Chapter Fifty-Five: The Incident

“It’s about King Yuyong.”

“Go ahead, then.”

For some time, Black Moon had been preoccupied with Heicheng’s matters. Since Yuan Wuji hadn’t appeared and there was no way to contact him, Black Moon had simply set it aside. But now that Yuan Wuji had returned and Heicheng’s situation was settled, Black Moon hurried to find him.

“How did you help King Yuyong advance in cultivation last time? My master is willing to pay any price,” Black Moon said slowly, revealing his purpose.

“King Yuyong is my second brother; of course, I’ll find a way to help him.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“But I do need your master’s assistance,” Yuan Wuji said in a peculiar tone that made Black Moon feel uneasy.

“Speak your mind. My master will agree to anything,” Black Moon replied quickly, afraid Yuan Wuji might change his mind.

Only Black Moon knew how much effort his master had expended for King Yuyong. Now, seeing hope, he was certain his master would not back down.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Black Moon responded with absolute confidence, perhaps more in his master than himself.

Yuan Wuji walked to Black Moon’s side and whispered something in his ear.

“What? That’s impossible!” Black Moon’s confidence vanished in an instant, replaced by shock.

“What’s the matter? Can’t you do it?” Yuan Wuji asked, his eyes glinting with expectation.

Black Moon’s face revealed his inner struggle. The condition Yuan Wuji had set was completely unexpected. Having just agreed so readily, Black Moon now found himself at a loss.

“You can go back and ask your master,” Yuan Wuji said calmly.

If Black Moon kept hesitating, who knew how long this would drag on—Yuan Wuji had no time to waste.

At his words, Black Moon immediately vanished from the central hall.

Black Moon rushed out of Five Camphor Cave, racing madly in one direction, still reeling from what Yuan Wuji had told him.

The truth was that Yuan Wuji’s speculation regarding King Yuyong’s situation was just that—a speculation. King Yuyong was a descendant of the ancient Water Ape and the ancient Fire Ape. Last time, by refining the essence of the Water Feather, he’d made a great breakthrough, with one foot already in the Taiyi Realm. Thus, Yuan Wuji’s guess this time was that King Yuyong could break through to Taiyi by refining the essence of a direct descendant of the ancient Fire Ape, just as he’d done with the Water Ape essence.

Therefore, Yuan Wuji’s request to Black Moon was for a direct descendant of the ancient Fire Ape. Judging by Black Moon’s reaction, Yuan Wuji could almost guess who Black Moon’s master was. Otherwise, Black Moon wouldn’t have reacted as he did, and Yuan Wuji wouldn’t have made such a request.

“I hope you succeed. I wouldn’t mind experiencing what it’s like to devour an ancient Fire Ape myself,” Yuan Wuji mused, a smirk curling on his lips as Black Moon departed.

Shortly after Black Moon left, Dog Vanguard appeared in the central hall.

“Great King, General Tiger seems to have returned, but he’s badly injured. He announced he would enter seclusion as soon as he returned to his cave.”

“Here, take these three Bloodcloud Pills.” Yuan Wuji handed Dog Vanguard the last three Bloodcloud Pills he had. This kind of pill was never in short supply for Yuan Wuji, but for a minor demon like Dog Vanguard, they were treasures beyond compare.

Dog Vanguard accepted the pills with barely contained excitement. Once dismissed, he hurried back to his own cave without delay.

Tiger Baisheng would need time before he emerged from seclusion; his injuries alone would consume much of his energy, especially at this critical stage.

Yuan Wuji’s time on Five Camphor Mountain was limited, and King Yuyong was seldom involved in its management. Who truly held power on the mountain was uncertain, but one thing was clear—Tiger Baisheng wielded considerable authority.

Besides Tiger Baisheng’s particular qualities that Yuan Wuji needed, he also wanted the tiger to serve as an additional safeguard for his own position as king.

After making a few arrangements on Five Camphor Mountain, Yuan Wuji decided to return to Huoyun Cave on Howl Mountain to see what chaos awaited him.

With his current cultivation, Yuan Wuji arrived above Huoyun Cave in no more than the time it takes for a few sticks of incense to burn.

He had expected Huoyun Cave to have become a den of foxes, but now it seemed that was no longer the case. Before he left, nearly all the demon soldiers on the mountain had been foxes. Now, besides the foxes, there were many other beast spirits and demons.

“Are they recruiting soldiers?” he wondered as he appeared before the cave entrance.

“Who are you? State your name!” a rat demon demanded, leveling a spear at Yuan Wuji.

Yuan Wuji frowned and, with a single slap, reduced the rat demon to a bloody pulp.

The commotion drew the attention of the other demon soldiers, who pointed their weapons at Yuan Wuji.

“Subordinates who do not obey are of no use to me,” Yuan Wuji said coldly.

He summoned his power and pressed a palm imprint through the air. Every demon soldier who pointed a weapon at him was instantly smashed to pieces, leaving the rest too terrified to move.

Seeing the terror he’d inspired, Yuan Wuji finally spoke.

“Where are Fox Three and Fox Laugh?”

At his question, a fox soldier nervously hurried over and replied, “The strategists—they’ve been taken prisoner.”

“Strategists? They’re nothing but a few stinking foxes,” a leopard demon scoffed loudly, clearly annoyed by the title.

But before the words had barely left his mouth, Yuan Wuji crushed him into paste.

Yuan Wuji gestured for the fox soldier to explain everything. It turned out that a hundred years ago, the foxes had made a mess of Huoyun Cave, splitting into three factions, led by Fox Three, Fox Laugh, and another fox demon.

Fox Three and Fox Laugh joined forces to bring down the other fox demon, who, outraged, somehow brought in a tiger demon of great power. The tiger demon, with many followers, captured Huoyun Cave, tied up Fox Three and Fox Laugh, and threw them into the dungeon.

That other fox demon died by the tiger demon’s blade, and from then on, Huoyun Cave became the tiger demon’s domain.

“What’s the commotion?” A tiger demon, with a tiger’s head and a man’s body, strode out of Huoyun Cave, followed by a retinue of demon soldiers. The soldiers who had been cowed by Yuan Wuji immediately ran to the tiger demon’s side, recounting all that had happened.

“Mighty King, what brings you here?” the tiger demon asked. At the sight of Yuan Wuji, a chill ran through him; he knew he was no match for this visitor.

“My subordinates are not to be disciplined by just anyone.”

As soon as he spoke, Yuan Wuji appeared behind the tiger demon and slammed him into the ground with a single palm, rendering him unable to fight.

“Great King, I have never offended your people,” the tiger demon pleaded, terrified by how easily he’d been defeated.

“Do you not know whose domain this is?”

“This…” The tiger demon had occupied Huoyun Cave for over a hundred years—he could hardly claim ignorance. When Fox Three and Fox Laugh brought it up, he had ignored them and boasted arrogantly. Now, with the true master standing before him, displaying overwhelming strength, the tiger demon bitterly regretted his actions.