709 Did I Ask For Too Little (2)
Yao Buqi flew valiantly toward the Demon Ancestor Temple.
"Yao Buqi is not bad. He can be nurtured."
Demon King Ao, Tiangou, and the other Demon Kings nodded.
He had already escaped, but he still had the courage to return. Yao Buqi was not bad.
After flying far away, Yao Buqi looked proud. This should be able to leave an impression on the Demon Kings and Great Demons.
I, Yao Buqi, am not afraid of death!
Yao Buqi flew to the Demon Ancestor Temple and shouted, "Shi Changsheng!"
Zhou Shu appeared at the entrance of the Demon Ancestor Temple. Yao Buqi is pretty bold.
He glanced at Yao Buqi.
Yao Buqi shivered and hurriedly descended from the sky. He looked around and realized that no demonic beasts were following him. He forced a flattering smile and nodded. "Lord, I'm back. I brought back those demonic beasts too."
"Is that so?" Zhou Shu said indifferently. "Where are they now?"
"They're at the entrance. But Lord, Demon King Ao and the other Demon Kings have also returned. I found an excuse to come over and tell you first. You have to be prepared."
"I expected them to return." Zhou Shu sneered. "Alright, I appreciate your kindness. Go and bring them over. It's none of your business after that."
Zhou Shu waved his hand.
"Lord…" Yao Buqi looked around sneakily. Afraid that someone would hear him, he didn't dare to call Zhou Shu King Zhou. "Can you capture me in front of them later?"
Zhou Shu looked at Yao Buqi with a strange expression. "You have such an interest?"
"No…" Yao Buqi said awkwardly.
Zhou Shu chuckled. "I understand. Go ahead."
He waved his hand.
Yao Buqi wanted to say something, but Zhou Shu's expression had already darkened. "Cut the crap. Hurry up!"
…
A moment later, Demon King Ao, Tiangou, He Yuan, and the other Demon Kings of the Demon Realm, as well as Yao Bei and dozens of other senior Great Demons, arrived in front of the Demon Ancestor Temple neatly.
They all carried powerful auras that were connected. Those with weaker cultivation levels could be frightened to the ground by them.
Although the auras were not aimed at Yao Buqi, Yao Buqi still felt frightened. It was as if he was carrying a mountain on his back, and it was extremely difficult for him to move.
Zhou Shu had gotten a chair from somewhere and sat there looking at the demonic beasts indifferently.
The powerful auras emitted by the demonic beasts were still ten feet away from Zhou Shu. It was as if they had encountered a powerful obstruction and could no longer advance.
A faint light emitted from the Demon Ancestor Temple. The light formed a semicircular light barrier that enveloped the entire temple, including Zhou Shu.
The demonic beasts were bewildered. What was going on?
Why was the Demon Ancestor helping Shi Changsheng?
Demon King Ao's expression darkened. He took a step forward and shouted, "Shi Changsheng, where is Lord Pixiu?! What did you do to him?!"
Yao Bei and the other Great Demons looked at Demon King Ao strangely. Lord Pixiu? Who is that?
Aren't Demon King Ao and the others here to help us hold the fort? Do they have their own goal?
Zhou Shu glanced at Demon King Ao and had no intention of responding to him.
He looked at the demonic beasts and said calmly, "Since you're all here, let the show begin."
With a wave of his hand, a humanoid demonic beast appeared in the air. Then another ray of light shot out from the Demon Ancestor Temple. It turned into a spherical light shield that enveloped the demonic beast and suspended him in the air.
Among the demonic beasts, a senior Great Demon shouted, "Yao Kun!"
"Is his name Yao Kun? That's a good name." Zhou Shu nodded. "He's your junior, right? How much do you think he's worth?"
Yao Kun had already woken up and realized that he was in a light barrier. He was shocked and angry. The light on his body exploded as he began to attack the light barrier.
But it was unknown what the light barrier was made of. Not only did it isolate all sound, but it wasn't damaged at all under Yao Kun's attacks.
"You won't be able to come out unless you can defeat the Demon Ancestor," Zhou Shu said indifferently. He didn't know if Yao Kun could hear him, but the Great Demons definitely did.
They were all incomparably shocked. In just a short sentence, Zhou Shu actually meant that he might be stronger than the Demon Ancestor?
