While waiting for the food to be ready, Lonemoon forced all the information he needed out of the garlic demon. The Boss it was talking about was indeed the spirit seed. The entire forest full of tree demons had indeed turned into demons because of the spirit seed. And this garlic was the first among all the plants to form a consciousness. That was why all the trees listened to its orders.

　　Not long ago, however, the spirit seed suddenly got captured by a foreign demon. These trees kept chasing the demons in order to snatch the spirit seed back. Those demons were forced into the volcano. Since the trees were afraid of fire, they did not dare to go near them again. That was why they had no choice but to wait where they were, so that the demons would not be allowed to escape. But doing that was not very effective. All it did was to put both sides at a standstill.

　　“So from the looks of it, the spirit seed has already manifested?” Lonemoon frowned. He thought back to the scene of the moving trees. Turning to Shen Ying, he said, “Not only could the spirit seed mimic other forms, it could also manifest?”

　　“That’s right!” Shen Ying nodded. “The spirit seed has a sentience. Its true form is that of a human!”

　　You should have said so earlier!

　　Lonemoon pursed his lips and quickly kept all his cutleries away. “Let’s go and find it quickly!” It was then that they flew toward the volcano. The closer they got to the volcano, the higher the temperature of the surroundings became. Even Lonemoon began to feel extremely heated up. However, the entire group sensed a familiar aura being overwhelmed by the thickness of the heat and ashes, mixed with some demonic Qi.

　　Lonemoon conjured an isolation array around the three of them. Immediately, the hot air dissipated. Lonemoon turned around and said to the other two, “Look at the demonic Qi within the volcano. There must be some high-level demons inside. Be careful!” With that, they entered the volcano.

　　Indeed, the moment they entered, the demonic Qi mixed with the essential Qi charged at them. Everything around them was a fiery red. From time to time, hot ash and lava spewed out of the ground. The few of them tried to dodge the ash and lava as they followed the essential Qi into the inner parts of the volcano.

　　The further in they got, the wider the path became. Everything was pitch-black. Visibility was deteriorating.

　　“Master, the stone wall…” Yi Qing suddenly said.

　　Lonemoon turned and saw that on the stone wall inside the volcano, there were many little caves. It looked like somebody had dug them up on purpose. His heart fell. Holy shit! Did the demons that captured the spirit seed dig those caves? That garnishing garlic demon was indeed unreliable!

　　“There’s demonic Qi and essential Qi on this,” Yi Qing said. It was obvious that these caves were dug by the demons.

　　“Shit!” Lonemoon cursed under his breath. There were so many caves – where were they supposed to begin? “Let’s pick the cave with the thickest demonic Qi.”

　　“Are we going to crawl in?” Shen Ying tilted her head and glanced at Lonemoon questioningly.

　　“Nonsense!” Lonemoon instinctively replied. “If we don’t chase after them, do you think the spirit seed will bounce out-”

　　Before he could finish speaking, he heard a loud crash. Something fell down below them. Immediately, the tallest pillar of ash and lava fell before their eyes. Two figures appeared underneath their feet. Strong demonic Qi rushed up toward the group.

　　“It’s bouncing out,” Shen Ying pointed below and replied.

　　Lonemoon: “…”

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　It really did bounce out of its own accord!

　　(⊙_⊙)

　　Lonemoon pursed his lips and looked down. There were two men standing underneath them, one taller and the other shorter. The shorter man was only teen, and he looked terrified. The taller man was dressed in a green robe. He looked extremely muscular – Lonemoon could make out the shape of his muscles underneath. He was holding the teen by the collar and raising his fist to his face.

　　The important thing was ever since the two men appeared, thick essential Qi and demonic Qi filled the entire volcano The strong man looked extremely angry. He kept dealing blows onto the teenager’s face. With each punch, the essential Qi became weaker and weaker, and the demonic Qi around the muscular man became thicker and thicker.

