Yang Hong was filled with regret.
Why had he been so arrogant, thinking no one could discover his identity?
Why had he been so greedy, coveting the seventh-grade magical artifact, the seventh-grade formation, and those ten thousand high-grade spirit stones?
Were they all dead now?
"You ape, your cultivation is at the Nascent Soul stage, but your bone age is only 53 years!
How is this possible?"
The words spoken by the ninth-tier Demon Emperor brought Yang Hong a slight sense of relief.
"Grandmother, you say this ape is only 53 years old?"
Feng Ruhua also asked in surprise, then she grabbed Yang Hong's shoulder and began to probe him with her spiritual power.
"Huh? He really is 53 years old, not even a fraction of my age."
Feng Ruhua released Yang Hong, complaining with disappointment.
Yang Hong, on a whim, asked mischievously.
"Miss Ruhua, how old are you?"
"This young lady is 2672 years old this year."
Feng Ruhua raised her chin and proudly revealed her age, nearly choking Yang Hong.
If he were human, how many generations of ancestors would that be?
"Little Ruhua is still young, just reaching adulthood, equivalent to an 18-year-old human.
And you, ape, are only equivalent to a 14-year-old human. You're quite a match."
The ninth-tier Demon Emperor also released Yang Hong and said something that left Yang Hong speechless, with all his intended retorts failing to materialize.
A match for what?
"Sun Wukong, I've discovered that although you are only at the fifth-tier cultivation, you possess an extremely powerful potential within your body. Once it erupts, you will be no weaker than an ordinary seventh-tier demon.
I believe this is why your protector sent you into the Demon Sealing Secret Realm."
The ninth-tier Demon Emperor looked at Yang Hong, fabricating various possibilities for him, and Yang Hong simply kept nodding.
"Ruhua, don't rush to lay eggs with this ape just yet. Wait until he comes out of the Demon Sealing Secret Realm to lay them.
I feel that after this trip into the realm, he will break through to the sixth-tier Demon King stage, and the success rate of laying eggs will be higher then."
"Alright, Grandmother, I'll listen to you."
Feng Ruhua nodded in agreement. Seeing Yang Hong's true cultivation, she herself felt regret and began to look down on him.
Yang Hong never expected that one day, his low cultivation would be the very thing that saved his innocence.
For the next half-month, Yang Hong did not leave Feng Ruhua's room, diligently familiarizing himself with the seventh-grade flying sword he had just obtained, the 【Kui Shui Fen Guang Jian】,
and the seventh-grade formation set – the 【Jiu Long Yu Shui Zhen】.
The 【Jiu Long Yu Shui Zhen】 was relatively simple to use. All it required was imprinting it with his spiritual sense and magical power, and then inscribing his aura onto it for activation.
In the future, to use it, he only needed to inject magical power and throw out the nine formation flags. The connection between the flags would automatically arrange themselves, activating the 【Jiu Long Yu Shui Zhen】 on the flags.
This formation was indeed a seventh-grade formation in water, but on land, its effect would be at most that of a fourth-grade formation. If taken to a desert, it would be merely decorative.
Yang Hong had been tricked by Ao Deju.
Similarly, the 【Kui Shui Fen Guang Jian】 faced the same predicament; its actual combat power would be greatly diminished in environments devoid of water.
"Ao Deju, you scoundrel."
After refining the Kui Shui Fen Guang Jian, Yang Hong couldn't help but curse.
Fortunately, the ten thousand high-grade spirit stones were legitimate.
"Stop complaining. We're preparing to enter the Demon Sealing Secret Realm. We'll find Ao Deju inside and teach him a lesson. That guy is indeed a scoundrel."
Hearing Yang Hong's grumbling, Feng Ruhua entered the room.
Yang Hong casually asked, "Has the Demon Sealing Secret Realm opened?"
Feng Ruhua replied while collecting items in the room.
