The two of them upgraded their skills thoroughly and then parted ways.
Hou Yuntao coiled his mighty weapon (referring to his tail) around his waist and wrapped his entire body in clothing, before heading towards Jianghaizhou.
Fang Yuan, on the other hand, headed towards the towering mountains outside of Yongnan Province.
The seventh stage, the Dao Baby Realm, is also known as the "Small Grandmaster" stage. Moreover, upon entering the Dao Baby Realm, cultivators at this stage gain the ability to fly.
This is also why only those who reach the seventh stage can guard an entire province. Whenever something happens in the province, only cultivators at the seventh stage can reach the scene with the greatest speed.
For Fang Yuan, his speed is terrifying due to a combination of factors: the movement technique of "Flying Over Floating Boat," the gravitational force of "Flying Over Whirlpool Clouds," and his Dao Baby, which is far stronger than others of the same stage...
These elements together make Fang Yuan's speed incredibly fast!
At this moment, as he flies through the air, his body is surrounded by a ring of water vapor condensation, resembling "cloud rings."
This is the sonic boom cloud, a phenomenon that only appears when breaking the sound barrier!
His physical speed is already so terrifying, and Fang Yuan's Yin Soul has undergone a qualitative leap!
Since his Dao Baby has been integrated, both his physical body and soul have been enhanced. Now, even Fang Yuan's Yin Soul is capable of dealing with a Demon King in a single strike.
Reaching the home of the Bull-Horned Demon King, he should not take much time.
Meanwhile, the grand eunuch Liu Dong, who had just visited the Iron-Horned Demon King, was still strolling through the mountains.
His figure flickered, each time moving at least several dozen meters away.
For Liu Dong's cultivation level, flying was an easy task, but since he needed to act low-key for this mission, he refrained from doing so.
"This time, I may have gone a bit too far..."
With no companions around, Liu Dong could only mutter to himself.
The Chongwu Marquis had been transferred to the border. Originally, the Emperor's intention was just to pressure Jianghaizhou with demons, so that the Zhenfu Department could intervene in Jianghaizhou's politics and thus reduce the Chongwu Marquis's power.
But unexpectedly, the Bull Demon summoned three Demon Kings, including the Third Prince, to join him in heading to Jianghaizhou.
The outcome of this could only be one thing: Jianghaizhou would be reduced to the demons' food supply.
After all, these Demon Kings could easily devour an entire city of commoners.
But... it doesn't matter. None of it matters.
The Emperor's grand plan was almost complete. The Chongwu Marquis, the commoners, and the foreign invaders—all of them were insignificant in comparison to that plan.
What mattered now was finding the Third Prince and helping the Emperor achieve his grand ambition more quickly.
Wait...
Suddenly, Liu Dong seemed to sense something. He quickly looked up.
He saw a white figure streaking across the sky at high altitude, dashing from one end of the horizon to the other before disappearing from sight.
Then, the roaring sound of the sonic boom reached Liu Dong's ears!
Liu Dong's face changed. Who is this, daring to be so audacious in the territory of the Yan Kingdom, flying in the sky and making such a commotion?
And this flight speed... it's incredibly fast!
Liu Dong's thoughts raced. He was currently in Yongnan Province, where the highest-ranked cultivator was General Jiang Tao. However, Jiang Tao was not skilled in movement techniques, so it was impossible for him to reach such a speed!
Could it be a demon? But the strongest demon here, Iron-Horned Demon King, he saw just over an hour ago.
Could it be the Third Prince?
No, even if the Third Prince had transformed into a dragon, he wouldn't be able to fly this fast.
Who could it be...
Liu Dong fell into deep thought but had no clue. If he didn't know that the Chongwu Marquis had gone to the border, he would've thought the white figure was him...
Wait, could it really be the Chongwu Marquis coming back from the border?
After all, the white figure came from the direction of Jianghaizhou. Thinking this way, the possibility seemed quite high!
Liu Dong went through a mental brainstorming session, then shook his head. Forget it, it's no use thinking about it.
The person's speed is too fast; even he wouldn't be able to catch up. The priority was still completing his mission.
With this thought in mind, Liu Dong resolutely continued his journey towards Jianghaizhou.
However, after walking for a short while, Liu Dong caught a whiff of a fragrance.
It wasn't the scent of flowers, but a strong aroma of meat soup.
"Hmm? In the middle of the wilderness, who could be making such a fragrant meat soup?"
Liu Dong was puzzled, but the scent was so enticing that it made him hungry. He subconsciously followed the scent.
Soon, Liu Dong arrived at a valley, where he saw a massive stone pot.
The pot was as big as a house, and it contained half a bowl of meat, surrounded by discarded bones.
Liu Dong's face showed surprise. What was going on? Who could be cooking such a huge pot of meat soup here?
Moreover, the meat in the soup didn't seem ordinary...
Liu Dong sensed a powerful demonic energy from it.
He searched the surroundings and soon found a tiger's head, a pile of crab shells, and other assorted remains...
"They're all Demon Kings. They've been stewed to be eaten..."
After investigating, Liu Dong came to a conclusion, and his expression turned grave and worried.
He wasn't worried about the demons' fate; he was recalling the words of the Iron-Horned Demon King.
The Third Prince had gone to Jianghaizhou with his two Demon Kings...
And now, on his way to Jianghaizhou, Liu Dong had found a pot of demon meat soup...
If Liu Dong wasn't mistaken, the tiger and the crabs in the soup were the subordinates of the Iron-Horned Demon King.
They went to Jianghaizhou to eat people, but unexpectedly, they were eaten halfway...
What about the Third Prince who went with them? What could his fate be?
A bad premonition surged in Liu Dong's heart. He dug through the soup and searched around.
Then, he found something. Among the discarded bones, there were some that resembled the spine of a snake...
In addition, among the discarded organs, he found some fragments of the Third Prince's remains...
Liu Dong's mind exploded. His body couldn't stop shaking.
The Third Prince... had been eaten?!
Liu Dong dropped to his knees, unable to comprehend the situation for a moment:
"How am I going to explain this to the Emperor now...?"
It seemed that bringing the Third Prince back wasn't going to be possible. But bringing back his remains... might be possible.
Wait, even that might not be feasible, considering the Third Prince had been eaten clean, leaving only one thing untouched...