The Evil God Silkworm Baby was already quite considerate for not immediately persuading Li Xi to surrender. However, if she had a clear understanding of Li Xi's strength, she would have urged him to charge forward and seize the demons, territories, and everything else from the enemy.
Now, seeing tens of thousands of demons surge forth, Li Xi harbored a new, audacious idea.
He turned to Matatabi, who had already arched its back and entered combat mode, ready to unleash its full power, and said, "No rush. Let's lure him here first. We don't know the full strength of the Abyssal Balor. You might not be its match. Wait for the opportune moment, and when it approaches, give it a taste of a Tailed Beast Bomb. I'll also fully transform into Isobu. I refuse to believe that two Tailed Beasts can't take down a single Balor. No matter how strong it is, it's not made of iron. It definitely can't withstand a barrage of Tailed Beast Bombs."
Matatabi nodded. Although it hadn't seen the opponent directly, the aura emanating from the spatial rift indicated that this foe would be incredibly difficult to deal with.
As the demons poured out like a tide, the demons who had recently surrendered began to hesitate. Clearly, their old master was stronger, but their new master wasn't weak either. Especially this bizarre cat-like beast, it wasn't easily bullied. To fight or surrender, what should they choose?
As for the insect soldiers, they had initially been restless and uneasy due to the absence of the Mother of Ten Thousand Insects, Silkworm Baby. However, as a familiar voice echoed in Lasi's ear, Lasi immediately smiled and began shouting orders to prepare the battle formation.
"Insect soldiers, prepare!"
Immediately, rows of insect soldiers in neat formations lined up in front of Li Xi, facing the demon army that covered the entire Moonlit Plain without flinching. They weren't protecting Li Xi, but the Mother of Ten Thousand Insects within him.
Li Xi's eyes gleamed at their combat readiness and fearless spirit. In this world, few beings could face death with such composure. In his previous life, there had been such an army, which he thought was unparalleled. He never expected to see it again here. Li Xi knew the combat power of such troops; they could withstand enemies ten times their number. These treasures would be his capital for conquering the world, and he couldn't afford to waste them.
Looking at the indecisive demons swaying from side to side, Li Xi almost turned his mouth up to the sky. What kind of creatures were these? They were turncoats, opportunists, and fair-weather friends!
"Insect soldiers, fall back. Demon legion, engage!" Li Xi roared, immediately arranging the subsequent formations.
The insect soldiers quickly retreated upon receiving the order, while the demon army, which should have been at the forefront, shuffled hesitantly, stopping in their tracks.
"Hmph, ungrateful wretches who only remember to eat but not to be hit."
The Two-Tails, Matatabi, directly plunged into the demon army. With a casual swipe, swathes of demons fell. Especially the blue flames on its body, which even these demons, accustomed to the Abyss, couldn't withstand. Whoever they touched immediately ignited, and within a few breaths, they were reduced to ashes.
Li Xi raised his twin hammers and slammed them down, crushing the internal organs of hundreds of demons. A cold glint emanated from his single eye. "Those who don't advance, die."
With the dual threat of Li Xi and Matatabi, the demon army finally moved. The tens of thousands of demons who had surrendered earlier spread across the Moonlit Plain. Even if they stood still and offered no resistance, they could hold back the opposing demon army for a considerable time. Moreover, these demons feared the overwhelmingly powerful Li Xi and the others, but not the demons of equal or lesser strength facing them. No one was willing to be led to slaughter, so as soon as the two sides clashed, they fought fiercely.
Especially since the demons emerging from the spatial rift were not as numerous as those on Li Xi's side. Initially, they were even suppressed by Li Xi's forces. Their first victory boosted their morale significantly.
Li Xi's gaze never lingered on these lesser demons. The outcome of the battle did not depend on them.
He casually took out refined Balor essence from his spatial ring. Instead of meticulously calculating its quantity, he began to gulp it down in large mouthfuls. After the Evil God Silkworm Baby had clarified the conditions for evolution with Li Xi in his heart, it had informed him that it could provide twenty drops of divine power. Combined with the ten drops of divine power Li Xi had previously consumed, it was enough to absorb the essence of another complete Balor.
