Gloomlight Province was vast and boundless.
In its southern reaches, the Hundred Thousand Mountains rose and fell in a continuous chain. For thousands of years, miasma and demon qi had intertwined there, making it a forbidden zone for human cultivators and a paradise for the demon race.
Within this sprawling demon domain, factions were complex and intertwined, but four stood truly at the peak.
Ten Thousand Miasma Valley, Poison Flame Mountain, Green Wave Pond, and Mist Forest.
Currently, within Ten Thousand Miasma Valley.
This place was the source of the thickest demon qi in southern Gloomlight Province, shrouded year-round in vibrant, multicolored, and lethal poisonous miasma.
In the center of the marshes, within a black palace constructed from the skeletal remains of giant beasts, four figures were gathered.
On the eastern side of the hall was a patch of dark green scorched earth. A giant eagle, nearly a hundred zhang in size and covered in burning poisonous flames, paced irritably.
"This is infuriating!"
"One Buddhist branch falls, and another crawls up. What is there to discuss?"
"The Thousand Isles County area has always been our pasture. Whether it is Sukhavati or Bone Temple, we should just crush them all. It would be a good way to replenish our blood food!"
The Poison-Wing Eagle King spoke with a violent tone, his voice full of annoyance.
To the west, a giant jiao covered in azure scales lay coiled, revealing only its hideous head.
"Poison-Wing, is there nothing in that head of yours besides slaughter, flesh, and feathers?"
The Azure-Scaled Jiao Lord chuckled low. "Those bald asses of Sukhavati were hypocrites, but they at least understood the rules. They penned up the humans, and we were happy to save ourselves the trouble."
"But as for this Bone Temple, I have only heard of them. They are the most eerie of the three Buddhist branches. Where they come from, what their goal is, and how strong they are—we know none of it."
"If we rashly start a war and draw out a madman more difficult to deal with than Sukhavati, who will clean up the mess?"
To the north, a massive poisonous vine-flower tree was rooted.
"The Jiao Lord is correct."
The Thousand-Tangle Fairy's voice was soft. "I also feel that investigation should come first."
"Thousand Isles County is, after all, the buffer zone between us and the human cultivators."
"If this Bone Temple acts too cruelly and slaughters all the flesh in the pasture overnight, cutting off our supply, wouldn't that be a loss?"
"Hmph, a bunch of cowards!" the Poison-Wing Eagle King said with disdain.
As the three demons argued, on the southern side of the hall, the mud rose high, revealing a mountain-like back covered in sickly green eyeballs of various sizes.
The mere appearance of that back caused the Poison-Wing Eagle King and the Azure-Scaled Jiao Lord to instantly fall silent, lowering their bodies in submission.
"Be quiet."
The Thousand-Eyed Toad Saint spoke slowly.
"Sukhavati and Bone Temple are nothing more than internal Buddhist infighting."
In the marsh, the largest eyeball slowly opened, its pupil scanning the three demons.
"I have no interest in a mere Thousand Isles County."
"But this Bone Temple was able to silently swallow Bodhisattva Jieyin's Hall of a Thousand Dreams. Their strength cannot be underestimated. Do you still remember Ksitigarbha of Great Vows?"
At the mention of the name Ksitigarbha of Great Vows, the expressions of the three demons turned ugly.
It wasn't just demons who coveted human cultivators; high-level human cultivators also coveted the flesh of demons.
However, cultivation was not easy. Whether human or demon, those who could survive eerification valued their lives. Thus, there was a tacit agreement: they would each farm their own meat livestock and not interfere with one another.
But there were always one or two madmen.
People who ignored the costs and consequences.
The three demons all recalled that terrifying experience from the past.
The Toad Saint was very calm. "I need to know their attitude toward the south of Gloomlight Province and our pastures."
The Poison-Wing Eagle King said reluctantly, "Saint, you mean...?"
"Hold a Great Demon Assembly."
"Give them some face and invite the master of Bone Temple to discuss the division of power in southern Gloomlight Province."
"I want to see with my own eyes if this new neighbor is a dragon, a bug, or a new peer that can be used by me."
"If he is sensible, the blood food in Thousand Isles County will temporarily be his. If he is not sensible..."
The hundreds of eyeballs on the Toad Saint's back blinked simultaneously.
"...I do not mind having one more piece of high-level blood food."
The three demons bowed in unison. "We obey the Saint's decree!"
"Baizu," the Toad Saint called.
A dark shadow streaked in from outside the hall. It was a giant centipede ten zhang long, pitch-black, with six wings on its back.
However, its aura was far inferior to the four demons in the hall. It had not yet undergone eerification and was merely a minor demon under the Toad Saint.
"I, Baizu, greet the Saint and the three demon kings!" The large centipede prostrated itself on the ground.
"Take my invitation and go to Thousand Isles County."
The Toad Saint spat out a dark green jade slip that floated toward Baizu.
"Find the master of Bone Temple and deliver this to him. Remember, you are my messenger. Do not tarnish the prestige of Ten Thousand Miasma Valley."
"I obey! I will not fail my mission!"
The Baizu Demon Envoy accepted the jade slip excitedly. This was a cushy job.
It had long heard that outside of the provincial capital, only the flesh and blood of the human commandery seats were the most succulent.
On this mission, it would definitely have a good taste of human 'etiquette'.
...
In Lantao City, order was slowly being rebuilt following that night of eeriness.
However, the city's population had plummeted by ninety percent, making it feel very empty.
Xing Yue was leading the newly reorganized Blackwater Guards on patrol through the streets when suddenly, a wave of demon qi swept in from outside the city.
