Murphy flew towards the Ninth Precipitous Mountain as fast as he could.
He had been agitated and angry ever since his daughter was taken. Darren knew that Murphy was desperate to find her.
Darren chased after Murphy, feeling helpless. The Gambling King had deliberately taken Murphy's daughter with the expectation that Murphy would come after her. Darren feared that Murphy was heading straight into a trap.
But how could any father do anything else in this kind of situation? So Darren flew after Murphy, who was traveling at his fastest speed.
They finally reached the territory of the Ninth Precipitous Mountain.
Even though Darren was thousands of kilometers high, flying through the sky, he could feel the thick fog and miasma rising from the earth beneath him.
He sensed that Murphy had stopped moving.
Darren immediately descended, landing on the ground beside Murphy.
"Master Murphy, we must be careful. They are hoping you will be reckless and impulsive,"
Darren said, trying to reason with Murphy.
Murphy scowled. "Of course I know that. But I don't have a choice. I will fight to get my daughter to safety, regardless of what happens to me," he snapped.
"I understand," Darren replied. "But perhaps there's a way to save her without sacrificing yourself. If we go secretly, maybe we can find some clues as to where Miss Freda is being kept. Marching openly into enemy territory will only allow them to make preparations in advance and hide Miss Freda in a more secret place.
I believe they only took her to get to you, so it's unlikely they'll do anything to her while they're waiting for you to arrive," he added.
It was a fair analysis, and one that Murphy agreed with, so he calmed down slightly. Instead of rushing forward alone, he decided to travel more carefully with Darren.
"Fine. Come with me, then," he said.
The two men ventured further into the Ninth Precipitous Mountain.
The land was densely covered with a purple jungle, full of a variety of strange, poisonous flowers.
"Master Murphy, do you know where the Gambling King is?" Darren asked.
"I do. But we have to move carefully, for this forest is full of many hidden dangers."
Darren nodded, gazing warily around him at the purple foliage.
They were still hundreds of kilometers away from the place where the Gambling King lived. In order to avoid detection, Darren and Murphy decided to travel by land.
The two men ran swiftly and silently through the forest.
Suddenly, there was a snapping sound.
A vine had lashed out and wrapped itself around Murphy's waist.
He was yanked back by the vine, and hundreds more vines began creeping around his b
nt of the Blue Flower Demon.
He was secretly gathering the black god's power and the penetrating sword intent.
Both attacks had a strong penetrating effect. Once it exploded, he knew he would be able to break free from the vines wrapped around him.
Although there was great variety among the powers and preferences of evil spirits, they all had one thing in common—their bodies were relatively weak.
Darren believed that once he had broken through the shackles, he had a good chance of killing the Blue Flower Demon.
He hoped that his begging and appearance of weakness would convince the demon to lower his guard.
"Look at yourself. What an ugly human, groveling without shame just to survive," the Blue Flower Demon said disdainfully.
"I admit that I am ugly, but I'm not stupid. I'm smart enough to recognize when another has greater strength and power. Even a Superior God Realm master couldn't resist your poison, let alone me," Darren replied.
"You are wise to recognize that," said the Blue Flower Demon. The demon was pleased to be praised in this way, especially by a human being.
"My Lord, please let me go! I swear that I will be loyal to you forever," Darren begged again.
He was tense, feeling adrenaline rush through his body. He had gathered all his strength, and was waiting for the best moment to strike. He felt like his meridians were about to explode.
The Blue Flower Demon laughed again. "Don't waste your breath! There's no way I'll let you go.
However, you flatter me with your sweet talk, so I'll give you the gift of a quick death. I'll eat you now instead of torturing you for days."
With that, the demon ejected a blast of mucus, and a red slit opened in the middle of the flower stamens. Two rows of sharp teeth were revealed.