The Name of Eternals

Chapter 129: They Have Arrived

"They're here."

Li Hongzhuang's eyes narrowed slightly. Although she had anticipated this, when the demons truly arrived, her grip on her sword tightened involuntarily.

The overwhelming demonic aura was unmasked, covering the area like dark clouds.

Four towering figures stood outside the camp. The cold wind swept past, dissipating a hundred feet away from them, unable to get closer.

Li Hongzhuang and Li He both wore serious expressions. They stepped forward, subtly shielding Li Hao behind them.

Despite their previous arguments, Li He did not forget his duty.

Li Hongzhuang, considering herself Li Hao's aunt, felt it was only natural to protect him and not let anything happen to the child.

Li Hao did not intend to rely on their protection. He handed the cultivation manual to Ren Qianqian beside him, then patted the little white fox's head, signaling it not to worry.

He then picked up the pig-tooth sword at his feet. The large sword was slightly taller than he was, resembling a crescent-shaped door panel.

"Two in the Undying Realm, two in the Indestructible Realm!"

Li Hongzhuang sensed the unmasked demonic aura of the four demons, discerning their realms. She had fought two of them before, who had also attacked the camp.

"Li He, can you handle one in the Undying Realm?" Li Hongzhuang asked.

Li He, being in the Indestructible Realm, had not reached the Undying Realm, but he practiced the Li family's top-notch techniques and had ample resources to refine his true energy, making his cultivation slightly higher than demons of the same realm. Only those with deep backgrounds could make him wary.

"I can hold one off, but killing it would be difficult," Li He said solemnly.

"Alright."

Li Hongzhuang glanced at Li Hao beside her. "Li He and I will draw away the two in the Undying Realm. You try to hold on. Once I kill one, I'll come to assist you. Be careful, there might be an ambush!"

"There are two ambushers," Li Hao said, astonishing them.

His eyes were filled with black energy. Since cultivating the Mingyu True Demon Technique, this body-refining technique had honed his entire body, including his eyes, allowing him to see through some demonic illusions and lock onto hidden figures.

Hearing Li Hao's words, the two were stunned and then their faces changed drastically.

Six demons?

If that was the case, they couldn't split up, or they would be defeated one by one.

Li Hongzhuang looked back at the distant graveyard with a sorrowful look in her eyes.

She had expected this day but didn't think it would come so soon.

She could no longer... stay here with her brothers.

"Prepare to retreat."

Li Hongzhuang took a deep breath and said softly, "I'll cover you. Li He, look after Hao'er."

"Yes!" Li He responded.

"No need."

Li Hao shook his head, dragging the pig-tooth sword on the ground, walking forward. The rough edge left a deep groove in the earth:

"I came to guard this city. You can leave, but I won't."

"Hao'er!"

Li Hongzhuang turned pale with shock and anger, "Is this the time to be stubborn? Your life is at stake!"

Li He also wanted to persuade the stubborn young master, but at that moment, the four demons outside the camp couldn't hold back any longer and strode towards the camp behind the pass.

"Hongzhuang, last time I asked you to be my wife. You have one more chance today. Will you refuse or accept?"

Among them, a massive azure peacock crossed the pass, transforming into a graceful young man as he walked.

He was tall, handsome, and carried a folding fan. But behind him, dense demonic energy swirled, vaguely forming a giant peacock's shadow.

Li Hongzhuang's eyes were cold as she stepped forward, "I'll be your wife if you kill that ugly creature next to you as a betrothal gift!"

Beside the Peacock Prince was a massive frog-like demon, as big as a mountain.

This frog had a tail that curled and swayed like a scorpion's stinger, ready to strike at any moment.

Hearing Li Hongzhuang's words, the warty giant frog cracked its mouth, revealing sharp, dense fangs, "You're dead! I'll chew you to pieces!"

The peacock prince looked at the frog with interest, "I think Hongzhuang's suggestion is good. Brother Tu, why not oblige?"

"Get lost!"

The giant frog roared, spitting saliva that splashed on the Peacock Prince, who brushed it off with a wave of his sleeve.

"Stop dawdling."

