Chapter 1461: Heart Sinks to the Bottom of the Valley

The several people in the field felt their scalps tingle. "Master?"

So these two were just pawns? If pawns were this powerful, how formidable must their master be?

The Demon Emperor, equally shocked and enraged, squeezed the spirit of Danzhu in his hand. "Is this your father?"

"No... no..." Danzhu shivered, "This aura isn't right. It's not my father."

"Nonsense!" The Demon Emperor could see it too; the evil aura before them bore no resemblance to Danzhu.

At that moment, a terrifying vortex appeared on the central stone platform, frantically absorbing the surrounding elemental energy. Even with their cultivation, Zu An and the others nearly lost control, feeling the energy within them surging outwards. They quickly channeled their powers to barely suppress it.

Zu An marveled internally. This suction felt somewhat similar to the Gluttonous Devouring Heaven Art, but upon closer inspection, there were subtle differences.

However, he had no time to ponder these questions now. He shouted to the Demon Emperor, "Quickly stop him! If that entity inside fully revives, none of us will survive!"

The entity inside was clearly in the process of awakening; this should be its most vulnerable moment.

He wanted to go and stop it, but with such terrifying suction, he feared he would quickly follow in the fat man's footsteps. In this place, only the Demon Emperor likely had the ability to intervene.

"Achoo!" Outside the cave, a mound of earth suddenly rose, and then a figure burrowed out from within.

"Damn it, that was dangerous. Good thing I got out early," the voice muttered. Feeling the cave behind him like a gaping hole constantly drawing in the world's elemental energy, he couldn't help but shiver.

If Zu An and the others had been there, they would have been astonished, for this figure was none other than Wu Liang, who had just been drained dry inside!

Wu Liang was in a sorry state. His formerly plump body was a size smaller, clearly indicating a significant loss of vitality and spirit.

A pained expression crossed his face. "Oh dear, another life lost. Coming to this secret realm was a huge loss, a huge loss. I must find some other treasures to compensate."

As the last successor of the Pangolin Clan, he had plundered countless ancient tombs over the years, acquiring many valuable items.

Once, in the tomb of a powerful cat clan elder, he had obtained the secret cultivation method of the "Nine-Lives Cat Demon," which granted him nine extra lives.

While it didn't extend his lifespan, it provided several chances to save his life if he met an accidental death.

He had used one in a desperate tomb-robbing situation years ago, and now he had used a second. The thought made the fleshy jowls on his face tremble; it truly pained him!

He resolutely walked in the opposite direction of the cave. Along the way, he had actually noticed several other cave dwellings that might yield treasures.

At the time, the Demon Emperor was solely focused on the immortal elixir and divine fortune, showing little interest in other opportunities. Now, these would conveniently fall to Wu Liang.

As for the terrifying grand tomb behind him, he knew that even nine lives wouldn't be enough if he went back. His years of tomb-robbing experience had taught him to always prioritize "safety first," to know his limits, and to not covet things clearly beyond his capabilities.

Let the Demon Emperor and his group handle it. If they could unravel its secrets, he could also leave this unknown land with them.

If they couldn't unravel it and died inside...

Staying in this world didn't seem so bad either. There seemed to be traces of immortals here. If he robbed a few more tombs and spent a hundred years or so accumulating strength, he could return to that grand tomb later. By then, all its treasures would be his. Wahahaha~

Thinking of these wonderful possibilities, his earlier dejected mood instantly lifted. He strode off with an arrogant swagger, heading towards the setting sun, gradually disappearing over the horizon.

However, Zu An and the others inside the tomb were not in such good spirits. They were struggling to hold on, experiencing the terror emanating from the stone coffin up close.

Hearing Zu An's words, the Demon Emperor's eyes narrowed. He naturally understood the reasoning but had been worried that if he acted, Zu An would seize the opportunity for himself.

But the current situation left him no choice but to act. Two golden orbs of light, like miniature suns, suddenly appeared in his palms.

The next second, he instantly teleported to the side of the stone coffin and directly blasted the crystal skull.

He knew that the root of all this lay in the combination of the crystal skull and the stone coffin. If he could shatter it or separate the two, he should be able to stop everything.

