Chapter 129: One Against Two, Crushing Victory, the Great Wilderness Mountain Changes Hands!

"Whoosh..."

High-altitude gales howled fiercely.

Lu Wufei stood with his hands behind his back, letting the wind whip his cyan robes, his gaze fixed on the two old demons opposite him with a cold expression.

"It's you!"

Dressed likewise in cyan robes with the aged features of a black-haired old Taoist, Yuan Zhang, the Great Demon King of the Great Desolation Mountain, stared at the cyan-robed, silver-haired figure standing opposite him. His pupils suddenly dilated as he spoke in a deep voice.

"It's me."

Lu Wufei said calmly, "I didn't expect us to meet again so soon, old demon."

"Indeed, I didn't."

Yuan Zhang carefully sized up the figure before him and spoke in a deep voice, "To think that someone who was once a mere Golden Core could advance to the Human Immortal realm so rapidly. It seems the disciples under Great Immortal Zhenyuan are truly extraordinary."

"However..."

Yuan Zhang's tone suddenly shifted, and he was about to continue.

Beside him, the Second Great King, Golden Eye—attired in yellow robes with fiery red hair, deep-set eyes, and a hooked nose—furrowed his brow and interjected, "Big Brother, Third Brother's aura vanished right here. I can sense it; he must still be alive..."

"But I can't reach him."

Golden Eye glared at Lu Wufei and said, "It must be this brat's doing!"

Hearing his second brother, Yuan Zhang remained silent, merely frowning as he looked at Lu Wufei ahead and slightly raised his hand.

Second Great King Golden Eye immediately clamped his mouth shut.

Yuan Zhang then looked back at Lu Wufei and continued, "I recall your name is Bailang, right? Bailang, I was in the wrong back then. I offer you an apology here..."

"Big Brother!"

Hearing his big brother apologize, Second Great King Golden Eye blurted out instantly.

Facing his second brother's reminder, Yuan Zhang simply raised his hand once more and went on, "Now that you have caused such a ruckus on my Great Desolation Mountain territory, I will let it go."

"You may also put forward one demand. As long as it is not excessive, I can satisfy it for you..."

Hearing this, Second Great King Golden Eye wore an expression of mounting discontent.

Yet, his big brother had his reasons for everything he did. He had already spoken out once; to speak again would be showing disrespect to his big brother.

No matter how displeased he felt, he had no choice but to swallow it.

"Now..."

Yuan Zhang continued, "You only need to tell me where my third brother is..."

"How about we put an end to the matters between us right here?"

"Ha-ha..."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha..."

Hearing the old demon's words, Lu Wufei burst into laughter. The more he thought about it, the harder he laughed, until it escalated into a wild, roaring peal of laughter. Then, he raised his voice in scathing mockery: "Old demon, do you take me for a three-year-old child?"

"Do I look that easy to fool?"

"Put an end to it!?"

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!!"

Lu Wufei laughed uproariously once more. Sensing that several uninvited guests had apparently arrived in the high airspace around them, he glared with furious eyes at the two demons and shouted in a booming voice, "Back then, when I submitted to your command, little did I know that you three brothers harbored treacherous intentions, plotting to seize my immortal arts and move against me!"

"I fought a bloody battle against the Wind and Cloud Ridge for your sake! And what about you? Dignified demon kings hiding behind the scenes to prey upon the lesser demons under your own banner—you are utterly unworthy of being called demon kings!"

Lu Wufei deliberately pitched his voice loud and clear, intending for the other entities hiding in the high skies all around and the various monsters across the Great Desolation Mountain region to hear and know the truth. He channeled his divine powers so that his voice rolled outward in all directions like thunder.

"The brat is courting death!"

Second Great King Golden Eye instantly grasped Lu Wufei's intent. Wrath twisting his features, he moved to strike, only to be stopped once again by Yuan Zhang raising a hand before him.

"Big Brother..."

Golden Eye cried out anxiously.

Gazing at the two demons before him, Lu Wufei raised his voice even louder, "Tsk, tsk, look at that—shame turning into rage!"

"Did I say a single false word?"

Looking at the utterly gloomy expression of the old demon before him, Lu Wufei felt an incomparable surge of elation.

His deliberate proclamation here was far from a simple matter of merely settling a score.

Because ever since he had effortlessly swept the Third Great King, White-Faced, into his Sleeve-Catching Universe, he had suddenly realized something: if he could take down the two remaining old demons before him, wouldn't this vast and boundless Great Desolation Mountain become masterless territory?

The current Great Desolation Mountain not only retained all its previous lands but had also swallowed the greater part of Wind and Cloud Ridge's territory.

Such a vast expanse of existing territory...

If he could defeat these three old demons, he would naturally be qualified to claim this immense domain as his own.

Now, possessing the realm of a Demon King and a following of sworn brothers and dependents awaiting a home, he happened to be in urgent need of a foothold.

