Chapter 36: Demon Seed, Appear!

  A massive boulder slowly rolled down from the cliff above.

  All the way crushing dense vines, like an invincible army, was cutting down weak enemies in an orderly manner, and killing with bloodshot eyes, speeding up faster and faster, not long after, only a few zhang away from Pan Shan Road, directly facing Xia Qiu and the two people hanging under the cliff.

  A smaller mark on the cliff wall showed that this was not the first rock to roll down from above, but a previous one had caused Fangfang and Xiaocitao to lose their footing and fall, hanging on the cliff.

  Xin Youtao decided not to go any further, he didn't have the talisman that could withstand the weight of a thousand kilograms of giant stone. "Quickly hide!" He loudly reminded, this was the greatest help he could provide.

  Xiao Qiu immediately stood up and turned around, he had to make a decision in an extremely short period of time: to give way, the Fangfang and Xiaocui below could not withstand the boulder, even if the stone was bounced back by the ground, the impact force at the moment of landing would likely cause Fangfang to lose her grip on the cliff; not to give way, he had to hold up the boulder alone.

  He made the decision almost without thinking and jumped forward seven or eight feet, got into a bow stance, raised his hands, ready to meet the giant stone that was getting very close.

  "Wrong or weak, nothing." Xia Qiu concentrated his mind and whispered, at this moment, he couldn't think of a reason to continue following the warning of his master Ning Qiwei.

  A numb and tingling sensation arose from the bottom of his heart and flashed to both palms like lightning.

  Then disappeared.

  The curse couldn't leave Xia Qiu's body, nor did it cause any air vibrations. It was being restrained. Before Xia Qiu could think about the reason behind this, the rolling boulder had already arrived.

  "Hmm!"

  Xiao Qiu shut his mouth and let out a muffled grunt, his hands touching the giant stone. The weight from above was too great, his arms involuntarily bending, his feet slipping back four or five feet. He gritted his teeth, exerting a strength he never thought he possessed, his arms rising several inches upwards.

  He propped up the boulder, but couldn't move it another inch.

  "Good heavens! Good heavens!" exclaimed Xin Yu Tao ceaselessly, "You really don't want to live anymore!"

  Fang Fang couldn't see what was happening above, and Xin Yu Tao's words made her uneasy. She asked loudly, "What's wrong? Xiao Qiu, are you okay?"

  "He was carrying a huge boulder, at least a thousand catties! He can't move now, nor can he speak." Xinyu Tao stared with wide eyes, incredulous at the youth holding up the massive rock.

  Xiao Qiu indeed couldn't speak, his entire energy was focused on his arm, the only benefit being that the scorching sensation of being surrounded by flames greatly diminished - in the face of even greater pain, it felt ashamed and hid.

  "Throw out the stone." Xīn Yòutáo had another idea.

  Xiao Qiu hummed sullenly, if he could throw the stone away, he would have done it long ago, but now he couldn't even muster a bit of strength.

  Xin Yutao looked up anxiously for a while, making sure no more rocks would fall, then descended several steps, getting closer to Xiao Qiu, and mysteriously whispered: "It's almost time, let the demon kind help out, to it, this is just a small stone."

  If he had a choice, Xia Qiu would have smashed the stone at Xin Yu Tao without hesitation, but he could only grit his teeth and hold onto the boulder, feeling his arms getting heavier and heavier, unsure how much longer he could hold on.

  Xin Yutao's voice was low, but the two people below still heard it. Xiao Qingtao angrily shouted: "Xin Yutao, is it you who made the stone fall down? Isn't that right?"

  "Hey, would I resort to such lowly means? You're underestimating me." Xīn Yòutáo suddenly raised his voice, "Qín Língshuāng, you also have a demon seed, Mù Xíngqiū can't hold on for much longer. Try your best to release the demon seed, it can save everyone."

  "Where's your talisman?" Fangfang asked angrily, "Quickly take it out to save people."

  Xin Yutao looked at Xiao Qiu, "I was just thanking you for keeping a tight lip earlier, but it turns out you told your wife after all. Women are indeed troublemakers, this saying is not wrong at all... You two should use the magic seed now, it's an emergency situation, even if you use the sect master's authority, no one will blame you, he used to protect you, and he still will."

