Chapter 296 The Demon Emperor Cannot Step Down
Black clouds pressed down upon the city, and the arid Gobi Desert welcomed a rain that washed away flesh and blood.
The streets were deserted, with no one to be seen. Even the black market, which was open at all hours, had its doors and windows sealed.
The rogue cultivators who hadn’t managed to escape Jade Pass City were now cowering in their rooms, straining to hear any disturbances on the street.
The spiritual energy roars and the clash of swords and sabers that had lasted for ten days seemed to have stopped, but no one dared to peek out to check the situation.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know. The demonic beasts outside the city seem to be quiet. I sneaked out earlier to take a look, and more than half of Jade Pass City’s guards have already been killed or injured…”
“What should we do? If the demonic beasts break through the city, they will surely slaughter everyone. What about the black market people?”
“I’m not sure… The city was in chaos when the war started, and many people fled. The owner of Jade Sand Pavilion seemed to have a way to escape, but it was a spot for 100,000 spirit stones… We can’t afford that.”
The cultivators sheltering in the inn were chattering amongst themselves, their faces ashen, regretting not leaving the city sooner.
When they first heard about the beast plague, most of them thought it was just a lot of noise and no substance, and didn’t take it seriously. By the time things turned for the worse, their escape routes were already cut off.
The demonic beasts surrounded the city from all four gates. Above, sand dragons and flying eagles circled. In less than a day, Jade Pass City was completely surrounded. The city lord and the guards had done their best to hold for ten days.
Suddenly, a dense and rhythmic war drum from the west of the city broke the silence within Jade Pass City.
“Dong—Dong Dong!!”
Hearing the sound, the cultivators hiding in the houses secretly pushed open their windows and looked out.
A line of tiger demons, clad in black iron armor, marched into Jade Pass City from the west gate in neat formation. Their eyes were filled with a bone-chilling killing intent. They bared their fangs and let out low growls at the human cultivators on both sides.
Most of the rogue cultivators didn’t recognize these demonic beasts. However, some learned individuals couldn’t help but cover their mouths and hold their breaths upon seeing them.
“Tiger-headed demons?”
“What tiger-headed demons? What level are these demonic beasts? They’re not in the illustrations.”
“These guys aren’t just beasts, they’re true demons. Among spiritual demons, the higher their cultivation, the more they resemble humans. Demonic beasts that can fully transform into human form have nearly the strength of Void Realm cultivators. These tiger-headed demons are at least at the early Nascent Soul stage.”
“Then… there are almost eighty Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivators here?”
“I think it’s a miracle that Jade Pass City managed to hold out for ten days.”
“Wait, the higher the cultivation, the more they resemble humans? Then look behind the formation…”
Everyone in the room was stunned by this statement and looked in the direction the person was pointing.
Behind the eighty-odd tiger demons in formation, two dragons were pulling an extremely luxurious and enormous sedan chair, which almost got stuck in the city gate.
On the sedan chair, a man of unparalleled handsomeness leaned against the armrest, his left fist supporting his cheek.
His pupils were like black obsidian, elongated and vertical, and he stared straight ahead, exuding an aura of supreme dominance over all things.
The man’s name was “Hu Mu,” a thousand-year-old fox demon, the most powerful among the current demon race, with cultivation close to the Void Realm of humans.
Beside this stern-looking man sat a small fox demon playing with a rattle, a stark contrast to the man’s cold and stern demeanor.
Bo Dong Bo Dong~~~
The two small red beans on the rattle struck the drum surface, producing a rhythmic sound.
Veins bulged on Hu Mu’s forehead. He endured it for a long time but couldn’t anymore. He furrowed his brows and reprimanded,
“Qiao’er, where did you get this thing?!! It’s so noisy!!”
Xue Tianqiao twitched her fox ears on her head, completely unfazed by Hu Mu’s rage that seemed like he wanted to devour someone. She calmly explained,
“Master, I picked it up on the way into the city. I’ve never seen it before…”
“I’ll get you a drum the size of the city gate later, stop shaking this broken drum!!”
“How can I shake a drum as big as the city gate?”
“… …”
Hu Mu took a deep breath, his lips twitched, but he said nothing more.
He swept his gaze over the human cultivators peeking at him from the windows in the houses along the street, a clear look of disgust flashing across his face. He clicked his tongue.
“Tsk…”
A fox demon below the sedan chair heard this and immediately jumped onto the sedan, kneeling on one knee before Hu Mu.
“Your Excellency, just give the order, and I will immediately lead my men to clear out these human cultivators.”
“… …”
Hu Mu didn’t speak. He glanced at the fox demon and then looked away.
The fox demon looked confused and, after some thought, asked again in a low voice,
“Your Excellency? Just give the order…”
“Hiss—” Hu Mu took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and asked, “Looking at my expression, do you think I want you to slaughter the city?”
“… …”
Xue Tianqiao, sitting beside Hu Mu, saw the fox demon’s bewilderment and helped her master by saying,
“Master means, no slaughter.”
Hu Mu glared fiercely at Xue Tianqiao and roared,
“Order all members of the demon race not to harm even a single hair of these human cultivators without my command.”
“Ah? Your Excellency… Why?”
Xue Tianqiao pondered for a moment and then explained,
“Master is afraid Dan Yue Shang Xian will pluck his fur.”
Upon hearing this, several veins bulged on Hu Mu’s forehead. He glared at his disciple with eyes that seemed to want to skin her alive and said,
“… She doesn’t have that much ability.”
“Then when she came to our demon territory before and pulled the fur from your tail, Master, why did you only dare to endure it… Woo—”
Hu Mu couldn’t help it and grabbed Xue Tianqiao’s mouth.
“If you can’t control your mouth again, believe it or not, I’ll skin you alive?!”
Xue Tianqiao blinked and replied indistinctly,
“Master… you say you’ll skin me every few days.”
“… …”
The fox demon kneeling before Hu Mu listened to their conversation and broke out in a cold sweat. Not knowing what to say, he stealthily slipped down from the sedan chair.
Then, Hu Mu gritted his teeth and said,
“At that time, I endured it out of respect for the elders, and I disdained to argue with her.”
“Mm…” Xue Tianqiao nodded, wagged her tail behind her, and then took out a small felt fox from her storage bag, saying, “Master, this is what she gave me before she left. It’s made from your tail fur.”
“… …”
Looking at the lifelike felt fox in Xue Tianqiao’s hand, the corner of his eye twitched slightly. He didn’t want to continue this topic. He sighed faintly, looked around, and asked,
“Qiao’er, is there any trace of the Heavenly Scroll of the Dao in this city?”
Xue Tianqiao sniffed with her nose and closed her eyes to smell the surroundings:
“It smells like roasted chicken. Master, I want to eat roasted chicken.”
“Hiss—Hoo—” Hu Mu took a deep breath. “Then there isn’t any?”
“Mm.”
“Fine—Someone!!!”
With his shout, several dark figures jumped onto the sedan chair and knelt on one knee before Hu Mu.
“Yes! Your Excellency!!”
“Leave some people to guard Jade Pass, and the demon race will follow me to Tian’an.”
“Understood!!”
… …
