# 1125
# Chapter 1126: Demons
They looked exactly like the demons from legend.
But诡异的是, these rapidly flying demons all bore wounds or missing parts on their bodies—some had half their necks shattered, some had only an empty hole where their hearts should be, and some were scorched black as if burned by holy light.
Their eyes were tightly shut, but within the fleshy tumors on their foreheads, countless red worms writhed, forming a诡异 eye that stared directly at Lin Qiye and the other two.
"Are these demons?" Jiang Er's expression turned grim.
An Qingyu's pupils flickered with gray light, his brow furrowed as if contemplating something.
Just as he was about to speak, several black silhouettes emerged from the clouds around them. The leathery wings flapped with a buzzing sound, and a thick crimson tail broke through the air, slamming into the Somersault Cloud and shattering it with a single blow.
With their footing gone, the three immediately plummeted toward the hell below.
The demons in the sky showed no intention of letting them go, diving at astonishing speeds one after another.
"Qingyu!" Lin Qiye shouted from mid-air.
An Qingyu's eyes narrowed. He clapped his hands together, and vast quantities of purple mist poured from his sleeves, instantly concealing all three of them, dragging the diving demons into the haze as well.
Rushing into the purple mist, the demons lost sight of their targets. The red worm-eye in their foreheads spun frantically, trying to locate Lin Qiye and the others in the endless purple haze.
Within the high-concentration spiritual contamination, the three held their breath as they freefell. Lin Qiye raised his fingers, and a brilliant magical glow bloomed within the mist.
A massive Flame-Vein Earth Dragon spread its wings and flew out from the magic circle, crimson flames flowing across its body, visible even against the dark sky.
ROAR—!
The Flame-Vein Earth Dragon that emerged from the purple mist let out a thunderous roar, immediately drawing the attention of all the demons. Streams of black lightning raced after the dragon as it flew into the distance.
Meanwhile, on the barren earth far below the chaotic battle in the sky, a void crack opened.
Lin Qiye gripped the White Slash, leading An Qingyu out of it. Jiang Er, still附着在 An Qingyu, drifted into the air, glancing up at the black mass of demons pursuing into the distance. A sense of surviving disaster washed over her.
Everything had happened too quickly. From the first demon's attempt to slaughter them to the coordinated pursuit by dozens of demons, only six or seven seconds had passed.
If An Qingyu hadn't released the purple mist to obscure their whereabouts during the fall, and Lin Qiye hadn't summoned Hongyan to draw the demons away while secretly transporting them through the void, even if they had successfully landed, those demons would have pursued and killed them. On this barren plain with no cover, they would have been nothing but sitting ducks for the demon horde.
Jiang Er replayed the scene in her mind, her gaze toward Lin Qiye and An Qingyu turning strange.
"What's wrong?" An Qingyu asked, noticing her unusual expression.
"How did you two manage that?" Jiang Er couldn't help but ask. "You didn't exchange a single word, and in that short time, how could you possibly know what the other was thinking and coordinate so perfectly?"
Hearing Jiang Er's question, Lin Qiye and An Qingyu exchanged a glance and both无奈地 smiled.
"Just默契, I suppose. And in that situation, that was the only way to escape." Lin Qiye offered a simple explanation before continuing urgently, "Those demons are too powerful. Hongyan won't be able to distract them for long—they'll be back soon. We need to move."
Given the current situation, flying was definitely not an option. If this small area of ash clouds contained so many demons, who knew how many more they'd encounter if they flew forward?
The three quickly traversed the barren region, racing in the direction Lin Qiye had initially indicated, moving on their own power.
"Didn't they say almost all the demons in hell were killed?" Jiang Er floated gracefully above Lin Qiye and An Qingyu, her white dress billowing, as she asked in confusion.
"Something does seem off." Lin Qiye ran while deep in thought. "According to what the Seraph前辈 said, demons above the god-level were almost all slain, but weaker demons had some survivors... However, from what we just experienced, this is far beyond mere survival. So many demons hiding in the cumulus clouds—how did they survive back then?"
An Qingyu fell silent for a moment. "Perhaps... they didn't survive."
At these words, Lin Qiye's brow lifted slightly.
"What do you mean?"
"I tried to analyze their bodies just now." An Qingyu spoke slowly. "I couldn't detect any life force in them. Their hearts weren't beating, their blood wasn't flowing. By every vital sign, they shouldn't be alive."
"You mean... they're corpses?"
"That would be my assessment."
"Then how did they attack us?" Jiang Er's eyes were full of confusion. "The way they疯狂 attacked us earlier, that definitely didn't seem like the actions of corpses."
Before Lin Qiye or An Qingyu could answer, Jiang Er seemed to realize something. She looked down at her own ethereal form floating in the air and smiled helplessly: "I suppose I'm not in a position to judge... I'd forgotten I'm also a corpse."
"You're different from them." An Qingyu shook his head with a smile.
"Maybe it's related to that eye in their foreheads." Lin Qiye recalled. "Do you remember? All the demons had their eyes closed, but that eye made of worms was wide open."
"So those eyes are controlling their corpses... that's possible."
An Qingyu nodded in agreement.
As they spoke, the three had completely left the barren earth behind, arriving at the foot of several towering peaks. Several narrow crevices between the mountains, barely wide enough for one or two people walking abreast, appeared before them.
Lin Qiye looked back. Countless black figures flapped their leathery wings, circling beneath the distant clouds as if searching for them.
"Is this the right direction?" An Qingyu asked, standing before the crevice.
"Yes." Lin Qiye turned back. "All these paths extend in the same direction, so it shouldn't matter which one we take."
"There aren't any demons inside, right?"
"None within my感知 range." Lin Qiye hesitated before adding, "But there do seem to be quite a few wronged souls wandering the valley, souls that fell into hell."