Chapter 1833: Sister Likes White, I Like Black

"Let us go back. We'll suppress this fellow, even if it kills us." The Ghost King's voice rang out, full of resentment. She had been tricked by the Lord of Black Mist, and her heart was burning with fury.

Even if it meant their immediate demise, they couldn't allow this demon to escape unpunished.

The Lord of Black Mist's expression changed, and he instinctively recoiled. He genuinely feared the Ghost King's willingness to self-destruct. Although the Demon Suppressing Talisman was now damaged and couldn't contain all the demons in the tomb, it could still easily deal with him alone.

He certainly didn't want to do all the hard work only to pave the way for other demons.

Just then, a cracking sound echoed. The last vestiges of connection in the Demon Suppressing Talisman, suspended mid-air, could no longer hold. It snapped cleanly in two, and the surrounding stars in the sky dimmed.

Only then did the Lord of Black Mist truly relax. "Haha, the Demon Suppressing Talisman is finished! In ten breaths, this sealing formation will also be undone, and everyone will be free again!"

Without the Talisman, why would he fear these two surviving spirits, gravely wounded and on the verge of death after being struck by that powerful entity?

The Green-Robed Insect King and the Blood Demon also showed faint smiles. They had been imprisoned for countless years and now finally saw the dawn of their escape.

"Hmph," they thought, "after being cooped up for so long, the first thing we'll do when we get out is feast on the vital essence of thousands of living beings to sate our hunger."

"Let's go, Brother Zu!" Jing Teng urged, her voice filled with immense anxiety, sensing that the aura of the unnamable entity was growing stronger.

With the Demon Suppressing Talisman destroyed, the outcome seemed sealed. Her only thought now was for Zu An's safety.

Zu An didn't respond. Instead, he pointed a finger at the Demon Suppressing Talisman and activated his skill, "Restore to Peak!"

He didn't even dare to use the "restore" function, fearing it might also draw Jing Teng into the process.

The surroundings fell silent for an instant, as if the entire world had paused.

In that moment, a divine light emanated from behind Zu An's head. Everyone else in the space was stunned, as if he were a legendary god.

The Demon Suppressing Talisman, broken in two, reconnected. Multicolored light shimmered at the break points, which then healed at a visible pace.

At this moment, Zu An's body suddenly began to weather and crumble again, even faster than before.

Seeing this, Jing Teng's face turned pale. She opened her mouth to shout but then worried that a mere breath might cause him to dissipate into dust.

Meanwhile, the Lord of Black Mist and the other demons were overjoyed. Initially, seeing the Demon Suppressing Talisman repair itself had sent a chill down their spines, making them believe all was lost.

Now, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. Such a heaven-defying skill indeed demanded an unbearable price. That pretty boy couldn't possibly keep using it.

At that moment, a voice echoed in Zu An's ear.

"Freeloader Skill activated!"

Soon, Zu An's crumbling body was restored once more.

The Lord of Black Mist and the other demons: "???"

"This kid's cheating! How did he recover?"

"Why? Why doesn't he have to pay any price for such a powerful skill?"

"Brother Zu!" Jing Teng embraced Zu An, a mix of surprise and joy on her face. Even the Ghost King could feel the happiness in her heart, and her lips couldn't help but curve slightly upward.

However, just then, cracks began to appear in Zu An's body once more.

It turned out that repairing the Demon Suppressing Talisman required far more power than eliminating the avatar of that entity.

Zu An's body simply couldn't hold up until the Talisman was fully repaired; it completely collapsed, consuming one use of his Freeloader Skill.

Noticing this, Jing Teng trembled all over. There was no sadness greater than gaining something only to lose it again. After this rapid succession of joy and sorrow, she felt her very soul was on the verge of dissipating.

If not for the lingering concern for Zu An in her heart, she, being severely wounded, might have already perished completely.

Seeing this, the demons burst into laughter.

"I told you! How could there be such a heaven-defying skill in this world?"

"When we demons tempt humans, we often follow the rule: 'to gain something, you must pay more.' This kid doesn't even have that basic understanding."

"With such ant-like strength, he thinks he can repair the damaged Demon Suppressing Talisman? Does he really think he's the Son of Heaven's Dao?"

"He has no idea what kind of existence the Demon Suppressing Talisman is. If he's fine after this, I'll take off my head and let you kick it like a ball!"

Zu An clenched his jaw tightly, desperately circulating the Primordial Chaos Sutra to repair his body. At the same time, he used the Gluttonous Sky Devouring Art and Kunpeng's power to devour and absorb the destructive energy.

However, the backlash from his skill was at the level of fundamental laws, inflicting damage upon his very essence.

All he could do was slightly delay the inevitable; his body continued to crumble at a visible rate.

"Freeloader Skill activated!"

A faint halo swept over him, and Zu An's body, on the verge of dissipating into the wind, was repaired once more.

Lord of Black Mist: "???"

Green-Robed Insect King: "???"

Blood Demon: "???"

