Chapter 157: Great Demons Truly Eat People! Setting Traps for Each Other!

From some of his burned garments, it was evident that he belonged with the three trembling individuals sitting paralyzed together.

All four of them were men—two middle-aged fellows and two young men.

Their clothes all bore the words "Four Elephants Reservoir," leaving no doubt that these four people were staff members of the reservoir.

Raging fires of fury surged within his heart, though Lin Yi's expression remained completely composed.

As Lin Yi stepped forward, gripping the Fierce Tiger Ghost-Head Blade, the two figures that had been continuously chewing on fragments of flesh and blood behind the bonfire stood up.

"I say, Big Black, you were sent to fetch that old pig. You dawdled for so long—how much time has passed? Why are you only just returning? If I hadn't persuaded Tiger to eat slowly and wait for you, these people wouldn't even be enough between our teeth; they would have been eaten long ago, you know?"

After uttering these complaining words, the figure that stood up reached a height of fully three meters!

Without a doubt, this was the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King.

It did not have nine heads, but its neck featured two deformed snake-like heads.

It possessed four claws, and its entire body was densely covered in cyan-purple scales. Its belly was entirely armored as well, completely unlike ordinary serpents; there was no snow-white underbelly to be found.

Each of its two deformed snake heads bore half a protruding lump, as if dragon horns were about to sprout from them.

It had already transitioned from a giant python to the stage of a flood dragon.

However, it was clear that it had not yet officially become a true flood dragon.

Crossing into a dragon could only be considered a half-success.

With two of its claws on the ground and its tail dragging behind, its other two claws were currently holding a human hand and a leg, having just been enjoying a hearty meal.

As it spoke, while one of its heads continued to eat, the other head gazed at the black bear demon.

The tiger demon it mentioned was still busy eating, making loud smacking sounds with its mouth as it relished the meal.

This was a massive tiger with sleek, water-bright fur, instantly revealing that it consumed plenty of meat.

After the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King finished speaking, the tiger demon also turned around. While continuing to eat, it mumbled indistinctly, "That's right, Old Black, we were just waiting for you. Has the old pig arrived? Hurry up, hurry up and activate the Four Elephants Formation..."

"Damn it, once our strength grows, we can eat whatever we want whenever we want. That's still much better than hiding in these deep mountains and ancient forests. Wait, is that really the old pig? Old pig, why did you put on a mask like that? Aren't you hot hiding inside it? Hurry up and reveal your true form, throw that mask away."

With just these few sparse sentences and the current scene before them, it was completely exposed that the black bear demon had definitely eaten humans.

Realizing this was likely understood, the black bear demon let out a series of cackling laughs.

Quickly running forward, in the blink of an eye, it scrambled behind the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King and the tiger demon.

Then, the black bear demon laughed wildly and loudly at Lin Yi, "I finally tricked you and brought you here! You brat, you're going to have a hard time shortly. Now that the three of us great demons are standing right in front of you, telling you to submit, do you still dare refuse?"

"In a moment, obediently help us break the Four Elephants Formation, and then contribute all the good treasures on you to me—that's the sensible thing to do. I've wanted to eat you for a long time. To actually believe the words of a bear demon, you really are utterly stupid."

The black bear demon was immensely proud of itself.

Soon, while the two python heads of the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King were stunned, and the tiger demon let out a tiger roar as it stared fixedly at Lin Yi, the black bear demon recounted everything that had just transpired.

When the black bear demon spoke of how it had been forced to act as a laborer, the tiger demon burst into a series of cackling laughs.

The body of the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King shook with mirth as well.

The black bear demon gnashed its teeth and continued recounting everything about Lin Yi, advising the two great demon lords not to kill Lin Yi hastily, but to slowly wear him down, as this young man possessed good treasures.

Since the pig demon Yan Liang had not arrived, they could simply use this young man as a substitute and study him slowly afterward.

The intelligence of the black bear demon was shockingly low. Any normal person would realize that since you are about to kill them immediately, who would wholeheartedly help you break the Four Elephants Formation?

The intelligence of the tiger demon was no higher than that of the black bear demon.

With its two tiger eyes fixed on Lin Yi amidst continuous roaring, it radiated a greedy light, its mind occupied by only a single thought: cultivators tasted even better.

Swallowing a mouthful of flesh and blood, the tiger demon swept its massive tongue back and forth across its lips, staring at Lin Yi and regarding him as a mere prey item on its chopping block.

Only the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King appeared to possess decent intelligence. Its two python heads rubbed against each other, and finally, one of them spoke in human language.

"Little fellow, don't listen to those two. I, the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King, give you a guarantee right here: as long as you help us break the Four Elephants Formation and retrieve the remnant pages of the alchemy technique, we can view it together! If there are any other treasures left, I can give them to you as well. Rest assured, I will definitely spare your life. What do you think?"

"I..."

The black bear demon wanted to retort, but upon seeing one of the python heads of the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King glare menacingly in its direction, it immediately fell silent.

