Chapter 63 Backstab

Magic Crows flew across the horizon, their caws echoing over the city.

Chong Batian stood where he was, looking at the bowing Demon Venerable Chi Xiao with a smile on his face, feeling that he had still overestimated Chi Xiao's backbone.

Gu Heng tossed the Blood-Jade Ring, tucked it into his sleeve, and then followed the direction pointed out by the bowing Chi Xiao, leading Lin Qingyue and the Old Dragon King toward the main hall.

As Lin Qingyue passed by Chi Xiao, she gave him a glance.

The Old Dragon King held his head high, his dragon whiskers curled up, walking with an arrogant stride that disowned all kin as he followed them inside.

Once Gu Heng and the others disappeared into the depths of the courtyard, the atmosphere changed instantly.

"Crack, crack..."

Demon Venerable Chi Xiao straightened his back.

The smile on his face vanished, and his hands clenched tight.

Chong Batian stepped forward, a surge of pleasure welling up in his heart as he watched his rival suffer such humiliation.

He reached out a palm and patted Chi Xiao on the shoulder.

"Oh my, isn't this our Brother Chi Xiao of Chiyan City?"

Chong Batian leaned in, his tone mocking. "Where's that arrogance from just now, the one that was going to turn us into nourishment for the lava? What? Is your pride only worth the price of a single bow?"

Chi Xiao snapped his head around, a wolf-like predatory light gleaming in his vertical pupils as he glared at Chong Batian.

"Chong Batian, stop standing there talking as if your back doesn't ache!"

Chi Xiao gritted his teeth. "You think you've latched onto a powerful thigh? You think you can sleep soundly just because you've run to my Chiyan City?"

He shook off Chong Batian's hand and pointed toward the Blood-Vein Mine, his eyes filled with pure malice.

"This place is still the border. Emperor Li's aura has awakened; his senior's wrath can burn everything within a hundred million miles to ash. You'd better hope your concealment methods aren't discovered by Emperor Li, or..."

"Or rather, that you can hide in this hall for the rest of your lives without ever coming out!"

Chong Batian let out a cold snort, just about to snap back in argument.

A voice drifted out from the depths of the hall.

"Hey, you, Chi-something-Xiao, right? Come over here for a moment; I have something to ask you."

The moment he heard the voice.

Demon Venerable Chi Xiao, who had been full of ferocity just a second ago, shuddered.

The malice in his eyes vanished instantly, and within half a breath, a smile so humble it seemed ingrained in his very bones bloomed on his face again.

"Coming! I'm coming, I'm coming! Please wait a moment, Great One, this little demon will scurry right in!"

Chi Xiao responded repeatedly, rushing toward the hall with eager steps, not sparing a single extra glance for Chong Batian.

"..."

Chong Batian stood in place, the wind blowing through his damaged demon armor.

He watched his rival's hurried back and thought for a long time.

"As expected..."

Chong Batian rubbed his chin and sighed. "When faced with an unknown terror, any demon will follow their heart. This is probably the racial talent that has allowed our Demon Race to survive until now."

Inside the hall.

The lighting was dim.

Gu Heng sat in a guest seat to the side, propping up his chin.

Lin Qingyue held her sword, standing by his side.

The Old Dragon King was coiled at the base of a pillar, eyes closed but ears pricked to listen.

Chi Xiao quickly approached Gu Heng, stopping three paces away, standing with his head bowed and body hunched.

At this moment, although he appeared respectful on the surface, malice was still churning in his heart.

He secretly circulated his Divine Sense, which had fallen to the Middle Stage of the Immortal King Realm, sweeping it over Gu Heng again and again.

"Early Stage Immortal King... his aura is a bit unstable, it wasn't gained through bitter cultivation!"

Chi Xiao gritted his teeth inwardly. "This kid must have used some extremely high-grade, one-time Magic Treasure with a backlash effect just now to instantly drain my thousand years of cultivation and create such a terrifying illusion of pressure!"

The more he thought about it, the more he felt his deduction was correct.

How could a human with a bone age of less than a hundred years have such means? He must have borrowed external items!

That kind of external item requires a great price for a single use.

Right now, this kid looks fine, but perhaps his internal organs are already rotten, and he's just putting up a front.

"He's just an Early Stage Immortal King. Even if I've dropped a minor Realm, he's still a whole major Realm below me."

Chi Xiao's heart began to race, and killing intent grew wildly in his soul.

As long as he found the right Opportunity... as long as he struck suddenly at the moment the boy was most relaxed, with his own foundation as a Middle Stage Demon Venerable, he could definitely achieve a one-hit kill!

When that time came, not only could he reclaim his thousand years of cultivation and Storage Ring, but he could also take that treasure for himself.

Thinking of this, the way Chi Xiao looked at Gu Heng softened significantly.

Gu Heng lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over Chi Xiao's slightly trembling shoulders.

With his perception at the Immortal King Realm, Chi Xiao's poorly hidden killing intent was as obvious to him as a lamp in the dark of night.

But he didn't call it out; instead, a slight smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"Let me ask you."

Gu Heng leaned forward and spoke, "In this Demon Realm, or nearby, where are there the most opportunities and the most Cultivators from all sides?"

Hearing this question, Chi Xiao was stunned for a moment.

What was this kid asking this for?

He was wanted by the Divine Court and targeted by Emperor Li; shouldn't he be finding a hole to hide in instead of trying to join the fray for opportunities?

Could it be that he truly had nothing to fear?

Chi Xiao was uncertain and suspicious, but he didn't dare to hesitate on the surface, quickly speaking up.

