Chapter 204: The Dangerous County City, Treacherous Entry

Yu Xian remained indifferent, showing no intention of interacting with Su Xiaoduo.

They were, after all, mere passersby in each other’s lives. Although they had shared a few experiences together, the care he had shown her was simply something he ought to have done.

And ever since he had promised to help her reach the Foundation Establishment realm, he had exhausted whatever goodwill he had toward her.

Now, it was best to avoid further entanglement.

Lest… more trouble arise.

Seeing Yu Xian ignoring her entirely, Su Xiaoduo lowered her eyes in disappointment and quietly stepped behind Hong Shao.

Hong Shao spoke lightly, “Let’s go.”

Zhou Qingyuan chuckled, “Let’s.”

With a wave of their hands—

A blazing crimson greatsword howled forth, radiating scorching heat. Judging from its spiritual fluctuation, it was a rare sixth-grade lower-tier magical treasure.

Meanwhile, at Hong Shao’s side, a flower basket appeared, its aura ethereal and mysterious.

Even with Yu Xian’s discerning eye, he couldn’t determine the grade of the basket. It was only the second time he had seen it—the first being on the Ascension Island. Back then, he hadn’t understood how powerful this treasure truly was.

But now, he realized this flower basket was at least a sixth-grade mid-tier magical treasure—possibly even higher—because he couldn’t discern its grade at all.

Hong Shao and Zhou Qingyuan leapt onto their respective treasures. Yu Xian and Su Xiaoduo stepped into the flower basket.

As for Zhao Fengjuan, Yao Xianjun, and Kou Huai, they boarded the fiery greatsword, each sitting cross-legged.

The two magical treasures soared high into the sky, rapidly shrinking into distant specks, heading in a specific direction.

With two Core Formation cultivators controlling them, speed was needless to describe.

Within the basket, Yu Xian and Su Xiaoduo sat cross-legged. All around them bloomed vibrant flowers—lush, fresh, and colorful—as though they sat in a serene garden, not inside a magical artifact.

As they flew, Hong Shao opened her mouth calmly, “Let me be clear: this trip is fraught with mortal danger. If something truly threatening occurs, I may not be able to protect you. You’ll have to rely on yourselves.”

Yu Xian had already heard this from Zhou Qingyuan, so while he felt a little more alert, he wasn’t too shaken.

But Su Xiaoduo was clearly surprised. She glanced at Yu Xian before hesitantly asking, “Master… What kind of danger exactly? Could you please tell us so we can prepare ourselves?”

Hong Shao responded flatly, “You’d understand once you arrive, but it doesn’t hurt to tell you now. The place we’re heading to is a lair of heavenly demons. Two major demons dwell there. Our mission is to hunt and kill them, retrieve their demon cores, and rid the world of their evil.”

“Heavenly demons? What are those?” Su Xiaoduo asked, confused.

Though she had heard of them—and knew that the Medicine King Valley had become a demonic place teeming with such creatures—she had never seen one and didn’t know what they really were.

Yu Xian’s brows furrowed slightly.

He had seen many heavenly demons before. He had also watched them slaughter spirit beasts—those beasts would quickly be drained of their blood, flesh, and soul, reduced to skin-covered skeletons.

The terrifying scenes from back then were still etched in his memory.

Because of this, Yu Xian had purchased a protective magical item—the Tranquil Mind Leaf—which remained imprinted on his forehead. Whether it truly worked or not, he still didn’t know.

“Heavenly demons are formless and immaterial,” Hong Shao explained with a thoughtful gaze. “If I had to define them, I’d say… they are clusters of spiritual force—aggressive, bloodthirsty, and greedy mental entities.”

Spiritual force…

Yu Xian immediately spoke up, firm and resolute, “Master, rest assured! Your disciple will do everything in his power to fulfill your orders!”

The other three followed, “We will do everything in our power as well!”

“Good!” Zhou Qingyuan laughed and waved his hand.

A map appeared before them—it was a diagram of Zhangluo County’s city layout.

He pointed to several locations on the map. “This is East, West, South, North, and Central. Each of you will carry a formation flag to your designated spot and place it there.”

“Xiaocao, you go to the North. Yu Xian, you go to the West.”

As soon as he finished, Hong Shao calmly assigned positions.

Yu Xian and Su Xiaoduo were slightly startled but immediately bowed, “We obey.”

Zhou Qingyuan revealed a brief flicker of surprise in his eyes as he glanced at Hong Shao, puzzled.

Had she noticed something? That shouldn’t be. She hadn’t been here before and couldn’t have known anything in advance… right?

Or maybe it was a random assignment. After all, someone had to go to each position. It was just a matter of luck whether they’d encounter a heavenly demon or not.

Probably overthinking.

He masked his thoughts with a smile and continued, “Zhao Fengjuan, you take the South. Kou Huai, East. Yao Xianjun, your strength is the highest—you’ll go to the center.”

The three accepted with solemn expressions, “We obey!”

With a wave of his hand—

Whoosh!

A searing wave of heat exploded and quickly withdrew. Five flags appeared in the air, fluttering and crackling with spiritual energy.

Each flag bore a vividly lifelike beast: a fire flood dragon, a fire crow, a fire fox, a fire tortoise, and a fire rat—each one looking like it might burst forth at any moment.

