The night was not over yet, and there was a deadly silence over the desert.
A few flying swords with winding trajectories were the only light in the night sky.
The five survivors from the *Justice Division* were exhausted. They had just seen the huge fox head that had suddenly dispersed the clouds in the northwest, but they had no spare energy to think about what it was.
After fleeing into the valley in the northwest as quickly as possible, they found a cave located on a cliff and entered it with Yun Jiujiu.
Yun Jiujiu's bloodstained bangs covered the upper half of her face, and her expression was extremely gloomy.When the two men grabbed her at first, she made a ruckus, trying to break free from them and yelling to go back to help Feng Yu Die, but after a while, she stopped moving.
The two people holding Yun Jiujiu's shoulders thought that she was too tired. After entering the cave, they prepared to let her lean against the stone wall to have a good rest.
However, the moment Yun Jiujiu's short legs landed on the ground...
Yun Jiujiu grabbed their collars and pulled their faces closer. She shouted at them. "I just fucking asked you two to let me go!!! Are you so damn deaf?! Huh?!"
The irritable loli's voice that kept echoing in the small cave was extremely hoarse, sounding as if something was stuck in her throat.
Under the messy and bloodstained bangs, the peach blossom eyes were stained red by tears, showing endless grief and anger.
The five people in the cave were all feeling bad at the moment.The five of them were the last disciples left from the immortal ship.
Perhaps they survived because they were lucky, or because they were stronger than the other disciples of the *Justice Division*, but there was one reason no one could deny:
If it weren't for Feng Yu Die and Yun Jiujiu, they would have died under the spells and swords of the ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect disciples just like their comrades in the desert.
However, in the end, when Feng Yu Die told them to take Yun Jiujiu away, they fled.
"..."
None of them dared to answer Yun Jiujiu. They all stood there silently and lowered their heads.
Seeing them like this, Yun Jiujiu gritted her teeth and sent a stream of curses. "Cowards!! Bunch of sissies!! Feng Yu Die and I risked our lives to save the five of you from the demonic cultivators, and this is how you repay her?!"
"..."
"Wasn't it just another *Core Formation* stage demonic cultivator? All of you have survived hundreds of ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect disciples, why are you still fucking afraid of her alone? Why are you running?! Why didn't you stay and help Feng Yu Die kill that little bitch?!"
One of the men she was holding by the collar whispered,
"Miss Feng asked us to take you away."
"Ah?! What did you say?!!"
Seeing that someone finally spoke, Yun Jiujiu's eyes widened with anger, and she immediately raised her right fist and swung it at the man's nose.
The bun-sized fist brought out a gust of energy, ready to smash the disciple's nose.
The man simply closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, ready to take her punch, but after waiting for a long time, he did not feel the severe pain he expected.
He slightly opened his eyes and found that Yun Jiujiu's fist had stopped steadily an inch in front of his face.
In the end, looking at the man covered with bleeding wounds all over his body, Yun Jiujiu suppressed the anger she wanted to vent.
"Wah-ya-ya!!"
Yun Jiujiu felt like she was facing five pieces of cotton. She couldn't hit them or scold them. She could only grit her teeth and stomp her feet to vent her anger. Then, she stepped back and stared at them, asking, "Names."
The five didn't understand. They slowly raised their heads and looked at her blankly.
Yun Jiujiu took a deep breath and shouted again. "I'm asking you, what are your names?! Are you dumb?!"
The five people finally reacted, and they answered from left to right:
"Chen Yuanyi..."
"Han Yuehe."
"Shangguan Xin."
"Qiu Wuhe."
"Chen Mu."
Yun Jiujiu was actually not good at remembering other people's names and faces. Sometimes, she even messed up the names of the maids who served her all year round at **Sword Wine Peak**.
But at this moment, she tried her best to match the five names with the three men and two women in front of her.
After taking a deep breath, Yun Jiujiu took out her remaining bottle of Spirit Gathering pills from her storage bag and threw it to one of them.
"Take these! There are only a few Spirit Gathering pills left in my bag!"
