Chapter 67: The Duel Space

"Run!" Zhou Yu shouted, immediately turning around and bolting.

The Colored Monkey, however, stood his ground. Waiting until the Flowing Leopard Demon King was almost upon him, he summoned the Ruyi Jingu Bang and struck straight at the demon king's head.

Enraged, the Flowing Leopard Demon King saw the monkey attacking. While still mid-air, he let out a roar and thrust out his right hand. Demonic energy surged from his palm, transforming into a massive hand that blotted out the sky, lunging to grab the Colored Monkey's golden staff.

The golden staff possessed a spirit of its own. Just as the giant hand was about to seize it, the staff grew exponentially, becoming even larger than the hand itself, and shattered it with a resounding crash.

"A fine staff!" the Flowing Leopard Demon King roared, advancing instead of retreating.

After delivering that blow, a significant amount of demonic energy had been drained from the Colored Monkey's body. Dragging the golden staff behind him, he hurriedly fled backward.

Having taken a direct hit from the staff, the Flowing Leopard Demon King's speed naturally lagged a beat. By the time he reached the snow-covered ridge, Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey had already vanished far into the distance in a blur.

"Running away, are we? Let's see how far you can get!"

With a flash of his figure, the Flowing Leopard Demon King transformed into a streak of white light, giving chase to Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey.

His speed was immense, kicking up sprays of powdery snow in his wake.

After the old monkey passed away, the Colored Monkey had diligently studied the techniques the elder had taught him. Among them, the secret method of utilizing demonic energy to boost speed was already mastered by the monkey.

Therefore, even though Zhou Yu had started running first, the Colored Monkey quickly overtook him. Watching the monkey streak past him, Zhou Yu felt a surge of anger.

"Damn it! I busted my ass fighting three hard battles, and now that it's time to run, you bastard didn't even wait for me!"

Hearing this, the Colored Monkey actually stopped. He turned around, lifted his tail to reveal his bright red rear end, shook it mockingly at Zhou Yu, and then resumed his escape.

Zhou Yu was practically fuming with rage.

At that moment, the Flowing Leopard Demon King caught up.

With a flash of white light, the Flowing Leopard Demon King materialized in mid-air. He took a sharp breath, and an energy orb imbued with terrifying demonic power erupted from his mouth, shooting straight toward Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu was fast, but the demon king's energy orb was even faster.

With a deafening "boom," the orb struck Zhou Yu. The catastrophic energy of the explosion blasted a massive crater roughly three zhang in diameter into the snowy ground.

"Hmph! Weakling!" the Flowing Leopard Demon King sneered, looking down at the charred pit.

Up ahead, the Colored Monkey shouted, "Oh my! How impressive!"

With a flicker, the Flowing Leopard Demon King resumed his pursuit.

"I'm right here, you stupid hound!"

Suddenly, a voice echoed from behind the demon king. Sweeping his divine sense backward, the Flowing Leopard Demon King was shocked to discover Zhou Yu standing behind him. The crater from moments ago was entirely devoid of Zhou Yu; the demon king had assumed Zhou Yu had been blown to atoms—hence his earlier remark about him being weak.

Yet now, Zhou Yu had reappeared behind him. Could this fellow use teleportation? The Flowing Leopard Demon King had seen the previous strike clearly and was certain it had connected with Zhou Yu, unless the brat had instantly employed some miraculous technique to escape.

The Flowing Leopard Demon King quickly dismissed the notion of teleportation. Such a technique was beyond the reach of even the world's supreme powerhouses. After all, true teleportation meant the ability to completely bypass distance and space. How could a powerhouse capable of that merely be at the Demon General level?

The kid must possess some sort of magical treasure! With this realization, the Flowing Leopard Demon King abandoned his chase of the Colored Monkey. While the monkey's golden staff was also a rare and precious artifact, it paled in comparison to a treasure capable of teleportation.

A teleportation treasure could not only be used for offense, but at critical moments, it was a life-saving trump card!

"Hmph! Brat, you're courting death!" The Flowing Leopard Demon King extended a hand, releasing a stream of demonic energy that undulated and snaked toward Zhou Yu.

Though winding, this stream of demonic energy seemed capable of traversing space itself. With each twist and turn, it covered vast distances, reaching Zhou Yu's side in the blink of an eye.

Just as Zhou Yu lifted his leg to flee, he was bound tightly.

Pulling with his hand, the Flowing Leopard Demon King reeled Zhou Yu right in front of him. Smirking at Zhou Yu, he said, "Possessing such a treasure yet lacking the strength to use it properly is a waste of heaven's gifts. Hand it over to this king, and I'll grant you a swift death!"

Zhou Yu looked at the Flowing Leopard Demon King with surprise, not a shred of fear on his face.

"Stupid hound! Grandpa won't give it to you!"

"Hmph! Then don't blame me for being ruthless!" With a cold snort, the Flowing Leopard Demon King channeled another stream of demonic energy into Zhou Yu's head. He intended to use soul-searching arts to discover where the treasure was hidden; he chose this method simply because he refused to waste any more time.

Yet, the moment the demonic energy entered Zhou Yu's head, the figure let out a soft "pop" and dissolved into a wisp of white mist.

"A clone technique!?" The Flowing Leopard Demon King was utterly stunned. He never expected that the brat did not possess a teleportation treasure, but rather mastered the art of cloning.

In the distance, Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey had already fled far away. Turning to look at their retreating backs, the Flowing Leopard Demon King felt his fury surge to new heights. Two mere Demon Generals had killed his three strongest subordinates right before his eyes, and now, even he was being played for a fool. There was simply no way he could swallow this insult!

"You brat is asking for death!"

Roaring with rage, the Flowing Leopard Demon King gave chase from afar.

