Chapter 550: Demon Nature Out of Control

Qin Mu blinked and subtly retreated two steps. When nothing happened, he took two more, but still, everything remained normal.

"This jade pendant... it truly is a Carefree Village pendant!" Fu Riluo muttered, examining the jade pendant repeatedly, his expression shifting erratically. His three faces spoke in unison, "No, no, he's deceiving us! How could someone from Carefree Village be half-human, half-demon? He must be lying!"

"This kid is cunning; he looks honest but is sly and treacherous. His words can't be trusted!"

"But this *is* undeniably a Carefree Village pendant. If we could truly capture someone from Carefree Village and use them to locate it, reporting it to the Celestial Heavens would bring us great rewards. The Demon Race would finally have a place to settle!"

"The Celestial Heavens are untrustworthy! Trusting them is like expecting pigs to fly!"

Qin Mu quietly backed away a few more steps. Fu Riluo's three faces continued their loud debate. Qin Mu suddenly turned and sprinted away, but in the next instant, he found Fu Riluo standing directly in front of him.

Fu Riluo hadn't moved; his three faces were still bickering. Qin Mu felt a surge of despair. Fu Riluo was too powerful, strong enough to distort the surrounding space, making escape impossible. He couldn't even move further away from the jade pendant.

"Carefree Village is very mysterious; they once built a great civilization, a grand Celestial Heaven! But how could Carefree Village have a demon descendant? It's highly suspicious!"

"Indeed, very suspicious. I think we should kill this kid! Kill him now!"

"Wait, there's something strange about this jade pendant. I've found a seal hidden inside. What kind of seal is this? Could it contain a secret of Carefree Village?"

Qin Mu stared, wide-eyed, at Fu Riluo's three faces. It seemed as though three distinct consciousnesses, like different souls, resided within Fu Riluo. These three faces were now eagerly scrambling to examine his jade pendant, attempting to uncover the secret of the seal. Unable to move, Qin Mu stood obediently, doing his best to appear compliant.

Just then, he heard a cacophony of voices, a familiar whispering sound. This sound wasn't new to him; he had heard it when the King of Hell played with the jade pendant in Fengdu. The voices were noisy, as if countless aggrieved spirits were hidden in dark, unseen places, their faces grotesquely contorted as they uttered seductive words, tempting people to fall and succumb.

Qin Mu shook his head, but the whispering grew closer, as if pressing against his ears, pouring sounds directly into his mind. He raised his hands and flapped them around his ears, but he couldn't swat away the strange voices. The next moment, the chaotic sounds seemed to bore into his head, so loud that his skull felt as if it would explode. Qin Mu tilted his head, slapping his ears, trying to dislodge the sounds from his mind. Yet, the noise only intensified, all the voices suddenly merging into one deafening roar.

With a sudden snap, Qin Mu's head dropped forward. He stood rigidly, his body swaying back and forth, his hands hanging limply at his sides.

"Haha, the seal is about to be suppressed by us!"

"There must be some secret in this!"

"Perhaps it will grant us insight into the mysteries of Carefree Village!"

Fu Riluo's three faces continued their incessant chatter. Just then, a voice from nearby startled them: "Smash it."

Fu Riluo turned his head towards the source of the sound. He saw Qin Mu standing there, head bowed, swaying back and forth. Surprised, Fu Riluo smiled faintly. "What did you say?"

Qin Mu, still with his head down, spoke in an incredibly evil voice, chuckling. "I said, if you smash it, something very interesting will happen. Hurry, smash it."

All three of Fu Riluo's faces furrowed their brows. The sheer wickedness of this voice made even them feel a chill. As an immensely evil Venerable King, it was almost impossible for him to feel such a sense of dread.

"Why aren't you moving?"

Behind Qin Mu, space suddenly cracked with pops and fizzles, a massive rift appearing. With a hum, a colossal, malevolent eye slowly opened, and demonic light, shaped like butterfly wings, erupted from it. As this evil eye opened, the surrounding space vibrated, covered in cracks, seemingly ready to shatter at any moment. The demonic light filled the fissures in the space, creating a bizarre and ominous sight.

"Poor little thing, low-grade, incompetent bloodline..."

Qin Mu's voice grew even more sinister, drifting and wavering. He stood there with his head bowed, yet Fu Riluo felt as if he were everywhere at once. Fu Riluo frowned deeply. To be called a "poor little thing" and a "low-grade, incompetent race" by Qin Mu was simply intolerable! However, he felt a flicker of dread, a hint of danger, but more than that, excitement. "Is this the secret hidden in the jade pendant? The secret of Carefree Village?"

Behind Qin Mu, a second spatial rift appeared, and another eerie demonic eye slowly opened. More cracks spread across the surrounding space, and more demonic light poured forth.

"You insignificant, pathetic worm, so lowly that you dare not obey my command."

Qin Mu chuckled, head still bowed. "Hehehe, you're going to die, aren't you? How will I make it fun for you to die...?"

Fu Riluo's expression became blank. He saw a third eye, positioned slightly above and between the two malevolent demonic eyes. This eye seemed to contain endless demonic fire, straining to open but unable to, revealing only a slit. The intensity and power of the demonic fire within it were chilling.