"To answer the Great One. If we're talking about many opportunities, looking at the Three Realms, the most Heaven-Defying opportunities are naturally within your heaven-reaching tower."

Chi Xiao first offered a bit of flattery, also testing Gu Heng's degree of control over the heaven-reaching tower. "That is a supreme treasure of the Divine Court; even great figures at the Immortal Emperor or Devil Emperor level would very much like to enter such a divine object to find the Opportunity to achieve their Dao."

Gu Heng glanced at him and didn't take the bait, only saying, "Get to the point."

Chi Xiao swallowed hard and hurried to the main topic.

"Besides the heaven-reaching tower, the most eye-catching Opportunity land in the Three Realms recently, where Cultivators are gathering most, is the soon-to-open 'Place of Origin'."

"That place is said to be an ancient battlefield from a previous era, the era of our race's supreme existence—His Majesty the Demon God Emperor."

"The Place of Origin is not within the existing maps of the Realms; it is an independent space floating in the turbulence of time and space. Every hundred thousand years, it approaches the edge of the Demon Realm and opens once."

"Countless bones of ancient gods and demons are buried there, hiding the supreme Legacy they left behind and many Heaven And Earth Treasures."

Now that the Ten Thousand Races Talent List is about to be revealed, the top Prodigies of the Immortal, Demon, and Yao Races, as well as those old monsters who haven't appeared in the world for ages, are all rushing toward the entrance of the Place of Origin, wanting a piece of the pie."

Gu Heng raised an eyebrow. "If it's so good, why aren't you going?"

Chi Xiao gave a bitter smile. "The Great One may not know, but while the Place of Origin has many opportunities, the Law inside is incomplete, and there are ancient killing Formations and strange curses. Without enough trump cards and power to protect oneself, a border city lord like me would mostly just be cannon fodder if I went in."

At this point, Chi Xiao paused and added mysteriously:

"The main thing is... this opening of the Place of Origin is different from before. There are rumors that it concerns a great secret of His Majesty the Demon God Emperor."

"Oh?"

Gu Heng was indeed interested. He sat up straight and stared at Chi Xiao. "A secret concerning your Emperor? What is it?"

In the hall, the eerie green demonic fires seemed to dance even more violently.

Lin Qingyue's brow furrowed slightly; she could sense a hidden change occurring in Chi Xiao's aura.

Chi Xiao kept his head down, a red glow flashing deep in his eyes.

He could feel that the bait he had thrown out had successfully captured all of Gu Heng's attention.

"..."

Chi Xiao was silent for a moment, deliberately acting hesitant.

His hands hung at his sides, and beneath his wide sleeves, the demonic essence at his fingertips vibrated at a strange frequency.

"Great One..."

Chi Xiao's voice was raspy. "As for what that secret specifically is, how could a marginal figure like this little demon know everything?"

"If I really knew the exact information, I'm afraid I would have been silenced by the lords of Demon Emperor City long ago, and I wouldn't still be standing here safely."

He lifted his head slightly to see Gu Heng's reaction and continued:

"However, based on the fragments of information this little demon has gathered in secret, this secret might concern the 'Original Realm' of the Lower Realm."

"Original Realm?"

Gu Heng frowned as if pondering the meaning of the name.

"Yes, the Original Realm."

Chi Xiao licked his dry lips. "Rumor has it that it was the Place of Origin at the birth of the Three Realms, hiding the Opportunity to break through the shackles of the Immortal Emperor and Devil Emperor."

"However, this is just a rumor circulating among the ancient clans; whether it's true or false, no one can say for sure."

As he spoke, Chi Xiao noticed that Gu Heng seemed to be drawn in by the words 'Original Realm'.

Gu Heng actually stood up from his seat and walked down the steps.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Gu Heng was completely immersed in his own thoughts, and in the void ahead, he walked directly past Chi Xiao, completely exposing his back.

Even the female Cultivator standing to the side had her gaze diverted because of Gu Heng's sudden movement.

"A god-given Opportunity!"

Chi Xiao screamed in his heart, wild joy almost drowning out his reason.

He hadn't expected this kid to be arrogant to such an extent. Did he really think that by draining a thousand years of his cultivation, he could turn this old wolf completely into a dog?

Too naive.

"Die! Arrogant brat, your fortune and your treasures, this Venerable shall take them!"

Now!

A fierce light erupted in Chi Xiao's eyes, and with an explosion of Demon Venerable essence, he lunged toward the center of Gu Heng's back.

His sleeve tore open.

That thin line became the 'Soul-Eroding Poison Blade' that condensed all his demonic essence and essence blood, aiming straight for Gu Heng's heart meridians.

This strike was too fast, too ruthless.

Even the Old Dragon King didn't have time to react; his eyelids jumped, and he only managed to let out a distorted cry of alarm.

Lin Qingyue instinctively drew her longsword, but it was already too late to save him.

It was less than half a foot from Gu Heng's back.

At the very moment of the attack.

Gu Heng, with his back turned, did not show any panic.

On the contrary.

In Chi Xiao's pupils, he clearly saw Gu Heng's profile turn slightly by an inch.

The corner of Gu Heng's mouth suddenly and abruptly curled upward slightly.

"What!?"

Chi Xiao's heart constricted, and a sense of life-and-death crisis drenched his entire body like ice water. He gritted his teeth and poured all his strength into this one thrust.

Just at this critical moment.

At the entrance of the hall,

A voice roared with a cracked, angry sound like a thunderclap.

Chong Batian, who had just finished dealing with the traces of the Formation outside and stepped out of the spatial barrier, looked up and saw a scene that nearly scared his soul away.

"Chi Xiao! What are you doing!!!"