At the very least, the Demon Ancestor Temple seemed to be helping him!
Yao Buqi sighed in his heart. As expected of King Zhou, I wonder how he did it.
Fortunately, he had no intention of betraying Zhou Shu. Otherwise, who knew what would happen to him?
"Let go of my grandson. I'll give you whatever you want!" Yao Kun's grandfather shouted.
"I like your attitude." Zhou Shu smiled. "This is the first one. I'll give you a discount. You can leave whatever your grandson is worth. Even if you only leave a piece of gold, I'll let him go. How about that?"
Yao Kun's grandfather's expression was extremely solemn. He didn't believe that Zhou Shu would let him go just by leaving a piece of gold behind.
With a gloomy expression, he took out a void beast.
The demonic beasts of the Demon Realm didn't have Cosmic Bangles. They relied on void beasts to carry things with them.
Back when Zhou Shu forged the Cosmic Bangle, he had obtained inspiration from the void beast.
The better thing about this void beast was that it could grow. The longer a void beast lived, the greater the space in its stomach.
Other than not being able to contain living creatures, the space in a void beast's stomach could even be larger than a mountain.
As a senior Great Demon, the void beast he carried with him was naturally older than Yao Buqi's void beast.
Yao Kun's grandfather patted the void beast in his hand. The void beast rolled its small eyes and opened its mouth to spit.
Rustle!
Countless heaven and earth treasures poured out. A moment later, they were piled up into a small mountain.
Yao Kun's grandfather's void beast had spat out at least tens of thousands of kilograms of heaven and earth treasures.
Zhou Shu kept staring. Among the pile of treasures, there were a few good forging materials.
"Not bad. I can feel your sincerity." Zhou Shu nodded.
He raised his hand and waved it. The light barrier bubble flew out. With a whoosh, the light barrier shattered, and Yao Kun fell from the sky.
Yao Kun's grandfather was cautious. He didn't step forward immediately. Instead, he took out a Demon Mirror and shone it at Yao Kun.
The shadow of an elk appeared in the mirror. Yao Kun's grandfather was still worried. He shouted, "Yao Kun, let me ask you. How many grandmothers do you have?!"
Yao Kun was still in a daze and replied instinctively, "A hundred and thirty-two."
Yao Kun's grandfather heaved a sigh of relief. "That's right. You're my grandson!"
Zhou Shu was speechless. What kind of stupid question is that? Speaking of which, Yao Kun's grandfather isn't bad. He actually has more than a hundred wives…
But demonic beasts had long lifespans, and most of them didn't have the morals of humans. It was normal for them to have more spouses.
"Next." Zhou Shu clapped his hands. With a flash of light, another demonic beast appeared in the air.
Another ray of light shot out from the Demon Ancestor Temple and froze the demonic beast in the air.
"Whose family does this demonic beast belong to? Just now, Yao Kun's grandfather was very sincere. Everyone should be more self-aware. This way, we can both save some time and effort," Zhou Shu said. "The earlier we're done, the earlier we can all go home and rest."
The demonic beasts were speechless.
One after another, the senior Great Demons didn't bargain according to their initial agreement. They gave Zhou Shu as much as he wanted. Their straightforwardness made Zhou Shu wonder if he wanted too little.
Looking at the increasing pile of heaven and earth treasures, he was overjoyed. He waved his hand again.
"Thank you for your support, everyone. This is the last one." He laughed and waved his hand. Yao Qing appeared in the air. "Have his people arrived?"
710 Where Did The Treasures Go? Internal Strife in the Demon Realm (1)
Yao Qing was enveloped by a spherical light barrier and suspended in midair. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw dozens of Great Demons in front of him and the demonic beasts that had competed with him for the position of the Holy Son of the Demon Realm.
After a brief moment of doubt, he felt a surge of shame.
To be surrounded by demonic beasts in his current state…
Suddenly, he saw a demonic beast walk out from the group of demonic beasts on the other side. This demonic beast was abnormally eye-catching among the demonic beasts.
The reason why he was so eye-catching was not because of how outstanding the demonic beast was.
It was because he was too weak…
It was really impossible not to notice a first-rank demonic beast among the senior Great Demons.
Zhou Shu naturally noticed. "You're one of his people?"
