"Uncle Xue, it’s so good to see you!"
Chu Chaonan was overcome with emotion, tears and snot flowing as he hugged the Blood Demon Hand tightly, leaving Ling Feng and Yeu Junyao stunned.
This was the Blood Demon Hand, a notorious Great Evil Man, and yet Chu Chaonan was so close to him?
Surprisingly, the Blood Demon Hand didn’t push Chu Chaonan away; instead, he looked at him with a smile, "I say, you’re quite the incompetent one, breaking through to the Saint level only to be chased by a Saint-level Demon! You haven’t even learned a thousandth of your master’s skills!"
"Uncle Xue, have a heart when you speak. That old man left me here for a whole month, dealing not just with one Saint-level Demon!"
Chu Chaonan said bitterly.
"Hmph, you little brat, are you done yet? Let go already!"
The Blood Demon Hand was still held by Chu Chaonan, the two grown men embracing was somewhat odd.
"Hehe!"
Chu Chaonan finally let go of the Blood Demon Hand, glanced over and saw Ling Feng and the others behind, showing a look of surprise.
"Brother Ling?"
Chu Chaonan was excited and quickly ran to Ling Feng, "Good brother, you finally showed up! You wouldn’t believe what happened with Lady Yeu..."
"Ahem!"
Yeu Junyao quickly coughed a few times, glaring at Chu Chaonan, "Stop talking so much, no one is treating you like a mute!"
"Hehe..."
Chu Chaonan laughed sheepishly, scratched the back of his head, and quickly changed the subject, "It’s good you’re back, it’s good you’re back."
He was quite familiar with Yeu Junyao’s feisty nature. Even though he had also broken through to the Saint level, he still had some psychological shadows regarding Yeu Junyao.
"Anyway, how did you end up here and with Uncle Xue?"
Chu Chaonan looked back at the Blood Demon Hand, while the Evil People in the Evil Valley were very kind to him, to outsiders they were true Great Evil Men.
"You’ll have to ask Senior Muu about that."
Ling Feng quickly explained how he encountered the Ghost Doctor and Xiao Xiao’er to Chu Chaonan.
"I told you, once that old man sets his eyes on you, it’s not easy to escape."
Chu Chaonan raised his hand and patted Ling Feng’s shoulder, "I see, you won’t escape this time; you’ll have to call me senior brother sooner or later."
Ling Feng shook his head with a bitter smile, "Anyway, let’s not talk about that now, we need to go to the Eighth Layer to find some spirit flowers and herbs, do you want to join us, Brother Chu?"
"The Eighth Layer?"
Chu Chaonan’s eyes flashed with a hint of fear, but he nodded, "Alright, let’s go. It’s safer with Uncle Xue here than alone."
The Blood Demon Hand couldn’t help but give Chu Chaonan a side glance, saying sternly, "You little brat, did Boss Muu allow you to leave the Seventh Floor?"
"That old man told me to stay here for a month. I originally wanted to leave, but who knew I’d run into that damned Demon. Since I’ve encountered you guys, let’s go check out the Eighth Layer together!"
Chu Chaonan looked somewhat battered, with multiple injuries on his body. This month had clearly been a series of life-and-death battles, contrary to his earlier casual words.
Nevertheless, the results were evident. Chu Chaonan and Yeu Junyao both found opportunities in the Blood Road Secret Realm to break through to the Saint level, but half a year later, Yeu Junyao’s cultivation barely grew, whereas Chu Chaonan had reached the late stage of the Ninth Transition Realm First Layer, with an unbreakable Power of Saint.
This is the benefit of fighting between life and death.
Only by surpassing one’s own limits can one improve at a remarkable pace.
In this regard, when Muu God Monarch threw Chu Chaonan into the Demon Cave, it was not entirely to punish him.
"Well then, let’s head out now, the sooner we go, the sooner we’ll return, and perhaps we’ll make it out before dark."
The Blood Demon Hand was not as optimistic as Ling Feng and the others; he had ventured into regions below the Eighth Layer many times and knew well the danger within, especially during the night, when the threat intensifies.
Without further delay, the four found the entrance to the Eighth Layer and entered the core area of the Demon Cave together.
Even during the day, the light reaching here was very limited. They relied on the glowing plants on the rocky walls as their only source of light.
Luckily, all four had strong Divine Sense and could use it to feel their way, preventing them from getting lost in the depths of the Demon Cave.
"By the way, Brother Ling, I once heard that you were afflicted by some Soul Sealing from the Demon Clan, and I can only feel a faint Elemental Power from you. Are you really sealed in your cultivation?"
As they moved on, Chu Chaonan couldn’t help but ask.
"Soul Sealing is indeed troublesome; I’m here to find materials to refine a Forbidden-breaking Pill."
Facing Chu Chaonan, Ling Feng did not hide and told him the truth.
"Since it’s to help unseal your power, I’ll certainly keep an eye out!"
Chu Chaonan nodded heavily; during their time in the Blood Road Secret Realm, Ling Feng helped him a lot. Without Ling Feng, he might have already died there, and wouldn’t be here today.
As they progressed, the deeper they ventured into the Eighth Layer, the airborne demon energy almost condensed into liquid droplets.
"Be careful not to let the demon energy invade your body, or it will be troublesome."
The Blood Demon Hand’s voice echoed, but in truth, everyone had already taken precautions.
Except for the Blood Demon Hand, Ling Feng and the other two began to feel discomfort, each using their skills to keep the demon energy at bay.
This level of demon energy was enough to erode one’s Elemental Power to some extent. One could say that in such an environment, human Martial Artists would find it difficult even to exert eighty percent of their power.
No wonder even a power like the Blood Demon Hand was cautious about the Eighth Layer’s region.
The ground was loose and slippery, covered with remnants of Demon excrement, occasionally releasing a pungent corpse smell.
In this darkness lay countless hunters, and a wrong move could turn one into prey.
"There’s the Ju Ling Vine!"
Amidst their anxious exploration, Ling Feng finally found their first target.
The crimson Poison Vine crawled along the rock face, winding upwards, leaving slender grooves in the solid rock.
The vine had many slender thorns, invisible to the naked eye. If touched directly, these thorns could puncture through the Vigorous Shield and enter the body.
Thousands of such thorns could quickly invade the organs, and the potent toxins could make a Saint-level expert suffer and perish within an hour.
Many inexperienced Poison Masters had died while trying to collect this Ju Ling Vine, succumbing to those tiny poisonous thorns.