Countless fierce beasts swarmed the Devil's Den Forbidden Zone. Although the cultivators of the Fairy Pavilion and the Leg Hair Brotherhood had hidden themselves exceptionally well, they still could not escape those omnipresent eyes.
Swarms of fierce beasts surrounded the area tightly. The dragon-like king and the turtle-like king had both arrived, and an even more terrifying demonic eagle with a wingspan of a thousand meters hovered in the air.
Faced with such a crisis, the two previously hostile sects chose to cooperate and fight together, executing a formation to break through the siege. The Empress and Tudao, both in the Heavenly Tribulation Stage, took the lead, jointly launching an assault on the circling Demon Eagle King.
Earlier, the Demon Eagle King had led the pursuit against the cultivators of the Leg Hair Brotherhood, so Tudao knew its capabilities all too well. If he hadn't deployed quite a few trump cards, he never would have been able to escape its hunt with his people.
Compared to the other two beast kings, this demonic king—possessing terrifying speed and strength—was by far the most troublesome existence. Seeing the two Heavenly Tribulation figures charging directly at it, the Demon Eagle King raised its head and let out a piercing screech.
"Phoenix Wings Soaring through the Heavens!"
"Bloody Battle across All Directions!"
With two explosive shouts—one male and one female—the Demon Eagle King spread its wings, showing no fear at all. Its massive body plunged downward, surging demonic Qi gathering around it, and instantly collided with the ultimate techniques of the two Heavenly Tribulation figures!
Rumble, rumble, rumble...
A sound like muffled thunder echoed. The Demon Eagle King's massive body was sent flying backward; it was simply unable to withstand the might of two Heavenly Tribulation experts single-handedly. Recovering its footing as it violently flapped its wings to whip up a howling gale, it prepared to resume the attack.
Suddenly, its sharp eagle eyes constricted. The Empress was still a hundred meters away, but Tudao had already closed in. The divine weapon in his hand flashed with a biting cold light, and he relentlessly hacked down a blade directly at its head, striking with the formidable power of an axe splitting a mountain!
The Demon Eagle King was shocked. Just as it tried to put some distance between itself and Tudao, a giant golden hand pressed down from the sky, sealing off its retreat and forcing it to take Tudao's strike with its physical body alone!
Although fierce beasts and demonic creatures were both creatures of the Devil's Den, they were hardly on good terms. Thus, when the Demon Eagle King ran into danger, the Dragon King and the Turtle King simply stood where they were to watch the spectacle.
Knowing full well that "an eagle must rely on itself," the Demon Eagle King instantly concentrated all its demonic Qi to condense a suit of armor over its body, taking the fierce blade-strike head-on.
With a thunderous explosion, the Demon Eagle King's massive body was once again sent flying sideways, black and red blood splashing across the sky. A shrill cry pierced the highest heavens, and the next moment, its wings unfolded again as it shot straight up into the air. Its massive body circled swiftly, whipping up gathering demonic Qi.
"Humans! Don't think you are the only ones who can execute divine abilities!" Disregarding the blood wildly spraying from its wounds, the Demon Eagle King unleashed its full power to summon a demonic Qi tsunami. Though originally a lesser divine ability, with the reinforcement of the Devil's Den, it erupted with the might of a major divine ability!
A sharp gleam flashed in the Empress's eyes, and she immediately shouted to Tudao, "Don't give it a chance to build up its power! Strike together!"
"Then stop talking nonsense!" Tudao let out a fierce shout. The divine weapon in his hand burst with brilliant light, and the next moment, a hundred-foot blade glare split the void, coming down with a force that seemed to shatter the heavens and split the earth!
Seeing this, the Empress did not hesitate in the least. Mana condensed around her fists, and as she threw a punch, she let out a sharp cry, "Phoenix Blazing Fire Fist!"
A massive fire phoenix soared into the air, charging toward the Demon Eagle King alongside the hundred-foot blade glare. Both attacks belonged to the major divine ability tier; even a Heavenly Tribulation Mighty Figure of the Taixuan Realm would not dare to take them head-on.
