Atop Black Mountain.
There stood a willow tree, black from crown to root.
The tree was enormous, blotting out the sky and sun. Countless dense Black Willow Branches hung down, their metallic sheen gleaming in the light as they radiated a dark glow.
Beneath the Black Willow Tree.
Three towering figures sat cross-legged.
One was a tiger demon with a human body and a tiger's head. The muscles on his chest bulged, and his whole body brimmed with explosive strength. He wore a tiger pelt and looked like a man shaped like a tiger.
Unlike other demonic creatures who transformed into human form, he had slowly evolved from a tiger's shape into a human one. His hind legs had become legs resembling those of the Human Race, and his forelegs had become arms resembling human hands. Yet no matter how much he changed, he still looked like a tiger standing upright.
One was a wolf demon with a human body and a wolf's head. He was powerfully built, and every breath he took boomed like thunder. Unlike the tiger demon, he looked like the vast majority of demonic creatures who took human form: his body was entirely human.
He wore animal hide, but the husky-like wolf head growing from his neck made it clear that he was no ordinary human. He was a wolf demon who had cultivated his way to success.
The last figure was a white ape. His fur was a tangled mess, and he had a hairy face and a thunder god's beak. Though he looked the most human, his face was filled with a savage expression.
Most astonishing of all, a vertical eye grew in the middle of his brow. His two eyes were closed, but the eye in his brow remained open. It seemed to possess a mind of its own, rolling its gaze about as if laughing.
These were the famed Black Mountain Three Demons: Tiger Demon Mountain Lord, Wolf Demon Howling Moon, and Ape Demon Three Eyes!
Just then.
A white dove flew past the foot of Black Mountain. A willow branch from the Black Willow Tree suddenly shot through the air, stretching across most of the mountain to pierce the dove and kill it, then carried its body beneath the tree.
A message tube was tied to the dove's leg.
The three demons seated beneath the Black Willow Tree all opened their eyes.
Three Eyes crushed the tube tied to the dove's leg and took out a letter.
"This is a plea for help addressed to Zuo Qianqiu."
"All the demons in Ping'an County have been slain, and even Cao De took his own life out of guilt."
"They're worried we'll attack Ping'an County once we learn what happened in the city, so they've appealed to Zuo Qianqiu for help, hoping he'll send a Spirit Aperture Realm Martial Artist to wipe out Black Mountain!"
Three Eyes glanced at Mountain Lord and Howling Moon, then spoke in a low voice.
"We three brothers have kept to ourselves, staying here on Black Mountain to cultivate in peace. We only let our lads go down the mountain now and then to get a bite to eat. We don't want to kill anyone, yet some clueless clowns want to send people to kill us. They deserve to die!"
"They should think about it. If we wanted to slaughter people, would a nobody like Cao De really have been able to stop us? We could have broken our pact and eaten every last person in Ping'an County, leaving it an empty city."
"We don't stir up trouble, yet someone has killed our lads and wants to ask the Prefecture City for help, to wipe out all the demons of Black Mountain. This is simply intolerable!"
"Big brother, give the order! Let's destroy Ping'an County and use their blood to teach the Human Race a lesson!"
Wolf Demon Howling Moon bared his teeth in anger and looked at Tiger Demon Mountain Lord.
"Lord Willow, what do you think?"
The tiger demon looked at the towering tree beside him and asked.
The three brothers owed everything they had achieved to Lord Willow's guidance.
To them, Lord Willow was their revered teacher, who had passed on knowledge and answered their questions; he was also the master of all Black Mountain, and a respected elder.
"The arrow is on the string; there's no choice but to let it fly!"
"I can stop this dove today, but I can't stop them all every time."
"Since they've already decided to wipe out Black Mountain, why not strike first?"
"After we destroy Ping'an County, we'll leave this place. The world is vast, and we'll roam wherever we please!"
An old face appeared on the trunk of the enormous Black Willow Tree. It spoke in a low voice.
