Many of the demons inside the tower were currently filled with excitement.
Not only were some of them jumping around with joy, but others were running about and cheering in jubilation.
A hundred years! A full hundred years! Day after day, they had hoped and prayed, eagerly wishing for Ye Qingtao to be replaced. And now, without them even having to lift a finger, Ye Qingtao had actually been replaced!
It wasn't as though they hadn't plotted in the past, trying to pull strings behind the scenes to draw the Qingyun Sect's attention and frame Ye Qingtao for it.
However, because they didn't dare step out of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for fear of being swatted to death by a single palm strike from Ye Qingtao, not a single demon had ever dared to venture outside.
Yet now, without them doing a single thing, Ye Qingtao had fallen?
Good grief, they were practically bursting with joy!
They simply couldn't believe such a pie had fallen right out of the sky!
Immediately afterward, a small demon scampered deeper inside to report the news to a greater demon.
This thrilling news had to be spread as fast as possible so that everyone would know!
Then they could rally their forces and get ready to break out of the tower at any moment!
The demons imprisoned on the first floor—whether small fry or great demons—all possessed lower cultivation levels than those on the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors. The higher the floor, the greater the cultivation; the lower the floor, the weaker it was.
Yet even the major demons locked away merely on the first floor had cultivated through such endless stretches of time that the terror of their cultivation defied imagination!
Many disciples of the Qingyun Sect still remembered that when these creatures were first captured and brought in, every single one of them was at the Great Emperor realm!
…………
Not long after, the small demon arrived before a greater demon.
This greater demon was a mottled giant serpent with nine heads. Its cavernous maw looked as though it had swallowed countless cultivators, appearing utterly terrifying.
A vast, overwhelming aura billowed around its body; its name was Xiangliu.
However, he was not the ruler of all the demons on the first floor—the true ruler of the first floor was someone else, and he merely served as a gatekeeper for the Demon King.
Merely meeting this gatekeeper terrified the small demon out of his wits. The entity was simply too powerful! If not for the fact that they shared the same demonic nature, this pressure alone would have caused him to collapse to the ground at any moment!
If even the gatekeeper was this strong, one could only imagine how terrifying the Demon King must be!
"What is your business?" the greater demon asked, looking down at him.
The small demon quickly cupped his fists and said, "Xiangliu, I have good news for the Lord. May I go inside?" As he spoke, he glanced toward the inner chamber.
The giant serpent replied, "The Lord is sleeping. Tell me whatever you have to say."
The small demon nodded and said, "To be frank, something seems to have gone wrong with this generation's Demon Suppressor. It appears the Qingyun Sect suspects him of colluding with us, and he is likely undergoing an investigation right now. Just a moment ago, a lot of people from the Qingyun Sect came by, asking one by one whether we had passed on our cultivation arts to Ye Qingtao..."
When the small demon finished speaking, Xiangliu widened his eyes in sheer disbelief.
How could this be? Previously, no matter who came to suppress them, nothing worked; the moment Ye Qingtao took over, everything immediately settled down.
What on earth had happened to the Qingyun Sect now? Had they lost their minds? Had they gone senile? How could they wrongfully accuse someone so formidable?
Clearly, they demons hadn't done a single thing, yet Ye Qingtao had kicked the bucket all on his own?
As the old saying went, defenses were always breached from within—it really was the truth!
Xiangliu was beside himself with joy, feeling both shocked and delighted!
Yet, once he calmed down, deep skepticism set in.
When a pie drops from the sky, there is bound to be a trap on the ground. Who knows, this might just be a scheme the Qingyun Sect was setting for them.
Incredulous, he asked, "Is this true?"
"It's true! Judging by the expressions of those elders who came from the Qingyun Sect just now, it didn't look fake at all! Even the Sect Master and the Divine Son came, and they were furious!"
Overjoyed and astonished, Xiangliu said, "I understand, but I prefer to be cautious. Let me sneak a look first."
With a flick of his body, his serpentine form slithered right up to the window, eager to stick his head out and take a peek at the outside world.
…………
It must be said that the inside and the outside of the tower were completely sealed off. The founding master had set up a barrier back in the day: speech outside could not be heard inside, speech inside could not be heard outside, and divine sense could not penetrate it either—they could only rely on their naked eyes to see.
Yet even with their naked eyes, these demons couldn't manage it, because they simply didn't dare to step outside!
Now, as he cautiously poked his head out a fraction of an inch, he was still terrified of being beaten into smithereens by a single slap from Ye Qingtao.
Mainly, the terror of the shock Ye Qingtao had inflicted upon them in the past had left them deeply traumatized.
…………
Xiangliu inched his body forward with extreme care. Finally, he extended his head a single millimeter past the exterior of the tower, and instantly realized he was looking at an entirely unfamiliar dwelling.
This place was opulent and luxurious, adorned with carved beams and painted pillars—it was not Ye Qingtao's quarters.
Without commenting on how nice Ye Qingtao's quarters were, they certainly weren't this grand; the furnishings inside his room had been quite ordinary.
Yet this place, with its carved beams and jade balustrades, looked practically like a palace.
