Outside the Demon Emperor Palace, Lu Ya had just shaken off his catgirl form and returned to his dashing young-man appearance. He was rushing back in a panic.
"I sensed the baleful aura of those Twelve Ancestral Witches earlier. I hope Father Emperor and Second Uncle haven't taken a beating!"
Anxious, Lu Ya transformed into a streak of golden light and shot thousands of miles in an instant.
But before he could even reach Lingxiao Treasure Hall, a strange, sultry sound reached his ears on the wind.
"Keep going! Put your backs into it! What, didn't you eat today?!"
"Come on, hit me, you idiots!"
Lu Ya stiffened midair, nearly tumbling out of the sky.
That voice... Why did it sound so much like Father Emperor?
But how could the dignified, domineering ruler of ten thousand demons ever make a sound like that?
Uneasy, Lu Ya peeked inside.
There, in front of Lingxiao Treasure Hall, Di Jun stood with his arms spread wide, dressed in Golden Armor.
His face was full of bliss. He was a pervert among perverts.
Boom!
Lu Ya felt his entire worldview explode into pieces.
"F-Father Emperor?"
"My Father Emperor, who's always been so imposing and taught me to uphold the dignity of an emperor..."
"Was actually this kind of... this kind of filthy pervert in private?!"
"Is this what the adult world is like? How terrifying!"
<The Father Emperor who usually ruled the heavens from on high was actually into this sort of thing in private?!>
At that moment, Di Jun was completely immersed in the thrill of absolute defense.
From the corner of his eye, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure. Their gazes met.
Di Jun saw the deep shock and disappointment in Lu Ya's eyes, along with the despairing look that said, "I'm not clean anymore."
"Uh..."
Di Jun's throat felt as if it had closed up.
He swallowed the words "Harder! That still isn't enough!" before they could escape his lips.
That brief pause was all it took.
The pink glow on his armor vanished, and its defense mechanism failed!
Boom! Boom!
Zhu Rong's Divine Fire Fist and Gong Gong's Kwai Water Palm slammed squarely into Di Jun's chest.
"Pfft!"
Di Jun cried out and flew backward like a broken kite, crashing hard into the ruins.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Di Jun staggered to his feet, covered in dust. Ignoring his injuries, he pointed at Zhu Rong and Gong Gong and cursed them out.
"Bastards!!"
"Didn't you see that I hadn't called out the slogan? The magic treasure stopped working, and you still kept hitting me?!"
"Have you no sense of honor?!"
Zhu Rong and Gong Gong exchanged a glance, then sheepishly scratched their heads and grinned.
"Hehe, sorry about that, Di Jun."
"We're used to it. Mostly, we just can't help swinging when we see your face."
"And you looked so punchable just now, we couldn't stop ourselves in time. Try to understand, try to understand."
Di Jun was furious, but he couldn't be bothered to argue with the two brutes. He darted over to Lu Ya, grabbed his shoulders, and hurriedly explained.
"Son, listen to your father!"
"This isn't my true nature! It's another magic treasure, one Zhao Gongming made!"
"Your father was forced into it! Your father's heart is full of bitterness!"
After hearing the explanation, Lu Ya looked at Zhao Gongming, who stood nearby with an innocent expression, and finally believed him—more or less.
Then he widened his eyes in amazement.
"Another magic treasure?"
"Senior Brother Zhao's talent in the Dao of Artifacts... is actually this terrifying?"
"He can even use a magic treasure to make rules like that?!"
As everyone praised him, Zhao Gongming straightened his sleeves, clasped his hands behind his back, and said with unruffled calm, "Nothing special. Third in the Primordial Era."
"Nothing to it. I've just had a lot of practice."
Xuandu couldn't hold back and muttered under his breath, "Junior Brother... you really love showing off."
"But I have to admit... you do it pretty smoothly."
Just then, Di Jiang, who had been quiet until now, suddenly hoisted up the broken stretcher.
He strode toward Eastern Emperor Taiyi, who was getting ready to leave.
"Mangy bird, don't go!"
Di Jiang roared.
Eastern Emperor Taiyi furrowed his brow.
"Di Jiang, what are you doing? Haven't you had enough fighting?"
Without another word, Di Jiang threw the stretcher to the ground and flopped onto it with a thud.
Then the foremost of the Ancestral Witches began rolling around on the stretcher like a street shrew, kicking wildly and abandoning all dignity as he wailed at the top of his lungs.
"Assault! Help, I'm being assaulted!!!"
"Eastern Emperor Taiyi is beating me up!!!"
"Ow, my back! Ow, my leg! He's trying to kill me!!"
"You're not leaving without paying! I'm not getting up unless you hand over an Innate Spirit Treasure!!"
Silence fell once more. Everyone stared in utter disbelief.
Only Pharmacist Daoist of the Western Teachings was trembling with excitement, his eyes shining as he cried out.
"Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"
"This magic treasure was practically made for my master!"
"This kind of shakedown—no, this art of demanding compensation—is the very essence of the Western Teachings!"
Zhao Gongming gave Pharmacist Daoist a speechless look and thought to himself, Well, look at that. You really do know that your two Saints have no shame. Is this an official confirmation?