"Then we'll destroy Ping'an County, avenge our lads, and leave Black Mountain!"
Tiger Demon Mountain Lord spoke in a low voice.
His son, Black Tiger, had also died in Ping'an County. He had been his favorite youngest son. Greedy as he was, he often went down the mountain to feast on delicacies. This time, however, he would never return.
They had already intercepted several white doves flying from Ping'an County to Longyuan Prefecture. They knew someone in the city was gathering evidence of Cao De's crimes, hoping to bring him down.
They also knew that trouble might stir in Ping'an County.
But they hadn't expected Cao De to be so useless. In just a few days, everything had completely fallen apart, and he had been killed.
And all their lads hidden in Ping'an County had died as well!
"Ping'an County and the towns under its jurisdiction have tens of thousands of people. If we devour them, it'll greatly benefit our cultivation."
"In my opinion, we should have done this long ago!"
Wolf Demon Howling Moon bared his teeth, revealing a sinister grin.
"My worthless younger brothers also died at the hands of that Human Race Martial Artist named Chen Fan. I'll tear him to pieces and vent the hatred in my heart!"
All three of Three Eyes' eyes opened at once, radiating a fearsome dark glow as he spoke coldly.
That night.
Led by the three demons—Tiger Demon Mountain Lord, Wolf Demon Howling Moon, and Ape Demon Three Eyes—the demons of Black Mountain surged toward Ping'an County in a vast horde.
Every town they passed through saw all its residents turned into their bloody feast. Wherever they went, not a soul survived; not a blade of grass was left standing!
"Why did they come so soon?"
"We killed all the demonic creatures in Ping'an County. Even Cao De, Li Mo, and those other turncoats who colluded with the demonic creatures are dead."
"But why did the demons of Black Mountain arrive at Ping'an County tonight, when we only finished purging the city last night?"
Standing atop the city wall of Ping'an County, Lu Xuenning looked at the more than two hundred demonic creatures charging toward them in the distance. Their howls made her shiver from head to toe.
"The county isn't all that close to Black Mountain. They came from there with so many demonic creatures at the Spirit Concealment Realm First Pass. They couldn't have traveled quickly, so they probably set out a long time ago!"
"Maybe they already knew when we purged Ping'an County and slew the demons yesterday. Demonic creatures have all kinds of methods, and they're impossible to guard against."
Chen Fan spoke meaningfully, then gave Lu Xuenning a deep look. She immediately realized she had said the wrong thing.
With a formidable enemy at their gates, her words implied that someone had colluded with the Black Mountain demons and tipped them off.
At a time like this, they absolutely couldn't say anything that would undermine unity and cause panic.
After all, no one wanted to be stabbed in the back by a comrade while they were focused on slaying demons.
"That's true. The blood relatives of the Black Mountain Three Demons died in Ping'an County. It's possible they used some secret method to sense the deaths of their kin."
"Such methods aren't limited to demonic creatures. Some powerful Human Race Martial Artists can do it too."
Lu Xuenning took the cue and echoed his words.
She had only sent a message asking Longyuan Prefecture for help that morning. Even if the carrier pigeon flew as fast as it could, it probably hadn't reached Longyuan Prefecture yet.
But the Black Mountain Three Demons were already at the city gates.
A person's name cast a shadow like a tree's. The Black Mountain Three Demons had made a fearsome name for themselves across a thousand li, and even now, she couldn't afford to underestimate them.
Little did she know that the demons of Black Mountain had learned what happened in Ping'an County from the letter she had sent to Longyuan Prefecture. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have found out about the county's affairs for another ten days or half a month.
But in that case, Longyuan Prefecture wouldn't have learned about it either. The demons of Black Mountain would still have poured out in force to attack Ping'an County, and they would still have been left waiting for reinforcements.
Truly, whether you stuck your head out or tucked it in, the blade was coming either way!
Before you continue