Chapter 1653: Chapter 1522: Qi Oddball Lackey

With a punch, Ye Fan sent the demon flying, but he felt something was off. If the demon had tailed him from the forbidden zone, it shouldn’t be this weak.

Because, since ancient times, apart from the Ancient Emperor, almost no one has been able to venture deep into the forbidden zone and come out alive; once inside, they never return.

The beings within the forbidden zone are all powerful and terrifying!

Ye Fan is the only person who has seen living beings in the Primordial Ancient Mine without being annihilated.

Although he felt very strange, Ye Fan didn’t stop his attacks. Even Hu Fei and the other two dared not slack off, all unleashing their strongest combat powers.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Moonlight like water, shining on the blood-stained earth as the four, including Ye Fan, fought with all their might against the horned demon, leaving it with no power to fight back.

But—

To their surprise, this horned demon, while not particularly strong, had astonishing defense, capable of enduring hits— even with the combined power of the four, which would make an Ancient Immortal suffer, they could not defeat it.

"Bang!"

Shi Ye shone with light, his brute force unleashed, a strike that could break a Barbarian Dragon, yet on the demon, it merely sank in, unable to kill it.

"Roar!"

Wenren Jing’s black hair flew wildly as he swung a pair of massive hammers like windmills, but still couldn’t defeat this creature.

Even Hu Fei’s replica treasure sword, though frighteningly powerful, only made the demon howl in pain, yet failed to kill it.

"You all... enough!"

After being beaten, the horned demon finally got furious, emitting intense black light that enveloped Ye Fan and the others.

"This is..."

"Domain power!"

Hu Fei and the others were shocked, without a doubt, the demon had reached the Lord Realm, and not just recently—the domain extended nearly a thousand meters.

Domain power, also known as field energy, controlled by the caster, acts like a marsh, hindering actions within it.

Within the domain, the caster is akin to a god, the absolute ruler, deciding life and death with a single thought.

"Wahaha..."

The horned demon laughed wildly, saying, "You foolish humans dare offend my heavenly might, I shall consume you!"

"You’re not a forbidden existence from the forbidden zone, where exactly did you come from?"

Ye Fan asked calmly, not moving, but the domain couldn’t hold him. He was waiting for an opportunity.

"You’ve guessed right, I am indeed not a forbidden existence, but to you foolish humans, I am the supreme being. Worship, tremble, mortals!"

The horned demon seemed addicted to performing, striding directly towards Ye Fan, his huge hand covered with shiny black hair like satin.

It was Ye Fan who hit it hardest earlier; the Immortal Stele Scattering Hand seemed to freeze time and space, leaving it no option but to take the hits, which vexed it greatly.

"Do you have that power?"

Ye Fan sneered, unleashed his Magic Immunity Divine Ability, and stepped the Chasing Star Step, unaffected within the domain, throwing a punch.

"Boom!"

With a loud explosion, the horned demon’s eyes showed immense shock and disbelief, as Ye Fan punched it eight zhang away, its head smashing against a giant stone, shattering it instantly.

At this moment, a purple light burst from the stone, and a fist-sized heavenly grade spirit stone, like a purple crystal, flew into the air, trying to escape.

"Heaven Grade Spirit Stone?"

Ye Fan and the others, as well as the demon, were stunned. Who would’ve thought such a treasure was hidden in ordinary stone materials, truly befitting the Primordial Ancient Mine. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"Mine!"

The demon shouted, using domain power to try and seize the heaven grade spirit stone.

However—

The heaven grade spirit stone seemed to have a consciousness, struggling to escape, and they remained in a standoff.

"Swish!"

Seeing this, Ye Fan wasted no time, using Chasing Star Step to rush forward, grabbing the heaven grade spirit stone, and found within it sealed a finger-length Gu Insect, overflowing with Essence Qi, remarkably unique.

"Moo..."

The demon let out a muffled roar, then furiously charged at Ye Fan. It was hard to believe that someone remained unaffected within its domain, defying its understanding of cultivation!

To know, domain power controls elements forming field energy, where one is the absolute ruler, yet Ye Fan shattered this legend.

"Attack!"

Ye Fan held nothing back, directly using Xuandi Fist, surrounded by purple lightning, as if a heavenly tribulation had descended, his fist brimming with Thunder Power.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous sound, the horned demon was immediately electrocuted by Thunder Power, blue electric sparks flickering across its body, convulsing on the ground.

Immediately, the domain power vanished, and the demon’s body swiftly shrank, finally reducing to two meters, resembling an ordinary large human, although its horns remained unchanged.

"Beat him up!"

Ye Fan shouted, and the three—Hu Fei and the others—immediately rolled up their sleeves and advanced, pummeling the demon with two horns. They beat him until he was like a lump of clay, completely deformed, with the exception of his two shiny black horns, hardly resembling a humanoid figure.

"Stop, I give up..."

The demon, beaten until his face was skewed and missing two front teeth, spoke pleading for mercy, his words whistling with a lisp.

"Speak! Who the hell are you?"

Ye Fan stopped the three from further beating and stomped a foot onto the demon’s chest, questioning him.

At this moment, he was already certain that this guy was definitely not a forbidden existence from the Forbidden Zone, but likely an explorer like them at the edge of the Forbidden Zone.

But now that the Demon Clan has yet to be born, what’s the deal with this kid? Could he really be a human-shaped creature?

