Chapter 468: Retreat

At the blue-robed woman's words, quite a few of the martial world experts hidden nearby began murmuring quietly among themselves. After a moment, someone spoke with a grave tone, "This Great Li prince already possessed extraordinary talent, and now that he's fallen into the demonic path, if we let him continue growing unchecked, the entire martial world under heaven may not escape catastrophe in the future."

"Why not take advantage of having Senior Shangguan, Senior Song, and the other martial world elders gathered here, and act together to eliminate this man, strangling this great demon lord in its cradle before it can grow."

At those words, the surrounding group fell into a visible silence. The blue-robed woman known throughout the martial world as the "Golden Wing Blade of the Great Desert" furrowed her brow slightly, while Hu Yidao, known as "Wind God Sweeping Sands," and Song Wanchao, known for his "Heavenly Thunder Palm," both standing beside her, remained silent.

After a moment, the blue-robed woman was about to speak, but a female warrior beside her tugged at her sleeve and gave a slight shake of her head.

At the sight, the blue-robed woman hesitated briefly, but ultimately spoke up, "This Great Li prince has already established himself as a formidable power, and now he also commands the Hidden Kill Pavilion. I'm not simply being modest when I say that, given just those of us here, it would likely be extremely difficult to deal with him."

At those words, Song Wanchao of the "Heavenly Thunder Palm" gave a slow nod as well, "This man has received the Demonic Patriarch's legacy, and the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art he cultivates can absorb others' cultivation, advancing his demonic power at an extraordinarily rapid pace. If we intend to deal with a demon lord of this caliber, we must proceed with the utmost caution and absolutely cannot act rashly."

"What's more, now that he's become Pavilion Master of the Hidden Kill Pavilion, he's already at odds with the White Tiger Divine Hall, and the Divine Hall will surely not let this rest. For now, we can simply observe how the situation between the White Tiger Divine Hall and that prince develops before deciding on our next move."

At those words, Hu Yidao of "Wind God Sweeping Sands" naturally gave his agreement as well, and the surrounding martial world experts, seeing that these three renowned elders had no intention of acting for the time being, likewise dropped the matter of moving against Li Musheng.

Meanwhile, the crowd of demonic figures made their way through streets and alleys in a great procession, finally coming to a stop before the gates of Li Musheng's residence.

The demonic figures looked upon the seven kneeling figures on the ground, including the five Divine Hall elders, with expressions of mockery.

Even so, they clearly understood they had more important matters to attend to, and immediately withdrew their attention from the seven kneeling figures.

At this point, one of the demonic experts stepped forward from the crowd and called out toward the residence, "We have all come to pay our respects and pledge our allegiance to the Pavilion Master. We ask that the Pavilion Master honor us with his presence."

At those words, the demonic figures on the street fell into complete silence, quietly waiting for Li Musheng's response from within the residence.

But as time passed moment by moment, nothing whatsoever stirred within the residence, and no reply came from Li Musheng at all.

At the sight, another demonic expert attempted to call out again, but the situation remained unchanged.

For a moment, the demonic figures filling the entire street exchanged glances with one another, falling into an uneasy silence.

At this point, the hunched old man wreathed in bloody light and dense demonic energy in the crowd let a clear look of displeasure surface on his viciously twisted face, saying, "This man's demonic cultivation is indeed extraordinarily formidable, but his airs are just as considerable. He clearly holds none of us in any regard, deliberately refusing to show himself."

At those words, no small number of the demonic figures around him showed shifting expressions, hastily asking what they should do next.

"What else can we do? If he won't come out to meet us, are we supposed to force our way in? Naturally, all that's left is to withdraw."

The hunched old man, once a guardian elder of the Blood River Demonic Sect, shook his head, a cold glint flashing in his eyes as he said coldly, "What good is it for one man to receive the Demonic Patriarch's legacy and cultivate formidable demonic power, if he has no demonic experts following and supporting him? In the end, he'll inevitably stand alone and unsupported, meeting the same fate as the Demonic Patriarch himself, hunted down and destroyed by the righteous path."

At those words, the surrounding group of demonic figures fell into an uneasy silence, not daring to speak.

The hunched old man's words were clearly a criticism of Li Musheng, and none of them dared voice any careless comments of their own. If the Great Li prince within the residence happened to overhear, their lives would surely be forfeit.

Just then, among the crowd of demonic figures, a woman in a red robe was quietly watching the hunched old man, a calculating look surfacing in her eyes.

Then the red-robed woman suddenly pushed her way out from the crowd and immediately turned to angrily denounce the hunched old man, "You worthless old fool, with not a shred of ability to your name, and yet you have the nerve to stir up trouble here. Do you think you have any right to speak ill of His Highness the Eighth Prince's conduct?"

