Chapter 1250: After the Dense Fog

Qiao Heng, an elf who had just fought alongside Princess Changning, spoke up. He couldn't pretend not to hear when the honor of his race was at stake.

From a distance, Zu An's expression became complicated. "Princess Xue," he thought, "could that be Xue'er?"

When Qiao Heng spoke, the smiles of those who had just been flattering Princess Changning froze. They secretly regretted their oversight, realizing they would have offended Princess Xue if she were to rise to power in the future.

But now, facing Princess Changning, they found themselves in an awkward position, frozen and unsure how to react.

Princess Changning's face also clouded over. Although she had many rebuttals, she couldn't step forward herself, as it would be undignified and severely damage her reputation if word got out.

Fortunately, another voice broke the tension, coming to her rescue: "Heh, Princess Xue? I heard she used to be a maid among humans. How could someone with that kind of background become the Crown Princess? Wouldn't that make the entire demon race a laughingstock?"

Zu An listened, wide-eyed. It really was Xue'er.

Qiao Heng's face instantly flushed red. "That's ridiculous!" he retorted. "Princess Xue endured great hardships among humans for years, ultimately succeeding in rescuing many of our people. That is true dedication to the demon race. If someone like her is mocked, who would dare to work for the demon race?"

"One thing at a time," interjected Duan Tiande, "she successfully rescued our people and returned them to the demon race. The Demon Emperor rewarded her handsomely with countless resources and even elevated her to the status of a princess. But now we are discussing the Crown Princess. To become the Demon Crown Princess, one must naturally be flawless in all aspects." He paused, then chuckled maliciously, "Given that she served as a maid in human society for so many years, to put it bluntly, she might not even be a virgin. How can the Demon Emperor's bloodline tolerate even the slightest blemish?"

Qiao Heng was enraged. "You dare to insult Princess Xue? Prepare to die!"

Earlier, he had endured an ambush in the swamp that almost cost him his life, all for the greater good. But this time, he could no longer restrain himself. He immediately drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and fired it at Duan Tiande.

Duan Tiande, having anticipated the attack, deflected the arrow with a single sword stroke.

As he prepared to counterattack, he was stopped by several others. Jin Shi intervened, saying, "Everyone, please calm down. This is a critical moment. If we don't unite and continue to quarrel, we might all perish here."

Others also chimed in with pleas, and even Princess Changning spoke up, "It's all my fault for causing this misunderstanding. I don't want anyone to be harmed, and I would never forgive myself if any of you were injured. Our top priority is to work together and leave this place. We can resolve any other issues later..."

Her considerable beauty and pitiful demeanor quickly earned her sympathy and praise from the others.

From a distance, Yun Jianyue watched with a knowing half-smile. "This woman is quite cunning, Xiao Anzi," she remarked. "Don't let her beauty cloud your judgment."

Yan Xuehen frowned. Having cultivated the "Grand Pure Forgotten Emotions" technique, she was sensitive to such manipulations and instinctively disliked Princess Changning, though her nature made it difficult for her to show it.

Yu Yanluo, however, simply smiled, confident in her own judgment.

As expected, Zu An chuckled. "I can certainly recognize that kind of 'tea-like' manipulation," he said.

"'Tea-like'?" The women, hearing the term for the first time, inexplicably found it fitting.

Meanwhile, Qiao Heng put away his bow and arrows. "I'll settle accounts with you once we're out of here!" he declared.

Duan Tiande, holding his sword, sneered, "As if I'm afraid of you."

At this point, Xiong Da and Xiong Er stepped in to mediate. Waving their large, fan-like hands, they each placed a hand on the shoulders of the two men. "Alright, alright," Xiong Da said, "it's rare for our races to cooperate. I refuse to believe we can't break this damnable formation. Let's gather the elemental stones first."

"It's a pity that Huxin isn't here," Xiong Er grumbled, "he's the richest." He reluctantly pulled out a small bag of elemental stones, muttering under his breath.

Shi Ling's expression soured. "That fellow is probably afraid of encountering me," he remarked, "and deliberately avoided it."

Just as the Night Elves and the Elf race are ancient enemies, the Lion and Tiger races are no different; they almost always clash whenever they meet.

