Captured

It wasn't just Chi Ji who felt this way; Qingmu also found it strange.

He had once tested Xu Xian on behalf of the High Priest in that empty alley, where Bai Mang had taken down his distant nephew with a single spear strike.

Although it was only one strike, it was enough to show that Bai Mang's strength should be on par with someone at the eighth stage.

Even if he couldn't defeat someone of the eighth stage, he shouldn't have been completely without the ability to resist.

Yet everything had happened too quickly, giving him an indescribable feeling of a false impression.

He could only think of two possibilities.

The first was that the person who acted was not merely an eighth rank, but someone at the demon god stage.

The second was that Bai Mang had done it on purpose.

Likewise, he didn't rule out a third possibility: that the attacker was more than an eighth rank and Bai Mang had deliberately cooperated.

They were on the same side, and the person hadn't come to kill Bai Mang but rather to save him.

This feeling was extremely strong, and he instinctively looked back, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Who could it be?"

Was it the High Priest's arrangement, or had the mysterious person who unleashed that sword strike from behind the scenes finally made a move?

On the other side, the chaos in the Outer City did not catch the eyes of the demon gods.

The moment Xu Xian was attacked, they had already reacted.

Some saw through the situation and remained unmoved.

Others didn't have time to think much and had already charged out toward the Nether Pool before the descendants of the demon gods could even give chase.

However, they were stopped in the middle of the Nether Pool by a golden-haired woman.

She said indifferently, "Everyone, stop here."

The demon gods who had pursued stood suspended in the air, the light in their eyes flickering as if they had fallen into a thick fog.

Someone spoke up and asked, "High Priest, why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Everything that happened... you did it."

Jin Qing remained silent, choosing to acknowledge it by default.

The demon gods speculated and whispered among themselves.

A few with shorter tempers immediately questioned her coldly, "High Priest, what exactly is the meaning of this?"

"Explosions in the Nether Capital and now kidnapping someone... this is no small commotion."

When it involved their own interests, they wouldn't even give the High Priest face.

Before the High Priest could respond, the Crimson Demon Chi Ming arrived late.

He mused, "Isn't it obvious? The High Priest wants us to watch a good show."

Everyone turned to look in surprise.

Chi Ming was here too?

What kind of show was it?

Some had guessed a bit, while others were still in the dark.

Jin Qing didn't explain but simply smiled slightly. "Since everyone is here, let's watch together."

Chi Ming gave his tacit approval.

With the High Priest's invitation, the demon gods said no more and followed her wishes to watch.

They wanted to see what Jin Qing intended by going through so much trouble to bring Bai Mang to the center of the Nether Pool.

The High Priest turned around and waved her sleeve.

A ripple appeared in the curtain of rain, and within that ripple, an image condensed: a dark and gloomy sky, nether water that gradually glowed, and between the two, a person in black racing along.

And clutched in their hand was today's main attraction, Bai Mang.

At this point, even the most oblivious demon gods belatedly realized what was happening.

The High Priest was testing Bai Mang, and since she chose the center of the Nether Pool, it wasn't hard to guess what she was testing.

In the depths of the Nether Pool, the gravity of the nether water was at its strongest and the magnetic field was most intense.

Even for them, as demon gods, flying across this area required great effort.

A sixth-rank demon general had absolutely no possibility of crossing thousands of miles over the Nether Pool.

The only fate awaiting him was either to wait for death or sink to the bottom.

If he wanted to survive, his only chance was to use nether fire to freeze the nether water and walk out openly.

The demon gods had previously received news that five months ago, Bai Mang had obtained the 《Nether Fire Secret Art》 from Chi Ji, the daughter of the Crimson Demon, and had been practicing it in secret.

It was precisely because of this that they had originally intended to kill him—first to eliminate a future threat, and second to make an example out of him.

It was only later, when Bai Mang revealed he knew ancestral demon script to save his life, that they settled for the next best thing and let the matter cool down.

From ancient times to the present, only the Supreme Demon Lord had ever mastered 《Nether Fire》.

Even during the peak of the ancestral demons in the ancient era, no one else could comprehend it.

Accounts of this were not just in texts; the rumors circulating among the people had never ceased.

The demon gods were ambitious and craved strength, but they also had self-awareness; they didn't believe they could be stronger than their ancestral demon predecessors.

It wasn't that they didn't desire the Nether Fire Secret Art, but they considered their own actual circumstances more.

Furthermore, they never believed that Bai Mang could truly master the Nether Fire Secret Art and become a second Demon Lord; that was simply too absurd.

But nothing was absolute—what if?

The High Priest had once lurked by Bai Mang's side and understood him better than anyone else present.

Given what they knew of this woman, she would never do something useless.

Since she decided to test him and even made such a huge scene, then there might truly be something to it.

As they watched the spectacle, their hearts also became uneasy and unsettled.

If he really could manifest nether fire, what should be done? What would the High Priest do?

They hoped to have a demon genius like Bai Mang to translate the ancestral demon script for the heavenly demon race to use.

But most of them absolutely did not want a Bai Mang who could manifest nether fire, a Bai Mang who stood above them, a Bai Mang who might be hailed as the hope of the demon race.

The hope of the demon race could only be a heavenly demon; this stemmed from tens of thousands of years of class stratification.

So they were somewhat anxious, even if they didn't believe Bai Mang could really do it.

Even if the story he fabricated was true and he really could learn it, it couldn't be this fast.

Only five months—how could it be possible in a mere five months?

They stared at the illusion, some with sneers of disdain, some with narrowed eyes full of gloom, and some with lowered brows and somber expressions.

There were also those who spoke out in mockery and sarcasm.

"Do you think it's possible?"

"Heh... possible what? Learning the Nether Fire Secret Art in five months? Hehe, I don't deny Bai Mang is a demon genius, but he is just a demon, not a god..."

"Makes sense!"

"I see our High Priest is getting more and more senile."

"A waste of effort."

"Haha, let's just accompany the High Priest and watch; we can treat it as a delusional dream to witness a Demon Lord being born on this Nether Pool."

"You people really have sharp tongues."

Their tones were biting and caustic, keeping their voices low yet intentionally letting the High Priest hear them; their intentions were plain to see.

Ridicule, mockery, and public criticism.

Each one of them wanted to see the High Priest fail.

In fact, in recent months, they had become increasingly dissatisfied with this High Priest.

Jin Qing heard it all but remained indifferent throughout.

They were like fools watching a play they could not see, merely repeating the gossip of others.

Whatever they said didn't matter... only facts did!