Chapter 290: We're Here to Negotiate Terms
"Please save me, Senior!"
"We beg Senior to take action and save our descendants!"
Amid the boundless sea of flames, many Otherworldly Demons roared toward the sky.
The language they used was strange—clearly something unique to the Otherworldly Demons.
Although Li Xun couldn't understand the exact meaning, he could more or less guess what they were expressing.
"They're asking for help?" Li Xun frowned, his heart sinking.
His eyes narrowed as he looked toward the end of the fiery sea— there, a massive black vortex over a hundred zhang wide floated above a towering altar, the altar bright crimson, as if forged entirely from fresh blood, evil energy rolling off it in terrifying waves.
Unsurprisingly, this vortex was the cross-world passage of the Otherworldly Demons.
If Saints or Saint-King–level Otherworldly Demons had already passed through it, they would have appeared the moment Huang Xi acted.
But up until now, none had shown themselves.
Which meant—this spatial passage still wasn't stable or strong enough to allow beings of that level to cross over.
So if these demons weren't calling for aid from their own realm, there was only one possibility left:
They were calling to the depths of the Abyssal Demons Burial!
After all, the Abyssal Demons Burial was the place where countless Otherworldly Demon corpses lay buried.
Some of those demons' obsessions were unimaginably strong, and no one knew what level of power such obsessions had grown into after all these years.
It wasn't impossible for an obsession of emperor-level to exist.
"Huang Xi, finish this quickly." Li Xun reminded her calmly.
Before his words even fell—
Whooo—!!
A black mist surged outward, ebony clouds boiling into existence, and a frigid, murderous aura spread across heaven and earth, sweeping through the boundless void.
Almost at the same moment, from deeper within the Abyssal Demons Burial, a terrifying surge of baleful energy erupted skyward, making every living being's skin prickle, their pores tighten, their whole bodies turning cold.
"What… is this?"
Sensing that aura, Li Xun's heart dropped to the bottom.
He had traveled more than ten thousand li into the Abyssal Demons Burial—a distance not even close to the true core—yet what he hadn't expected was that the Otherworldly Demons who crossed over had already established some sort of connection with the entities deep within the Abyssal Demons Burial.
And now, their cries for help seemed to have awakened an incredibly terrifying existence!
Just a wisp of its aura was already this frightening—it was impossible to imagine how horrifying its true self would be if it fully awakened.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A sound like billions of divine weapons striking together echoed from the depths, splitting the clouds, shaking the heavens.
Even the clouds in the sky shattered, and the erupting aura surged like a volcanic explosion, engulfing the world.
Even those outside the Abyssal Demons Burial felt the terrifying aura and turned toward its direction with fear in their eyes.
One had to understand—the Abyssal Demons Burial had been calm for billions of years, never experiencing a major upheaval.
For such an anomaly to appear today, everyone who sensed that aura immediately realized that something earth-shattering was happening within the Abyssal Demons Burial.
Boom!
Huang Xi casually slapped the last Otherworldly Demon to death, took the storage ring from its hand, and returned to Li Xun's side. Her expression grew solemn as she looked toward the depths of the Abyssal Demons Burial.
"Master, I'm afraid… an unsurpassed existence is about to awaken!"
"We—"
Before Huang Xi could finish, Li Xun continued the sentence for her:
"We might not be able to leave."
At this moment, the mist around them had condensed to its limit—thick like a boundless ocean, silently surging, as though hiding an unimaginably fearsome presence within.
Every swirling cluster of black fog was deep, eerie, terrifying.
This black fog was now completely different from before.
If one were to rashly step into it, no one could predict what would happen.
Right now, the entire Abyssal Demons Burial seemed to be reviving along with that aura, absorbing and exhaling the essence of heaven and earth, as though preparing to unleash a storm powerful enough to sweep across this entire world!
Just as Li Xun was pondering countermeasures—
Ding!
A crisp chime sounded.
Li Xun's eyebrows lifted slightly.
[Congratulations, Host. A Gold-level investable target has been discovered.]
[Invest a Purple Cloud Dragon Emperor Ginseng, Emperor Blood Grass, Drunken Cloud Immortal Fruit, Fire-Heart Seven-Leaf Flower—Reward: Immortal Phoenix Scripture (No Grade).]
"Hm?"
Hearing the system's message, Li Xun exhaled in relief.
But at the same time, a trace of confusion rose in his heart.
He was relieved because this investment target was almost certainly the terrifying existence that had just awakened in the depths of the Abyssal Demons Burial.
Since that being needed investment, it meant he possessed something the other party required—which meant he could negotiate terms, perhaps even turn a passive situation into an active one.
But the problem was… the reward confused him.
A Gold-level investment—second only to the Red-level.
All previous golden investments had granted extremely precious treasures, bringing him massive benefits.
But this time, a golden investment was only offering a single cultivation technique—and even more bizarre, a method with no grade!
One had to know—the system's investment demands were always expensive.
The worst of them were still saint-level spiritual herbs—spoils he collected from the eighth floor and above of the Great Strength Divine Demon Sect's small world.
This time, if he invested all of that, he would practically be bankrupt.
Yet the system was only giving him a grade-less scripture?
Who could he complain to about this?
'Immortal Phoenix Scripture… from the name, it shouldn't be something simple. How could it be grade-less?'
Li Xun frowned.
He didn't dwell on it.
He would know the scripture's true nature once he invested, received it, and read it himself.
After all, it was still a golden investment—the reward shouldn't be too shabby.
"Master, you should leave first. I'll hold him off!"
Huang Xi bit her lip lightly.
She stepped forward, placing herself in front of Li Xun, speaking in a low, firm voice.
The being in the depths of the Abyssal Demons Burial had yet to appear, but its aura alone was terrifying enough. It might be a Quasi-Emperor— or even an Emperor.
Even if it had no physical body, someone of that level was not someone they could provoke.
The best option was for her to stall for time so Li Xun could escape.
Of course, she wasn't sure she could actually hold such an existence back.
"No need."
Li Xun's expression remained calm.
He placed a hand on Huang Xi's shoulder, stepped forward, and blocked her behind him.
His gaze locked onto the depths of the mist as he said in a deep voice:
"Fellow Daoist, we're here to negotiate terms."
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