Entering from the entrance, the guarding Demon Clan did not make any trouble, Zhang Xiaoman walked in openly this time.
The reason is quite simple, Demons coming here don’t need anything like an invitation; they can enter if their strength is sufficient, or one could say their own strength is already the best invitation. On the other hand, those without sufficient strength, it’s easy to tell from the gatekeepers’ occasional lip-licking gestures what their fate would be.
After entering, Zhang Xiaoman proceeded all the way upwards without encountering any hindrance or unexpected events, until he reached a position halfway up the building, he finally stopped because he discovered that further up, a new group of guards appeared, and this time, these guards seemed to be summoned puppets using spiritual power, not ordinary Demon Clan members.
"These puppets have vast, ocean-like spiritual power fluctuations. Although they seem a bit slow, their energy is sufficiently strong, probably not summoned by an ordinary Transcendent Level, estimated to be the work of that Extinction Commander..."
Zhang Xiaoman secretly sized up the dozens of figures in front of him; these guards were all made from a kind of black stone, which didn’t seem ordinary, but he didn’t know what kind of treasure it was. There are too many unknowns in this universe, and he’s not an Observer, doesn’t have the leisure or necessity to understand everything.
In any case, none of the guards before him were easily provoked, judging by combat power, they might not be inferior to a low-level Lower God.
Although not comparable to a real Lower God, there are enough such guards in number; he saw more than a dozen here alone, not knowing if there are even more further up.
"This Extinction Commander really has some foundation..."
Zhang Xiaoman sighed inwardly, knowing the difficulty of acquiring what he wanted was even greater. To become a Middle-level God, everyone has a solid background, even the Demon Clan, the same applies; he cannot underestimate the heroes of the world.
No other Demon Clan approached the area, all instinctively staying away, Zhang Xiaoman casually found someone unlucky and through friendly exchange, learned that to pass those guards to go higher, Control Level or higher strength was needed.
Of course, none of this was difficult for him, just slightly adjusting the external aura to a higher level would suffice, making him appear to others as a Lower God-level existence, naturally, the guards wouldn’t stop him.
Easily passing through the gates, Zhang Xiaoman smoothly ascended, directly reaching the top area near the summit.
Along the way, he finally got to see how the Blood Spirit Wine for the drinking feast was made, aside from the expected Blood Spirit Flower juice, it also used a kind of juice from within the Demon Clan.
It was an ugly, pot-bellied green-skinned Demon, about the height of a grade school child, with a round belly, tied up and suspended upside down over a crucible by other Demons, constantly crying out like a baby.
The crucible below contained the Blood Spirit Flower juice, other Demons added a large pile of Dark Spiritual Material, then lightly scraped the green-skinned little Demon’s belly with claws, instantly the green juice inside flowed out, mixing with the Blood Spirit Flower juice below, and soon a pot of Blood Spirit Wine was complete.
This made Zhang Xiaoman, who originally intended to taste the Blood Spirit Wine, lose interest instantly; though immune to toxins, he still felt disgusted, having seen the mixture of juice inside those bellies. He had no appetite to drink it anymore.
Ignoring these matters, Zhang Xiaoman stepped into an open-air square.
Here was the top of the building, and also the core area for the ritual of the drinking feast; Zhang Xiaoman hadn’t encountered many Demons along the way in the upper region, but here he saw them all.
At the moment, the ritual area was already filled with many people, each with a strong aura, shrouded in thick demon energy that could not be dispersed, clearly not easy opponents, even the weakest had Extraordinary Level strength. Those sitting closer occasionally contended with each other through surrounding demon energy, however, everyone restrained themselves well, not rashly initiating conflict, seemingly because the host imposed restraint.
There stood a figure at the central area high platform, dressed in a red cloak, with a skin color also red, blue patterns twisted and spread across it, like wriggling venomous snakes.
On his head, the curved red horns were particularly striking because between them was a blue Light Ball constantly pulsating, containing terrifying energy even making Zhang Xiaoman feel shocked.
No need to say, this red-skinned demon was naturally the Great Lord Extinction of the area.
At this moment, Extinction stood on the high platform, eyes closed, hands raised, beneath his feet was an Array composed of Demon Blood, several shattered corpses lay scattered by the side, based on residual aura, these demonic beings should be Lower Transcendent Level, perhaps unlucky or lacking strength, selected as sacrificial materials to depict the Array.
"What’s going on, could I be late?"
Zhang Xiaoman’s heart trembled, the current situation resembled a ritual of prayer already begun, but there was still some time according to the information he gathered. Why start the prayer now?
He shook his head, not thinking about it for now; perhaps the slippery Toad monster’s level was too low to obtain truly effective intelligence, or perhaps the Extinction Commander altered his plan temporarily. Regardless, it’s futile to dwell on this now; he must quickly decide his next move.
"Thankfully, besides the Extinction Commander, there are no other Middle-level Gods here, only Lower Transcendent Level individuals, enhancing my chances of success slightly."
Zhang Xiaoman scanned around the Demons, each looking exotic, giving them little resemblance to humans and number less than twenty.
"Perhaps he indeed started early..."
He exhaled, these Demons hadn’t reached Middle-level Transcendent Level, reducing pressure significantly in the upcoming battle.
Trying to suppress his aura, Zhang Xiaoman slowly began approaching the high platform.
The surrounding Demons were sensitive, a few occasionally glimpsed his actions but didn’t mind much, in their eyes, he was just another latecomer to the feast, likely heading towards an available seat.
Zhang Xiaoman repressed his aura, but deliberately avoided being too conspicuous, lest he appear suspicious.
Thus, he successfully approached within less than a thousand meters of Extinction.
This platform was large, probably the petal of the giant Blood Spirit Flower, with a diameter exceeding three thousand meters, even accommodating many Demons without shrinking their size.
Advancing some more, Zhang Xiaoman was now within less than five hundred meters from Extinction, though this distance would still be just an instant for an attack, he decided to move closer a bit further if possible to ensure a successful strike.