"We have been waiting here for several days. We wanted to explain to you, Senior, that the recent events in the dozen or so surrounding counties have nothing to do with us, nor were they Lord Bi Hai’s will."
"I know. Is there anything else?" Lin Shu gave a slight nod. After all, he had just parted ways with Demon Monarch Bi Hai not long ago.
"Nothing else."
The Gray Crow Demon General shook his head, his expression serious as he explained, "We’ve discovered traces of lecturers from Qiankun Academy in the mountains, and we’ve also scented a powerful Immortal Descendant. Lord Bi Hai is away on business, leaving the mountains without a leader."
"I’ve already ordered the entire Demon Crowd to go into hiding. I hope you, Senior, will also retreat quickly. Do not alert that Immortal Descendant."
At this, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Compared to the Immortal Families of Anren Prefecture, the Demon Mountain’s foundation was still too weak.
The Mountain Master and Vice Mountain Master of the Martial Arts Academy, the Demon-slaying General of the Demon-slaying Bureau and his two Personal Vice Generals, the Chen Family with its Scattered Immortal, and his two Mountain Master Disciples.
If any one of them took action, it would spell a cataclysmic disaster for the Group of Demons.
Fortunately, the two Demon Monarchs were profoundly powerful and could contend with these experts. But the disparity in numbers was too great; it was already a struggle to maintain the current stalemate.
And that was only because the immortals were cautious by nature, unwilling to venture into danger without good reason.
Now that a Cyan Simurgh of the Yu Family had entered the mountains, the Demon Crowd had long been on edge, secretly wondering if Anren Prefecture had finally decided to eradicate them completely.
’This is so sloppy.’
The moment Lin Shu heard the name Qiankun Academy, the image of Yu Mingxuan surfaced in his mind.
He shook his head gently.
’A dignified Golden Core Immortal, and yet the Demon Generals have already figured out everything about him.’
’This goes beyond simple inexperience.’
’It can only mean this Vice Mountain Master has never set foot in a Demon Mountain before.’
"Did you find any ambushes?"
"Those lecturers set up a large array in the area using Spirit Stones. We don’t know anything beyond that."
"Can it be broken?"
"Yes, but... are you planning to...?"
The Gray Crow Demon General realized something was amiss and quickly looked up.
He saw the young man turn around leisurely and speak, his words concise.
"Kill him."
As if those two words alone could decide the life and death of a Golden Core Immortal Descendant.
The Group of Demons exchanged glances, each seeing the shock in the others’ eyes.
They had waited here for so long, not to request reinforcements, but to persuade this senior to retreat and avoid any misunderstanding.
The figure in the Flowing Cloud Sword Robe had already vanished.
The Gray Crow Demon General looked helpless. He waved his hand and said, "Let’s go! What are you all standing around for? Even if he isn’t a Demon Monarch, he really did save Seven Stars Mountain, and Lord Bi Hai’s gratitude toward him is real, too..."
...
On an unnamed, isolated peak.
Yu Mingxuan remained seated cross-legged. One by one, disciples transformed into streaks of light and flew closer, taking their seats behind him.
The great array was complete. It was less a tool to deal with Lin Shu and more a precaution, in case they ran into some ferocious Great Demon.
"Master, the Vermilion Brush is spent. We’ve left the clues for him. If he uses the Demon-slaying Bureau’s methods to observe, it should reveal the auras of more than ten Core Formation Perfection Demon Generals."
"Isn’t that a bit excessive? We’re not going to scare him off, are we?"
"I doubt it. He can mobilize eight Vice Generals himself. Plus, with his status as a Mountain Master Disciple, he can’t be that timid."
The disciples conversed in low voices, their faces tinged with excitement.
They were all lecturers at the Martial Arts Academy, stuck there year-round dealing with students. They rarely had a chance to venture out, and life was incredibly dull.
This experience of entering the mountains to pose as Demons was a novel one for them.
"I’m really curious to see the look on that treacherous bastard’s face when he sees us."
"He dared to destroy our Qingfeng Pavilion and dishonor our master’s name! Death by a thousand cuts would be too good for him!"
The lecturers’ faces were filled with resentment. They had been subjected to countless strange looks at the academy recently and felt deeply wronged.
The root of it all was that bastard Lin’s aggressiveness. He refused to visit them in private, instead choosing to parade the heads of several of their senior brothers around and blow the whole affair up in public.
