Chapter Sixty-Four: An Unexpected Turn

Duo Li could not help but let his thoughts wander—Yuan Wujie had shocked him far too much today. In truth, given Duo Li’s cultivation, Yuan Wujie would have considerable difficulty controlling him; after all, Yuan Wujie’s Ninefold Profound Art had only reached the second cycle, and it was hardly worth expending so much effort on a great demon like Duo Li.

“After locking you up for so many days, why hasn’t anyone from Shushan come to rescue you?” Yuan Wujie asked.

Shushan stood as one of the foremost sects in the mortal realm; now that an elder had been captured, it was unreasonable they hadn’t sent anyone to save him. The Shushan elder managed a bitter smile upon hearing Yuan Wujie’s words. He had once been an elder of Shushan, but later violated its rules, inadvertently releasing one of the demon fiends from the Demon Suppression Tower.

Now he remained a fugitive; that Shushan hadn’t sent anyone to hunt him down was already fortunate—rescue was out of the question.

“I am no longer an elder,” the Shushan elder replied despondently.

Yuan Wujie neither knew nor cared about the elder’s circumstances. Since he dared to offend Yuan Wujie in the name of Shushan, he would repay that offense with blood.

“Then you may die now.”

Without another word, Yuan Wujie turned the Shushan elder into a dried corpse, from which three Blood Cloud Pills hovered.

Having mastered the Ninefold Profound Art, Yuan Wujie’s control over the Devouring Demon Heart had improved; he no longer needed to absorb blood essence into his body—he could refine another’s vital essence into Blood Cloud Pills externally.

The improved mastery over the Devouring Demon Heart had also elevated the quality of the Blood Cloud Pills.

“Throw the corpse at Shushan, and these three Blood Cloud Pills will be your reward,” Yuan Wujie instructed Duo Li, tossing the three pills before him.

Duo Li could sense the surging energy within the pills. If he consumed them all, even if he didn’t ascend to the realm of Loose Immortal, he would draw much closer to it.

Though all were Blood Cloud Pills, those given here were clearly superior to the ones granted to Eagle Vanguard and others at Wuzhang Cave.

“Yes,” Duo Li hurriedly agreed.

Even without the Blood Cloud Pills, Duo Li dared not disobey Yuan Wujie’s command. Throwing a corpse onto Shushan might cost him his life, but defying Yuan Wujie’s orders would surely bring a fate worse than death.

As Duo Li left Fire Cloud Cave, Fox Laugh came running.

“Big Brother Duo Li, how did those old fellows fare?” Fox Laugh asked, his face full of expectation.

He mused inwardly, “Eating one elder has already brought me such gains—if I devour them all, wouldn’t I... hahahaha.”

Duo Li could guess Fox Laugh’s schemes with a mere twitch of his toes.

“The king ordered me to dispose of this one. As for the others, you can ask him yourself,” Duo Li replied, pointing to the corpse in his hand.

Fox Laugh dared not defy Yuan Wujie’s orders, nor did he have the courage to enter and meet him.

Duo Li paid Fox Laugh’s anxious expression no mind; he had to figure out how to throw the corpse onto Shushan.

Shushan’s elders were formidable; a single misstep could land him in the Demon Suppression Tower or see him butchered for tiger meat.

“You really aren’t afraid of death, old man—what business did you have fighting demons?”

“If you’re going to fight demons, at least know who you’re dealing with!”

“Hadn’t you heard of the God Ape King’s fierce reputation? Was he someone you could provoke?”

Duo Li grumbled endlessly at the dried corpse as he traveled.

Shushan truly deserved its reputation as a major sect; its territory was more than ten times the size of Hao Mountain.

Wrapping the Shushan elder’s corpse in cloth, Duo Li couldn’t simply toss it openly—Shushan would hunt him to the ends of the earth for the sake of face alone.

Having learned many tricks among the humans, Yuan Wujie kept Duo Li in mind.

Meanwhile, the eight elders whom Yuan Wujie had transformed into puppets had all their garments replaced with the attire of demon soldiers.

Though Yuan Wujie disdained their cultivation, they could still solve minor troubles for him.

The difference between these eight elders and ordinary puppets was autonomy; absent Yuan Wujie’s command, they could act according to their own judgment.

There were many villages in Hao Mountain, and Yuan Wujie would not waste resources.

Now, the eight elders no longer looked like immortals, but it was better than leading a host of subordinates.

Yuan Wujie ordered the eight puppets to visit every village in Hao Mountain and establish his own temples. As for explanations, the puppets would not disappoint him.

“Go now!”

Upon receiving Yuan Wujie’s command, the eight puppets flew from Fire Cloud Cave, a scene witnessed by Fox Laugh.

“What’s going on? Did they sneak out?” Fox Laugh was puzzled and followed closely behind the eight puppets.

The greatest difference between the eight puppets and ordinary ones was their indistinguishability from normal people; thus, they detected Fox Laugh trailing them.

“There’s a fox demon behind us.”

“Let’s deal with it first—if it interferes with our master’s task, it’s not worth the risk.”

Unlike before, the eight puppets now belonged to Yuan Wujie, carrying out his orders with singular focus.

Fox Laugh continued to follow, thinking the elders were still severely wounded from before—their escape must have left them weakened.

Now, with his own power greatly increased, Fox Laugh was confident he could subdue the eight elders.

He had coveted their flesh and blood for a long time.

“Where did they go?” Fox Laugh blinked, and the eight puppets vanished from sight.

He flew to where they disappeared, scanning for their traces.

“Fox demon, what are you looking for?”

The eight puppets formed a circle, encircling Fox Laugh at the center.

“You…”

Fox Laugh realized that the elders were no longer wounded—they had all recovered their peak strength, an effect granted by their transformation into puppets and the addition of the Ten Thousand Demon Gold Pill.

The puppets cared only for Yuan Wujie’s commands, not for Fox Laugh; thus, their priority was to eliminate him swiftly.

Each puppet unleashed their most powerful spells, attacking the surrounded Fox Laugh. Though Fox Laugh had reached the great demon realm, he had never learned any formidable magical arts, relying only on the passive operation of his internal mana.

Now, beset on all sides, with all escape routes blocked, he could only muster his mana to form a protective barrier.

As for breaking through, the puppets’ cultivation far exceeded Fox Laugh’s; charging forward would be suicide. His only hope was to trust his mana barrier to withstand their assault and seize a chance to escape.

Boom! Boom!

At the instant their attacks struck, the mana barrier shattered into fragments. Fox Laugh, within the shield, could not withstand the eight puppets’ assault.

Under the combined might of their most powerful spells, Fox Laugh’s body was cut into seven or eight pieces and slowly fell to the ground.