With this in mind, laying out the cause and effect so explicitly was essential.

First, it established his identity and stance: he was originally a demon of the Great Desolation Mountain, and dealing with the three demon kings was a matter of personal vengeance in which no outsider had any right to meddle lightly.

Second, even when facing demon ancestors of the Divine Immortal realm, this standing gave him a position of reason and strength.

Lastly, his occupation of the Great Desolation Mountain would be fully justified, grounded in both reason and evidence.

This would save him from future endless incursions and provocations by other monsters seeking to invade his borders.

Thus, with strength, backing, and a righteous cause, this vast and premier territory of the Great Desolation Mountain could be firmly grasped within Lu Wufei's own hands.

Just as Lu Wufei was unleashing his verbal fury upon the two demon kings of the Great Desolation Mountain—

In the southern skies high above,

Two figures stood atop a billowing cloud of water mist, gazing at the three figures confronting one another in the distant sky, listening to the echoing unfamiliar voice. One of them could not help but remark, "Has old ghost Yuan Zhang finally kicked a hard rock this time?"

"Likely so."

"Who is that kid?"

"He's got some nerve, hasn't he?"

"Hard to say. Judging by his words, he seems to be one of old ghost Yuan Zhang's former subordinates..."

"He must possess some real strength, otherwise how would he dare act like this..."

"Heh, to be hunted down by his own subordinate—he's lost a lot of face this time."

"Old ghost Yuan Zhang has been making constant moves ever since he advanced to the late stage, even swallowing Wind and Cloud Ridge. He deserves this."

"Hmph, even so, that kid only has the cultivation of a Demon King. Without a patriarch backing him from behind, I'm afraid he won't be able to do much against the old ghost and his brothers."

"Eh, why don't I see that dog demon?"

"..."

In the western sky,

Two figures similarly stood upon a patch of drifting clouds.

Gazing at the three confronting demons in the distance and listening to the voices echoing through the air, one of them couldn't help saying, "Heh, our luck today is truly not bad, actually getting to watch old ghost Yuan Zhang take a hit."

"Who is that kid?"

"He said old ghost Yuan Zhang tried to seize his immortal arts..."

"Could he be a disciple of an immortal sect?"

"Do immortal sects even take in demons?"

"Hard to say. Perhaps..."

"Heh, for old ghost Yuan Zhang to swallow such words without snapping means what the kid said is probably true."

"True or not, what does it matter? Old ghost Yuan Zhang won't care, unless he has some misgivings about that kid."

"Wait, why don't I see that black dog?"

"There were intense combat ripples from that direction earlier. Could it be that the kid and that dog demon have already fought a round?"

In the northern skies,

Two graceful figures stood suspended in mid-air.

"Meiniang, is the demon you mentioned earlier the one down below?"

A tall woman clad in a white long dress, with hair like cascading black silk and a countenance cold as frost, spoke in inquiry.

Beside her, Hu Meiniang—with her pure and striking features—strained hard to make out the three distant figures below before nodding immediately, "It's him, Master."

"That's the demon I saw today..."

"Wait, is he going up against the Two Great Kings right now?"

"Does he really have the guts?"

Taking in the situation below, Hu Meiniang widened her eyes in astonishment.

"Hmph."

Hu Yue, the tall figure beside her, let out a cold snort and said, "It's not just guts he has; his strength is no small matter either."

"That Third Great King of yours—that black dog demon—has already been captured by him..."

"The Third Great King was caught by him?"

Hu Meiniang's expression turned even more shocked. A thought flashed rapidly through her mind, and she immediately asked, "Then can he defeat the Second Great King and the Big Great King?"

Hu Yue, clad in white, shook her head. "Hard to say. He probably has some trump card."

Hu Meiniang hurriedly pressed on, "Then what if he wins? Will Master go deal with him?"

"If he wins..."

Hearing her disciple's words, Hu Yue narrowed her eyes slightly and slowly said, "Then those two—one in the mid-stage of Human Immortal and the other in the late stage—combining forces and still unable to defeat a newcomer in the early stage... such trash aren't even worth my striking."

Hu Yue's tone carried biting coldness.

This was precisely what she thought.

When that monkey demon Yuan Zhang had previously gone out of his way to pay a heavy price to invite her, he had revealed that he had offended a disciple of the Great Immortal Zhenyuan of Wanshou Mountain, a major immortal sect.

However, being under the command of the Northern Winged Golden-Winged Roc King and a high official of the Lion and Camel Kingdom, she harbored little fear of such matters.

Had a human disciple of the Divine Immortal realm truly come from Wanshou Mountain, she would have stepped forward regardless; taking rewards without fulfilling obligations was never her style.

Who could have imagined that the one arriving would instead be a wolf demon once under the monkey demon's command, returning now with a breakthrough in cultivation to exact revenge?