Eastern Emperor Taiyi stared at Di Jiang, who was rolling around on the ground. A vein bulged on his forehead, and his face darkened.
"Psycho!"
"I don't have time to humor your madness!"
Tai Yi snorted and turned to leave in a streak of light.
But the moment he took a step—
Boom!
Without warning, a bolt of Purple Firmament Divine Thunder appeared out of nowhere and struck Eastern Emperor Taiyi squarely on the head.
"Gah!"
Tai Yi staggered from the blow, his hair standing on end as he stared at the sky in bewilderment.
"What the hell?!"
"Is this the Heavenly Dao punishing me?!"
"You really won't let me leave without compensation, huh?!"
Tai Yi stared at the broken stretcher in shock. Only then did he grasp how shameless this Conceptual Level Magic Treasure was.
It was forced bargaining on the level of causality!
He looked at Di Jiang, still rolling around on the ground and peeking at him through his fingers, and gritted his teeth in fury.
"Fine, you win!"
"What do you want?!"
Di Jiang immediately stopped rolling, sat up, and pointed at the Chaos Bell above Tai Yi's head.
"I want the Chaos Bell!"
"Forget it!"
Tai Yi shook the Chaos Bell, his killing intent flaring.
"How about I give you a slap instead?!"
Di Jiang shrank back. He knew that was asking too much, so he rolled his eyes.
"Then... give me that piece of the Fusang branch you just put away!"
It was a leftover scrap from Di Jun's artifact crafting, but it still held the essence of True Sun Fire.
"Take it, and get lost!"
Tai Yi tossed him the branch as casually as if he were shooing away a beggar.
Di Jiang accepted it with a delighted grin, immediately put the stretcher away, dusted off his backside, and stood up with a righteous expression.
"Since His Majesty the Eastern Emperor has been so generous, we'll let this matter go."
Watching this, Di Jun and Di Jiang locked eyes again.
Both of them keenly recognized the immense strategic potential hidden in Zhao Gongming's magic treasure.
Di Jiang opened his mouth to speak.
"Young Friend Zhao, why don't you come visit the Witch Race..."
"Lu Ya!"
Di Jun suddenly shouted, cutting Di Jiang off before he could finish.
"Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, don't just stand around!"
"Take the disciples of the Saints on a tour of the Demon Court. Show them a good time and play the gracious host!"
"Especially Young Friend Zhao. Make sure he's well looked after. Even if you have to pluck the stars from the sky, make him happy!"
Lu Ya caught on at once and immediately pulled Zhao Gongming and the others along.
"Senior Brother, come on! I'll take you somewhere nice!"
Zhao Gongming was happy to go along. The Demon Court was so magnificent, and he hadn't had a chance to properly look around yet.
"Then we'll trouble you, Junior Brother."
Watching Zhao Gongming and the others leave, Di Jiang's face darkened.
He turned to Di Jun and asked irritably, "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Di Jun straightened his disheveled armor and lifted his chin haughtily.
"So what if I did?"
"This is my Demon Court. I'll keep whoever I want!"
Di Jiang laughed in fury and pointed at Di Jun's nose.
"Di Jun, let me tell you!"
"You're nothing but a mangy bird who relies on schemes and tricks!"
Di Jun fired right back.
"Di Jiang, let me tell you!"
"You're a stinking brute with nothing but muscles where your brains should be. Don't push your luck!"
The two squared off like fighting roosters, spittle flying.
A short distance away, Zhu Rong, Gong Gong, Eastern Emperor Taiyi, and Kunpeng had gathered together.
They were in perfect agreement—and someone had even pulled out a handful of melon seeds.
"Look at that. They're at it again."
"They're like a couple of children squabbling. They've been like this since they first met in the Zixiao Palace. They haven't gotten tired of it in millions of years."
Kunpeng sighed and summed it up with a look of deep feeling.
"Love and hate, all tangled up..."
"What a pair of star-crossed lovers."
Deep in the Demon Court stood an exceptionally luxurious hall, decorated in a rather suggestive style.
Lu Ya led Zhao Gongming, Xuandu, Cihang, and Pharmacist Daoist inside.
"Senior Brothers, please sit!"
Lu Ya invited them to take their seats. The chairs were made of ten-thousand-year warm jade, and the table was laden with fine wine and Innate Spirit Fruits.
"Junior Brother, what is this place?"
Zhao Gongming looked around curiously.
Lu Ya gave him a mysterious smile but said nothing. Instead, he gently clapped his hands.
Clap! Clap!
As the sound rang out—
A fragrant breeze suddenly swept out from the back of the hall.
Right behind them, two rows of beautiful demon maidens in sheer gauze robes and with graceful figures came forward at an unhurried pace.
Some were foxes, others cats or peacocks.
Each one was alluring and charming. They lined up, bowed gracefully to the group, and called out together in sweet, lilting voices:
"Welcome to the Demon Court, disciples of the Sages~~"
"This is the Demon Court's top-tier service~~"
Zhao Gongming had just taken a sip of jade nectar when he spat it right out.
His eyes widened as he stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar scene before him, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.
"Holy shit?!"
"Those familiar positions... that familiar welcome..."
"Your Demon Court... actually has a brothel?!"
Before you continue