"Three demonic humans? None of you look human, so are you people just fully fledged demons?" Xuan mused.

He looked the figures up and down, examining them thoroughly.

The Qi they were exuding was definitely the same Qi that had come from Elder Chun, which was obviously Demonic Qi. It was just many times stronger, to the point where, if Xuan were any weaker, his heart would have exploded.

But from their relaxed posture and hunched backs, Xuan didn’t see them as much of a threat. If anything, they seemed like puppets who had just happened to escape and were now stalking him.

Yet those thoughts were soon crushed as the figure in the middle stepped forward and spoke.

"Human, what year is it?" the figure asked, mimicking Xuan’s voice perfectly.

"No clue, I don’t own a clock," Xuan replied, narrowing his eyes. "Also, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use my voice. It’s very disturbing."

The figure smiled, then changed its voice to one Xuan recognized very well. "How’s this? It’s a voice belonging to a woman who entered our den alongside you, human."

Xuan stared at him with a hateful glare. "Just use my voice instead. And tell me, who are you three? What are you even doing down here?"

"We have been sealed here for a very long time, but the earlier spatial disruption woke us up," the figure replied in Xuan’s voice. "We are the Three Evil Kings of the Nether Sea. You might have heard of us before. We were quite prominent in the past."

"Mmm... nope." Xuan shook his head. "No clue who you three are. Though, I’m guessing you’re not exactly very friendly, are you?"

The figure’s smile widened slightly, causing the air around them to grow heavier.

"A keen observation," the figure said. "Do you wish to become our subordinate? We need a guide, and if you accept, we will spare your life."

Xuan raised a brow cautiously, then turned his head to the side.

[Time until rupture consumes the Dimensional Gate: 1 Minute.]

Not too long. Good, I can deal with this.

"How strong are you guys anyway?" Xuan began to waste time. "Apologies for the question, by the way. I’m just curious who I’d be serving if I were to accept."

The figure in the very front let out a chuckle. "All three of us are Fourth Level Spirit Grandmasters, the pinnacle of most Tier 3 worlds. We were only sealed because a Spirit Lord descended from the lower heavens to punish us for killing his daughter."

Despite the figure’s enthusiasm, Xuan felt like something was wrong.

Only one of them is talking, and the others haven’t moved an inch. They’re just sitting here with blank expressions... Though I obviously can’t just kill them, they’re two realms above me.

And that was when he spotted a spatial disturbance right behind the two figures in the back. A blue portal was forming slowly.

When the figure in the front realized Xuan had seen the portal, it stepped forward, blocking Xuan’s view.

"We are going to escape momentarily to avoid the Dimensional Gate from collapsing onto us. Should you join us, we will take you along."

"Alright, I’ll take you up on that offre then," Xuan replied softly, and without wasting a beat, he sent a message to Yuelan.

<Xiao Xuan: Not sure where you are right now, but get as far away from the dungeon as possible. Don’t look back and don’t ask any questions. Don’t reply to me. Just go. I’ll talk to you in a bit.>

The last thing he wanted was for his sister to get hurt, after all.

"That attack earlier, it was impressive," the figure said suddenly. "The amount of power it contained was enough to blast the majority of Spirit Masters to bits, and yet you’re only a Spirit Warrior. Truly, you are a specimen I cannot wait to convert."

Nonetheless, Xuan didn’t say a single word as he maintained his fake smile. And finally, the figures finished their portal, right as the countdown had reached single digits.

The two figures closest to the portal entered through it, and a moment later, Xuan had no choice but to enter through the portal alongside the remaining figure.

"You go first, human," the figure said warmly, its smile twisting. "The first thing we’ll do once we enter the mortal realm is convert you into one of us. Rejoice at this opportunity, human."

"Human this, human that, don’t you get tired?" Xuan asked, stopping right in front of the portal.

He turned toward the figure and flashed a massive smirk.

"I’ll let you know one thing, and it’s the fact that I don’t like being bitched around," Xuan said, and without missing the opportune moment, he infused his fists with Elemental Qi, then struck the portal, causing it to flicker and slightly disrupt.

The figure’s three eyes widened when, all of a sudden, an extremely powerful pressure enveloped Xuan, paralyzing him.

The cave turned dark as black tentacles emerged from everywhere, slowly crawling toward Xuan, the disturbing slurping sounds sending a shiver down his spine.

<Ding!>

<You have been caught in an Incomplete Demonic Domain!>

<You have been inflicted with Qi Pressure from a Spirit Grandmaster!>

He was in a tough spot, and the figure slowly approached him, a deep frown on its face.

"You may show potential, but your recklessness is your weakness. It is truly a shame," the figure muttered.

It extended its arm for Xuan’s neck, prepared to kill him.

Yet all that served to do was make Xuan let out a chuckle, puzzling the figure.

Before the figure could react, Xuan released every single bit of Void Qi he had stored in his Dantian, momentarily escaping the Qi pressure and pushing the figure back a single step.

But that step was more than enough as Xuan was sent hurtling backward, his body crackling with Void Qi as he crossed through the portal.

And in the very last moments, Xuan saw the figure dashing for the portal, but it was too late, as the portal closed right in its face. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

A faint trace of red demonic Qi managed to make its way through the portal, and before Xuan could avoid it, the demonic Qi hit him straight in the chest before slowly spreading all around him.

He panicked, but that was when his Void Qi acted on its own.

It escaped his body and attacked the demonic Qi, neutralizing it within seconds, with only small burn marks remaining where the Demonic Qi had touched him.

And as fate might have it, he also got a great boon.

<Ding!>

<You have absorbed Demonic Qi!>

<The Boundless Void Physique has filtered the Demonic Qi!>

<New Qi Type unlocked...>