"Who is it? Which human dares to invade my castle?"
After Yamiru and Mr. Popo arrived at the underground cavern on their flying carpet, a buzzing sound echoed from above, followed by an angry roar that clearly belonged to a female voice.
It seemed this was Samuel. Yamiru thought to himself, sensing the terrifying demonic aura emanating from the source of the voice above. It was even stronger than the aura of Uncle Bardock when he had just been resurrected.
That meant the battle power was in the ten-thousand range.
Unless Yamiru could consume all the hellish energy in the surroundings, he would have no chance of facing such a powerful enemy.
But consuming that much hellish energy would also mean disaster for Yamiru himself. Even if the dragon-shaped mark on his wrist protected his consciousness from turning demonized, his body would not be able to withstand it.
If Yamiru absorbed 100 parts of his own energy, absorbing 10, 50, 100, or even 120 parts of hellish energy was still bearable, and it could still be considered "polluted, but still fundamentally Yamiru's Ki". However, if 100 parts of Yamiru's Ki tried to absorb 10,000 parts of hellish Ki? Or 100,000 parts? That would no longer be Yamiru's Ki controlling the hellish Ki; it would be hellish Ki with a tiny trace of Yamiru in it.
Yamiru guessed that if it reached such an extreme, his consciousness would likely be permanently trapped between the protection of the dragon-shaped mark and the suppression of the hellish demonic energy within his body.
Neither alive nor dead.
Without even the chance to reincarnate to the Yellow Springs.
As Yamiru was contemplating this, Samuel's roar from above grew louder, and she soon appeared. Her tall, slender figure was enveloped in swirling poisonous smoke. Her cold eyes glimmered behind the smoke as she focused on Yamiru on the flying carpet, her killing intent apparent.
Yamiru locked eyes with her, his right fist clenched.
Though he certainly couldn't win in a fight, he was not afraid.
"You... are not human?" Samuel's fury faltered when she saw Yamiru's appearance. After a careful look, she quickly denied, "No, you are not a demon either! I understand now, you must be the self-transformed demon that Maliza encountered! Your body has transformed into something like us demons, but your mind still retains its human form. You... just like those mutated humans, do not deserve to live."
This poisonous female Demon King quickly deduced Yamiru's true nature with just a few words, her tone dripping with disdain and a chilling killing intent.
She extended her hand and stabbed downward with great speed.
The power gap was too vast; Yamiru couldn't even react in time before her claw was about to tear his neck apart. But just before it happened, Mr. Popo, who was accompanying him on the carpet, quietly blocked in front of Yamiru. Samuel's attack barely stopped, suspended just inches from Mr. Popo's face, a drop of cold sweat dripping down his black face.
"Fatty, move!" Samuel snapped, glaring at Mr. Popo.
What was going on? Yamiru felt a mix of relief and confusion. He was grateful to Mr. Popo but also wondered why this Demon King had stopped her attack.
"Alright, I'll move." Mr. Popo also seemed tense.
Before coming here, he had received a warning from the King of Hell and had suspected Samuel's connection to the great Demon King Satan. Since Samuel had previously hesitated before attacking Mr. Popo, he guessed the Demon King would not dare harm him, the emissary of the Yellow Springs.
After speaking, Mr. Popo controlled the carpet to swiftly hover near the Furnace of Eight Divisions.
"Annin is inside. How will you help her detoxify?" Mr. Popo asked Yamiru, his expression blank.
Yamiru could feel the righteous energy guiding him, and it was coming from the Furnace of Eight Divisions. It was still barely holding on, but it had weakened significantly since he first sensed it.
"Who told you to clear the way like that?!" Samuel growled. She flicked her hand, and a tendril of poisonous smoke, like a snake, shot toward Yamiru on the flying carpet. It silently entered his black scales as if it were absorbed. She sneered, "What are you running for? You're still going to die. A thing that's neither human nor demon doesn't deserve to live."
However, the poisonous smoke, which should have killed the "human-like demon dragon" in an instant, only caused Yamiru to momentarily slow down as he approached the Furnace of Eight Divisions. His right wrist dragon-shaped mark flickered, and his form returned to normal.
"Impossible?!" Samuel exclaimed in shock. Her poison was far beyond Maliza's level. Even if this "neither human nor demon" being could withstand Maliza's poison, it should never be able to withstand her poisonous smoke.
Yamiru turned to glance at Samuel coldly, no longer saying anything to the Demon King. He simply flew straight into the Furnace of Eight Divisions.
The righteous energy within the furnace had grown even weaker. If it wasn't treated soon, it would likely be beyond saving.
---
As soon as Yamiru entered the Furnace of Eight Divisions, the demonic energy he absorbed into his body began to dissipate.
He was slightly surprised but quickly calmed down. This was probably just a unique feature of the Furnace of Eight Divisions. The Supreme Elderly Lord must have relied on such a divine artifact to sustain himself in this harsh environment.
From his previous impression of the much larger version of the Furnace of Eight Divisions he had seen on Mount Five Elements, it was clear that the furnace had the ability to suppress or even differentiate demonic energy. So, it made sense that this smaller version could neutralize his relatively weak "demonic" power and refine it.
"Calm in the face of danger, and still able to analyze the situation. You're impressive," a soft voice of praise echoed from a dark corner.
Yamiru turned around and, with his sharp eyes, immediately saw a heroic woman dressed as a military general leaning against the furnace wall, sitting in a slump. Her eye sockets and lips were dark in color, and her blood vessels on her neck and face were visibly dark, giving her the appearance of someone near death.
This, it seemed, was Supreme Elderly Lord, Annin. She had noticed Yamiru's reaction when he entered and could discern the thoughtful look in his eyes.
Despite her current state, there was still a trace of sharp, heroic energy in her features, as if nothing could crush her, even if the sky were to fall.
"You're the impressive one. With poison this severe, you're still alive," Yamiru replied, quickly walking over to her.
He was genuinely amazed. The poison in Taishang Laojun's body seemed to be even more potent than the one that nearly killed him when he was attacked by Maliza. Her poisoning was far deeper, yet she still managed to hold on to her breath and life.
Annin tugged at the corner of her mouth, as if trying to force out a nonchalant smile. But with the poison having taken such a deep toll, her facial muscles were nearly frozen, and she couldn't smile at all. Speaking was already extremely difficult. She continued to speak with effort, "The impressive one isn't me. It's the Furnace of Eight Divisions my master gave me... This is the third time I've used it, and it's just as powerful as before. But this time, it seems... it won't be enough. I'll need a fourth..."
"Let's talk about that later. I'll detoxify you first." Yamiru crouched down and grabbed Supreme Elderly Lord's wrist. Just a light touch, and a chunk of her flesh was torn away. The poison had already decayed her body so much that it was on the verge of rotting. Yet, she was still alive—almost a miracle.
The dragon-shaped mark on Yamiru's right wrist moved along his palm, flowing over Annin's body. It quickly passed through and returned to Yamiru's wrist, where the tiny dragon's head seemed to let out a small burp.