As the guests began to disperse, Xiao Fei noticed the old man at the entrance seemed peculiar, lingering there as if lost in thought.
He saw the old man's hand reaching into his robes, trembling slightly.
However, due to the obstruction of his daoist robe, it wasn't convenient for Xiao Fei to probe with his divine sense into the man's clothes to spy.
At the same time, Zhu Yu and Huang Feifei also noticed the elder's abnormality. Most people had already left the hall, and the entrance was no longer crowded, yet the elder still stood by the door.
They both moved closer to the old man, intending to ask him what was wrong.
Just then, Xiao Fei's divine sense detected an extremely tiny point of light flying out from the old man's embrace.
His divine sense, constantly engaged in strenuous tasks within his space, possessed a strength far exceeding that of ordinary Golden Core cultivators. Otherwise, he truly wouldn't have noticed anything amiss.
Then, he saw this black dot fly into the body of a cultivator. The cultivator, however, remained completely unaware, striding confidently out of the Treasure Pavilion.
"Is this a demon seed?"
Xiao Fei had been pondering matters related to demon seeds for some time, and at this moment, he immediately reacted.
But Huang Feifei and Zhu Yu lacked such experience, and their divine senses were not as potent as Xiao Fei's, making them unable to perceive the demon seed.
"Be careful, don't get any closer!"
Xiao Fei immediately transmitted a warning to the two. They stopped as instructed, but it was already a little late, as they were now only a few feet away from the elder.
"Heh heh..."
The elder let out a sinister chuckle. He withdrew his hand from his robes, revealing ten small jade bottles clutched in his palm.
"Bang!"
With a soft sound, the ten jade bottles shattered, and ten tiny points of light flew out.
Upon their appearance, these points of light joyfully flew towards Zhu Yu and Huang Feifei.
Having been warned by Xiao Fei, the two had already conjured their defenses around their bodies and simultaneously unleashed a flute and a sword towards the elder.
In front of Xiao Fei, a large net woven from Primordial Divine Thunder materialized, enveloping the elder.
However, the elder's speed was even greater. His fingernails, black and elongated, stretched out as his body blurred into an afterimage, appearing behind Zhu Yu.
With a gentle swipe of his dark fingernails on Zhu Yu's protective barrier, a long, slender slit was easily created.
Then, a speck of light, like dust, seized the opportunity to drill through the gap, silently merging into Zhu Yu's body.
Zhu Yu, completely oblivious to the invasion of the demon seed, continued to wield her jade flute with great force, thrusting it towards the elder.
After succeeding with Zhu Yu, the elder did not pause. He repeated his tactic, creating another opening in Huang Feifei's defensive barrier.
Both of them were hit in succession. All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
Xiao Fei was further away from the two, and coupled with the elder's peculiar movement technique and rapid speed, in the gap before his attack arrived, he could only watch helplessly as Zhu Yu and Huang Feifei were invaded by the demon seeds without their knowledge.
At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot with rage. The Primordial Divine Thunder he had unleashed descended upon the elder.
After a rumble, the elder was ensnared by the net. Only a human skin remained on the spot, and countless black mist dispersed, escaping from the thunder net.
Xiao Fei, having prior experience in slaying Nine-Eyed Demon races, now attacked in fury. Before the black mist could even condense, he unleashed another thunder net to ensnare it.
Successive thunder nets descended, giving the demon no chance to reform its body.
Although Huang Feifei and Zhu Yu did not understand why Xiao Fei was so agitated, they did not hesitate and immediately joined the attack.
Zhu Yu conjured a bronze mirror, shining a yellow light onto the black mist, causing it to sizzle and crackle.
Huang Feifei quickly set up simple formations around the area to prevent its escape, as demonic abilities were peculiar and their survival capabilities were extremely strong.
This demon's strength was comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator. Under the combined assault of Xiao Fei and Zhu Yu, the black mist grew increasingly dim.
As long as victory could be achieved through a group effort, Xiao Fei never considered a one-on-one confrontation.
As expected, when the demon realized it could not win, it attempted to flee but was blocked by the formations Huang Feifei had prepared in advance.
"Stop! You will soon become my kin. How about we call a truce!"
Unable to win and unable to escape, the demon began to beg for mercy.
"You have been planted with demon seeds by me, and you will soon become demons. Killing me now is of no use."
Zhu Yu and the other were bewildered and looked at Xiao Fei.
Xiao Fei nodded, tacitly agreeing.
"Let us kill this demon first. I will find a way to deal with the demon seeds."
"Hahaha... Little brat, you speak with great confidence. Demons are beings of a higher order than you. With the capabilities of your cultivation world, no one can resolve this. Unless you commit suicide right now."
The demon's voice continued to emanate from the black mist, attempting to undermine their confidence.
"You might as well lay down your weapons, and perhaps I can help preserve a sliver of your consciousness."
"Do not hesitate, kill him first. I have already found a lead and might be able to resolve the demon seeds soon."
Xiao Fei roared and unleashed another bolt of Primordial Divine Thunder.
With their current means, they were unable to capture this demon alive. Even if captured, their divine senses were comparable, and they lacked the ability to perform soul-searching on it.
If it were handed over to a Nascent Soul ancestor for soul-searching, the news of Huang Feifei and Zhu Yu being parasitized by demon seeds would be leaked, and they would likely be eliminated by humane means.
Zhu Yu was not foolish and quickly understood the implications, attacking the demon with all her might.
A quarter of an hour later, the demon was completely slain, leaving behind a demon crystal and a human skin on the ground.
This time, Zhu Yu had no interest in fighting Xiao Fei for the demon crystal and instead sat on the ground, somewhat dejected.
Huang Feifei's expression was equally grim.
Once parasitized by demon seeds, it was akin to contracting an incurable terminal illness. At such a moment, no one could be happy.
"Please be at ease, both of you. I am already researching methods to break the demon seeds and have made some progress. For now, do not leak this matter."
The two nodded with a sense of numbness.
Xiao Fei felt very guilty. Both of them had been brought here by him, and now they were implicated, invaded by demon seeds, and their lives were in jeopardy.
If he hadn't called them, they would have stayed on the mountain to cultivate and nothing would have happened.
But now, saying sorry was useless and wouldn't help. The only thing to do was to find a way to come up with a solution as quickly as possible.
"Are the three fellow cultivators alright!"
Just then, a voice came from outside the door. It was Su Deshou, the Golden Core cultivator stationed in Star Moon City.
The fight that had occurred here had long since alerted various forces in the city.
Patrolling cultivators had kept a safe distance, fearing they might be caught in the crossfire.