As Tu Xiao’an listened carefully, his expression shifted constantly.
It turned out that the Ancient War Ruins had opened once before, thousands of years ago. It could be called a battle of gods, a chaotic war between humans, Demons, and Ancient Exotic Beasts.
It was as if they were fighting for ownership of Earth.
Those legendary Exotic Beasts were like aliens invading Earth, bringing nothing but devastation and destruction.
When all living things were on the verge of becoming food for the Exotic Beasts, they had no choice but to rise up in furious resistance.
Fortunately, humans and Demons had barely managed to win that time. The price of victory was the depletion of nature’s spiritual energy, and Rank Four Divine Spirits no longer appeared in the world—they had basically been wiped out.
It was said that the opening of the Ancient War Ruins was always random, and within them lived monsters that seemed to have been sealed away.
Now, the monsters were about to break out.
The Ancient Taotie had raised the curtain on the War Relics, meaning the world’s true turmoil was about to begin anew.
Tu Xiao’an also learned a shocking piece of news from the Fox Immortal King: a large portion of the Ancient Exotic Beasts had mutated from the bloodlines of Ancient Demons.
The Ancient Demons had long since perished, but many Ancient Exotic Beasts had been sealed in the ruins, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Suddenly, Tu Xiao’an thought of the pink skeleton sealed beneath the lake at the Ancient Academy. ’Was that really an Ancient Demon?’
It was sealed deep underwater, suppressed by an entire Ancient Academy.
But there were still many things that even the Fox Immortal King couldn’t explain clearly, like why a clone of the Taotie had escaped from the ruins, or whether only one of the War Relics had opened this time.
Tu Xiao’an wanted to leave the Yaoling Mountain Range. He was desperate to know what had become of Wencheng.
’Without me, the Snake King, to protect it, has Bai Town been invaded by the Taotie?’
’If it had endured the Taotie’s baptism of fire, would the people of Bai Town, with its snake-worshipping culture, still be kneeling in the streets to worship me, the Snake King?’
’Are Mom and my sister still safe?’
The Yaoling Mountain Range was great in many ways—the Spiritual Qi was dense, and the area was vast—but it completely cut off all information from the outside world.
"What we need to do now is search. Search the Yaoling Mountain Range and see if any War Relics have opened here," the Fox Immortal King concluded with a heavy tone.
But Tu Xiao’an’s expression was grim. He no longer cared what happened to the Yaoling Mountain Range; his only concern was for Bai Town and Wencheng.
To be honest, his life-and-death duel with the White Demon King was only half-finished. But in that half, Tu Xiao’an had held every advantage and even thoroughly humiliated the White Demon King.
His opponent hadn’t gained the slightest advantage against him, a Level 35 Snake King. That was something Tu Xiao’an could be proud of.
But even when he trapped the White Demon King in his Dark Illusion, he still couldn’t deliver a true killing blow.
Having not yet reached the Demon King Level, his power and techniques ultimately lacked that final, decisive edge.
After a real confrontation, Tu Xiao’an was shocked to realize he had still underestimated the power of a Deep Mountain Demon King.
This underestimation might have started when the Gray Demon King fled in disarray, which had skewed Tu Xiao’an’s perception.
They were incredibly difficult to kill. Without fighting for days and nights on end, it would be impossible to determine a victor. In front of a Deep Mountain Demon King, all of Tu Xiao’an’s Battle Companions were practically useless.
It was just like how the White Demon King’s subordinates were completely powerless to resist him.
Now, the life-and-death duel could not continue. It had been interrupted by the Taotie’s clone, and Tu Xiao’an had lost the heart to fight anyway.
He had to leave the Yaoling Mountain Range immediately.
A son should not travel far while his mother is at home. Besides, the gap between the Human World and the Demon Race’s world was like a great chasm.
"Azure Owl!"
SCREE!
A clear phoenix cry rang out as the nine-colored Immortal Spirit Peacock appeared in a flash, carrying Su Rushi.
"Xiaoleng, you’re so amazing!" Su Rushi said happily, her beautiful face blushing after witnessing the many strengths of her pet snake.
On any other day, Tu Xiao’an might have teased her, but right now, he was in no mood for it.
"Let’s go."
Tu Xiao’an prepared to jump onto Azure Owl’s back and leave the Yaoling Mountain Range with Su Rushi.
The situation had changed suddenly, and it was now extremely urgent.
"Damn snake, where do you think you’re going?!"
With sharp eyes and quick movements, the White Demon King abruptly flashed forward, blocking the Immortal Spirit Peacock’s path.
"What, you still want to fight?"
In truth, even if Tu Xiao’an had wanted to keep fighting, it was clear from the Fox Immortal King’s demeanor that she would intervene. With the opening of the War Relics, the most important task for both humans and the Demon Race was to find them and reseal them.
If they waited until the Rank Four Taotie emerged, then everyone would be doomed.
Furthermore, even if they couldn’t find the opened War Relics right away, they had to kill the Taotie clones on a large scale to prevent them from devouring everything.
The more Energy the clones consumed, the sooner the Rank Four Taotie would emerge.
"Younger Brother Bai, the greater good must come first," the Fox Immortal King reminded him lightly.
The White Demon King had actually lost the will to kill the snake as well. A life-and-death crisis had emerged, making personal squabbles seem insignificant.
But...!
But the White Demon King gazed at the bride, Su Rushi, who was wearing a phoenix crown and wedding dress on the Immortal Spirit Peacock’s back, and said in a deep voice, "Return my Shi’Er to me. I will give Second Sister Fox face today and spare your life, snake."
"Return her to you? *Your* Shi’Er?" A look of contempt appeared on Tu Xiao’an’s handsome face as he looked at the White Demon King as if he were a pile of dog shit. "Why don’t you ask her if she’s willing to be your bride? If she is, she can jump off the Peacock’s back right now. I won’t stop her."
"Brother Bai, I’m begging you, please let me go. I want to go home," Su Rushi pleaded, looking pitifully at the ashen-faced White Demon King.