The Baizu Demon Envoy descended like a shooting star onto the plaza in front of the City Lord's Mansion.
It folded its six wings and raised its head high, the pressure of a fifth-stage demon spreading out.
"What thin blood-flesh aura..." The Baizu Demon Envoy sniffed the air, its face filled with extreme contempt.
"This is a commandery seat? The blood food in the city is so shriveled and weak, it's not even enough for an appetizer."
Its gaze swept over Xing Yue and the several Blackwater Guards rushing out of the City Lord's Mansion, and it let out a disdainful snort.
"The strongest is actually only at the third-stage?"
"It seems the rumors are true. Those bald asses from Sukhavati really picked this place clean."
"Even the medium-grade livestock we keep in Ten Thousand Miasma Valley is stronger than you lot."
The Baizu Demon Envoy felt that Bone Temple was nothing special. A power that could settle for such a garbage territory must be a group of bottom-tier trash.
"What kind of monster are you, to dare barge into Lantao City!" Xing Yue shouted sternly, struggling against the pressure.
"Monster?" The Baizu Demon Envoy felt as if it had heard the funniest joke. "A mere third-stage piece of human livestock dares to question me?"
It laughed coldly. "I am the Baizu Demon Envoy under the Thousand-Eyed Toad Saint of Ten Thousand Miasma Valley. By the Saint's command, I have come to deliver an invitation to the Great Demon Assembly."
"Where is the leader of Bone Temple? Crawl out and see me!"
Xing Yue was nearly sickened by the stench of the demon qi. He gritted his teeth and said, "This place... this place is managed by Master Ku Chan."
"Ku Chan?"
Before the Baizu Demon Envoy could finish its sentence, Ku Chan walked out of the mansion with a broad smile, chanting a Buddhist name from a distance.
"Amitabha. I did not know the envoy of the Toad Saint had graced us with his presence. Please forgive my lack of a proper welcome."
The Baizu Demon Envoy glanced at him and recognized the Buddhist aura on him, but it was mixed with demon qi—the smell of a tiger. Its contempt deepened instantly.
"A traitorous monk from the Aspect of All Beings? Heh, Bone Temple is truly desperate for help."
It couldn't be bothered to waste words and threw the invitation over. "I have come to invite the master of Bone Temple to discuss the division of southern Gloomlight Province."
Ku Chan caught the invitation, finding it incredibly hot to the touch. He quickly said, "The envoy misunderstood. A great misunderstanding."
"This is merely an outer city. Our Bone Temple's holy city is not here."
"Then where is it?"
"In Dead Man's Forest in Qudao County. It is called the City of the Wrongfully Dead," Ku Chan said with a smile, not panicked at all.
He didn't even plan to disturb the Lord by having the Lord descend using him as a vessel.
A mere lackey. If the other party wanted to die so badly, he would just send it on its way.
"City of the Wrongfully Dead?" the Baizu Demon Envoy sneered. "Fine, I shall go there myself."
"I want to see just how abundant the flesh can be in a place that dares to call itself a holy city."
It was already making calculations.
As the messenger of the Toad Saint, it represented the Saint's prestige.
Upon arriving at the holy city of Thousand Isles County, if the other party did not bring out hundreds or thousands of the highest-grade blood food to entertain it, then they were being disrespectful!
If that were the case, it wouldn't mind devouring the city lord on the spot to give Bone Temple a show of force.
Thinking of this, the Baizu Demon Envoy's attitude became even more arrogant. It didn't even bother to look at Ku Chan again.
The giant centipede's body blurred, turning into a streak of black smoke that shot toward Dead Man's Forest.
Outside the City of the Wrongfully Dead in Dead Man's Forest.
The Cloud Sea Resplendence authority cast by Chen Zhou had already completely obscured the heavenly secrets of this place.
The Baizu Demon Envoy dove into the forest, only to feel the scenery before it change. Grey mist surrounded it on all sides.
"Playing these tricks in front of Ten Thousand Miasma Valley? How amateur," the Baizu Demon Envoy sneered.
Having stayed in Ten Thousand Miasma Valley for so long, it was intimately familiar with methods like poisonous miasma and illusion arrays.
"You think a mere obscuring technique can stop me?"
It inhaled sharply, bursting with its demon power, attempting to swallow all the mist into its belly.
However, the mist it inhaled carried a death qi that made its soul tremble.
"Cough, cough... What the hell is this?"
The Baizu Demon Envoy felt its internal organs nearly freezing. To its horror, it discovered its feet were slowly turning to bone!
"How could human livestock be raised in a place like this?!"
The Baizu Demon Envoy was somewhat unsettled, but the mist ahead suddenly and considerately parted to both sides, revealing a small path paved with white bones.
At the end of the path, a towering, majestic city loomed indistinctly.
"Hmph, playing ghosts."
The Baizu Demon Envoy assumed the other party had detected it and voluntarily retracted the illusion array.
It followed the bone path and soon arrived beneath the city gates.
When it saw the full view of the City of the Wrongfully Dead, it gasped sharply.
It saw them.
It saw countless pieces of blood food!
Humans were walking on the streets, working in the fields, and shouting in the marketplaces.
They weren't even kept in cages!
What shocked it even more was the aura of these humans.
Every human here, regardless of age, was bursting with qi and blood, and was in high spirits.
Each one was fair-skinned and rosy, unlike any beings it had ever seen!
Fourth-stage individuals were everywhere, and even those at the fifth-stage were not few in number!
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