Chapter 298: Chapter 298: The Mutation of Evil Qi, Gong Qingqiu’s Backup Plan
“Ladies and gentlemen, since the treasure is secured, this New Year’s gathering concludes here. Should you find yourselves free next year, let’s reconvene and share our progress,” Master Luo Cheng said, bowing to everyone present.

“That agrees perfectly with me!” Temple Chief Tu nodded vigorously in agreement.

Just as everyone was preparing to depart, a sudden change occurred.

Above the Demon-locking Tower, an enormous vortex began to form in the sky.

The scattered Evil Qi swiftly coalesced into the vortex, transforming it into a gigantic maelstrom several hundred meters in diameter that frantically devoured the Spiritual Energy from all directions.

A sense of imminent danger burst forth rapidly.

“What’s happening?”

“It seems like the Evil Qi is gathering on its own.”

“Quick, bring out the Purification Bead!”

A look of sheer terror spread across everyone’s faces.

Luo Cheng hurriedly took out the Purification Bead, and several Sect Masters present immediately injected it with their copious True Yuan.

Hum!

The Glowing Armored Warrior reappeared.

With an icy demeanor and a sword made of light in hand, it charged toward the vortex of Evil Qi in the sky.

Swoosh!

The bright sword radiance split the vortex open, and countless black smokes of Evil Qi dispersed like thick smoke, metamorphosing into numerous eyes filled with sinister and twisted faces.

“You shall not have a good death…”

“The Human Race shall be extinguished!”

“I will return for my revenge!”

Countless sharp voices laden with malice emanated from the twisted faces, the tremors shaking the very heavens and earth.

Everyone felt their eardrums violently quiver; some people even collapsed on the spot, vomiting blood, their faces deathly pale.

“Leave this place at once!” Master Luo Cheng bellowed.

All hastily retreated to a hundred meters beyond the Nine-Layered Demon-Sealing Tower.

However, a withered old figure remained seated cross-legged on a stone bench beneath the tower, his murky eyes fixated on the countless faces in the sky, his gaze becoming increasingly frenzied.

“Elder Mu, leave the Demon-locking Tower quickly!”

Seeing the guardian of the tower, Luo Cheng shouted immediately.

But Elder Mu let out a series of cackling laughs, his head turning mechanically towards the crowd as his teeth began to elongate, transforming into a mouth full of terrifying fangs in no time.

“Heh heh heh… The mission of the Nine-Layered Demon-Sealing Tower is complete, and my bright future has at last arrived. Leave? How could I possibly do that!”

No sooner had he spoken than Elder Mu formed a spell with his hands.

Under the stunned gaze of everyone, all the Evil Qi in the sky descended and backflowed into Elder Mu’s forehead.

Crack!

His clothes burst apart, turning into dust.

And then, before the horrified eyes of hundreds, Elder Mu’s body sprouted crimson scales, a strange black brand appeared on his forehead, and his body swelled rapidly, transforming into a bizarre scaled giant over two meters tall.

The aura of the Element Gathering Realm peak erupted like billions of torrential floods, spreading in a vortex, forcing everyone to kneel on one knee.

Others vomited blood on the spot.

“What’s going on?”

This thought sprang up in the minds of all present simultaneously.

No one knew why this was happening.

They wracked their brains but couldn’t understand why Elder Mu, who had guarded the tower all his life, would absorb the Evil Qi and transform into this terrifying figure.

“Heh heh heh…”

“A thousand-year plan, finally comes to fruition today.”

“You ants, do you not hurry to embrace death?”

The scaled giant transformed from Elder Mu turned his head, looking at the crowd.

On his face flickered the visages of Elder Mu, the Curved Horn Demon General, and dozens of other different faces, some belonging to Demonic Beasts, some to the Human Race.

“Those are the former guardians of the tower!” Master Luo Cheng, staring at those fleeting faces, revealed an expression of disbelief.

The scaled giant cracked a smile and said, “You’re right, they are indeed the former guardians of the tower, or in other words, they are all the same person, they are all me!”

As his words fell, the scaled giant gazed at the sun hanging high in the sky, his face twisted malevolently.

“Having absorbed the souls and Evil Qi of nine Demon Generals and several realm elites of the Element Gathering Realm, I am reborn from the ashes today. Henceforth, I am the Earth Demon King!”

The scaled giant, the Earth Demon King, soared into the sky, then landed heavily back on the ground.

