Chapter 79 A Friend from Afar

The sky was clear, with floating clouds drifting lazily. A rare, brilliant sunlight poured down upon the peaks of Mount Mei, creating mottled patterns of light and shadow that steamed countless damp vapors up from the fallen leaves and creeping vines. The moisture was baked away into a mottled dryness, leaving the vegetation rustling crisply.

Liu Chou was sitting squarely upon a horizontal tree branch. Sweat gathered along the strands of hair on his forehead before dripping downward. His eyes were tightly closed, his legs crossed, and his chest rose and fell faintly. The demonic power within his body was constantly churning, flowing out from the Shanzhong acupoint into countless tributaries that coursed through the hundred meridians of his entire body, before finally converging into the Baihui acupoint and swirling into a condensed state.

He was currently practicing the fourth chapter of the Myriad Demon Scripture.

Consuming the pellet condensed from the demonic power of the Golden Cicada had brought not only an increase in strength, but also a deeper comprehension of the Myriad Demon Scripture. Thus, from the second day onward, Liu Chou had experienced a sense of sudden enlightenment. He had practiced continuously for dozens of days, and now he had reached a critical juncture...

Right beneath that tree, a tiger demon was faithfully and honestly standing guard over Liu Chou. Although he was one of the three drill-captains designated by Bi Tong before his departure, among the division of labor agreed upon by the three of them, he had ultimately been chosen as Liu Chou's personal guard commander—commonly known as a personal guard—due to his inferior strength.

Liu Chou was anxious to break through the Myriad Demon Scripture and had no mind for distractions. In the eyes of the three drill-captains, this naturally went without saying. Seeing that the Great King was busy with cultivation, they quite naturally took the lead, arranging all matters within the mountain properly and proceeding with their respective duties.

The three drill-captains were the ox demon Shi Niu, the bear demon Xiong Shan, and the tiger demon Yin Hu. Shi Niu took charge of patrolling all parts of the mountain and gathering the various minor demons of Mount Mei to swear allegiance. Xiong Shan took charge of commanding the minor demons, forging weapons, and drilling them in martial arts. As for Yin Hu, his duty naturally lay in guarding the Great King and overseeing provisions and miscellaneous affairs.

When Liu Chou took a rest and saw the three demons busy, he said nothing and let them carry out their work as they pleased, concentrating solely on breaking through the fourth chapter of the Myriad Demon Scripture so as to master more demonic arts for self-protection.

While Liu Chou was cultivating, at the former site of the camp where the minor demons had once been imprisoned, groups of minor demons were drilling. Holding a jumble of sabers, staves, subjugation pestles, and other such items, they advanced and retreated under Xiong Shan's guidance, shouting and launching mock strikes with great liveliness.

While guarding the minor demons during their drill, Xiong Shan occasionally glanced secretly toward the mountain. Toward this Great King, he actually felt no sense of certainty in his heart. Although the Great King's strength seemed inferior to that of the former twenty-ninth valley master, he had been able to slay the foreign monk holding a Buddhist treasure, and could exchange blows with the Tu Shan fox demon of the Great Demon rank without losing the upper hand. His true strength far exceeded his appearance. Coupled with the fact that he had remained noncommittal ever since waking up, this made the rather calculating Xiong Shan feel anxious and constantly on edge, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

"I wonder what the new Great King's plans are," Xiong Shan pondered inwardly. "Now the demon race has invaded the territory of Zhou in full force, and the human race's collapse is only a matter of moments. If we go and pledge allegiance now, we might even manage to secure a state, nation, or commandery... If the Great King remains unmoved, should I offer advice, or should I not?"

"If the advice succeeds, the Great King will surely trust me, and I will definitely become his trusted aide, ranking above Shi Niu and Yin Hu. But if the Great King dislikes it, wouldn't I be courting humiliation?"

"Should I let that fool Yin Hu go and try it out? No! With that level of cultivation, the Great King is bound to be clever. If he guesses the advice from that fool's babbling, what words will I have left to say later? Absolutely not, this matter requires more deliberation..."

Just as Xiong Shan was hesitating and feeling conflicted, he suddenly heard a cheer echo from up the slope. Yin Hu's booming voice rang out with eager jubilation as he offered congratulations: "Congratulations, Great King! Felicitations, Great King! The Great King's cultivation has advanced, rising to yet another level!"

Hearing this, Xiong Shan could no longer contain himself. Abandoning the military drills and ignoring the troops, he hurried up the mountain. When he drew near, he saw the new Great King standing beneath the tree, drenched in sweat. Around him, a patch of vegetation had unexpectedly been frozen into ice sculptures, gleaming a stark white, while nearby, a large boulder was charred, scorching hot, and billowing thick smoke—clearly the traces of having been burned by fire.

