Chapter 1249: The Demon Clan Crown Princess?

"These tails are really annoying," Yun Jianyue muttered, noticing the numerous people following them. She was quite displeased and looked eager for a fight, as if planning to get rid of some and shake them off.

Zu An was amused. He hadn't expected them to become a beacon for others.

"Never mind," Zu An said. "Let them follow. They pose no threat to us. This foggy forest, however, is too strange. Let's not stir up any more trouble."

Hearing him, Yun Jianyue grunted but didn't argue further.

Yan Xuehen was a little surprised. This demoness, who usually acted on impulse, was actually listening to someone else?

However, she had no time to be distracted. She was observing her surroundings while calculating the relevant formations.

The others seemed afraid to disturb her and kept silent. The group moved in a long single file, walking silently through the fog.

The oppressive atmosphere, coupled with the unknown monsters lurking in the thick fog that could disembowel people, filled almost everyone with a mix of fear, anxiety, and confusion.

After an unknown period of walking, Yan Xuehen suddenly stopped. "Hmm?"

"What's wrong?" Zu An asked.

"Something's not right," Yan Xuehen said, frowning slightly as if puzzled by something.

The demon race members nearby were startled. Who was this woman? Not only could she recognize this strange grand formation, but even her frown was beautiful?

As Zu An was about to ask, his peripheral vision caught a dark shadow. "Hmm, what's that?"

Everyone followed his gaze and saw a dark, prone object on the ground nearby. Their hair immediately stood on end. Could it be the monster that had been secretly attacking them?

Everyone gripped their weapons, highly alert.

Someone couldn't resist and shot a hidden weapon towards the object.

Another expert nearby grew anxious, thinking, "If you provoke such an unknown creature, who knows what kind of retaliation we'll face?"

Before he could voice his scolding, they were astonished to find that the hidden weapons had no effect on the dark shadow.

"Huh?" Everyone was bewildered and unsure. Was the object deliberately luring them closer?

No one else dared to approach, but Zu An, being skilled and daring, walked straight over. He finally saw what the dark shape on the ground was.

It was the Lion Tribe subordinate whose internal organs had been removed earlier!

Seeing that he was unharmed, the others quickly followed. Upon seeing the corpse, everyone's expressions darkened.

"How did we walk for half a day only to end up back where we started!" Lion Ling grumbled discontentedly.

The others had initially admired Yan Xuehen, but now they couldn't help but complain. Fortunately, she was beautiful enough that everyone subconsciously refrained from scolding her, instead directing their anger at the chubby man who had initially suggested going southwest.

"How could this happen?" Zu An knew that Yan Xuehen had her reasons for choosing this direction; she wouldn't just lead them in circles aimlessly.

"The formation here is even more complex than I imagined. The problem must be with the fog," Yan Xuehen said, frowning as she looked at the thick mist around them. "Before, I only calculated the forest's formation, but this fog is connected to the earth veins and can even distort space and time. That's why we've been circling like headless flies."

Distort space and time?

Zu An was startled. What an incredible ability!

It meant that while they thought they were moving forward, they might actually be moving backward;

You might think you've walked for a long time, but only an instant has passed;

Or you might think only an instant has passed, but several days could have gone by.

"So what now?" Yun Jianyue sneered from the side. "Don't tell me you can't figure this out?"

"Without this fog, I could naturally solve it, or if I weren't injured, I should have a way. But now..." Yan Xuehen looked troubled. "Let me think about it some more."

Yun Jianyue instinctively wanted to taunt her, but she understood the gravity of the situation and ultimately didn't disturb her at that moment.

The other demon race members were arguing endlessly, throwing out various suggestions, but they were quickly shot down by others.

For a time, no one dared to move haphazardly, fearing they would only get more deeply trapped.

But staying put wasn't an option either, as unknown monsters that disemboweled people were still lurking in the fog.

At this moment, the chubby man in the crowd looked hesitant, then finally gritted his teeth and said, "How about I give it a try?"

"Try again? Your directions just led us into a pit!"

"Yeah, how dare you even suggest it?"

The group, full of pent-up frustration, suddenly found an outlet for their anger.

The chubby man didn't get angry. He smiled and said, "Since there's no other way, we might as well try. What have we got to lose?"