Xiangliu didn't understand what kind of place this was, but since he didn't see Ye Qingtao, his courage grew a fraction, and he poked his head just a bit further out.
Instantly, he caught sight of the Divine Son Li Bashan. The tower had apparently been placed on a table, and Li Bashan was currently on the bed practicing his cultivation arts. So this was the Divine Son's quarters!
Xiangliu's eyes darted around craftily before he pulled his head back inside.
He now understood that the tower's guardian had been replaced!
Overjoyed, he scurried back to his previous spot, waved his hand at the small demon, and said, "It's true! It's truly real! You go on back first; I'm going to wake the Lord immediately and share this monumental piece of good news with him!"
The small demon cupped his fists and said, "Understood!"
…………
Watching the small demon depart, Xiangliu could barely contain the ecstatic joy surging in his heart. He felt as though the flesh and blood all over his body were twitching with excitement. Driven by wave after wave of intense elation, he wished he could shatter the tower and break out right this instant!
Freedom! Finally, freedom!
Xiangliu hurriedly took a deep, fierce breath to suppress his excitement, then strode quickly through the doorway!
The moment he crossed the threshold, a crushing, overwhelming pressure washed over him like a raging tidal wave, instantly making it impossible for him to straighten his back.
Even for someone like Xiangliu, merely sensing this pressure caused his mind to reel. All nine of his heads drooped instantly, and his entire body almost crumpled limply to the ground!
Atop a skull throne, a Demon King pitch-black in color and gripping a giant scepter was currently sleeping. The scepter in his hand was known as the "Soul-Devouring Tooth," which had absorbed an untold amount of sacred blood back in the day and possessed matchless terror.
Countless runes were densely engraved upon the Soul-Devouring Tooth, emitting an aura that chilled the soul, faint with the wails of countless resentful ghosts.
Seeing that the Lord had not yet awakened, Xiangliu stood respectfully to one side, not daring to utter a sound.
…………
An hour later, the Demon King upon the skull throne finally stirred. He slowly opened a pair of brilliant eyes, a flash of terrifying light seeming to sweep across them, causing the surrounding space to tremble faintly in its wake.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Xiangliu's forehead. Every time he was in the presence of the Lord, he felt an immense weight pressing down upon his head.
He hurriedly spoke up, "Lord, good news! Tremendous good news!"
The Demon King glanced coldly at Xiangliu and asked, "What good news?"
"Ye Qingtao and the Qingyun Sect have had a falling out. The Demon Suppressor seems to have been replaced; the Divine Son is currently in charge of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda!" Xiangliu announced!
In an instant, the Demon King's eyes widened, and he sat frozen in utter astonishment!
"This... Is this true?!" he asked, finding it extraordinarily hard to believe!
The Demon King was well aware that the Qingyun Sect's current Divine Son was nothing more than a straw bag—trash possessing a Blaze Physique, valuing material things above all else, and utterly foolish. His talent was barely passable, but compared to the Demon King himself, he was absolute garbage.
In truth, Li Bashan was still quite powerful, but to an ancient demon king born countless billions of years ago, he was truly unworthy of notice.
Kneeling on the ground, Xiangliu nodded heavily while suppressing his surging joy, and said, "It's true! Absolutely true! This subordinate went and looked just now—the outside is the Divine Son's residence, not Ye Qingtao's. We don't know where Ye Qingtao has been taken, but we surmise he must have been dragged off to the dungeons and locked up!"
A jolt ran through the Demon King's heart, followed instantly by wild, ecstatic joy!
How many years? How many years had he waited? Finally, it had come!
They were terrifyingly savage and bloodthirsty; no matter which generation of Demon Suppressor came, none could suppress them. Some had even been scared to death simply under the influence of their demonic Qi! Until Ye Qingtao arrived, instantly stripping them of their audacity to act wild!
Thinking back to the past, the Demon King felt a well of bitter tears.
Back then, the previous Demon Suppressor had just died, and Ye Qingtao had not yet taken office. They were arrogant and domineering; countless demons rioted en masse, smashing against the seals, screaming curses, and even extending tentacles through the windows to drag a disciple out from the outside, tearing them limb from limb and devouring them alive!
The situation at the time had been harrowing. They poured out all their cultivation, causing the seals to loosen violently and the tower body to shake fiercely. The entire Qingyun Sect was on edge, thrown into a massive uproar.
Sect Master Su Yanran and countless elders and disciples watched the scene in dumbfounded horror, trembling all over!
After all, among the countless fiends inside the tower, any random Demon King who broke out could instantly wipe out Su Yanran. They could only stand there in a daze, unable to react for quite some time!
This was the terror of these demons—rooted in hundreds of millions of years ago, and by no means an empty boast. Once these ancient demonic entities were unleashed, who could withstand them?
Yet, after ramming against the seals for a long time, the seals merely loosened. A fiend probed a tentacle outward, instantly impaling a disciple; in a split second, the entire tentacle was dripping with fresh blood.
The blood-drenched tentacle dragged the disciple backward, flying back into the tower. The disciple cried out in terror, "Sect Master! Save me! Save me! I don't want to die!..."
