The Earth Fiend dove underground, burrowing into the volcano at breakneck speed. Bai Qi, watching from outside, nodded with satisfaction.
Just as he was about to leave for his next step, the roar of engines echoed from afar.
Following the sound, he saw that it was the Chen Long family.
A faint smile played on Bai Qi's lips. "They've come at the perfect time."
"Holy Lord!"
Upon spotting Bai Qi not far away, the entire Chen Long family panicked. With a screech of tires and a drift, they managed to stop their vehicle a mere two meters from Bai Qi.
Before Chen Long could even fully park, his father, impatient, grabbed the Zhong Hua ancient sword from the passenger seat and leaped out of the car.
"Hmm?"
Noticing the ancient sword in the father's hand, Bai Qi raised an eyebrow and said with a hint of amusement, "What, you intend to seal me now?"
Bai Qi's reaction surprised the father greatly.
The opponent clearly knew that the Zhong Hua ancient sword was the divine artifact that had sealed him back then.
Given this, a normal reaction would be to turn and flee, getting out of the effective range of magic as quickly as possible.
Yet, the Holy Lord not only didn't run but was casually conversing with him, as if the item in his hand was a broken stick, not an ancient sword.
Bai Qi waved his hand, providing the father with the answer to his own apprehension.
"As a great mage among humans, you must know that each demon corresponds to a gate. Only when a demon returns to the surface through its gate can the divine artifact reopen it and seal the demon away again. Since my hell gate has not yet opened, there's no 'reopening' to seal me, is there?"
After Bai Qi's explanation, the father's expression shifted from playful to dark, and finally to a deathly pale, devoid of color.
The father was human, with emotions and desires. He dared to face Bai Qi because he possessed a trump card that could bring Bai Qi down. But now, that trump card was useless. Facing a demon directly, fear once again took hold.
"Dad."
Just then, a voice called out. Bai Qi instinctively took two steps back, clearing the space. The next moment, Chen Long leaped forward, positioning himself in front of his father, ready to engage Bai Qi in a fierce battle. Xiao Yu and Tulo also arrived on the scene, carrying pufferfish and geckos.
Looking at the group before him, Bai Qi couldn't help but smile.
At such close proximity, with the father's prepared trump card rendered ineffective against him, it would be as easy as flipping his hand for Bai Qi to annihilate the entire protagonist group if he wished.
But Bai Qi would not do that.
Not just now, but in the past, Bai Qi had many opportunities to eliminate the Chen Long family. But what use would that be to the gods?
If he killed the Chen Long family, a Wang Long family, a Zhao Long family, or any other would emerge. As long as righteousness willed it, there would be as many protagonist groups as he wanted. These newly formed groups, lurking in the shadows while Bai Qi was in the open, would put him at a disadvantage.
Furthermore, Bai Qi currently needed the protagonist group to complete his final plan: to reseal the Earth Fiend, who was wreaking havoc in Mount Fushi.
That's right, in Bai Qi's eyes, the Earth Fiend's value had been fully utilized. The next step was for the protagonist group to re-seal the Earth Fiend back into hell.
However, on the surface, Bai Qi would certainly not proactively tell the protagonist group these things. Even if he did, given his identity as the great villain, they might not believe him.
Bai Qi deliberately put on a lecherous expression as he looked at Xiao Yu and said, "My Dark Queen, I never expected to meet you here."
After speaking, Bai Qi performed a bow in the manner of an English gentleman.
Seeing Bai Qi's demeanor, Chen Long instinctively shielded Xiao Yu, fearing the demon might do something irrational.
Xiao Yu, however, seemed much more composed after her recent experiences. Instead of hiding, she stepped forward from behind Chen Long and approached Bai Qi, saying, "Holy Lord, what exactly do you want?"
Seeing Xiao Yu's boldness in speaking to a great demon like this, Chen Long was about to intervene. To his astonishment, Bai Qi's reaction stunned him, leaving him speechless.
Bai Qi was momentarily taken aback by Xiao Yu's question. Then, with a hearty laugh, he exclaimed, "Excellent, excellent! This is the spirit a Dark Queen should possess."
Bai Qi then continued, "Don't you already know why I'm here? My companions are preparing to detonate the volcano, and I am here to stop you from proceeding."
Bai Qi's words struck everyone present like a heavy blow. They knew that without adequate preparation, they were no match for the Holy Lord.
With the Holy Lord guarding this place, not only would sealing the Earth Fiend be impossible, but even escaping alive would be a problem.
"However..."
Just as despair began to set in and they started contemplating escape, Bai Qi changed his tone and said, "It's not impossible for me to let you pass."
"No!" As soon as Bai Qi finished speaking, the father immediately retorted, "We will never make a deal with a demon, never."
Boom!
The moment the father finished speaking, Mount Fushi behind Bai Qi let out a deafening roar, as if it were about to explode.
Bai Qi glanced back with a knowing smile. "Hurry up. If you're too late, it'll be too late." Suzan Novel Network
The father wanted to say more, but the urgency of the situation caused Chen Long to quickly cover his father's mouth. "What do you want?"
"That's more like it. This is how you should be."
Bai Qi calmly pointed at Xiao Yu. "I want her."
"Huh?" x4
Bai Qi's statement caused an uproar among everyone present.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Even without knowing Bai Qi's true intentions, Chen Long absolutely refused to use Xiao Yu as a bargaining chip.
"That is not up to you."
With that, Bai Qi didn't give them time to react. He lunged forward, appearing before Xiao Yu. With just a glance, Xiao Yu felt a wave of dizziness and instantly fell unconscious.
Catching the unconscious Xiao Yu, Bai Qi turned and left.
Chen Long tried to pursue, but shadowy ninjas blocked his path.
Before entering the Shadow Kingdom, Bai Qi couldn't resist turning back to taunt Chen Long and the others, "Go on, hurry and save more people."
With that, he walked into the Shadow Kingdom with Xiao Yu.
After Bai Qi's departure, the ninjas who were fighting Chen Long immediately stopped and disappeared into the shadows.
"Dad, think of something!"
Seeing Xiao Yu taken away, Chen Long was truly panicked. He rushed to his father for help, but what could the father do?
The Shadow Kingdom, as one of the strongholds of the dark forces, was inaccessible to righteous mages like him. Even if he branded himself with demonic symbols like Tarak, he would eventually be corrupted by the dark energy within the Shadow Kingdom and fall into darkness.
The only thing they could do now was to seal the demon before them as quickly as possible.
"But Dad, Xiao Yu..."
"Don't worry," the father said, trying to keep his voice steady. "Since the Holy Lord has taken Xiao Yu, she won't be in mortal danger for the time being. We must seal this Earth Fiend as soon as possible so that we can pool all our efforts to find her."