Beside them, a massive black-haired ox demon with long whiskers spoke in a deep voice, "I heard the one who killed Chi Hu Jun is a young human, that little one, who also killed the Pig Demon."

Li Hao immediately felt the demons' gazes lock onto him, filled with intense pressure.

But a flash of red appeared, and Li Hongzhuang stood in front of him. Her slender figure in a tattered red battle armor stood like a spear.

"I severely injured Chi Hu Jun. He just stole the credit. If you have the guts, come at me!" Li Hongzhuang said coldly.

"Don't worry, none of you will escape today."

The giant frog bared its fangs, "I'll break her limbs and make her my wife. Long limbs are so ugly!"

"You're just short, don't call my wife ugly," the Peacock Prince smiled.

The giant frog glared at him but couldn't be bothered to argue, suddenly opening its mouth to spit out a giant, red-hot shadow that flew towards the three.

Li Hongzhuang's pupils shrank, and she slashed out with her sword.

The sword energy struck the blood-red tongue, creating a metallic clang.

The giant tongue recoiled, and the frog demon lunged forward.

Its limbs burst with incredible power. As it jumped, the ground caved in like it had been struck by a meteorite.

Dust flew up but was blocked by a force around the Peacock Prince, who shook his folding fan disdainfully.

"Ten Elephant Demon Art!"

The giant frog roared, its demonic energy forming the shadow of a giant elephant, its massive body charging forward with terrifying momentum.

Li Hao, Li Hongzhuang, and Li He leapt up, not daring to take the force head-on.

[Experience from Fishing +412]

A panel notification appeared before Li Hao.

He was not surprised.

The charging giant frog had touched his hidden line.

This was an energy-condensed fishing line, meaning it was in the fishing process, though still in the pulling stage, not yet hooked. However, there was already experience feedback.

In fishing, even if the prey escapes, it gives experience based on the prey's cultivation and condition.

The giant frog was just hooked.

Even so, it provided over 400 experience points, suggesting the immense experience from directly fishing a Three Immortal Realm great demon!

Li Hao's eyes brightened.

Meanwhile, the giant frog sensed its front limb touching a chaotic force, quickly entangling its limb, a strange human technique.

"Roar!!"

The frog demon's body trembled, roaring towards the airborne trio. The terrifying sound waves made Li Hongzhuang and Li He's faces turn red, blood surging in their chests painfully.

Li Hao suddenly entered a state of enlightenment.

The third stage of the Dao of Sound gave him deep understanding. Under the harsh sound waves, he vibrated his major meridians, using all 84,000 pores to let out a roar!

Roar!!

This roar was like a tiger's, a dragon's, or the wind passing through his body, the ultimate sound of life!

The frog demon's roar was torn apart, overwhelmed by Li Hao's roar!

The giant frog, intending to follow up its sound wave with an attack, was caught off guard by Li Hao's roar, momentarily stunned.

Li Hongzhuang and Li He, regaining their senses, were astonished. Thankfully, Li Hao's sound technique interrupted the giant frog; otherwise, they would have been injured by continuous attacks.

Especially since there were five more demons lurking!

"Courting death!"

Li Hongzhuang and Li He, their eyes full of killing intent, attacked.

The giant frog, now isolated and leading the charge, could not be spared.

Li Hao also swung his sword, the sword light cascading like an avalanche.

The falling snow, like a collapsing mountain, accelerated, sweeping towards the frog's mouth.

The sharp clangs in its mouth were the sword energy striking its dense fangs, making metallic sounds.

The soft flesh inside its mouth had several small sword wounds.

This attack would have shredded a Sky Human Realm demon, but the frog demon was at the peak of the Indestructible Realm, its flesh like steel, only lightly injured.

Having battled Three Immortal Realm demons yesterday, Li Hao was shocked at causing such little damage. The frog's weakness wasn't its mouth.

Its seemingly soft flesh was probably tougher than some Three Immortal Realm demons' outer skin!

After swinging his sword, Li Hao quickly reeled in the fishing line during Li Hongzhuang and Li He's attack interval.

