Chapter 2277: Four Symbol Stone

"A Saintess?" Zu An was startled. He had never heard of such a title among the demon race.Yun Yuqing also looked bewildered, clearly knowing nothing about it.

"Humans!" At that moment, the demon experts recognized their human identity and let out sharp whistles. Soon, more demons flew into the sky, completely surrounding the flying boat.

"Bring this ship down to the ground immediately and submit to our inspection!" the leading expert commanded.

As they looked at the people on the boat, all the demons showed expressions of astonishment. Even for a race renowned for its beauty, it was rare to see so many beautiful women gathered together.

Sensing their ill intentions, Jiang Luofu and Xie Daoyun gripped their respective weapons, ready to fight at any moment.

Zu An stepped to the bow of the ship, shielding them behind him. "I am the Regent King of the demon race. Have the head of the Rong family come to see me."

"Regent King? Never heard of it. Come on, capture these humans," the leader scoffed, ordering his subordinates to attack.

This ship was clearly extraordinary; capturing it would bring great fortune. Besides, these human women were incredibly beautiful; once captured, they could be dealt with as desired. Judging by their attire and the man's boastful tone, they were likely a human prince or noble on a pleasure trip with his female companions. What a pity they had come to the demon realm; they were practically inviting death.

Upon hearing the command, the surrounding demons launched their attacks, sending various purple light beams toward the flying boat.

Xie Daoyun's fingers flew across her array disc, quickly activating a transparent shield around the flying boat, blocking the purple light beams.

The demon leader's expression changed, and he quickly gestured downward. Suddenly, several ballistas emerged from the mountain peaks below, aiming at the flying boat.

Xie Daoyun felt anxious. The flying boat's array could withstand attacks from individual experts, but if hit by powerful military ballistas, it would likely disintegrate instantly.

At that moment, a cold snort was heard. With a casual wave of Zu An's hand, the ballistas that were gathering energy were instantly destroyed by an unknown force. The surrounding demon soldiers were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

Not only them, but the demon experts in the air were also bewildered, unable to even clearly see how their opponent had acted.

"Enemy attack, quickly activate the highest..." The leading demon expert was greatly alarmed and was shouting when his voice suddenly cut off. His demon companions nearby were startled, wondering, "Where is he?"

The next second, they saw that the human man seemed to have just raised his hand, and then the leader was sucked in front of him by an unknown force, instantly turning into a shriveled corpse.

Zu An tossed the demon's corpse aside. "Now, can anyone tell me where the head of the Rong family is?" The lustful look in that fellow's eyes had not escaped his notice; since he wanted trouble, Zu An had simply given it to him.

Those surrounding demons suddenly felt a dizzying sensation. When they recovered, they found themselves on the flying boat, with the man opposite them staring coldly.

They couldn't help but swallow, now fully aware they had encountered a formidable opponent.

At this point, one of them cautiously replied, "The family head is not here. He was invited by the head of the Yun family and has led our clan's army to provide support."

"What did the Yun family head ask him to do?" Yun Yuqing asked in surprise and haste.

"He didn't just summon our family head; he also summoned the head of the Wu family. Now, the Yun, Wu, and Rong families have united to attack the Solun family," another person interjected, eager to answer. Seeing the miserable state of their companion earlier, he feared being casually disposed of as worthless.

Zu An frowned slightly. He recalled that in the Sealed Land, Solun Shi had returned to the demon realm to investigate why demon reinforcements hadn't arrived. How had it turned into the other three families besieging the Solun family? He wondered if Solun Shi was safe now.

"Why would you jointly attack the Solun family?" Yun Yuqing was utterly confused. While the four great demon families weren't particularly close, they could still be considered a united front. There were even numerous intermarriages among them, and never before had three families ganged up to attack one. Moreover, the Yun family was the strongest of the four; strictly speaking, it should be the other three uniting against the Yun family.

