862: Chapter 863 The Banquet

"My lord, please! Feel free to enjoy!" a mythical beast beamed with a smile, standing to the side as he personally poured wine for Yao Delong.

With a clap of his hands.

A wave of seductive music accompanied by a rich, exotic fragrance wafted in.

A group of enchanting, alluring Yao Race beauties glided in with graceful dance steps. Some swayed their serpentine waists with innate seduction, others fluttered their wings lightly, scattering starlight, while some flicked their fox tails with soul-stealing gazes... each one was a peerless beauty!

Especially the lead dancer at the forefront—she was breathtakingly beautiful! Tall and slender with skin fairer than snow, she wore a sheer, mist-like red gauze that outlined her heart-stopping curves. Her features were bewitchingly charming, every smile and glance brimming with soul-captivating allure! She was a mythical beast's most beloved beauty—Meiying!

Meiying's pair of enchanting peach-blossom eyes, filled with enough tenderness to melt steel, immediately locked onto Yao Delong seated on the throne. Her dance steps were light, her figure swaying, every movement exuding deadly temptation as she tried to catch the attention of this "mysterious demon king" whom even her own king revered so deeply.

However, Yao Delong merely glanced casually before withdrawing his gaze.

What kind of spectacle hadn't he witnessed? Outside Biqu City, he had faced even the world-toppling beauty of the Heavenly Fox Clan's Demon Emperor Yuyi. The allure before him now was nothing but common fare. He picked up the spiritual wine respectfully offered by a mythical beast, took a small sip, his gaze indifferent, as if the blood-stirring dance of the Yao Race beauties was less appealing than the wine in his cup.

In contrast, Xue Li, sprawled on the soft couch, showed no interest at all in these coquettish "pretty sisters"!

Her large, glass-like eyes were completely captivated by the high-grade spiritual fruits on the long table before her, each exuding compelling spiritual energy and tempting aromas!

"Mmm... this smells so good!" Xue Li extended her little paw and unhesitatingly grabbed a fist-sized "Crimson Flame Vermilion Fruit," its skin crystal clear with what seemed like flowing liquid fire inside.

"Crunch!" She opened her little mouth and bit off nearly half! Scalding juice mixed with pure fire spiritual power instantly flooded her throat, making her let out a soft "Mmm~" as her little ears perked up, but her large eyes squinted into contented crescent moons.

Then, she turned her gaze to the plate of ice-blue "Profound Ice Jade Marrow" wreathed in threads of cold air. "This looks delicious too!" She extended her paw again.

"Mmm... and this golden one..."

"That red soup smells amazing too!"

...Under the stunned gazes of a mythical beast and the assembled Demon Marshals and generals, this snow-white little fox brought by the "mysterious demon king" completely abandoned all decorum! Using both her little paws, her cheeks stuffed full, she launched an "assault" on the high-grade spiritual fruits and delicacies on the long table—treasures so valuable even Demon Marshals rarely saw them—devouring them like a whirlwind! Juice splattered everywhere as she ate with sheer delight!

That image of her, utterly unrefined, greedy yet satisfied, formed a starkly vivid and comical contrast with Meiying's exquisitely seductive, crowd-enchanting dance below!

a mythical beast's mouth twitched slightly as he watched his treasured collection being rapidly devoured by the little fox, his heart bleeding with pain, yet he dared not show a hint of it on his face. Instead, he smiled even more obsequiously: "My lord, this little friend... has quite the appetite! Heh... heh..."

Yao Delong glanced at Xue Li beside him, eating so obliviously that her tail wagged happily like a windmill, then stole a look at Meiying below, still trying hard to "emit charm" but completely ignored, a faint, almost imperceptible curve tugging at the corner of his mouth.

a mythical beast struggled to maintain his ingratiating smile, but the corner of his eye couldn't help drifting toward the small figure on the soft couch.

There, Xue Li's two snow-white front paws tightly clutched a "Crimson Flame Vermilion Fruit" larger than her head, her little mouth crunching away eagerly. Scalding juice dripped down her snow-white fur, yet she remained oblivious, her pink little tongue nimbly licking the corners of her mouth. Her large, glass-like eyes shone with gluttonous happiness, and her tail wagged rapidly like a wound-up propeller!

That priceless "Earth Core Fire Lotus Seed" he had planned to use for refining a fire-attribute demon pill—this little ancestor had already devoured nearly half a plate of it like candy! The nearby plate of "Profound Ice Jade Marrow" was almost empty... 'My treasures!' a mythical beast felt his heart bleeding with every crunch, as if each bite were gnawing at his very soul! But he forced a smile uglier than crying onto his face: "Heh, my lord, you see... this little friend is really... really... full of vitality and blessed with profound fortune!" He struggled to find words of praise.

Yao Delong took in a mythical beast's forced smile and pained expression, the faint curve at his mouth deepening slightly. Below, Meiying's seductive dance, enough to bewitch ordinary Cultivators, seemed so pale and feeble compared to Xue Li's "starving ghost reincarnated" ferocious eating.

Meanwhile, among the Demon Marshals and generals standing solemnly below, a tall, gaunt Yao Race member with strangely greenish skin had vertical snake pupils flashing with a mix of shock and realization! His name was Azure Dragon, his true form a rare enlightened Serpent Demon, particularly sensitive to life energy. He stared fixedly at the blue-robed figure on the high platform, whose aura seemed like a demon king's but made his own king bow and scrape.

'It's him! Absolutely him!' Azure Dragon's heart surged with towering waves, 'That Human Race Prodigy who, outside the Pill Venerable Secret Realm, thwarted the Nine Nether Sect with earth-shattering means, and even... even forcibly subdued someone as powerful as King Sky-Splitting—Yao Delong!' He recalled the Shocking scene that day, that terrifying Heart Sword suspended over all Yao Race Primordial Spirits! No wonder... no wonder the king acted this way! This wasn't some demon king's visit—it was the Human Race's Baleful Star paying a call!

He instinctively lowered his head to hide the terror in his eyes. What did recognizing him matter? Even King Sky-Splitting had become another's "trusted aide"; with his own meager cultivation, he wasn't even qualified to be a snack for the other! He could only play deaf and dumb, acting like an ignorant wooden demon.

After nearly half a day of toasting—mainly a mythical beast "drinking," Yao Delong sipping lightly, and Xue Li "eating"—the banquet's atmosphere, amid a mythical beast's cautious, ingratiating smiles, felt quite peculiar.

Yao Delong set down his wine cup, his gaze turning toward the fidgeting a mythical beast, finally getting to the main point:

"Sky-Splitting."

Two plain words, yet they made a mythical beast jump like a cat with its tail stepped on, instantly straightening his back, his face filled with utmost seriousness: "Yes, my lord! Your command, please!"

"Do you know," Yao Delong spoke slowly, his voice soft yet clearly reaching every Yao Race member present, "the reason behind the beast tide recently launched by the Nine Infant Clan in the Great Desolate Forest?"