"One, two, three!"
Zhou Hong shouted. When he reached "three," the Demon Subduing Pestle exerted its full force, yanking the flag planted in the ground deep into the earth.
The City Lord, who was muttering incantations, instantly sensed something was wrong. He froze for a moment, unable to react immediately, as the situation was too bizarre.
It lasted only 0.0001 seconds, but by the time he came to his senses, the flag had already been pulled underground.
"How could this happen?" the City Lord exclaimed, reaching out to grab it.
However, the flag seemed incredibly fast, pulled hundreds of meters underground by some unknown force.
"Mami mami niang niang mami ma!" The City Lord immediately cast a spell to control the flag. After all, it was his demonic artifact, and he didn't need physical contact to control it with his magic.
But to his utter shock, his flag seemed to disobey, spiraling uncontrollably further into the earth.
"How is this happening? How can this be? What is dragging my flag down?" The City Lord had never encountered such a strange event in his life and was utterly dumbfounded.
"Father, why is your main flag running away?" the City Lord's son asked in astonishment.
"I don't know! I can't control it anymore! Could the thing dragging away my Cloud Swallowing Flag be a higher-grade demonic artifact? Third-rank? Fourth-rank?"
Without time to think further, the City Lord plunged into the earth.
However, at this point, he had completely lost contact with his flag. To be precise, Zhou Hong's Demon Subduing Pestle had already consumed the flag.
Miles away in a cave, Zhou Hong instantly retracted the Demon Subduing Pestle. Even if the City Lord burrowed into the earth, he would never find it a hundred miles away. When Zhou Hong retrieved the pestle, the traces were incredibly subtle, slipping through rock crevices, leaving virtually no sign.
"Did you get it?" Lang Qihua asked, her face full of curiosity as Zhou Hong put away the Demon Subduing Pestle.
"Of course. It has been absorbed by my Demon Subduing Pestle. Although I don't know when it will ascend to fourth-rank, I feel as though it's been activated and has become more excited and powerful," Zhou Hong chuckled. The feeling was akin to a man suddenly experiencing renewed vigor during intimacy, an indescribable pleasure.
"Then let's leave quickly, in case that City Lord chases after us."
"Haha, don't worry, I doubt he can catch up."
"But, didn't your Demon Subduing Pestle go into the ground? Won't he just follow the hole?"
"There was no hole. My Demon Subduing Pestle transformed into roots underground, following the crevices in the rocks. Where would he find a hole? He'd be looking for death to try and find us here, unless he has other divine abilities. But I suspect this City Lord of Milan City isn't that capable, likely no different from the City Lord of Wumeng City."
"Still, let's go quickly."
Zhou Hong nodded and immediately soared into the air, departing swiftly.
For Zhou Hong, the recent events were merely a minor interlude.
Meanwhile, beneath Milan City, its City Lord had gone mad. He had virtually dug up the entire underground of his mansion, but found nothing.
"Where is my demonic artifact? Where did it go?" the City Lord roared in fury. In his 3,000 years of existence, he had never witnessed such a peculiar incident.
"Father, could it be the person who stole my secondary flag before...!" his son reminded him.
"It must be him! Quickly, where is he? Take me to him, I will tear him apart alive!" the City Lord of Milan City raged. He was now a bit like the former City Lord of Wumeng City, hysterical, but only capable of empty threats. Such a feeling would drive anyone to the brink of collapse.
"Just outside the city."
With that, the City Lord of Milan City and his son rushed outside the city. Unfortunately, Zhou Hong had long since disappeared. Searching for Zhou Hong outside the city would be as futile as digging underground again.
"Ahhhh!" After searching for a long time with no results, the City Lord's face turned red with rage, his roars echoing throughout Milan City. The residents of Milan City secretly wondered if their City Lord was having a fit.
After Zhou Hong and Lang Qihua left, they traveled for another day. On the evening of the second day, they descended into a deep mountain forest, preparing to rest for the night.
Zhou Hong hunted some game, and while barbecuing it, he chatted with Lang Qihua.
Lang Qihua was a woman, appearing to be of a certain age. Though she looked like a middle-aged woman, Zhou Hong harbored no romantic interest in her.
"Lang Qihua, here, have a lamb leg." Zhou Hong tore off a large piece of lamb leg and threw it to her.
"Thank you."
They ate the delicious roasted lamb. It had to be said that lamb in the immortal realm was incomparable to that of the mortal world. The meat was incredibly flavorful and nutritious. A bite of this lamb, if taken back to Earth, could likely extend any Earthling's lifespan by a hundred years.
Thus, the night passed without incident.
The next day, Zhou Hong and Lang Qihua continued their journey.
For the next ten-plus days, Zhou Hong did not stop to rest, constantly traveling. Finally, about ten days later, they reached the Immortal-Demon Mountain Range, or more precisely, its entrance.
Zhou Hong stood at the entrance, gazing at the Immortal-Demon Mountain Range. It appeared incredibly tall and vast, seemingly separating the immortal and demon realms.
"Grandfather, I've arrived at the Immortal-Demon Mountain Range. What does the Soul Locking Grass you mentioned look like?" Zhou Hong immediately asked his grandfather in his mind.
"It looks like this." In the next second, an image of Soul Locking Grass appeared in Zhou Hong's mind.
"Alright! But it looks like finding this thing won't be easy."
"Indeed. Soul Locking Grass is quite rare, and its consciousness is very strong. It can sense someone plotting against it from afar, hiding deep underground or disguised as other spiritual herbs."
Zhou Hong suddenly had an idea and chuckled.
"What are you laughing about?"
"Grandfather, I just realized that my Demon Subduing Pestle might be excellent for capturing spiritual herbs. In terms of disguise, who can outdo the Demon Subduing Pestle? I'll plant the Demon Subduing Pestle underground, and no matter how clever the Soul Locking Grass is, it won't escape my pestle."
"Then don't waste any more time, go find it quickly."
"Okay."
Zhou Hong transmitted the appearance of the Soul Locking Grass to Lang Qihua, and then they began their search in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range.
Unfortunately, Soul Locking Grass was indeed rare. They searched and searched in the Demonic Beast Mountain Range for over ten days but found no trace of it.
"Zhou Hong, why haven't we found the thing you're looking for?" Lang Qihua seemed to be losing patience. For the past ten days, she had been constantly on edge, as the Immortal-Demon Mountain Range was fraught with danger.