Almost at the same moment, the grand Demon Suppressing Formation was finally fully repaired, radiating dazzling golden light. A sacred and vast power spread outwards.

The previously dim stars in the sky reignited one by one. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, many fallen stars began to rise again...

Faint lights connected the stars, forming intricate patterns.

The Myriad Heavens Demon Suppressing Formation!

The demons cried out in alarm, their minds devoid of any intention to remain. They fled outwards in all directions.

At that moment, the countless stars in the sky suddenly flickered, and several divine lights enveloped the Lord of Black Mist and his two companions.

Screams of agony rang out as the three incredibly powerful demons ignited in the divine light. Almost instantly, they turned into burnt-out logs from a hearth, leaving only ashes and embers.

A cold wind blew, and they vanished completely.

From far above, three mournful wails echoed. With their fragmented souls extinguished, their vitality was severely damaged, and it would likely take countless ages for them to recover.

The great tomb, which had been shaking and rumbling with the triumphant roars of various demons, now fell surprisingly silent. The demons were clearly terrified. They stopped crashing against their cell doors and remained quiet, pretending to be asleep.

Then, the Demon Suppressing Talisman once again erupted with a powerful divine light. Empowered by the surrounding stars, it shot directly towards a specific location:

The dwelling place of the unnamable entity!

Waves of terrifying fluctuations emanated outwards, clearly indicating that the entity was attempting to resist.

But as time passed, the momentum it had been building, which had surged higher and higher, began to slowly recede.

Evidently, even that entity could not withstand the full power of the peak Demon Suppressing Formation.

After issuing a series of unwilling roars, the terrifying aura finally vanished.

Sensing that even the supreme entity had been defeated, the demons on other levels recognized the situation and abandoned their attempts to breach their cells.

At this point, streaks of divine light emanated, ascending from bottom to top, enveloping the prison on each level. Countless runes that had been on the verge of fading now glowed brightly again.

Countless demons let out roars of both shock and fear. They had been suppressed there for countless years, and after finally finding an opportunity to corrupt the spirit born from the divine talisman, they were on the verge of escaping. Yet, it all ended in failure.

With the Demon Suppressing Formation back at its peak, they wouldn't have another chance for the foreseeable future.

"We are unwilling!" they cried.

Zu An panted heavily, his body drenched in cold sweat. Fortunately, he still had two uses of his Freeloader skill left; otherwise, he would have met his end here today.

He had specifically saved one use as a trump card against Zhao Hao, never imagining that one Freeloader opportunity wouldn't be enough.

He looked at the shimmering divine talisman with lingering fear. While repairing it, he had felt it act like a terrifying black hole, draining him countless times, and it had directly consumed two uses of his Freeloader skill.

If not for Jing Teng's previous spiritual and physical fusion with him, which imprinted him with the talisman's aura, he suspected even several more uses of his Freeloader skill wouldn't have been enough.

Jing Teng and the Ghost King stared blankly at the Demon Suppressing Talisman, which shone like a sun in mid-air, their faces full of disbelief. "It really restored to its peak?"

As the spirits born from the divine talisman, they naturally understood it best.

The Demon Suppressing Talisman had indeed returned to normal. Crucially, it no longer required them to return to it, nor did it need to erase their sentience to replenish its source.

"Are we truly free?"

The Ghost King couldn't help but sigh, "Sister, you really have good taste in men. The first time you chose me, and the second time you chose him."

Jing Teng rolled her eyes. "Go ahead and flatter yourself. How could you ever compare to him?"

As if sensing her thoughts, the Ghost King's face also felt a little warm.

"Brother Zu!" Jing Teng looked at Zu An with deep affection.

Having narrowly escaped death, Zu An couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm still inside her body! Don't... don't use your tongue..." the Ghost King's flustered voice piped up.

Jing Teng was both embarrassed and anxious, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Then, with a roll of her eyes, she fainted.

"Teng Teng, what's wrong?" Zu An exclaimed, greatly alarmed.

At that moment, Jing Teng opened her eyes again, but her expression was vastly different from before. She pushed him away, saying, "Don't just hug me randomly."

Zu An's heart skipped a beat. "Ghost King?"

"What Ghost King? That sounds awful. Of course, my name is also Jing Teng," the Ghost King's voice rang out.

Seeing his strange gaze, she felt a bit annoyed. "Never mind. My sister likes white stockings, but I prefer black ones. From now on, you can call me Black Jing Teng."

"By the way," she suddenly asked curiously, "do you prefer white stockings or black ones?"

"I prefer..." Zu An's breath hitched; he almost blurted it out. "Is this really the time to be talking about that?"

"Why not?" Black Jing Teng muttered. "I think Sister is already old enough to stop trying to act young by wearing white stockings. I really can't stand it."

"What exactly happened to your sister?" Zu An had no mind to argue with her. He glared at her, his gaze unfriendly. "Did you take over her body?"

"What do you mean, 'take over'? This is my body to begin with," Black Jing Teng scoffed, then said in a mournful tone, "Sister is dying, and I'm dying too."