Chapter 803 - Experiencing Death
After clearing the third floor, Yuan proceeded to make his way to the fourth floor of the Demon Sealing Pagoda.
'I had to fight two demons at once on the last floor. Will I need to fight three at once this time?' He wondered to himself as he walked the staircase.
Upon entering the fourth floor, Yuan waited for the Divine Paragon's voice to resound.
"Welcome to the fourth floor. You have fifteen minutes to defeat the demon." The Divine Paragon's voice resounded a moment later.
"Only fifteen minutes?" Yuan exclaimed. He did not expect such drastic changes, going from having an hour to defeat the demon to just fifteen minutes.
However, he wasn't that worried, especially since he knows that he can rely on Xiao Hua and Feng Yuxiang.
The scenery suddenly changed from inside the pagoda to this hell-like scenery, where he was surrounded by lava. It looked like he was inside some kind of volcano, but he's never been to such a place before, so he wasn't certain.
One thing that he is certain about is that it was immensely hot in that place with hot air blowing in his face constantly, almost like he was inside an oven.
While Yuan looked around for the demon, he suddenly noticed a figure emerging from the lava.
This demon had an appearance that Yuan hadn't seen before. Instead of its usual red skin, it had grayish skin this time, and it had a broken horn in its forehead that looked as though it'd been cleanly sliced by a sword.
As for its crystal… Of course, it didn't have one.
"When you're prepared to start the challenge, say 'Ready' out loud." The Divine Paragon's voice resounded when the demon stepped onto the platform.
However, before Yuan could even speak, the demon opened its mouth and spoke in a calm but indifferent voice, "You're not worthy."
Yuan frowned, but not because of the demon's arrogance. There was something about this demon that sent shivers down his back, and his instincts were telling him to avoid it at all cost.
But he couldn't just give up without fighting it. He had to at least try.
'I will be fine with Xiao Hua and Feng Feng by my side.' Yuan calmed himself down with such words.
The next moment, he summoned both of them before him.
"Young Master, I am getting a dangerous feeling from that demon." Feng Yuxiang said to him the moment she appeared.
Xiao Hua agreed with Feng Yuxiang by nodding her head.
"We got this." Yuan said.
Once they were prepared, Yuan spoke out loud, "Ready!"
The instant he uttered that word, the demon disappeared from its location before any of them could even make their move.
"YOUNG MASTER!"
"BROTHER YUAN! WATCH OUT!"
Both Feng Yuxiang and Xiao Hua suddenly shouted out loud at the same time, their voices filled with despair.
However, Yuan couldn't understand why they screamed— at least not until he felt pain in his body.
Yuan looked down at his body, and to his absolute surprise, there was an arm sticking out of his body.
He turned around to see the demon standing behind him with its arm extended through his body.
'How the…'
"I told you. You're not worthy."
The demon mumbled in a low voice before releasing a massive amount of spiritual energy into Yuan's body, causing his body to explode into countless pieces.
When Xiao Hua and Feng Yuxiang witnessed this scene— the scene of Yuan's death, their eyes widened with shock.
"How dare you kill Brother Yuan!"
Xiao Hua suddenly roared, and an outburst of spiritual energy that surpassed the demon's aura erupted from her petite body. Her figure also grew a little taller— at least that was what Feng Yuxiang thought she saw before everything went black for both Xiao Hua and Feng Yuxiang.
Their vision returned almost instantly, and when it did, they realized that they were no longer inside the pagoda but outside, and Yuan was standing before them with a dazed expression on his face, almost as though his death never happened.
"B-Brother Yuan!" Xiao Hua immediately went to embrace him.
"Xiao Hua? What happened? I thought I died just now…" Yuan snapped out of his daze when he felt Xiao Hua arms wrapped around his waist.
"That's because you didn't actually die." Yan Hara's voice suddenly resounded.
Yuan turned to look at her, and to his surprise, a crowd of people that wasn't there before he entered the pagoda was there now.
"When you die inside the Demon Sealing Pagoda, you will simply be transported out of the pagoda." She continued.
After hearing her words, Yuan recalled one of the rules that mentioned it.
"I see… So I lost— died to that demon…" Yuan mumbled in a dispirited voice.
"What floor did you die on?" Yan Hara then asked.
"I died on the fourth floor by the hands of that weird-looking demon with gray skin." Yuan explained to her.
"It was so sudden. I couldn't even see its movements, and when I was aware of the situation, I was already dead."
"T-The fourth floor?" Yan Hara mumbled in a voice of disbelief.
Yuan had only been in the Demon Sealing Pagoda for an hour, and he'd managed to reach the fourth floor? Even more unbelievable was that he'd actually reached the fourth floor on his first attempt, something that hasn't been done since ancient times.
In fact, it took Yan Hara multiple attempts throughout the span of 1,000 years to reach the fourth floor!
"Just what in heaven's name was that gray demon? I have never encountered a demon like that one before." Yuan suddenly asked.
Yan Hara sighed, "That demon is a Demon Emperor— sort of."
"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Yuan raised his eyebrows.
"I will tell you later. For now, let's leave this place and go somewhere more private. As you can see, it's a little crowded here."
Yuan nodded.
"By the way, who are those two? They appeared at the same time you left the pagoda, but I didn't see them enter with you." Yan Hara pointed at Feng Yuxiang and Xiao Hua, who was still hugging Yuan.
"They are my companions… I will explain later.." Yuan said with a smile.