Yun Jiujiu wiped her tears with her sleeve, then pinched her nose, blowing her bloody snot to her feet. She looked at the wounds of the five people and scolded them. "Get the hell out of here and treat your wounds! Whoever dares to die, I will take their ashes and feed them to the dogs! All five of you will follow me to **Sword Gate Pass**! Not one of you will be left behind! Not one! The five of you were traded for Feng Yu Die's life! Suck--"
"..."
"What the hell are you waiting for? Take the Spirit Gathering pills and share them!!"
"Ah... yes, Ma'am."
The man who caught the pill bottle came back to his senses. After answering, he quickly pulled the cork off the bottle, poured out the pills, and distributed them to the other four people.
Yun Jiujiu watched them take the pills one by one, sit cross-legged, and condense spiritual energy to heal their wounds. Then, she walked to the cave entrance and took out a few concealing talismans from the storage bag, pasting them above the cave entrance.
Then, she looked outside.
She wanted to see the silver-haired sissy on the flying sword, staggering toward her at this time.
However, she knew that this was just wishful thinking.
When Yun Jiujiu first saw her, she realized that the black-haired, red-eyed female demonic cultivator was different from the ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect disciples she and Feng Yu Die had been killing so far.
If Feng Yu Die hadn't grabbed her ankle and pulled her back, she would have died with one blow of that female demonic cultivator's sword.
But she was unwilling to accept it.
Feng Yu Die had deceived her feelings, but she had saved her life twice. She had always wanted to find a chance to repay her, but now...
"Who the hell am I going to repay now?! Damn!"
Yun Jiujiu cursed, then turned and walked back into the cave. She sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes, and began to condense energy to recover...
...
*Sizzle...*
The crackling of wood in the bonfire and the smell of roasted meat, with the fragrance of aniseed, filled the air around a makeshift tent made of branches and tarp in the desert.
Feng Yu Die, who was lying in the tent, twitched her nose slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, propped herself to sit up, and rubbed her forehead. "Young Master Ye?"
She thought that it was Ye Anping who had come and was roasting a chicken for her, but when she looked up, she saw that it was a man who was quite a bit taller than Ye Anping, and her eyes were filled with disappointment.
Hu Mu was in his human form at this moment and was sitting next to a bonfire, turning a skewer of greasy meat above the fire. Xue Tianqiao lay beside him, staring at the skewer in his hand with sparkling eyes and drooling all over the floor.
"Master, is it done, is it done, is it done?"
"..."
Hu Mu didn't answer. He turned his head and looked at Feng Yu Die who had sat up, then stood up, walked to her side, and looked down at her.
Feng Yu Die was rubbing her head when a shadow fell over her body. She raised her head and asked weakly, "What's wrong? Hhm--"
Without saying a word, Hu Mu stuffed the skewer directly into her mouth, then turned around and sat back at the campfire, picked up a raw skewer, and started grilling it again.
Feng Yu Die was confused. She slowly raised her hand, pulled out the skewer that Hu Mu had stuffed into her mouth, and looked at him blankly.
What the hell? Did this mean that he wanted her to eat?
Xue Tianqiao saw that her master gave the first skewer to Feng Yu Die, and puffed up her cheeks, but didn't say anything. Seeing Feng Yu Die's bewildered face, she hastened to explain for her master. "Sister White Hair, my master thanks you for taking care of me."
"..."
Xue Tianqiao stood up and walked to her side. "You've been sleeping for a long time. My master went to catch a few rabbits nearby and grilled them for us. Come and try it... My master's cooking skills are great! In the ***Demon Clan***, no one cooks better than my master!"
Feng Yu Die still didn't react, staring blankly at the meat skewer in her hand.
At this moment, Xiao Tian popped out of her head and nodded at her. *"Yu Die, eat. I watched it... The big fox just went to dig out the rabbit's nest. It's rabbit meat."*
After hearing what Xiao Tian said, Feng Yu Die felt a little relieved. She tore off a piece of meat, chewed it, and tasted it carefully. She still felt that Ye Anping's roasted chicken was better.
