Chapter 266- The Black-Bellied Demon Cultivator’s Senior Brother VS The Righteous Young Junior Brother (31)
The originally sturdy formation finally revealed a small breach after the continuous attacks from the wealthy demon cultivator. Seeing this, the demon’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
He quickly darted inside, reaching out to grab Mu Jin with both hands. In his mind, he had already imagined the rewards and benefits the Demon Lord would grant him after capturing this delicate and fair little cultivator and forcing Ning Yizhou to surrender.
However, in the very next second, enormous blood-red vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around his limbs and instantly draining the blood from his entire body.
His once robust and plump figure was soon reduced to a paper-thin husk, leaving nothing but skin and bones. His lifeless body fell to the ground and disintegrated into a pile of shriveled carcasses, resembling small, dried rodents—no longer showing any signs of life.
Since Mu Jin had arrived in the demon cultivators’ territory with Ning Yizhou, he had stayed by his side without revealing his true strength.
As a result, most people were aware that Ning Yizhou’s cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul stage, but they assumed Mu Jin was just a cute, lovable demon cultivator with no notable power. They had no idea that his cultivation had also reached the Nascent Soul stage.
Of course, not all Nascent Soul cultivators are the same. Mu Jin, after all, possessed quite a few advantages, not the least of which was the blood vine, his powerful weapon.
Before this incident, he had stayed within the formation Ning Yizhou had set up, worried that his lover might be distracted by concerns for his safety. But now that the formation had a breach, it was no longer as reliable as before.
He hadn’t missed the fact that, even while fighting the Demon Lord, Ning Yizhou frequently checked on his condition. Seeing the breach in the barrier on Mu Jin’s side, Ning Yizhou’s eyes were clearly filled with worry.
Mu Jin had no doubt that if he hadn’t immediately used the blood vine to strike, Ning Yizhou would likely have abandoned his fight with the Demon Lord and rushed to his side to protect him. Though he felt a warm sense of reassurance, a hint of helplessness still lingered in his heart.
Since someone had sacrificed themselves to break the barrier’s constraints, Mu Jin couldn’t let their efforts go to waste. He stepped out of the barrier willingly, a sweet smile spreading across his face as he gazed at the chaotic battlefield outside.
Then, massive blood-red vines burst from the ground one after another. Countless cultivators were ensnared by the vines, lifted high into the air, and swiftly drained of blood, meeting their deaths.
Mu Jin moved with swift precision, showing no mercy. His actions greatly astonished the demon cultivators who had come to assist Ning Yizhou. They had initially thought he was a delicate flower, only to realize they had completely misjudged him—he was more like a fierce and powerful “queen of flowers.”
The two sides had been evenly matched, with Ning Yizhou’s forces barely managing to hold their ground. However, with Mu Jin joining the battle, the tide quickly turned in their favor, pushing the momentum decisively toward Ning Yizhou’s side.
The once-confident Demon Lord was caught completely off guard by Mu Jin’s swift actions. Seeing his forces rapidly dwindling, his heart filled with even more fury.
Suddenly, he remembered a magical weapon that the Demon Lord had once given him. He had tested it briefly before, but it hadn’t been effective against ordinary demon cultivators, even though he’d been told it was extremely powerful. He knew for certain it was a high-grade celestial artifact.
Although the Demon Lord had always found the artifact strange—being a celestial-grade item yet seeming useless—he had been told it could be used in critical moments. Seeing the dire situation now, he could only gamble on it as a last resort.
He immediately hurled the celestial artifact at Ning Yizhou. Mu Jin, seeing the Demon Lord throw something at his lover, instantly became tense.
After all, anything the Demon Lord deemed worthy of using couldn’t be an ordinary object. However, from where Mu Jin stood, he couldn’t help his lover. Even the vines he extended were unable to block it. He could only watch as the artifact struck Ning Yizhou.
But the terrifying scene Mu Jin had anticipated didn’t occur. Even though the artifact glowed brilliantly with a red light upon hitting Ning Yizhou, the light quickly faded, and the artifact fell harmlessly to the ground.
It was as if what had been expected to be a deadly secret weapon turned out to be nothing more than a dud.
Though Ning Yizhou was briefly dazzled by the light, it didn’t halt his assault. In fact, his attacks became even more fierce than before.
