Naturally, no demon was foolish enough to believe that the Demon Core Tasting Assembly was merely about eating and drinking.
These ten seats before them were by no means simple chairs.
They represented ten opportunities to pledge allegiance to the Mountain Lord, and even more so, slots to share in the demon cores!
The demon race had languished for ages, to the point where they could not even condense demon cores.
As enlightened demons watched their lifespans tick away day after day, how could they not panic?
Those who had gathered here had all endured countless hardships and braved numerous perils, seeking only the Dao.
Only after witnessing the Mountain Lord exhale a hurricane and shear the mountain slope into a flat platform did they realize that the demon race had not truly reached a dead end!
If they could earn the Mountain Lord’s favor, there was bound to be hope for their future cultivation and immortality!
Beasts were inherently combative to begin with, and they had long prepared themselves to clash.
Thus, the moment Nan Zhi’s words fell, movements erupted on all sides!
Around a hundred silhouettes leaped down onto the hurricane-flattened platform—wolves, reptiles, tigers, leopards, muntjacs, foxes, badgers, lions, elephants, apes, and mastiffs—each immediately unleashing their unique abilities!
Here, a wild bull reverted to its true form, goring a leopard’s belly with sharp horns, spilling its entrails across the ground!
There, a mastiff gaped its jaws and tore with razor-sharp teeth, ripping away half the hide of a male lion!
A rabbit fought an eagle; a fox clashed with a wolf. A giant python coiled tightly around an elephant’s neck. A wild boar charged with reckless momentum, knocking over a wild dog, only to have its front leg snapped by a burly giant panda!
There was also a stag whose majestic antlers turned to solid gold as they savagely impaled an ape’s chest; a fox spraying hallucinogenic urine to provoke two bears into a frenzy; and a hedgehog shooting out the dense quills bristling on its back one by one...
Countless demons pulled out all the stops, and within the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the area below the platform was thick with the stench of blood.
Seated aloft on the high platform, Nan Zhi wore a cold, detached expression, her heart barely stirring with emotion.
Now that her external incarnation had become a true demon, she seemed to have inherited the white tiger’s demonic mindset as well.
The strong survive, and the weak submit.
Broken limbs, torn bellies, shed blood, and gouged flesh were hardly fatal catastrophes.
In any case, the demon race possessed robust vitality; as long as their lives were spared, recuperating properly would allow them to recover quickly.
Below the platform, a hundred beasts clashed in bloody slaughter.
Aloft on the throne, the white tiger woman sat regally, cold and aloof.
She resembled a sovereign looking down upon her dominion.
...
Soon, the ten seats were claimed one by one. The demons who fought their way to victory were either endowed with specialized skills or possessed exceptional cunning.
There were an enormous cow elephant, a human-speaking giant panda, an old turtle with a heavy shell, a thick-skinned wild boar, a python tens of meters long, a golden falcon with razor-sharp talons and beak, a hedgehog the size of a small car, a yellow-furred ape, a fat fox missing half an ear, and a large golden retriever who had once made a living among humans.
Among them, Hu Ban'er—bolstered by the spirit pill he had consumed—possessed cultivation that far outstripped his peers. Although his true form as a large fox looked chubby, he was exceptionally ferocious in combat and was the first to secure a seat.
Seeing the old fox succeed, the two little foxes standing by Nan Zhi’s feet were thrilled.
Yet they understood that they belonged to the Mountain Lord now.
Thus, they only rejoiced inwardly and obediently remained beside Nan Zhi to serve her.
With the seats claimed, some demons were still blinded by bloodlust, their feral nature running rampant as they prepared to devour their kin.
The white tiger lazily parted her jaws, letting out a low tiger roar:
“Roar—”
The tiger’s roar rumbled deep and low through the mountains.
Though not deafening, it was brimming with warning.
A shock went through the demons as though they had been struck by lightning. A chill crept up their spines from the soles of their feet, making their hair stand on end, instantly snapping them back to their senses.
Without Nan Zhi having to say a word, smaller beasts immediately scampered forward to drag the severely injured demons away and toss them into the mountain spring.
