Luoping City.
This was the umpteenth city that Mo Fan and his two companions had passed through on their journey.
In the previous cities, he thought he had already grown accustomed to the so-called “hell on earth”. He had seen enough of those twisted, evil demon cultivators who treated human commoners like livestock, keeping them in pens or even violating them.
Yet the moment he arrived at Luoping City, Mo Fan’s horizons were broadened once again.
At the huge city gate hung countless dried-up corpses. From time to time, a few crows could be seen perched on the bodies, pecking at the shrivelled flesh.
Beneath several of the corpses lay pools of black blood that had long since dried. No one knew how long they had been there.
Mo Fan frowned slightly. He hovered in mid-air, shifting his gaze towards the interior of the city, only to discover that almost no spot inside the vast city was clean. Everything was covered in black bloodstains, and here and there lay scattered human skeletons.
Almost the entire city reeked with a putrid stench, the smell of rotting flesh and blood. Even Mo Fan, upon catching a whiff, could not help feeling a touch of nausea.
“Great King, this city is almost completely shrouded in the aura of death. I fear every living creature inside has already been devoured clean!”
Xiao Huang frowned and could not refrain from speaking.
Mo Fan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking towards the tall building in the city centre, then said calmly, “No, a few living beings still remain. They simply will not last much longer.”
“Shall we save them?” Xiao Huang could not help asking.
“We are demons.”
Mo Fan smiled, then withdrew his gaze. Just now he had swept the tall building with his divine sense and discovered that a considerable number of human commoners were imprisoned inside, along with a smaller number of demons.
In total there were several dozen demons. The leader was a Demon King, currently sleeping soundly in the hall at the very top of the building. On the liquor table in front of him lay a bloody, pale human thigh, while around him were piled heaps of human bones.
The rest of the demons were more or less the same. Each had numerous human bones beside them. From the chaotic bite marks on those bones and the shreds of flesh still clinging to them, it was easy to tell this was a group that habitually ate raw meat.
Calling them evil demons would not be an overstatement.
Even so, Mo Fan had no intention of interfering. As he had said, he was a demon.
These commoners were neither kin nor friends to him. Naturally he had no reason to offend a Demon King for their sake.
Mo Fan’s indifferent words caused Xiao Huang to fall silent, though in the end he still nodded.
“Let’s go. I need to leave the Southern Border region as quickly as possible. I have no time to linger here.”
Mo Fan spoke, then added, “Xiao Huang, remember this. The world is full of countless tragedies. Having compassion and pity is all well and good, but saving people is the work of saints.
We demons are already considered good demons if we simply refrain from harming others. There is no need to put ourselves in danger for the sake of unrelated people.
Of course, the main reason is that our strength is still insufficient.
If we were strong enough, strong enough that every living creature in the world had to bow before us, then none of these problems would exist.
So instead of tormenting ourselves with inner conflict and pain, we would do better to focus first on making ourselves stronger!”
With that, Mo Fan took Xiao Huang and flew over the city.
Yet just as the two demons passed above the central district, a vast divine sense suddenly swept upwards from below.
“Fellow cultivator, we have no wish to be your enemy. Please do not press us so aggressively!”
Mo Fan frowned. He immediately released his own divine sense, blocking the other’s probe and preventing it from continuing to scan them.
“A Demon King?”
A surprised voice rang out from the tall building below. Immediately afterwards, thick demonic qi poured from the structure. Soon a burly figure appeared in front of Mo Fan and Xiao Huang.
This demon was extremely large and covered in long black fur. His bare upper body clearly revealed bulging abdominal muscles. His head, however, was a ferocious wolf head.
“You two look rather unfamiliar.”
“You don’t seem to be demons from around here. May I ask which demon peak of our Moon-Gazing Valley demon domain you hail from?”
The Black Wolf Demon King narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the pair as he spoke in human tongue.
“Fellow cultivator, we are merely passing through and bear no ill intent. Please do not block our way!”
Mo Fan smiled and cupped his hands towards the Black Wolf Demon King. His tone was calm, neither servile nor overbearing.
“No ill intent?”
“When you scanned this king with your divine sense just now, you were anything but polite!”
The Black Wolf Demon King snorted coldly, then his gaze sharpened as he asked, “This king asked you a question earlier, and you have yet to answer. Which demon peak of Moon-Gazing Valley do you come from?
Or perhaps… you are not demons of Moon-Gazing Valley at all?”
As he finished speaking, an unkind cold smile immediately appeared on the Black Wolf Demon King’s face.
“Fellow cultivator, you see clearly. We are indeed not demons of Moon-Gazing Valley. We come from the Phoenix Cry Mountain demon domain!”
Mo Fan knew he could not deceive the other, so he simply declared their origin directly.
“Why have demons from Phoenix Cry Mountain come to the territory of Moon-Gazing Valley?”
The Black Wolf Demon King frowned at once and looked at them with cold eyes.
“Fellow cultivator, you are mistaken. This Southern Border region originally belonged to the human race. Now that the humans have been defeated, it has become ownerless land. How can it be called the territory of your Moon-Gazing Valley?
Or are you saying Moon-Gazing Valley intends to swallow the entire Southern Border?
Not only that, but you also forbid demons from other demon domains to set foot here?
If that is truly the case, then I am afraid I will have to report this matter to the Fire Phoenix Saint King and let her judge the rights and wrongs!” Mo Fan sneered.
He deliberately escalated the issue to a conflict of interests between demon domains and mentioned reporting to the Fire Phoenix Saint King precisely to intimidate the Demon King before him.
Sure enough, upon hearing these words, the Black Wolf Demon King’s expression changed slightly. He immediately laughed loudly and said, “Fellow cultivator, don’t be so serious!”
“Although you and I come from different demon domains, we both belong to the demon race of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. In a sense we are fellow demons wearing the same robes. Let us not damage our harmony over trivial matters!”
“Since you are passing through my humble patch, allow me, your brother, to play host and invite you to a meal of white meat as a gesture of local hospitality!”
As he spoke, the Black Wolf Demon King pointed one hand towards the building below and grinned, “My two fellow cultivators, please!”
“Fellow cultivator, we still have urgent business on this journey. Let us skip the meal for now and gather again next time I return, how about that?” Mo Fan said with a troubled expression as he politely declined.
“What, are you refusing to give this brother face?”
The Black Wolf Demon King instantly lowered his voice, and his gaze towards the two demons turned several degrees colder.
At the same time, numerous figures flew out from the building on clouds, quickly surrounding Mo Fan and Xiao Huang.
Mo Fan swept them with his divine sense and discovered that these were all Demon Generals, clearly the subordinates of the demon before him.
“Demon King, we come from the Demon Net. Please do not let the flood waters wash away the Dragon King Temple!”
Just when Mo Fan was in a difficult position, Xiao Huang spoke up and revealed the Moon-Gazing Bone Token.
“Great King, it’s a Moon-Gazing Token!”
Sure enough, a lesser demon quickly recognised the token and cried out in surprise.
“This king is not blind!”
The Black Wolf Demon King snorted coldly, then immediately put on a smiling face and said, “Since you are friends from the Demon Net, you should all the more stay for a simple meal. As it happens, this king has some questions he would like to consult the two of you about!”
Xiao Huang frowned. He had not expected that even showing the Moon-Gazing Token would be useless, and for a moment he did not know what to do.
“No matter. Since the Demon King is so enthusiastic, if we continue to refuse we would truly be failing to appreciate kindness!”
At the critical moment Mo Fan spoke. He wanted to see exactly what this Black Wolf Demon King was planning.
