Chapter 745: Everyone Wants to Eat

Beimu was gnashing his teeth in resentment. Regardless of the ultimate reason, he had indeed suffered sword wounds this time because of Lu Wu, and it had also put the Tiger Demon King in peril. However, Beimu didn't think much of the tiger demon.

Although furious with Lu Wu, Beimu also grew more apprehensive of him, given his unknown true form. This individual already exuded an intuitive sense of danger, and now realizing he might also be a lunatic, even as a demon, intensified Beimu's caution.

"I hope Lu Wu dies," Beimu muttered. Just as he stood up, his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He felt something was wrong but couldn't pinpoint it.

"Damn it, that one doesn't want to let me go!"

Realizing things were bad, Beimu immediately fled, transforming into light and flying out of his hiding place. He continuously shifted his demonic body, rapidly flying into the distance, while simultaneously using his own methods to gauge the situation he faced.

His calculations yielded no results, which chilled Beimu even more. While such a lack of feedback might normally be acceptable, this time he was even more certain that Jiyuan had set his sights on him. Even having fled a thousand miles away, he felt little security at that moment.

To be safe, Beimu dispersed a large amount of demonic energy, dividing it into nine streams and fleeing in different directions. Some went heavenward, some burrowed into the earth, others merged with the mountain winds, and some hid in secret places. Although he still saw no pursuers, each manifestation of Beimu formed from demonic energy fled with great effort.

However, this had no effect on Jiyuan and Lian Baiping. After all, they were sensing and tracking the sword wound inflicted by Jiyuan. Moreover, since the wound was from the Azure Vine Sword, it was naturally entangled with its sword intent, making it not so easy to dislodge.

By the time they had pursued for a thousand miles, Jiyuan and Lian Baiping had already left the Sky-Devouring Beast and were pursuing on clouds. The Sky-Devouring Beast had long since flown to an extremely high altitude above the gale-force wind layer to avoid most of the dangers in the Southern Wilderness Mountains. After all, although they had reached an agreement with a few demon kings, those kings could only represent the small areas they controlled, not the vast Southern Wilderness Mountains.

At the moment Beimu fled, Jiyuan and Lian Baiping were actually not too far from him and had already sensed his move.

"Mr. Ji, this demon has begun to flee."

"Hmm, it's a bit too late to flee now."

Jiyuan's previous sword strike had some profundity, focusing on intent rather than brute force. Therefore, with their vital energies entangled, he could slay the demon even by directly sending the Azure Vine Sword, but there was no need.

As the two spoke, they saw one of the demonic energy masses Beimu had split off, surprisingly fleeing directly towards their location. Although Beimu couldn't see Jiyuan and Lian Baiping, who were hidden in the sky, the sight made the two of them exchange strange glances.

Of course, the two ignored this mass of demonic energy. Even as the demonic energy shifted form, they simply glided high above, continuing their pursuit forward.

"Mr. Ji, how do you plan to catch that demon? He flees decisively, but he's not as simple as he appears. He's extremely skilled at evasion with countless transformations, and it seems there are other forces involved behind him. Are you planning to use the Immortal Binding Rope?"

Jiyuan shook his head.

"Let's try Universe in the Sleeve."

'Universe in the Sleeve?'

Lian Baiping had never heard this term and could only guess that Mr. Ji was referring to some kind of divine ability. He had simply never heard of such a name.

Just as Lian Baiping was speculating about what "Universe in the Sleeve" entailed, Beimu finally confirmed that Jiyuan had caught up. His realization wasn't based on divination or senses, but on the sword intent within the sword wound on his body. When the sword intent became more active, he knew that the immortal sword was nearby.

Even though he couldn't see anything at the moment, Beimu knew that absolute danger had arrived and he couldn't afford to hesitate. Using the nails of both hands, he carved deep gashes into both forearms from the joints to the wrists. Black-purple demonic blood continuously gushed out, enveloping his entire body in a bloody demonic aura.

This was the Great Celestial Demon Blood Escape Art. The moment it was cast, Beimu's demonic body turned into a phantom the next instant, then vanished in a flash from the sight of Jiyuan and Lian Baiping, who were already high above. This speed was even faster than an ordinary sword immortal's flying sword.

"Sir?"

"It's not that easy to escape now."

Although the demon's escape speed was fast, that instant wasn't enough to escape Jiyuan's divine sense perception range. Moreover, the demon's vital energy had long been locked onto by him. In the very next moment, Jiyuan made his move. His right hand moved forward from behind his back, his sleeve opening extending with the wind, as if puffed up by it.

Whoosh... Whoosh...

A mysterious sensation suddenly arose in Lian Baiping's mind. In his physical vision, Jiyuan's sleeve seemed to only puff up without much other change. But on the level of divine sense perception, he seemed to see Mr. Ji's sleeve opening stretching infinitely in that instant, as if it meant to encompass heaven and earth. The shadow cast by the sleeve opening even covered the sky and obscured the sun.

Just as Lian Baiping followed his perception and speculated, the sky also darkened with Jiyuan's movement. A shallow shadow appeared on the ground, like an immense, boundless sleeve, ignoring time and space, and in an instant caught up with the rapidly fleeing Beimu.

