Chapter 19: Pink Mist
Linley didn’t want to run into Crompton, but no matter what, he and his two companions still had to leave the metallic lifeform. There was no avoiding it. Just as Linley’s group of three stepped out of the passage, Crompton happened to catch sight of them.
Linley was on alert, glancing warily toward Crompton.
At that moment, Linley was at the passage entrance, while Crompton was looking up from the weed-covered ground. But as he looked—
In an instant, their eyes met!
“Not good!” Linley’s expression shifted immediately.
Linley’s face darkened, but Crompton’s face broke into a faint smile.
“I won’t get tangled up with this bald bastard for now. If he insists on causing trouble, I’ll have to fight.” Linley had no other choice at the moment. He could only blend in with the crowd of demon exam takers, all of whom were flying down from the metallic lifeform and landing on the overgrown ground. Crompton nudged the person beside him and gestured with his eyes. “It’s that brat who made me lose face in front of Lord Diyi.”
“Oh? It really is those three.” The several demons beside Crompton also looked at Linley, clearly surprised. One of them laughed and said, “Crompton, your luck is pretty good. Looks like you’ll have a chance to get your revenge.”
Crompton gave a cold, sinister smile.
“I thought I’d lost my chance, but who knew he’d be delivered right to me?” Crompton naturally wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.
In that short time, the thousand demon exam takers had all descended from the metallic lifeform.
Linley and his group were mixed in with the crowd.
“Linley?” Regina greeted Linley’s trio, but they only responded casually, paying her little attention. Regina frowned slightly, puzzled. She had no idea that Linley and his companions were troubled by the matter with Crompton.
“Boss, Crompton is coming over,” Bebe suddenly said.
Linley looked over as well.
Crompton was walking toward them with a cold smirk.
“Fall back!” Linley and his two companions immediately retreated. Seeing this, Crompton let out a scornful laugh. “Trying to run?” His speed suddenly surged, and he no longer held back, charging straight at Linley’s group with a ferocious expression.
“Back then, you were just a mere demigod, and you dared to curse me!” The anger that had been festering in Crompton’s heart for over thirty years finally erupted.
If it hadn’t been in Diyi City, he would have acted long ago.
“Dylia, retreat to a distance and use Wind Space to bind him, slow him down as much as possible,” Linley sent through divine sense. “Bebe, we’re getting ready to fight.” Linley’s gaze turned cold. Since Crompton was picking a fight, they’d have to go all out.
“Kill that bald bastard!” A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Bebe’s eyes as well.
“Hmph…” Crompton let out a cold snort, his figure instantly closing in. Among Linley’s trio, only Dylia swiftly retreated, while Linley and Bebe didn’t speed up but instead slowed down, as if waiting for Crompton.
“What are you doing!” A cold shout rang through Crompton’s mind.
At the same time, a figure appeared in front of Crompton.
Though Crompton had been blinded by rage a moment ago, seeing the person before him now jolted him awake. He quickly said respectfully, “Lord Loyce, I, I…”
“Hm?”
Linley’s group gathered together, watching this scene in confusion. A demon had actually stepped in front of Crompton, stopping him. And Crompton seemed extremely terrified in this demon’s presence.
“Who is he?” Linley looked at the demon with curiosity.
This demon had long, dark-brown hair that hung loosely, but his gaze was sharp and cold.
“Crompton, you want to kill those three?” Loyce stared coldly at Crompton.
“I…” Crompton wanted to speak but didn’t know how to explain himself.
Loyce was a Five-Star Demon.
Among the demons who had come to Moon Lake this time, the leaders were Loyce and his two companions. Three Five-Star Demons—they were the most powerful force among the demons here. “Hmph, I don’t care what you want to do,” Loyce said coldly. “But the battle hasn’t started yet. If you kill those three demigods and the energy fluctuations alert the master of Moon Lake Castle, causing him to flee and making our mission fail, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“Yes, yes, I understand.” Crompton trembled inwardly.
He also regretted it in his heart: “How could I have forgotten this!” The energy fluctuations from a battle between divine-level experts were very noticeable, especially between a highgod and three demigods. And Moon Lake was only a few miles away.
Once the battle started, it would definitely alert the master of Moon Lake.
If the castle master fled, Loyce and his team’s mission would naturally fail.
“Hmph.” Loyce shot him a glare and then walked away.
Crompton glared hatefully at Linley and his group, muttering to himself: “You’re lucky for now. But once the battle starts, I’ll kill all three of you to vent my anger. For now, let you live a little longer!”
Having been scolded by Loyce, Crompton naturally transferred his anger onto Linley and his companions.
“Everyone, we know you’re here for the demon exam,” a voice rang through the minds of all thousand people, including Linley. “We’re different from you. Our mission is to kill the master of Moon Lake Castle. So, I hope you’ll be patient. Wait until we’ve killed the castle master before you make your move.”
Linley and the others were startled.
“Sending divine sense to cover everyone? That must cover at least several hundred meters.”
In the Infernal Realm, using divine sense was very difficult.
Back when Linley had gone to the Necropolis of the Gods and passed through the planar gate into that plane, he’d found that his spiritual energy could only cover a few dozen meters. On the Yulan continent, it had been able to cover over a thousand miles.