At the fifth stage of the Fishing Dao, he mastered many fishing techniques. The hidden line was one such skill, now at a higher level, undetected by the Three Immortal Realm frog demon.

The energy-condensed fishing line, like a divine iron chain, wound around its front limb, extending towards its mouth and eyes.

The hook at the end, made of condensed energy, turned into a ferocious, curved exploding hook.

This hook wasn't single; it was a cluster of hooks welded together, designed to tear out large chunks of flesh once embedded!

Li Hao remembered what his second uncle had said: even the Three Immortal Realm could be hooked and dragged by him.

Unexpectedly, within a few years, he could now fish for Three Immortal Realm demons himself!

"What is this?!"

The giant frog roared in anger, feeling its limbs entangled by extremely fine lines, sharper than swords, causing it pain.

Moreover, it could barely see them, only faint, transparent shadows, with hardly any discernible aura!

But the most bizarre thing was that these lines were climbing and wrapping around its body like a snake, filling it with an inexplicable fear!

"Come to me, my lady."

As Li Hongzhuang was about to slash at the giant frog, the Peacock Prince flickered in front of her, his folding fan flashing like a divine weapon, clashing with her sword and sparking flames.

Li Hongzhuang's eyes turned icy as she launched a full-speed attack.

The Peacock Prince, intending to make a joke, was forced into silence by Li Hongzhuang's fierce assault, retreating step by step with a grave expression.

Meanwhile, the ground trembled as the giant ox demon charged forward.

This ox demon, another in the Undying Realm, had purple demonic mist emanating from its horns, aimed at Li He.

But shortly after charging out, its front hoof seemed to trip over something, almost stumbling.

"Huh?"

A shallow scratch appeared on its hoof.

The ox demon glanced down, irritated, its eyes scanning the surroundings but seeing nothing. Extremely eerie.

Recalling the Dragon Lord's instructions, it dared not be careless. Its body suddenly enveloped in black light, causing the earth to shake as sharp earth spikes erupted, sweeping outward.

The ground cracked, and the remaining tents in the camp were torn apart by the sudden earth spikes, extending outwards.

Li Hao sensed the other fishing line he had set up breaking but didn't mind. He couldn't simultaneously fish two Three Immortal Realm great demons. The strength on that line was minimal, as all his focus was on the giant frog.

He manipulated the hook, crawling upwards like rolling thorns, puncturing blood spots on the frog's skin, climbing towards its eyes.

The giant frog noticed the hook, seeing the large, half-meter-diameter curved spike, both shocked and furious. What kind of attack was this?

It felt ancient, long-buried memories surfacing.

Back then, it had been a small marsh frog, almost caught by a scholar-like young man.

"Bastard!!"

The giant frog roared, its long-buried memories attacking it. Now, having reached the Three Immortal Realm, it hadn't seen such a thing in ages.

Someone dared to fish for it?

It wasn't the marsh frog from back then!

The giant frog leaped, its demonic power pushing the hook away like a skin-peeling force.

The hook wasn't as easy to hide as the line. Li Hao's expression tightened. The hook being flung off was within his expectations, as this was essentially hard fishing.

It wasn't unusual for prey not to bite.

"Didn't package it well."

Li Hao immediately realized his mistake. The hook had been revealed too quickly; it should have been disguised as something else.

With this in mind, he used his power to gather numerous demon corpses and hurled them at the giant frog.

These demon corpses, leftover from yesterday, weighed several tons, but under his true energy, he easily manipulated them.

As he threw them, Li Hao transformed the true energy hook into a needle, mixing it with the demon corpses, intending to embed it within the frog.

"You rascal."

Li Hao heard Feng Lao's voice.

Feng Boping had been watching from the side. Seeing Li Hao leisurely fishing in such a tense battle, especially targeting a Three Immortal Realm demon, he couldn't help but chuckle in disbelief.

This little rascal's fishing ambitions were greater than his!

However, Li Hao's actions made him itch to join in.

Li Hao, hearing Feng Lao, smiled. His leisure was mainly because Feng Lao was there to back him up.

With a whoosh, the needle-shaped hook pierced into the giant frog's body through the demon corpses, embedding only a few dozen centimeters, barely scratching the surface given the frog's size.

