Qin Ming knew the plot, so he naturally understood what kind of terrifying artifact the Crimson-Gold Gourd was. That's why he avoided it at all costs.
But Sun Wukong, on the other hand, had no such sense of caution.
Seeing the demon across from him throw down a challenge, he didn't even stop to think before letting out a chuckle.
"What wouldn't I dare? Your Grandpa Sun is right here!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the gourd in the enemy's hand suddenly lit up with a red glow. A second later, Sun Wukong let out a startled cry, and without even the slightest chance to resist, he was sucked in and disappeared into the gourd on the spot.
The Silver-Horned King immediately plugged the gourd's mouth with his hand. Watching Sun Wukong get captured, a brilliant smile spread across his face.
He lifted his gaze toward the group across from him, whose faces were now pale with shock. His eyes gleamed with menace.
"A bunch of fools!"
Hearing this, Zhu Bajie and the others finally snapped out of their daze. In the very next moment, they all turned and fled almost in unison.
After all, even the strongest among them—Sun Wukong—had been taken out instantly. Without knowing what kind of object the enemy was wielding, who would still dare fight recklessly? What if they were next?
The group scattered quickly, but before they could get far, the Silver-Horned King let out a deep roar. He grabbed the rope at his waist and swung it forcefully toward the fleeing group.
"Run? Not that easy! Watch my Golden Rope of Illusion!"
Whoosh!
The golden rope shot out, rapidly extending like a living serpent, speeding toward them.
Sha Wujing, the slowest of the group, was immediately ensnared and bound up like a zongzi dumpling.
Once it had caught one target, the tip of the rope split into nine, launching out again to ensnare more.
Zhu Bajie, the Little Dragon Girl, and the others were all successively caught. Even Kasumoto Eri, who turned to try cutting the rope, was seized on the spot.
Only Qin Ming and Mai Shiranui managed to evade the first round by transforming into blood mist and exploding outward, barely dodging the golden rope's pursuit.
But it was only the first round.
To their astonishment, the rope began splitting in midair, multiplying into even more strands that spread out like a net, closing in again.
Worse yet, the moment any of the rope touched their blood mist, it severed their connection to it entirely—making it impossible to control.
Forced to revert back into human form, the two had no choice but to try fleeing again at full speed.
But how could a human's flight speed possibly outpace the rope? With two sharp snap sounds, Qin Ming and Mai Shiranui were also bound tightly and captured on the spot.
The wind howled as the ropes retracted. One end landed back in the Silver-Horned King's grip, while the other trailed behind—now binding Qin Ming and the others.
Watching his captives struggle helplessly in their restraints, the Silver-Horned King burst into wild laughter.
"HAHAHAHA! So much for the Great Sage Equal to Heaven! So much for the Marshal of the Heavenly Canopy! Weren't they all taken care of in a blink? And who the hell are these three others? Eh, who cares! Let's just cook them all together!"
Ordering his underlings to haul the captives back, the Silver-Horned King returned in triumph.
Thrown into a cage within the cave, Qin Ming sat with furrowed brows.
He'd tried to use his blood mist ability to forcefully escape the rope's bindings—but the damn thing had some kind of sealing effect.
To his shock, he realized he couldn't activate any of his skills at all!
What an insanely powerful item! This was honestly the first time Qin Ming had encountered something like it.
This thing had to be at least legendary tier—maybe even mythic!
Watching the Silver-Horned King strut off smugly, Qin Ming took a deep breath, a faint glint flickering in his eyes.
He had already appraised the Silver-Horned King's stats—and honestly, they weren't all that impressive.
The guy's personal abilities were surprisingly weak.
[Name: Silver-Horned King]
[Strength: 60]
[Constitution: 60]
[Agility: 40]
[Spirit: 40]
[Skills: Taoist Seven-Star Sword Technique (Grade A), Daoist Spells (Grade A)][Profile: The legendary Silver-Horned King, one of the Gold and Silver Boys under the Grand Supreme Elder Lord.]
His attributes weren't particularly high, and his skills were just average.
This guy's strength couldn't even compare to Pigsy, let alone Sun Wukong.
But somehow, this kind of trash had managed to defeat everyone—including Sun Wukong—almost instantly!
And the only reason for that was those terrifying magical treasures in his hands!
That's why, in Eastern legends, people always say: having a magical treasure and not having one are two entirely different things!
Magical treasures were utterly unreasonable!
Withdrawing his gaze, Qin Ming struggled again, but still couldn't break free. A sharp flash of blood-red light flickered in his eyes.
The next second, he opened his mouth wide and spat forcefully. With a crisp ding, a crystal-clear blood-colored orb shot out.
That was his core—his Blood Core!
The moment it left his body, Qin Ming's flesh rapidly dissolved, turning into a pool of blood on the spot.
The blood, now free from the restraints of the Golden Rope, flowed toward the Blood Core. Within moments, it gathered and reformed into a humanoid shape around it.
Using an unconventional method, Qin Ming had successfully shed his skin like a cicada and broken free from the rope's seal!
Seeing this, Mai Shiranui immediately followed suit and slipped out as well.
Qin Ming stood up, rolled his neck, and glanced at the others who were still dumbfounded. He gave them no time to react. Instead, he walked over, pulled the demonic sword from Kasamoto Eri, and strode out with the weapon in hand.
Moments later, after taking down a lone enemy and stabbing the demonic sword into the foe's body, Qin Ming returned with a new Kasamoto Eri in tow.
The original Kasamoto Eri that had been bound quickly turned into a corpse.
The Golden Rope's sealing ability was undeniably powerful, but unfortunately, it didn't work on any of the three of them!
"Nice moves, folks! Now hurry and help free your old pal Pigsy!"
Seeing the trio had escaped, Pigsy and the others were overjoyed and quickly cried out while struggling.
Naturally, Qin Ming and the others didn't refuse and rushed over.
But after several attempts—pulling, hacking, slicing—nothing worked. No matter what they did, the Golden Rope wouldn't break. Even if they managed to force open a small gap, it would instantly regenerate.
Qin Ming's frown deepened. This was the first time he truly felt how terrifying the methods of an S-Difficulty world boss could be.
Just then, while they were all still staring helplessly at the rope, the sound of heavy footsteps suddenly echoed nearby. The three of them tensed, exchanged glances, and quickly transformed back into their bound states.
Kasamoto Eri even reinserted the demonic sword into the original corpse and stored the new one away.
By the time they finished, several figures finally emerged from the shadows, illuminated by the flickering firelight in the distance.
It was a horde of demons, led by two towering demon kings.
One was the familiar Silver-Horned King. The other had golden skin—his older brother, the Gold-Horned King!
"Big bro! These are the ones I caught! Look! They're not all that strong, right?"
Pointing smugly at the group, Silver-Horned King beamed with pride.
But the Gold-Horned King, after glancing over, suddenly widened his eyes.
"Holy shit! Kasamoto Eri? Mai Shiranui?!"
That sudden outburst made Qin Ming and the others lift their heads in shock, disbelief written all over their faces.
He actually recognized them? That could only mean...
"You're an adventurer?!"
(End of Chapter)