The middle-aged man hurriedly lowered his head, explaining, “Witch, these two humans trespassed into our Black Fiend Demon Palace and killed our people. I only wanted to teach them a lesson…”
“A lesson?” The woman sneered, “If I hadn’t arrived in time, were you planning to kill them outright?”
Cold sweat beaded on the Black Fiend Demon General’s forehead, and he dared not speak further.
The woman ignored him, turning her gaze to Chen Ping and Hu Mazi, her eyes lingering on them briefly before settling on Hu Mazi.
“You claim this was once your Hu clan’s territory?”
Hu Mazi, clutching his chest, gritted his teeth and said, “Exactly! Nine Coiled Mountain was my clan’s ancestral home for generations. Since when did it become your demon clan’s territory?”
The woman’s brow furrowed slightly, as if in thought. After a moment, she shook her head, “My Black Fiend Demon Palace has occupied this place for centuries, and I’ve never heard of any Hu clan. If this truly was your ancestral land, why are your clansmen nowhere to be found?”
Hu Mazi’s brows knitted together, “Could it be… could my clan have already been wiped out?”
Having ascended to the Sixth Heaven long ago and undergone multiple reincarnations over thousands of years, Hu Mazi knew nothing of his clan’s fate.
Hearing the woman’s words, it seemed his clan had long since perished!
In the Heavenly Realm, a sect or a family could be annihilated in an instant. In this dog-eat-dog world, the weak were inevitably devoured!
The woman paused, then nodded knowingly, “Perhaps…”
The middle-aged man couldn’t help but interject, “Witch, Nine Coiled Mountain was unclaimed land. They’re just making excuses to provoke our demon clan. Can anyone claim a place as their territory with a mere story?”
“Silence!” the woman snapped, and the middle-aged man instantly fell mute, as if chilled to the bone.
She turned to Hu Mazi, her tone softening, “I am Youyue, the Witch of the Black Fiend Demon Palace. If what you say is true, I can send someone to verify it. But for now, you trespassed into our demon clan’s territory and killed our people. You must give an account.”
Hu Mazi was about to retort when Chen Ping stepped forward, calmly saying, “We didn’t kill without reason. Your people insulted us first and even tried to take our lives. We were merely defending ourselves.”
Youyue’s gaze shifted to Chen Ping, a flicker of curiosity in her eyes.
“And who are you?” she asked.
“Chen Ping,” he replied plainly.
Youyue nodded slightly, about to speak again, when the middle-aged man, unable to restrain himself, shouted angrily, “Witch, why waste words with them? These two are clearly here to provoke us. Why not seize them and make an example of them?”
Chen Ping glanced at him, a faint smile playing on his lips, “It seems the earlier lesson wasn’t enough.”
Before his words faded, his figure vanished!
Youyue’s pupils contracted, instinctively moving to intervene, but it was too late—
A flash of sword light, and the middle-aged man’s right arm was severed at the shoulder, blood gushing forth!
“Ah—!”
The middle-aged man screamed, staggering back several steps, his face pale as paper.
Clutching his bleeding stump, he trembled in pain, his eyes filled with both venom and fear as he stared at Chen Ping.
He couldn’t comprehend how a mere sixth-grade Loose Immortal could unleash such terrifying speed and power. Despite activating his demonic aura for protection, he hadn’t even seen Chen Ping’s sword move.
“You… you dare wound me?”
His voice was hoarse, veins bulging on his forehead, “You’ve taken my arm today. This grudge is irreconcilable!”
Chen Ping sheathed his sword, saying coldly, “Without strength, the best course is to keep quiet. If you yap again, next time it won’t be your arm, but your head.”
A simple sentence, yet it carried an undeniable authority. The middle-aged man instinctively shut his mouth, his throat bobbing as he dared not utter another word.