Still bewildered by what had just happened, Mu Jin thought to himself, ‘Could the Demon Lord really have gone to all that trouble just to throw a completely useless object?’ But then, he heard a contented burp echo in his mind.
Quickly scanning his spiritual sea, he spotted the sacred beast—a black panther with a single horn—licking its lips in satisfaction. Mu Jin suddenly remembered the senior Vine Root, who had taken residence in his system space.
In the previous world, Vine Root had been in a deep slumber and hadn’t shown himself. But it was now clear that the artifact the Demon Lord had thrown had awakened him, and he had helped protect them.
Mu Jin felt a surge of gratitude, but there was no time to express it. He swiftly channeled his wood-elemental spiritual power, directing the blood vines to continue attacking their enemies.
The flash of light from the artifact had briefly given the Demon Lord hope, but he hadn’t expected such an outcome. Stunned, he stood motionless for a moment—just long enough for him to be overwhelmed by Ning Yizhou’s relentless attacks, forcing him into a rapid retreat.
After his failed strike, the Demon Lord was hit directly in the abdomen by one of Ning Yizhou’s spells, shattering his demon core. The moment the core broke, the Demon Lord let out an enraged howl.
Now completely drained of his magical powers, he reverted to his original form—a massive blue-black scorpion, its exoskeleton gleaming like metal.
The enormous scorpion’s tail swung furiously, attempting to sting Ning Yizhou. However, even though the Demon Lord’s true form appeared fearsome, he no longer had the strength to compete with Ning Yizhou.
Ning Yizhou didn’t even need to take his beast form. With just a few spells, he knocked the scorpion to the ground. Its tail was severed, and it lay motionless, lifeless.
With the Demon Lord slain, the remaining accomplices lost their will to fight and surrendered in despair. Ning Yizhou’s side had won a decisive victory.
Realizing Ning Yizhou’s current strength, the remaining enemies were filled with hopelessness. They knew Ning Yizhou would likely take the Demon Lord’s place as the new ruler, and a grim fate awaited them.
Yet despite his victory, Ning Yizhou showed no sign of joy. Instead, he immediately rushed to Mu Jin’s side, pulling him into his arms and carefully inspecting him from head to toe.
After several thorough checks, once he confirmed Mu Jin was unharmed, Ning Yizhou finally let out a sigh of relief. Still, his face remained stern as he angrily scolded Mu Jin, “Didn’t I tell you to stay in the protective array? Why did you come out? What if you got hurt?!”
Mu Jin, seeing Ning Yizhou’s displeased expression, sighed helplessly and replied with an innocent look, “But senior brother, it wasn’t me who broke the array. You saw it yourself—there was nothing I could do. Besides, I’m fine now, right?”
Despite his explanation, Ning Yizhou still looked furious. Mu Jin quickly grabbed his hand and tried to appease him, offering some praise, “And besides, I knew you would protect me. Senior brother, who would have thought that such a powerful Demon Lord would be defeated so easily by you? You’re amazing!”
After speaking, Mu Jin didn’t care about the others around them. He cupped Ning Yizhou’s face and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. Only then did the man’s expression soften a little.
Ning Yizhou looked at Mu Jin’s adorable face and sighed helplessly, pulling him into his arms. In his heart, he prayed that if something like this ever happened again, he’d be sure to keep a closer watch on him.
When Mu Jin stepped out of the protective array to fight alongside the others today, Ning Yizhou felt as if his heart had nearly leaped out of his chest.
The other demon cultivators, seeing Ning Yizhou’s “beauty over power” attitude, could only helplessly twitch their mouths. They already felt exhausted and battered from the intense battle, and now they had to endure watching their leader shower his lover with affection.
Of course, Ning Yizhou and Mu Jin didn’t stay behind to clean up the battlefield. Instead, they opened the small box they had recovered. Inside were indeed items left behind by the former Demon Lord, and the strong aura Mu Jin had sensed earlier came from the former Lord.
The box contained the demon core of the former Demon Lord, which held the accumulated power of countless years of cultivation. The core had been left to Ning Yizhou instead of the new Demon Lord because the former lord feared that if the new ruler proved unfit, Ning Yizhou might have to take his place.
However, Ning Yizhou had never used it. Since his own body did not possess a demon core, he couldn’t inherit the former lord’s power. So, he handed the demon core to Lin Yuan, allowing him to use it to enhance his own strength.