He frowned. "Aren't you taking this too lightly? You actually sent a first-rank demonic beast over. Do you think you're qualified to negotiate with me?
"Since you don't take it seriously, he can go to hell."
Zhou Shu snorted coldly. The light shield in the air began to shrink at a visible speed.
Although the light barrier only looked like a thin layer, no one doubted that it could squeeze Yao Qing into a ball of meat.
"Lord, wait!" the first-rank demonic beast shouted. "My master asked me to come on his behalf because he has something important to do and can't get away. My master said that as long as we hand this to you, you will definitely understand!"
While shouting, the first-rank demonic beast took out something from his pocket.
Zhou Shu's gaze landed on Yao Yi's hand.
That's right. This first-rank demonic beast was Yao Yi, who Ji Lutian had sent to Hu Li's territory to help him forge.
Zhou Shu didn't expect Ji Lutian and his wife to send only Yao Yi over to redeem their only son.
The representatives of the other races were at least at the peak of the Great Demon realm.
Zhou Shu looked curiously at what Yao Yi had taken out. He was curious about what Ji Lutian was up to.
What Yao Yi took out from his pocket wasn't anything impressive. It was a palm-sized brocade pouch.
Yao Yi held the brocade pouch with both hands and handed it over respectfully. "Lord…"
Zhou Shu raised his eyebrows. It had been a long time since he had seen a brocade pouch.
He raised his hand and grabbed it. The brocade pouch flew into his hand.
He carefully wrapped his hands with spiritual essence before opening the brocade pouch.
There was nothing magical about the brocade pouch. After opening it, Zhou Shu pulled out a piece of white paper.
On the white paper, a large word was written in a flamboyant manner.
"Live!"
The word was written very beautifully. After a glance, Zhou Shu felt a special scenery rushing toward him.
For a moment, he seemed to see mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and the merciless, endless sounds of battle assaulted him. His vision was red, and he couldn't even tell which direction the sounds of battle came from.
It was as if there were enemies in all directions, but there were no enemies in front of him.
The next moment, Zhou Shu trembled and regained consciousness.
In just a moment, he broke out in a cold sweat.
He looked grimly at the word on the white paper.
There was no killing intent in the word. Ji Lutian was only using it to send a message.
Zhou Shu received this message, but he didn't understand it!
That should be a battlefield. Mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Where exactly is it?
He frowned. He didn't understand the message Ji Lutian sent because he wasn't the real Shi Changsheng!
Ji Lutian wanted to send a message to Shi Changsheng through this word. He should be certain that after Shi Changsheng saw it, he would understand the meaning and let Yao Qing go.
But Ji Lutian probably didn't expect that this Shi Changsheng was fake.
"Lord…" Yao Yi said nervously.
He was really uneasy facing an expert who could possibly be even stronger than a Demon King.
Under normal circumstances, a mere first-rank demonic beast like him wasn't qualified to come into contact with such an expert.
Zhou Shu's gaze landed on Yao Yi. He could clearly sense Yao Yi's body trembling slightly.
Zhou Shu pondered. What if I pretend to understand and let Yao Qing go?
Or should I just ignore it?
After pondering for a moment, Zhou Shu slowly said, "What about the ransom?"
Who cares? I'm not Shi Changsheng. Ji Lutian wants to save Yao Qing with just one word? Dream on.
The other demonic beasts had brought so many good things.
"Huh?" Yao Yi looked surprised. "Lord, didn't my master give it to you…"
He pointed at the brocade pouch in Zhou Shu's hand.
"You want to redeem him with just this?" Zhou Shu flicked his wrist, and a flame shot out. The piece of paper burned. A moment later, it turned into ashes and dissipated in the wind.
Yao Yi's expression froze, and his eyes were full of panic.
"If there's no ransom, then you can get lost. His life is mine," Zhou Shu said coldly.
The light barrier wrapped around Yao Qing slowly moved toward Zhou Shu.
"Lord, wait," Yao Yi said anxiously. "Please give me more time. I'll go back and report to my master immediately!"
"There's only one chance. Since you didn't take it, there won't be another," Zhou Shu said coldly.
"Giving you a second chance is unfair to these demonic beasts who paid the ransom.
"Go back and tell your master to prepare for the funeral.
