Chapter Ten: Yingmei of the Shadow Demon Clan

Upon entering the Forbidden Formation, everything before one’s eyes was blood-red. For years, the Great Elephant Mountain Range had maintained this grand array through the repeated sacrifices of beast tides. Now, standing within the zone of the Forbidden Formation, Wu Shu felt a profound sense of shock.

One could only imagine how many beasts had sacrificed their lives to create such a vast expanse of blood-red terror. Previously, he had only known that the beasts of the Great Elephant Mountain Range were exceptionally ferocious, but he had never truly grasped the depth of their resolve to protect their home.

The Forbidden Formation had evolved into a Blood Forbidden Formation. Even with the augmentation of spirit stones inscribed with the Nine-Ox Follow-Heart Array, the progress of the Night-Stalking Beast and Xiao Bai was severely hindered by the crushing pressure.

Patting the neck of the Night-Stalking Beast, which was still laboring forward, Wu Shu said, "Brother Li, we have now entered the Forbidden Formation zone. Given the current lethality of this array, any demon or human capable of moving freely here is no ordinary character. We might as well rest here, regain our strength, and then continue our journey."

Li Jianfeng, having witnessed the state of the formation, naturally understood that Wu Shu’s sudden caution was well-founded. He nodded and replied, "Brother Shu Wu’s suggestion is sound. Let us rest and meditate here for a while; we shall plan our next move once we have recovered."

Since the conflict with the demons in the Great Elephant Mountain Range began, the Kun Kingdom had been in a precarious position. Had it not been for Wu Shu’s arrival, Li Jianfeng would not have known how to continue struggling against the demons. Now, traveling alongside him, Li Jianfeng had no choice but to place his full trust in Wu Shu.

He had Xiao Bai patrol the surrounding hundreds of meters to ensure everything was safe.

At that moment, Li Jianfeng handed a piece of dried beef to Wu Shu and said, "Brother Shu Wu, I must rely on you for this trip. If you need me, Li Jianfeng, to exert any effort, please do not hesitate to speak; I will certainly give it my all."

Accepting the dried beef, Wu Shu asked thoughtfully, "Brother Li, what is your current level of cultivation?"

Regarding his own strength, Li Jianfeng was quite confident compared to his peers, but he was still surprised by Wu Shu’s sudden inquiry.

"I will not hide it from you, Brother Shu Wu. In body tempering, my true strength is at the second stage of the Savage Ox Body; in terms of earth force cultivation, I am at the Kaiyuan stage."

The Savage Ox Body stage? And already at the Kaiyuan stage in earth force?

Wu Shu had not expected Li Jianfeng to be hiding so much. Now he could understand why their previous spar had not reached the results he had anticipated.

Wu Shu could not help but smile. "Savage Ox Body second stage and earth force at the Kaiyuan stage—Brother Li, your strength is truly remarkable."

When the subject of remarkable strength was raised, Li Jianfeng felt a deep sense of shame. Throughout this conflict, every demon he had encountered was a troublesome opponent. Even with his superior body tempering and earth force, he had often found himself struggling bitterly during their clashes.

The Shadow Demon clan was truly tenacious.

Feeling deeply frustrated, Li Jianfeng said, "Compared to these cunning little demon brats, my strength is nothing."

Learning of Li Jianfeng’s strength and seeing his dejected expression as he thought of the demons, Wu Shu offered words of comfort: "Brother Li, with such strength, I believe that in time, you will surely have the opportunity to display your prowess and send those demon brats running for their lives."

To his surprise, these words ignited a mysterious power within Li Jianfeng. It filled his body with vigor, making him feel that the next time he met those demon brats, he would certainly make them pay.

Sometimes, a bit of blind confidence is essential.

Just then, Wu Shu sensed a faint ripple about a hundred meters away and gave Li Jianfeng a subtle look.

Several breaths passed, and the faint ripple vanished without a trace. Wu Shu thought to himself, "There is someone nearby, and their movement techniques are quite masterful. However, their temperament is mediocre. The reason they slipped up just now must be because they underestimated us after hearing me console Li Jianfeng and dismiss the demons."

A demon disciple? Wu Shu pretended to know nothing and looked at Li Jianfeng calmly. "Speaking of which, Brother Li, have you noticed something? Since we entered this array, we haven’t encountered a single demon. Could it be that they are so terrified of my arrival that they’ve all fled?"

"Are those demon wastes really that weak? Even my strength at the third stage of body tempering is enough to strike fear into them, not to mention that you, Brother Li, have already reached the Savage Ox Body stage. Alas... demons? Truly, each generation is worse than the last. Not one of them is worth fighting!"

Wu Shu’s blunt, aggressive remarks, made without regard for anyone else’s feelings, shocked Li Jianfeng once again.

Li Jianfeng thought to himself, *Brother, didn’t you just warn me that there was a situation nearby? Is being this arrogant really a good idea?*

As Wu Shu had guessed, the demon hiding nearby had a very mediocre temperament. Upon hearing these words, a demon girl with a fiery figure shouted in anger, "Speak your mother’s nonsense! You trash of a human, only at the third stage of body tempering, yet you dare to spout such drivel here. If I, Ying Mei’er, don’t cripple you today, I am no child of the Shadow Demon clan!"

