Chapter 153

“`

…

“Stop squeezing, your master has long since run away.”

Lin Yuan looked at the many demon heads kneeling on the ground and glanced at the young girl dressed in a light green skirt, as he saw her attempting to crush a jade pendant that was nearly reduced to powder.

As soon as the girl had appeared, Lin Yuan had sensed an aura on her that was connected to another aura a hundred miles away.

The aura a hundred miles away originated from the same source as the girl’s but was much stronger, likely belonging to a Ninth Realm demon head.

However, at the moment the girl crushed the jade pendant, the aura a hundred miles away, like a startled bird, rapidly fled far away, and by now, it had probably already escaped a thousand miles away.

This instantly made Lin Yuan lose the intention to pursue.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t catch up, but that there was no need.

What was most important for him now was to break through to the Fifth Rank as quickly as possible, and all other matters could be postponed.

Actually, Lin Yuan speculated that if the girl had not crushed the jade pendant, the Ninth Realm demon head a hundred miles away might have approached out of curiosity.

But once the jade pendant was crushed, it indicated that something unpredictable had occurred, and the most likely cause of that variable would be Xiahou Yuan.

How would the aura a hundred miles away dare to come closer?

“Xiahou… Lord… My lord….”

The young girl in the light green skirt trembled as she stuttered.

Decades earlier, Xiahou Yuan had unified the Demonic Path of the Five Domains and was known as ‘Demon Lord,’ with his followers respectfully addressing him as ‘My Lord.’

“Enough.”

Lin Yuan looked at the other demon heads, his gaze briefly resting on the eerie youth Bian Mao and Yin Shiliu.

“Do you want to die or live?”

Lin Yuan’s voice was not loud, but it echoed in everyone’s ears.

“To die or to live?”

Upon hearing this, the eerie youth Bian Mao was momentarily stunned.

Then a look of wild joy appeared on his face.

Initially, he thought he was certain to die, but now it seemed from Lin Yuan’s intentions that there was a chance he could live?

“Want to live?”

“Demon Lord, we want to live.”

“Reporting to My Lord, we want to live.”

The numerous demon heads quickly said.

“Since you want to live, don’t resist.”

Lin Yuan raised his right hand, and hundreds of streams of light flew out, landing on the foreheads of each of the demon heads.

Lin Yuan had just emerged from the Great Abyss, and the forces he had established in the past had long since disbanded.

He was in need of a group of subordinates to serve him.

Lin Yuan had no great demands on his subordinates, as long as they could help him find some Heavenly Earth Spiritual Medicine, to quickly cultivate at an accelerated pace.

“Yes.”

Bian Mao and the other demon heads felt a chill on their foreheads, as if something had penetrated their minds, and they didn’t dare to examine it closely, quickly responding.

“Hmph.”

Protector Nuan stood atop Lin Yuan, looking down at the eerie youth and other demon heads, with a hint of smugness on her face.

Call it yelling and screaming, are you juniors even qualified to challenge My Lord? Now, you’ve been implanted with a death mark, the control of your life and death is in My Lord’s hands.

The death mark was a method Xiahou Yuan used to control the demon heads in the past.

It could simulate Xiahou Yuan’s aura, hovering in the minds of all the demon heads.

Once this aura erupted, even a Ninth Realm peak Demon Lord would struggle to survive.

Of course, the death marks implanted in their foreheads needed to be reinforced by Xiahou Yuan periodically.

If not reinforced for a long period, they would dissipate quickly.

Of course, no demon head dared to drag out the time, such as hiding in some place and waiting for the death mark to dissipate.

Because before the death mark could fade away, Xiahou Yuan needed only a single thought to detonate it.

Initially, when Xiahou Yuan was suppressed, the demon heads trembled with fear for a while.

But later they realized that Xiahou Yuan, who was trapped on the eighteenth layer beneath the Great Abyss Ground, had long since lost contact with the outside world, unable to even sense, let alone activate the death mark.

Years passed, and as the death marks in the depths of all the demon heads’ minds dissipated, the fearful hearts finally settled down.

…

Thousands of miles from the stronghold.

An Escape Light rushed forth, faintly exuding the scent of blood.

Clearly, the master of the Escape Light had used some forbidden technique to greatly increase speed, pushing it to the limit.

A moment later.

The Escape Light stopped.

A plump, middle-aged beautiful woman hovered in the air.

“Chanyer…”

The middle-aged beautiful woman’s breathing was a bit unsteady, yet her presence still caused the surrounding few miles to fall silent. The wild beasts, as if sensing the aura of a natural predator, curled up in place, not daring to move.