Fu Riluo slowly raised his head, staring blankly at the three rising evil demonic eyes. As they ascended, a towering demon god materialized, its body wreathed in the demonic flames of Youdu, looking down upon Fu Riluo from on high. Fu Riluo struggled to lower his gaze, looking at Qin Mu. His other two faces frantically tried to swivel their eyes, attempting to grasp what was happening.

"This is impossible, this is utterly impossible!" Fu Riluo's throat was dry, his voice hoarse. "You cannot possibly have such a powerful Prime Devil Primordial Spirit within you! This is illogical..."

"Destroy the jade pendant for me!"

Qin Mu suddenly lifted his head, his eyes completely dark. Dark demonic flames, like butterfly wings, emanated from his pupils, and his terrifying voice transformed into dreadful demonic sound waves that surged forward!

Fu Riluo felt a hurricane surge towards him, his clothes billowing backward. His face became etched with deepening wrinkles from the demonic sound waves. Around him, sand and stones flew, and the furious demonic sound waves formed a black storm, sweeping away behind him. He squinted, clearly seeing a vertical eye on Qin Mu's forehead, which, like the others, was not fully open, only a mere slit visible.

"This is... you were born in Youdu!" Fu Riluo instantly realized, shouting shrilly, "You—"

*Boom!*

A giant fist slammed into him. Fu Riluo spurted blood as the surrounding space crackled loudly, and towering mountains blurred past him. The next moment, his body plummeted into the Grand Canyon abyss, crashing through and collapsing a massive altar that was under construction.

The altar disintegrated instantly, debris scattering everywhere. Fu Riluo roared in furious indignation three times, his body swelling dramatically as he unleashed his physical form. His muscles expanded with explosive pops. He reached out, a demonic spear appearing in his hand, just as he was about to launch himself into the air. Suddenly, the sky darkened. Without hesitation, Fu Riluo thrust his demonic spear upwards. He was a True Demon of the Demon Race, revered as a Venerable King by other demon gods. While his demonic arts might not be unparalleled, he was undoubtedly a peak powerhouse in the Supreme Emperor Heaven. Only the Woodcutter Sage's axe could withstand his demonic spear.

Yet, in the next instant, the demonic spear collided with the incoming giant fist, and the immense spear bent under the crushing force! Fu Riluo grunted. The spear shaft slid backward through his hands, lacerating them and leaving them bloody. Finally, he could no longer hold on, and the demonic spear flew from his grasp.

"Destroy the jade pendant!"

Amidst the roars, another massive fist brutally struck Fu Riluo. His entire skeleton vibrated and shattered with crackling sounds, and demonic blood erupted from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, spraying into the air as he was sent flying backward. *Thud, thud, thud*, a series of dull impacts echoed as his colossal body successively crashed through one altar after another, unable to stop his retreat.

At this point, he saw light—light from Qin Mu's eyes, two beams of demonic light.

*Hum!*

Two swirling pillars of demonic flame light surged forward, striking him in the chest. Fu Riluo's chest exploded, creating a gaping hole straight through his body. As a True Demon, his cultivation was powerful and his vitality astonishing. He immediately sealed his wounds but continued to crash through countless altars. Amidst the flying debris, he saw Qin Mu approaching rapidly, leaping through the rubble with a bizarre gait.

*Boom!*

Fu Riluo's backward momentum finally weakened. When he crashed into the last altar, he came to a stop, his entire rear embedded in the structure. He struggled to lift his head, then saw Qin Mu standing before him, an excited, wicked expression on his face, observing him with keen interest.

Fu Riluo managed a strained smile, his voice hoarse. "I'll tell you a little secret..."

"What secret?" Qin Mu tilted his head, listening. "I love hearing people's little secrets before they die. Hurry, tell me!"

"I'll..." Fu Riluo flipped his palm and pressed it against Qin Mu's forehead. "Return the jade pendant to you!"

Qin Mu's face changed drastically. "You ambushed me? I'll kill you, you little bast—"

Suddenly, the violent aura within him rapidly faded. His eyes gradually regained clarity, and the vertical eye on his forehead reluctantly closed. The Prime Devil Primordial Spirit behind him twisted, spun, and swiftly vanished.

Fu Riluo sighed in relief. Just then, the jade pendant clinging to Qin Mu's forehead detached and fell to the ground with a soft *thud*. Fu Riluo's hair stood on end, and he strained to look down, only then relaxing. "Thankfully, it didn't break..." He then smiled faintly and passed out.

A moment later, Qin Mu stirred and slowly opened his eyes, groggily surveying his surroundings. When he saw Fu Riluo embedded in the altar, he was startled. Seeing the Grand Canyon abyss in such a devastated state, Qin Mu couldn't help but feel a lingering sense of dread.

"The Woodcutter Sage was right after all. A great curse occurs if the jade pendant leaves me. This True Demon Venerable King, Fu Riluo, was beaten to this state just by holding my jade pendant. It seems this curse is far more complex than mere heavenly lightning or fire!" The young man's eyes gleamed. He immediately turned to leave. "He's unconscious, and everything's a mess around here. This is my chance to slip away quickly."

He took two steps, then turned back, searched around, found his jade pendant, and put it back on his neck before finally departing. "Glad I didn't lose it! The curse in this jade pendant is incredibly useful; it would be a shame to lose it!"