In the depths of the valley on a tall tower, five cave masters of the Lair of Demons gathered together for a discussion.
“Where’s the first cave master? Why isn’t he here yet?” said an ascetic buddhist monk.
He had a bulging forehead, high cheekbones, and sunken eyes that were completely bloodshot. His lips were pale, and he had two fleshy bumps on his forehead. At first glance, he did not bear any resemblance to a human; it was as if he wore the mask of a ghost. He had a scarlet kasaya draped over him.
“Ghost Ascetic, the first cave master has already been in secluded cultivation for two years. It’s not like you don’t know. How can we disturb him over something as petty as this?” a woman said. She was pretty, perhaps not a supreme beauty, but her figure was full and voluptuous. She was wrapped in threads of silk, which only partially obscured her body, making her seem even whiter and more enchanting.
The Ghost Ascetic glanced at her as if he was cautious of her. He no longer said anything more. He was only the sixth cave master of the Lair of Demons, while the plump beauty was the fourth cave master. She seemed like a human, but she actually originated from a rare race of otherfolk. She was known as the Silkworm Madam.
If she was supposed to be plump, then she would be a petite, dainty, little girl compared to the man beside her. The man no longer resembled a human, but a wriggled pile of white flesh. His facial features were squeezed shut, almost to a point where they were no longer visible. He was the second cave master of the Lair of Demons, the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber. His body rippled like a wave and he spoke.
“Hmph, something as petty as this? That’s the White Hawk commander. Even Huang Siqin died at his hands. I don’t think he’s come with any good intentions!”
“Since he’s bold enough to come, then we definitely can’t let him leave here alive, or will our Lair of Demons still have any pride left?”
The speaker was a man in his forties. His thin, dark-skinned face was filled with murderousness. He had many golden ring piercings on him, and there was a black scorpion tattooed on his face, where the scorpion tail was divided into three segments. He actually seemed the most ordinary here, except his skin gave off a faint, purple hue. The others all maintained a certain distance from him.
“Wei of the Poison, your disciple died, but you’re afraid to avenge him, so you want to use us!”
The Ghost Ascetic was afraid of the Silkworm Madam, but he was not afraid of him, as Wei of the Poison ranked last among the cave masters. He was only the eighth cave master.
Wei of the Poison’s face was warped with hatred. The White Wolf guard Li Qingshan had killed happened to be his proud disciple, yet he had actually been crushed like a bug. How could he not hate Li Qingshan? But even if he hated him, there was nothing he could do. The Lair of Demons was not a sect after all. Unless any outsiders attacked, there was no sense of unity at all. The other cave masters were all too busy celebrating the death of his proud disciple, so they definitely would not help him with revenge. He was afraid of provoking the existence that had killed Huang Siqin alone. Originally, he saw no hope for revenge, but he never expected an opportunity to be delivered to his doorstep, so why would he let it slip by?
“We’ve all sworn a blood oath. If any outsiders attack, we must unite together. Do you plan on violating the oath?” Wei of the Poison barked.
“Who said he’s come to attack us? Who knows, he might be coming to express his sincerities, just like that bastard Huang Siqin who tried to rope us in!” the Ghost Ascetic said.
“I think that’s highly possible!” the Silkworm Madam said with a smile, “As long as he hasn’t lost his mind, he’s not going to try and kill us!”
“You want to conspire with the Hawkwolf Guard? Don’t forget about the feud of blood from all those years ago!” Wei of the Poison said furiously with a sunken face.
“Since the boss isn’t here, then I’m in charge. Let him in and let’s hear what he has to say, or he’ll actually think we’re afraid of him. If he leaves us satisfied, then we’ll give him a quick death. If he doesn’t, then we’ll have fifth brother’s bugs gnaw him clean!”
The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber jiggled wildly, and from the pile of flesh, something that resembled an arm extended out, pointing at the “pocketman” in the corner who had remained silent the entire time.
The reason why he was called a “pocketman” was because his clothes were covered in pockets of various sizes, basically swallowing him whole. As such, it was impossible to even tell his gender. Aside from a hundred treasures pouch, all of the remaining pockets were bug pouches.
He was the fifth cave master of the Lair of Demons, Mountain Insect.
With that, the other cave masters had nothing else to say. Li Qingshan had to die no matter what. They each had their own thoughts as they exchanged glances with each other.
Yu Wufeng, once the master of this Li Qingshan kills his way in here, I’d like to see how you remain peacefully in secluded cultivation! Hmph, you’re dreaming if you think you can undergo the third heavenly tribulation and unite the Lair of Demons under you!
The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber thought and glanced around. “Do you have any objections?”
The various cave masters all reached an agreement. They would lure Li Qingshan in and kill him!
Although the first cave master was in secluded cultivation and the other two cave masters were not in the Lair of Demons, a mere White Hawk commander had no chance at surviving with the geographic advantage of Savage mountain and the various formations as traps.
……
In the drizzle, Li Qingshan stood with his hands behind his back, his hair black and his clothes white. He possessed the depth of an abyss and the height of a mountain, with a calm smile on his face the entire time.
The dark clouds weighed heavily, making Savage mountain seem even taller and more precipitous. The gloom was filled with hostility. Every single cave was like an eye filled with disdain, while the warm winds circling over him seemed like sneers.
