Chapter 650: Great Demon 13

The Nine-tailed Fox sidled up to Tan You with a grin. "I’ll go with you. A little girl like you, with a little mouse that hasn’t even learned to speak? You’d just be easy prey out there."

Tan You stared at it for a few moments, but she honestly couldn’t tell if the Nine-tailed Mystic Fox before her was male or female. She didn’t dwell on it. "Then I thank you, Your Excellency. I plan to leave immediately."

Cang Long’s temper flared. "I’m going too! I want to see for myself what this sect that wants to pull out my dragon tendons looks like!"

The other Great Demons, who had just been forced to swallow their bitter defeat, were certainly not going to let it slide. With the Nine-tailed Fox and Cang Long taking the lead, every last one of the ambushed demons wanted to go out and start a massacre.

Tan You felt a headache coming on. "We don’t know what we’re walking into. Besides, if we don’t have a single, unified objective, we’ll give ourselves away as soon as we get there."

The Nine-tailed Fox narrowed its slender eyes. "Oh? Little girl, you have a plan, then?"

That look on its face made Tan You cringe. ’Perhaps among all the demons of the Ten-Direction Great Mountain,’ she thought, ’I’m the only one who truly understands the Tianyuan Sect.’

At that thought, Tan You no longer held back. She told them about her past grievances with Qing Yuan, and the fact that he had once been a Cultivator’s contract beast. The assembled demons all fell silent.

The Nine-tailed Fox was the quickest to grasp the implications. "So, you’re saying that many of the demons in the Ten-Direction Great Mountain are now Cultivators’ servant beasts? Servant beasts like that... what right do they have to live? They should have just died and been done with it!"

Cang Long, the Chongming Bird, the Red Flame Tiger, and the other demons all nodded in agreement. They clearly felt that any demon who became a Cultivator’s servant beast was a disgrace to the Demon Clan and should have killed themselves long ago.

Tan You shook her head. "That’s not the right way to look at it. Demons are all proud. How could any of them willingly enter a contract with a Cultivator? It must be because the Cultivators used some underhanded means. They’re actually quite pitiful—they’re victims, too. We are all part of the Demon Clan; we should stand together."

"Besides, when it comes to scheming, Cultivators are naturally a cut above. It’s no surprise that demons are no match for them in that regard."

The Nine-tailed Mystic Fox considered this and accepted her point. "So, what do you plan to do?"

Tan You considered for a moment. "Twelve Cultivators came here in total, and there are eight of us demons. We can all shapeshift, can’t we? We’ll take on their appearances. This time, we’re going to infiltrate the Tianyuan Sect."

The Nine-tailed Fox asked, "They’re from the Tianyuan Sect?"

Tan You pointed to a pattern on their sleeves. "Of course. As for the extra four..."

Cang Long, ever the impatient one, growled, "We’ll just kill them."

But Tan You stopped him. "They all have contracted demons, bound by the most tyrannical master-servant contracts. If they die, it’s a clean break for them, but what happens to the demons they’ve enslaved?"

"Those demons are ultimately innocent. It’s already pitiful enough that they’ve been ordered around by Cultivators all these years... If possible, we should give them a chance to live."

Cang Long snorted, clearly displeased. Tan You paid him no mind. Her cultivation level was indeed lower than these great demons, but they weren’t exactly known for their intellect. That alone gave her some leverage.

Besides, they had a common enemy now, so minor internal squabbles could be set aside for the time being. And as for those squabbles, Tan You couldn’t care less.

She wasn’t here to make friends and sing kumbaya. She had her own mission to accomplish, not to get buddy-buddy with the other demons.

Cang Long was furious, but he had no choice but to accept Tan You’s reasoning. He could only shoot a hateful glare at the twelve Cultivators inside the God Trapping Array. "So we’re just letting them off? Can that turtle shell of yours even hold them?"

Tan You raised a delicate eyebrow. "Would Your Excellency like to go inside and experience it firsthand?"

Cang Long narrowed his eyes at the crackling web of lightning overhead and wisely shook his head. "Forget it. As long as you’re sure you can keep them trapped, it’s fine. When are we leaving?"

"Is Bai Ze really at the Tianyuan Sect?"

But now Tan You was in no hurry. "Don’t rush. First, we’ll search the Cultivators’ memories. We can’t go in blind, or we’ll blow our cover immediately."

"Besides, Bai Ze is an auspicious beast. If it were trapped at the Tianyuan Sect, they wouldn’t dare announce it publicly. If it triggered an uprising from the Demon Clan, the Tianyuan Sect would become everyone’s target."

The Nine-tailed Fox agreed. "That’s true. If Bai Ze really has been captured, they’ll have hidden it somewhere very deep."

And just as she’d predicted, after searching the memories of the twelve Cultivators, they found no trace of Bai Ze. Tan You took a deep breath. "The Human Clan... they’re plotting something immense."

The Nine-tailed Fox stood beside Tan You. "The Human Clan is uniquely favored by the Heavenly Dao. Over the years, the conflict between Cultivators and the Demon Clan has grown deeper and more acrimonious, to the point where we draw weapons the moment we meet."

Tan You said calmly, "That’s why I say the Heavenly Dao plays favorites."

A sudden CRACK of thunder exploded over Tan You’s head. Lightning flickered in the air, threatening to strike down at any moment. The Nine-tailed Fox glanced up at the sky, then down at the large tree next to Tan You, and silently took two steps away from her.

It was also approaching its own tribulation. If this triggered its Heavenly Tribulation prematurely, who could it possibly complain to?

Tan You just smiled. "I’m only speaking the truth. No matter how angry You get, You can’t change that."

Having provoked the Heavenly Dao, Tan You said no more on the matter. "Is everyone ready? It’s time for us to depart."

Cang Long and the other demons all transformed with a shimmer. In their place stood eight Human Cultivators, their faces identical to those inside the God Trapping Array. Tan You looked at their faces, had them muss up their clothing to look more disheveled, and then reinforced the God Trapping Array one last time before stepping into the teleportation array first.

After a flash of silver light, Tan You and the others felt their feet touch solid ground. They snapped their eyes open to find themselves in an empty space. It looked like some kind of grand hall.

Tan You was the first to step out of the array. Before two breaths had passed, a paper crane messenger flew toward them. "Martial Grand-Uncles, the Supreme Master Uncle has instructed you to first deliver the spiritual beasts you brought back to the Spirit Beast Garden. Afterward, he requests your presence in the forbidden grounds."

Tan You crushed the paper crane. "Shall we head to this Spirit Beast Garden first?"

Cang Long tugged uncomfortably at his Cultivator robes. "This feels weird. Fine, let’s go. If you ask me, we should just slaughter our way in."

The Nine-tailed Fox chided, "Don’t be so impetuous. We aren’t familiar with this place, and finding Bai Ze is our top priority. Little Snake, have you sensed any clues yet?"

Tan You glanced at the sky. "Let’s wait for nightfall. The power of the stars is easier to channel in the dark."

The demons suppressed their impatience. Though they were all independent and ruled their own territories, they shared a deep, heartfelt respect for Bai Ze. Despite Bai Ze rarely fighting, it possessed an aura of great fortune.

If they could receive Bai Ze’s blessing, their own paths of cultivation would become much smoother.

Following the directions they’d taken from the Cultivators’ memories, Tan You’s group easily found the Spirit Beast Garden. To make their act convincing, they had brought several other demons with them, all of a similar cultivation level to Tan You.

Now, those demons were being sent into the Spirit Beast Garden, primarily to gather intelligence.