Chapter 766: The Naughty Bear
Chapter 766: The Naughty Bear
He wanted to get his hands on the Demon Banner, but he might not be a match for the manager...
Mo Hua fell into deep thought.
This Demon Cultivator manager had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage. He was experienced, ruthless, and carried a black demon banner, with the ability to transform into a demon.
Although he seemed inferior to Huo Fota, he still appeared to be a formidable opponent.
Especially here in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, where demon cultivators thrived in numbers, and Mo Hua was all alone, making it even more difficult to take action...
"Should I steal it?"
The idea crossed Mo Hua's mind.
From then on, he closely observed the demon cultivator manager's every move and found him to be cunning and vigilant.
The black demon banner was always kept close by, tucked away in the deepest part of his storage bag, and he would never use it lightly.
Even when sleeping, cultivating, or meditating, he would keep the storage bag close to his body.
Obviously, this banner was extremely important to him.
It was even possible that as long as the banner existed, so would its owner, and if it were lost, the owner would perish...
"I can't steal it..."
Mo Hua shook his head.
Indeed, such a veteran demon cultivator would not easily give him an opportunity.
"Since you won't let me steal it," Mo Hua's eyes turned slightly cold, "then I'll have to find a way to kill you and take it..."
From then on, Mo Hua continued to monitor the demon cultivator manager through the Spirit-Sight Array.
The manager was powerful, and Mo Hua had no idea what kind of demon art he cultivated, what he looked like after transformation, or what kind of Four Symbols demon markings were engraved on his body.
With the demon banner in hand, the manager didn't need to take action personally during disturbances in the Prison of Ten Thousand Demons, so his true abilities remained hidden.
However, every enemy had their weaknesses, whether they were human, demon beast, or demon cultivator.
Mo Hua patiently waited for an opportunity to present itself.
And then one night, deep in the darkness, Mo Hua guessed it was midnight.
In the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, where there was no distinction between day and night, it was hard to tell the time, but at certain "midnight" hours, even these demon cultivators seemed to quiet down.
At this late hour, the manager left alone, his actions suspicious as he walked a circuitous route.
Mo Hua followed but soon lost track of him.
"What's he up to, sneaking around like that?"
Mo Hua frowned, then made his way back through the array's central channel to the array's core chamber. He communicated with his spiritual sense to reactivate the Spirit-Sight Array and finally found the missing manager in a remote corner.
The demon cultivator manager had appeared in the demon beast prison.
Mo Hua was taken aback and followed the central channel to climb near the prison.
The prison was still bloody and filled with demon beasts, but the patrolling demon cultivators were nowhere to be seen.
They might be changing shifts or taking a break.
After searching for a moment, Mo Hua finally spotted the manager's figure in one of the prison cells.
This was an isolated cell with thick stone walls, confining a powerful demon beast.
Mo Hua glanced at it and was surprised.
He had seen this demon beast before.
It was the black bear demon...
Before entering the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, Mo Hua had tampered with its chains, allowing the black bear demon to break free and kill two demon cultivators.
Unexpectedly, he had encountered it again here.
At this moment, the black bear demon was bound by thicker chains and shackles, trapped by layers of formations, unable to move at all.
The demon cultivator manager was drawing the blood of the black bear.
He took out a sharp knife and a white porcelain dish, stabbing the bear's palm and letting the blood flow into the dish.
The black bear demon glared with anger, its rage rising as it struggled in vain.
The manager's eyes shone with greed as he picked up the dish and drank the bear's blood, licking his lips afterward to reveal his long, ugly fangs.
After drinking his fill, the manager still craved more, muttering, "The blood of the black bear's palm is indeed delicious, but it's a pity that this is the Second Elder's 'forbidden delicacy'..."
Mo Hua understood.
The Second Elder...
No wonder the manager was sneaking around, drinking the blood in secret, afraid of being discovered by the other demon cultivators.
Moreover, he dared not drink too much at once.
If he drank too much, the black bear demon would lose too much blood, and when the Second Elder returned, he would surely notice and not let the manager off easily.
After drinking a dish of blood, the manager reluctantly glanced at the black bear demon, longing for another bowl but too afraid to indulge further.
He suppressed his hunger, put away the knife and dish, looked around, and, confirming that no one was watching, turned and left.
Mo Hua looked at the large black bear suppressing its anger, then turned his gaze to the manager who had been "sneak-eating," deep in thought.
As the manager left the prison, he suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
He turned, his eyes sharp as he scanned the surroundings, but all he could see was the empty space and hear the low roars of struggling demon beasts.
The manager frowned.
"These past few days, I always feel like someone is watching me..."
