Starting with Proficiency Panel-Chapter 653 - 649: Minotaur

"Leaving one or two as protective species now is not a mistake, after all, they have become protected species now." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

He directly threw the Qingqiu Fox into the Inner Heaven and Earth Cosmos. With a slight thought, the already unconscious Qingqiu Fox vanished without a trace, sinking into the depths of the forming planet.

As for letting Ao Li guard it, Lu Ren completely dismissed the thought, as Ao Li, in his malevolence, might as well roast and eat the Qingqiu Fox.

Rat-Servant was not surprised by this, as someone like Lu Ren, a Great God Level figure, would indeed raise an eyebrow if he couldn't pull off the technique of accepting living creatures into the Sumeru Mustard Seed.

Returning to the corridor passage, Rat-Servant continued to dutifully guide the way, while a terrifying aura emanated from Lu Ren's body, an unparalleled oppressive force that made the active presences in the shadows quickly withdraw, leaving the entire bottom area eerily silent.

As Lu Ren's gaze swept across the prison cells, those in his sight did their utmost to shrink away, trying to evade his attention.

It seemed they realized Lu Ren's ability to freely enter and exit the cells, fearing being taken away entirely with all their possessions.

Reaching the deepest part, the iron-barred cells turned into iron doors again.

After a full three hours, Rat-Servant finally stopped, reverted to human form, and sweating profusely, turned to Lu Ren saying, "Sir, it should be one of these few."

Lu Ren asked, "Can't it be pinpointed to a specific cell?"

Rat-Servant apologized, "My abilities are insufficient. If I were to advance to Earth Immortal status, I'd have the ability to Chase Souls and Seek Spirits, correlating with the Qi correspondingly, to search the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands without anything escaping my search, but now it falls a bit short."

Lu Ren nodded slightly, "Leave the rest to me then."

With a mere hand gesture from Lu Ren, Rat-Servant felt the space around him compress slightly before he vanished abruptly, directly taken by Lu Ren into the Inner Heaven and Earth Cosmos.

When Rat-Servant's vision recovered from the sky and ground spinning, he found himself standing on a barren star. Looking at the flickering stars filling the night sky, his expression was full of shock and disbelief.

"Is this, the Sumeru within the Mustard Seed?!"

Lu Ren glanced at the five or six cells around him, not bothering to choose, and directly phased into the nearest one.

Upon entering, he saw a minotaur great demon, completely bound by chains embedded in the wall, unable to move a muscle, with one horn on its head missing.

As Lu Ren moved inside, the minotaur opened its eyes, bloodshot whites and black pupils glistening with intense crazed intent, glaring at Lu Ren, demonic energy suffused all around, freezing the very air into frost within the overwhelming aura of demonic energy.

Lu Ren's expression was calm; after carefully examining the creature, he confirmed that it had fallen into a demonic madness, knowing only slaughter with no sense of reason remaining.

He reached out his hand, whereupon the Cyan Blade Sword manifested, dancing into a silver-white sword flower, accompanied by a sonorous sword sound akin to a dragon's roar rising.

In an instant, the sword light burst forth like silver lotus blossoms, brilliant silver light engulfing the entire cell.

Within moments, the sword light dissipated, revealing the minotaur's body stripped of flesh, leaving only white bones on the ground relentlessly struggling, but soon fell silent.

Lu Ren's eyes were deep, gazing quietly at the minotaur for a long time, only shifting his gaze when the system prompt rang in his mind.

"Ding, you have subdued the Great Demon Bull Demon King, earning you 2 Skill Points. The person you subdued has a fairly important role in the Journey to the West World, altering the course of a future node in Journey to the West. You obtained 1 Power of Destiny."

Upon seeing the system prompt in his mind, Lu Ren's eyes twinkled brightly, truly unexpected and surprising to discover that the imprisoned entity was the Bull Demon King.

After battling with Sun Wukong when he journeyed westward, the Bull Demon King vanished without a trace, unexpectedly appearing here now.

It seems that unnoticed events indeed transpired, causing this great demon Bull Demon King to wholly lose reason.

When Lu Ren emerged from the cell, he casually released Rat-Servant, who was leisurely awaiting him inside the Inner Heaven and Earth Cosmos. Knowing Lu Ren's immense power in subduing various demons and devils, and effortlessly defeating them at will, Rat-Servant, adopting a fox's bravado with the authority of a tiger, was exceedingly smug.

Emerging with hands clasped behind his back, accentuating his swagger with his splayed feet, he exuded tremendous confidence.

Upon meeting Lu Ren, he promptly bent, making his already short stature of 1.34 meters appear even shorter.

Rat-Servant ingratiated himself by saying, "Sir, was it Yang Jian you were searching for?"

Lu Ren shook his head slightly and asked, "Do you know the Bull Demon King?"

"Of course I do. Back then, he was as renowned as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, nicknamed Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, this Bull Demon King was a figure who called the wind and summoned the rain in the Mortal Realm, considered a top-tier great demon even in the demon-filled Northern Continent.

However, after Sun Wukong and those self-titled Great Sage demons invaded the Celestial Court, they lived in Yun Cui Mountain until Sun Wukong journeyed west again, becoming a calamity regarded by all the gods and Buddhas, vanishing afterward."

Then he realized and cautiously asked, "Was the one inside the cell the Bull Demon King?"

Lu Ren nodded slightly, "His mind had completely fallen into madness, devoid of reason. I had no choice but to vanquish him."

"Killed, killed him?!"

Rat-Servant shocked, then elatedly praised, "Sir, indeed wise and powerful, to effortlessly slay a great demon. Even the Demon-Vanquishing True Monarch could only suppress the Bull Demon King in the depths of the Celestial Prison."

Lu Ren said, "It wasn't an impossible feat to kill; it just seemed meaningful in other ways. The Bull Demon King is not inherently tough to kill, even though he pursued the path of Body Ascension, upon reaching the Immortal Slaying Platform at the Celestial Court, he would still have his head guillotined by the axe."

After pausing, Lu Ren lost his interest in pondering these matters further, as the fact had been established, rendering further contemplation meaningless.

Meanwhile, Rat-Servant maintained a respectful demeanor, suppressing his inner shock, and sighed immensely that the renowned great demon of several millennia had silently met its end at the bottom of this Celestial Prison, unheeded by anyone.

"Can you sense the remainder now?"

Lu Ren released Rat-Servant intentionally to let him sense again, as the demonic energy emitted by the Bull Demon King previously had nearly encompassed this entire area, permeating from the cell, showcasing the terrifying nature. If it weren't for encountering Lu Ren, he might not have died here in the Celestial Prison.

Truly there was a possibility to escape.

Upon hearing this, Rat-Servant dared not delay and diligently pondered for a moment before shaking his head, "Sir, my capabilities are lacking, truly unable to discern any further, only confirming it's within this area."