Chapter 839: Fish Demon

The number of demonic beasts was overwhelming.

The Golden Light Array had opened paths, yet in the very next moment they were already beginning to close.

From a mountain peak, the panther demon stared blankly at the sight, feeling a guilty chill in its heart. It had not expected the Golden Light Array to be so terrifying.

Because it had insisted on breaking the array to find a single man, the demonic beasts had suffered tremendous losses. When the Transformation Realm great demons returned, they would surely be furious and might well take out their rage on it.

Once this is over, I must hide in the clan for a few hundred years.

The panther demon resolved silently.

Beside it, the crane demon and a flying fish demon were seething. They could only watch helplessly as their subordinates were swallowed by golden light, hearts bleeding. At the same time, a cold fear crept into them, and they were secretly thankful they had not been at the front lines.

"I think I saw Six Eyes[1]. It was shredded by the golden light, half its body gone. I do not know if it survived..." The flying fish demon’s long fins trembled, its eyes uneasy, its tone uncertain.

"The one I saw may have been Red Tail. Its fate was worse than Six Eyes. It was swallowed whole by the golden light, not even bones left behind. It died here. The king favored the Red Tail greatly. How am I supposed to explain this to the king?" The crane demon’s voice was piercing, its furious gaze boring into the panther demon as though it wished to swallow the culprit whole.

"If you had no bad thoughts about these people, could I have forced you into this? Everything we seize will be yours, and I will gladly bear the wrath of the demon king but you must help me find him!" The panther demon sneered, striking first with its words. It leapt from the mountaintop.

"What are you waiting for? The golden light is spent. Get back and search for that man. If we catch him, the Jiao King will be pleased, and we will be richly rewarded. Your own kings will share in the benefits and will not punish you."

The crane demon and the flying fish demon exchanged glances, looking somewhat sheepish, then split off to search in different directions.

The panther demon plunged into the horde, heading straight for the escaping cultivators, nostrils flaring.

It searched in vain and was growing agitated when the crane demon swooped in. "In the north, I sensed the aura of that man’s companion. That group is strong, with many experts. The flying fish has already taken its underlings to delay them."

The panther demon’s eyes lit up. "Is the man with them?"

"I did not sense his aura." The crane demon shook its head.

The panther demon hesitated briefly before deciding. "Summon our forces immediately. First, capture his companion. Be careful not to draw the attention of the Spiritual Infant cultivator."

At the mention of a human Spiritual Infant cultivator, the crane demon’s eyes flickered with fear. It dimmed its escape light and silently flew off to gather reinforcements.

The panther demon at once sped toward the direction the crane demon had come from.

At the same time, Qin Sang was trapped in the beast tide, facing off against a strange fish demon, growing increasingly anxious.

This fish demon had the head of a fish, a human-like torso with four limbs, and a long, slender tail trailing behind.

Its eyes gleamed with intelligence.

When the array fell, Qin Sang had been among the first to leave the city, following the golden light’s lead to break through.

With the golden light clearing the way, all he had to do was race at full speed, and soon he was beyond Yuheng Island’s outskirts. Barring misfortune, he should have cleared the beast tide.

But misfortune came anyway.

Unbeknownst to him, this fish demon had marked him and followed.

Had it not been for his cautious nature, always keeping the Sky-Eyed Butterfly on watch, he would not have spotted the fish demon lurking beneath the surface, poised for a sneak attack.

What infuriated him was that even when he let the fish demon go, it refused to do the same for him, blocking his path.

Standing atop the water, the fish demon lazily flicked its tail, scattering droplets.

A long wound ran across its body, the left arm and a swath of flesh from its chest and abdomen gone. It was likely the work of the Golden Light Array.

Even wounded, its demonic qi was brash and domineering.

"Hand over all your treasures, and I will spare your life!"

The fish demon’s gaze was greedy, fixed on the storage pouch at Qin Sang’s waist. It had only half believed the panther demon’s talk, but was convinced Qin Sang carried something precious. Why else would the panther be so frantic?

If he truly was a man wanted by the Jiao King, then the treasures on him would be even more remarkable.

So when it found Qin Sang, it immediately gathered its trusted followers, not even thinking to inform the panther demon.

It's a great demon that has taken the Imperial Elixir!

Qin Sang’s heart sank.

This fish demon’s strength was likely no less than that body cultivator he had met outside Seven-Kill Hall. Even injured, it would be no easy foe.

Worse still, he could sense several powerful auras racing toward them in the distance. They were clearly reinforcements drawn by the fish demon.

If he was caught in a ring of great demons, there would be no escape.

Fortunately, he was no longer who he had been in years past.

There was no time to waste. Qin Sang said nothing, hurling the Primordial Unity Ring straight at the fish demon.

The fish demon lashed its tail, sending up a wave several zhang high to crash into the ring and test it. But with a flash of light, the Two-Headed Hou leapt from the ring. Its vertical pupils shot out a storm that shredded the wave in an instant before it lunged for the fish demon.

"With your cultivation, you would submit to a human? Have you no shame?"

The fish demon was startled, then enraged, cursing the Two-Headed Hou before trying to tempt it. "Help me capture this man and I will see to it that the king rewards you, even grants you the Imperial Elixir to aid your transformation!"

The Two-Headed Hou could only look helpless. If not for the ring, it would have fled long ago and spared itself this trouble.

Ignoring the demon’s words, Qin Sang flew in on his sword. With a sweep of his hand, the Devilish Flames of Nine Hells turned into a fiery streak aimed straight at the fish demon’s wound.

Sensing the strange danger of the flames, the fish demon grew wary and dared not let them close. Hemmed in by man and beast, it began to feel its strength flagging and knew the situation was bad.

It kept cursing and coaxing the Two-Headed Hou, but not only did the beast refuse to turn on Qin Sang, its ferocity flared even higher.

The fight seemed to be going well, but Qin Sang knew this was no time to stall. The powerful auras were drawing closer. He could not afford to delay any longer.

His eyes chilled as he watched the fish demon dodge the flames, and without hesitation, he unleashed his greatest trump card: the star turban.

Whoosh!

The treasure burst forth, its aura so fearsome the fish demon froze in horror.

"What is that—" its face twisted in fear as it screamed.

In an instant, the star turban was before it. Only then did the fish demon realize this was the same conch-shaped astra the panther demon had once displayed but it had never warned them how deadly it was.

It was far too late for complaints.

The star turban swelled rapidly in its vision. The fish demon’s pupils shrank, a whirlpool forming beneath it. Its body dropped toward the vortex, blue light flashing across its scales like armor.

The Two-Headed Hou and Qin Sang struck in perfect sync, cutting off its escape.

Boom!

The star turban slammed into the fish demon’s right chest.

Its scaled armor was pierced through, half its body blasted apart. The fish demon’s shrill cry made every beast nearby instinctively clamp its tail.

1. This must be referring to one of the demonic beasts. ☜