The burly demon with the armored back possessed the bloodline of the Nine-Life Black Tortoise.

A phantom of a divine tortoise appeared behind him, dark energy swirling around his body like streams of black water that coiled endlessly.

This was one of his supernatural abilities. Though the dark current appeared thin, it was extraordinarily resilient, merging with the power of his tortoise shell, its defense no weaker than an ordinary protective astra.

Among all the demon kings present, even the Jiao King, who was already at the late stage of the Transformation Realm, could not boast a defense much stronger than his.

Yet in such a perilous place, the burly demon dared not show the slightest carelessness. He immediately activated his supernatural ability and moved cautiously among the spatial rifts.

The mountain was tall, but its surroundings were shrouded in rifts and mist that resembled poisonous miasma, making it impossible to see far.

From what was visible, the base of the mountain was covered in a vast marshland, where even black-leaved shrubs grew among the bog.

Looking down, the swamp seemed unnaturally calm, with no sign of ferocious beasts, which only made the atmosphere more eerie and oppressive.

Compared to the swamp, the barren mountain itself felt slightly less sinister. The entire mountain was made of bare rock, its terrain open and exposed.

There stood the ruins of an ancient hall. Aside from that, two areas glimmered with faint light, where ancient barriers still pulsed.

One of those barriers lay halfway down the mountain, directly along their descent route. The surrounding space there seemed relatively stable.

The burly demon deliberately moved toward the ancient barrier. The Jiao King frowned but did not stop him.

To avoid the spatial rifts, they had to take a winding path, moving slowly and cautiously. After a long time, they finally reached the area near the ancient barrier.

Suddenly, the burly demon’s expression changed, and he hastily retreated.

"Get back!" His warning was sharp and urgent.

Though the others did not yet know what had happened, they immediately turned back without hesitation.

"There’s a spatial rift hidden within that glow. The rift probably tore through the barrier, and now the two are merging and clashing. If I’d noticed a moment later, I might have disrupted the balance..." His face turned pale.

The demon kings felt a chill run down their spines. If the barrier had erupted or the space around them had collapsed, the consequences would have been disastrous.

"Humans must have stopped exploring deeper for a reason. We shouldn’t act rashly. Brother Hei, you’ve done well. I’ve recovered enough, let me take the lead from here." The Jiao King stepped forward.

With that lesson learned, he deliberately avoided the ruined hall as they passed by. The group finally reached the foot of the mountain without a single injury. Though it took a long time, their progress was smooth.

Below, a stone road was faintly visible, clearly man-made, though most of it was submerged beneath the swamp, leaving only a short section exposed.

The swamp was still and reeking of rot. The demon kings observed carefully but found no sign of danger. After a brief discussion, they continued with their plan, taking turns scouting ahead.

***

Boom!

"This is bad!"

"Brother Lu, be careful! That’s a top-tier ferocious beast!"

By now, the demon kings had crossed more than half the swamp without serious trouble. Only once had they encountered a drifting spatial rift, which they narrowly avoided. Just as they began to believe the swamp was relatively safe, disaster struck.

The one leading the way was a tall, slender demon king whose true form was a deer demon. He pushed through a patch of brush and leapt over a muddy pool when suddenly, the swamp below exploded. Mud splattered everywhere, and a foul stench filled the air.

A long, slender shape burst out of the sludge, striking as swiftly as lightning. Its massive jaws, lined with sharp fangs, lunged for the deer demon. It was a ferocious beast shaped like a giant python.

The attack was so sudden that none of them had sensed the slightest fluctuation beforehand.

Ambushed, the deer demon remained calm. Multicolored light flared around him, and he darted several zhang forward, narrowly evading the beast’s snapping jaws. The creature let out a guttural roar, its serpentine body twisting as it struck again.

​​Now prepared, the deer demon king moved more easily, sidestepping the attack. The others rushed to assist. A phoenix shadow, an azure spear, a black tortoise shell... Several attacks landed in perfect sequence.

The phoenix shadow bound the beast, the tortoise shell slammed down heavily upon its head, and before it could recover, the azure spear pierced straight through its gaping maw. Its fangs shattered, blood sprayed, and the beast convulsed violently, impaled and near death.

But before they could relax, the deer demon suddenly cried out in alarm. The ground trembled, the swamp churning as three more identical beasts burst upward like towering pillars of flesh, surrounding him on all sides.

"There are three more! All top-tier beasts!" The demon kings were horrified.

That many top-tier beasts lurking in one place was beyond reason. The three creatures ignored their dying kin, locking all attention on the deer demon. They spewed out clouds of blood-colored mist and lunged simultaneously.

Fortunately, the deer demon was not an easy prey. Having stayed vigilant, he immediately summoned his treasured weapon, refined from his antlers, to slash through the crimson fog and dash toward an opening.

Whoosh! He broke free of their encirclement.

But strangely, the three beasts halted mid-pursuit, motionless. Then, a chilling scene unfolded.

A faint silver gleam flashed across the deer demon’s body. A slanted crack appeared across his head, splitting him cleanly in two. His bisected corpse continued flying forward before falling limply into the swamp. His eyes still moved faintly before their light faded, leaving him motionless in the mire.

"A spatial rift!" the Jiao King exclaimed in shock.

All the demon kings felt a wave of terror wash over them. The deer demon’s strength ranked middle-tier among them, yet he had been killed in an instant. They had not even found the True Dragon’s remains, and already they had lost a comrade.

"Brother Lu!" The burly demon’s eyes turned blood-red as he roared in grief.

These ferocious beasts were not completely corrupted by their savage nature. Their intelligence remained high, allowing them to recognize the presence of invisible spatial rifts in the area. They knew how to set traps, luring their prey into charging straight into death.

The situation was dire. The surroundings were wide open, and the deer demon had not expected a spatial rift to be hidden there, completely unprepared for it.

Bubbles rose from the muddy swamp as the stench of blood thickened in the air. The sight of his splattered brain and blood against the dark mire was blindingly vivid.

"Don’t act rashly!" The Jiao King restrained the enraged burly demon, his gaze sweeping around sharply before he said in a low voice, "Something’s wrong here—"

Before he could finish, the mist ahead suddenly erupted in chaos. Roars echoed one after another from the depths of the miasma. The smell of blood and sound of battle had drawn even more beasts, and from behind, a terrifying aura surged toward them, so powerful that even the Jiao King found it troublesome.

"This is bad! Move!" The demon kings’ expressions changed drastically. None dared to hesitate.

Returning the way they came would take too long, so they could only charge forward. Who would have thought that a mere swamp could harbor so many top-tier ferocious beasts?

Only now did they truly understand how perilous the inner hall was. No wonder the humans had occupied Seven-Kill Hall for so many years yet managed to explore only a small portion of it.

Each demon king unleashed their own abilities, cutting down several top-tier beasts along the way. At last, before the remaining beasts could encircle them, they broke free of the swamp. When they looked at one another, every face was pale and exhausted. Despite their narrow escape, a few of them could not help but give bitter, helpless smiles.