It shifted its gaze to Gu Ningyun on the fat duck's back. “Human cultivators are the worst bandits. Wherever they go, they don't even leave behind the seeds of spirit plants.”
“If you have come to dig up the Wangshu, we will stop you even if it costs us our lives!”
The demon beasts might usually have constant friction among themselves, but when facing outsiders who threatened to dig up the foundation of their cultivation, they were exceptionally united against a common enemy.
As soon as the tiger demon finished speaking, the surrounding demon beasts roared in unison, looking ready to strike at the slightest provocation.
“With this lord's strength, if I wanted to take the Wangshu, do you really think you could stop me?”
These words were spoken without a shred of politeness. Though the demon beasts felt resentful, none of them dared to make a move.
That was how it was among demon beasts—bloody and cruel, yet simple and direct.
There were no complicated schemes. If they couldn't reach an agreement, they simply fought until one side submitted.
The tiger demon stared coldly at the duck and the girl, remaining silent for a moment.
On the surface, it appeared completely fearless, but in truth, it was already planning its retreat.
Unlike the giant python and the other eight demon beasts, it was not a native of Mount Wuji; it had come from the demon realm.
It was originally a member of the tiger clan in the demon realm, but because of its mediocre talent, it had always served as a foil to its brothers and sisters.
If it couldn't stand out within its own clan, it had even less of a chance in the demon realm, where various powerful races fought incessantly.
Unable to bear the humiliation of being looked down upon by every other demon, it had slipped out, traveled far and wide, and eventually ended up here at Mount Wuji.
Only talented demon beasts could cultivate to rank six, and once they did, they were forced to go to the demon realm.
After years of natural selection, the talent of demon beasts in the mortal world naturally grew lower and lower.
Although it had been at the bottom of its clan, it still belonged to a tiger lineage that was distantly related to the ancient divine beast, the White Tiger. Compared to the native beasts of the Wuji Mountain Range, it was still significantly stronger.
Thus, the tiger demon had established its territory on Mount Wuji, fighting its way up from a low rank to a high rank until it became one of the overlords of the Wuji Mountain Range, even managing to keep other beasts of the same rank under its heel.
When it first arrived at Mount Wuji, its only plan was to hunker down here and eventually become a local overlord.
However, after using the Wangshu to aid its cultivation, its mindset underwent a massive transformation.
The tiger clan was indeed a major power, but there were countless great clans in the demon realm, all fighting day and night for resources.
Even though its brothers and sisters possessed extraordinary talent and received the bulk of the clan's resources, it was impossible for them to have a Wangshu to aid their cultivation.
The Wangshu was the flower of the Moon Goddess; it bloomed only under the moonlight and could neither be transplanted nor cultivated.
Unless they abandoned everything they had in the demon realm and came to live permanently on Mount Wuji.
But how could they bear to do that?
The clan elders still expected them to contribute to their conflicts, so they would never allow it.
Thus, the Wangshu would only ever belong to Mount Wuji.
The tiger demon had fought and struggled for so long, experiencing much along the way, so it understood things very clearly.
With the aid of the Wangshu, its cultivation speed and physical strength were far superior to before, giving it an advantage its brothers in the clan lacked.
Once it broke through to rank six, it would be able to return to the demon realm and wash away its past humiliation.
With such ambitions, it naturally refused to let everything go to waste over a moment of impulse.
The harsh words it had spoken earlier were merely to confirm whether this duck and human truly had no intention of destroying the Wangshu.
Thinking of this, a trace of wariness flashed in the tiger demon's eyes.
Even if they really wanted to dig up the Wangshu, it wouldn't actually dare to attack.
The other demon beasts had never been to the demon realm, so they didn't know any better, but it could sense that something was deeply wrong.
The beast before it looked like a plain, ordinary duck that had somehow managed to cultivate to rank four.
Its aura was completely restrained, showing not a single trace of anything unusual.
Yet, it gave the tiger demon an incredibly eerie, spine-chilling feeling.