"It has. It's the secret realm key of the Golden Winged Great Peng tribe,
but it was opened by an old turtle from the Black Tortoise tribe. This is a bit strange.
Let's go."
Yang Hong's heart stirred, and he felt greatly relieved.
His caution this time had indeed been wise.
Those small shields were indeed numbered or marked. Once activated, they would emit a recognizable signal.
If he had activated them himself, no matter which small shield he activated, he might have been hunted down.
Following Feng Ruhua, Yang Hong quickly left the cabin. As soon as he reached the deck, he was stunned by the sight before him.
A colossal black hole, three li in diameter, loomed beneath the sky, only ten zhang above the ground.
The black hole was not circular but shaped like an eyeball. Within the black hole, black halos spun, resembling a blinking eye.
Even from a distance, Yang Hong could feel a faint demonic aura emanating from it.
"This Demon Sealing Secret Realm seems to be failing to seal the demons properly."
Feng Ruhua, likely having seen the Demon Sealing Secret Realm before, was not stunned but frowned and mumbled.
Yang Hong nodded without speaking. He already knew from the feedback of the Heavenly Dao that the Demon Sealing Secret Realm was truly failing to seal the demons.
"Let's go. You must stay close to me this time, or you won't even know how you died."
Feng Ruhua grabbed Yang Hong and was about to fly towards the black hole, but stopped.
"Aren't we waiting for the other demons to act together?"
"Hmph~ Those good-for-nothings are afraid I'll snatch their spoils, so they've already run off."
Feng Ruhua's phoenix eyes flickered, releasing a faint killing intent.
Yang Hong felt that Feng Ruhua must have a history of snatching spoils,
and she was now likely planning to snatch the spoils of her own kin.
"Go!"
Feng Ruhua shouted, then enveloped Yang Hong with her spiritual power and flew towards the black hole.
In just a few breaths, they arrived before the black hole.
The closer they got, the more Yang Hong was awestruck.
A colossal space gate, three li wide, pressed down from the sky. Those with weaker psychological fortitude wouldn't even dare to look up.
There were no inspection personnel, nor any organizers. Any demon who received the news and wished to enter could directly access the Demon Sealing Secret Realm.
However, beneath the black hole, Yang Hong saw numerous tents, and quite a few eighth-tier and even ninth-tier demons. These demons were likely the protectors.
"Whoosh~"
As Yang Hong was about to observe the black hole further, with a soft sound, Feng Ruhua pulled him into the black hole.
"Mmm~"
Upon entering the black hole, Yang Hong was pulled into Feng Ruhua's embrace. The faint fragrance of her body stunned him.
Before he could savor it, they appeared in a dim, gray world.
A strong demonic aura permeated the entire space, making Yang Hong extremely uncomfortable.
"After ten thousand years of our conquest, the Demon Sealing Secret Realm no longer harbors many demonic creatures.
However, the demonic energy remains potent. Our sole mission upon entering is to patrol the four True Demon sealing points and, if capable, reinforce the seals."
Feng Ruhua released Yang Hong and looked around the desolate land, speaking slowly.
"Alright, I'll go with you."
Yang Hong immediately agreed to accompany her. This was precisely why the Heavenly Dao had forced him into the Demon Sealing Secret Realm.
Yang Hong suspected that Feng Ruhua might be a helper sent by the Heavenly Dao.
However, Feng Ruhua's next words dispelled his notion.
"You~ stop joking.
You, a mere fifth-tier Great Demon, want to follow me?
You find a place to hide nearby yourself. In fourteen days, spatial energy will expel all living demons."
"Good luck~"
As soon as Feng Ruhua finished speaking, she transformed into her true form, a massive fire phoenix with a wingspan of three hundred zhang, and soared into the sky.
She flew away.
"..."
Yang Hong was utterly speechless.
Hadn't Feng Ruhua pulled him into the black hole together with her to prevent them from getting separated?
What was this peculiar maneuver now?