"Calling him 'this man' with every other word, showing not the slightest reverence. His Highness's demonic power reaches to the heavens, and he is the universally acknowledged common master of our entire demonic path. He should be addressed by the honored title of 'Demon Lord.'"

The red-robed woman's voice rang out loud and clear, carrying with unmistakable force to every demonic figure on the street, and naturally to the residence before them as well.

At those words, no small number of the demonic figures present immediately voiced their agreement, someone quickly chiming in, "That's right. His Highness is the acknowledged master of our entire demonic path in this era, our demonic path's future hope. We will swear ourselves to follow the Demon Lord unto death, never abandoning him."

Following this call, the surrounding crowd of demonic figures immediately echoed the sentiment, and in an instant, the entire street before Li Musheng's residence erupted with the calls of a great many demonic figures.

All of them declared their intent to follow Li Musheng, this master of the demonic path, and restore the glorious splendor of the demonic path's golden age. If Li Musheng refused, they vowed to wait there indefinitely, never abandoning him, until he accepted them.

Among them, the red-robed woman was the most excited of all, her calls ringing out the loudest, making her the most conspicuous figure in the entire crowd of demonic figures.

The hunched old man who had just been angrily denounced by the red-robed woman fixed his eyes on her with unmistakable venom, believing her to be genuinely vicious and calculating, having used him as a stepping stone to curry favor with Li Musheng.

Even so, under the current circumstances, though the hunched old man wished he could tear the red-robed woman limb from limb, he dared not act.

If he did something like that openly in front of everyone, killing someone who had shown such "unwavering loyalty" to Li Musheng, the crowd of demonic figures currently caught up in their fervent chanting would likely turn on him as one.

Just then, the noise from the crowd of demonic figures outside the residence had grown loud enough that Li Musheng, who had originally had no intention of paying them any attention whatsoever, finally began to feel some impatience.

"Since you all know I cultivate the Demonic Patriarch's legacy, the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art, then you should understand that I happen to be in need of more demonic cultivation right now."

"If you truly wish to follow me, then simply stay right where you are and let me absorb your cultivation and blood essence. Consider it your contribution to my demonic arts."

At this point, Li Musheng's voice drifted slowly out from within the residence, casually overpowering the calls of the demonic figures outside and reaching every one of their ears.

In an instant, every demonic figure on the entire street fell suddenly still.

Then, visibly, expressions of pure terror surfaced on every face.

The Demonic Patriarch's Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art carried a fearsome reputation throughout the entire demonic world, known to virtually everyone without exception.

This technique could rightly be called one of the supreme arts of the demonic path, extraordinarily vicious and domineering. At best, it would devour a person's entire demonic cultivation, leaving them a hollow husk of what they once were. At worst, it would drain a person entirely, leaving nothing behind but ash that would scatter at the slightest breeze, their body utterly destroyed.

Now, upon hearing that Li Musheng intended to use the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art on them, devouring their demonic cultivation and blood essence, every one of them was struck with immediate, soul-shaking terror.

The crowd of demonic figures, who had just been so passionately eager to follow Li Musheng, showed not the slightest hesitation, and instantly scattered like frightened birds and beasts, every one of them fleeing in a panic.

Every one of them feared that even the slightest delay might see them devoured entirely by the great demon lord within the residence through the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art.

Demonic figures were, by nature, deeply corrupted and self-serving. Though they had temporarily gathered together to follow Li Musheng, none of them held any genuine loyalty toward him whatsoever. The moment their own interests and lives were at stake, they scattered like sand, each fleeing for themselves when disaster loomed.

In barely the span of a few breaths, the street that had been packed solid with demonic figures before Li Musheng's residence was empty in an instant, the demonic figures having fled without a trace, the entire street left completely deserted.

The seven figures from the White Tiger Divine Hall, still kneeling motionless before the residence, caught sight from the corner of their eyes of the crowd that had just been shouting so fervently, now vanished completely the moment Li Musheng's words had fallen, and a look of contempt surfaced in all seven pairs of eyes.

But very quickly, all seven paused, noticing that although nearly all the demonic figures around them had fled, one person still remained standing before the residence, having made no move to flee at all.

And the one who remained was none other than the red-robed woman who had first spoken up to angrily denounce the Blood River Demonic Sect's guardian elder, and who had called out the honorific title of "Demon Lord" while leading the crowd of demonic figures in their pledge to follow Li Musheng.

At this moment, every other demonic figure had fled, yet the red-robed woman remained standing quietly before the residence.