“Knock on the door? Then why don’t you knock? Let’s see who will open it for you?” “Why don’t you just beg me? If I take pity on you, I might help you open the door!” “Piss off back to the Green province! This isn’t a place you should come to!”
The entire Savage mountain was astir. Even more people gathered on top of the gate, pointing, discussing, and mocking the lone Li Qingshan below.
There were both men and women, both monks and common people. They were either dressed in long gowns and robes with feather fans or silk hats, like people from the central plains, or painted with colours with their chests bare, possessing distinct, southern features. There were even some that bore characteristics of daemons and otherfolk, and even others that downright bore no resemblance to humans.
For a moment, it was a righteous revelry of demons, which just happened to match its name, Lair of Demons.
No one feared Li Qingshan. The more gentle and polite he was, the wilder they laughed. They felt like they were watching a strange jester. With their identities, they did not have a lot of opportunities to mock someone powerful like him.
They felt like they were standing outside a cage, watching the tiger inside. They provoked it and made it swing its claws and roar, but the railing prevented it from reaching them. It was an amusement they rarely came by.
“Then I’m going to knock!”
As a result, Li Qingshan lowered his head and grinned, revealing his teeth. He made his way towards the huge gateway.
Suddenly, Li Qingshan raised his head, and a figure fell down from the gate. He was a large, pale fatty with a horned helmet on his head, clad in armour. He let out a furious roar and threw several punches at the air.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The air erupted, and the fatty’s fall rapidly softened. In the end, with a boom, he landed heavily in front of Li Qingshan.
“Impressive!” Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow. This bastard clearly had not even undergone the first heavenly tribulation.
The fatty fell back on his bottom. As soon as he saw Li Qingshan, his large, pale face immediately became even paler before turning red. He retreated backwards quickly and turned around, cursing at the top of the gate, “Who the fuck pushed me!? I’ll fuck your ancestor…”
He unleashed a string of foul language with some southern slang mixed in. He was just like them earlier, standing on the gates and cursing away happily. Caught by surprise, someone hit him with a palm strike from behind, and he immediately flew out uncontrollably.
“Heh, fatty Luo’s fallen down!” “He’s fucking done for!” “Who knows, maybe this great hero from the Green province is merciful and won’t kill him!”
Another roar of laughter erupted from the gates. No one sympathized with his situation. Instead, they all belittled his capabilities.
When they watched a wild beast, what was more fascinating than a person falling into the enclosure? Apart from the person directly involved, everyone was very excited and eager to see what could happen.
Fatty Luo suddenly turned around and pointed at Li Qingshan. “Let me warn you, you better not touch me. My master is the Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber, the second cave master of the Lair of Demons. He’s in there right now. If you harm me, he’ll never spare you!”
Li Qingshan only smiled, pointing at the corner gate.
As if he had just been spared, fatty Luo turned around and fled immediately. Right when he was about to enter the corner gate, he did not forget to turn around and say, “That’s more like it!”
Hushes of pity rang out from the gates. Fatty Luo made his way up to the city gates again, which led to another ruckus. They all looked down on Li Qingshan below even more. Here, benevolence earned no recognition. The more vicious a person was, the more respect they received.
Li Qingshan finally arrived before the gates, and he raised his hand. The huge face of a ghost painted on the gate suddenly drifted out, biting towards Li Qingshan.
“Is anyone home?”
Boom!
The ghost face dispersed, the city gates shattered, and rock was sent flying!
Like ten thousand tonnes of explosives had been set off, the huge boulders several meters across whistled out like weightless pebbles.
A group of demonic cultivators happened to be waiting behind the gate. Suddenly, they heard a huge rumble, and rocks both small and large rushed over like enraged bulls. Unable to unleash their cultivation in time, they were struck by the boulders, immediately crushed to a pulp.
The demonic cultivators who watched on from the top of the gate were directly devoured by the dust and rubble.
A long while later, when the rumbling settled down, the booms continued to echo through the valley.
A demonic cultivator who had the bottom half of his body crushed by a boulder, on the brink of death, looked up. The gates that stood over a hundred meters had completely vanished, turning into a huge gap. Corpses and remains were scattered among the loose rubble. A figure emerged from the dust.
When the figure grew closer, a calm smile hung over his face, as if he had done nothing impressive at all.
The demonic cultivators close to the city gates were all below the first heavenly tribulation. They were crushed to a pulp by the stray rocks. Even if they had undergone the first heavenly tribulation, they died on the spot when a boulder hurtled their way.
Li Qingshan made his way over the rubble and corpses, making his way into the valley. Up ahead was a main road that led to the highest peak of Savage mountain. A tall tower stood on the peak.
He could sense that several powerful auras were gathered there. That was his target.
In the tower, the cave masters were all astounded.
“He actually killed them!” The Silkworm Madam was taken aback. He had destroyed the main entrance of the Lair of Demons and killed countless demonic cultivators right from the beginning, which was equivalent to falling out with them completely. There was no room for mediation. This was completely different from what she had been expecting. “Don’t tell me he’s mad!”
“And you said he didn’t come to attack us.” Wei of the Poison glanced at the Ghost Ascetic with a sneer.
The Gentleman of Heavenly Blubber chuckled. “He really did that right in our face. It’s only been a few decades since our Lair of Demons opposed the Hawkwolf Guard, and they’re already looking down on us.” His face stiffened. “Then let’s show him what’s what!”
