We had previously discussed the existence of "Great Demons" underground with the Eight Demons, but we were too far from these three captives to be overheard.
Zhu Erhe, this time, was more forthcoming and answered without hesitation: "It was a bear demon."
After he spoke, he glanced at Mengmeng, who was now eyeing the dead Lin Dazhuang with a predatory gaze.
"Like her?" I asked.
Zhu Erhe shook his head. "Not a black bear, but a polar bear. It was much larger than... this esteemed immortal."
I turned to look at Mengmeng. In her bear form, she stood three meters tall. Much larger than her? Just how big was this polar bear?
Ah, polar bear. I understood. It wasn't a white-colored "black bear," but a true polar bear. Polar bears are indeed significantly larger than black bears, typically over two meters tall even in their natural state. After cultivating into a demon, it would be even more colossal, at least five meters.
However, no matter how large, it was still a bear. I refused to believe that the eight of us couldn't defeat one.
"Third question," I skipped the polar bear. Its presence was still lingering in the small castle, and I suspected it was sleeping in the basement, having missed the recent fight. "Where did the main force of your Mohe tribe go? The Eight Vajras, and those two Great Demons?"
"Young hero, I truly don't know!"
"Oh?" the fox demon raised his blade again.
"Wait, wait, wait! All I know is that the young master returned at noon. I don't know what he said, but the three patriarchs were very angry. At two in the afternoon, they left the small castle with two Vajras, leaving us behind to guard."
"Two? Where are the other six Vajras?" I asked again.
"They are not here at the castle, but I suspect that with the three patriarchs mobilizing, all six of them would have accompanied them."
That made sense. If they were only dealing with the Chen family, the Mohe wouldn't have sent their entire force. They must have also received intelligence about us through some channel, and were heading for Yaoyao!
Yet, there was no sign of movement from Yaoyao's side, which was very strange. Logically, they left at two o'clock and should have reached the Chen family villa by now. Yaoyao also possessed Qi Sensing techniques. With such a large force in the vicinity, how could she not detect it? Unless they employed "Qi Concealment Techniques." But as far as I knew, no such magic existed. Even ghosts had a Qi. How could humans hide it?
I recalled the Qi Sensing technique and looked at the polar bear demon in the castle. It was still in the same spot. Just as I was about to withdraw my "vision," purely by chance, I glimpsed a flash of purple Qi at the "edge of my vision." I immediately turned my head and brought the purple Qi to the center of my Qi Sensing field of vision. (I wasn't as skilled as Yaoyao; without focusing, I couldn't see clearly.) Indeed, there were two faint purple Qi strands, similar in color to Yaoyao's, on the summit of the mountain where I had been observing the battle. I pointed in that direction and asked the eagle demon perched on a rock, "There's someone over there. Can you see them?"
The eagle demon had extremely sharp eyesight, but after peering, she shook her head. She spread her wings, about to fly up to investigate, but I stopped her. The opponent's strength was too formidable; I feared the eagle demon would be taken down.
If my guess was correct, it should be one of the Eight Vajras. Since the eagle demon couldn't see him, he likely couldn't see us either, and was merely tracking us. For now, the polar bear demon was not a pressing concern. This purple Qi expert was the real threat. I ceased the interrogation, gathered the Eight Demons, and devised a flanking strategy. I instructed them to proceed cautiously but not to attack first, but to encircle the target.
The Eight Demons infiltrated the pine forest, converging on the mountaintop from different directions. I flipped myself onto Mengmeng's neck and charged out of the woods, swaggering towards the mountain, intending to draw the opponent's attention.
About thirty meters from the summit, the purple Qi had still not moved. I used my Qi Sensing technique to check the positions of the other demons; they were mostly in place. I yelled towards the summit, "Hey! Come out! I see you, you're exposing your rear!"
A patch of grass on the mountaintop rustled. Immediately, a person wearing a white and gray camouflage assault suit emerged from behind a rock.
It was a young person, tall and slender. They wore the hood of the assault suit, which was large enough to cover their forehead and eyes, revealing only the lower half of their face.
Something was wrong. According to the information provided by Helan Xue, the Eight Vajras were all men. This person's face was delicate, their assault suit bulged in the front, and their tight pants were form-fitting and flat. This was definitely a woman...