Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 629 Heavenly Demon Avatar

Upon seeing this, Zhu Liang’s brows furrowed tightly, his face filled with guilt.

It’s all my fault. It must be what was sealed down there. Its strength is at least at the Heavenly Demon level...

If he had known, he never would have taken that Demon Egg.

Demon pets with the Metal Attribute were incredibly rare. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been blinded by the opportunity. Now that his junior brother and sisters were here too, how could he possibly implicate them?

"It’s all my fault! You go first, I’ll deal with it!" Zhu Liang ordered through gritted teeth.

He had caused this trouble, so he had to be the one to bear the consequences. Although this phantom from the Demon Clan had the power of a Heavenly Demon, its true body thankfully hadn’t come here. If it was just an avatar, he could probably withstand its oppressive aura for a short time. That would be enough time for his junior brother and sisters to escape!

Hearing this plan, Ye Qingchen’s expression darkened. They were all from the same sect. If they ran from danger just to save themselves, how could they ever face their masters again?!

Before anyone could say a word, the phantom hovering over the pool surged with tremendous Demonic Qi and attacked Zhu Liang directly. The force was unstoppable, powerful enough to crush him outright.

Just moments before, the demonic phantom had clearly sensed its son’s aura coming from this human’s pocket!

"Human vermin, how dare you touch my son! You’re courting death!"

The Demonic Qi surged forward without pause, intending to annihilate Zhu Liang with its full power. Zhu Liang didn’t have time to say more as he hurriedly mobilized the Energy around him, adding a layer of firm golden protection, forming a transparent golden armor that bound tightly to his body.

Li Nian’er and Cheng Lu exchanged a look. Both had seen their Second Senior Brother in action before. If they remembered correctly, this was the strongest defensive technique in his arsenal. In their sect, Second Senior Brother Zhu Liang had always been exceptionally talented. Few disciples at the same cultivation level could compete with him. And now, here on the third floor of the Devil’s Cave, they had actually encountered such a ferocious heavenly demon avatar!

Alarms blared in their minds. This was no different from marching to their deaths!

In the instant they were stunned, the Demonic Qi had already slammed into Zhu Liang’s defenses. The black Demonic Qi and the golden armor clashed. It seemed that because this was only an avatar, its cultivation was significantly weaker than its true body’s.

CRACK! CRACKLE!

The sounds of splintering erupted from the point where the two energies met, growing more urgent by the second. In the Devil’s Cave, the opposing forces generated a powerful, oppressive pressure.

Bracing himself with his entire body, Zhu Liang grunted, "You... go quickly!" As the two forces contended, sweat dripped from his forehead down his cheeks, and veins bulged on his skin. His tightly clenched jaw revealed just how precarious his situation was. The slightest mistake would mean being struck down by the full force of the attack. Even so, he didn’t forget his duty to take full responsibility, since he had been the one to cause this mess.

But just as he spoke, the Demonic Qi suddenly intensified, sweeping forward from behind. Caught off guard, his armor shattered with a loud crash. The Demonic Qi struck him squarely, sending him flying into a stone wall.

Agony swept through his body. Zhu Liang could no longer suppress the metallic taste in his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to pull the small golden egg from his pocket, shakily raising it before him.

"I’m the one who did it! Let... my junior brother... and sister... leave!"

His speech was halting and tinged with hoarseness, a clear sign the heavy blow had injured him.

Everything happened in an instant. By the time anyone could react, Zhu Liang was already slumped on the ground. Without a moment’s hesitation, Ye Qingchen and the others unleashed their remaining power in unison, preparing to withstand the Demon Clan’s second attack. The heavenly demon avatar, unapologetically furious, showed no signs of stopping despite Zhu Liang’s actions!

A wave of Demonic Qi, even more concentrated than the first, rushed overwhelmingly toward Zhu Liang. He struggled to his feet, gathering all his strength to brace for the impact and buy time for his junior brother and sisters.

But before the attack could reach him, Li Nian’er and Cheng Lu combined their forces. Li Nian’er’s Water Attribute Energy wrapped around the powerful blast of Energy from Cheng Lu. The two forces merged in mid-air and shot forward, intercepting the attack.

The heavenly demon avatar’s power was equivalent to the Ninth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. Even with it only exerting nearly sixty percent of its formidable strength, the pair could barely hold it back. The two forces clashed in mid-air. The Demonic Qi was overwhelming, and their combined power was already beginning to wane.

Under these circumstances, Ye Qingchen swiftly activated his Fire Spirit Charm Shadow technique, grabbing Zhu Liang and retreating with him.

Seeing the dangerous situation, Xiao Xiao quickly moved forward to support Li Nian’er and Cheng Lu. Immense Fire Attribute Energy burst forth from her body, striking at the Demon Clan’s phantom. With her support, the faltering power of Li Nian’er and Cheng Lu was instantly reinvigorated. The point of impact between the energies began to slowly push back toward the phantom.

Ye Qingchen checked his senior brother’s wounds. In addition to the severe injury, he discovered a mysterious strand of Demonic Qi inside him and quickly fed him an Elixir from his pouch.

"Senior brother, why is there a strand of Demonic Qi in you on top of your injuries?" he asked urgently.

Ye Qingchen had a feeling that his senior brother must have encountered or touched something down in the pool. Otherwise, with his cultivation at the Eighth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm, he should have been able to last several rounds against the Demon Clan.

Gasping for breath while clutching his chest, Zhu Liang looked guiltily at his junior brother and sisters resisting the demon not far away.

He recalled that, indeed, besides the small golden egg, there had been something else in the pool—what felt like an undetectable membrane tightly enveloping the egg. At the time, Zhu Liang had carefully probed it with his Spiritual Power and, finding no abnormalities, had reached out to take it. But at that moment, he felt something pierce through his palm. Out of caution, he had thoroughly checked the circulation of his internal cultivation. Finding nothing else amiss, he hadn’t dwelled on it.

However, when he had resisted the demon’s attack with all his might, he had clearly felt a strange force within his body suppressing his actions. It prevented him from mobilizing his full strength, rendering him almost powerless. Otherwise, he would not have ended up in such a wretched state!

After listening to Zhu Liang’s inner thoughts, Ye Qingchen’s calm gaze fell upon the small golden egg. His sixth sense told him that what his senior brother had encountered in the pool was inextricably linked to this small golden egg.