Yet forget the Sect Master—everyone in the entire Qingyun Sect was too terrified to make a rash move, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Then, right before everyone's eyes, that disciple was consumed, dying a gruesome death.
Afterward, the Qingyun Sect sent envoys to negotiate, claiming they hadn't been prepared at that moment, but that numerous arrays and weapons were now ready. If any more disciples died in the future, neither side would mind going to war!
At the time, the Demon King had sneered and swatted the messenger into a bloody pulp with a single blow, then eaten him. Seeming infuriated, the Qingyun Sect dispatched a newly appointed replacement the very next day.
This newly appointed person was none other than Ye Qingtao.
When Ye Qingtao took over the pagoda back then, he entered the tower and addressed them: "From now on, this place is under my management. If there is any lack of hospitality, I must ask you all to bear with it."
Upon hearing such soft words, the Demon King had burst into loud laughter, thinking that another straw bag had just died only for a new straw bag to take his place—was this one here to beg them not to run wild?
Yet in the very next second, the Demon King's expression froze.
The other demons felt a jolt in their hearts as well, facing a formidable enemy.
Because this fellow was completely speaking the softest words while executing the most ruthless deeds!
With a wave of Ye Qingtao's palm, blazing red magma suddenly erupted all over his body, rolling and surging back and forth across his skin like wave after wave of scorching solar flames. That incomparably terrifying sacred and masculine aura instantly scattered their demonic Qi, producing a massive chorus of sizzling sounds in the air.
The aura emanating from Ye Qingtao felt like the resurrection of a Primordial God King; wherever he pointed his finger, the demonic Qi melted away rapidly like ice encountering fire.
Then, pointing at a demon who had just been shouting defiantly with a rebellious expression, he said, "Fellow Daoist, I look forward to your guidance in the future."
Before that demon could speak, Ye Qingtao lashed out with a single palm. The demon's expression changed drastically in an instant; he only felt as though a sun was crushing down upon him—a suppression originating from another dimension. An unprecedented sense of oppression and overwhelming might enveloped him, leaving him nowhere to run! Even though his cultivation was far higher than Ye Qingtao's, it was to no avail!
This suppression did not stem from cultivation, but from extreme restraint!
In his moment of crisis, his expression twisted in panic, and he hurriedly begged for mercy: "Spa—"
"Spa—"
"Spare my life...!"
Boom!
As if he hadn't heard at all, Ye Qingtao smashed his palm ruthlessly onto the demon's head. In desperation, the demon hurriedly drew out a blood-stained giant axe, shattering space with a thunderous roar as he hacked toward Ye Qingtao.
In a flash, Ye Qingtao's palm cleaved down upon the axe. The axe exploded on the spot, sending sparks flying—he was simply no match. Then, that palm landed viciously on the demon's head.
His head exploded like a shattered watermelon, flesh and gore splashing everywhere. Following that, Ye Qingtao's palm pressed downward inch by inch, crushing the demon's body inch by inch along with it, until he was finally beaten into a pile of ashes and scattered fragments across the floor.
Every single Demon King present turned pale with fright on the spot, gasping heavily for breath. Not a single one of them dared to speak recklessly anymore.
They were all terrified by this horrifying spectacle.
Mind you, that demon from a moment ago was a dignified Half-Step Great Emperor! And he even had a weapon on him, yet he was batted to death just like that with a single slap?
Good heavens, this was simply too terrifying!
Where on earth did the Qingyun Sect find someone so ferocious? No wonder they had sent an envoy to deliver harsh threats!
Then, using the exact same method, Ye Qingtao swiftly bludgeoned seventy or eighty demons to death in one go, acting with decisive and ruthless severity.
Afterward, he waved his hand and said, "From now on, this place belongs to me. If there is any lack of hospitality, I ask you all to bear with it."
Many Demon Kings cupped their fists in succession and said, "We'll bear with it! We earnestly ask you to bear with us, Senior!"
…………
Recalling the events of that day, the Demon King felt as though he were facing a formidable enemy, frightened nearly half to death.
A lingering fear clutched at his heart.
From that day onward, they never dared to charge the seals again, not even daring to speak above a whisper.
Yet now, such a terrifying figure had actually been replaced?
For a moment, he was wild with joy and burst into roaring laughter. "Good heavens, such a wonderful thing actually happened? We can finally riot at last! Pass down the order: prepare for a riot at any moment! We are going to re-emerge into the world!"
No sooner had he spoken than the Demon King's expression suddenly shifted. "Wait, do not let the bulk of my forces appear out in the open just yet. Let a small fraction quietly emerge into the world first to see if the Qingyun Sect sends Ye Qingtao back to suppress us. If they do, wouldn't we..."
Thinking of the wretched fate of his comrades who had been slapped to death by Ye Qingtao in a single blow that day, his face turned ashen with terror, and he didn't dare act rashly!
"Lord, I was thinking the exact same thing. What if the moment we emerge, the Qingyun Sect panics and immediately releases him without charge, sending him right back..." Xiangliu furrowed his brow and said.
"Right, let's secretly release a few first to test the waters and probe the Qingyun Sect's reaction!"
A moment later, undercurrents surged secretly throughout the entire Demon-Suppressing Pagoda...