Descent of the Demoncloud Demon Lord’s Phantom

Evan Yang thought for a moment and felt it made sense. The Demoncloud Zone must be in chaos right now, especially with the Demoncloud Demon Lord's furious roar—Evan could still remember it clearly. So after thinking it over, he said, "Let me help you find the Nine‑Aspect Beast first."

"Mm, thank you," Clara Snow said gratefully.

"Let's go. We need to hurry and deal with him before the Nine‑Aspect Beast fully recovers," Evan said after some thought.

Clara Snow nodded. After glancing at the corpses, she helplessly led Evan away. Still carrying injuries, Clara heard Evan say, "I think we should find a place for you to heal up first."

"No, we don't have time," Clara shook her head.

"It won't take long. I'll heal you in a flash," Evan said after considering.

"In a flash? How is that possible? It's not like you have some miracle pill," Clara said, not believing him.

"You don't believe me? Then let's find a spot," Evan replied.

Clara thought about it and decided to give it a try. She brought Evan to an inn and said, "Go ahead."

"Sit on the bed. I'll sit next to you," Evan said.

Clara nodded, looking at her wounds—injuries caused by the Nine‑Aspect Beast's sharp claws. The wounds were still exposed, with some poison lingering inside.

Evan began to channel his Heaven‑Cold Qi, passing it over Clara's wounds. After a while, her injuries improved significantly.

Gradually, under Clara's observation, her wounds fully healed. She looked at Evan in disbelief and asked, "How did you do that?"

"I've cultivated some healing arts. I thought they'd work for you, so I gave it a try—looks like it worked pretty well," Evan said with a smile.

"Such miraculous healing arts?" Clara said, still in disbelief.

Evan didn't mention his Heaven‑Cold Qi, knowing Clara would be even more shocked. The more Clara looked at Evan, the more mysterious he seemed. But now that her wounds were healed, she was eager to head out. She said to Evan, "You stay here, I'm going out to spread the news."

"How are you going to do it? Do you need me to come with you?" Evan asked.

"No need, I'll handle it myself. You just wait here," Clara said, then left.

Outside, Clara arrived at a bustling place with many people coming and going. Most were here to find useful things, as this place specialized in offering precious information.

Clara quickly found someone handling information. By selling valuable news here, one could earn a hefty sum. Clara came specifically to spread the message anonymously, so no one would know she was the source.

The handler looked at Clara and asked, "What news do you have?"

My news is very valuable—worth at least tens of millions of magic stones," Clara said with a smile.

Tens of millions? Impossible, I don't believe it,' the handler shook his head.

If you don't believe me, forget it,' Clara said.

Give me a hint, and I'll see if it's worth it,' the handler said.

Clara smiled. "You've heard about the Demoncloud Demon Lord, right?"

I've heard—someone stole his treasure,' the handler said suspiciously.

I know who stole it. How much do you think that's worth?' Clara smiled.

The handler was overjoyed. If he could get such valuable news, he could trade it for even better things. The Demoncloud Demon Lord was an important figure—the supreme authority in the Devil Realm.

Alright, tens of millions it is—no big deal,' the handler said, smiling.

Clara smiled and placed the pre-recorded image on the table. The handler was delighted—the footage showed the Nine‑Aspect Beast using the Eight‑Facet Mirror. He exclaimed, "Deal!"

Five million,' Clara said with a smile.

Just five million? Wait here, I'll get it for you right away,' the handler said, then quickly fetched five million magic stones for Clara. After Clara left, the handler took the valuable item to find the manager.

There were several managers at this information trading place. Many such places existed in the Devil Realm, so it was a large community.

Manager Shen, take a look,' the handler said, finding an old man.

The old man was curious seeing the handler so anxious. "What's going on?" he asked.

Take a look first,' the handler said.

The old man looked and was surprised. "Where did this come from?"

Just bought it,' the handler replied.

Great, excellent, I'll contact the higher-ups and report to the Demon Lord right away,' the manager said, delighted, and hurried off.

Clara had already returned to the inn. Seeing her come back, Evan asked curiously, "How did it go?"

Not bad, but I don't know how effective it'll be,' Clara said with a smile.

"Let's wait. We should hear something soon," Evan said, smiling.

"That's right. Let's wait downstairs for news," Clara said. Evan nodded, and the two went downstairs to talk.

Time passed slowly. At first, there was nothing, but soon news arrived: the Demoncloud Demon Lord's magic treasure had been stolen by the Nine‑Aspect Beast, and orders were being given everywhere to capture him.

