Yuanqing took the spirit treasures and headed into Mount Xumi.
First, Yuanqing needed to understand Luohou's subordinates.
There were the Seven Passions and Six Desires Envoys, the Heavenly Demon God Ezu, and Wutian Buddha from the Journey to the West world. Additionally, the Four Ferocious Beasts aligned well with Demon Ancestor Luohou's Demon Dao, though they were not strictly his subordinates.
Each of the Seven Passions and Six Desires Envoys possessed mid-stage Da Luo Golden Immortal cultivation, while the Heavenly Demon God Ezu was a Late Daluo Golden Immortal.
The Passion Envoys consisted of the Envoy of Joy, Envoy of Anger, Envoy of Sorrow, Envoy of Thought, Envoy of Grief, Envoy of Fear, and Envoy of Terror.
The Desire Envoys consisted of the Envoy of Life Desire, Envoy of Death Desire, Envoy of Ear Desire, Envoy of Eye Desire, Envoy of Mouth Desire, and Envoy of Nose Desire.
There were also countless demon soldiers and demon generals, ranging in cultivation from Golden Immortal and Heavenly Immortal to Earth Immortal.
Yuanqing could not help but sigh with emotion. The influence of the Demon Ancestor Luohou was undoubtedly a formidable power across the Primordial World; even if the Dragon Clan, Phoenix Clan, and Kylin Clan united, they might still fall short of Luohou's might.
Suddenly, at the foot of Mount Xumi, Yuanqing cried out loudly, "I am Yuanqing, here to challenge fellow Daoist Luohou!"
"Where did this rat come from? How dare he spout nonsense and challenge the Demon Ancestor! Truly courting death!"
Suddenly, an exceptionally bizarre and hideous demon general at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm stepped forward. "What puny ant dares to challenge the Demon Ancestor? Watch me take you down!"
Yuanqing let out a soft chuckle. "Are there really no capable people left in the Demon Race, that they would send such a minor general to challenge me?"
With a wave of his hand, he unleashed the twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls, smashing them straight toward the demon general. In the blink of an eye, the general was crushed to death—truly utterly vulnerable.
"Someone like you isn't even qualified to force me to draw my weapon."
Yuanqing then shouted again, "Send out whoever's in charge here at Mount Xumi!"
"You're still not qualified!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out. "That's a Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure!"
"Ah, look at that! A Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure! Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures are exceedingly rare; even our Demon Race has only a dozen or so."
"Indeed. If we can secure this Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, our Demon Race can reach even greater heights and prepare thoroughly for the wars to come."
Yuanqing chuckled softly. "You little demon whelps still harbor designs on my spirit treasure? Do you think it's yours for the taking? All of you combined couldn't beat me."
"Hahaha, boy, don't speak too soon! Even though you are a Late Daluo Golden Immortal, once we set up our formation, you won't be able to break through it."
With that, six figures suddenly stepped forward.
They were none other than the Envoy of Life Desire, Envoy of Death Desire, Envoy of Ear Desire, Envoy of Eye Desire, Envoy of Mouth Desire, and Envoy of Nose Desire.
The six stepped out: one had extraordinarily pale skin, another had pitch-black skin, another had exceptionally large ears, another had enormous eyes, another had an oversized mouth, and another possessed a giant nose.
Realization dawned on Yuanqing—these were the six Desire Envoys among the Seven Passions and Six Desires Envoys. All of them possessed mid-stage Da Luo Golden Immortal cultivation, and aside from their distinctive facial features, they looked almost entirely human.
Yuanqing now understood that once one broke through to the Late Daluo Golden Immortal realm, one could forge a Dao body and cast off one's original appearance.
"We are the Six Desire Envoys serving under the Demon Race," they announced.
The Envoy of Mouth Desire spoke up, "Big brother, let me go test him."
The Envoy of Life Desire nodded. "Go ahead, old fifth, test his strength first."
Yuanqing watched as the humanoid figure with the oversized mouth stepped forward.
"Kid, you may be a Late Daluo Golden Immortal, but if I'm not mistaken, you've only just broken through to this realm. I, on the other hand, have spent a long time consolidating my cultivation in the mid-stage Da Luo Golden Immortal realm. You might not necessarily beat me."
Yuanqing replied, "Stop talking nonsense. Let's fight."
Yuanqing knew he shouldn't waste time entangling himself with such characters; his true target was the Demon Ancestor Luohou.
The Envoy of Mouth Desire then produced a Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure.
Yuanqing thought to himself that the Demon Race was truly formidable if even one of the Seven Passions and Six Desires Envoys could pull out a Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure.