Despite having the fifth-stage Fishing Dao's technique support, he was only at the Sky Human Realm. Condensing the fishing line to withstand being easily broken was already quite a feat.

"Die for me!!"

The giant frog, feeling the foreign object piercing its skin, roared in fury, spewing a large amount of corrosive fluid that emitted a pungent, rotten smell. It burned the ground black, melting the gravel like high heat.

Li He wanted to assist, but the earth spikes isolated him. The continuous spike attacks left him dodging frantically, his face pale.

Simultaneously, the fourth demon attacked. A massive dried corpse, covered in countless maggots and black centipede-like bugs, crawling in and out of its rotting holes.

It waved its hand, releasing waves of ghosts from its body, flying towards the battlefield.

Li He slashed with his sword, but it passed through the ghosts like cutting through air.

The ghosts pounced on him, gnawing at him, even his armor couldn't block them.

Horrified, Li He knew this was a powerful soul attack. He quickly summoned his soul, condensing its might into flames covering his sword, slashing again, tearing some ghosts apart.

But the ghosts seemed endless, continuously emerging from the dried corpse demon, overwhelming him.

The joint attacks of the two great demons soon cornered him.

At this moment, two demons lurking in the shadows launched their assault.

One rushed at Li He like a leopard, incredibly fast.

Li He, hearing the sound, turned, eyes wide with horror, seeing only a bloody mouth lunging at him, ready to swallow him whole!

Just as Li He's blood froze, the lunging mouth abruptly hit something, its body yanked upwards in a bizarre motion.

It was as if a rope had caught its head, flinging it into the air.

The wolf-like demon, eyes wide with shock, looked up to see a figure sitting among the clouds.

Sitting in the clouds, calmly fishing for everything.

"Hooked!"

Feng Boping chuckled lightly. This kind of demon fishing felt far more satisfying than simply killing them.

With his power, he could easily swat it to death, but there would be no sense of achievement.

But planting the hook behind Li He, setting up several steps in advance, and still catching the demon in the trap was immensely satisfying!

Killing demons was easy, but manipulating them, outwitting and outsmarting them, was truly satisfying!

Feng Boping loved this feeling, his favorite pastime.

At this moment, the wolf demon struggled to break free.

But Feng Boping wouldn't let it off easily, especially with Li Hao watching. If it escaped, he'd be mocked by the little rascal forever.

Instead of forcefully pulling, Feng Boping gently guided, letting the hook dig deeper, the hook's spiritual power locking the demon's soul in place, making escape impossible.

"Rise!"

Feng Boping commanded, his fingers moving, the fishing line quickly reeling in, pulling the wolf demon into the clouds.

The demon's insides felt like they were being torn apart by the hook, embedding into its bones and meridians, like being strung on a roasting spit, unable to escape.

Terrified and in agony, it looked at the elderly man before it, its heart nearly bursting with fear.

"Spare me, senior!"

The giant wolf demon pleaded, trembling all over. Although it had expected an ambush from the humans, considering their audacity to kill Chi Hu Jun, it had never anticipated encountering a Four Pillar Realm elder.

"We, the anglers, never leave empty-handed. Once hooked, the catch must be secured," Feng Lao said calmly with a smile.

The giant wolf couldn't understand, but it didn't hinder its terror. It shivered, its fur standing on end.

Meanwhile, the other battling demons noticed the giant wolf being pulled into the sky. As they looked up, they were struck with horror.

The small figure seated in the clouds felt like a star, pressing down on them with the weight of ten thousand mountains.

"Four... Four Pillar Realms..."

Several demons were paralyzed with fear, their eyes wide with terror.

The ox demon urgently turned to flee.

The giant frog also let out a strange cry, roaring, "Despicable!"

As it spoke, it desperately tried to escape by leaping into the distance.

But Li Hao, anticipating the giant frog's move after seeing Feng Lao's actions, had already laid out lines and hooks in its path.

In its haste, the giant frog failed to notice Li Hao's setup. Mid-leap, it was struck by the hook, the massive force driving it deep into its belly.