This sense of dread was even stronger than what it felt when facing its clan leader, who possessed a rank eight cultivation.
The duck's brief exchange with the giant python only confirmed its suspicions.
What on earth was this? Could this duck be some old monster from the demon realm playing the pig to eat the tiger?
And that human child was no simple character either.
Don't assume it was just an ignorant beast of the deep mountains who couldn't recognize that the child was wearing a Xiaoyao Daoist robe.
Although the Wuji Mountain Range was infested with demon beasts, it was still part of Yunzhou.
The Xiaoyao Immortal Sect was the local tyrant of Yunzhou. Don't be fooled by their apparent indifference toward Mount Wuji.
If they dared to harm one of their disciples, the entire mountain range would likely be leveled to the ground.
When that happened, let alone returning to the demon realm to reclaim its honor, it would be lucky to even keep its old life.
The tiger demon had struggled on the edge of life and death for hundreds of years. It might not have many other virtues, but it certainly knew when to yield.
Having thought through all the implications under the threat of the fat duck's might, it immediately stopped talking nonsense. It was the first to turn tail and bolt back to its lair halfway down the mountain, moving so fast that the surrounding demon beasts couldn't even react.
Perhaps feeling that this was too humiliating and that it would lose its authority among the other beasts.
Upon returning to its cave, the tiger demon let out a distant roar. “You had better keep your word!”
Hearing this, a brown bear spat. “That slippery, cunning tiger. It runs faster than anyone.”
Hmph, don't think this old bear can't tell. That tiger is just terrified of offending the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect.
No matter how unwilling the other great demons were, with the giant python's lesson fresh in their minds, none of them dared to step forward. They had no choice but to retreat one after another.
They acted tough on the surface and felt resentful inside, but in reality, they understood the situation perfectly.
If one were to be precise, Mount Wuji fell under the jurisdiction of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect.
The fact that they could avoid the conflicts of the demon realm and enjoy more peace than the demon beasts of other continents was entirely thanks to the protection of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect.
As long as Yunzhou remained the territory of the Xiaoyao Immortal Sect, both humans and demons within its borders would behave much more peacefully.
To put it in a way they would never admit to human cultivators: even when some demon beasts wanted to go down the mountain to eat humans, they had to be extremely cautious.
Aside from... cough, yielding to survival instincts, this was the ultimate reason why these great demons had left so decisively.
Though they didn't know what this pair had come here for, as long as they didn't harm the Wangshu, they could do whatever they pleased.
Watching them leave, the fat duck added, “My junior sister and I are going to admire the flowers here. You lot are far too ugly, so stay halfway down the mountain and don't come up during this time.
“Otherwise...”
The fat duck didn't finish its sentence, but the giant python that had been thrown from the summit back down to the mountainside spoke volumes.
The demon beasts were utterly speechless.
They had speculated on all kinds of reasons for this duo's arrival at Mount Wuji. Human cultivators were notoriously cunning, and even their children were no exception. They had wondered if there was some grand conspiracy.
But after all that fuss, this was it?
Were these human children just too idle? Why would they leave their perfectly good sect to come to the territory of demon beasts just to admire flowers?
Could they be tricking them?
But no matter how many doubts they had, there was nothing they could do. The demon beasts curled up deep inside their caves, biting their tails and staying put.
This was the first time Gu Ningyun had ever been able to throw her weight around so freely outside, and she was absolutely thrilled.
Clinging to the fat duck's back, she showered it with endless praise.
“Senior Brother Linchuan, you are way too strong! Ever since I've been allowed to leave the sect, I've never been able to act this bold and carefree outside!
“Bai Daying, don't you agree? Wasn't my senior brother incredibly majestic just now?”
Bai Daying raised its dog head. “Awooo~”
Stop swaying around! Lower the food box a bit, I can't reach it!
“Hahaha, this is nothing.
“Little junior sister, as long as you hang out with this lord, you'll have plenty of days like this to run wild in the future!”
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