Initially, Li Xi had thought his Dragon bloodline would be the first to reach its peak, as it didn't require the neutralization of divine power. However, he hadn't expected the Balor bloodline to catch up and surge forward, leaving the Dragon bloodline far behind.
The battling demons could sense the steadily increasing abyssal aura behind them. Although not as powerful as the Balor on the opposite side, the speed of such rapid advancement was something they had never witnessed firsthand. Even though the Abyss was known for rapid upgrades, it had never been this fast. It was as if Li Xi was improving with every breath.
The aura, which had started as that of an ordinary Balor, was now nearing the presence of a Great Balor. Such fluctuations naturally drew the frequent gazes of the demon army, who could instantly pinpoint the Balor beside the bizarre blue-flaming beast.
The abyssal negative energy billowing from behind him unfurled like a general's cloak in the wind. His single remaining eye spoke of the brutal battles he had endured. His blood-red, icy gaze was like the smile of death, ready to devour souls at any moment.
This was the bizarre Balor who had killed seven of their Balors and one Great Balor leader, and the biggest obstacle to their conquest of this plane.
The Balor on the other side of the spatial rift also sensed the rate at which Li Xi's aura was rising. A voice emanated again, no longer filled with killing intent, but with admiration, "Unfamiliar Balor, if you surrender to me, I will bestow this small plane upon you, along with everything within it."
With the neutralization of thirty drops of divine power, Li Xi's ascending aura halted. Although his cultivation was extremely close to that of a Great Balor, he was still a step away from breaking through. Li Xi estimated that he would need the bloodline essence of one and a half to two more Balors to overcome this hurdle. "If you can yield your position to me, I will surrender."
"Balor, you are seeking your own death," the Balor's enraged voice boomed from the other side of the spatial rift.
Li Xi sneered, "A mole who only dares to hide behind a spatial rift. I believe you dare not come over. If you do, I will show you what true strength is."
The Balor remained silent, but two scorching blade energies that expanded the spatial rift threefold were its answer. It was expanding the passage for itself to pass through.
Before the Balor emerged, two orderly rows of ten Balors stepped out, treading on the corpses of lesser demons.
There were no Great Balors among them, but these ten Balors lacked the muddled, chaotic fluctuations seen in other demons. The rationality in their eyes, unlike those of other demons, indicated their uniqueness. Such gazes, in the Abyss, known for its chaos, were as strange as seeing a thinking tiger in the animal kingdom.
Ten Balors. This was the highest level and highest caliber of opponent they had encountered so far. Matatabi could no longer restrain itself from wanting to fight. A single Tailed Beast Bomb to flatten these ten Balors would be a definite gain.
However, Li Xi subtly shook his head, indicating that he couldn't reveal his trump card to these ten Balors too early. If he used it too soon, the Balor on the other side would surely be intimidated and wouldn't dare to emerge, which would not align with Li Xi's objective for this expedition.
Matatabi reluctantly stopped opening its mouth, but its impatience was evident. It paced anxiously before Li Xi, its claws carving deep gouges into the ground, unable to hold back any longer.
Li Xi didn't take all the demons seriously. Instead, he laughed heartily at the spatial rift, "I say, mighty Plane Lord Balor, why haven't you come yet? My hair is almost turning white from waiting. Did you wet your pants and are now scurrying home to change?"
"May you still be able to say such words when you see me."
A serrated long saber, occupying one-fifth of the spatial rift, appeared. With a swish, its blade energy gouged a deep pit in the ground. The astonishing heat radiating from the saber incinerated and swept away the surrounding lesser demons.
Then, a towering giant appeared. He was so colossal that the spatial rift, from which two rows of Balors had emerged, seemed like a narrow fence in front of him.
The Balor slowly took a step forward, as if burdened by heavy luggage, followed by its arm, which dragged the saber. The Balor's slow, ponderous passage through the spatial rift resembled a patient suffering from a slow-motion illness, with each movement taking several times longer.
