Chapter 4

Because he had Ao Ya’s token, Li Xuanzong felt reassured.

The daughter of the Great Sage Who Covers the Sea, Princess Ao Ya, was someone even the Black Mountain Old Demon wouldn’t dare to offend, let alone a pig demon leader like Zhu Sanlie.

Therefore, he didn’t even bother to destroy the evidence; he simply threw the pig demon’s body into the乱葬岗 (mass grave) behind Black Wind Mountain. By then, the news had already reached Zhu Sanlie.

Black Wind Mountain was a vast mountain range, with the central peak being the most abundant in spiritual energy. The surrounding smaller peaks had less spiritual energy.

These smaller peaks were divided among the demon leaders under the Black Mountain Old Demon and the cultivation sects that relied on him, known as the Peak Masters.

Zhu Sanlie’s lair was on Iron Tower Peak, the closest to the main peak of Black Wind Mountain.

At this moment, inside the Iron Tower Peak pig demon lair, the dim candlelight revealed a scene that resembled hell.

Over a hundred fat pig demons crowded in the demon lair, their black, greasy bodies rolling around, making one feel nauseous.

Around them were piles of decaying flesh and bones, some resembling beasts, others like humans.

In the corner, there was a large clump of what looked like withered grass, but upon closer inspection, it was actually a mass of hair!

Zhu Sanlie lay on a black, greasy leather chair, his body towering, nearly two zhang tall, and almost as wide.

His greasy pig face was full of wrinkles like sausages, and there was a deep scar running from his eye to his chin.

"Big Leader, it’s bad! The Qingyun Sect didn’t give us the girl, and they even killed Old Six!"

A smaller pig demon tumbled in to report.

Zhu Sanlie suddenly sat up straight, his body of fat quivering.

"What!? Who gave them the nerve to kill my demon? Children, turn that Qingyun Sect guy into mincemeat!"

The pig demons below became excited at the mention of "mincemeat," waving their various weapons and howling.

"Wait, Peak Master."

At this moment, a middle-aged scholar stepped out from behind Zhu Sanlie, stopping him.

The middle-aged scholar wore a light blue robe, like a schoolteacher, but his face was sharp and fox-like, giving him a somewhat sinister look.

Zhu Sanlie frowned. "Mr. Bie, can you stop transforming into human form? I haven’t eaten a human in over a month, and seeing you like this makes me hungry."

Mr. Bie cursed inwardly, "You glutton! Even the Great Sage usually appears in human form, who’s like you, a fat, stupid pig demon, taking up so much space."

Although he was unhappy, Mr. Bie wiped his face, instantly transforming from a middle-aged man into a wolf head, but much thinner than a normal wolf head.

His true form was a bie, the bie in the phrase "a wolf and a bie working together."

A bie is a deformed wolf with very short front legs, needing to be carried by a wolf to move.

But the bie is vicious and cunning, serving as the strategist for the wolf pack.

Previously, Mr. Bie was the strategist for a wolf demon leader, but the leader died in battle, and he narrowly escaped, eventually joining Zhu Sanlie’s ranks.

He was just a strategist, good at planning but weak in combat, even weaker than the lowest-ranking demon. So even though he looked down on Zhu Sanlie, he had to find a protector.

The patrol wolf demon was also under the previous wolf demon leader, and without a protector, he had to do the hard work of patrolling the mountain.

"That’s better. Why didn’t you let me deal with that Qingyun Sect kid? He tricked me for a pill and even killed Old Six, he’s asking for death!"

Mr. Bie smiled lightly. "He is asking for death, but it’s not our place to kill him.

The Qingyun Sect is a direct subordinate of the Black Mountain Cave Lord. If he killed one of our subordinates, he must have the Black Mountain Seal on him.

Why not ask the Cave Lord to convene a meeting and publicly punish the Qingyun Sect? We have the right on our side, but if we take revenge on our own, it might displease the Cave Lord.

We shouldn’t overstep our bounds and break the rules."

Zhu Sanlie grumbled, "You’re all too cautious. I don’t believe the Cave Lord is that petty."

Despite his words, Zhu Sanlie still followed Mr. Bie’s advice.

Before Mr. Bie became his strategist, his group of pig demons, though favored by the Black Mountain Old Demon, received the most scoldings and punishments.

Only after Mr. Bie started strategizing for them did things improve.

The next morning, the patrol wolf demon’s song echoed from afar, the same lyrics that had already made Li Xuanzong’s ears ache.

When the wolf demon knocked on Li Xuanzong’s door and saw that he hadn’t fled, he was surprised.

"You killed a pig demon under Zhu Sanlie and didn’t run?"

Li Xuanzong raised an eyebrow. "Why should I run?"

The wolf demon grinned, his large mouth looking somewhat comical. "You’ve got guts. The Cave Lord has summoned you. All the sixteen peaks of Black Wind Mountain are there, so be careful.

For years, no human cultivator has ever killed a demon on Black Wind Mountain. You’re the first.