After swallowing, she looked at the Demon King who was grilling meat with his back to her. "Sir, thank you for saving my life..."
"..."
Hu Mu didn't reply, but Xue Tianqiao turned to look at her master's face and helpfully replied on his behalf. "My master means that you're welcome."
"..."
"My master is a reserved person who doesn't like to talk much..."
Hu Mu felt that if Xue Tianqiao continued to speak, his title of the Supreme King of All Beasts would be buried deep into the ground. He could not hold it in anymore and scolded her. "Silly fox, shut up!!"
Xue Tianqiao pouted and mumbled a reply. "Oh..."
Hu Mu took a deep breath and turned around to look at Feng Yu Die. His eyes revealed a hint of menace as he asked, "Who kidnapped this silly fox?"
"Uh..." Feng Yu Die was stunned for a moment, then recalled what Ye Anping had said before she set out, and replied in a low voice, "The demonic cultivators took her. We met her by chance and rescued her..."
Before she could finish speaking, Hu Mu glared and interrupted with a roar.
"Roar!"
Feng Yu Die gulped and looked at Xue Tianqiao. She realized that while she slept for so long, the Demon King must have asked Xue Tianqiao what happened.
After hesitating for a while, she decided to tell the truth, but this time Xiao Tian interrupted her. *"Yu Die, it's okay. Just say what Anping told you! When the big fox asked this little fox just now, the little fox also answered according to Anping's words. Anping had told the little fox that if she helped trick the big fox, he would think of a way to get her a tuft of her master's tail hair to make a felt."*
Hu Mu glared at her fiercely and asked again, "I'll give you another chance. Who kidnapped my disciple?"
"Well... it was a demonic cultivator. Young Master Ye and I saved her..."
Hearing this answer, Hu Mu gritted his teeth but did not say anything else and continued to grill skewers for Xue Tianqiao.
From the beginning to the end, Hu Mu did not believe that the person who kidnapped Xue Tianqiao in **Heavenly Gate City** was a demonic cultivator.
The demonic cultivators wanted the three cities of the Eastern Great Wall and sent Elders to make offers to the ***Demon Clan***, even making big concessions. They had no reason to kidnap Xue Tianqiao to threaten him.
However, whether it was Xue Tianqiao herself, the physical evidence and witnesses collected by the beasts in **Heavenly Gate City**, or even the Elder of ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect, who at that time, had personally admitted this matter, they all sang the same tune.
Even so, Hu Mu still didn't believe it.
He felt that this was most likely a sinister scheme of that old woman from the ***Black Star*** Sect who wanted to drag the ***Demon Clan*** into the internal conflict of the human race.
The demonic beasts were no longer blessed by the dragon spirits like ten thousand years ago. Now, if they involved themselves in the feud between human immortals and demonic cultivators, they would only become cannon fodder.
The human boy protected by the old woman Red Moon said that Hu Yulan died at the hands of the ***Heavenly Demon*** Sect Patriarch.
Even though Hu Mu had been wanting to avenge Hu Yulan's death for thousands of years, and he had finally found his target now, letting the entire ***Demon Clan*** go to war again just for his own personal matters was the work of a tyrant.
Hu Mu recalled the human Holy Emperor who had once enlightened him.
Silver hair similar to Feng Yu Die's, and a face similar to hers...
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a while, he asked again, "Is it written in the *Heavenly Dao Scroll* how Hu Yulan died?"
"..."
Feng Yu Die froze for a moment and turned her head toward Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian hurriedly pulled out the *Heavenly Dao Scroll* from her skirt and started reading the contents so that she could repeat it to Hu Mu. *"In order to buy time for Bai Yurou, Hu Yulan stayed behind and faced Yu Yan, the Patriarch of the ***Heavenly Demon*** Sect, alone and was captured alive by him..."*
"Enough."
Hu Mu interrupted her. He stood up and walked to Xue Tianqiao with the grilled meat skewer in his hand. He stuffed the skewer into her mouth and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.