Yu Xian examined the flags closely. With his crafting knowledge, he could tell each one was a fifth-grade lower-tier magical artifact. But when combined in a formation, their power could amplify dozens of times.

Formation tools were unlike regular artifacts—their power was not in their individual might, but in combination. Together, they could form a sixth-grade formation, astonishingly powerful!

Zhou Qingyuan handed each of the five a flag, shrunk to palm size, and said, “Study the map well—don’t mess up the locations once you’re inside. After you’ve memorized it, you’ll go in.”

Yu Xian received the fire crow flag—a strange bird with three legs. Likely a beast he didn’t recognize.

They all carefully memorized the city layout. Even Yu Xian, with his photographic memory, double-checked everything to be certain.

After a short while, the five had memorized their respective locations.

Zhou Qingyuan looked toward Hong Shao, “Shall we send them off?”

She nodded, “Let them go.”

Zhou Qingyuan turned to the group, “Go. Be careful.”

Though all five felt the tension, they nodded, “Yes, sir!”

They turned, cast their spells, and flew toward the eerie, deathly still Zhangluo County City.

The flower basket and crimson sword veered westward, skimming past the now-demonic Heavenly Demon Valley.

That was not their destination, though. The valley was sealed by the Blood River Formation—none of them had the ability to enter.

Instead, they aimed for a county city under a kingdom’s domain.

In less than half a day, the flying magical treasures had traveled tens of thousands of miles, arriving at Zhangluo County City in the Liang Kingdom.

“This is it,” Zhou Qingyuan said, expression calm. He sent a message to Hong Shao, “There should be over a hundred heavenly demons in this city. With a population of several hundred thousand almost entirely wiped out, many of those demons must have evolved.”

“A hundred…” Hong Shao’s eyes narrowed slightly. She replied, “What about the Blood River Sect’s Core Formation cultivators? Why aren’t they handling this? Aren’t they supposed to be righteous as well?”

Zhou Qingyuan laughed, “Liang Kingdom is under Blood River’s rule, but the sect is newly established, with too few strong cultivators. Disasters are everywhere, and resources are stretched thin. Even I, a nominal elder, must help. Maintaining order in the mortal world—well, that’s our duty, isn’t it?”

Hong Shao didn’t reply, but a subtle sneer flickered in her gaze.

She said coolly, “Let’s go down, then.”

They descended just outside the city.

The five juniors disembarked.

Zhou Qingyuan shrank his sword and hung it at his waist. Hong Shao held the shrunken flower basket in her hand.

All around them… silence.

Utter silence.

A circle of over a hundred miles around the city was dead silent. Not a soul stirred. The wild beasts had fled, sensing a great terror.

The city’s people were either dead or gone.

Yu Xian’s eyes narrowed as he gazed at the city. He could already feel the familiar demonic aura he had once sensed in Heavenly Demon Valley.

The heavenly demons were here.

It was daylight, and the demons lay dormant in the sun. No movement, no sound.

Zhou Qingyuan explained, “Now you understand why we brought you. Our Core Formation presence can’t be concealed. If we enter the city, the heavenly demons will scatter, and we’ll lose them. But if you five enter first and plant the formation flags, we can trap them all when the formation activates.”

Simple words…

But the five juniors’ faces grew more solemn.

The danger was real.

They were to go into the city alone, each to a different location, to set the flags.

If they ran into demons during the process, wouldn’t they die instantly?

It was a mission surrounded by deadly peril.

Su Xiaoduo looked confused. Spiritual power? She knew what “spirit” meant from childhood—like having energy and vitality—but spiritual power?

Yu Xian’s expression was solemn.

Willpower, determination, clarity, decisiveness—all were aspects of spiritual power.

And unlike natural soul strength, spiritual power could be trained.

With time and effort, it could even surpass those born with strong souls.

That… was spiritual power. Invisible, yet real—shaping a person’s life.

But heavenly demons were pure mental force?

Where did that force come from? Why didn’t it dissipate?

Were they alien entities?

If so, calling them extraterrestrial demons made sense.

“Master… If we really encounter one, how do we defend ourselves?” Su Xiaoduo asked, her tone tense.

“If it’s pure mental force, then you resist with your own,” Hong Shao said coldly. “If it hasn’t possessed you yet, just kill it with spells. But once it enters your sea of consciousness, you’ll have to fight it with your mind.”

Su Xiaoduo pondered nervously.

Yu Xian’s gaze grew sharp.

A battle of minds…

If one of those mental demons got into your consciousness, how powerful would your spirit have to be to defeat it?

Was that what people called divine sense?

The ability to kill with a look…

But only a Nascent Soul or Soul Transformation expert could wield such power.

And if only they could fight demons, wouldn’t the world already be dead?

Yet people still lived.

So even Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul cultivators could resist them.

Yu Xian’s eyes narrowed.

He needed to sharpen his spirit, train his mind, and figure out how to kill something that only existed within thought.

Hong Shao looked at them both, saying no more.

This kind of thing… only those who had been there would understand.

When dozens of demons invaded her mind, she had fought them off—cutting them down with an inner spiritual blade.

Such inner battles could not be taught—only faced.

To live while facing certain death… that was true strength of mind.

Su Xiaoduo’s eyes slowly firmed, her gaze filling with resolve.