Just then, Li Musheng's voice reached the red-robed woman's ears, "Why haven't you run? Do you genuinely intend to offer up your cultivation and blood essence for my sake?"

At those words, the red-robed woman looked up toward the residence before her, a clear look of panic crossing her eyes, but she forced herself to remain standing and spoke, "I ask the Demon Lord to show mercy. This humble woman comes from the Six Desires Demonic Sect, and I have something to report to the Demon Lord."

At those words, Li Musheng, still within the residence room, raised an eyebrow. He was, of course, no stranger to the Six Desires Demonic Sect.

"Come in."

Li Musheng's voice reached the red-robed woman's ears, and immediately after, the residence's door slowly and silently swung open.

At the sight, the red-robed woman felt an unmistakable wave of relief. Facing this demon lord of such terrifyingly formidable demonic cultivation, she had only spoken a single sentence and her back was already nearly drenched in cold sweat.

The red-robed woman then stepped forward toward the open residence gate. The seven kneeling members of the White Tiger Divine Hall, witnessing this, all wore unusual expressions.

After all, they, members of the White Tiger Divine Hall, could only kneel outside the residence, while some unknown demonic woman was allowed to swagger right through the gate that even they couldn't cross.

The contrast naturally left the seven White Tiger Divine Hall members feeling extremely humiliated.

At the same time, the many martial world experts throughout the Western Desert who had been secretly watching the situation near Li Musheng's residence witnessed the crowd of demonic figures, so aggressive and menacing just moments before, scatter and flee in an instant, and for a moment many of them went visibly blank with surprise.

"So he truly is a great demon lord, one whose demonic nature runs deep and cold-blooded to the core. He wouldn't even spare the demonic figures who came to follow him, intending to devour their very cultivation and blood essence. If he treats his own kind this ruthlessly, one can only imagine the harm he'll bring to the entire righteous martial world in the future."

Someone spoke with an extremely unpleasant expression. If even demonic figures feared this demon lord Li Musheng like a tiger, then they themselves naturally had every reason to fear him even more.

Even so, there were some among them who clearly saw things more clearly, and shook their heads, "That may not necessarily be the case. If that Great Li prince genuinely intended to devour those demonic figures' cultivation, do you really think they would have been able to escape?"

"I rather think that Great Li prince was simply using words to frighten them, with the goal of scaring the whole lot of them away."

At those words, quite a few people naturally turned their eyes toward the speaker.

Even so, when the crowd saw that the one who had spoken was a female warrior standing beside Shangguan Yan, the "Golden Wing Blade of the Great Desert," they all showed unusual expressions.

Someone immediately offered a differing view on the female warrior's words, "Rather than saying that great demon lord scared away a crowd of demonic figures willing to follow him, it would be more accurate to say that great demon lord simply didn't think much of that ragtag mob."

"This also shows that this great demon lord must be extraordinarily proud and arrogant by nature. Even when it comes to using the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art to absorb cultivation, he only considers figures of the caliber of the White Tiger Divine Hall's elders worthy of his attention."

At those words, the female warrior standing beside Shangguan Yan gave the speaker a look, narrowing her eyes and saying, "A truly deeply corrupted demon lord, if he found ant-like figures beneath his notice, would simply crush them without a second thought. There would be no need to do things this way."

As she said this, the purple-robed female warrior turned her gaze toward Li Musheng's residence and said, "Watch a man's actions to understand his intentions. With a demon lord of such formidable demonic power before us, we cannot afford the slightest carelessness when dealing with him. The smallest misstep could easily mean death."

"I understand everyone's determination as members of the righteous path to eliminate demonic evil and protect the righteous way. But to deal with a demon lord like this, we must first understand him thoroughly. Only by knowing both ourselves and our enemy can we ensure victory."

At those words, several of the renowned martial world elders present, Shangguan Yan included, all gave a slight nod. Song Wanchao of the "Heavenly Thunder Palm" spoke with a thoughtful expression, "Well said. Though every demonic figure deserves elimination by anyone who encounters them, we cannot afford to act recklessly either. Setting aside whether any of us could actually defeat that Great Li prince in a direct confrontation, even if we could, given his overwhelmingly powerful demonic strength, it would inevitably be a pyrrhic victory at best."

"What's more, from what we've observed so far, though that Great Li prince's demonic arts are unfathomably deep, he's still nowhere near the point of losing control. We can afford to observe the situation a while longer before deciding how to proceed."

At this point, Hu Yidao, standing nearby, swept his eyes over the surroundings and said, "The fact that those demonic figures weren't accepted by that Great Li prince suggests there's no actual relationship between them. We could perhaps move first to eliminate those fleeing demon lords instead."