A round shock wave mixed with dense dust rolled outwards like a ring-shaped blade, instantly sweeping across hundreds of meters.

“Act quickly!”

Luo Cheng screamed in alarm.

The Glowing Armored Warrior fell from the sky, cleaving down a dazzling sword light that split the dust and debris, saving hundreds of people present.

But some were less fortunate, swept up in the aftermath and pulverized on the spot.

“You think a mere Purification Bead can stop me?”

The Earth Demon King sneered, his figure flashed, and in an instant, he covered hundreds of meters, his fist exploding the Glowing Armored Warrior. Luo Cheng, Gao Lan, Gong Qingqiu, Yunhua Zhenren, Temple Chief Tu, and others all linked by the warrior’s aura, were sent flying backward, vomiting blood incessantly.

“Aoooo…”

The Glowing Armored Warrior wailed, its shattered form reconstituting into a cracked Purification Bead before beginning to roll away in an attempt to escape.

Crack!

The Earth Demon King arrived instantly and punched it into powder.

This middle-grade Spiritual Artifact of exceptional quality was thus obliterated!

“My Purification Bead… blargh!”

Luo Cheng was furious and despairing, he spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body went limp on the ground, his fingers trembling non-stop, and his eyes had lost their light.

He had not fallen.

But he had suffered a severe backlash and no longer possessed the power to fight again.

They had thought that by taking the treasures from the Nine-Layered Demon-Sealing Tower, the strength of Biyue Villa would rise to the next level, and after several years, when Biyue Villa would no longer be content to remain hidden, they could emerge with great stature.

Now, all of Luo Cheng’s hopes were dashed.

Facing the Earth Demon King at the peak of the Element Gathering Realm, no one here was a match!

“Heaven wants to doom my Biyue Villa!”

Luo Cheng gripped his wife Gao Lan’s hand tightly, sighing deeply towards the sky.

“Everyone, run if you can, I’m getting out of here first!” Temple Chief Tu was cowardly and fearful, and now in the face of danger, he hastily spat out a mouthful of fresh blood to envelop his body, which drastically increased his speed and allowed him to escape a thousand meters in an instant.

After a few flashes, he had already fled Biyue Villa.

“That guy is really unreliable!”

The others felt dejected and vomited blood again.

It’s true that in great peril, everyone must fend for themselves, but Temple Chief Tu’s escape was too swift!

“One has escaped… But does he really think he can get away? The Qi Tracing Technique is not a joke,” the Earth Demon King didn’t chase him but remarked coldly.

He looked at the remaining people, smiling viciously.

“The Earth Demon King knows the Qi Tracing Technique?”

Everyone gasped in shock.

Now they were truly done for. Even the Earth Demon King had mastered this fourth-grade tracking spell; who could escape from under his gaze?

“I don’t want to die!”

An Element Gathering Realm Fourth Layer Sect Master surged into the sky, his body engulfed in numerous pale gold patterns, a pair of wings sprouting from his back, covering over a hundred meters in an instant.

Rip!

However, the Earth Demon King leaped up and tore him apart on the spot.

“Hsss!”

The remaining people all inhaled sharply.

“Now it’s your turn,” the Earth Demon King turned his head towards Luo Cheng and Gao Lan, making his move towards the couple first.

“It’s over!” Luo Cheng and Gao Lan’s eyes displayed utter despair.

But just at that moment, over a dozen green vines attacked from afar, two of which coiled around Luo Cheng and Gao Lan, pulling them away into the distance.

The remaining vines, sharp as long spears, thrust toward the Earth Demon King.

“Who dares to ruin my fun?”

The Earth Demon King waved his sharp claws frantically, slicing the green vines to pieces, then sensed an extremely powerful presence, no weaker than his own.

“It’s Elder Gong!”

Someone saw a slim figure suspended in midair.

This woman was none other than Gong Qingqiu!

Behind her was a three-meter-long, one-meter-high colorful scroll, from which the green vines had extended.

“It’s the Fourth Grade Spell ‘Mystical Spirit Catalogue’.”

Shi Lei and other Misty Sect disciples recognized the landscape scroll and instantly understood.

Luo Cheng, Gao Lan, Yunhua Zhenren, and others were staring at Gong Qingqiu, their shock growing more intense.

“She’s at the peak of the Element Gathering Realm?!”