Chapter 223: The Importance of Character Settings

Watching Xiao Yuying leave, Zhang Shijie said to Zheng Fa, "Junior Brother, do you intend to capture a few demon beasts?"

Zheng Fa nodded and said, "Right now, we only know that the Great Zizaimo Mo Sect and the demon beasts have merged, but we are unclear on exactly how many enemies there are... We want to help the Sect Master, but we don't know how."

"Currently, the Great Zizaimo Mo Sect probably cannot get out; it seems they can only rely on the power of the demon beasts. We must at least first figure out how many demon beasts are involved with the Great Zizaimo Mo Sect."

The gazes of the few turned toward that Jin Wu.

The Jin Wu shrank its neck and stammered, "I... I already said it!"

"I have never quite figured out how much strength the demon beasts actually possess."

The Jin Wu paused, and hearing this felt somewhat depressed: "Don't say you are unclear; even the demon beasts themselves do not understand. The demon beasts are not actually divided by species, but by territory."

"..."

"I knew it; the demon beasts in this area of your Jiushan Sect are all under the command of Qingyun Sheng."

"Sheng?"

Zheng Fa glanced at Zhang Shijie, and Zhang Shi explained, "Sheng seems to be the respectful title the demon beasts use for those above the Soul Transformation realm."

The Jin Wu nodded and added, "Below the Sheng, there are ten Nascent Soul Demon Kings; I am under the Wuxin Demon King."

Zheng Fa nodded.

It was understandable that one Sheng would have such great influence.

According to Zhang Shijie's previous words, the Baixian Alliance openly has only one Soul Transformation existence.

His heart felt quite heavy.

Even if the Soul Transformation experts do not emerge, ten Nascent Soul great demons are not something the Jiushan Sect alone can withstand.

"What else? How many will go to the Jiushan Sect?"

Zheng Fa asked the Jin Wu again.

"There are others... I am not clear on that." The Jin Wu said gloomily, "Right now, my kind of bloodline... is not highly valued among the demon beasts; the Wuxin Demon King does not take me to heart."

Speaking of this, the Jin Wu felt a bit aggrieved:

"Demon beast resources are scarce; currently, the supreme bloodlines cannot grow, and those with slightly inferior bloodlines do not submit to one another. No one can integrate the various forces, so internal strife is actually very cruel. If I did not have a few hidden skills, I would not have survived until now."

"If you want to figure it out, you must at least capture a demon beast in the Golden Core Stage."

Hearing this, Zheng Fa also understood why this Jin Wu was selling out the demon beasts so readily—they were completely a ragtag army.

Except for not being human, they basically had nothing in common.

They were not comparable to the Immortal Sects, let alone the Mo Sects.

"Junior Brother, this matter must be handled with caution..."

Zhang Shijie said.

Zheng Fa also nodded and spoke, "Among the demon beasts you brought, who holds the highest status?"

"There is one with a Qiongqi bloodline; he is a descendant of the Wuxin Demon King..."

Zheng Fa frowned: "This person has a special identity; we cannot capture him by force, lest we alert the Wuxin Demon King... Otherwise, we will be startling the snake by stirring the grass."

Zhang Shijie nodded lightly, also pondering: "We must make everyone think that this person hid himself?"

Hearing this, Zheng Fa turned his gaze to the Jin Wu.

The Jin Wu seemed to understand something.

"I... I also have a conscience!"

Zheng Fa reached out and patted him; the Jin Wu's eyes grew dazed, but he still said:

"... If I deal with him and the Wuxin Demon King finds out, he will kill me!"

"I will raise you."

"... Deal!"

Taiyang Commandery, Fengcheng County.

A group of burly big men walked down the street; they were tall and imposing, with fierce expressions on their faces, yet their eyes were pale and blue, appearing somewhat weak.

Leading the group was a young big man with a square face, but his body was half a head taller than his companions.

The group walked down the street quite low-key; others could not even hear what they were saying.

Obviously, they used methods to conceal it.

"Those demon women from the Mo Sect, why have they been willing to let us out to play these past few days?"

One person suddenly asked.

The square-faced young man glared at him, as if blaming him for being too talkative even among the crowd, then glanced around before saying, "I heard that little Jin Wu escaped; they are preparing to change locations."

"Escaped? If he escaped, he escaped; why change locations?"

The person who asked said.

"It is better to be cautious." The square-faced young man shook his head and said softly, "Right now, the Immortal Sects are powerful; we should not expose ourselves."

"Hundreds of thousands of years... when can we stop hiding like this!"

The others nodded as well, seeming somewhat stifled.

"Once we resolve the Jiushan Sect and the experts of the Great Zizaimo Mo Sect emerge from the secret realm, our good days will come; the spirit stone mines nearby will all be ours."

The square-faced young man seemed to have considerable authority; after he said this, the few fell silent.

Suddenly, someone laughed: "Big Brother, you possess the Qiongqi bloodline and are a descendant of the Great King; when our demon beasts succeed in the future, perhaps Big Brother you can become a Demon King!"

"What is a Demon King?" another person flattered, "Become a Sheng!"

The square-faced young man shook his head lightly and said, "We are allying with the Mo Sect out of necessity... In the future, we will likely have to listen to the Great Zizaimo Mo Ancestor."

Everyone fell silent.

They were sent to the Great Zizaimo Mo Sect; from the attitude of those demon women, it could be seen that in the cooperation between the two sides, the demon beasts were the weaker party.