Seeing this, the white-robed man and the crimson giant bear rushed forward, blocking the Demon Emperor.

Two golden wings suddenly sprouted from the Demon Emperor's back, each feather a golden sword qi. Knowing that time was critical, he showed no mercy in his attack.

The crimson giant bear roared, its fur instantly bristling like steel needles. It stood firm, directly clashing with the golden sword qi.

Patches of its fur were shorn away, but many feathers on the Demon Emperor's golden wings also grew dim.

The white-robed man snorted coldly. His left hand was wreathed in green flames, his right wielded a black water dragon. He attacked the Demon Emperor from both sides.

Even from a distance, a pungent, sour odor could be smelled, along with an irritating sensation that stung the eyes.

"It's poisonous!" Yun Jianyue hastily warned. She intently watched the flames and black water unleashed by the white-robed man. Both the flame and water were unusually colored, and for a moment, she couldn't tell which was poisonous, or if both were.

Zu An clearly saw that neither the white-robed man nor the crimson giant bear was weaker than the Demon Emperor. Even if the Demon Emperor could fend them off alone, he certainly wouldn't have the energy to stop the entity in the stone coffin from reviving.

At this critical moment, Zu An put aside his grievances with the Demon Emperor and was about to go help. Suddenly, the entire hall was bathed in a brilliant golden light as the hidden runes on the walls lit up one after another.

Finally, they seemed to burst forth from the walls, transforming into golden light whips that repeatedly lashed the stone coffin.

Furious roars erupted from within the stone coffin. The evil aura suddenly paused, and the terrifying suction became significantly weaker than before.

Everyone rejoiced. Yan Xuehen quickly said, "This is a seal left here by the builders of this ancient tomb. The entity in the stone coffin won't be able to emerge so easily."

She was about to step forward to cooperate with Zu An in restraining the slightly weaker crimson giant bear, creating an opening for the Demon Emperor to act.

At this moment, the spirit in the Demon Emperor's hand cried out excitedly, "It's Father's power! I can feel Father's power! Father, where are you? It's Danzhu! Please save me!"

The Demon Emperor's heart sank. The current situation was already overwhelming enough. If he were to attract the attack of the legendary Emperor Yao as well, even three heads and six arms wouldn't be enough.

Only then did Zu An learn the spirit's name. He thought, "So this is Danzhu?"

"How did he end up like this, enslaved by the Demon Emperor?"

Unfortunately, Danzhu's wails received no response from Emperor Yao. Instead, they drew the attention of the skull in the stone coffin. It looked towards Danzhu, then suddenly opened its mouth, releasing a powerful suction.

The spirit of Danzhu could no longer resist and was directly sucked towards it.

Danzhu screamed in terror. If he were swallowed, his soul would immediately be scattered into oblivion.

Alas, having been killed by the Demon Emperor, only a wisp of his remnant soul remained. How could he possibly resist?

The Demon Emperor's expression changed drastically. He quickly tried to intervene, but the white-robed man reacted just as swiftly. The green fire and black water merged, subtly forming a Tai Chi Yin-Yang symbol, carving an unpredictable arc.

The Demon Emperor was startled. In that instant, he felt a sense of life-or-death crisis, realizing that if he didn't respond with full power, he might perish on the spot from this attack.

His eyes glowed golden, and an abnormal red sun appeared behind his head. He slowly brought his hands together, meeting the Tai Chi Yin-Yang symbol.

With a tremendous boom, terrifying fluctuations spread outwards, even peeling away many of the formation patterns on the walls. It was important to note that this grand tomb had formations specifically designed to channel and dissipate external destructive forces.

The Demon Emperor and the white-robed man both grunted, each recoiling several yards.

The Demon Emperor's blood churned. He thought that if he hadn't already sustained significant injuries from his earlier battle with Qiongqi, this blow would have been enough to severely wound his opponent.

However, he also understood that the white-robed man opposite him seemed to have only recently awakened, and his strength had not yet fully returned to its peak.

How terrifying, then, must the entity within the stone coffin be?

He abruptly turned his head to look, just in time to see the crystal skull swallow Danzhu's remnant soul. His heart immediately sank to rock bottom.