　　“That’s the spirit seed?” Lonemoon turned back to look at Shen Ying.

　　“Mm, yes!” Shen Ying nodded.

　　The teenager’s Qi was getting weaker and weaker. The muscular man pressed two fingers onto his forehead. Suddenly, the essential Qi around the teenager’s body charged straight into the muscular man’s body. He was feeding on his essential Qi!

　　Lonemoon’s heart fell. He shouted, “Demon, stop it!”

　　Shen Ying jumped. She called out, “Father Niu…”

　　But Lonemoon was already flying over. At the same time, a strong surge of sword Qi flew toward the muscular man. As if realizing he was in danger, the man turned around. His eyes were filled with murderous intent. He was transfixed on Lonemoon.

　　The next moment, the muscular man flew backward and landed on the ground with a loud thud.

　　Lonemoon conjured another seal and caused the man to be pinned down where he was. He turned to look at the teenager on the floor. His breathing was already getting thin. Lonemoon frowned. He used his water-elemental healing techniques to cause the teenager to relax just a little more. The essential Qi around his body stabilized. He opened his eyes to scan the group standing in front of him and retracted backward.

　　“Don’t worry,” Lonemoon said soothingly. “We’re here to bring you back!”

　　The fear in the teenager’s eyes remained. He looked at Lonemoon even more cautiously, not daring to move after realizing how strong the aura around Lonemoon’s body was.

　　The muscular man who had just been attacked, however, looked up in a rage. He wanted to charge at Lonemoon out of indignance, but he was being locked down by the spell Lonemoon cast on him. No matter how many times he tried, he could not get back on his feet. All he could do was glare in Lonemoon’s direction, willing himself free.

　　Lonemoon glanced at the muscular man and caused his own sword Qi to press down on him even harder. “Beast, how dare you mess with the spirit seed!” It was a good thing that they had arrived just in time. Otherwise, all the teenager’s essential Qi would have been swallowed by this demon.

　　The muscular man stared blankly at them, and a crazed look flashed across his face. He was struggling even more by now. His mouth was moving, but he could not speak. Once again, Lonemoon’s sword Qi pressed down harder on him. Lonemoon frowned. The strange thing was that Lonemoon could not tell what the demon’s true form was. This demon from the Void Land was strange indeed.

　　Without bothering to look further into it, Lonemoon turned to the teenager. After searching far and wide, they had finally found the spirit see. Suddenly, Lonemoon couldn’t care less about whether the spirit seed wanted to or not. He picked the spirit seed up by the collar and turned to Shen Ying. “When can we open the plane gates and go home?” He needed to complete this task before doing anything else.

　　“Mm… tomorrow?” Shen Ying replied.

　　“Then let’s get out of here first.” Lonemoon retrieved his flying sword and mounted it, ready to leave the volcano.

　　But Shen Ying turned around to look at the muscular man. Pointing at him, she said, “Chef, take him!”

　　Yi Qing hesitated, but picked the muscular man up obediently. “Yes, Master.”

　　“Why are you bringing this demon along?” Lonemoon turned to Shen Ying. If they could survive in the volcano for so long, it was likely that the demons were fire-elemental. They would be alright even if they left them there.

　　Shen Ying’s lips moved, as if she wanted to say something.

　　“Forget it!” Lonemoon turned back around, not bothering any further. “Remember to open the plane gates tomorrow. I’ve had enough of this wretched place.”

　　“…”

　　With that, the group flew out and toward the plains in the middle of the forest just outside. The tree demons were still there. On seeing them emerge from the volcano, even the garlic plant stood upright.

　　Before they could land, the garlic plant bounced toward the group. Agitated, it shouted, “Boss! You’re finally back!” It bounced high up in the sky and buried its own head into… the arms of the muscular man that Yi Qing was carrying!

　　“Boss, I’ve missed you to death!”

　　Huh?

　　Yi Qing: “…”

　　Lonemoon: “…”

　　Holy shit! What the hell?

　　(╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