Without a doubt, this middle-aged beautiful woman was a Ninth Realm powerhouse and a demon head of the Ninth Realm.

Yet at this moment, this being capable of ranging freely across the Five Domains still had fear lingering on her face as if she had just escaped from some place of great terror.

“What exactly happened?”

“Why would Chanyer crush the jade pendant…”

This middle-aged beautiful woman was one of the demon heads who had intended to encircle and kill Lin Yuan.

“`

The girl in the light green skirt had a master.

It wasn’t entirely accurate to call her a master, though, as outsiders had no clue about their actual relationship.

Originally,

this middle-aged beauty was watching from a hundred miles away.

However, even as a demon from the Ninth Realm, it’s quite difficult to detect anything across such a distance.

Mainly because the middle-aged beauty dared not use any probing or perceptive secret techniques.

If Xiahou Yuan discovered her, wouldn’t it be like asking for trouble?

Yet,

when the middle-aged beauty sensed the girl in the light green skirt crushing the jade pendant,

a feeling of fear instinctively arose within her heart; she didn’t get any closer,

instead, she turned in the opposite direction and started to flee for her life, sparing no expense on various secret techniques.

There was no helping it.

That was Xiahou Yuan.

No matter why the girl in the light green skirt crushed the jade pendant,

if there was even the slightest possibility it involved Xiahou Yuan,

she wouldn’t dare to gamble.

“No, it won’t do.”

“I must go and join up with Moyang and the others.”

The middle-aged beauty steadied her nerves, feeling that it was somewhat unsafe to be alone.

She wanted to find others who were also demons of the Ninth Realm, group together for warmth.

Especially Moyang Demon Lord, who had reached the peak of the Ninth Realm thirty years ago,

he was even poised to become the new leader of the Demonic Tao after Xiahou Yuan’s suppression.

According to what the middle-aged beauty knew, since Xiahou Yuan emerged from the Great Abyss, Moyang Demon Lord had always been plotting something.

If anyone else knew what the middle-aged beauty was thinking, they would be astounded.

After all, as a Demon Lord of the Ninth Realm, what in the Five Domains and four seas could make you feel unsafe?

But upon learning that this person was Xiahou Yuan, they would find it perfectly normal again.

That was Xiahou Yuan.

…

After subduing Bian Mao, Yin Shiliu, and many other demon heads,

Lin Yuan returned to the wooden hut to continue his cultivation.

As for the demon heads, they stayed nearby the stronghold, forbidding strangers from getting close.

“Fifth Rank…”

The more Lin Yuan cultivated, the deeper his understanding of the Fifth Rank became; having spent twenty years on the eighteenth level of the Great Abyss Ground, Lin Yuan had imagined breaking through to the Fifth Rank countless times.

“It’s about time.”

Lin Yuan opened his eyes.

He was now fully prepared to make his breakthrough to the Fifth Rank.

All that was left was to start the breakthrough.

“However,”

“it would be best to change locations before breaking through.”

Lin Yuan’s expression shifted slightly as he scanned his surroundings.

Firstly, breaking through to the Fifth Rank requires a high-quality environment,

well, it’s not the environment per se, if Lin Yuan had a few jars of ‘Scarlet Spirit Liquid,’ he could break through anywhere.

The Heavenly Earth Vital Energy around the stronghold was indeed much better than that in the Great Abyss,

but it still didn’t meet Lin Yuan’s minimum standard for breaking through.

Furthermore,

in recent days Lin Yuan clearly sensed a faint feeling of being spied upon;

obviously, his presence here had been noticed by many,

and since they didn’t dare confront him directly, they kept observing from a distance.

Not that Lin Yuan cared about being watched by others.

But for the sake of an undisturbed breakthrough, he obviously needed to find a secure and secluded place.

“Nuan Shu…”

Lin Yuan called over his protector, Nuan, and expressed his requirements.

“Yes.”

Nuan promptly nodded.

She had wanted to leave this place for some time, not only had Lin Yuan sensed the spying,

Nuan had also felt that more than one person was observing them from afar.

Several days later,

Nuan quickly came in front of the wooden hut and, upon being granted permission by Lin Yuan, excitedly said, “My Lord, I have found a place that absolutely meets the requirements…”

“Oh?”

Lin Yuan opened his eyes, his face showing surprise.

His requirements for Nuan Shu were not low, to meet them would be equivalent to the standards of the major powers’ strongholds, could such a place be found so easily?