The group collectively rolled their eyes. "Why does this guy always say such inauspicious things?"

At this moment, Princess Soren spoke up: "Let him try."

As one of the most distinguished members of the demon race and a person of great prestige, her words silenced the others, who then agreed to let the chubby man try.

The chubby man rubbed his hands, chuckling, "Well, what I'm about to do will consume a lot of primal stones. My pockets are a bit bare, so I'll have to trouble you all."

Princess Soren: "..."

The others: "..."

Many clenched their fists, ready to hit him, but Princess Soren stopped them, throwing a bag into his arms. "Is this enough?"

The chubby man opened the bag and peered inside; a rich aura of primal energy spread out. Those around him craned their necks to see, observing crystal-clear primal stones, each quite large—evidently all of Heaven-grade quality.

Primal stones were also divided into five grades: Mortal, Earth, Heaven, Immortal, and Divine. However, unlike Heaven-grade weapons, Heaven-grade primal stones were not as rare, and major powers possessed a good number of them. Only Immortal-grade and Divine-grade were truly hard to come by.

Everyone marveled. As expected of Princess Soren, she instantly produced a bag of Heaven-grade primal stones.

At this point, the chubby man looked troubled. "It's still not enough."

Someone nearby cursed, "You damn fatso, a hundred Heaven-grade primal stones aren't enough? How many more do you want?"

Everyone present was an expert, and a quick glance had allowed them to roughly estimate the quantity.

"It's still quite far off; this is barely a tenth of what's needed at most," the chubby man said, feeling wronged.

"I happen to have one hundred and fifty here; take them," Princess Changning said, handing over a delicate bag from nearby.

Hearing that her amount was just slightly more than hers, Princess Soren raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

The others gasped in astonishment. This amount of primal stones might be insignificant to large families like theirs, but given their high quality, it was a considerable fortune for rogue cultivators.

Many began to offer compliments:

"As expected of Princess Changning of the Peacock Tribe, her generosity is truly remarkable."

"Needless to say, I heard that at this Demon Emperor's Assembly, the Demon Emperor will choose an outstanding woman from the Peacock Tribe to be the Crown Prince's consort. Princess Changning is one of the most popular candidates."

"What do you mean 'one of the most popular candidates'? Isn't she clearly the future Crown Prince's consort? Have some sense!"

Hearing these discussions, Princess Changning raised her chin, like a proud little peacock.

She knew perfectly well that for the position of Crown Prince's consort, her elder cousin, Kong Nanwu, had much greater prospects than her. Whether it was lineage, beauty, or talent, she couldn't compare to her.

However, Kong Nanwu seemed to have no interest in being the Crown Prince's consort and had purposefully gone into the human world beforehand.

This sparked her ambition.

From childhood, she had never been able to surpass Kong Nanwu and was always overshadowed by her. She was deeply resentful and had always longed to outdo her.

How could she miss this heaven-sent opportunity?

So, recently, she had frequently appeared in various places to win over people's favor and increase her reputation.

Once she became the Crown Prince's consort, she would eventually be the Demon Empress. Then, Kong Nanwu would have no choice but to kneel and pay respects to her.

A slight smile played on her lips at the thought of such a scene.

Kong Nanwu had won her entire life, but what good was that if she lost the most crucial battle?

This time, she had heard that the Golden Crow Crown Prince was visiting various tribes, so she secretly followed, originally intending to engineer some "chance encounters" to build a relationship with him beforehand and increase her chances of selection. However, it seemed something had happened to the Golden Crow Crown Prince a few days ago, and he had rushed back to the royal court, leaving her efforts in vain.

That damned human!

Anger value from Kong Nanjin +444+444+444...

Zu An, from a distance, was speechless. No wonder she hated him so much; she was the future Crown Prince's consort.

Recalling the bet he made with the Golden Crow Crown Prince last time, he suddenly felt a bit short-changed.

Although this woman had some looks, she still fell short compared to the beautiful confidantes by his side.

Sigh, the demon race truly lacked ambition. To think their dignified Crown Prince's consort was merely passable.

Just then, another cold voice from the side rang out: "Who says the Crown Prince's consort must come from the Peacock Tribe? Our Elf Tribe's Snow Princess is the most likely candidate for Crown Prince's consort!"