Huxin, the youngest son of Tiger King Hu Qianxiao, has always been hailed as a cultivation genius. He is similar in age to Shi Ling, leading to frequent comparisons between them.

Shi Ling had been eager to fight this time, hoping to gain renown by defeating Huxin, but his opponent had apparently avoided the encounter.

Jin Shi, standing nearby, chuckled. "As far as I know, he was supposed to come," he said, "but something urgent came up, and he went to Qingqiu Kingdom."

"Oh, so he went to see his little mistress."

"I wonder if he went to 'suckle'," another added with a lewd grin.

Many burst into laughter, clearly believing that Tu Shan Yu was Hu Qianxiao's lover in the demon realm.

"I've long heard that Tu Shan Yu, the ruler of Qingqiu Kingdom, is a peerless beauty," one man remarked. "I must go see her once we're out of here."

"Do you think the ruler of a kingdom would even grant you an audience?" another scoffed.

"I can just sneak into the palace," he retorted. "If Hu Qianxiao can touch her, why can't I?"

On the other side, Yan Xuehen's face was a mask of frost. "Their lewd remarks are truly disgusting," she muttered.

Yun Jianyue sneered. "Don't worry," she said, "this place is so dangerous, few of these people will likely make it out alive."

Zu An's expression was impassive. Just as he was about to teach those men a lesson, a series of pained screams suddenly echoed.

Several bluish-gray figures swept past. The men who had been laughing the loudest and most unrestrainedly were snatched away one by one. Though their cultivation levels were clearly not low, once caught, they seemed to offer no resistance, disappearing swiftly into the thick fog.

The others' faces paled. They wanted to intervene and help, but the treacherous, maze-like fog made them hesitant, and no one dared to step forward.

A few more agonizing screams followed, and then everything fell silent once more.

"What in the world was that just now?" Xiong Da and Xiong Er mumbled, scratching their heads.

"Couldn't get a clear look," Jin Shi said, his face grim. "Their features seemed very blurry." The incident had happened too suddenly for anyone to react.

Zu An and the others also frowned. Being at a distance and hampered by the dense fog, they couldn't see clearly either.

"Let's get out of here first," someone suggested. The recent attack made many readily agree.

"Rushing into the thick fog now would make us even more vulnerable to ambush," Princess Suo Lun stated, turning to the stout man beside her. "Do you have enough elemental stones now?"

Before he could answer, others who had initially been hesitant now generously contributed, and soon a large pile of elemental stones was heaped before the stout man.

"Enough, enough," the stout man said, wiping sweat from his forehead. He then produced forty-nine banners from within his robes, symbolizing the concept of "Heaven's evolution, forty-nine."

The others had originally contributed elemental stones only out of respect for Princess Suo Lun of the Demon race, not genuinely believing the stout man could help. However, witnessing this display, they all grew solemn, realizing he did possess some genuine skill.

Seeing the banners, which looked familiar but were smaller in scale, Zu An couldn't help but chuckle. "So, it's that charlatan," he realized.

Yu Yanluo frowned. "Is that the stout fortune-telling Taoist?" she murmured. "He's changed his appearance and acts so furtive; he clearly has ill intentions."

"He's wearing a disguise mask," Yun Jianyue observed. "This man brought so many people here, and now he's setting up formations again. He's not trying to refine them, is he?" Coming from the Demonic Sect, her first thought naturally veered towards the sinister.

Yan Xuehen shook her head. "Probably not," she said. "These banners don't carry a bloody, murderous aura."

Despite her words, she kept her eyes fixed on his movements, just in case he was secretly arranging some devastating killing formation.

The stout man quickly outlined various complex array patterns on the ground. Then, with a wave of his hand, the forty-nine banners instantly vanished into the dense fog in all directions.

Next, he pressed all the elemental stones into the array eyes embedded in the ground, and the previously drawn array patterns gradually lit up.

Then, bursts of golden light suddenly erupted within the dense fog, emanating from the forty-nine banners!

Simultaneously, the surrounding dense fog began to dissipate at a visible rate.

Moments later, everyone finally saw what had been hiding within the fog, ambushing them.