He stepped closer to Ling Xiao. The pressure he emitted was so intense that Ling Xiao couldn't even breathe; he was pinned to the tree trunk by sheer intent.
Mo Shan glanced at the boy with cold indifference. To him, this human child was no more significant than an ant. 'Just a lost weakling,' Mo Shan thought. 'Pathetic.'
He didn't even bother to stop his nephew. He turned his back, ready to leave.
But then, the scent hit him.
His gaze fell on a drop of blood dripping from Ling Xiao's finger. It was a vibrant, rich red. But as the scent wafted toward Mo Shan, his nostrils flared. To a High-Tier Demon with heightened senses, the blood didn't smell like iron or rust—it smelled of purity. It carried a domineering, majestic aura that seemed to suppress the very air around it.
Mo Shan's body went rigid.
'This feeling...' Mo Shan thought, shock flashing through his eyes. 'I have not felt such purity since I fought on the front lines decades ago. This is not the blood of a common noble.'
He looked at the boy again, his gaze piercing, overlaying the features with portraits he had seen of the human rulers.
'This is the purest Bloodline he had ever seen.'
"Is he real?" Mo Shan whispered, a cruel, calculating smile forming on his lips. "The rumored son of the Emperor? Here?".
Just as he reached out a hand to grab his prize, the air behind Ling Xiao rippled.
"Step away from him!"
A figure burst from the shadows. He wore a black mask and the uniform of the Imperial Shadow Guards. It was Ling Xiao's Protector, the Earth Realm cultivator who had been secretly following him since he left the city.
The appearance of the Shadow Guard only confirmed Mo Shan's theory.
'An Earth Realm expert acting as a hidden bodyguard?' Mo Shan thought, his eyes gleaming. 'Only the direct bloodline of the Emperor would command such protection.'
The Protector had been terrified to intervene, sensing the Heaven Realm power of Mo Shan, but seeing the Prince in mortal danger forced his hand.
"Mountain Severing Slash!" The Protector swung a massive blade, putting his entire life force into a single strike aimed at Mo Shan's neck.
Mo Shan didn't even turn his head. He simply flicked his finger backward.
Clang!
The Protector's sword shattered into a million pieces. An invisible force slammed into the Protector's chest, caving in his ribcage.
"Urgh!" The Protector flew backward, smashing into a boulder. He slid down, coughing blood, his Earth Realm cultivation useless against a Heaven Realm Demon. He tried to stand, his loyalty to the Emperor driving him, but his body refused to obey.
"Weak," Mo Shan stated flatly.
He turned back to Ling Xiao. The boy was hyperventilating, his eyes rolling back in his head from the sheer stress and pain.
The two young men stepped forward, confused. "Uncle, that was a Shadow Guard. This kid... is he a noble? Why did you stop me? I was about to feast!".
Mo Shan looked at his nephew with disdain. "Use your eyes. Do you think Shadow Guards sacrifice their lives for commoners?"
He looked at Ling Xiao, his expression shifting from indifference to deep greed. He wasn't kind. He felt no pity for the boy's injuries. But he felt... anticipation.
"We are not eating him," Mo Shan commanded.
"What? Why?" The young Demon complained, retracting his claws. "He is right there! And he smells delicious!".
"Because he is worth more alive than dead," Mo Shan sneered. "Smell him again. Do you not recognize that scent? That is the Pure Imperial Bloodline."
The young Demon sniffed the air and looked confused. "Imperial? You mean... the Human Emperor?"
"Exactly," Mo Shan said, staring at the unconscious boy like a merchant looking at a mountain of gold. "This isn't a meal. This is the Crown Prince of the Human Race. If we bring him back to the Sect, the Elders will reward us with resources you can't even imagine. We can trade him for ten cities, or use him to humiliate the Human Emperor."
He reached into his robe and pulled out a small, hexagonal wooden artifact covered in runes. It was a Memory Siphon Totem, a rare artifact used to erase short-term memories.
He pressed it against Ling Xiao's forehead.
"Sleep," Mo Shan commanded.
A grey light pulsed from the totem. Ling Xiao's eyes lost focus, his struggle ceased, and he slumped forward, unconscious, into Mo Shan's arms.
Mo Shan let the boy drop to the soft moss, showing no gentleness. He stood over him, looking down with a satisfied expression.
"You two," Mo Shan pointed at the young Demon and the Spirit. "Watch him. Protect him from any beast that approaches. If a single hair on his head is harmed, I will flay you both.".
"Protect a human?" The Spirit asked, incredulous. "Uncle, this goes against our code! We hate humans!".
"Do not make me repeat myself," Mo Shan said, turning his back to them.
He walked a few paces away, taking out a communication talisman made of black jade. He gripped the talisman. He needed to contact the Elders immediately. Capturing the sole heir of the Imperial Bloodline was a merit that could grant him a seat on the High Council.
But he hesitated.
'If I transmit a signal now,' Mo Shan thought, his eyes narrowing, 'the other Demon Clans nearby might intercept it. They will swarm here and try to snatch the credit for capturing the Human Prince.'
Mo Shan's ambition flared. He wanted the glory for himself.
'No. I found him. I identified his blood. I will personally deliver this prize to the High Council.'
He put the talisman away.
"Uncle, what do we do with the Shadow Guard?" The young Demon asked, pointing at the broken body of the Protector.
Mo Shan threw a knife made of pure fire energy which instantly burned the full body even bones into ash, with this an Earth Realm cultivator died in a blink of an eye. He looked at Ling Xiao one last time. There was no warmth in his eyes, only a cold calculation. The boy was a hostage. A key to the throne.
"Guard him until sunrise," Mo Shan ordered. He then left the place, soaring into the depths of the jungle, leaving those two behind. They were unwilling, but bound by the order given by their leader.
Ling Xiao slept on the forest floor, unaware that the monsters he had been taught to fear were now standing guard over him, protecting him as their most valuable prize.