Judging by the surging aura emanating from its body, the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King was clearly the strongest among them.

Furthermore, the treasure realm hidden within the deep pool in the river upstream of the Four Elephants Reservoir had been discovered first by the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King, making it the true leader in this entire endeavor.

While speaking, the gaze of the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King flickered between Lin Yi and the Fierce Tiger Ghost-Head Blade in Lin Yi's hand.

The Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King had a hunch that this broadsword not only looked ferocious, but must also be a treasure.

Such a treasure should belong to the one capable of claiming it, which meant it rightfully belonged to itself.

"Save me, save me, I beg you, hurry and save me, young man..."

"Ah, ah, ah... Monsters, monsters..."

"Save me, save me, these monsters eat people..."

When Lin Yi had first approached, the three surviving individuals had shown no reaction. But now, seeing the Fierce Tiger Ghost-Head Blade in Lin Yi's hand and concluding that Lin Yi must be an extraordinary person of exceptional ability, one of them instantly cried out for rescue.

The other two similarly began struggling desperately, trying to wrench themselves free from the binding tree vines.

The tiger demon let out a thunderous roar, laughing wildly at the three of them, "You lot are my midnight snack, don't even think about running. I'll eat you in a moment; if you dare yell again, I'll swallow you whole right now."

As it roared continuously, an ominous surge of energy erupted from the tiger demon's body and struck the three people directly. It drained the last bit of color from their faces, silencing their screams entirely as they felt as though their entire bodies had been plunged into an ice cellar, gripped by an extreme chill.

Lin Yi desperately wanted to strike right now.

Yet he figured that waiting a little longer would do no harm.

These three people had already been terrified to such an extent; no matter when he rescued them, their minds would remain in a state of shock. It would be far better to slaughter these demons right before their eyes, allowing them to vent their anger while also letting them know the demons were dead, leaving no future troubles and sparing them any psychological burdens.

It might be better to play along for now, cooperating with the three demons to dismantle the Four Elephants Formation and take away the alchemy remnant pages.

Lin Yi could see that this Four Elephants Formation required powerful entities stationed at all four cardinal directions simultaneously in order to be activated.

Otherwise, given that the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King's energy aura clearly indicated a level close to that of a Grandmaster, it could easily have teamed up with the black bear demon and the others to break the formation on its own.

The fact that they still sought out the pig demon Yan Liang, whose strength was utterly mediocre, proved that they desperately needed a fourth person. That had to be the reason.

Lin Yi had originally come here prepared to slay all three of them outright and seize the alchemy manuscript, but seeing their cannibalistic acts had instantly ignited an overwhelming rage within his chest, making him eager to draw his blade.

Yet, for the sake of the alchemy remnant pages, he still needed the three of them. Therefore, Lin Yi could only temporarily suppress the fury burning in his heart.

Lin Yi nodded.

Instantly, the black bear demon grinned even more triumphantly, "To think you're just a coward as well. As soon as you saw how powerful we are, you immediately caved."

The tiger demon let out a fresh series of roars, as if laughing heartily.

Only the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King remained silent, its expression devoid of mockery, though its gaze fixed upon the Fierce Tiger Ghost-Head Blade grew even more greedy.

Soon, the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King scratched a nearby tree with its claws to clean them off, then bent down to rummage through the grass. A moment later, it tossed a bamboo slip toward Lin Yi.

Carrying a rush of wind, the bamboo slip whistled through the air as it was hurled by the Nine-Headed Flood Dragon King, moving with astonishing speed.

Lin Yi extended his hand, feigning great difficulty in catching the bamboo slip, and even took a few steps backward.

This action caused the black bear demon's expression to become even more elated.

"It seems this fellow is even more pathetic than you, Big Brother Dragon King! Catching this thing with such a struggle—damn it, earlier he acted all high and mighty in front of the two of us, even daring to injure me and force me to do manual labor. Had I known he was such a weakling whose strength was only slightly above mine, I would have just played my trump card back at the Red Romance and finished him off completely..."

The black bear demon's eyes bulged, filled with intense regret.

Inwardly sneering, Lin Yi opened the bamboo slip in his hand.

This bamboo slip possessed considerable age.

However, its preservation had been handled exceptionally well, preventing it from deteriorating.

Upon unrolling it, Lin Yi discovered that the bamboo slip detailed everything concerning the Four Elephants Formation.

It even included explanatory diagrams.

To put it bluntly, the Four Elephants Formation was merely a mechanical mechanism.

It fell far short of being a true formation.

It was vastly inferior to the Nine Nether Formation previously constructed by the lesser nightmare demon Liu He.

After casting a cursory glance over it, Lin Yi understood what it was all about.

The Four Elephants Formation simply required four living entities to firmly occupy the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—simultaneously, and then, with concerted effort, strike identical points with their fists and feet to trigger the primary mechanism.

Following that, the four living entities would need to jointly channel their cultivation energies from the four directions into a specific mechanism to unlock it together and retrieve a certain key.