  "We don't have any magic seeds." Fang Fang disliked Xin Yu Tao, and asked Xiao Qing Tao with her head down: "Can you climb up with force? Having practiced the Tempering Bone Fist, your body should be much more agile than before."

  "I, I'll try." Xia Qingtao was so scared that she went limp all over, closed her eyes for a moment, and finally gathered up some strength. However, when she opened her eyes and looked down, she only saw the clouds and fog swirling beneath her feet, with no bottom in sight. Her hands and feet went soft again, and she cried out: "I won't make it... Fangfang jie... let go of my hand... no, no, you mustn't let go, I don't want to die..."

  The cry echoed up, and Xin Youtao furrowed his brow. "You really won't let the demon kind come out, or is it that the demon kind doesn't care about your life and death? Anyway, there are still a few people left in Ye Lin Town." He thought for a moment, then took a few more steps forward, carefully approaching the edge of the cliff and looking down. "Wait while I think of a way."

  "Fang, use Fang to push the stone away." Fang reminded again.

  "The Precepts Department destroyed all my talismans, you're not unaware of that." Xīn Yòutáo scratched his head, also getting a bit anxious, "This time I went up the mountain using not talismans, but my uncle's plea to Mount Páng, who granted me a spell allowing me to ascend the one hundred thousand step platform..."

  "Help Xiao Qiu, you two work together to use force, can throw away the stone." Fang Fang didn't have time to investigate whether Xin Yu Tao was lying, just wanted to let Xiao Qiu get out of trouble as soon as possible.

  "Hmm." Xīn Yòu Táo responded with a murmur, taking a few steps closer to Xiǎo Qiū before stopping again, unsure why he was being so kind. "The rock is too big and my strength is too small, I won't be of much help. I think Mù Háng Qiū can handle it alone, after all, he's now capable of taking on ten people at once. Tsk tsk, this is truly a strange occurrence - a kid around ten years old, with only a few months of spiritual root development, having learned just one set of Bone Forging Fists without any actual cultivation, and yet he's become incredibly powerful. Strange, really strange."

  "What are you talking about?" Fangfang shouted from the bottom of the cliff, trying to throw Xiaocitao up, but she didn't have enough strength, and instead scared Xiaocitao into crying even harder.

  Xiao Qiu remembered the feeling of being invaded by the demon seed clearly, he knew that he was not possessed at this moment, resentful of Xin Yu Tao's inaction and nonsense, with a burst of strength, he lifted the giant stone again for several inches.

  "That's right, that's it." Xīn Yòutáo applauded in celebration, "Is this the power of the demon seed? A bit bigger and it will be fully revealed..."

  Xin Yutao just "persuaded" the demon to appear, and a voice came from the mountain corner, "Huh, this is... Little Autumn brother, what's going on?"

  He was Erlang Shenxiuwei, who refused to give up and chased after Fangfang, leaving his brother and other companions behind, and even surpassed the 8,000-step stone staircase. However, he was already determined that if he couldn't see Fangfang's figure after turning two mountain corners, he would give up. Unexpectedly, he saw Xia Qiu holding up a giant boulder.

  "Another devil's spawn." Xīn Yòu Táo muttered under his breath, then changed to a urgent tone and shouted loudly: "Shěn Xiū Wéi, quickly go find someone for help, Qín Líng Shuāng and Péi Shū Róng have fallen down!"

  Er Liang Sheng suddenly panicked and ran to the edge of the cliff to take a look, but became even more flustered and didn't know what to do, so he turned around and ran down the mountain.

  "Hey, Meng Yuanhou is at the top of the mountain, why are you running down?" Xinyu Tao said with a shake of his head.

  Er Liang Shen Xiu only heard the reminder and hastily turned around, sprinting with all his might. He slowed down slightly when passing through the narrow passage behind Xiao Qiu's back. After running a few steps, he let out a miserable cry. He was able to climb to this height, already breaking through his limits. His mind was in disarray, his inner breath also in chaos, unable to withstand that scorching pain.

  "Second Brother, don't go!" Fang Fang suddenly understood that Xin Yu Tao was not being kind-hearted.

  "Fang Fang, Xiao Qiu Ge, rest assured, I will find Dou even if I die!" Er Liang Shen was now only left with this thought, as he let out a series of mournful cries while rushing towards the mountain top, and soon his voice disappeared.

  "Xin Yutao, you will be the death of him!" Fangfang had never hated anyone as much as she did now.