Summoning ice and breathing fire were precisely the hallmarks of successfully practicing the fourth chapter of the Myriad Demon Scripture. With these two techniques in hand, needless to say, the new Great King's closed-door cultivation had definitely succeeded!

Xiong Shan hurriedly bowed. "Congratulations, Great King! Felicitations, Great King!"

Liu Chou heavily breathed out a few breaths, then sat down. As his breathing gradually steadied, the churning of demonic power caused by the breakthrough slowly subsided. He looked at the two flattering minor demon drill-captains, nodded, and said, "It's just the fourth chapter, what is there to congratulate? Enough, sit down and speak!"

Joy bloomed across the faces of the two minor demons, and they immediately sat down obediently before Liu Chou. Just as Yin Hu opened his mouth to speak, Xiong Shan preempted him and reported, "Reporting to the Great King, currently we have gathered one thousand and nine hundred minor demons back into the mountain, along with over four thousand beasts of burden for driving and servitude. The minor demons have already been organized into fifteen squads according to the rules, and over four hundred others have been left as handymen, currently undergoing training."

Just as Xiong Shan paused, Yin Hu opened his mouth: "My..."

Before he could utter a complete sentence, Xiong Shan immediately continued, preempting him again: "It's just that there is currently a shortage of weapons in the mountain. The weapons from the various mountains and valleys before were heavily damaged and utterly unfit for use. Most of the little ones are equipped with broken sabers and spears. I have already selected the best ones to equip the Great King's personal guards. There are still five hundred remaining, divided into five squads, and I request the Great King to appoint the minor drill-captains."

Liu Chou knew that among demons, a hundred minor demons constituted a wind, and their leader was called a minor drill-captaining officer. Every five to eight winds formed a middle wind, led by a drill-captain, and similarly, every five to ten middle winds formed a great wind, led by a great drill-captain. In other words, a minor drill-captain was equivalent to a centurion of the human race, a drill-captain was akin to a garrison lieutenant, and a great drill-captain was comparable to a divisional general—as for the exact number of great and middle winds, there were no such restrictions as the human race had. They could be however many one pleased, ranging from over ten thousand at most to several thousand at least, all bearing the same title.

Liu Chou shook his head and said, "Since you are drilling the troops, you may appoint these minor drill-captains yourselves..." Saying this, Liu Chou thought for a moment and added, "I remember there were three of you. Where is the other one?"

"He is leading the little ones to patrol the mountain, and incidentally scouring for the personnel of the Seven Mountains and Twenty-Nine Valleys who were previously in hiding," Xiong Shan answered immediately.

Liu Chou nodded. "Very well, wait until he returns. As for these fifteen winds of troops, each of you may choose five squads and appoint the minor drill-captains yourselves; I will not interfere. However, after these fifteen hundred men, the remainder will be kept as reserves, and new drill-captains will be appointed once personnel are selected."

This was considered an official appointment on his part. Neither Xiong Shan nor Yin Hu felt any displeasure at Liu Chou dividing their authority; instead, they responded happily and cheerfully, "Yes!"

Then there was a moment of silence. Xiong Shan had nothing left to report, and being unfamiliar with Liu Chou, he did not dare to chatter idly about other miscellaneous matters for fear of displeasing him. Yin Hu, on the other hand, was waiting to see if Xiong Shan had anything left unsaid, and when he was truly speechless, Yin Hu spoke up: "Reporting to the Great King, currently our cave has stored a multitude of meat jerky, and those people have already cut, cured, and dried it in the sun. It is enough for half a year's consumption. Moreover, some things were searched out from the caves of those foreign monks. We do not know if they are of any use, and await the Great King's disposition."

Things left behind by the foreign monks?

Liu Chou's interest was piqued: "What items?"

"Mostly everyday articles—clothing, shoes, socks, alms bowls, Buddhist scriptures, and the like, which are not very useful. Among the useful ones, many are demonic cores extracted from the bodies of our demon race, and there are also some wealth and utensils..."

"Demonic cores? How many?" Before he could finish speaking, Liu Chou's eyes instantly lit up, interrupting him: "Never mind the rest, tell me only about the demonic cores."

"About three thousand or so..." At this point, a trace of hatred flashed in Yin Hu's eyes: "They were all followers who submitted when our former Great Kings beat the drums and raised banners, and every single one of them was killed!"

Xiong Shan also let out a long sigh, lowering his head in silence. Aside from hatred, a trace of shame lingered in his eyes as well; no doubt there was also an untold story hidden behind the scenes.