But in the Infernal Realm, as a higher plane, the restrictions were far more severe.
When Linley first arrived in the Infernal Realm as a demigod, even though his soul was relatively strong, his divine sense could only cover about ten meters. After absorbing eleven violet crystals and breaking through to the midgod level, his divine sense could now cover nearly a hundred meters.
“A highgod’s divine sense probably covers about a thousand meters,” Linley speculated inwardly.
Loyce continued through divine sense: “Now, we’re heading to Moon Lake. All one thousand of you, follow behind us.”
Then—
Led by Loyce and his two Five-Star Demon companions, over twenty demons simultaneously soared into the air, flying toward Moon Lake.
Immediately, the thousand-strong army of demon exam takers also took flight. Linley’s group naturally blended into the crowd, flying toward Moon Lake as well.
“Crompton alone isn’t something to fear. I’m just worried about his friends,” Linley thought. “Now that we’re heading to Moon Lake, during the battle, his friends probably won’t help him.” Linley was clear about this.
Given how those friends had fanned the flames in the demon castle hall, it was unlikely anyone considered Crompton a true brother.
During the intense battle at Moon Lake, no one would probably come to help Crompton kill Linley and his two companions.
Moon Lake stretched wide, nearly ten miles across. A gentle breeze blew, creating ripples across the lake’s surface. In the center of the lake stood an ancient castle, covering an area of several miles—a fairly large fortress.
Over twenty demons and a thousand midgods stood on the shore of Moon Lake.
Loyce’s two companions—a purple-haired woman in black robes and a burly man with green hair—along with Loyce himself, simultaneously rose into the air and flew at top speed toward Moon Lake Castle. Then… the other demons also took flight.
“Let’s go.” Linley’s group of a thousand didn’t hesitate and immediately flew up.
“Swish!”
Three streaks of light instantly reached the sky above Moon Lake Castle—it was Loyce and his two companions.
“As expected of Five-Star Demons, their speed is incredible.” The demons, including Crompton, were all amazed.
Loyce looked down from above, surveying the castle. “We don’t want to fight inside the castle. Third Brother, split this castle open.”
“Yes, Big Brother.” The burly green-haired man flipped his hand, revealing a black longsword. The blade was wide, nearly thirty centimeters across, and emanated a bloody, murderous aura—it had clearly tasted the blood of many powerful beings.
Gripping the black longsword, the burly green-haired man’s figure suddenly moved, and he swung the blade.
“Pfft!”
A massive black blade shadow slashed directly toward the castle. Where the shadow passed, space began to distort, producing violent ripples. These spatial ripples spread downward along the blade shadow, and the lake water they touched hissed and vanished into thin air.
Then, water from other parts of Moon Lake rushed in to fill the gap.
“Boom!”
The massive blade shadow struck the castle. On the castle walls, complex black magical runes lit up, flashing with powerful divine power. The runes flickered continuously, dispersing the attack. Such a fearsome strike was actually blocked by the castle.
Loyce and his two companions’ expressions changed.
“Who is the master of this castle? Did he set up this massive defensive magic array himself, or did he hire someone?” Loyce felt a hint of worry. His third brother’s physical attack was the strongest among the three of them.
Loyce knew very well the power of that strike. For it to be blocked… the magic array attached to this castle could only have been set up by a true master of magic arrays.
If the castle master had hired a master to set it up, then he must be extremely wealthy.
If the castle master had done it himself, then the interior of the castle was definitely no ordinary place—it would be full of danger.
“No wonder it’s a Six-Star mission.” Loyce frowned.
Behind him, the demons and the thousand midgods watched this scene in confusion.
“This castle doesn’t seem ordinary,” Bebe said, smacking his lips. “It’s like the defensive magic array of the Radiant Church back then.”
“It’s the same type of magic array, but this one is millions of times more powerful,” Linley said, sensing that this demon exam mission was definitely not as simple as it seemed. “It looks like very few of the thousand will survive.”
Just then, pink mist began to emanate from the castle. This pink mist spread rapidly, skimming across the water’s surface and covering nearly the entire Moon Lake area in an instant. All the demons and the thousand midgods were within its range.
“Hm?” Linley frowned. The pink mist was very thick; he could barely see a few meters around him.
“Slash!” The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
“Bastard, die! All of you, die!”
In the distance, the energy fluctuations of a fight suddenly erupted, startling Linley and the others. Linley extended his divine sense to observe, since it could cover nearly a hundred meters. But as soon as he released his divine sense—
A surge of murderous intent rose in his heart, affecting his soul. However, green light flickered in Linley’s soul sea.
“No good.” Linley snapped back to clarity instantly.
“Everyone, don’t extend your divine sense, and don’t inhale this mist!” Loyce shouted loudly. “This pink mist is a poisonous fog refined by a highgod master of the Edicts of Death. It’s designed to stir up the killing intent within the soul. No matter what, don’t let your spiritual energy or soul touch this pink mist!”
What was divine sense?
Divine sense was just released spiritual energy. Once it touched the pink mist, it would still be affected.