Chapter 199: Encounter

Two months after Dongbo Xueying grasped the ultimate piercing essence, an afternoon arrived.

A luxurious procession of a powerful clan was advancing along a main road. Inside one particularly spacious carriage sat a pale, overweight man reclining in comfort, surrounded by four beautiful maids. One massaged his head and shoulders, another rubbed his legs, while yet another peeled fruit for him. The fat man was clearly enjoying himself.

“What a blissful life! Even without devouring those delicious human souls, the pleasures of this mortal world are far superior to the torments of the Abyss!” he mused contentedly. “My luck is truly extraordinary! I barely managed to slip through that spatial passage before it vanished, and I wasn’t even killed by that terrifying Xia Clan half-goddess.”

On the day he first entered this world, the Xia Clan’s transcendental warrior, ‘Lord Bu,’ wielding a divine artifact, had swept the battlefield with devastating power, reducing countless demons to ashes. He had barely escaped with his life.

“Knock knock knock!” Suddenly, a tapping sound came from outside the carriage door, followed by a voice: “My lord!”

“Enter,” the fat man said indifferently.

Whoosh! The carriage door slid open to both sides, and a young man in golden robes stepped inside, sitting down cautiously.

The fat man glanced at him: “What is it?”

“My lord, we’ve encountered a minor problem,” the young man replied carefully. He knew full well that this overweight man was a representative from their organization, holding an extremely high status. Even the clan head treated him with respect, so he dared not show the slightest negligence. Moreover, the man’s power was unfathomable.

“What kind of trouble would dare disturb me?” the fat man frowned. As a demon from the Abyss, he loved indulgence but despised complications.

“The runaway female slave has been located. Our men have caught up with her, but she is now protected by someone suspected to be a high-level Silver Moon Knight. He even killed two of our men, so our people dare not act rashly,” the young man reported in a low voice. “Judging by his strength, he might be a Silver Moon Knight. Even if we commit our entire force to seize the female slave, we would likely suffer heavy casualties among our knights and mages. My lord, what should we do?”

“Where is she?” the fat man asked, frowning.

“Ten miles ahead,” the young man replied quickly. “Our men are tracking them as we speak.”

“Hmph, a bunch of fools! Follow them, I’ll handle it,” the fat man said indifferently.

“Understood!” The young man was delighted and quickly exited to urge the entire procession forward. “Hurry, hurry!”

The procession immediately quickened its pace.

The fat man, however, remained reclining comfortably, smirking. He held no respect for mortal warriors. Although he had taken human form and dared not use his demonic energy, even with just his physical strength, killing a named warrior was effortless. He had no intention of actually getting involved unless absolutely necessary.

“It’s so boring to bully mortals like this. But I have no choice—I must hide my demonic energy,” he muttered to himself. If not for the need to conceal his true nature, he could unleash his full power and slaughter millions of mortals in an instant. The most frustrating part was that he couldn’t use his demonic energy at all, nor could he employ any of his secret techniques or devour human souls. He could only rely on his basic physical strength and speed. He couldn’t even dare to use the seventh-tier essence he had mastered—using its power might draw suspicion!

Rumbling hooves thundered across the earth as the luxurious procession sped forward, covering ten miles in no time.

“Surround him!” the young man in golden robes shouted, pointing ahead from atop his horse.

“Neighhh~~~!” Immediately, the cavalry rushed to encircle the target while the mages prepared their spells from the rear. They surrounded the ‘target’ completely.

On the side of the road, two figures and a snow-white steed stood encircled.

The two were a delicate and beautiful young girl and a man in green robes carrying a greatsword. The girl was visibly nervous, staring at the large cavalry force surrounding them, including powerful knights—Heaven-tier and even Star-tier! She trembled involuntarily, her fragile body shivering with fear. She turned anxiously to the man beside her.

“Don’t panic. Eat something, you haven’t eaten in days,” the green-robed man said with a smile.

“But they’re already here, surrounding us, Uncle!” the girl clenched her teeth. “If there’s no way out, you don’t have to protect me. You should escape while you still can.”