711 Where Did The Treasures Go? Internal Strife in the Demon Realm (2)
Zhou Shu raised his hand and clenched his fist. With a bang, Yao Qing appeared to be in pain. He lasted for the blink of an eye before exploding into a bloody mist and dying without a complete corpse.
Yao Yi collapsed to the ground in fear.
The Demon Kings and Great Demons also frowned.
Shi Changsheng was too ruthless. He didn't even say that he wouldn't pay the ransom. He just said that he would go back and report, yet Shi Changsheng directly killed Yao Qing?
While cursing silently, they were also a little glad that they had come prepared. Otherwise, if their juniors had ended up like Yao Qing, they would have returned empty-handed.
Seeing that Yao Qing had been killed, Great Demon Yao Bei shouted, "Everyone, we've saved them. Do it!"
"Wait!" Demon King Ao shouted. The candidates for the Holy Son of the Demon Realm had been saved, but there was still Pixiu!
Pixiu was the most important.
If anything happened to Pixiu, the consequences would be very serious.
After stopping Yao Bei and the other Great Demons, Demon King Ao stared at Zhou Shu and said coldly, "Shi Changsheng, I want to redeem Lord Pixiu. Name your price."
"Oh?" Zhou Shu smiled faintly. "Pixiu isn't a candidate for the Holy Son of the Demon Realm. His price is extraordinary."
"I know," Demon King Ao said coldly. "Just name your price. You don't have to worry about anything else!"
Demon King Ao looked confident. There were the ten great Demon Kings of the Demon Realm present. He didn't believe that the ten of them wouldn't be able to afford the ransom!
"How generous. As expected of the number one Demon King of the Demon Realm." Zhou Shu clicked his tongue in praise. "I regret letting you escape from me."
Demon King Ao's face darkened. Being captured alive by Shi Changsheng was the greatest stain in his life.
If not for the fact that Pixiu was still in his hands, Demon King Ao would have called for all the demonic beasts present to swarm forward and kill Shi Changsheng.
"Since you're so sincere, if I don't name a price, won't I be too sloppy?" Zhou Shu said with a faint smile. "With Pixiu's identity and cultivation, it's not too much to pay a hundred times the ransom of these candidates for the Holy Son of the Demon Realm, right?"
"It's not too much." Demon King Ao nodded in agreement.
It was indeed not too much.
How could a hundred candidates for the Holy Son of the Demon Realm compare to Pixiu?
"Tiangou, He Yuan!" Demon King Ao looked at Tiangou, He Yuan, and the other Demon Kings.
They left the Demon Realm Ancestral Court temporarily, and Demon King Ao explained Pixiu's origin to them.
All the Demon Kings now knew that if Pixiu died here, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Therefore, without hesitation, they handed their things to Demon King Ao.
Demon King Ao gathered the ten Demon Kings' heaven and earth treasures and threw them onto the mountain of heaven and earth treasures.
The ransom brought by dozens of senior Great Demons and the ransom given by the ten Demon Kings filled the open space with a thousand-feet radius.
These Great Demons and Demon Kings had done it on purpose. They had piled the ransom in the open space instead of sending it to Zhou Shu because they had no intention of giving him a chance to take these things away.
As long as Zhou Shu saw these things and released their descendants, they would have achieved their goal.
Once this happened, they would immediately attack Zhou Shu. He wouldn't have the chance to take away these heaven and earth treasures!
"Is that enough? Where is Lord Pixiu?" Demon King Ao stared fixedly at Zhou Shu.
"What do you think?" Zhou Shu smiled strangely. "Thank you for your heaven and earth treasures. We will meet again."
Zhou Shu laughed as his figure gradually became illusory at a visible speed. Then under the gazes of the Demon Kings and Great Demons, he completely dissipated into the air.
Shi Changsheng, who had been talking to them for so long, was just a phantom?
All the Demon Kings and senior Great Demons were dumbfounded.
Fortunately, the demonic beast they wanted to save had been saved, and Shi Changsheng didn't take away the ransom.
Wait, that wasn't right. Shi Changsheng has been working so hard for so long without obtaining any benefits. What was he after?
The Demon Kings and senior Great Demons frowned.
"Oh no!" a demonic beast suddenly shouted.
