4: Chapter 4 Seven Days

Wu Li felt a surge of joy in his heart, but his face grew even more submissive: "Reporting to Great King."

"That treasure plant will only be fully mature in seven days. At that time, its medicinal potency will be at its strongest. If Great King goes to take it now, you will only obtain sixty or seventy percent of its potency. It would be better to wait another seven days..."

"Seven days?" The Vulture Demon narrowed his eyes. "You aren't trying to pull any tricks, are you?"

Wu Li hurriedly buried his head lower, his body trembling: "How would this humble one dare! Great King's prestige resounds throughout Wanhui Mountain."

"Even if this humble one had the courage of the heavens, I would not dare to deceive Great King."

"Seven days from now, when the treasure plant is mature, I will harvest it myself and present it to Great King!"

The Vulture Demon thought about it and felt this made sense.

Seven days was nothing—just the time it takes to take a nap.

Besides, this little crow could run, but he could not run away from his temple; Desolate Ridge was right here. Whenever he came, he could wipe out this flock of crows.

"Fine." The Vulture Demon nodded, his hoarse voice carrying unquestionable pressure: "If you dare to pull any tricks, I will slaughter your entire Desolate Ridge and leave not a single crow behind."

Wu Li nodded repeatedly: "How would this humble one dare? Rest assured, Great King, seven days later, the treasure plant will definitely be delivered."

"Hmph." The Vulture Demon snorted coldly and spread his massive wings. Before leaving, he looked back at Wu Li, his small eyes filled with contempt and disdain.

"Seven days later, I will send someone to collect it." Before his voice had even faded, his massive figure soared into the sky. His grayish-brown wings whipped up a violent gale, stirring up withered leaves across the ground. In the blink of an eye, the Vulture Demon vanished into the eastern horizon.

On Desolate Ridge, a deathly silence returned. Over a dozen crow corpses lay scattered on the ground, fresh blood staining the withered leaves, and the air was thick with the heavy scent of blood. The crows that had escaped the disaster hid in tree holes and on distant branches, trembling and not daring to make a sound.

Wu Li lay on the ground, motionless. After a long while, he slowly raised his head. The wound on his forehead was still oozing blood, and a tuft of feathers on his crown had been ripped away by the Vulture Demon's claws, exposing his bare scalp. Beads of blood slid down his cheek and dripped onto the withered leaves.

A flash of red light flickered in Wu Li's pupils. He slowly stood up and shook the dirt and blood from his body, his movements unhurried, as if he were doing the most ordinary thing.

"Damn it, it hurts like hell." Wu Li murmured, his hoarse voice devoid of any emotion. He raised his head and looked in the direction where the Vulture Demon had disappeared, the coldness in his black eyes gathering bit by bit.

"Send someone to collect it?"

"Go collect it yourself."

"If it weren't for that Old Fox Demon and the treasure plant, if you could even see half a feather of your grandfather, that would be a miracle."

Wu Li tilted his head and used his claw to scratch the spot on his crown where the feathers had been ripped off, the pain causing Wu Li to let out a few cawing shrieks.

Meanwhile, the Vulture Demon spread his massive wings and flew east. His grayish-brown silhouette swept over rolling mountain ranges, with dense, primitive forests below.

He did not fly fast, his mind still calculating the treasure plant seven days from now. A century-old Spirit Medicine was enough to save him decades of arduous cultivation. If his luck was good, he might even be able to touch the threshold of the Peak of the Early Stage.

Thinking of this, the Vulture Demon's mood improved significantly. That little crow was quite sensible.

After flying for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Vulture Demon began to descend. Below was a rocky hillside filled with jagged stones, covered in cave entrances of various sizes, looking like mouths filled with fangs. It was Thousand Fox Cave.

This was the territory of the Old Fox Demon. Calling it territory was actually just an exaggeration; it was just an abandoned fox den. The Old Fox Demon had been hanging around this area for decades, relying on his connection with the Vulture Demon to occupy dozens of caves and raise nest after nest of fox descendants.

The Vulture Demon circled, his massive silhouette casting a shadow over Thousand Fox Cave. A few small foxes at the cave entrance squeaked in terror, scrambling and crawling into the cave.

A moment later, a grayish-white figure emerged from the largest cave entrance. It was none other than the Old Fox Demon. Its fur was even duller than when he had last seen it, the wrinkles at the corners of its eyes were deeper, and its gait was somewhat unsteady. Its cultivation level of the Early Stage was nothing to boast about in Wanhui Mountain, and it was even older now.

But its eyes remained shrewd. Seeing the Vulture Demon's silhouette, the Old Fox Demon hurriedly went up to meet him, its tail held high, its posture submissive to the extreme.

"Great King! Great King!" The Old Fox Demon's voice was shrill and hurried, carrying a hint of ingratiation and a hint of anxiety.

The Vulture Demon landed on a protruding rock, his massive claws gripping the stone surface. His bald head hung low, and his small eyes looked down at the Old Fox Demon.

"Great King, how is the situation?"

"That old crow..." the Old Fox Demon asked, looking up eagerly.

"I spared his life. We'll talk about it in seven days." The Vulture Demon interrupted, his voice hoarse and cold.

The Old Fox Demon was stunned, the wrinkles on its face bunching together. It opened its mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but upon seeing the Vulture Demon's impatient gaze, it swallowed its words.

The Vulture Demon flapped his wings, preparing to take off. Just then, he seemed to remember something and paused.

"Right." The Vulture Demon turned his head, a cold light flashing in his small eyes.

"The Old Ancestor needs the essence blood of one hundred Essence Spirits that have opened their intelligence. You have many fox descendants; produce fifty more."

The Old Fox Demon's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

"Great King, Great King, you cannot!" The Old Fox Demon lunged forward, its front claws gripping the rock beneath the Vulture Demon's feet, its voice laced with a crying tone: "I presented those two Vermilion Fruits specifically to be exempted from this tribute, Great King! Those Vermilion Fruits were fifty years old, they are worth quite a lot..."

"Boom!!" The Vulture Demon waved his wings, and a violent surge of Demon Power, as if tangible, blasted out, sending the Old Fox Demon flying. The Old Fox Demon's thin, small body tumbled in the air several times before crashing heavily against the stone wall at the cave entrance with a dull thud. It lay on the ground, blood seeping from the corners of its mouth, its whole body trembling.

"What bullshit Vermilion Fruits?"

"Why didn't I see them?"

The Old Fox Demon lay on the ground, not daring to move. It opened its mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing the undisguised killing intent in the Vulture Demon's small eyes, it swallowed its words again.

"Stop talking nonsense. Add fifty more for me. Make it one hundred. If you are short by even one, you can go tell the Old Ancestor yourself."

The Vulture Demon looked down at the Old Fox Demon from above, his hoarse voice leaving no room for negotiation.

Hearing this, the Old Fox Demon's body began to tremble violently, its tail tucked tightly, and it did not dare to say another word.

"Hmph." The Vulture Demon snorted coldly and spread his massive wings, soaring into the sky. His grayish-brown silhouette soon vanished into the horizon, leaving behind only a violent gale that stirred up sand and stones across the ground.

In front of Thousand Fox Cave, there was a deathly silence. The small foxes hiding in the cave poked their heads out, looking at the Old Fox Demon lying on the ground in terror, not daring to approach.

The Old Fox Demon lay there for a long time. It slowly crawled up, its grayish-white fur covered in mud and blood. With its head bowed, its shrewd eyes now held only deep powerlessness and rage.