Although he found nothing, the very lack of findings only made him feel that something was wrong.
Only after a long while did he notice it.
It seemed… a little too quiet.
The quiet here wasn't about the surroundings; it was the scent in the air.
He could still hear villagers talking and bickering, but the demonic miasma and ghostly reek in the air had vanished completely.
If it were only around his residence, that could be explained. But when he pushed his cultivation to the limit and extended his senses, he should have detected any lingering taint from malevolent beings within several dozen li.
Across an area that vast, there was no way not to find even a trace of baleful aura.
Something was off—far too off.
It was as if every evil spirit within several dozen li had disappeared—and what's more, they had vanished several hours ago.
Bear in mind: when a malevolent thing passes by, the aura it carries will involuntarily cling to the air; it takes at least an hour to disperse. So what on earth had happened?
Ninth Uncle furrowed his brows tightly, a bad premonition weighing on his heart.
He had to investigate, or that gravity would not lift from within him.
He had only taken two steps when his expression abruptly changed, and he looked up to the sky.
"Demonic qi—such dense demonic qi!"
"What level of demon king has been born?!"
Ninth Uncle's face changed drastically; shock gave way to a chill of sheer dread.
It wasn't that every trace of baleful aura had vanished. A great demon had appeared. Everything lesser had either gone into hiding and stopped moving—thus leaving no scent behind—or else…
They had already been devoured.
His brow knotted, his heart a tangle of doubts.
Why would a great demon descend all of a sudden?
Why had there been no omens beforehand?
And that warning that had whispered in the dark—had it not been for this eruption of demonic qi, he might not have realized anything was wrong.
Most importantly: why wasn't this in the Group Owner's memory playback?
He hadn't done anything to cause a great shift in the future. So why would a great demon descend—and with such a suffocating surge of demonic qi?
No demon of this era should be so powerful!
Could it be a great demon from ancient times?
Before Ninth Uncle could finish the thought, a sharp pain stabbed from the spirit eye between his brows. His face turned ashen; a mouthful of blood spilled from his lips.
"Backlash!"
The other party had sensed his peering—and was far beyond him in strength. Otherwise they wouldn't have so easily turned the sight back upon him.
Bear in mind: he was no weakling now.
He wasn't short on points, either. The Maoshan forebears included no shortage of immortals and gods; the methods they passed down pointed straight at the immortal way.
In the chat group their manuals fetched a steep price.
With those points, he had purchased aura from his world's ancient age to fuel his cultivation, as well as many pills to alter aptitudes—boosting the talents of Wencai and Qiusheng.
To him, what suited him was best.
Other worlds offered many precious items, yes—but with the supreme Dao right before him, why chase the secondary and abandon the primary?
For the moment, only time constrained him; his cultivation had yet to rise as much as it could.
Even so, he was far stronger than before.
But now…
This great demon's strength far outstripped his. On his own he likely could not eliminate it. The best course was to seek help from the group members.
At that moment, in the chat group—
Ordinary Group Owner: "Where's Ninth Uncle? You were just talking about a looming sense of crisis—like some terror threatening the whole world—and now silence?"
Ordinary Group Owner: "Don't tell me—"
Ordinary Group Owner: "No, that can't be right. If he died, as Group Owner I should get a notification."
Richest Man: "…"
If Lin Fengjiao heard that, would he beat you up?
Well… he'd probably only think about it. Wouldn't dare.
Roxie Vale had said she only had a discount and no special privileges—but who really knew?
What if she had something up her sleeve?
In any case, none of the members were about to gamble on that.
This, too, was why Marquis Voban and the Holy Lord were willing to give Roxie some face.
Lin Fengjiao: "A great demon has descended upon my world."
Lin Fengjiao: "Its power far exceeds my own."
Ninth Uncle had only just entered the chat and hadn't yet read the backlog; he hurried to send the message.
Ordinary Group Owner: "No way. You're Ninth Uncle—what great demon could far exceed you?"
Ordinary Group Owner: "Isn't your world close to a Dharma-declining era? Even if there are demons stronger than you, they couldn't be that much stronger, right?"
Roxie Vale felt there shouldn't be any demon in the zombie world capable of frightening Ninth Uncle to that degree.
This wasn't Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, much less Journey to the West.
Ninth Uncle's level was already plenty high for the zombie world.
As far as she remembered, there were no demons who could make Ninth Uncle say "far exceeds me."
Umaru the Homebody: "Is he just being modest?"
If he was downplaying himself and exaggerating the other's strength out of modesty, that would be understandable.
Lin Fengjiao: "It's a true great demon."
Lin Fengjiao: "I merely peered at the gathering demonic qi and suffered backlash."
Lin Fengjiao: "And its aura is still mounting."
Electromaster: "But that wasn't in the memory playback…"
Electromaster: "Butterfly effect?"
Ninth Uncle changed the future—and thereby triggered a great demon's descent?
Ordinary Group Owner: "Maybe. But it doesn't feel like it's some top-tier powerhouse."
Ordinary Group Owner: "Even a great demon from ancient times would be heavily suppressed in this era."
Ordinary Group Owner: "Worst case, I'll drop by? I'm genuinely curious whether the holy power of my angel form restrains monsters and ghouls."
Roxie's impression of the zombie world wasn't sharp, but one thing had stuck: it wasn't that strong.
Compared with other worlds in the chat, it didn't count as all that dangerous.
Even at her current level, she would rank among the strong here.
Lin Fengjiao: "Er… if possible, I think it's best to be cautious."
He didn't know how much stronger the Group Owner had become, but compared with the chat's other heavyweights, there was clearly a large gap.
If possible, he still hoped the truly formidable ones would come.
People like Brandon White, Angel Yan, Marquis Voban, Lord Luo Hao, Uchiha Madara…
Glory of the Northern God: "Pfft."
Glory of the Northern God: "Shiba Inu sneer.jpg"
Glory of the Northern God: "You just got snubbed."
Richest Man: "He didn't spell it out, but I think everyone can see it."
Richest Man: "Hahahaha—who'd have thought the Group Owner would get snubbed."
Richest Man: "Don't blame Ninth Uncle. He just doesn't want you getting hurt."
Richest Man: "Hahahaha."
Seeing the Shiba-Inu-meme from Thor and reading Tony Stark's jabs, Roxie Vale felt a swell of pent-up frustration!
Yes, she knew Ninth Uncle was worried her strength wouldn't cut it—and that she might even get hurt.
But still—so annoying!
This was the first time she'd wanted to step in!
(End of this chapter)