This time, Quinn Shepherd truly felt a chill run down his spine.
Back during the great battle outside Daxiang City, Quinn had stood atop a mountain, watching the battlefield but unable to make out the experts’ moves. The Nethervault Demon King borrowed his eyes to observe, letting Quinn clearly see the techniques of the Imperial Preceptor and Master Qiong, even grasping the mysteries behind their terrifying moves!
At the time, Quinn believed he’d hidden his thoughts well and hadn’t alerted the Demon King.
But now it was clear that his little tricks had been useless—the Nethervault Demon King had sensed his inner turmoil and even guessed his thoughts long ago!
“Foolish Summoner of Demons, you try to play clever tricks before the greatest ruler of Nethervault. It’s utterly pointless.”
The voice of the Nethervault Demon King continued to echo in his mind, making his eardrums buzz: “Such a feeble life as yours shouldn’t try schemes before me. My power is beyond your imagination! Submit to me, worship me—that is your only way out.”
Quinn steadied himself, then suddenly laughed: “Great Lord of Nethervault, in this world only I still know how to use Spirit Command Seals, and only I can perform this art.”
The Nethervault Demon King fell silent.
After a moment, his voice rang out again: “Interesting little brat, you dare bargain with me. Very well, very well…”
Quinn felt uneasy, unsure if his attempt at bargaining would succeed this time.
If things went wrong and the demon turned hostile, Quinn would be in serious trouble.
But if he succeeded in bargaining and survived, once he got back to the village, he could let Village Chief and the others slowly kill off the Nethervault Demon King.
Judging by the Demon King’s behavior, it might actually be possible to finish him off.
After all, when Quinn was traveling with the Imperial Preceptor, the Nethervault Demon King stayed completely quiet, hiding inside him.
It was only when the Imperial Preceptor started fighting Master Qiong and the other cult master-level figures that the Demon King dared to borrow Quinn’s eyes to watch the battle, both to gauge the Preceptor’s true strength and to look for his weaknesses.
But at the time, Quinn was surrounded by top experts from the Heavenly Demon Cult, and the Demon King stayed silent.
Later, as Quinn treated the Imperial Preceptor’s wounds along the way, the Demon King remained dormant the whole time.
When Quinn parted ways with the Imperial Preceptor and returned to the Academy, he ran into Crippled Joe and Grandpa Mark, but the Demon King didn’t show himself either.
Now that Grandpa Mark and Crippled Joe were gone and only Quinn was left, the Demon King finally appeared.
If the Preceptor, Grandpa Mark, and Crippled Joe weren’t a threat to him, he wouldn’t be so cautious.
In other words, he’d slipped up.
That meant he could be destroyed—unlike Tyson Li in Granny Sue’s dao-heart, who was nearly impossible to erase. With enough skill, the Demon King could still be wiped out.
“Nethervault is finished—destroyed. All that’s left is endless darkness. So I must find a new world for my people, a place where they can survive and thrive.”
The Nethervault Demon King’s voice echoed: “I exhausted myself passing the Spirit Command Seals into this world, teaching it to your people. Now you are the only one who truly understands this art. You should know—I will not let you go so easily.”
Quinn finally relaxed a bit, let out a breath, and said, “So you want me to summon you again—bring you over?”
The Demon King coaxed him, “I used to want that, but now I see this world’s natives have some powerful figures too. So I only wish to use your hand to send a few of my people here. I don’t intend to spark war between our worlds—it would be bad for both sides. Nethervault is finished. I just want my race to survive, not to conquer your world.”
Believe that? Not a chance, Quinn thought.
But he couldn’t say that out loud—if he did, the Demon King might kill him without a second thought.
Right now, the Demon King’s consciousness was parasitic in his body, wielding a power far beyond Quinn’s reach. If the Demon King turned hostile, that power could easily kill him.
For now, the Demon King needed him, so wouldn’t act. But if he ever realized Quinn never meant to summon him, he’d probably turn on him in an instant.