and become a deserter?
He was deeply unwilling. But if he did not leave now, and the Celestial Demon Lord's power continued to recover, would he ever have another chance?
For the first time, Jiang Chen felt so utterly helpless. Everything was happening too fast — so fast he could barely keep up with the pace.
In the past, in the Upper Eight Domains, he had always felt that everything was under his control. No matter how dire the situation, it had never made him feel powerless.
But the appearance of this Celestial Demon Lord and the three Heavenly Position powerhouses of the Southern Dipper Li Clan had dealt Jiang Chen a solid lesson, making him realize that the shifts in a situation were fundamentally unpredictable.
Many times, the unexpected would inevitably occur.
Jiang Chen looked over at the eight brothers of the Giant Stone race and asked: "Da Shi, what do you think of this Celestial Demon Lord?"
Da Shi scratched his head: "If all eight of us brothers were restored to our peak states, and he were at his peak as well, we would probably be evenly matched. But right now..."
Da Shi was always proud, but pride did not mean he was blindly optimistic. He could sense that although the Celestial Demon Lord's strength after breaking free from the seal did not yet reach his peak, his recovery speed was remarkably fast. This was something the eight brothers of the Giant Stone race could not match.
All eight brothers had once had their divine spirits and physical bodies separated. Recovery for them was like melting thick ice — an exceedingly slow process.