Her tone had grown rather discourteous.
As Ruan Xiangling finished speaking, the air around them suddenly turned frigid.
Rage was plainly visible on Yu Duchuan’s face. A savage glint appeared in his eyes, as if he had suffered the greatest of insults. "You, a mere Vice General, dare to question the methods and authority of my family’s elder?!"
Uncle Qiheng had used the Mountain God Mirror to grievously wound Cloud Dragon, forcing him to flee thousands of miles, never again daring to set foot in Great Liang.
This was the Yu Family’s glorious achievement, a tale known throughout all of Yongzhou. How could he allow anyone to desecrate it?
"All of you, get out! If you ever dare set foot in my Yu Family’s borderlands again, don’t blame me for what happens next!"
Yu Duchuan’s voice was hoarse with rage as he furiously flicked his sleeve.
Under the crushing weight of his terrifyingly dense Magical Power, the four Vice Generals, led by the Ruan siblings, felt as if their bodies were filled with lead. They couldn’t even struggle.
The four exchanged a look and, followed by their personal Captains, silently departed the City Lord’s Mansion.
"Once this is over, I will send word to the Demon-slaying Bureau and formally denounce every single one of them!"
His anger still simmering, Yu Duchuan coldly watched them leave.
The remaining five Vice Generals, led by Hong Wei, all chuckled to themselves.
Given the Yu Family’s standing in the Yongzhou Court, their complaint would carry immense weight. Their own General was probably in for another long headache.
"All of you, look sharp. Follow General Hong’s orders in all matters."
Yu Duchuan turned back, frowning as he gave the order.
Aside from him, the other City Lords had each sent one Core Formation Disciple, for a total of seven.
Since they had already lost Feng Yinglong last time, he didn’t plan on sending anyone else this time.
"Please rest assured, Senior."
The group of Core Formation True Masters looked relaxed.
They might have been wary if they were up against those notoriously fearsome Demon Generals.
’Duan Yue... That old bastard showed his face at Yongzhou Pass decades ago.’
’He just scurried around, hiding like a rat. No one’s ever heard of him winning a single noteworthy battle.’
’Taking this fiend’s head would be laughably easy.’
’As for the other Demon General...’
’It’s not like a washed-up character like Duan Yue would know any truly powerful Great Demons.’
’Five Vice Generals, plus the seven of them... that’s a full twelve Core Formation True Masters.’
’A force like that could easily crush any Demon Mountain they pleased.’
「Outside the City Lord’s Mansion.」
Ruan Xiangling swung herself onto her Armored Spirit Horse and sighed. "Tsk, tsk. As expected of an Immortal Clan Descendant. With strength like that, he could completely dominate anyone else in the Core Formation realm."
"If he were willing to lift a finger himself, clearing out that Demon Mountain would be a piece of cake."
"Have you ever seen an Immortal Descendant get their own hands dirty?"
Ruan Changfeng chuckled as he organized his troops. "Unless a Demon is holding a blade to their throats, they’ll retreat to the back of the house even if the front is on fire."
"Can you two knock it off? Haven’t you caused enough trouble for the General already?" the other two Vice Generals grumbled, shooting the siblings an irritated look.
"Right," Ruan Changfeng said, his smile vanishing as he changed the subject. "What about that person I asked you to recruit? How did it go?"
"I saw a carriage waiting at the inn’s entrance. They must be about to depart."
Ruan Xiangling pulled on her reins and looked back at the hundred-odd Captains and the thousand-plus new soldiers and levies already in formation.
She quickly spotted a familiar dark-skinned face and nodded. "Go quickly. Ask if they want to travel with us."
"As you command."
His expression unchanging, Chang Yi turned and ran back toward Shihu City.
’He had already memorized Duan Yue’s location and the number of people the Yu Family and the Demon-slaying Bureau planned to send.’
’It was just a shame he’d been thrown out before he could hear their specific plans.’
「Outside Yongzhou Pass, on Qingming Mountain.」
Following the rugged mountain paths, the Demon Soldiers escorted tens of thousands of refugees and laborers deeper into the mountains.
They carried enough food to last a long while. They would need to hide in the vast wilderness until Demon General Duan Yue recovered from his injuries and departed.
The mountain paths were treacherous, but no one voiced a single complaint.
After all, where these refugees came from, there was no precedent for letting common folk evacuate first while the lordly Cultivators faced the danger.
「Inside a stone grotto at the base of Qingming Right Peak.」
Elder Xu lay in a pool of the bone-chillingly cold Spiritual Spring.
The spring could be used to brew wine or temper Magical Artifacts, but now it served as his healing pool.
The water of the Spiritual Spring lapped against his skin, rapidly mending his wounds, but the Golden Light buried deep within his marrow could not be expunged.
It was a technique unique to the Demon-slaying Bureau.
Perhaps only a Demon Monarch’s intervention could offer any hope of a permanent cure.
"Will we still be able to drink the Spirit Wine after this?"
The Golden Bear stared at the clear spring water with a hint of regret. "We should’ve given Old Xu a bath before tossing him in."
Lying in the pool, Elder Xu listened as Monkey recounted the events of the past few days.
His expression was complex, his heart a roil of emotions.
’The young man, whom he had only met a few times, had actually dared to defy the world and save this group of Little Demons from the clutches of the Demon-slaying Bureau.’
’He was still so young—just a boy, really.’
’He might have a Body Tempering Cultivation on par with the Core Formation realm, but what was that in the face of a behemoth like Yongzhou Pass?’
’My judgment hadn’t been wrong.’
’He’s a truly good person.’
"What’s his name?" Elder Xu asked, struggling to turn his head toward the group of Little Demons.
There was a new face among them, but it didn’t seem out of place in the slightest, because at their core, these people were all the same.
"He’s called Red Face," the bald one said softly.
Lu Yun exhaled, clenching his fists. For once, he didn’t argue, simply nodding at the old man.
"You all should head deeper into the mountains, quickly now," Elder Xu said, forcing a smile to hide the worry in his heart.
At his words, Monkey and the others hesitated.
The Demon Banner was still flying. It would be a sorry sight if there were no Demons to stand beneath it.

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