A faint sorrow welled up in Liu Chou's heart as well. Though he had been reborn into this world and mingled with the human race, he had gradually developed some unspeakable, complex feelings toward the demon race—he himself did not know whether this was good or bad. Although his strength was steadily growing, Liu Chou's inner self remained conflicted, still uncertain of what he truly desired.

However, these were, after all, three thousand demonic cores...

Would three thousand demonic cores be enough to unlock the next tier of the Demon-Refining Pot?

The sorrow was merely fleeting, quickly washed away by the joy brought by these three thousand demonic cores. Without a doubt, the majority of these were minor demon cores. If fortune favored him, there might even be the demonic core of the twenty-ninth valley master among them. This was a core of the monstrous demon rank, containing an absolute abundance of spiritual essence, which might truly enable him to open up a new realm of power.

"Bring me the demonic cores!" Liu Chou waited a moment before speaking.

"Understood." Yin Hu hastily complied and went to fetch the demonic cores. But after taking only two steps, he turned his head back again and asked with a rather foolish air, "Great King, should those few Buddhist treasures be fetched as well?"

"Buddhist treasures? You mean..."

"It's those foreign monks' golden bell, crescent shuttle, and banner that injured you." Yin Hu was truly a bit foolish; at a time like this, he had no idea at all about covering for his superior, and instead said in a loud voice, "I saw that they injured the Great King quite severely at the time, so they must not be weak. I gathered them up for you as well."

Fortunately, Liu Chou was not an ordinary person and did not place great importance on saving face, so he did not mind. Instead, upon hearing the whereabouts of these items, he was somewhat pleased and said, "Then fetch them all together."

"Understood." This time, Yin Hu finally ran off eagerly.

Only Xiong Shan and Liu Chou remained upon the slope. Liu Chou said nothing further, and Xiong Shan could find nothing to say. The atmosphere became awkward for a moment until Xiong Shan fumbled for a long time, hesitated, and finally spoke up:

"Great King, I heard that the armies of our demon race have already broken in?"

"Hmm? You know about this too?" Liu Chou asked subconsciously, then realized: "Oh, I almost forgot, the uprising on Mount Mei was precisely because of this matter, so you naturally would know—why do you ask this? Could it be that you fear the former Great King deceived you?"

Xiong Shan anxiously waved his hands and said, "How could that be? How could the Great King deceive the little ones? What this little one meant to ask was, what are the Great King's plans for the future? Are we... are we..."

After stumbling over "are we" several times without finishing the rest of his sentence, Liu Chou finally spoke up: "You mean, should we go and pledge allegiance to them, or continue staying on the mountain?"

"Yes, exactly that meaning..." Xiong Shan felt a surge of joy and blurted out the words, but immediately regretted them and added, "These matters are naturally for the Great King to decide. This little one was merely curious, hehe, just curious..."

Xiong Shan raised his head and happened to catch the trace of gloom flashing across Liu Chou's eyes. His heart instantly skipped a beat, and sure enough, he heard Liu Chou say indifferently, "I have not yet considered this matter thoroughly. The reasons behind it are by no means as simple as you imagine. Whether we go down the mountain or stay to guard it, I need to go down the mountain myself to see the situation before making a decision!"

"The Great King is wise! The Great King is wise!" Knowing he had asked at the wrong time, Xiong Shan no longer dared to say much more and could only mindlessly shower Liu Chou with flattery. Unfortunately, his skill at brown-nosing was indeed poor, and no matter how he phrased it, it came down to just those few repetitive phrases with nothing new.

Liu Chou found it rather uninteresting and was just about to tell Xiong Shan to go back down and continue drilling the troops when his expression suddenly changed. He stood up abruptly, gazing toward the distant mountain path with a solemn look entirely filling his face.

An iron-staff weapon had appeared in his hand at some unknown moment. He held it reversed behind his back, assuming a resolute stance for impending combat.

Seeing this, Xiong Shan rushed to the edge of the slope in three strides, whistled sharply, and beckoned with his hand. The minor demons below instantly surged forward in a swarm, gathering behind Liu Chou and Xiong Shan within moments, standing tall in neat formation.

After a long while, until Yin Hu approached from afar with two minor demons carrying several sheepskin bags, a dozen figures finally appeared at the end of the road. The foremost person was naturally Shi Niu, who had gone out to patrol the mountain. He walked at the very front with a bruised and swollen face, his hands bound behind his back with a rope, the other end of which was held in the grip of a human.

Dozens of minor demons followed behind him in a similar state—stripped of their armor, raggedly clothed, all bound up and tethered by ropes.

Before they had even drawn close, Liu Chou already felt a formidable aura surging directly toward his face.