The five thousand leopard-headed soldiers following closely behind raised their weapons, shouting and howling as they surged forward like a tidal wave.

As Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey reached the entrance of the canyon, Xuan Qing's voice suddenly rang out.

"Big brother, third brother, facing this demon king head-on seems extremely risky. Let me handle it."

Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey refused in unison. Such a rare opportunity could not be missed—how could they not temper themselves? Both of them were currently on the verge of a breakthrough; perhaps by igniting their potential in battle, they could leap straight into the Demon King realm.

"Very well then. I've set up a dueling space array a hundred meters ahead of you. Head into the formation first, and once the demon king enters as well, I'll activate it," Xuan Qing instructed.

Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey nodded in agreement, finding the plan to their liking.

With a rustling sound, the Flowing Leopard Demon King landed right in front of them.

"Run! Let's see you run now!" Standing with his hands behind his back, the Flowing Leopard Demon King fixed his gaze on Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey, releasing the overwhelming, supreme pressure unique to a Demon King to crush down upon them.

Any other Demon General subjected to such terrifying pressure would have been scared out of their wits.

Yet Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey had already slain three Demon Generals; fear of demon kings was entirely foreign to them. Furthermore, both were utterly audacious. In their hearts, they viewed the Flowing Leopard Demon King merely as a stepping stone to practice their skills. Because of their experiences and mindset, the demon king's intimidating aura had zero effect on them.

The Flowing Leopard Demon King's gaze grew increasingly frigid, as if he were looking at two corpses. To be fair, he genuinely admired Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey. For Demon Generals to possess such strength meant they could easily place in the top five of the hundred-general battles among the demon clans.

He even believed that if the two teamed up, they might be able to defeat some weaker demon kings. However, he was a supreme Demon King himself, so when facing Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey, it never crossed his mind that he could possibly lose.

Taking a step forward, he prepared to unleash an attack, but right at that moment, the surrounding air and energy surged violently.

Sensing the abnormal changes around him amidst a series of swishing sounds, the Flowing Leopard Demon King instantly channeled all his demonic energy, wrapping himself tightly in it. His instincts screamed of imminent danger.

It sounded as though space itself was being torn apart. By the time the Flowing Leopard Demon King fully unleashed his protective demonic barrier, he realized he had fallen into a formation—one that formed a completely sealed space, enclosing him entirely.

"A spatial array!" The Flowing Leopard Demon King turned pale with shock.

He had actually been sealed inside a pocket dimension! Looking around, the sky was a bloody crimson, hanging so low overhead that it felt within arm's reach, while the ground was an endless, boundless wasteland. This was an entirely different world!

What kind of being possessed the power to carve out space? Cold sweat trickled down the demon king's back. Could it be those two brats? Impossible! They were clearly only Demon Generals.

Could there be someone else? But if the opponent possessed the strength to manipulate space, why go through all this trouble? Striking directly would have been far easier! After all, he would have lost anyway!

"Stupid hound? Stunned?"

Suddenly, a voice rang out. Startled, the Flowing Leopard Demon King whipped his head around to see Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey standing not far behind him. Moments ago, he had been too preoccupied with shock over the spatial array to notice their movements.

Upon entering the formation, Zhou Yu and the Colored Monkey had seen the demon king standing there in a daze, suspecting he might be plotting some trick, and thus held off on attacking immediately. They struck combat stances, and only then did the Colored Monkey speak up.

"It really is you two! Who on earth are you? How could you possibly possess the ability to carve out space?" The Flowing Leopard Demon King watched them warily.

"We're your Grim Reapers," the Colored Monkey declared.

Remaining silent, the Flowing Leopard Demon King stared intently at the monkey.

A moment later, a sharp glint flashed across his eyes.

"It's you! The Colored Monkey!" The demon king suddenly pointed a finger at him.

"I never expected a monkey's life to be so tenacious; you're still not dead. Ah, I remember now. Not long ago, the Bull King was killed by you, wasn't he?"

"Hehe, that little bull was too fragile, so this time I've come looking for you. I hope you're a bit more durable," the Colored Monkey replied.

"Hmph! How can I be compared to trash like that?" the Flowing Leopard Demon King sneered, though he immediately realized he had slipped up—his words sounded as though he were conceding defeat. He quickly added, "And you, brat! Which royal bloodline's successor are you? Speak! Perhaps your clan has ties with mine. Before we fight, I always like to make things clear to avoid killing the wrong person."

Being extremely shrewd, the demon king had deduced from Zhou Yu's skills that the youth was no ordinary person. He wanted to clarify things first; should he accidentally kill the scion of a powerful family, his own days wouldn't be peaceful either.

"Your grandpa here belongs to no sect or faction. If I had to name one, I'm from the Earth Faction," Zhou Yu said.

"Fine. Since you refuse to speak, don't blame me for being merciless!" With that, the Flowing Leopard Demon King's demonic energy surged wildly, but he abruptly stopped, his gaze shifting elsewhere.

That spot was transparent, revealing the scene outside the spatial barrier.

Down below, all five thousand leopard-headed soldiers were swarming into the canyon like a surging tide.

"Idiots!" the demon king cursed aloud.

Suddenly, deafening roars echoed from the cliffs above as countless rolling boulders and logs rained down, instantly turning the leopard-headed soldiers into a bloodbath of casualties and miserable shrieks.

The troops were brutally cut off in the middle. Ahead of them, countless wild boar soldiers poured out with weapons raised, while the leopard-headed soldiers in the rear frantically tried to retreat out of the canyon. Amidst the chaotic stampede, some of the stronger leopard-headed soldiers began slaughtering their way through, caring nothing for their own comrades as they fought for breathing room, sparking absolute mutual carnage. Seeing this, the Flowing Leopard Demon King's face turned ashen with rage.