Chapter 134: The Demonic Body (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Led by Old Xie, the three survivors of the Evil Owl Mercenary Group quietly slipped out of the western gate of Red Hui Town.

Constrained by the oppressive presence from the sky, they immediately summoned their three-star magic beast mounts once outside the town, racing away like the wind for over ten miles, desperate to escape.

Unfortunately, three-star mounts are the most common and widely available domesticated beasts on the market. While much faster than horses, they are considered low-to-mid-tier among magic beast mounts.

Before long, the thunderous sound of iron hooves echoed from behind.

The trio’s faces shifted.

One of the warriors looked back to see a dust storm rising. A pack of over thirty "Saber-toothed Tigers"—usually kept as prized pets by the city guards and rarely seen in public—were thundering toward them in a disciplined formation.

"It’s him! Does he intend to break the agreement he made with us Raiders?"

The three recognized the leader instantly as the young City Lord they had just parted ways with. With his elite guards in pursuit, their intent was easy to guess.

Old Xie glared hatefully at the small black speck circling high above, then decisively stopped, landed, and recalled his mount into his "Beast Tablet."

"Boss!?"

The other two halted, their faces filled with confusion and alarm. Old Xie couldn't be bothered to explain.

"Get down if you don't want to die! Prepare for battle. This terrain is flat as a pancake; there’s no escaping now!" As he spoke, a dark, thin membrane rapidly expanded from him, engulfing the surrounding area.

The pursuers were moving at blinding speed, closing to within two hundred meters in an instant. However, their target was already shrouded in a dense, dark mist.

"Old fox."

The young City Lord let out a cold snort. Without slowing down, he ordered his guards, "Flank them! Break his barrier first!"

"Yes!"

The group of thirty suddenly split left and right while still outside the attack range. Immediately, offensive spells began to take shape among the guards... yet, the Evil Owl showed no reaction!

A Seven-Star Mage’s attack range is far superior, granting an absolute advantage, but strangely, the enemy remained motionless, cowering within their barrier.

Something was wrong.

The young City Lord sensed the danger and waved his hand decisively: "Attack!"

Perched high upon the Black Wind Eagle, Xu Wen observed the entire battlefield from above. He watched as wave after wave of magic slammed into the dark barrier, causing the solid-looking mist to thin significantly.

But Old Xie was a Seven-Star Mage; his barrier’s defensive strength was not something that six-star magic could easily shatter.

Xu Wen narrowed his eyes, attempting to probe the barrier with his mental power, but it was futile. The moment his probe touched the dark mist, it felt like hitting a solid, seamless wall, unable to penetrate an inch.

He could only wait—wait for the City Lord and his guards to cast a second wave of spells to further weaken and destroy the barrier.

As the intensity of the assault increased, the dark mist grew thinner and thinner, its coverage shrinking to less than half its original size, gradually revealing the three figures inside.

"Hm?!"

"That is..."

As the figures within the dark barrier became clearer, those who caught sight of the scene were filled with shock and horror.

Inside the barrier, the two warriors were unharmed, their battle aura flared as they gazed at the outsiders with nervous uncertainty, all while eyeing the massive Old Xie in their center.

Old Xie was no longer recognizable.

His terrifying, sinister body had swollen to more than four times its original size. His broad black robe lay in tatters on the ground. His face had become completely alien; his forehead and skull were grotesquely distended, covered in black, bulging veins as if he were enduring extreme agony. His hands were clenched downward, his eyes glowing a blood-red, and saliva dripped constantly from his chin... from time to time, he emitted low, guttural growls.

His arms and thighs were now comparable to those of a humanoid magic beast, and his body, already over three meters tall, continued to expand and grow, his aura rising steadily with it.

"Demonic Transformation!"

Xu Wen was the first to identify the magic.

His brows locked together as he swiftly retrieved a brilliantly colored bead from his treasure belt and threw it downward without hesitation toward the still-transforming Old Xie.

Demonic Transformation!

An irreversible dark magic! It could boost one's strength by a tier for a short period, but at the cost of being permanently stuck in that state and form.

Old Xie’s aura had already surged to the peak of the Seven-Star level. If he weren't stopped before breaking through to the Eight-Star level, the situation would become dire.

Just then, the dark barrier was shattered by the young City Lord and his men!

The two Evil Owl warriors had no choice; they scanned the area with panic, their battle aura flaring, and attempted to break out toward the rear.

"Ignore them!"

"Concentrate your attacks on Old Xie! Don't let him finish the transformation!"

The young City Lord shouted.

He was experienced enough to recognize that Old Xie was performing a special ritual to forcibly elevate his strength, and he immediately ordered everyone to focus their firepower.

At that moment, no one noticed the bead falling from the sky.

But at the final second... a shocking aura erupted from Old Xie!

