"You definitely wouldn’t want to get involved."
The Golden Bear Demon General gathered his thoughts and staggered up from the small mountain of wine jars he was buried in.
He patted his damp sleeves and looked at the beautiful woman. "Is Old Xu planning to give you a hand?"
"Yes."
The Qingming Demon General nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "He hasn’t raised a banner, so he doesn’t need to participate in this matter. I discussed it with him—if the situation descends into chaos, he’ll help me look after the people and Demon Soldiers on the mountain."
"If I die in battle at Yongzhou Pass, he will move them to a safer place on my behalf."
"But if things go smoothly, I’ll need to ask for a reward from the Cloud Dragon Demon Monarch on behalf of that group of his..."
The beautiful woman paused, her expression one of resignation. "No, that’s not right. They belong to the Moon-Devouring Demon General now. In any case, I’ll help those little ones get enough resources to last them until their Core Formation."
Upon hearing this, the Golden Bear Demon General chuckled. "He’s always saying he’ll earn one last fortune and then retire. Turns out he was earning it for Little Demons? That old coot."
The two of them slowly walked out of the wine cellar.
Streams of light streaked toward Qingming Mountain one after another, led by Demon Soldiers toward the Left Peak.
"I, General Lei Yin, have come to congratulate the Moon-Devouring Demon General on raising his banner!"
"Chen Xi, here to offer congratulations."
"Bai He is here!"
Compared to the desolation of a few days prior, now, in just a single afternoon, more than ten Demon Generals had arrived. It was safe to say that everyone who could make it was here.
Perhaps out of a sense of guilt, these Demon Generals all came bearing generous gifts.
Among the gifts were the corpses of three young Immortal Descendants.
Elixirs were the most numerous, and there were even a few Magical Artifacts.
They had previously avoided him because they did not trust this Moon-Devouring Demon General.
But after Xu Zhonglin’s death, all their worries were dispelled.
Lin Shu had taken the primary credit for fighting the Demon-slaying Bureau, naturally earning the respect of the assembled Demon Generals.
However, they did not get to see the Moon-Devouring Demon General himself.
At the foot of the desolate Left Peak.
Monkey was diligently polishing a brand-new Demon Banner.
The scrawny young man had none of his usual rambunctiousness.
Even when faced with the congratulations from the various Demon Generals, he no longer whooped with excitement as he once had.
"My lord, the Demon General, is away on business and is not on the mountain at present. Please forgive us."
Xie Yutang cupped her fists in salute to the crowd of Demons, her demeanor neither servile nor arrogant. "Thank you for your kind intentions, my lords, but these things..."
"Hah, we understand."
The Bai He Demon General nodded. The other party had just caused a major incident; of course he had to lie low for a while.
He waved his sleeve, tossed over the Immortal Descendant’s corpse, and said, slightly abashed, "Why be so polite? Just consider this an apology for last time. When your Demon General returns, just convey our message for us."
With that, before the group of Little Demons could refuse, he had already streaked away.
"Please convey our apologies to the Moon-Devouring Demon General as well."
The other Demon Generals followed suit, casting their gifts forward before transforming into streaks of light and vanishing on the spot.
"Go ahead and take them. They are tokens of their sincerity."
The Qingming Demon General strolled over, came to a halt, and glanced at the Golden Bear Demon General.
"I spent what little money I earned on Spirit Wine. Even my Magical Artifacts are pawned off somewhere; I haven’t even gone to get them back yet."
The Golden Bear Demon General gave two dry coughs. "I’m truly strapped for cash, truly... I’ll owe you one."
As he spoke, he opened the Storage Bag at his waist and shook it twice in front of everyone.
It was, indeed, completely empty.
"Hee hee."
Seeing his antics, the Little Demons couldn’t help but giggle.
Xie Yutang pressed her lips together and could only resignedly gather the Treasures from the ground into her Storage Bag.
She raised her head and bid farewell to the two Demon Generals. "By order of my Demon General, we have other business to attend to, so we will not trouble you further on Qingming Mountain. Thank you for your recent hospitality. Farewell."
’According to Lord Lin’s instructions, even though we haven’t exposed our auras, it’s still best to leave Qingming Mountain.’
’For one, we’ll be a smaller target. For another, we won’t implicate the Qingming Demon General.’
"Hm?"
The beautiful woman was about to try and persuade them to stay when she suddenly raised her head.
Another streak of light was drawing near, but it wasn’t coming from deep within the Demon Mountain. Instead, it was approaching Qingming Mountain from the other side.
BOOM!
In an instant, a heavy object crashed into the ground with a muffled explosion of sound.
Amidst the swirling dust, cracks even split the mountainside.
A figure staggered to its feet, face ashen and body drenched in blood. Its dazed expression was laced with a savage intensity.
The old man swallowed the coppery tang in his mouth and grabbed the Monkey, who was closest to him. His voice was faint and hoarse. "Go... I’ll take you to Yongzhou..."
"Grandpa Xu!"
When he got a clear look at the newcomer, Monkey’s eyes suddenly turned red. "Who hurt you?!" he cried out.
The faces of the other Little Demons also paled, leaving them stunned and helpless.
"Go, now!" Elder Xu suddenly snarled.
However, the beautiful woman stepped forward to block his path.
"How are you going to get them back to Yongzhou in this state?" The Qingming Demon General clenched her fist, a flicker of anger in her eyes. "Still being so stubborn at a time like this! What in the world happened? You have to tell us!"
THUD.
Elder Xu tried to take another step but abruptly collapsed to his knees.
’He’s injured that badly?’
Shock filled the Golden Bear Demon General’s eyes as he noticed that the other’s knees had already been shattered by a heavy blow.
Golden Light seeped from the cracks, suppressing Old Xu’s Demon Power.
"Hah!" The old man gasped for breath. He struggled for a long time but couldn’t get up. At last, he said, "Fine. They’ll stay here for now. Just get me out of Qingming Mountain first. The Demon-slaying Bureau took my Life Blood and Demon Qi. I can’t delay any longer."
"Here. Good thing I didn’t lose it."
As he spoke, the old man gave a bitter smile and pulled an object from an inner pocket, handing it to Xie Yutang.
It was a blood-stained Storage Bag, filled with the resources he had acquired from the Great Shun Dynasty.
"Please, I must trouble you to get these children out of Yongzhou Pass. Let them scatter and flee for their lives. If I survive this, I swear I will risk my own life to repay you."

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