But this was the Prison of Ten Thousand Demons. Where would a human come from?
It couldn't be a demon cultivator either.
An ordinary demon cultivator exuded a demonic aura, so how could they hide from him?
"Could it be... that I've been targeted by some evil 'demon spirit'?"
The manager thought of the bizarre and sinister Refining Demon Chart and shuddered involuntarily.
"Impossible," he shook his head slightly, "the demon spirits are sealed within the chart. How could they get out..."
The manager's eyes narrowed, and he turned and left.
Mo Hua, however, remained in the prison, observing the black bear demon, a plan forming in his mind.
He then made his way through the passage to the demon cultivators' cafeteria.
Yes, demon cultivators had their own cafeteria.
Mo Hua had discovered this earlier.
In the cafeteria were stoves and pill furnaces.
The stoves were for stewing various demon beast meats.
Ordinary cultivators couldn't afford spirit meat and could only eat demon meat, but they only ate the meat of herbivorous demon beasts.
Because carnivores would inevitably eat humans.
But demon cultivators were different; they wouldn't mind "eating" humans directly, so they had no qualms about the meat they consumed.
Next to the pill furnace was for refining pills.
However, this type of pill furnace was simple and was used to refine not complex evil pills but rather pills like the "Skip-Meal Pill," which served as food for demon beasts.
Whether it was the stove or the pill furnace, both were coated with a thick layer of bloodstains, emitting a nauseating pungent smell.
Mo Hua covered his nose and mouth, picked out some raw and cooked meat, as well as unknown pills exuding a powerful blood aura, and put them into his storage bag.
To avoid being discovered, he only took a small amount.
Afterward, Mo Hua returned to the prison and threw the meat and pills to the black bear demon.
The black bear demon, who had just had his blood drawn and was resting with his eyes closed, was startled.
Seeing the items thrown in front of him, he roared continuously.
But after realizing that they were food, he sniffed them and then extended his large bear paw to scoop the food toward himself, devouring it hungrily.
He sighed, his opinion of the bear dropping a notch. This foolish bear was far less clever than his own tiger back at Heishanzhai. That tiger had been as cunning as a ghost, knowing to hide its food and sneak around without attracting attention. It had even known how to "act," pretending to be wounded and pitiful.
Mo Hua couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion as he thought of his tiger.
"I wonder how my tiger is doing," he mused. "I hope someone is feeding it dried fish while I'm away. I wonder when I'll be able to go back and see it..."
A hint of longing for his tiger crept into Mo Hua's heart.
Inside the prison, the black bear finished its meal and immediately looked more spirited, its eyes gleaming with a fierce light.
Mo Hua shook his head again, disappointed that the bear wasn't more sly.
However, for now, there were no other options, so he would have to make do with this bear.
From then on, whenever Mo Hua had the chance, he would sneak some meat to feed the bear.
The bear's blood energy gradually filled, its demonic aura intensified, and its strength slowly recovered.
After an unknown amount of time, perhaps after Mo Hua had sent another seven days' worth of celestial stems and terrestrial branches to Elder Xu, the Spirit-Sight Array picked up the demon cultivator manager finally making his move again in the depths of the night. He was heading towards the prison once more.
He was going to steal some more blood to drink.
Mo Hua's spirits lifted.
He arrived at the prison ahead of the manager and hid himself in a corner, merging with the darkness and concealing his presence completely.
He was like an invisible, dangerous, and sinister presence.
After a stick of incense had burned, the demon cultivator manager entered the prison.
As usual, he released his spiritual sense to scan the area.
However, being a demon cultivator, his physical body was strong, but his spiritual sense was not as powerful. Additionally, due to the demonization, his intellect had deteriorated, causing his spiritual sense to weaken. As a result, he was unable to detect Mo Hua at all.
Furthermore, he was extremely hungry and thirsty at that moment.
In the Ten Thousand Demons Valley, the "meals" provided to demon cultivators were not very good.
The blood of the black bear's palm was a rare delicacy that was hard to come by.
Driven by his ravenous hunger and thirst, the manager's eyes gleamed with greed as he approached the black bear with a sharp knife, ready to draw its blood.
But just as he drew close, a sudden change occurred.
A pungent bloody aura filled the air, and the black bear, which had been keeping its eyes closed, suddenly opened them and let out a roar. Its massive bear paw swiped at the demon cultivator manager.
This black bear was a little smarter; it knew to wait for the manager to get close before making its move.
However, it wasn't smart enough to wait until the manager was right next to it, about to draw its blood, leaving him with no chance to dodge.
The manager's eyes trembled with shock, and he quickly retreated.
