Ch. 1318 - Virtuous Heaven Demon

“Brother Xu…” Wang Lin hesitated after hearing Xu Zimo’s words, but in the end, he still stepped back.

“So, you’re called Hong Jun?” Xu Zimo asked, looking him over with mild curiosity.

“Who are you?” Hong Jun frowned. “From the Seventy-Two Million Mountains, or one of the Thirty-Six Million Caves?”

He found it strange, faced with such an overwhelming lineup, this young man showed not a hint of fear.

In Hong Jun’s mind, Xu Zimo should have been trembling in panic by now. That made him start to question the young man’s identity. But he knew all the powerful ones within the Ancient Demon Race, so who was this person?

“My identity isn’t important,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “I just want to ask, how do you plan to handle this?”

“How to handle it?” Before Hong Jun could speak, Hong Ze sneered viciously.

“According to the laws of our Ancient Demon Race, harming one’s kin is punishable by death.”

“Shut the fuck up. I wasn’t talking to you,” Xu Zimo said lazily, not even glancing at Hong Ze. His gaze remained fixed on Hong Jun.

For the first time, Hong Jun found himself unsure of what to do.

This young man’s attitude was too strange.

“Do you even know who I am?” Hong Jun asked, his tone lowering.

“No, but I’ve heard your name,” Xu Zimo replied.

“How you’re to be dealt with isn’t for me to say,” Hong Jun said evenly. “The Demon Rites Chamber will handle that.”

As the two spoke, a murmur rippled through the crowd.

“Lord Virtuous Heaven Demon is here.”

The spectators quickly parted to form a path. From the crowd stepped an elderly man.

In truth, Virtuous Heaven Demon was barely over two hundred years old, ancient by mortal standards, but still considered young among cultivators.

Most cultivators maintained their youthful appearance through various means.

But Virtuous Heaven Demon deliberately allowed himself to appear old, because as the master of the Demon Rites Chamber, he needed to project dignity and authority. His aged face was part of that image.

“What’s all this commotion?!” Virtuous Heaven Demon’s voice cracked like thunder, making everyone’s ears ring.

“One by one, instead of cultivating, you’re gathered here to gawk?”

“Brother Virtuous,” Hong Jun stepped forward with a smile and a polite greeting.

“What’s the meaning of this, Lord Hong?” Virtuous Heaven Demon ignored the pleasantries, his sharp eyes sweeping over the thousand or so Sun Mountain Ancient Demons behind Hong Jun. His brows furrowed.

“Brother Virtuous, you misunderstand,” Hong Jun said with an easy smile. “I merely brought my disciples from Sun Mountain out for a walk, and happened to stop by to inquire about a matter.”

“What matter?” Virtuous Heaven Demon asked.

“You see,” Hong Jun said, “my son went into the Ancient Demon Road. It’s not the most perilous place, but just to be safe, I lent him my own Demonic Armament for protection. However, I’ve now heard that someone attacked him in the Ancient Demon Road and stole that armament. Tell me, Brother Virtuous, what do you think should be done about that?”

“Lies!” Wang Lin’s face flushed red with anger.

He immediately shouted, “It was clearly that Hong Ze who tried to kill us with the armament!”

“It’s fine,” Xu Zimo said, patting Wang Lin’s shoulder before stepping forward.

He lifted his right hand, and infernal energy gathered in his palm.

A surge of black flame erupted, the Blackflame Qilin appeared before everyone.

The creature’s immense aura swept outward, sending dark flames rolling across the ground.

The moment it saw Hong Jun and the others, it let out an excited roar, as though it wanted to charge toward them.

But Xu Zimo simply pressed his foot down, pinning it to the ground effortlessly. It couldn’t move an inch.

“Return the Demonic Armament,” Hong Jun said coldly, his face darkening with anger.

“I’ll say this once, listen carefully,” Xu Zimo said evenly.

“Hong Ze was the one who started the fight. He tried to kill us with this armament. But he wasn’t my match, so I took it. Out of mercy, I spared his life.”

As he finished speaking, a faint smile appeared on his lips. Turning to Virtuous Heaven Demon, he asked, “So, how do you plan to handle this?”

“You’re lying!” Hong Ze snapped, though his voice trembled with guilt. “What happened in the Ancient Demon Road can’t be verified, your words mean nothing!”

Xu Zimo didn’t even bother responding. His eyes remained on Virtuous Heaven Demon.

“Let this matter end here,” Virtuous Heaven Demon said after a moment of deep thought. He gave Xu Zimo a long, thoughtful look before continuing.

“Since no one can confirm what occurred in the Ancient Demon Road, and since no lives were lost, both sides should cease their hostilities.”

Hong Jun frowned. From what he knew, Virtuous Heaven Demon was not one to compromise so easily.

The man had always been known for his strict adherence to rules and fairness.

“How can we just let him go?” Hong Ze protested angrily.

But Hong Jun said, “We can end it here, but the Demonic Armament must be returned to me.”

His plan was simple. Withdraw for now, investigate Xu Zimo’s background later.

If this youth turned out to be someone he couldn’t afford to offend, he’d let it go.

But if he was just a nobody, then this insult would be repaid a hundredfold.

“The armament won’t be returned,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head. “I spared his life. Keeping this weapon is only fair.”

“It’s just a Demonic Armament,” Virtuous Heaven Demon said calmly. “With Sun Mountain’s strength, you can easily forge another.”

“Brother Virtuous,” Hong Jun said darkly, “I respect the authority of the Demon Rites Chamber, but if you act unjustly today, and this reaches the leader’s ears, don’t blame me for being discourteous.”

His tone was sharp and his face clouded with fury.

He was not used to being denied. As the lord of Sun Mountain, even the leader himself would normally give him some face.

“I’ve said what I needed to say,” Virtuous Heaven Demon replied, his expression unreadable. “Since you won’t listen, handle it as you see fit.”

“Young man,” Hong Jun’s voice boomed like thunder, “no matter who you are, you will return that armament today!”

He struck out suddenly, his hand reaching toward Xu Zimo to suppress him.

“If you want it so badly,” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile, “then I’ll give it to you.”

With that, he looked down at the Blackflame Qilin and kicked it hard.

The beast shot forward like a blazing missile.

Seeing this, Hong Jun’s expression changed. He extended his hand to catch it, after all, it was his own Demonic Armament, and he didn’t want to harm it.

But the moment he caught it, the sheer force behind the creature’s momentum sent him flying backward.

“Mountain Lord!” the Ancient Demons of Sun Mountain roared in fury.

They were about to rush forward, but Hong Jun quickly stood, raising a hand to stop them.

“You’ve got some strength after all,” he said, his voice calm but hard as steel. Anger simmered beneath the surface.

The infernal energy around him began to surge violently.

Crack, crack, crack!

Explosions of energy echoed from above.

Those who looked up saw the already dark sky growing even blacker as demonic clouds churned and gathered.

“Seems I’ll have to teach you a lesson today,” Hong Jun said coldly.

As a Mountain Lord, striking at a junior could be seen as beneath him, but now, he had every excuse to act.

A sharp, piercing cry echoed through the heavens, the call of a demonic Golden Crow.

Behind Hong Jun, a massive shadow unfolded its wings, the black Sun Crow spreading them wide across the sky.

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