While Tuli King was observing Huo Ling, Huo Ling was also sizing him up in return.
From the aura emanating from the other party, he immediately discerned Tuli King’s cultivation level.
Early stage of King Realm!
“Not bad. You are exactly the one this king wishes to meet!”
Huo Ling nodded. With a flick of his mouth, he spat out a jade slip, then casually waved his hand to send it flying towards Tuli King.
“How dare you!”
Before Tuli King could react, the group of demon generals beside him immediately roared in anger and prepared to make a move.
“Hmm?”
Huo Ling narrowed his eyes at the sight. A powerful mid-stage King Realm aura instantly erupted from his body.
Upon sensing the aura he released, Tuli King was slightly startled inside. He quickly spoke up in a low voice, “What are you all doing?”
“They are guests! Do you not understand even this basic courtesy?”
“All of you, retreat at once!”
The demon generals were actually quite shaken by Huo Ling’s cultivation level. They had already fallen into an awkward position. Hearing Tuli King’s words now, they immediately seized the chance to back down and promptly withdrew.
Tuli King did not immediately take the jade slip. Instead, his eyes flickered as he looked at Huo Ling, then gave a dry laugh and said, “My subordinates are just a bunch of little demons who lack manners. I hope you will not take offence, fellow daoist!
But where do you come from? And what exactly is inside this jade slip? You must at least let this king know, right?”
“This king is Heiyun King from Black Wind Mountain in the Yaoling Mountain Range!”
“This time I come on the orders of my great king to invite Brother Tuli to Black Wind Mountain to attend a sermon and transmission of the law…”
Soon, Huo Ling clearly explained the purpose of his visit. Then he pointed at the jade slip floating in front of Tuli King and said calmly, “This item only contains my great king’s invitation. There is nothing dangerous inside. Please take a look, Brother Tuli!”
“Uh… cough cough… Of course this king would not suspect that you would tamper with the jade slip. Brother Heiyun, you are overthinking it!”
Tuli King gave an awkward smile. He no longer hesitated. Demonic power surged out from him, wrapped around the jade slip, and he directly used his divine sense to read its contents without daring to touch the slip itself.
Seeing Tuli King’s cautious appearance, Huo Ling merely smiled. Inside, he secretly nodded in approval.
“Worth being an independent demon king. His vigilance is so high. No wonder he can roam freely in this region without relying on other great demons!”
Huo Ling thought to himself. These independent demon kings might not have particularly outstanding cultivation or strength, but they were cautious enough. It showed they had some reliable means of preserving their lives.
Tuli King used his divine sense to read the jade slip from a distance. To his surprise, he found only a string of characters inside. Those characters somewhat resembled the writing he had once taken from human cultivators, yet they were also somewhat different. This left him astonished and completely unable to understand the content.
However, as a demon king, he did not want to admit in front of his subordinate little demons that he did not know. That would make him lose face. After confirming there was no trickery in the jade slip, he immediately accepted it. Then he spoke to Huo Ling with a serious expression, “Mm, this king has already looked at it. Rest assured, this king will definitely attend that sermon and transmission of the law!”
He has looked at it?
Huo Ling raised an eyebrow slightly. He knew exactly what was written inside. Could this fellow really understand the demon race script personally created by the great king?
With that thought, Huo Ling immediately understood. He nodded and said, “Since that is the case, this king will not disturb you further. Brother Tuli, remember to arrive on time at my Black Wind Mountain. The coordinates of Black Wind Mountain should be recorded in the jade slip!”
Huo Ling smiled. Then he looked at Little Grey Grey and Little Black Black and said with a laugh, “These two little demons are quite good!”
With those words, he transformed into a ball of flame once more and soared into the sky. Soon he vanished without a trace.
Watching Huo Ling leave, the tension in Tuli King’s heart finally eased. He took out the jade slip again and examined it carefully, but he still could not understand the characters. He did, however, notice a coordinate.
His eyes rolled. He turned to the two little demons Huo Ling had just pointed out, then ordered them, “You two little ones, prepare yourselves. Tomorrow you will accompany this king to visit Black Wind Mountain!”