But he wasn't fast enough, and the bear's paw grazed him, causing half of his body to go numb, and his arm to be scratched, resulting in blood flowing down his limb.
Bear demons were extremely powerful among demon beasts, and this one was even more formidable as it was in the late second-grade stage.
With its blood energy fully charged, when it suddenly lashed out, even a mere graze left the manager with a serious injury.
"Vile beast!"
Seeing his bloody arm, the manager was both shocked and furious.
He couldn't believe that after all these years of guarding the Ten Thousand Demons Prison without any incidents, he had now fallen prey to this vile beast! The manager quickly took another step back.
The black bear demon lunged forward, but it was immediately restrained by the chains that choked its throat and locked its claws, preventing it from moving any further.
The manager breathed a sigh of relief.
However, at the same time, he was filled with doubt.
This black bear demon was severely injured and had not been fed. It had always seemed weak and feeble, but now its demonic power was surging.
"Good thing it's still chained up..."
The chains were inscribed with a late second-grade formation, and the demon beast couldn't break free.
Without the chains, if the black bear had managed to land a full blow, the manager would have undoubtedly suffered a severe injury.
The manager felt fortunate.
But just then, a faint "creak" sounded.
The manager's eyes followed the sound, and his expression changed drastically.
The formation on the chains was gradually fading and dissipating...
And without the reinforcement of the formation, the chains couldn't withstand the black bear's immense strength any longer. They started to twist and deform under the bear's power, eventually snapping completely.
Even before the chains fully broke, the manager had already retreated a step, anticipating the danger.
But the black bear, now free from its restraints, was even faster. It lunged forward, reaching the manager before he could fully retreat.
The manager's pupils constricted, and he knew he couldn't hold back. His eyes flashed with a red light, and he let out a low growl. His body swelled, his arms sprouted thick gray fur, and his fingertips transformed into sharp, black claws.
This manager was actually a gray bear demon cultivator.
Facing the mountain-like black bear, the manager felt immense pressure and had no choice but to go all out, using his demonization abilities.
Thus, a battle between a gray bear demon cultivator and a black bear demon beast ensued.
The prison was filled with surging demonic power and a pungent bloody aura.
The demon cultivator and the demon beast fought desperately, their roars echoing through the prison. Every strike landed on flesh, and blood splattered everywhere, making for an intense and brutal battle.
After a short while, the demonized manager managed to land a claw on the black bear's chest, tearing open its flesh. He then used the opportunity to retreat, creating some distance between them as he panted heavily.
His body was covered in wounds, and even though he was a demon cultivator, the head-on clash with a late second-grade demon beast had taken a toll on him. His flesh trembled, and even his bones felt sore.
On the other side, the black bear also didn't pursue further.
Although it was a demon beast with surging blood energy, it was still injured and had only regained some of its strength from the meat and blood pills that Mo Hua had secretly fed it.
So, after a brief clash, it didn't have the energy to finish off the manager in one go.
However, its eyes gradually turned vicious, and saliva began to drip from its mouth.
Just then, noises came from outside the prison.
It seemed that the intense battle and the surging demonic power had attracted the attention of the patrolling and stationed demon cultivators.
The manager clicked his tongue, his expression displeased.
Despite his caution, he had still been discovered.
But it didn't matter; as long as he threatened and warned them to keep their mouths shut, not revealing this incident to the Second Elder, everything would be fine.
In fact, having more people here was good; they could help subdue the bear demon, so he wouldn't have to face it alone.
"As long as I hold on for a little longer..."
The manager gathered his focus and continued to face off against the black bear.
However, his peripheral vision caught something, and his expression changed. A moment later, his heart chilled.
At first, he thought it was demon blood, but as he looked more closely, it didn't seem like pure demon blood. Instead, it looked like something concocted with demon blood...
Spirit Ink?
"Spirit Ink?!"
The manager's pupils dilated in shock.
This spirit ink was fresh and had not yet dried and changed color.
Obviously, someone had just used this spirit ink to draw an array on the chains, tampering with them!
How could this be?! The manager's thoughts were in disarray, and before he could think further, he suddenly felt a chill on his back, and his scalp tingled.
There was someone behind him... The manager's face paled as he turned around, but due to his large stature, by the time he finished turning, he still didn't see Mo Hua.
Just then, in the darkness, a fire ignited.
Two piercing flames blazed within the prison.
They were two fireballs.
Powerful and profound spiritual sense vibrations suddenly spread out.
The two fireballs, under the intense pressure of spiritual force, collided with each other at high speed, causing the internal incantation structure to collapse and merge, producing a twisted and terrifying spiritual power fusion.