Li Hao's eyes gleamed with excitement as he quickly split the hook inside the frog's body, anchoring it like spreading claws, firmly gripping its internal organs.

Whoosh!

The enormous force transmitted through the fishing line yanked Li Hao's body forward.

After being dragged several hundred meters, Li Hao steadied himself, his meridians bursting with power, activating the Seven-Star Lantern feature, rapidly cycling his technique seven times, with the eighth cycle greatly enhancing his strength.

He fiercely pulled the line, determined to capture and kill the giant frog!

"It hurts!"

The giant frog screamed in terror, the sight of the old man above like a judge from the underworld, filling it with a thick sense of impending doom. The bizarre method hindering its escape only fueled its anger and panic.

It spat corrosive venom along the fishing line, attempting to dissolve it.

Li Hao simultaneously shot out several more fishing lines. Though thin, these lines required a significant amount of true energy to condense. He couldn't create too many or make them too long.

As he pulled, a low dragon's roar suddenly echoed from outside the camp.

Immediately, a hurricane-like force swept through, like chaotic winds forming blades.

Feng Boping, who was reeling in the line, squinted his eyes and coldly snorted.

The sound seemed to carry a certain power, shaking out and repelling the murderous cold.

"So, it's you."

A deep voice came from the distant part of the camp.

Hearing this, Li Hongzhuang's face turned pale. The Dragon Lord had arrived!

All this commotion just for the death of a single mount, the Dragon Lord had come from afar, hidden in the shadows.

In the next moment, Li Hongzhuang realized why. The Dragon Lord probably suspected they had some formidable backing to dare kill Chi Hu Jun, and came to check it out.

Backing... Li Hongzhuang looked up at the sky, where a figure in a simple gray robe sat, face unclear.

She couldn't recognize who it was, but she knew it was a Four Pillar Realm expert!

They had been silently protected by a Four Pillar Realm expert all along!

Li Hongzhuang had guarded this place for many years, often narrowly escaping death, with no Four Pillar Realm coming to her aid. Clearly, this elder was accompanying Li Hao.

Did Seventh Brother send him?

But hadn't Seventh Brother sent Li He?

As thoughts churned in Li Hongzhuang's mind, the demons before her took advantage of the Dragon Lord's appearance to flee, quickly leaving the camp.

Only the giant frog, tethered by Li Hao's fishing line, couldn't escape.

Seeing its companions flee, the frog's eyes reddened with panic, letting out a series of roars.

"Daring to trespass, do you wish to die?"

Feng Boping's cold voice came from the clouds.

"I haven't trespassed. I'm just here to discipline a few unruly kids. You and I..." The deep voice said.

But before he could finish, he abruptly stopped, as if interrupted.

Boom! The ground shook violently, like a magnitude ten earthquake.

Then, a furious dragon roar echoed from afar:

"You, a demon, dare to serve humans!"

Whoosh!

A thousand-zhang-high azure sword light shot up, visible even a hundred miles away!

The sword energy split the earth, creating a long ravine through the forest.

Immediately, water surged from the sky like a waterfall.

Roar!

In the river-like water cascade, a dragon roar sounded, shaking Li Hao, Li Hongzhuang, and the others from miles away, their hearts trembling.

After the dragon roar, a massive shockwave followed, the ground seemingly struck again, causing the gravel at their feet to bounce.

Then, everything fell silent.

But within a few breaths, two screams rang out, abruptly cut off.

The forest outside the camp fell into a deathly silence, eerie and foreboding.

Li Hao and Li Hongzhuang, their faces grave, looked towards the long path outside the pass.

Soon, a figure slowly walked towards them.

She had a slender figure, wearing a radiant gown that shimmered like water. Her azure hair cascaded like a waterfall, her hair color alone distinguishing her from humans.

Moreover, her eyes were like clear blue streams, reflecting all beings.

Behind the slender, graceful woman were two deep blue water chains, binding two giant beasts, the ox demon and the peacock demon who had fled earlier.

At this moment, the peacock's eyes held only a faint glimmer of life, barely alive.

Its chest was pierced with a huge bloody hole, its once splendid tail feathers drooping, dragging on the ground.