The pig demons are very domineering and probably won’t let you off easily."

The patrol wolf demon, though fierce-looking, perhaps remembered the two spirit stones Li Xuanzong had bribed him with yesterday and gave him a warning.

Li Xuanzong said calmly, "Thank you for the warning, but whether to let me off is up to the Cave Lord, not Zhu Sanlie."

The Black Mountain Old Demon was a great demon, and the demon races under his command far outnumbered human cultivation sects, and were much stronger.

So even cultivation sects stronger than the Qingyun Sect wouldn’t dare to offend a demon leader like Zhu Sanlie. Li Xuanzong was the first to do so, and he had already made a deadly enemy.

The wolf demon watched Li Xuanzong walk calmly towards the main peak of Black Wind Mountain and shook his head.

Is this kid scared silly or has he given up?

Li Xuanzong had never been to the Black Wind Old Demon’s lair, the Black Wind Mountain Mystic Light Cave.

Although he had been in the Qingyun Sect for over a decade, he wasn’t a core disciple of Qingyun Zhenren, so he wasn’t taken to the meetings.

Compared to the filthy and terrifying scene in the pig demon lair, the Mystic Light Cave was quite normal.

The entire lair, while not as grand as the Crystal Palace of the Great Sage Who Covers the Sea, was still quite clean, with polished black rocks everywhere.

However, even the candle holders were made of black crystals, making the light seem slightly eerie.

When Li Xuanzong was led into the lair by a small demon, he finally met the Black Mountain Old Demon.

The Black Mountain Old Demon sat on a black stone throne, his large black robe almost covering the entire throne.

Although he was in human form, his face was deathly pale, his eyes pitch black, and his lips incredibly red.

Below the black stone throne were sixteen chairs, representing the sixteen peaks of Black Wind Mountain. Ten of the Peak Masters were demons, and the remaining six were human cultivators.

Of course, whether human or demon, all the Peak Masters of the sixteen peaks were at the Yuanjing stage, unlike his unfortunate master, Qingyun Zhenren, who, despite having the power of a Yuanjing cultivator, didn’t have a peak to rule.

This was not only because the sixteen peaks were already full but also because Qingyun Zhenren was too weak, and his disciples were also weak, so he had no chance to compete for a peak.

Li Xuanzong slightly bowed his head and bowed. "Greetings, Cave Lord."

"Qingyun Zhenren is dead. Considering his contributions to Black Wind Mountain, I didn’t dissolve his sect. But you dared to kill a demon of Black Wind Mountain without permission. Do you know your crime?"

The Black Mountain Old Demon’s voice was sharp and grating, indistinguishable as male or female.

Although there was no sign of anger, Li Xuanzong immediately felt a heavy pressure enveloping him, almost making him kneel.

Of course, this pressure, though heavy, wasn’t as strong as what he felt when he met Ao Ya yesterday.

The demon hierarchy wasn’t as detailed as that of human cultivators, as demons not only considered later cultivation but also their origin and innate abilities.

This led to significant differences in strength between demons of the same level, sometimes even to the point of overwhelming.

Generally, cultivators at the Qi Lian stage were low-ranking demons, while demons at the Yuanjing stage, like Zhu Sanlie, had some power and could rule a mountain peak.

Demons at the Jindan and Lingtai stages were called Great Demons, with the power to occupy a spiritually rich land and establish a lair, known as Cave Lords.

Demons at the Shentai and Tianren stages were called Demon Kings, and only those at the peak of the Fanchu stage had the title of Demon Sage.

There were seven Demon Sages and thirty-six Demon Kings in the demon race, though this didn’t mean there were only that many. These were just the most famous and powerful in the Five Continents.

According to Li Xuanzong’s memory, the Black Mountain Old Demon should be at the Jindan stage.

He was originally a black stone on Black Wind Mountain, so he was genderless. On Black Wind Mountain, he had the advantage of terrain and could even kill enemies of a higher level.

"Reporting to the Cave Lord, I am not guilty. The pig demon under Zhu Sanlie deserved to die!"

As Li Xuanzong spoke, everyone, demon and human, turned to look at him, their faces full of shock.

Is this kid crazy?

Humbly admitting guilt might result in death, but there were punishments worse than death.

"You’re asking for death!"

Zhu Sanlie exploded, his small eyes on his greasy, fat face glaring at Li Xuanzong, wishing he could crush him into mincemeat right now.

"Sit down!"

The Black Mountain Old Demon roared, his eyes showing a hint of displeasure.

His demon subordinates didn’t understand the rules. This was the Mystic Light Cave, and if anyone was to be killed, it would be him, not someone else showing off.

After Zhu Sanlie sat down reluctantly, the Black Mountain Old Demon turned his gaze to Li Xuanzong, his tone icy.

"Deserved to die? If you can’t give a reason, I’ll let you experience the feeling of your soul being sealed in a black stone and torn apart by the yin wind at the entrance of Black Wind Mountain!"