  "It won't." Xīn Yòu Táo said with a relaxed tone, "I've asked your great-uncle and it's clear that the magic on this road won't have fatal consequences. Pang Shan doesn't want his new disciple to die so easily, right? Shen Xiū Wéi will at most endure unbearable pain and faint on the road. Who knows, maybe his magical abilities will awaken before yours and he'll be able to rush up the mountain. Haha, I really want to see Meng Yuan Hou's expression then."

  Xiao Qiu couldn't speak, the huge stone in his hand was slowly moving downwards, he had to use all his strength to resist it, he could feel that his arms wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

  Fang Fang didn't say a word either, there was only the sound of Xiao Qing Tao sobbing coming from upstairs.

  Xin Yutao found it uninteresting, carefully approaching Mu Xingqiu, looking at that bright red, slightly twisted face, and being indecisive in his heart. "Is the demon seed really taking effect? An ordinary person wouldn't be able to lift such a heavy stone even if they were beaten to death, let alone persist for so long. However...the power of the demon seed shouldn't be just this, right? Mu Xingqiu, stop playing tricks, even if you're a sect master, no one can see what's happening here, you can boldly release the demon seed and deny it afterwards. Besides, when Pang Shan Dao invited you to join the mountain, maybe it wasn't for the Dao root, but for the demon seed."

  Xiao Qiu really wished he had a demon seed in his body, so he could smash the stone on Xin Yu Tao's head. However, his arms and legs were trembling slightly, and after muttering the incantation several times in his heart, it still didn't work. The seal on this road was too strong, and Mei Chuan An's five words had no effect.

  Xin Youtao was not afraid of the ban, as long as he was below the 10,000-step stone stairs, he could walk freely. For this small convenience, his uncle's ancestor had paid a considerable price in human relationships.

  "Would you rather die than use the Devil Fruit? There are still two people below waiting for you to save them."

  "Xin Yu Tao!" Fang Fang angrily shouted out the prince's name. "If you don't want to save people, then go further away, we don't want to listen to your nonsense."

  Xiao Qiu's body trembled even more, Xin Yu Tao didn't pay attention to Fang Fang, his eyes staring unblinkingly at the young man in front of him, his expression becoming increasingly strange, as if he was the one holding up a giant stone, while Mu Xingqiu stood by with her arms crossed.

  "I give up on you." Xīn Yòutáo's voice was even angrier than Fangfang's, "To protect the demon kind, you don't even care about your own life."

  When Xinyu Tao wanted to save people, there were still ways. He quickly untied his and Xia Qiu's belts, tied them tightly together, and then found a section of rattan branches broken by stones nearby, connecting them to the end of the belt.

  The lifeline slowly descended, approaching Fang Fang. Xinyu Tao hesitated for a moment, then sighed and accelerated the speed, "You three will never forget that I saved your lives today."

  "I won't forget." Fangfang replied, she would remember many things from today.

  The rope dropped down beside Xiao Qingtao, she was really scared, and it took her two attempts to grab the vine branch. Xin Youtao pulled from above with both hands, Fangfang supported from below with one hand, and finally Xiao Qingtao made it back onto the mountain path. Using her hands and feet, she scrambled into the stone steps, hugged her shoulders, and trembled with fear.

  Xin Yutao lowered the rope again, and Fangfang quickly climbed up, jumping to Xiao Qiu's side, holding out a stone, "Let's go together."

  Xin Yutao had already run a few steps up the mountain, while Xiao Qingtao was still trembling and hadn't moved after hearing Fangfang's words.

  "Four people can definitely do it." Fangfang could already feel the weight of the boulder and her voice trembled as a result.

  Xiao Qingtao plucked up the courage to come over and help, while Xin Youtao hesitated for a moment before walking over, standing at the edge of the giant stone, complaining: "If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have let Shen Xiuyi go up the mountain. Five people are better than four after all..."

  Before he could finish speaking, the weight on his hands suddenly increased, and Xīn Yòu Táo immediately flew out of the way, leaving only three people to hold up the giant stone.

  Xiao Qiu's strength was exhausted, he alone held up the giant stone that ten adults could barely lift, and persisted for too long, already having no more potential to dig.

  Fang Fang and Xiao Qingtiao had been hanging under the cliff for too long, and they didn't have much strength left.

  The boulder began to roll down mercilessly.

  (Collection needed, recommendation needed)