All the Demon Kings and senior Great Demons looked over and saw that the mountain of heaven and earth treasures had disappeared at some point!
"Who saw when they disappeared?"
Demon King Ao almost couldn't suppress the anger on his face. He had emptied his void beast, but he still couldn't save Pixiu. Now that there was nothing left, wouldn't he lose everything?
"No." All the demonic beasts shook their heads. They didn't hear or see anything at all.
"How did he do it?" Yao Bei gasped.
Such methods were really unbelievable. It was a pity that they were still thinking about dealing with Shi Changsheng. There were so many demonic beasts, but they didn't even understand his methods. They were not on the same level at all.
"Demon King Ao, who is Shi Changsheng?" Yao Bei looked at Demon King Ao and asked in a low voice. "We've fought with the human race for more than a thousand years, but we've never heard of such an expert. Don't they not have experts above the first rank?
"Why did such a human expert suddenly appear?"
"How would I know?" Demon King Ao said angrily. He wanted to know too. Pixiu definitely knew, but Pixiu had also been plotted against by Shi Changsheng. Who could he ask?
"It's not that the human race doesn't have experts. It's just that the human race doesn't have any now," Demon King Ao said solemnly. "There's no point in investigating his background. The most important thing now is to find him and bring back our things and Lord Pixiu!"
"How? We don't even know how he took the ransom." A demonic beast smiled bitterly. Such a large ransom was definitely not something a void beast could contain.
Moreover, there were so many Demon Kings and Great Demons. If the other party had used a void beast to carry away the ransom, it would have been impossible to hide from their sight.
Where did the treasures go?
All the demonic beasts rushed to the place where the ransom had just been piled up and looked around.
After a while, they gathered together again. They didn't find any clues. It was as if the treasures had never existed.
The demonic beasts even wondered if they had ever taken out so many treasures.
If not for the fact that their void beasts were empty, they would really think that everything that had just happened was just their imagination.
"Do you think the Demon Ancestor helped him?" a demonic beast suddenly said.
All the demonic beasts looked at the statue of the Demon Ancestor in the temple.
Previously, it seemed that the statue of the Demon Ancestor had indeed shot out a ray of light and imprisoned their descendants in the air.
"Why would the Demon Ancestor help a human deal with us demonic beasts? That doesn't make sense," a demonic beast said.
"It can't be the Demon Ancestor," Demon King Ao said. "The Demon Ancestor has been missing for countless years. The Demon Ancestral Court was left behind by the Demon Ancestor to protect us demonic beasts. It must be Shi Changsheng's deception.
"He's just trying to make us suspicious!"
"Demon King Ao, how did he take the ransom away?" a Demon King said indignantly. "The ransom was treasures that our races have treasured for many years. We lost a lot just like that."
"That's right, Demon King Ao. Our descendants are all here for the selection of the Holy Son of the Demon Realm. Logically speaking, you Demon Kings should be responsible for their safety. Now, not only have so many demonic beasts died, but we've also suffered such a loss. Demon King Ao, shouldn't you give us an explanation?" Yao Bei said solemnly.
All the senior Great Demons stood behind Yao Bei and stared at the Demon Kings with him.
"Hmph, is the selection of the Holy Son of the Demon Realm for us?" Tiangou stood out and said coldly. "Have you forgotten who has the final say in the Demon Realm?!"
The ten great Demon Kings emitted terrifying auras. The ten of them stood together and confronted the senior Great Demons.
712 Two Windfalls, Tough Front (1)
On one side were the ten great Demon Kings of the Demon Realm, and on the other side were dozens of senior Great Demons. Although there was a difference in strength between the two sides, there wasn't that much of a difference.
If they really fought, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Yao Buqi's scalp tingled. How did things develop to this point?
King Zhou didn't even attack, and the demonic beasts are fighting each other themselves?
This person is too terrifying.
"Lords, everyone! Please listen to me!" Yao Buqi shouted under tremendous pressure.
The Demon Kings and Great Demons looked at Yao Buqi at the same time. The powerful pressure almost made Yao Buqi wet his pants.
"Nephew Yao Buqi, what do you want to say?" Great Demon Yao Bei asked.
Previously, they had all seen Yao Buqi running around to save the candidates for the Holy Son of the Demon Realm. Now, all the demonic beasts had a good impression of Yao Buqi.