Hearing this, Evan and Clara began to act. As soon as there was news of the Nine‑Aspect Beast, they set out.

But after several days, there was still no news of the Nine‑Aspect Beast. Just as Evan and Clara wondered when they'd find him, they received word: the Nine‑Aspect Beast had appeared somewhere, and many people were rushing there to capture him and win favor with the Demoncloud Demon Lord.

Evan and Clara exchanged a glance and hurried toward the place where the Nine‑Aspect Beast had been spotted.

The Nine‑Aspect Beast was hiding in a cave, furious. He'd hoped to find medicine to heal his wounds, but his tracks were discovered, and a crowd chased him. More and more people joined, so he fled and found this cave. The cave was winding, with many tunnels—easy for the Nine‑Aspect Beast to ambush intruders. At the moment, he'd transformed into an ordinary rabbit, planning to lay low.

Damn it, what's going on?' The Nine‑Aspect Beast couldn't understand how he'd been caught.

When Clara and Evan arrived, they were told the Nine‑Aspect Beast was in this cave, but many who went in hadn't returned.

Looks like this cave is no ordinary place. But we have to go in—we can't wait. If the Demon Lord gets word, he'll come soon," Clara said.

Right, we have to go in. Come on—maybe I'll find a way to locate him," Evan said.

Alright,' Clara nodded.

Evan and Clara entered the cave together. Inside, there were many tunnels and winding paths. Evan released his divine sense and found traces of many people, but one area had very few. That made Evan curious.

There's a place deeper in—no one's there,' Evan said.

Why?' Clara wondered, curious how Evan could tell. 'I don't know—maybe they were killed. Let's head there. We might find the Nine‑Aspect Beast,' Evan said.

Yeah—be careful,' Clara said. Then the two walked deeper inside.

After a while, Evan sensed a familiar soul—it was the Nine‑Aspect Beast. The beast sensed familiar people approaching, and when he saw Evan and Clara, he was secretly delighted. At that moment, he was a rabbit, so nobody would suspect he was the Nine‑Aspect Beast. But he didn't know Evan had already figured it out and was pretending not to know. Evan secretly messaged Clara: "That rabbit is him. Don't disturb him—wait until we're close, then we'll attack together. He'll never expect we've already found him."

Clara was curious how Evan knew it was the Nine‑Aspect Beast, but there was no time to ask. As they approached, the beast planned to strike when Evan and Clara got close. Suddenly, Evan said, "Attack!"

Clara, already prepared, quickly coordinated with Evan to launch a surprise attack on the unprepared Nine‑Aspect Beast, further worsening his injuries.

Evan leapt forward and sealed the beast.

'Done,' Evan said, grabbing the beast with a smile. 'He won't escape, will he?' Clara asked, suspicious. 'No. He can't move or speak—just wait for him to die,' Evan replied, smiling. 'How did you do it?' Clara asked, amazed.

I have a spell that can immobilize him,' Evan said with a smile.

Clara nodded. "That's pretty good."

Evan checked the rabbit and found nothing unusual. But upon closer inspection, he discovered a ring under its belly—it was Clara's. Evan returned the ring to Clara.

Great,' Clara said with a smile. 'Yeah, let's hurry out—before the Demon Lord arrives,' Evan said.

Clara nodded. After they got outside and were about to leave, the sky suddenly changed. A giant phantom, as big as half the heavens, appeared, staring at Evan and Clara. Then it looked at the rabbit and said, "Give me the Nine‑Aspect Beast."

Clara was shocked—the Demon Lord had arrived so quickly. Evan was stunned by the Demon Lord's immense presence, which was almost suffocating. But since he'd sealed the Nine‑Aspect Beast, he wasn't afraid of the beast causing trouble, so he tossed it to the Demon Lord.

The Demon Lord looked at the rabbit, then disappeared.

After he vanished, Evan and Clara finally caught their breath. Evan quickly said, "Let's go!"

Clara nodded, and the two went to Clara's secret cave. There, Clara smiled and said, "That was close."

Was that the Demon Lord?' Evan asked curiously.

That's right, that was the Demoncloud Demon Lord. Surprised? That was only his phantom, not his real self, but it's still powerful. Even a Demon Emperor couldn't defeat that illusion,' Clara said.

It was Evan's first encounter with the Demon Lord, and he had to admit the Demon Lord's strength. Seeing Evan stunned, Clara asked, "What's wrong?"