But on closer thought, that’s unlikely. What are human-shaped creatures? They are the enemies of all living beings in the Xuan Realm. Whether Human Race or Demon Clan, they would never allow human-shaped creatures to appear.

Once they appear, it would definitely lead to a dark catastrophe, and who knows how many elites of the Human Race would perish.

"Stop, I’ll talk... I’ll talk!"

The demon seemed terrified by the beating, and quickly responded eagerly.

Through his recount, Ye Fan learned this guy’s true identity and background, which left the four of them both amused and exasperated.

"Damn, pretending to be a forbidden existence from the Forbidden Zone to scare us, you deserve a beating!"

Hu Fei, having calmed from shock, felt angered by being played with, and started another frenzied round of beating.

"I’m telling you, stop beating him up, or you might really kill him!"

Shi Ye said, landing another heavy blow on the guy’s head, colliding with the bull horns, causing a thunderous noise and a burst of sparks.

"Says the one who hit the hardest earlier!" Wenren Jing added two more thumps and laughingly scolded Shi Ye.

"This kid is like sticky taffy, tougher than a cockroach; no matter how much you beat him, he won’t die!" Ye Fan lamented.

The guy before them was named Niu Fugeng, a member of the Powerful Bull Demon Clan among the Demon Clan. However, he found this name vulgar and changed his name to Niu Bugeng.

Strictly speaking, Niu Bugeng was an oddity within the Powerful Bull Demon Clan, extraordinarily rebellious from childhood, refusing to cultivate the clan’s supreme skill, Wild Bull Qi Gong, and instead creating his own set of unique skills for enduring beatings.

Interestingly enough, due to his rebellious nature, he got beaten often in childhood, frequently reduced to wailing.

For this reason, he unknowingly developed a unique ability to endure beatings. After slowly reflecting and improving it, he unbelievably created a set of Miracle Techniques.

In terms of talent and comprehension, Niu Bugeng was excellent, not inferior to the strongest successors of the Di Clan, and even comparable to the offspring of a Great Emperor.

It’s known that creating martial arts before reaching the Divine Power Realm is a feat even Ancient Emperors struggled with, let alone Absolute Techniques usually created after reaching the Lord Realm, or even the Venerable Realm.

However—

Niu Bugeng managed, through his own strength and experience in enduring beatings, to create a set of Miracle Techniques for enduring beatings, an extreme anomaly.

After creating these techniques, the Powerful Bull Demon Clan couldn’t tolerate him any longer. Helpless, he defected, fleeing alone from the Demon Clan’s Holy Land.

Thanks to his ability to alter his appearance and aura, he mingled among the Human cultivators without being recognized.

Of course, he also avoided contact with those at the Saint Lord Level or even Holy Land Elder Level strong individuals.

In the Southern Domain, he mingled with a small yet significant power, which was affiliated with the Ancient Sacred Land of Fengyi State. Seizing the opportunity this time involving the spirit stone mine at the Immortal Academy, he followed the people of the Ancient Sacred Land to the Northern Domain.

After finally waiting for the turmoil to subside, he sought a chance to slip away, leaving the Ancient Sacred Land’s mining region, with plans to explore the Primordial Ancient Mine.

Yet, shortly after entering the Forbidden Zone’s perimeter, he encountered Ye Fan and his group. To avoid exposing his identity, he chose to impersonate a forbidden existence within the Forbidden Zone, intending to scare away Ye Fan and his group. The result was a tragic severe beating.

"Dare to scare us, you just begged for a beating!"

Upon learning Niu Bugeng’s identity, Hu Fei said gleefully.

"The Demon Clan hasn’t even emerged yet. Aren’t you afraid of being captured, showing yourself before human cultivators like this?" Ye Fan asked with a chuckle.

"Scared, of course I’m scared, so, I’ve decided to follow you, acknowledging you as my boss, you guys should protect me, your little brother, right?" Niu Bugeng didn’t make this decision on impulse but after careful consideration.

He knew that once his identity was exposed, considering the animosity between the Human and Demon Clans, ending the matter amicably might be impossible, possibly ending in him getting captured by humans, which was something he wanted to avoid.

Moreover, since reaching the Lord Realm, he had never been beaten so severely. Undoubtedly, Ye Fan and others possessed considerable strength, not just ordinary. Hanging around such people would surely have benefits.

Most importantly, he knew Ye Fan possessed Emperor Weapons, defeating many strongest successors of the Emperor Clans, and he had prospects of walking the path of the Great Emperor.

If he could form good relations with a future Great Emperor, what was there to fear?

When one achieves the Dao, even their followers rise!

Once Ye Fan proves his Dao, wouldn’t the entire world be open for him?

At the very least, Ye Fan could protect his descendants.

"We don’t take on followers, and this is a matter concerning the righteous cause between the Human Race and the Demon Clan, I can’t shelter you, you’d better go." Ye Fan didn’t want to kill him, but neither did he want to shelter him, intending to part ways.

However, this kid was like sticky taffy, following closely behind, unkillable and unshakable, even after a massive beating, he’d recover, like a piece of malleable clay that couldn’t be destroyed.

After several fruitless attempts, Ye Fan and his group had no choice but to compromise, with Ye Fan taking him on as a follower, internally marveling at Niu Bugeng’s abnormal defense capability!

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