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Dark clouds overwhelmed the arid desert, ushering in a rain that washed away flesh and blood.
The streets were sparsely populated, and hardly anyone was seen outside. Even the black market headquarters, which was open at all times, had its doors and windows sealed.
The casual cultivators who hadn't been able to escape the Jade Pass in time were all cowering in their houses at the moment, sticking to the walls to listen to the movements on the street.
The rumble of spiritual energy and sword flashes that had lasted for ten days seemed to have stopped, but no one dared to stick their head out to check the situation.
"How's it going?"
"I don't know. The beasts outside the city seem to have stopped moving. I sneaked out to take a look earlier, and more than half of the city guards seem to be dead or injured..."
"What should we do? If the beasts break into the city, it will be a massacre, and none of us will be able to escape. Where are the black market people?"
"I don't know... The city was in chaos when the attack started, and many people fled. The boss of Jade Sand Pavilion seems to have a way to escape, but for one hundred thousand spirit stones... we can't afford it."
The cultivators who had taken refuge in the inn were talking to each other, their faces extremely pale and regretting not leaving the city sooner.
When they first heard about the beasts' attack, most of them thought it was just 'big thunder but little rain' and didn't take it seriously at all. By the time they saw things went wrong, the ways out had been cut off.
The beasts laid siege to all four gates of the Jade Pass, in the southeast, west, north, and south. There were also sand dragons and eagles in the sky, and in less than a day, Jade Pass City was surrounded. The City Lord and the guards were already exhausted after trying their best to hold out for the past ten days.
Suddenly, a burst of dense rhythmic war drums coming from the western part of the city broke the silence within Jade Pass City.
Dong-dong-dong-dong!!!
When the cultivators hiding in the houses heard the sound, they furtively opened the windows and peeked outside.
What they saw were rows and rows of demon tigers dressed in black iron armor, walking in neat formation through the western gate of the Jade Pass City. With eyes full of chilling killing intent, they were baring their fangs and growling at the human cultivators on both sides, in grave voices.
Most of the casual cultivators didn't recognize the name of these demonic beasts, but some of the more learned people covered their mouths and held their breaths at the sight of the demon tigers. "Tiger-headed demons?"
"What tiger-headed demons? What level are these demonic beasts? It's not in the records."
"These guys are not beasts but real demons. Among the spirit demons, the higher the cultivation level, the more human-like they look. The demonic beasts that can completely take human form are close to the strength of a Void Returning human cultivator. These individual tiger-headed demons are at least at the cultivation level of an early Nascent Soul."
"Then there are... two, four, six, eight, nearly eighty Nascent Soul cultivators of the Demon Clan?"
"I think it's a miracle that Jade Pass has lasted ten days."
"Wait, so the higher the cultivation level, the more human they look? Then, look at the rear of the formation..."
Dumbfounded, everyone in the room looked in the direction the man pointed.
Behind the more than eighty tiger demons who lined up, two dragons pulled an extremely luxurious sedan chair that was so huge that it almost got stuck outside the city gate.
Seated on the sedan chair was a very handsome man leaning against the armrest, with his cheek propped on his left fist.
Ebony black vertical pupils stared straight ahead, exuding an aura of arrogance and dominance over all things.
The person's name was "Hu Mu", a thousand-year-old fox who was now at the highest cultivation level among the demon beasts, close to humans' Void Returning stage.
Next to this stern man was a small fox demon playing with a rattle, which was in stark contrast to the reserved look the man exuded.
Bo dong bo dong~~~
The two little red beans of the rattle beat rhythmically on the surface of the drum.
Blue veins popped up on Hu Mu's forehead. After enduring it for a long time, he couldn't bear it anymore. He frowned and scolded, "Tianqiao, where did you get this thing?! So noisy!!"
Xue Tianqiao twitched her little fox ears. She was not afraid of Hu Mu's roar which sounded as if he wanted to eat someone, and she calmly explained, "Master, I just picked it up on the way into the city. I haven't seen one before..."
"I'll get you a drum the size of a city gate later. Stop beating this shitty drum!!"
"How can I play a drum as big as a city gate?"
"..."
Hu Mu took a deep breath and huffed, but he didn't say anything else.
He swept a glance at the human cultivators inside the street-side houses and dwellings who were secretly looking at him through the windows, and a trace of disgust flashed across his face, his tongue smacking slightly. "Tsk..."
A Fox Clan member below heard him, jumped onto the sedan chair, and knelt on one knee in front of Hu Mu. "Your Majesty, just give the order, and I will immediately lead our men to purge this place of human cultivators."
"..."
Hu Mu didn't say anything. He just glanced at him, then looked away.
The fox demon was puzzled. After a moment's thought, he asked in a low voice, "Your Majesty? If you want to give the order..."
"Hiss---" Hu Mu took a deep breath and asked through gritted teeth, "Look at my face, do I look like I want you to massacre the city?"
"..."
Xue Tianqiao, who was sitting next to Hu Mu, looked at the stunned fox demon and helped her master convey. "What Master means is don't slaughter the city."
Hu Mu glared at Xue Tianqiao and exclaimed angrily. "Order everyone in the Demon Clan not to harm anyone here unless ordered by me."
"Ah? Your Majesty... why?"
Xue Tianqiao pondered for a moment before explaining, "Master is afraid that Immortal Matriarch Red Moon will pull out his hair."
After hearing this, several more veins popped on Hu Mu's forehead. He glared at his apprentice, looking like he wanted to skin the fox.
"... She's not that capable."
"But that time, when she came to our Demon Clan's territory and pulled the hair off your tail, Master, you just swallowed your anger and didn't dare... Wuu---"
Hu Mu couldn't bear it and raised his hand, grabbing Xue Tianqiao's mouth.
"If you can't keep your mouth shut, believe it or not, I will skin you?!"
Xue Tianqiao blinked and replied inarticulately, "Master... you keep saying you want to skin me every few days."
"..."
The fox demon kneeling in front of Hu Mu listened to the conversation between the two, covered in cold sweat. Since he didn't know what to say, he could only sneak out of the sedan chair.
Then, Hu Mu gritted his teeth. "At that time, I just swallowed my anger because I respect elders and didn't want to bother arguing with her."
"Sure..." Xue Tianqiao nodded, her tail swaying behind her, then took out a small piece of fox felt from her storage bag. "Master, she gave me this when she left. It's made of your tail fur."
"..."
Looking at the lifelike fox felt in Xue Tianqiao's hand, the corners of his eyes twitched slightly, and he didn't want to take up the topic anymore. He sighed slightly, looked around, and asked, "Little Qiao, is there the smell of the Heavenly Dao Scroll in this city?"
Xue Tianqiao twitched her nose slightly when she heard the words, closed her eyes, and sniffed around. "It smells like roasted chicken. Master, I want to eat roasted chicken."
"Hiss-hoo--" Hu Mu took a deep breath, "That means it's gone?"
"Mm-hmm."
"I see. Someone, come!!!"
At his shout, several black figures jumped onto the sedan chair and knelt on one knee in front of him. "Yes! Your Majesty!!"
"Leave some people to station at Jade Pass, and the rest of the Demon Clan will follow me to Heavenly Gate City."
"Understood!!"