One of the fireballs was a deep-colored mutated fireball, resembling a meteor, condensed from molten lava flowing on its surface.
A pair of white palms pressed this "meteor" onto the back of the demon cultivator manager.
A terrifying spiritual power fluctuation was suddenly released.
The aberrant flames raged uncontrollably.
The demon cultivator manager, who had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage and had undergone demonization, felt a searing pain in his chest as the firelight poured out. When he looked down, he saw a black hole in his chest.
The flesh and blood around the hole were charred black.
Even as the flesh and blood writhed and regenerated, the residual flames continued to burn them away.
"What... What kind of terrifying art is this?!"
The manager's eyes widened in horror, unable to believe what was happening.
On the brink of life and death, he immediately reached for his storage bag, intending to retrieve healing pills to suppress his injuries.
He didn't want to die!
But as he pulled out his storage bag, he sensed a putrid stench.
Something was approaching him.
Then, a bloody maw bit down on his shoulder.
The Black Bear Demon, startled by the small meteor technique's flames, quickly regained its senses and saw that the demon cultivator manager was severely injured. Its eyes turned red, and with a gust of bloody wind, it pounced forward, its mouth like steel, biting down on the manager's upper body.
The manager struggled, and his fingers slipped, causing his hand to lose its grip on the storage bag.
Someone had taken advantage of the situation to snatch his storage bag!
Rage and despair filled the manager's heart.
He knew he had no chance of survival...
The Black Bear Demon showed no mercy, its bloody maw chewing on the manager's body.
However, the manager struggled with all his might, trying to turn around to see who was behind this. His eyes were filled with unwillingness and hatred.
"Who... Who is it that... killed me..."
But when he looked back with his blood-clouded vision, he saw nothing but emptiness, no person or demon.
No one who had tampered with the chains.
No one who had cast that terrifying art.
And no one who had snatched his storage bag.
The demon cultivator manager's eyes were filled with bloody tears, and his mouth was filled with bloody saliva as he whispered:
"Who... who is it...?"
Before he could finish his sentence, a "crack" sounded, and his body was completely bitten in half by the black bear.
When the other demon cultivators arrived, they could only watch helplessly as their manager was torn into two pieces by the massive black bear, which then proceeded to gnaw on the pieces.
"Vile beast!"
"Save the manager!"
"Damn it!"
"Kill this beast!"
In an instant, the group of demon cultivators was stirred into a frenzy.
The Black Bear Demon, having tasted human flesh, unleashed its ferocity with a roar and charged at the other demon cultivators.
The demon cultivators were no match, and they were sent flying dozens of feet away.
The black bear continued its rampage, charging out of the prison and showing no signs of stopping. Its eyes were bloodshot, its claws like the wind as it pounced on the demon cultivators, crashing into the stone walls with bone-chilling sounds.
The other imprisoned demons responded to the chaos, their ferocity awakening.
The entire Prison of Ten Thousand Demons reverberated with the roars of countless demons, creating a tumultuous and boiling atmosphere akin to a pot of oil doused with cold water.
Even Elder Xu, outside the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, could sense the unrest and turbulence within the valley.
"What's happening in the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons?!"
The elders and disciples of Tai Xu and Chong Xu Sects, who were guarding the valley, had grave expressions, sensing the seriousness of the situation.
Elder Xun was especially worried about Mo Hua and immediately sent him a message: "What's going on?"
Inside the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, Mo Hua remained in the prison, waiting for the Black Bear Demon and the other demon cultivators to rush out and create a chaotic scene. Then, he quietly erased the array marks on the chains, removing all traces of his involvement.
Afterward, Mo Hua inspected the area once more.
The array marks had been erased.
The prison was in disarray, and any evidence had been destroyed by the bear demon.
The wounds inflicted by the small meteor technique remained on the demon cultivator manager's body.
However, the manager had been devoured by the Black Bear Demon.
"Perfect!"
Mo Hua nodded in satisfaction, ensuring that no evidence was left behind. Only then did he get up and leave.
He dodged the rampaging demons, found a secluded spot, and returned to the core chamber through the central channel of the array.
Only then did he open the Tai Xu Token to see Elder Xun's message.
Mo Hua replied:
"It's nothing. I let a huge black bear escape, and the demon cultivators are busy chasing after it... "
Outside the Valley of Ten Thousand Demons, Elder Xun, who had been worried about Mo Hua, saw his reply and couldn't help but have a complicated expression on his face.
He glanced at the valley, which was still trembling with agitation, and sighed, "This bear kid is really something... Always causing trouble..."
(End of Chapter)
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