"He slandered us, accusing us of colluding with Demons? Fine, then we’ll actually play the part of Demons for him and give him a real show!"
Just as the group was venting their frustrations, someone slowly raised their head and murmured:
"What is that?"
...
Yu Mingxuan’s eyes snapped open. Behind him, the faces of the dozen or so disciples all changed at once.
The once-clear sky, bright as a mirror, was darkening at a visible rate. The blazing sun was blotted out by thick, red clouds, and a savage gale pressed down on them with tangible force.
The isolated peak trembled, and massive trees toppled in an instant.
Worse, as the crimson clouds swept in, the great array they had laid—the carefully placed Spirit Stones—began to detonate with a series of roars before they could even be activated!
Amid the continuous, muffled booms of the explosions, the faces of the lecturers quickly turned pale.
The position of lecturer at the Martial Arts Academy didn’t come with many perks, but it had the advantage of being relaxed and leisurely.
They rarely left the city. How could they have ever witnessed such a scene? Their voices began to tremble. "This is bad! We’re being targeted by a Group of Demons!"
"What’s there to be afraid of..."
Someone’s throat tightened as he forced himself to sound calm. "Isn’t this just the demonic cloud that attacked Wuyang County? Even someone as insignificant as Lin Shu could scare it away, let alone our Master."
However, as if to make a fool of him...
...even as immense Magical Power swirled up from Yu Mingxuan’s body, the scarlet demonic cloud showed no sign of dispersing.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Streaks of light rained down from the sky like falling stars, landing among the surrounding peaks.
Their expressions were chilling as they silently surrounded the isolated peak.
Dozens of pairs of eyes gazed down at them, and the disciples’ hearts began to race. They scrambled to their feet in a panic, all their earlier composure gone.
A Group of Demons of this magnitude, coupled with their complete lack of fear toward the Master, could only mean one thing.
A Demon Monarch was here in person!
...
Yu Mingxuan remained seated, lifting his eyelids just a fraction.
His steady posture finally gave the disciples a sliver of confidence.
’Master is the incarnation of a Mountain God, a Wind-Riding Cyan Simurgh! Why would he fear this pack of Demons!’
"I have already begun my journey home, intending to return to my clan to recuperate," the Vice Mountain Master announced calmly. "The demon scourge in Anren Prefecture has nothing to do with me. I am only lingering here for a few days to handle some family matters. If you all retreat now, I can overlook the matter of you destroying my array."
No matter how calm his posture, it couldn’t conceal the evasiveness in his words—he did not want a conflict with a Demon Monarch.
"That’s right! We’re just handling family matters! Things that are actually beneficial to you..."
Since their Master was showing restraint, the disciples naturally grew even more timid, and one even began shouting explanations to the surrounding Group of Demons.
However, his voice died in his throat.
A gentle breeze swept across the ridge.
A figure in a Flowing Cloud Sword Robe, its hems fluttering, materialized on the summit of the isolated peak.
Flanked by the Demon Crowd on the surrounding mountains, the young man stood there, perfectly at ease.
He looked down from his high perch at the crowd below, his voice clear and tinged with amusement. "What family matters? Let me hear about them, too."
At last, the Demon Monarch revealed himself.
He was not Demon Monarch Bi Hai, as they had imagined, nor was he the Night Ghost Demon Monarch from the other side of Anren Prefecture.
But this familiar face delivered a shock far greater than either of those two could have.
"Lin Shu..."
The lecturers’ faces grew numb, their expressions turning dazed.
The last time they saw him, he had been at the foot of the hill below Qingfeng Pavilion, looking utterly disheartened as he turned and walked away, all alone.
And now, here was that same handsome face, but this time he was flanked by dozens of Demon Generals, reigning supreme over the mountains!
Everyone finally understood why Lu Chengyu and his group had been wiped out.
Taking a Demon Monarch into the mountains to slay demons... with a plan that absurd, it would have been a miracle if any of them had survived!
"Lin Shu!!"
The shriek seemed sharp enough to pierce a bystander’s eardrums.
Yu Mingxuan was already on his feet, his face flushed a deep crimson, as if about to drip blood. The rage in his chest erupted into a monstrous wave of Magical Power that surged wildly through the mountains.
Hatred flooded his eyes, causing them to become densely webbed with bloodshot veins.
The slander he had endured for days... at this moment, it all made sense.
"Die for me!!"

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