“Ah?”
“Do we still need to hunt tomorrow, Great King?” Little Grey Grey asked in disbelief.
Slap!
The moment he spoke, he was smacked on the forehead by his own master.
“You fool! Hunt what? The Great King told you to prepare. Why are you still standing there?”
“This is a tremendous opportunity for you two idiots!”
After being scolded by their master, the two little demons finally understood. Filled with joy, they burrowed back to pack their belongings.
Tuli King then shouted to one of the demon generals beside him, “Go and fetch Little Baopi for this king!”
“Yes!”
The so-called Little Baopi was also a demon general. Although his cultivation was average, he had one extremely remarkable talent: he was proficient in human writing!
Not long after, Little Baopi was brought before Tuli King. But after receiving the jade slip, he froze. With a bitter face he said to his great king, “Great King, these are not writing at all. This little one does not recognise them either!”
“Not writing? Are you sure? Look carefully for this king!”
Tuli King snorted coldly. He did not believe Huo Ling had any reason to deceive him.
“Great King, this little one truly does not recognise them. If these really are writing, they definitely are not human writing!” the demon general Little Baopi said with a miserable expression.
Not human writing?
Hearing this, Tuli King’s eyes narrowed slightly. After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand to dismiss Little Baopi. But before the other had gone far, he called him back and said, “Go back and prepare. Tomorrow morning you will accompany this king to Black Wind Mountain!”
“Yes!”
“It seems this so-called sermon and transmission of the law at Black Wind Mountain might be related to these characters. Could they be ancient script from the primordial era?”
A glint flashed in Tuli King’s eyes.
He had long heard of the reputation of Laibao Demon King of Black Wind Mountain. That was the fierce figure who killed the ancestral realm great demon Leiyu Zidian. He had wanted to pay a visit for a long time, but without a strong backing, he worried he would end up as a dish on Laibao’s table.
After all, Laibao Demon King’s reputation was not exactly good. Although he was extremely famous in the Fengming Mountain demon domain, he was also known for his ferocious name.
Now that the other party had proactively sent a demon king to invite him, in Tuli King’s view this showed he was being looked upon favourably. At the same time, it made him realise one thing: perhaps through this gathering he could befriend this ferocious demon Laibao!
If so, then he, Tuli King, would also become a demon king with an ally. In the future, when other demon kings within a thousand li wanted to move against him, they would have to think twice!
Independent demon kings enjoyed freedom, but without powerful backing, fierce struggles were unavoidable.
Often they would fight to the death over a single spirit plant. Life was not as easy as outsiders imagined.
As Huo Ling and Sun Bai continued to travel around, one independent demon king after another received Mo Fan’s invitation. Some clever ones quickly sensed an opportunity in this matter. Of course, there were also great demons who dismissed it entirely.
“I hear that Laibao fellow is merely a toad that somehow became a demon. Who knows what kind of dog-shit luck he had to kill Leiyu Zidian by chance. Does he really think he can compare to a demon ancestor?
If he wants this king to go, does this king have to go?
This king’s demon mountain is at least tens of thousands of li away from his Black Wind Mountain. This king will not go to look at the face of a mere toad!
If he has the ability, let him come attack this king!”
“This time Black Wind Mountain has gone to great lengths to deliver invitations. It is definitely not just inviting this king alone. This shows Black Wind Mountain has great ambitions. They want to unite all the independent demon kings?
Unfortunately, that toad simply does not understand why we have never submitted to any ancestral realm demon mountain!
It is precisely because submitting to those ancestral realm demon mountains would bind us by their rules and make us lose our freedom!
Backing a big tree gives good shade, but only if the tree is big enough! What does a mere toad demon have to make others submit?
In any case, this king is not going!”
“…”
For a time, many demon kings looked at the jade slips in their hands and sneered repeatedly. They had no intention of heading to Black Wind Mountain. Instead, they planned to watch Black Wind Mountain make a fool of itself. At the same time, quite a few demon kings had already set off.
Just because of Mo Fan’s invitation, the entire Fengming Mountain demon domain began to stir with undercurrents!