Don't be fooled by the talk of some illustrious bloodline.

To those demonesses, we are little better than stud boars.

"Or perhaps our Demon Clan's strength is simply lacking—even with the Zizaimo Sect rising to power, we are but vassals," the square-faced youth sighed lightly. "Our strength is merely at the Jin Dan realm; we can only be carved up by others."

The group exchanged glances, their faces now dejected, all the earlier cheer gone.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the street.

The silent group turned to look toward the disturbance.

A long-legged female cultivator walked slowly through the crowd, seemingly long accustomed to such gazes.

"Who is that?"

The square-faced youth asked.

A man ran forward to inquire, then returned and said, "Big Brother, have you heard of the Xiao Xianzi Ling Ye?"

"That Xiao Xianzi of Many Treasures?"

The square-faced youth asked, unable to keep a trace of surprise from his face.

"Indeed! I heard that wherever this person goes, they encounter a secret realm; their luck is truly extraordinary!"

This group of Demon Clan members had naturally heard of the Xiao Xianzi Ling Ye's reputation; now, as they spoke, their tones were filled with deep envy.

Little did they know, the square-faced youth's face darkened. He spoke, "If this person has come to Fengcheng County, trouble is likely here! We should return quickly!"

The others were stunned, looking at each other, then at him. Though they all seemed as if they hadn't finished their stroll, they all obeyed his words.

The group walked toward the other end of the street.

Suddenly, the crowd at the street's end began buzzing with discussion again.

It seemed they had heard something momentous.

Even the square-faced youth could not help but feel curious; he Shen Shi Yi to the man to go inquire again.

After a while, the man ran back quickly, his face flushed with excitement, breathing heavily, and said to the group, "Those people say that Xiao Yuying seemed to have met an old acquaintance in the wine tower; while they were talking, they revealed a huge piece of news!"

"What news?"

"Xiao Yuying said that in Lei Chi, she discovered another secret realm!"

"Secret realm?" Upon hearing this, the square-faced youth's steps toward the exit quickened. "This is getting lively; let's go quickly..."

"Big Brother! She said there is Di Liu Jiang inside that secret realm!"

The man's low cry caused the square-faced youth's steps to halt.

"Di Liu Jiang?"

He turned his head and asked.

"Yes!"

"Truly Di Liu Jiang?"

"They heard it with their own ears!"

The square-faced youth stood in place, thinking back and forth, appearing extremely hesitant.

"Big Brother, what is there to hesitate about!"

The square-faced youth slowly shook his head and said, "Something is still wrong. How could the Xiao Xianzi Ling Ye reveal the matter of Di Liu Jiang being in that secret realm? This is likely a trap!"

"... Regarding this matter, I have actually heard a certain explanation."

Another man spoke up.

"What explanation?"

"This Xiao Xianzi Ling Ye is extremely proud by nature," the man recalled the rumors he had heard. "Whenever she reaches a secret realm, she never hides anything... she says whatever there is to say, caring nothing for what others think."

"This..."

"If someone else had said this, I would also think it a trap," the man continued. "But if it is Xiao Yuying who said it..."

"She is exactly that kind of person!"

"..."

The square-faced youth fell silent.

He looked around at the few people nearby, clearly still hesitating in his heart.

"Big Brother, didn't we just say our cultivation is too low, and that if the Mo Sect gains power, we can only be dogs?"

"..."

"That Di Liu Jiang is the supreme treasure of our Demon Clan. Big Brother, if you take it, you might even advance to the Nascent Soul realm! Why would you still need to force a smile beneath those demonesses?"

The square-faced youth's face grew even darker.

"This matter... still requires caution..."

"No, we dared to cooperate with the Mo Sect; what are we afraid of!"

Upon hearing these words, the square-faced youth was instantly speechless, seeming to find a good deal of reason in them.

The square-faced youth looked at the few brothers around him, understanding that the attraction of Di Liu Jiang to the Demon Clan was too great; if he continued to oppose them, this group would likely resent him.

More importantly—he himself could not help but feel tempted.

"Let's go!" he said. "But I still feel something is off. You absolutely must not act impulsively; act according to the situation!"

In a mountain hollow beside Lei Chi.

Uncle Pang's eyes shimmered with silver light as he looked into the distance.

"Truly a large number have come..." Uncle Pang clicked his tongue and said, "Xiao Xianzi, your single sentence is truly powerful."

Zheng Fa also turned to look at Xiao Yuying beside him.

Such is the importance of a persona...

Xiao Yuying looked left and right, seeming very curious about what Zheng Fa and the others intended to do.

"Shijie, set up the talisman array."

Zheng Fa turned his head to look at Shijie Zhang beside him.

Shijie Zhang took out the Flying Immortal Brush from her hand; several talisman papers like gold foil flew out of her sleeve.

With a solemn expression, she drew several spiritual talismans upon them; these talismans flew into all corners of the mountain valley, and a phantom array rose straight from the ground.

"This is that... what do you call it..." Xiao Yuying seemed to have heard of this thing: "That play thing?"

Zheng Fa nodded.

To be precise, this is the Master's Inner World Array.

However, Shijie Zhang, sparing no cost at this moment, used Heaven-grade Talismans; furthermore, she is a genius of the Talisman Dao with Nascent Soul cultivation.

Several factors combined, and this phantom array turned out to be even stronger by three points than if the Master had come personally.

Indeed, Xiao Yuying beside him exclaimed in admiration:

"This illusion, I actually cannot tell for a short while..."