The Envoy of Mouth Desire shouted, "Swallow the heavens and devour the earth!" With a sudden wide opening of his mouth, a fierce gale erupted, aiming to suck Yuanqing right inside and devour him, the howling wind laced with wisps of demonic energy.
Recognizing that any single one of the Seven Passions and Six Desires Envoys was a powerhouse of the current era, and feeling the terrifying force of the attack, Yuanqing summoned the Rivers and Mountains Land Map to wrap around himself for protection.
Upon seeing that Yuanqing possessed yet another Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, the Envoy of Mouth Desire turned green with envy. *If we defeat this fellow today, our Demon Race will gain two more Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures! And with the credit for subduing Yuanqing, I'll surely be rewarded with an extra Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure of my own!* He felt a warm wave of delight wash over him.
He immediately poured even more power into his attack against Yuanqing. The other five envoys looked on in utter shock upon discovering yet another Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure.
*Truly formidable!* They exchanged glances and nodded silently—it seemed they had no choice but to make him stay here permanently today.
Meanwhile, Yuanqing manipulated twelve of the Sea-Calming Pearls to quietly circle around behind the Envoy of Mouth Desire. Suddenly, the Envoy of Death Desire shouted, "Old fifth, watch out!" But it was already too late. Divine light burst forth from the twelve Sea-Calming Pearls as they slammed viciously into the Envoy of Mouth Desire, sending him crashing heavily to the ground, gravely wounded.
Feeling a faint black trace on his shoulder, Yuanqing thought to himself, *It seems none of the Seven Passions and Six Desires Envoys are to be underestimated. Even a lion hunting a rabbit uses its full strength—I need to step up my offense.*
Quickly, the Envoy of Life Desire rushed forward to pull the battered Envoy of Mouth Desire back to their camp.
Regaining his footing, the Envoy of Mouth Desire rasped, "Brothers, this bastard is fiercely strong! It seems we have no choice but to use *that* technique."
The six Desire Envoys exchanged glances once again and nodded in unison.
Taking up positions on six sides to form a hexagon, the six Desire Envoys trapped Yuanqing firmly in the center of the array.
The Envoy of Mouth Desire sneered, "Kid, don't be in such a rush. This formation was personally designed for us by Lord Demon Ancestor!"
"This formation is called the Six Passions Decimation Array!" declared the Envoy of Life Desire. "It is our ultimate technique. Even if Lord Heavenly Demon God were to come, it would take him a good while to break through it."
*System, what should I do? This formation is terrifyingly strong!*
*Host, do not panic. The Envoy of Mouth Desire is already severely injured.*
*The host only needs to protect yourself and unleash a fierce counterattack against the Envoy of Mouth Desire.*
*Kill him or knock him unconscious, and this formation will be broken.*
*Because the Six Desires Decimation Array relies on the six of them forming a single center—attacking a single point breaks the array, using their combined magic power as its source—severely injuring one of them, killing him or rendering him unconscious, will shatter the formation.*
*Got it, System.*
With a thought, Yuanqing retrieved the Celebration of the Heavens from his system space.
At the sight of yet another Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure, the six Desire Envoys stared in disbelief. *If we defeat him, we will possess three Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasures! The future of our Demon Race is truly boundless!*
Stepping atop the Top-Grade Innate Spirit Treasure Celebration of the Heavens, with the Rivers and Mountains Land Map crowning his head and holding the twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls in his left hand, Yuanqing finally understood just how formidable his defense truly was.
Shielding his body completely, Yuanqing channeled vast amounts of magical power into the twenty-four Sea-Calming Pearls.
He hurled them ruthlessly toward the Envoy of Mouth Desire.
"Old fifth, look out!" cried the Envoy of Eye Desire, whose eyes widened in horror, but there was nothing left they could do to save him.
The Envoy of Mouth Desire was struck directly, plunging straight into unconsciousness, though a tiny thread of life remained. Yuanqing knew he had the power to finish him off entirely, but he chose not to. After all, this was the territory of the Demon Race, and each of the Seven Passions and Six Desires Envoys played a crucial role for them. If he killed one of them here, Yuanqing knew he would never walk out of Mount Xumi alive today.
The Envoy of Life Desire cupped his fists and said, "Many thanks to fellow Daoist for showing mercy."
The Envoy of Death Desire asked in bewilderment, "Big brother, why are you thanking him?"
The Envoy of Life Desire replied, "If this fellow Daoist had used even a fraction more force, old fifth would be dead."
The remaining four envoys stared at Yuanqing in terror. This person was truly terrifyingly astute—he had seen through the fatal flaw of their formation in a single glance.
The Envoy of Life Desire bowed deeply. "Many thanks, fellow Daoist, for sparing his life."
The other four envoys also chimed in, "Many thanks, fellow Daoist, for showing mercy."