Following Ying Mei’er’s angry shout, the quiet Forbidden Formation suddenly became agitated. Several demon disciples miles away ordered their mounts to rush toward Wu Shu’s location. Clearly, when Ying Mei’er unleashed her fury, the demons nearby had sensed her position.

Upon seeing Ying Mei’er’s face, Li Jianfeng exclaimed, "It’s you? How are you here all by yourself?"

Unlike Li Jianfeng, Wu Shu scanned Ying Mei’er’s entire body. He had to admit that despite her young age, she had a truly fiery figure with curves in all the right places.

Feeling Wu Shu’s insolent gaze, Ying Mei’er was truly enraged. A mere human dared to sweep his filthy eyes over her like that! She lunged toward Wu Shu, saying, "Human, am I beautiful? Do I look good? Do you want me to let you look at me like this every day?"

As she struck, Ying Mei’er employed her Demonic Voice, secretly laced with a charm technique. Any other opponent would have fallen for it instantly.

Wu Shu, however, was largely unaffected by her sudden attack and smiled smugly. "Little girl, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed today."

Wu Shu was so confident because Ying Mei’er’s mental attack was essentially useless against him.

Seeing Wu Shu’s reaction, Ying Mei’er was surprised. She had used her full strength in that strike. As the most pampered genius of the Shadow Demon clan’s Ghost Shadow family, her prowess in Demonic Voice and charm was at a top-tier level, even within the entire clan.

Yet... it seemed to have no effect on this human boy.

Conversely, Li Jianfeng, standing to the side, was affected, his movements becoming sluggish.

Because she had gone all out, Ying Mei’er found herself right in front of Wu Shu while he remained clear-headed. She could only raise her palm to strike him, hoping to resolve the close-quarters crisis she had created.

A low-grade spirit stone inscribed with formation patterns appeared in Wu Shu’s hand. He smiled slightly at Ying Mei’er. "Earth Pattern, solidify!"

Immediately, Ying Mei’er felt her body grow heavy. Just as her palm was about to strike him, she found herself frozen in place.

Facing Wu Shu at such close range, Ying Mei’er pulled back her palm and shouted, "Human, what do you think you’re doing? Are you courting death?"

In truth, Wu Shu felt like teasing her and saying something flippant, like, "We’re at this point now, what do you think this master is going to do?"

However, the other demons were approaching quickly, their ferocious mounts already in sight. Seeing Ying Mei’er and Wu Shu standing face-to-face so peacefully, the arriving demon disciples were filled with confusion.

Since when was Young Mistress Mei’er so close to a human?

Watching the demons close in, Wu Shu, who was roughly the same height as Ying Mei’er, stepped forward and draped an arm over her shoulder. "You have quite a high status among the demons, don’t you? You shouldn’t be short on spirit stones, right? Rob..."

The thought that she had high status made him want to rob them, and the word nearly slipped out.

Wu Shu’s words made Ying Mei’er want to curse, but the pressure of the formation made it difficult for her to resist, so she chose to remain silent.

Turning to the demon disciples, Wu Shu shouted loudly, "Listen up, you little demon brats! Open your eyes and pay attention—you have all been captured. If you want me to return Ying Mei’er to you, it will cost at least a thousand low-grade spirit stones and the release of the Kun Kingdom hostages you’ve captured. Otherwise, don’t even think about it."

The demons who had just arrived could not believe their ears. They had only just appeared; how had they been captured? And what was the relationship between Young Mistress Mei’er and this human boy? Not only were they standing together, but this human’s dismissal of the demons was far too arrogant.

Among the demons, the hierarchy was strict. The ancestor of Mei’er’s family was not only powerful but also notoriously vengeful; few dared to openly offend the Ghost Shadow family.

Since Ying Mei’er remained silent and the human only wanted some spirit stones—which were nothing to the demons—they quickly pooled a thousand low-grade spirit stones into a storage bag and handed it to Wu Shu. They bowed to Ying Mei’er, and seeing no response, they retreated consciously.

Looking at the bulging storage bag, Wu Shu was overjoyed. He couldn't help but think that these demon disciples were far too easy to fool.

Compared to Wu Shu’s triumphant expression, Ying Mei’er looked at him with a gaze of disdain. Wu Shu thought to himself, *Is my greed really that unsightly?*

Li Jianfeng felt as though he were in a dream. The audacity of Wu Shu’s extortion was completely surreal.

Clearing his throat, Wu Shu said calmly, "Don’t just stand there. Go and bring back the Kun Kingdom hostages you’ve captured. Otherwise, I will make your mistress experience what it means to wish for death. Furthermore, I require one hundred mid-grade spirit stones and ten high-grade spirit stones."

"Alright, all of you, disperse!"

Hearing this, the demon disciples were left utterly bewildered.

Wu Shu seemed to have average strength, yet he appeared to have an ambiguous relationship with Ying Mei’er. Ying Mei’er had always been arrogant and headstrong, having snuck out behind her family’s back. Now, some of them realized: wasn't she just having a secret tryst with a lover? And this human lover of hers clearly held a very special place in her heart. Her silence was proof enough that she was willfully allowing him to act as he pleased before her own kin.

They could never have imagined that the only reason Ying Mei’er remained silent after her defeat was that she did not want to be wiped out entirely.