The Balor used the saber to force its upper body through. A pair of terrifying, spiraling horns pierced through space. By the time its monstrous head emerged, the roar of battle on the entire battlefield had diminished by a third.
Half of its body had already passed through the spatial rift, and the Balor's face was contorted with the effort of pulling. It was as if something was dragging its remaining half.
The ten Balors who had come out first did not attack Li Xi or any other demon. Instead, they stood protectively in front of the Balor, ready for battle. They were guarding and protecting him during his weakest moment. Their eyes were fixed on the Balor transformed by Li Xi and the terrifying cat-like beast burning with blue flames. They feared that Li Xi and Matatabi would attack at this moment, preventing the Balor, their leader, from entering.
Unfortunately, they didn't understand what Li Xi was thinking. They only saw the Balor transformed by Li Xi looking at them with a strange gaze.
Meanwhile, the Balor was still struggling with its remaining body, trying to pull itself through faster.
Why was it so difficult for the Balor to traverse the spatial rift?
It was because of the different spatial energies present between the two planes. The Balor wasn't using a teleportation array; it was directly passing through a breached spatial rift. This meant it had to directly confront the compression of the entire plane, making it incredibly strenuous.
This situation also affected other demons, but the weaker they were, the less pressure they faced. Below level three, it was practically imperceptible.
This was similar to Li Xi's own experience when he first arrived in the small plane, being repelled due to his identity as an Abyss Curséd One.
"Hmph."
The Balor also saw Li Xi, who wore a peculiar smile. It let out a cold snort and pulled forcefully, and its remaining half appeared in the small plane.
With a comfortable sigh from the Balor, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, its presence radiated an oppressive aura and killing intent. A complete Balor like this appeared before Li Xi for the first time.
Li Xi was witnessing the Balor, the Plane Lord of the Abyss, a legendary being. The Balor was the most easily evolved high-level life form; the world bowed before it, and any previous strong beings were like trash in its presence.
Inside Li Xi's heart, the Evil God Silkworm Baby trembled as it sensed the killing intent radiating from the Balor across the entire plane. The Evil God Silkworm Baby's perception was directly presented as the small plane's perception. As the lord of the small plane, it represented the small plane and was its external sensory organ.
In other words, the moment the Balor appeared, the entire small plane felt fear. A being strong enough to instill fear in the small plane was undoubtedly the most terrifying existence.
Logically, Li Xi wasn't unfamiliar with large-bodied creatures. Not to mention others, Matatabi, standing before him, and Isobu, sealed within the spatial realm, were larger than the Balor.
However, in a one-on-one duel, Li Xi suspected that even the strongest Nine-Tails might not be able to defeat this Balor.
The Balor, fully emerged in the small plane, exuded unyielding heat and pressure, standing with an aura of absolute dominance.
With their leader behind them, the demon army was like it had been injected with adrenaline. Even the Lesser Imps, whose height only reached the ankles of the Horned Demons, dared to leap up and bare their teeth.
In contrast, the surrendered demon army on Li Xi's side became as limp as eggplants after a frost. Under the Balor's terrifying deterrence, many directly surrendered and began attacking their companions from the previous second. In an instant, the formation of the demon army Li Xi had deployed at the front was halved.
The Balor stood firm, followed by ten Balors half its height. Such a formidable legion was capable of crushing the small plane and tossing it around like a plaything.
The Balor did not look at the Balor transformed by Li Xi but at the mountain-like Matatabi, its eyes filled with caution. It had not received any prior intelligence about this bizarre, blue-flame-engulfed demonic beast. Recalling Dracula's parting taunt, the Balor instantly understood everything.
Dracula had known about the presence of this peculiar beast in the small plane all along. He hadn't told Li Xi, and instead, had seemingly kindly advised him to avoid it. Looking back, it was as if he was deliberately luring him, afraid he wouldn't come.
But then, a cold smirk spread across the Balor's lips. Did this peculiar beast think it could defeat him? What a delusion. Had the passage of time eroded its memory? Since when could a random monster from a back alley challenge the strength of a Balor?