Chapter 105: Coming for You
Li Changsheng followed from a distance, ensuring that Xiao Zhengyan and his group wouldn't detect him.
It was clear that Xiao Zhengyan had been to the Demon Abyss before, as he was extremely familiar with the terrain and able to avoid the territories of powerful demonic creatures.
As they pressed forward, the group suffered almost no casualties.
Finally, on the third day, they arrived at a massive valley deep within the Demon Abyss.
Li Changsheng stopped on a blood-red peak dozens of miles away from the valley.
A demonic eagle that had been circling the peak now lay on the ground, trembling in fear.
"This must be the place," Li Changsheng murmured with a smile.
With his current strength, even at such a distance, he could faintly sense that aside from the obvious, ferocious aura in the valley, there was another deeply hidden presence. This hidden creature was even stronger, already at the Half-Step Human Immortal level.
"Though the Shadow Demon is at the Half-Step Human Immortal level, that creature is well hidden. Even the Shadow Demon probably hasn't detected its presence," Li Changsheng muttered.
No wonder, during the simulation, Xiao Zhengyan and his group, who had enough strength to crush a major sect, suffered heavy losses in this valley.
Just as Li Changsheng was observing, Xiao Zhengyan and his group stepped into the valley.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar echoed through the valley.
A massive blood-colored tiger leaped out from the valley and lunged straight at Xiao Zhengyan's group.
"Be careful! This demonic beast is at least at the late Transcendence stage!"
One of the Transcendence cultivators in the group was struck by the tiger's claw and sent flying. The cultivator's face was filled with shock. If it weren't for the several precious defensive artifacts he carried, that one strike would have ended his life!
"Attack together. It's just a tiger, nothing to worry about," Xiao Zhengyan calmly instructed.
Everyone he had brought on this trip was highly skilled, with the weakest being at the Unity Stage. Among them were eight Great Ascension cultivators and four Transcendence cultivators. To ensure there were no surprises, he had even invited the expert sent by the Holy Demon Prince to oversee the General's Mansion.
How could a lone Transcendence-level tiger pose any threat?
"Form the array!" one of the Transcendence cultivators shouted.
Instantly, the group of over twenty people formed an array, moving in perfect unison as they launched a coordinated attack.
Boom!
A fist-shaped attack, condensed to near-solidity, smashed into the thousand-foot-tall tiger, forcing it to stagger back.
However, demonic beasts like this tiger were naturally focused on physical cultivation, and their massive size made them incredibly durable. While the attack wounded the tiger, the injuries were nothing severe.
"Roar!"
The tiger, now enraged, let out another roar and charged at the group.
Its massive claws, glowing with a bloody light, swung down with a fierce gale of wind.
"Slash!"
The lead Transcendence cultivator in the array shouted, and the energy of the entire group surged into him. A sword thousands of feet long materialized in the air and slashed toward the tiger's claws.
The tiger seemed to sense the danger and retracted its claws, but it was too late.
Just as the sword was about to strike, Xiao Zhengyan's face lit up with satisfaction. "The Twenty-Eight Constellations Array is a formation from the Immortal World. With twenty-eight Transcendence cultivators, it could even contend with an Immortal. How could a mere tiger withstand it?"
The blueprint for the Twenty-Eight Constellations Array was something Xiao Zhengyan had obtained from a ruin outside Ming Province after his rebirth in this life. Although he hadn't gathered twenty-eight Transcendence cultivators, the current group, when fully mobilizing the array, was strong enough to kill a peak Transcendence cultivator.
But just as Xiao Zhengyan and his group thought the battle was decided—
"Roar!"
An even more ferocious roar erupted from deep within the valley. A powerful blast of white energy shot out and collided with the massive sword.
Boom!
The explosion shattered the cliffs on either side of the valley.
The sword, capable of killing a peak Transcendence cultivator, disintegrated.
Splat!
The cultivators from the General's Mansion, who were part of the array, spat blood, suffering severe backlash from the formation. Those below the Great Ascension stage even bled from their orifices and fell to the ground, lifeless.
"How is this possible?" Xiao Zhengyan's face was filled with disbelief.
He had thought there was only one Transcendence-level beast in the valley. What was that white energy?
The power of that white energy was immense. Even he wasn't sure he could withstand it.
The surviving members of the General's Mansion also looked despairing.
"Senior, I must trouble you to take action," Xiao Zhengyan said, taking a deep breath and bowing slightly toward the void.
A figure cloaked in black emerged from the void.
"I didn't expect there to be a Half-Step Human Immortal-level beast hiding in this valley," the black-cloaked figure said coldly as he looked toward the depths of the valley.
"This doesn't make sense!" Xiao Zhengyan's face was filled with frustration.
If there was a Half-Step Human Immortal-level beast in the valley, how had Li Chunyang obtained the Origin Fruit in his past life?
"Senior, can you handle it?" Xiao Zhengyan asked quietly.
In his past life, he had reached the Half-Step Human Immortal stage after several hundred years, but even then, he wouldn't have been confident of defeating a beast of this level.
"Follow behind me. We'll charge straight in," the black-cloaked figure said coldly.
With a single step, the figure appeared near the Transcendence-level tiger.
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The tiger, sensing immense danger, bristled and let out a series of roars.
"Deal with this one. I'll handle the one inside," the black-cloaked figure said, as if he had sensed something.
He then shot toward the depths of the valley.
Xiao Zhengyan also stepped forward, appearing within ten feet of the tiger, and began fighting it head-on.
Xiao Zhengyan's strength was indeed impressive. Although he had only recently entered the early Transcendence stage, he was able to hold his own against the late Transcendence tiger. While he didn't gain the upper hand, he wasn't at a disadvantage either.
"Alright, it's time for me to make my entrance," Li Changsheng murmured, shaking his head slightly.
A jade boat appeared beneath his feet, and he shot toward the valley.
Before Li Changsheng even arrived, the injured envoys from the General's Mansion, who were already looking grim, sensed his approach.
"Who's there?" one of the Great Ascension cultivators shouted.
"The General's Mansion is conducting business here. Leave at once!"
He didn't make any threats. Anyone daring to enter the Demon Abyss alone was unlikely to be weak. Given their injuries, there was no need to provoke an unknown entity.
Li Changsheng stood on the jade boat with his hands behind his back and shook his head slightly.
"I came here specifically for you!"