Chapter Thirty-Five: The Demonic Cultivator

When those feline eyes swept over them, the demonic cultivators paid it no mind. In their eyes, the creature was nothing more than a particularly beautiful, zero-tier spirit pet—how could it possibly detect their whereabouts?

Suddenly, something coiled tightly around their ankles. With a ferocious yank, they were hoisted aloft before they could even react—feet skyward, heads down, utterly disheveled.

The tremendous noise startled everyone awake.

Shen Fengling recognized them at a glance. “Demonic cultivators,” he announced.

Then he noticed the Thunder Roc had already drawn near. Bolts of lightning as thick as a man’s arm crackled from its wings, raining down upon the intruders.

He sighed—partly in admiration, partly in exasperation. Contracted beasts always acted on their own; how anxious it made their masters!

After the deluge of lightning, the demonic cultivators had vanished without a trace.

Gu Hongshang drew her curved blade and, without a word, dashed to the front. Her valiant bearing earned Su Li’s appreciation. As Su Li’s gaze shifted, she caught sight of a figure in pale yellow quietly edging backward. A flicker of disdain glimmered in her dark red eyes.

Swish, swish, swish!

Something was approaching.

Shen Fengling quickly formed a hand seal, raising a shield of spiritual energy all around them.

A dull thud rang out—a five-star poison dart struck the shield, sending ripples across its surface before rolling to the ground.

Before anyone could sigh in relief, cold flashes erupted from every direction. Poison darts fell like rain, spiritual energies clashing fiercely. Shen Fengling, still not recovered from an earlier injury, found his body wavering under the onslaught; the shield grew thinner and thinner.

Su Li grew impatient with the demonic cultivators’ sneaky, dragging tactics. She immediately ordered, “A-Hua, drag them out!”

Demon Flower King was a mutated spiritual plant. No matter how well those demonic cultivators hid their presence, as long as they were among vegetation, they were within its grasp. Its roots burrowed deep, its body swelling ever larger until, regaining its true form, it summoned all the skeletons buried underground with its intoxicating fragrance.

All at once, the grinding, creaking sound of bones echoed everywhere.

Everyone present felt their scalps tingle.

Shen Luo produced six vials of flower nectar from his spirit ring, handing them out and explaining, “A-Hua’s fragrance is poisonous.” The other day, not only had he taken the Youkui fruit, but he’d also collected a good amount of nectar, precisely for such situations.

They all bit into the nectar at once—a rush of sweetness flowed through them, clearing their minds.

Soon, all the demonic cultivators were forced out.

Shen Fengling staggered, a metallic tang rising in his throat. He nearly collapsed, but fortunately, Shen Hao and Shen Sinan hurried to support him.

Shen Luo took out a bottle of pills, poured out three, and fed them to Shen Fengling. At once, color returned to his face.

“Is this... a sixth-tier supreme-grade healing pill?” Shen Hao exclaimed in astonishment.

Everyone looked over.

Shen Luo nodded calmly. “Uncle Ke gave it to me.”

Shen Hao was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing, clapping him on the shoulder. “You lucky rascal.”

Suddenly, a pair of burning eyes fixed on the spirit ring on Shen Luo’s right index finger. Nian Ciyun pressed her lips together and quickly lowered her gaze, hiding the greed that had flashed in her eyes. Quietly, she edged closer to the boy.

Su Li noticed her little maneuver but paid it no mind—for at that moment, a new danger was stealthily approaching.

Sensing a disturbance in the air, Su Li swiftly raised her paw and batted away several five-star poison darts aimed straight at her.

Even so, the demonic cultivators still didn’t take her seriously. One of them charged directly at Shen Luo—were it not for the boy’s demonic flower, their presence would never have been discovered, nor would they have suffered such disgrace.

With twin bronze clubs in hand, the man descended fiercely from the air, unleashing the full might of his Golden Core Eighth Stage cultivation. But the white beast leaped up from the ground, surging forward at blinding speed.

In the blink of an eye, countless green vines erupted, binding the attacker’s body. Faster than thought, the feline beast raised its sharp claws and slashed at his throat.

A wet tearing sound—the rending of flesh—filled the air, and blood sprayed in all directions. Su Li, well-prepared, sidestepped the spray and leapt onto a vine of the Demon Flower King.

Even in death, the demonic cultivator’s eyes remained wide with disbelief.

“A-Hua, eat,” Su Li said coldly.

The Demon Flower King writhed with excitement, its vines enveloping the corpse and swiftly stripping it to the bone.

Such carnage—so bloody, so brutal!

This scene thoroughly rattled the remaining demonic cultivators. Abandoning stealth, they leapt out of the undergrowth to attack.

The Thunder Roc struck from afar; Gu Hongshang held the front line. Her cultivation was barely at the first stage of Heartfire, and she was struggling to keep up. As a heavy sword swung down toward her, a vine suddenly appeared, ensnaring the enemy’s limbs. She wasted no time—her curved blade plunged into his chest.

Gu Hongshang wiped blood from her face and, without hesitation, threw herself back into the fray.

Amidst the fierce fighting, a woman’s scream suddenly pierced the air.

Su Li looked up and saw Nian Ciyun sprawled on her back, feet in the air.

She had tried to strike Shen Luo during the chaos, but as her blade fell, a protective shield rose around him, blocking the attack. Discovered by Shen Sinan, she was sent flying with a palm strike.

Shen Luo instinctively touched the bead hidden in his clothes—the very one the furry creature had tucked away last time. Emotion welled up in his chest. As he lifted his gaze, the little beast was already leaping into his arms.

A smile spread across his face. “I’m fine.”

Su Li placed her paw on his cheek, inspecting him closely. Once reassured, she narrowed her eyes. “Thunder Roc, throw that woman into the river.”

The Thunder Roc immediately swooped over, seized Nian Ciyun by her clothes, and tossed her into the water with ease.

Shen Fengling, master of the beast, could only stand there, stunned.

Nian Ciyun, already wounded, quickly attracted frenzied fish and shrimp whose bites tore at her flesh.

Her anguished cries were swallowed by the rushing water.

Before long, a red stain spread across the surface.

Su Li’s voice was cold once more: “A-Hua, enough games. Finish this quickly—leave three alive.”

The Demon Flower King gathered its leaves, its attacks growing more ruthless. Before long, only three demonic cultivators remained, half-dead and bound, tossed before Shen Luo.

The Demon Flower King devoured the corpses of the other six, then shrank back to its palm-sized, gold-edged red flower form and hopped nimbly onto Shen Luo’s wrist.

Everyone was left with complicated feelings.

Heh. This was no little demon flower—it was a man-eater!

Gazing at the captives on the ground, Su Li pondered for a moment, then hooked Shen Luo’s sleeve with her paw to draw his attention. She pointed at the prisoners, then tapped his lips.

“You want me to interrogate them?” Shen Luo asked.

Su Li nodded, then flashed her claws at the three, brandishing them with a sly flourish. Her feline eyes fixed intently on him, brimming with cunning and mischief.

“Kill two, spare one?” Shen Luo suggested.

Her fluffy tail swayed rhythmically from side to side.

Shen Fengling and the others instinctively glanced at Gu Hongshang, noting her bewildered expression—it was the same look they’d worn earlier, and for some reason, they found it comforting.

In the end, the bloody work fell to Shen Sinan. As a member of the Discipline Hall, he was well-versed in the art of interrogation—and, as luck would have it, was also a master of the Silence Curse.