"Since Little Qiao was not injured, I will let it go this time. But when you go back, tell that old woman that if she pulls something like this again, she shouldn't blame me for turning against her!"
Although Feng Yu Die didn't quite understand, she nodded slightly in agreement. "...Oh."
Hu Mu took a deep breath and squinted at her. "Where is the Commander of the *Justice Division*?"
"Erm..."
Feng Yu Die was stunned for a moment, then looked up at Xiao Tian, and saw her holding up the *Heavenly Dao Scroll*, and pointing to the place named "**Sunset Mountain**" on the map of the **Central Region**. She nodded and said, "**Sunset Mountain**."
As soon as she said that, a black spiritual fog spread out from Hu Mu's tail, enveloping him and Xue Tianqiao.
"Sister White Hair, remind Brother Ye when you see him. He promised..."
As Xue Tianqiao finished speaking, the spiritual fog dispersed and the two fox demons disappeared.
Feng Yu Die sat under the open tent and, seeing Hu Mu really gone, her shoulders slightly drooped, and she let out a long breath. "Whew... What the hell was that?"
Xiao Tian spread her hands and explained, *"Anping wanted to frame the ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect for kidnapping the little fox. In the end, the big fox seemed to believe that the Matriarch of the ***Black Star*** Sect was behind this, so that's it..."*
Feng Yu Die frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly raised her head. "Young Master Ye... Where is Young Master Ye?"
*"Most likely he still doesn't know that something has happened on our side. Yu Die, you miss him eh? Hee hee-- Yu Die..."*
"Xiao Tian, shut up."
Xiao Tian smiled awkwardly and helplessly spread her hands. *"Let's go to Jiujiu first. When you were asleep, I went to see her. She and the few surviving disciples of the *Justice Division* were recuperating in a valley twenty miles away. They are safe."*
"Uhm..."
Feng Yu Die nodded and looked down at her bloodstained clothes. She removed her hairband, tied her hair again, then stood up before summoning her flying sword from the storage bag.
The sky was clear and cloudless as the rising sun peered out from behind the eastern horizon.
However, when she turned her head to look west, she saw countless dried pools of blood and the desert littered with the corpses of the disciples of the *Justice Division* and ***Ghost Spirit*** Sect.
Feng Yu Die frowned slightly, her eyes showing a hint of distress. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then, she flew over them and headed toward the valley where Yun Jiujiu was under the guidance of Xiao Tian, who sat on her shoulder.
"Yu Die, don't blame yourself, it's not your fault."
"..."
Feng Yu Die slightly shook her head, indicating that she was fine. She flew forward for a while, then slowly landed at the entrance of a cave in the northwest valley.
The cave seemed to have been equipped with concealing talismans. When she stood outside the cave and looked inside, it was empty. However, when she stepped past the shadowy boundary at the entrance, Yun Jiujiu and the five people who were meditating entered her vision.
The five people who survived and Yun Jiujiu all had their eyes closed at the moment, either because they were too tired or because they were concentrating on gathering their energy, and they didn't notice her coming at all.
Seeing this, Feng Yu Die didn't want to disturb them. She walked to Yun Jiujiu's side and prepared to condense energy with them.
However, when she sat down, Yun Jiujiu seemed to wake up. She opened her eyes in a daze and turned to her.
"..."
Feng Yu Die thought she had disturbed her. She smiled apologetically and asked, "Did I disturb you?"
"..."
Yun Jiujiu raised her hand and rubbed her eyes as if she was seeing an illusion. However, after confirming that it was the real Feng Yu Die, she was overjoyed and shouted. "No-bird Yu Die!! You are still alive?!"
Feng Yu Die frowned slightly when she heard this.
"Jiujiu, what's wrong with me not having a bird? Do you have one?"
"I... I... Woo... Suck..."
"Ah? Why are you crying?!"
"Woah! Woah!! I thought you were dead. Whoa! Whoa--!!"
"Ugh--"
Yun Jiujiu pounced like a hungry wolf and headbutted Feng Yu Die's stomach, causing her to throw up the meat grilled by the Demon King.