"Because the Solun family refused to offer up the Saintess and also wouldn't hand over the Four Symbols Stones," a Rong family expert quickly replied.

"Saintess, Four Symbols Stones?" Zu An looked at Yun Yuqing in confusion. He had never heard these terms before. Even the usually knowledgeable Xie Daoyun and Jiang Luofu appeared somewhat bewildered, as outsiders knew little about such demon affairs.

At this point, Yun Yuqing replied, "I have heard of the Four Symbols Stones. It's said that each of the four great families possesses a special stone: the Yun family has the Azure Dragon Stone, the Solun family has the White Tiger Stone, the Rong family has the Vermilion Bird Stone, and the Wu family has the Black Tortoise Stone. However, I always thought this was just a legend. When I asked the clan elders in the past, they all claimed they had never seen them. Could they really exist?"

Zu An was equally puzzled. What connection did the demon race have with the Four Symbols? Wait, the Wu family was Black Tortoise. He had previously thought 'Wu' referred to a golden crow, but now it seemed to refer to a tortoise?

"Oh, how does the young lady know so many secrets of our clan?" one of the Rong family experts asked, somewhat shocked.

Yun Yuqing didn't answer but instead counter-questioned, "According to what you just said, has the Rong family already handed over the Vermilion Bird Stone? And to whom?"

"Yes, not only the Rong family, but the Wu family has also handed over the Black Tortoise Stone.""To the Yun family, of course."Those people answered all at once.

"The Yun family?" Yun Yuqing's expression slightly changed. "They told you to hand them over, and you obeyed?" She knew that while the four great families had varying strengths, their statuses were generally equal. Never in all these years had one family's command extended to the other three.

"What could we do against the powerful Yun family?" Those who could fly were the strong individuals left behind by the Rong family, and they knew more than the average person. "Moreover, with a True Demon supporting them, how could we dare to resist? Otherwise, we would suffer the same fate as the Solun family."

"Initially, the Yun family merely requested some cultivation resources. Though the other families were displeased, they still frugally provided them.""However, the Yun family became increasingly excessive later, demanding that each family hand over their Four Symbols Stones.""At first, everyone disagreed, but they feared that the True Demon would only favor the Yun family in the future, and they were also concerned about their own families being attacked. So, our family head compromised. The Wu family likely shares the same reasoning as us."

"True Demon?" Yun Yuqing's delicate brows furrowed; she was puzzled by this term.

"They are envoys from the world where our demon ancestors lived. Their bloodline is purer, and their power is greater, unlike us demons who have intermingled in this world, our bloodline becoming impure, and our power weakening with each generation. We are not only bullied by humans but also subjugated by the demon court." As they spoke of the True Demon, their eyes glowed with a hint of fanaticism.

Jiang Luofu held Ji Xiaoxi in her arms, glancing worriedly at Zu An. She transmitted her voice through energy, "A'Zu, it sounds like otherworldly demons."

Zu An nodded slightly and asked, "How many of these 'True Demons' do you speak of?"

"Only one. The True Demon bloodline is noble; there wouldn't be many of them."

Hearing their reply, Zu An was somewhat surprised. "One? Just one is enough to make you so convinced, even willing to hand over your family's most important possessions?"

"Because the True Demon proved how powerful our noble demon bloodline truly is. They can even activate the bloodline that has lain dormant within us for countless years, allowing demon experts to advance several realms overnight and become incredibly powerful.""It's a pity we weren't fortunate enough to receive the True Demon's enlightenment; otherwise..."The implication was clear: if they had received the enlightenment, they wouldn't have been so easily captured.

Zu An's expression darkened slightly. As expected, they were those otherworldly demons. Back in the Sealed Land, the Golden-winged Roc King and the Second Prince of the demon race also seemed to have their strength dramatically increased by some secret demon art.

"What about the Saintess you just mentioned? To my knowledge, there is no such 'Saintess' among the four great families."