"It's about time," Yang Hong murmured as the sun rose again in the east.
He then self-destructed a fourth-grade flying sword, momentarily blocking his pursuers. His speed doubled, creating the illusion of a desperate escape.
"Hahaha, Sun Wukong is running out of energy. Keep up the effort, everyone!"
Some demon beasts cheered upon seeing Yang Hong self-detonate his magical artifact.
"Hahaha, Sun Wukong, you fifth-rank great demon, you've managed to run this far. Surrender now!"
"Hand over your ninth-grade spirit grass, and this king will spare your life!"
Even more powerful demon lords used their遁术 (dùnshù - escape techniques) to intercept Yang Hong.
Seeing that they were demon lords, Yang Hong skillfully weaved past them with a flick of his sword. After dodging, he rummaged through his storage ring and tossed a ten-zhang tall tree onto the ground, shouting, "This is a ninth-grade spirit grass!"
"Ninth-grade spirit grass?"
"Scramble!"
Upon hearing "ninth-grade spirit grass," several seventh-rank demon lords immediately lunged after it.
"We've been tricked! It's a seventh-grade spirit grass, the Su Mian Tree. We've been fooled!"
"Damn you, Sun Wukong, I'll tear you to pieces!"
A demon lord roared, pursuing Yang Hong with even greater speed.
Yang Hong, having chosen his direction, flew straight towards the location of the demonized Pure Heart Tea Tree. Along the way, he tossed out six seventh-grade and six eighth-grade spirit grasses, further fueling the demons' rage and greed. With these seventh and eighth-grade spirit grasses as a base, the demons became even more convinced that Yang Hong possessed a large quantity of ninth-grade spirit grasses. Even if he didn't have any ninth-grade ones, a single eighth-grade spirit grass would satisfy the demon lords.
"There are about 80,000 demon beasts. That should be enough." Yang Hong smiled as he confirmed the number of pursuers behind him with his divine sense.
A thousand-zhang high mountain loomed into view. Though the mountain was rugged and its peaks sharp, it exuded a vibrant aura from afar, with the sounds of insects chirping and birds singing, the calls of deer and cranes. But who would have known that within this mountain lay a terrifying demonic plant?
Upon reaching the summit, Yang Hong suddenly stopped and turned, facing the pursuing demon lords with a look of grief and indignation.
"Don't push me, don't push me!" Yang Hong roared with all his might, as if he had suffered immense injustice. He appeared like a resentful woman on the verge of jumping from a building.
"Hmph, you're just a fifth-rank great demon. Do you need us to push you? Hand over those ninth-grade spirit grasses obediently." An eagle demon flew to Yang Hong's front and stood still, snorting dismissively, its hand outstretched for the prize.
"It's you, it's you who's pushing me. Since that's the case, none of you will get anything." As he spoke, Yang Hong removed the storage ring from his hand, appearing as though he was about to destroy it.
"Stop! If you dare to destroy the storage ring, I will exterminate your Lingming Monkey clan." A giant, over three zhang tall, surged out from the demon horde and shouted, halting Yang Hong.
"I am Kun Kai. You know that my words can always be fulfilled. Don't believe me? Try it." The giant demon revealed his name, and the surrounding demons fell silent for a moment before erupting into chatter.
"Prince Kun Kai has entered as well!"
"He's the most talented鲲 (kūn - mythical bird) of the Kunpeng tribe's current generation, already a seventh-rank demon lord in just a century."
"Kun Kai is a true heavenly prodigy, a powerhouse destined for ascension."
"Alas, now we have no chance of obtaining the ninth-grade spirit grasses."
"Why not? Aren't there demon lords from the Golden-Winged Great Peng tribe and the Dragon tribe here? Will they just give up?"
"Heh, what if Kun Kai obtains the storage ring and voluntarily gives out one or two ninth-grade spirit grasses?"
"Ah... this..." The discussing demons fell silent again, all understanding that this was the most likely scenario. The three overlords would simply divide the ninth-grade spirit grasses amongst themselves, no need for a struggle.
