socalfunplaces Chapter 873 Help
Chapter 873 Help
“It’s the ‘Angry Pig Demon,’ and a group of mountain spirits,” the black-robed cultivator said in a low voice, his voice tinged with seriousness. “This pig demon has thick skin and immense strength; ordinary magical artifacts can’t harm it. The mountain spirits, though weak, are adept at ganging up on each other. It seems the demons in front had a fight among themselves, which drove it over here.”
The young cultivator's face paled, and he gripped his longsword tightly: "Captain, should we hide?"
The black-robed monk shook his head: "There's no way to hide. It has already discovered us."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the furious boar demon whirled around, its crimson eyes locking onto the group in the ravine. With a deafening roar, it charged straight towards the ravine, its hooves flailing. The mountain spirits behind it, having spotted their new prey, turned and followed, howling and howling.
"Form the formation!" the black-robed cultivator shouted, charging forward first. He formed hand seals and chanted incantations, and a yellow talisman flew out of his hand, transforming into a huge earthen wall in the air, blocking the pig demon's path.
With a deafening roar, the pig demon slammed into the earthen wall, causing it to shake violently and crack open in several places. The surrounding cultivators reacted swiftly, unleashing their longswords, whips, and talismans, their spiritual energy weaving into a giant net that enveloped the mountain spirits.
The mountain valley instantly descended into chaos. The crisp sounds of clashing magical artifacts, the roars of demons, and the shouts of cultivators mingled together, echoing through the forest. Finally, the rain began to fall, large raindrops pounding against the leaves with a crackling sound, making the battle even more difficult.
The moss-covered boulder resembled a piece of dark jade soaked in water. The monkey demon perched on its tip, its furry tail idly sweeping against the stone wall, stirring up fine stone dust. He glanced sideways at the panting tiger demon not far away, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Brother Tiger, I say, your skills are rather pathetic, aren't they?"
The tiger demon, still smeared with blood from its journey through the forest, abruptly raised its head upon hearing this, its large, copper-bell-shaped eyes blazing with fury. It slammed its front paws into the ground, instantly cracking the bluestone slab with spiderweb-like patterns, and a threatening growl rolled from its throat: "What do you know?!"
“I don’t understand,” the monkey demon leaped down from the rock, his movements as nimble as a shadow. “All I know is that my team of human cultivators disappeared three days ago—they didn’t even bother with burial pits, they just fed themselves to the pythons in the mountain stream. Unlike you, who’s been making a fuss for three days, while those cultivators are still burning campfires in the forest, the aroma of roasting meat wafting all the way to my mountain!”
These words struck the tiger demon like a needle, hitting him squarely where it hurt. In a one-on-one fight, he could tear the monkey demon to shreds—his claws could cleave ancient trees in two, his roars could shatter low-hanging clouds—but he was ill-suited for command. He only had three newly-developed rabbit spirits by his side, without even a decent magical weapon, unlike the monkey demon, who had hundreds of ape spirits under his command, who could arrange a respectable formation with stone and wooden sticks.
He had killed quite a few humans these past few days, but they were mostly baggage carriers and handymen. He hadn't managed to harm a single one of the true core cultivators—those clad in black robes who could cast spells. It wasn't that he couldn't defeat them; it was that they were too slippery. Relying on their numbers, they could always form an encirclement. When he charged in alone, he would often kill two before being forced back by spells, leaving him with several burn marks on his body.
"That's just a human wave tactic! What kind of skill is that?" The tiger demon's roar shook the leaves to the ground. "If you're so capable, let's fight one-on-one! I'll give you a three-claw advantage!"
"Oh, getting impatient?" The monkey demon shook the vine in his hand, which still had half a fragment of a cultivator's robe wrapped around it. "I'm not like you, with only fighting and killing on your mind. Being able to get things done is what counts as ability, otherwise..." He deliberately dragged out his words, glancing at the tree stump where Long Jiao was, "I'm afraid you wouldn't even be able to touch the threshold of the dragon clan."
The tiger demon's rage was burning fiercely, its claws already flashing with a cold light, ready to pounce. Just then, a very soft cough came from the tree stump, like a snowflake falling into boiling oil, instantly extinguishing its ferocity.
Long Jiao leaned lazily against a tree stump entwined with vines, her blue scales gleaming coldly in the dappled sunlight. The tip of her tail lightly touched the ground, sweeping over a fallen leaf, and her golden vertical pupils casually swept over the tiger demon: "If you can't even handle this little thing, there's no need to waste your energy."
The tiger demon's back stiffened abruptly, and its ears drooped down.
“If all else fails, we can ask other demons for help.” Long Jiao’s voice was calm, like an icy spring in a mountain stream. “However—” she paused, her gaze falling on the distant, misty mountain peaks, which were in the direction of the dragon clan’s territory. “From now on, the gates of the dragon clan will probably not be open to you.”
These words weighed heavily on the tiger demon's heart. To cultivate among the dragons and see a true dragon was an obsession he had held for five hundred years. Back when he was just an ordinary tiger, he had witnessed a dragon passing by on a mountaintop, its golden scales illuminating half the sky. From that moment on, he had etched the desire to "enter the dragon clan" into his very bones.
"Understood, Your subordinate." The tiger demon lowered its head, its front paws clasped in front of its chest, its voice no longer filled with the previous rage, only with restraint. "I will go and slaughter those humans to the last man, and I will not let Lady Long Jiao down."
Long Jiao didn't look at him again, only giving a soft "hmm". In her eyes, the fighting among these little demons was like ants fighting, utterly meaningless. Getting things done was the key; if they couldn't, keeping them around was just a waste of food, and they weren't worthy of stepping into the dragon clan's territory.
The tiger demon turned and left, his footsteps creating a gust of wind, ignoring even the monkey demon's sneers behind him. He knew he couldn't hold back this time. He had originally planned to keep the two bear demons as a trump card to guard against attacks from the wolves in the mountains, but now it seemed he had no choice but to gamble everything he had.
He headed straight for Black Wind Cave and slammed two treasured century-old demon cores in front of the snake demon—these were the ones he had risked his life to snatch from the volcano years ago, each worth fifty years of cultivation. "Lend me twenty capable subordinates, and these cores are yours."
The snake demon coiled on the stone seat, flicking its forked tongue, weighing the luster of the demon core, and finally nodded. Half an hour later, the tiger demon, along with the snake demon, the bear demon, and its three wild rabbit spirits, formed a team of more than thirty demons and charged menacingly toward the black-robed cultivator's camp.
The camp was set up in an open valley. The black-robed cultivators seemed to have been aware of this beforehand. More than thirty people formed a triangular formation, their hand seals flashing with a ghostly blue light. Faint mist rose from the base of the formation, forming a semi-transparent barrier.
"Kill!" the tiger demon roared and charged forward. Its claws tore through a corner of the barrier with a stench, but it was forced back by three incoming magic swords. A deep, bone-revealing wound appeared on its arm, and blood instantly stained its fur.
"Form the formation!" the leading black-robed cultivator shouted, and the formation suddenly contracted. He unleashed a flurry of spells, weaving a net of electricity in the air that enveloped the bear demon charging at the forefront. The bear demon screamed in agony, its body charred black as it collapsed to the ground.
The demons were thrown into disarray. The snake demon flicked its tongue and retreated, while the rabbit spirit trembled with fear. The tiger demon's eyes turned red. Knowing it was a trap, he still pounced again—he couldn't lose; if he lost, he would never have another chance to join the dragon clan.