“Sir Knight,” the golden-robed young man shouted from atop his horse, “this girl is a criminal whose entire family committed grave offenses. She was condemned to slavery and now belongs to the Gui Clan. I advise you not to interfere, or I shall report you. Stealing a Gui Clan slave is a violation of imperial law. The Longshan Pavilion will throw you into prison for years!”

“You Gui Clan brat couldn’t win her affection, so you framed her entire family and turned this innocent girl into a slave,” the green-robed man said coldly, his eyes flashing with fury. “You’re ruthless indeed!”

“Hmph!” The young man in golden robes snorted angrily. He dismounted and walked to the carriage, bowing respectfully. “My lord.”

“Hmph.”

A cold, indifferent snort came from the carriage.

The fat man stepped out, his eyes icy as he stared at the green-robed man. “Daring to oppose the Gui Clan—how utterly presumptuous! Since you seek death, I shall oblige you!” As he spoke, the mages began chanting their spells in secret.

“Uncle!” the girl cried. “Please leave quickly! I don’t want you to die too!”

The green-robed man—Dongbo Xueying—smiled. “Don’t be afraid. They can’t kill me.” These past days, he had been immersed in cultivation. On the ninth day after mastering the ultimate piercing essence, he had successfully grasped the essence of stars—faster than he had anticipated. Now, his focus was on the essence of the void realm, which he had been studying and contemplating.

“Kill!” The fat man pointed at Dongbo Xueying and roared.

“Boom~~~~”

The mages, who had already completed their incantations, launched their attacks simultaneously. Among them were two Star-tier mages. Together, the nine mages unleashed a combined spell—powerful enough to rival a fifth-tier spell. Even a Silver Moon Knight would suffer injuries from such an assault.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~

With the combined might of nine mages, a whirlwind began forming around Dongbo Xueying and the girl. This was the “Destructive Vortex” spell, creating a swirling tempest filled with countless black wind blades—extremely deadly. Even a Silver Moon Knight, relying on protective aura, would struggle to survive and would need to flee the vortex immediately.

“Hmph.” Dongbo Xueying snorted, directly manipulating the forces of heaven and earth to dispel the spell. The raging winds vanished into thin air!

“This… this is…”

“The spell didn’t form!”

“It’s Heaven and Earth United!”

The knights and mages were all shocked.

The fat man’s expression changed drastically, and the golden-robed young man turned pale.

“My lord.” The fat man hastily bowed, though his massive belly made it difficult to bend properly. He was sweating coldly from fear. “We have offended my lord gravely. Whatever punishment or compensation you demand, we shall accept it without hesitation.”

At the same time, he used a communication artifact to immediately report upward—

“Potential transcendental detected!” The fat man sent the message at once, transmitting the precise location and Dongbo Xueying’s current appearance.

“Another potential transcendental found—haha! Even if it’s just a named warrior, it’s still credit-worthy,” the fat man thought excitedly to himself. “You foolish human, enjoy your moment of triumph. In just a breath, a fifth-tier demon lord’s magical projection will arrive.”

He had been extremely cautious in disguising himself as a human.

The mages he brought were specially selected. The “Destructive Vortex” spell was an excellent way to test the enemy’s strength! Because the spell unleashed countless black wind blades—even a named warrior would struggle to dodge or block them all with speed alone. If someone could easily neutralize the attack without using the forces of heaven and earth, they were definitely a transcendental.

Using the forces of heaven and earth meant at least a named warrior! After all, named warriors all concealed their identities, using the forces of heaven and earth to track down demons. Their detection range was relatively limited, but they had managed to find some demons.

“Hmm?” Dongbo Xueying paid no attention to these people, but suddenly frowned and turned his gaze toward the distant void.

With his mastery of the essence of stars and his understanding of the mysteries of the cosmic laws…

He easily sensed a terrifying and powerful force approaching from afar! This force was definitely not Saint-tier—it should be Half-God-tier!