Yang Hong observed the accumulated demons and overheard their discussion. Worried they might disperse, he quickly proceeded to the next step of his performance.
"Hmph, Prince Kunpeng, your words can indeed be fulfilled, but I am not convinced." With that, Yang Hong directly opened his storage ring and poured out everything within. A large pile of various spirit grasses began to cascade down. Yang Hong did not notice that the sole ninth-grade spirit grass in the ring flew towards a sixth-rank rat demon king.
"Sun Wukong, you're seeking death." Kun Kai roared in anger, his colossal fist smashing towards Yang Hong.
"Ah~~" Yang Hong deliberately took the blow, screaming loudly. Using Kun Kai's immense power, his body was hurled towards the mountain below. In mid-air, Yang Hong protected himself with his mana.
"Bang ~ rumble ~" Yang Hong was smashed directly into the mountain rocks.
"Has my strength become this great?" Kun Kai in the air looked at his fist, full of doubt. He knew Sun Wukong was a male demon desired by Feng Ru Hua, and he dared not kill him directly, so he had held back. He hadn't expected Yang Hong to be so heavily embedded in the mountain.
"Scramble!" Someone among the demons shouted, and all the demon beasts charged towards the mountain before them.
"Mine~ Mine~ The ninth-grade spirit grass is mine."
"Hahaha~ I got a ninth-grade spirit grass~ I got it! I got it!"
"Damn it, this is an eighth-grade spirit grass! I'm rich, I'm rich." Exclamations of surprise filled the air, each filled with delight.
However...
"What is this?"
"I seem to have been poisoned?"
"These trees are attacking!"
"These flowers are poisonous, and the grass binds us!"
"Ah~ Run, quickly run~"
Unfortunately, it was a little late. The word "run" seemed to be a signal. The once lush mountain forest instantly transformed. Thick black demonic energy erupted from various trees and grasses, engulfing the entire mountain within a few breaths, and extending hundreds of zhang beyond its perimeter.
"Not good, it's a demonic plant, and a high-quality one at that. Run!" All the demon beasts thought of escaping rather than resisting or attacking. Such demonic energy that could envelop a peak must have come from at least a ninth-grade demonic plant. And a ninth-grade demonic plant was equivalent to a newly ascended ninth-rank demon emperor! A ninth-rank demon emperor! How could these demons, mostly seventh-rank at best, dare to resist? However, though the demons reacted quickly, only those with speed-based abilities managed to escape, along with a few lucky survivors.
"Damn Sun Wukong, he knew there was a demonic plant here. He deliberately led us here!" Outside the mountain peak, Kun Kai's face was ashen as he looked at the demonic energy-shrouded mountain, almost spitting blood. Their Kunpeng tribe, with their speed, had all escaped, but many of his subordinates were trapped within the demonic energy.
"Prince, let's flee quickly. At least 50,000 demon beasts have perished here. A transformed demonic plant will surely emerge, and it will pursue us."
"Let's go!" Kun Kai was decisive and immediately led the Kunpeng tribesmen away from the area. Other demons also fled instantly, none daring to consider a rescue. A fully grown ninth-grade demonic plant was even more terrifying than a ninth-rank demon emperor.
At this moment, within the demonic energy-shrouded mountain, over 50,000 demon beasts were desperately attacking all the surrounding plants. Under the control of the demonic energy and the demonized Pure Heart Tea Tree, all plants had become demonic creatures comparable to sixth-rank demon kings. If the demon beasts didn't fight for their lives, they would perish.
"Ant tribe, ant tribe, all brothers of the ant tribe, gather..."
"Cubs of the Tiger tribe, come quickly!"
"Demons with Yang attribute cultivation techniques, quickly clear a safe area..."
"Demons with Thunder and Fire attributes, quickly ignite all the plants..."
For a time, the entire demonic mountain peak was bustling with activity. Explosions of various spells erupted continuously, and the light of spells briefly illuminated pockets of safe zones. Meanwhile, Yang Hong, concealing his aura, returned to the Pure Heart Tea Tree and carefully touched a section of its trunk. The next moment, he laughed with joy.