66: Chapter 66 The Four Demons' Visit

If not for the dense Demonic Qi on her body and the faint floral shadows around her eyes, it would be difficult to tell that she was a demon.

A perfect human form, not a transformation technique.

This was a true Third-Stage Great Demon, corresponding to a Cultivator of the Human Race at the Golden Core Realm.

"My Lady..."

"We..."

Lady Hua did not raise her head nor look up; the pestle in her hand pounded the herbs in the stone mortar, creating a dull, rhythmic thumping sound.

The four demons walked to the edge of the spring, stopped in unison, lowered their heads, and did not dare to breathe loudly.

"Failed?"

Lady Hua's voice was indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger.

The four demons bowed their heads even lower.

The Rift-Wind Wolf King swallowed, and biting the bullet, he spoke: "Those Human Race Cultivators arrived too suddenly, we..."

"I told you not to go from the beginning, but you insisted."

Lady Hua interrupted him, her tone still indifferent, but the bodies of the four demons trembled simultaneously.

The Rift-Wind Wolf King closed his mouth, not daring to say another word.

Lady Hua put down the pestle, and with a wave of her hand, four streams of light-blue Demon Power shot from her fingertips, precisely entering the bodies of the four demons.

The moment the Demon Power entered their bodies, the four demons felt a cool force coursing through them; the pain at their wounds diminished by more than half, their fractured bones began to knit together, severed blood vessels reconnected, and even the cracks on the Azure-Horned Deer King's antlers faded slightly.

"Many thanks, Lady Hua."

The four demons said in unison, their voices extremely submissive.

Lady Hua picked up the pestle again and continued to pound the herbs, thump, thump, thump, one by one, unhurriedly.

"Do not cause trouble for me during these days."

"An interesting little fellow has arrived at the periphery of Taiyue Mountain."

"You will be neighbors from now on, you may go and pay a visit."

A trace of doubt flashed in the Rift-Wind Wolf King's eyes, but he did not dare to ask more.

"Yes."

Lady Hua said no more.

The four demons tactfully retreated a few steps, turned, and disappeared into the bamboo forest. By the spring, only the thump, thump, thump of the mortar echoed gently in the night breeze.

The four demons walked out of the bamboo forest, and not until the thump, thump, thump of the mortar behind them could no longer be heard did they simultaneously stop.

The Rift-Wind Wolf King spoke first, his voice kept very low: "The Lady said an interesting fellow has arrived; do any of you know who it is?"

The Azure-Horned Deer King shook his head.

"It's over by the Stone Forest, close to Qing Lin's territory. Qing Lin, do you know anything?"

The Green-Scaled Python narrowed her slender eyes, her voice shrill: "Do you think I have the time to pay attention to such things?"

The Iron-Backed Bear King chimed in with a muffled voice: "Anyone who can live right under our noses without being discovered shouldn't be a simple character."

"Nonsense."

The Rift-Wind Wolf King rolled his eyes at him. "The Lady even said 'interesting'; could they be a simple character?"

The Azure-Horned Deer King took over: "Don't overthink it. We'll know once we go over and take a look. Since the Lady asked us to pay a visit, it means that fellow is at least not an enemy."

The four demons exchanged glances, said no more, and headed together in the direction of the Stone Forest.

The four demons passed through the dense forest and crossed the mountain stream; the outline of the Stone Forest gradually emerged under the moonlight.

The gray-white stone pillars towered into the clouds, jagged and interlocking, resembling a field of silent tombstones under the pale moonlight.

The night wind blew through the crevices of the stones, making a wailing sound, as if something were weeping in a low voice.

The four demons arrived.

The Rift-Wind Wolf King stopped and looked up; his pupils constricted sharply.

"Caw, caw, caw~"

On the stone pillars.

They were densely packed with crows, perched on every protruding rock, a vast, dark mass. The moonlight shone on their feathers, casting a cold, metallic luster, and pairs of bean-sized black eyes stared in unison at the four demons.

"Hmm?"

The Rift-Wind Wolf King was surprised for a moment. As a Late Stage Second-Stage Wolf King with a pack of hundreds under his command, what kind of formations had he not seen?

But at this moment, being stared at by hundreds of crows like this, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

"Good heavens, they are actually all at the Qi Ling Realm."

The Azure-Horned Deer King also saw the strangeness of these crows at a glance.

The four demons were all Second-Stage Demon Kings, existences that could walk sideways in the periphery of Taiyue Mountain.

But at this moment.

Standing outside the Stone Forest, they actually felt a sense that they shouldn't have come.

"Caw, caw~~"

Just then.

A black figure flew out from the depths of the Stone Forest and landed before the four Demon Kings. Black Feather folded its wings, its voice raspy.

"Four great kings, my Old Ancestor invites you."

The four demons exchanged glances, and the Rift-Wind Wolf King nodded slightly.

Black Feather turned, spread its wings, and flew toward the depths of the Stone Forest, with the four demons following behind.

Upon seeing the action of Black Feather, the densely packed crows on the stone pillars spread their wings in unison, rising into the air as a dark mass, circling once in the night sky before dispersing in all directions, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The stone pillars were empty, with moonlight spilling down; only the gray-white pillars stood there, as quiet as if nothing had ever happened.

The four demons followed Black Feather into the Stone Forest.

The stone pillars on the periphery were relatively sparse, making it easy to walk through.

The further in they went, the denser the stone pillars became, jagged and interlocking, with some places only wide enough for one person to pass through sideways.

Although the Rift-Wind Wolf King's figure was burly, he could barely squeeze through.

The Iron-Backed Bear King had it miserable; his massive, three-zhang tall body got stuck in the narrow stone crevices several times, making him curse in anger, but curse as he might, he still had to squeeze through.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before the path ahead suddenly opened up.

It was a small clearing, surrounded by stone pillars, with moonlight spilling down from above, illuminating the clearing in silvery white.

In the center of the clearing, a crow was perched there.

The moment the Rift-Wind Wolf King saw Wu Li, his pupils constricted sharply.

Late Stage Second-Stage, just like him.

Wu Li raised his head, his blood-red pupils sweeping over the four Demon Kings, his gaze as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

"Four of you, thank you for coming, forgive my lack of a proper welcome."

The Rift-Wind Wolf King was the first to recover, cupping his hands and smiling.

"You are too polite. We all make a living in Taiyue Mountain, we are neighbors after all; had we known, we should have come to pay a visit earlier."

His voice was hearty, and he didn't have that many convoluted thoughts.

The Azure-Horned Deer King also nodded slightly, acknowledging the greeting.

The Iron-Backed Bear King smiled honestly and cupped his hands, while the Green-Scaled Python narrowed her slender eyes, not speaking, only nodding.

Wu Li waved his wings, his raspy voice unhurried: "The fact that the four of you could come is giving me Face. I really have nothing here to entertain you with, so please forgive me."

The four demons sat down on the stones at the edge of the clearing.

After some pleasantries, the demons became somewhat acquainted.

For some reason.

Wu Li felt that these four demons were not like the purebred wild demons of the mountains—rough and wild. Even the black bear, who looked unintelligent, spoke with just the right amount of propriety.

And Wu Li himself possessed superior intelligence, so he quickly figured out the habits of the four demons.

The Rift-Wind Wolf King had a straightforward temperament and spoke frankly, but liked to hear praise; the Azure-Horned Deer King did not speak much, but every word carried weight and he had pride in his bones; the Iron-Backed Bear King was honest and thick-headed, speaking without beating around the bush, saying whatever came to mind.

The Green-Scaled Python was relatively quiet, always listless, as if coming here was more of a task.