Beimu, who was in the midst of the Great Celestial Demon Blood Escape Art, only felt the sky suddenly dim. Furthermore, an unexplainably strong, yet unresistable, pulling force continuously tugged at him, much like an astronaut walking outside a spacecraft.

Sensing something, Beimu subconsciously looked back, but seemed to see Jiyuan's extended sleeve covering him like an illusion. Inside, besides the fabric of the sleeve, there seemed to be flowing light and shadow, distorted vital energy, thunder, and falling rain...

"What is this, ah—?"

"This is Universe in the Sleeve."

Jiyuan's voice came along with the appearance of the sleeve opening. After hearing Jiyuan's voice clearly, Beimu had no room left to struggle. With a whoosh, he was directly drawn into the sleeve.

As Jiyuan drew his sleeve back, the sky, which had darkened, returned to normal, as if what had happened was merely an illusion.

Lian Baiping, standing beside him, looked at Jiyuan's still somewhat puffed-up sleeve, his expression one of utter astonishment. He had never seen such a miraculous divine ability, not even anything similar. Even some magical artifacts capable of capturing people were vastly different from this.

"Using a sleeve opening to contain someone? There's a universe in the sleeve, and the universe can capture people. It truly is 'Universe in the Sleeve'... Mr. Ji, this divine ability..."

Seeing Lian Baiping's astonished look, Jiyuan suddenly felt a much greater sense of accomplishment for having mastered Universe in the Sleeve. He chuckled and said, half-jokingly,

"Quite a display, isn't it?"

"Uh... naturally, it's immortal might, vast and capable of terrifying all demons!"

"Heh, you, just like Ju Yuanzi, have no sense of humor. The old beggar is far more interesting than you."

Jiyuan's smile didn't fade. He patted the sleeve of his right hand.

"Got him. Alright, let's go meet up with Fellow Daoist Jiang and the others."

Having mastered and successfully used Universe in the Sleeve, Jiyuan seemed to regain a touch of the childlike wonder he felt when reading *Journey to the West* in his youth. His mood became joyful; storing starlight wasn't nearly as satisfying as storing this demon.

"Mr. Ji, what about the other demon? That demon is also not simple."

Lian Baiping reminded Jiyuan, drawing his attention to Lu Shan-jun, who had also fled. After Jiyuan nodded, he asked,

"Can Fellow Daoist Lian calculate where he fled to?"

"Uh, this is a bit strange. Originally, I could confirm that he also fled southwest, but at this moment, it has become blurry again, truly difficult to ascertain."

Jiyuan smiled.

"I also cannot calculate it. The Southern Wilderness Mountains are not suitable for prolonged stays. Let's go."

Lian Baiping wanted to say something else, but he swallowed his words. Mr. Ji held a high position in his heart, possessing boundless magical power and unparalleled cultivation. How could he not be able to calculate something that happened in such a short time, unless he simply didn't want to capture him?

"Yes, as you command, Sir!"

The two rode their clouds back, pursuing the Sky-Devouring Beast, which had gone in another direction.

And Beimu, now confined within Jiyuan's sleeve, felt despair. Around him was a dreamy glimmer, as if the light of countless stars had gathered. But this starlit boundary could only be seen, never reached. He flew for a very long time without touching anything, able only to drift alone in the gloom.

Beimu knew where he was: inside Jiyuan's sleeve. Though absurd, it was undeniably the truth. At the same time, his resentment grew stronger, and his greatest hatred was, of course, for Lu Wu.

"Damn him, damn him, damn him, damn him... Lu Wu, don't think you'll get off easy either! If I can be caught, you certainly won't escape, you won't! You'll soon come to join me, you'll join me!"

Beimu had once witnessed Jiyuan's Sky-Shattering Sword. He knew how terrifying the outwardly peaceful Mr. Ji could be when he harbored killing intent. Being caught this time meant almost certain death. Lu Wu had better die with him; he surely would!

"Hehehehe..."

A hoarse and terrifying laugh suddenly came from the boundless, dark void, causing Beimu to startle.

"Who's there? Who else is here? Were you also caught by Jiyuan?"

Since he was already captured, Beimu no longer feared mentioning Jiyuan's name. But to his surprise, he was met with an even more unrestrained burst of laughter.

"Hahahahaha..."

After this loud laughter, a cacophony of small, noisy voices suddenly appeared. Without exception, all were laughing.

"Hahahaha..." "Hehehehe..."

"This idiot, cursing for so long, haha." "Yeah, wasting energy, hahaha."

"How will the Great Lord deal with him?" "He'll probably kill him, right?"

"He's all black, why not turn him into ink?" "Ugh, demonic energy smells so bad, I wouldn't eat ink made from that."

"If you don't eat it, I will! Do you know stinky tofu? Do you know fermented amaranth? The Great Lord loves those!"

"Then I want to eat too!" "Me too!"

Hearing the small voices argue, another voice, belonging to a Xiezhi, laughed even more exaggeratedly.

"Hahahahahaha... I want to eat too!"