The spring water brimmed with spiritual energy. Before long, the defeated demons ceased their struggling and huddled in the water, quietly licking their wounds while staring resentfully at the ten lucky victors.
They had fought for life and death, and opportunity had dangled right before their eyes, yet they had failed to grasp it.
No demon felt there was anything amiss with the white tiger’s actions.
Though demons were demons, they ultimately originated from beasts.
The strong ruled as kings, while the defeated forfeited their lives.
Survival of the fittest was the fundamental law of nature under the heavens.
Demonic cultivation was an endeavor that pursued the extremes of life and death, comprehending heaven and earth through battle after battle in pursuit of the Great Dao.
Although the smaller demons had not entered the fray, watching had made their blood boil, and they felt surges of heat rising within their bodies, as though they had gained some enlightenment.
Fearing that the Mountain Lord might drive them away, many demons promptly sat down and did their best to absorb the scattered blood qi lingering in the air.
...
“Very well. You have proven to this Lord that you are qualified to share a table with me.”
Nan Zhi, as the white tiger, let out a light chuckle, her eyes brimming with praise.
“I had thought that after the great upheaval of heaven and earth and the vanishing of the cultivation world, our demon race had lost all courage and our fellow Daoists no longer had the heart for combat.
“Seeing you today, it seems there is still some mettle left in you. Since the guests have arrived, let the feast begin.”
She gently clapped her hands. Behind her, the screen suddenly came alive as the roots of the peach blossom tree extended outward and burrowed into the ground with crisp creaks and groans.
In the second or third lunar month, the peach blossoms outside the mountains had not yet bloomed. Yet in the moonlit night, a thick peach blossom tree dozens of zhang tall slowly rose up. Its canopy unfurled gracefully as its branches spread wide, adorned with dazzlingly vibrant peach blossoms.
It was like an intense, carmine-red cloud resting right above the white tiger woman’s head.
The wind carried waves of peach blossom fragrance as the tens-of-zhang-tall tree materialized into reality, scattering petals that danced in the breeze.
The misty moonlight was as cool as water.
Yet the peach blossoms before their eyes were neither illusions nor falsehoods.
The demons were shocked once more.
In the chill of early spring, mountain peach blossoms were far from their blooming season.
This technique alone—turning the ethereal into reality—was enough to leave everyone in awe.
That screen was actually an extraordinary dharma treasure!
The images on the screen could actually turn falsehood into truth?!
With the peach fragrance wafting around and having endured too many shocks, Hu Ban'er numbly closed his mouth.
Foxes were masters of illusion arts and could naturally tell that this was no glamour, but genuine blooming flowers.
Only at this moment did Hu Ban'er truly realize that the present demon race and the Mountain Lord were not even on the same level.
—It was like a martial artist training daily through the bitterest winters and the hottest summers, feeling as fast as lightning and believing themselves invincible under heaven, only to step outside and see the Mountain Lord holding an AK-47.
Beyond seven paces, the gun is fast; within seven paces, the gun is accurate and fast.
If this wasn't a dimensional reduction strike, what was?
The shock did not end there.
“Since the moon is bright tonight, how could we lack music to accompany it?”
As peach blossoms fluttered, Nan Zhi looked up at the red cloud and waved her hand again. Ancient court ladies filed out from the screen, and musicians in wide robes also sprang to life.
Smiling and chatting softly, the court ladies stepped forward gracefully while carrying several Glazed Yazi Palace Lamps. Flowers bloomed beneath their feet as they retrieved countless rare mountain fruits and fine wines from the screen to serve:
Loquats, pomelos, pomegranates, bamboo shoots, Polygonatum, Panax notoginseng, yams, and wild melons, along with hefty chunks of demon beast meat, tender spirit herbs and jade flowers, as well as pills radiating spiritual energy presented upon white jade platters.
Demon blood served as wine, paired with spirit herbs, rare plants, and exotic pills.
The ten victorious demons took their seats somewhat stiffly, unable to stop their eyes from darting all over.
Their breathing grew faint, terrified that the scene before them was merely a dream.
This was practically an earthly paradise.
They had never seen so many wonderful treasures in their entire lives!!
What Mountain Lord? This was clearly their long-lost, closest-of-kin, foster mother!
Rate on N.U.