Dark energy coiled around him like vipers, effortlessly absorbing the spells cast by the City Lord’s guards. Simultaneously, Old Xie reached into the void above him, catching the colorful bead in his grasp.

The City Lord’s face turned pale. It’s over... Eight-Star!!

Old Xie, however, looked in confusion as the bead evaporated in his hand, vanishing instantly. Suddenly, the aura of his dark magic dropped by a third, and the surrounding elements seemed to fall into a state of extreme instability.

"Damn it."

Xu Wen, watching the anomaly below, cursed under his breath, his expression turning grave.

The 'Elemental Turbulence Pill' was designed to interrupt and weaken all magic attacks, causing chaotic elemental disruption in a radius. Unfortunately, he had been a step too slow—had it taken effect before the transformation finished, he wouldn't be in this much trouble.

An Eight-Star powerhouse.

Even though the leap in strength was sudden and unstable, the power—both mental and physical—was still terrifying.

There was no escaping now. An Eight-Star powerhouse’s flight speed was no slower than a four-star magic beast!

After a moment of internal struggle, Xu Wen took a 'Devil's Eye' from his belt and swallowed it.

It was a six-star pill refined from the magic core of a high-tier six-star beast from the White Mist Forest. He had only managed to refine four of them during his time at the Royal Merchant House and had intended to save them for life-or-death situations. He hadn't expected to use one on his very first day out.

The pill melted upon contact. Unlike the two-star 'Devil's Eye' he had taken before, which provided only a small stream of warmth, the magic power contained within the six-star core surged forth like a dam breaking—the intensity and strength were incomparable.

Fortunately, Xu Wen’s own cultivation had reached the second level of the Six-Star stage. His 'Chaos Sea of Consciousness' rotated rapidly, absorbing the sudden surge of power like a vast ocean. Even so, the sheer agony of the power filling his consciousness forced him to his knees on the back of the Black Wind Eagle, his teeth gritted in unbearable pain.

Yet, his mental cultivation level began to skyrocket!

"Hm?"

The mental reach of an Eight-Star powerhouse was shockingly vast; the anomaly in the sky naturally caught his attention!

Old Xie had used a dark secret technique to forcibly enter a state of Demonic Transformation, permanently consolidating his strength and gaining four levels of power. But the beast tamer in the sky had jumped from the second level of the Three-Star stage to the second level of the Six-Star stage, and was still rising, finally settling at the eighth level of the Six-Star stage.

Sensing the threat, Old Xie’s eyes flashed with murderous intent as he prepared to gather his magic to strike down the one in the sky.

However, the young City Lord and his thirty men had also noticed the shift!

Magic and battle techniques rained down like a storm, creating an opening for Xu Wen. Strangely, as soon as any spell entered the vicinity of Old Xie, it became incredibly unstable and began to dissipate.

The attacks lost all their potency, not even scratching Old Xie’s skin.

The crowd was horrified!

The City Lord was stunned, unaware that Old Xie was just as terrified. By all rights, an Eight-Star powerhouse should be able to fly, but he couldn't organize enough elemental energy; the surrounding elements were in total chaos. He couldn't even cast a proper attack spell, let alone one with the power of an Eight-Star master.

Could it be... Old Xie thought of the bead that had vanished in his hand.

After a moment, the mental aura of the person above settled, and his presence grew significantly stronger!

"!!"

With a sharp, piercing cry, the Black Wind Eagle descended like a massive black cloud.

The City Lord and his guards breathed a sigh of relief. They had feared this unknown expert might leave, and if he did, Old Xie would surely not spare them.

With a surge of scorching heat—no less intense than a Seven-Star spell—rising from the sky, the Black Wind Eagle suddenly banked, diving toward the two Evil Owl members who had fled over a thousand meters away.

The Black Wind Eagle was incredibly fast. With a single dive, and before Old Xie could react, Xu Wen was already behind the two fugitives.

ROAR!

Three massive black fire pythons lunged from the back of the Black Wind Eagle, pursuing one of the warriors.

"Ahhh!!"

"Get down here, you bastard!"

The Six-Star warrior roared and spun around!

As comrades who had fought together for years, they knew escape was impossible and chose to counter-attack simultaneously, aiming for the Black Wind Eagle beneath Xu Wen. If they could kill the beast tamer's mount, a mage on foot couldn't possibly catch a Six-Star warrior.

Xu Wen snorted, a thought flashing through his mind. The three fire pythons twisted mid-air with incredible agility, accurately intercepting the warriors' attacks. With two dull thuds, the fire pythons’ intensity dimmed, but Xu Wen tightened his grip, and the pythons coiled together, their power suddenly surging. They grew massive, looming over the two, and with a single gulp, the lead python swallowed the warrior mid-aura.

The other survivor retreated in sheer terror, only to watch as the fire python snatched his companion into the sky, coiled tightly around him, and erupted in black flames. The warrior’s agonizing, piercing screams echoed through the air.