"Lords, shouldn't our top priority be to find Shi Changsheng first?" Yao Buqi braced himself. "He's already escaped. If we don't act quickly, I'm afraid we won't be able to find him again."
The Demon Kings and senior Great Demons frowned. They looked at each other and snorted unhappily.
"Hmph, we'll talk about this later." Yao Bei snorted coldly. He didn't take Demon King Ao and the other Demon Kings seriously at all.
Demon King Ao, Tiangou, He Yuan, and the other Demon Kings were also furious.
For many years, the Demon Kings had always been the bosses of the Demon Realm.
Just because of Shi Changsheng, their dignity had been destroyed, and a group of Great Demons actually dared to contradict them!
All of this was because of that damn Shi Changsheng!
Yao Bei looked at Yao Buqi and asked kindly, "Nephew Yao Buqi, you've had more contact with Shi Changsheng. Tell us, how should we find him?"
"I do have some ideas, but my status is low. I'm afraid I have to ask for your help…" Yao Buqi said hesitantly.
"From now on, we'll listen to your orders. As long as you help us capture Shi Changsheng, I will be the first to nominate you to be the Holy Son of the Demon Realm!" Great Demon Yao Bei said loudly.
Yao Buqi's face lit up. He finally heard this.
"Yes, as long as you can help us capture Shi Changsheng, the Holy Son of the Demon Realm will be you," Demon King Ao said coldly.
As long as he could capture Shi Changsheng and save Pixiu, not to mention the position of the Holy Son of the Demon Realm, he was willing to pay any price.
Yao Buqi looked confident. Thinking of Zhou Shu's voice transmission, he became even more confident.
…
The Demon Realm Ancestral Court was not far from the Demon Ancestor Temple.
In a place that seemed to be completely isolated from the Demon Realm Ancestral Court, Zhou Shu placed his hands behind his back and floated like an immortal.
In front of him was a woman who looked like a shadow. The woman had a disdainful expression on her face as she harrumphed coldly. "Hmph, playing tricks! I've already done what you wanted me to do. Can you get lost now?"
"There's no hurry," Zhou Shu said calmly.
This woman was really useful.
If not for her help, Zhou Shu really wasn't confident that he could have transferred the ransom paid by the demonic beasts away.
How could he not know what those demonic beasts had planned?
Originally, if not for this woman, he would have used another method to collect the ransom. But with the help of this woman, who possessed the statue of the Demon Ancestor, he had transformed into a living person in front of the demonic beasts.
Zhou Shu didn't know this woman's background, but it seemed that she had a deep relationship with demonic beasts. She even controlled a portion of the Demon Realm Ancestral Court.
Although she couldn't completely control everything in the Demon Realm Ancestral Court like the Demon Ancestor could, it was still easy for her to move some things silently.
"Do you want to go back on your word?" The woman was furious. "I've already helped you, but you still want to stay here? Do you really want to force me to fall out with you?"
"Don't be so impulsive." Zhou Shu smiled and shook his head. "Since I said I would leave, I will naturally leave. But there's no hurry.
"I have to deal with these things, right?"
Zhou Shu pointed at the mountain of treasures, his heart blooming with joy.
This unexpected windfall was the most exciting thing.
"Put them into your grotto-heaven and take them away. Leave this place. Do whatever you want with them! Don't stay here with me shamelessly!" the woman said angrily.
If not for her fear, she would have directly chased Shi Changsheng out.
"Don't be so harsh." Zhou Shu shook his head. "This Demon Realm Ancestral Court doesn't belong to you."
How could he have a grotto-heaven?
There was so much ransom. If he didn't process it, he wouldn't be able to take it away.
But he couldn't show fear in front of this woman. He could tell that this woman was just putting on a brave front. If she was really confident, she wouldn't have lowered her head from the beginning.
Since she had chosen to help Zhou Shu fool the demonic beasts, she definitely didn't dare to make a move now.
Shi Changsheng's name was quite useful.
"On account that our cooperation was quite pleasant, I won't hold it against you this time," Zhou Shu said indifferently. "Do me another small favor, and then I promise to return your peace."
The woman's almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief. "Shi Changsheng, how did you do it?