The Demon Eagle King was furious at the sight, but with injuries weighing it down, it could not afford to push its limits. It had no choice but to abandon the massive gathering of demonic Qi, pulling back in a swift retreat to dodge the killing blows of the two Heavenly Tribulation experts.
Exasperated and furious, the Demon Eagle King roared, "You two idiots! It doesn't matter if I die, but if you let these humans escape, you will have to pay with your lives to extinguish the Demon Lord's wrath!"
The Demon Lord again? The Empress and Tudao exchanged glances, both reading the confusion in each other's eyes. Who on earth was this mysterious Demon Lord? To think he could order the kings of the Devil's Den to hunt down them and the others!
Tudao reacted first. His history of growth was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood; from the moment he chose this path, he had prepared himself to die at any moment. No matter who the opponent was, he would swing his blade with unwavering resolve!
True to his conviction, before the Empress could make a move, Tudao stepped into the air and roared like thunder, "Dragon-Slaying Slash!"
Sensing the terrifying power of this strike, the Demon Eagle King spread its wings and struck down with a claw. The indestructible eagle claw violently collided with the Dragon-Slaying Slash, the ferocious power stirring up a howling gale in the air!
Only then did the Dragon King hover into the air to block the Empress. "Two-on-two is only fair. However, the Demon Lord has given orders to take you alive. If you surrender now, you still have a sliver of a chance of survival."
Hearing this, the Empress was momentarily stunned, but she quickly realized this was an opportunity to probe into the background of the Demon Lord. She immediately asked the Dragon King, "Since the Demon Lord wants me alive, how dare you try to kill me? Besides, I'm curious—just who on earth is this Demon Lord?"
"The Demon Lord is not a human..." The Dragon King blurted out, but immediately felt the phrasing was a bit awkward. After a moment of thought, it added, "The Demon Lord is the master of this Devil's Den, supreme and unrivaled..."
Before it could finish speaking, the Empress delivered a punch straight to its huge head. Clearly, while beast kings possessed intelligence, they didn't have very much of it.
This strike thoroughly aroused the Dragon King's ferocity. With an angry roar, it took to the air once more, black flames brewing in its jaws, intending to burn the Empress to ashes. To its surprise, however, the Empress dismissed all her defenses and stood right where she was, waiting to die.
The Dragon King spat its demonic flames harmlessly off to the side, looked at the Empress in bewilderment, and asked, "Are you looking to die? Don't you humans always like to make a stubborn last stand until the very end?"
The Empress sneered. "The Demon Lord wants me alive, so I won't die. If you have the guts, go ahead and kill me."
"In that case, I'll take you to meet the Demon Lord!" The Dragon King raised a claw to grab the Empress, only to be sent flying with a single punch as the Empress unleashed her cultivation base.
AWOOO!
The Dragon King was enraged. This Empress was merely taking advantage of the Demon Lord's order to capture her alive just to toy with it! It immediately moved to blast the Empress into slag with a breath of demonic flames, but before the flames could even leave its mouth, it was knocked flying again by the Turtle King.
"Old Turtle! Don't cause trouble for me right now!" The Dragon King was losing its mind. Being toyed with by the Empress twice was one thing, but now a fellow beast king was coming to obstruct it!
The Turtle King's mountain-like body shifted slightly. "If this woman dies, all of us will pay with our lives. Hand her over to me. Let me see what tricks she can pull, and whether she can pierce through this mountain-like demonic armor of mine."
With a solemn expression, the Empress prepared to strike, but suddenly a series of tragic screams echoed out. Turning her head, she saw that the Dragon King had broken through the Fairy-Plucking Heavenly Sword Formation, slaughtering the disciples of the Fairy Pavilion without restraint!
With its massive body and formidable strength, a single sweep of the Dragon King's tail could send dozens of Fairy Pavilion disciples to their deaths. Yet, whenever the Empress tried to go to their rescue, she was blocked by the Turtle King.
Drawing on the experience of having let the Empress escape earlier, the Turtle King had grown smarter this time. It first mobilized the power of the Devil's Den to seal off the surrounding area, preventing the Empress from escaping beyond a radius of a thousand meters!
"What humans call 'catching a turtle in a jar'—this is what it means!" Having lived much longer, the Turtle King had seen many more humans and was well-acquainted with some of their terms.