Under such circumstances, it was naturally inappropriate for her to step forward.

Especially after the white wolf laid bare the cause and effect of the matter, her disdain grew even deeper.

For someone of her status to deal with a little wolf demon who had just entered the Human Immortal realm—she feared becoming a laughingstock just by word of mouth.

If the three demons of the Great Desolation Mountain truly lost as her disciple Meiniang had suggested, she would be even less inclined to make a move.

If her own subordinates under her sphere of influence couldn't even defeat a newly-broken-through wolf demon, she still cherished her own pride...

Beside her, hearing her master's tone and sensing her displeasure, Hu Meiniang wisely closed her mouth and remained silent.

She simply stared wide-eyed at the three figures below.

On the mountain peak below—

Langlang Mountain.

"Bah, bah..."

Amidst the utter devastation of the ruined forest, a figure abruptly burst forth from the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of dirt-laden saliva.

"Good thing I have a passable grasp of earth-escape techniques."

Standing firm, Bai Yunxiao looked upon the ravaged landscape left in the wake of the gale: towering ancient trees uprooted, mountain peaks almost shaved flat, and everything familiar about the mountain reduced to unrecognizable ruins, utterly wiped out and gone forever.

Yet, before Bai Yunxiao could even sigh in emotion—

A series of thunderous, resonant roars came rolling down from the high heavens.

Catching sight of the three figures in the sky and listening to his sworn brother's words alongside the palpable tension between both sides, Bai Yunxiao's expression shifted once more.

Hearing his brother's words and witnessing the hair-trigger stance of both sides—

"Brother, you must be alright..."

Bai Yunxiao let out an internal sigh, and his figure immediately shot away into the distance.

Having witnessed the terrifying might with which his sworn brother had dealt with the Third Great King just moments ago,

This time,

Bai Yunxiao had no desire to stay and watch the battle.

He only wanted to flee as far away as possible to avoid being caught in the collateral damage of the clash between his sworn brother and the two great kings as he had been before.

Bai Yunxiao sped rapidly into the distance.

High above,

The fierce gales continued to howl.

Listening quietly to the words of the white wolf demon opposite him, Yuan Zhang—despite his dark and stormy expression—still maintained a sliver of patience as he said, "Bailang, does this mean there is truly no room for discussion?"

"Big Brother!"

Beside him, Second Great King Golden Eye stared at the opposing figure with blazing anger, grinding his teeth in fury. Seeing that his big brother was still persisting in his desire for a peaceful resolution, he was driven to the verge of agitation.

Yet Yuan Zhang still ignored him, keeping his eyes locked dead on Lu Wufei.

Ever since Huangfeng Old Ancestor demonstrated such deep reverence for the Wanshou Mountain Wuzhuang Temple—to the extent of ultimately choosing to leave—

Yuan Zhang had come to recognize the immense weight carried by the name Wuzhuang Temple.

He deeply regretted his past recklessness.

However, what was done could not be undone.

Therefore, after Huangfeng Old Ancestor's departure, he had gone to great lengths and paid a heavy price to invite Old Ancestor Hu from the Lion and Camel Kingdom, someone who held no fear of the Wuzhuang Temple.

Yet the one who came this time was that very white wolf demon who had once served under the monkey demon.

A wolf demon who had advanced to the Human Immortal realm in a mere thirty years.

Upon hearing from his third brother that a brief exchange had left him in a state of life or death unknown,

His realization of the sheer weight behind Wuzhuang Temple disciples had only deepened.

And now, here stood the white wolf before him.

If a peaceful reconciliation could be struck with the other party, he would undoubtedly wish for it.

For even if he killed this kid, other disciples of Wuzhuang Temple would inevitably step forward to avenge him.

Over the past thirty years, he had exerted tremendous effort to research records concerning immortal grottoes, blessed lands, and major immortal sects.

He knew well that they were almost universally protective of their own: strike down the junior, and the seniors would emerge; strike down one of lesser cultivation, and stronger ones would instantly arrive.

With his current cultivation, falling short of a Demon Ancestor, he could never withstand the multitude of disciples from Wuzhuang Temple.

His second brother Golden Eye failed to understand, but he could not afford to be ignorant. The more he learned, the clearer it became.

The identity of this kid before him was nothing short of a catastrophe.

Reconciliation was the sole viable path!

As long as there was the slightest possibility, he had to try!

"Discussion?"

Hearing the old demon's words, Lu Wufei laughed. "What is left to discuss!"

"I made my vow long ago!"

"Thirty years have passed, and I've let you revel in your peace long enough."

"Your third brother is already waiting for you. The two of you shouldn't keep him waiting too long."

"It's time for you to be on your way..."

As Lu Wufei's words fell—

"The brat is courting death!"

Second Great King Golden Eye could hold back no longer. A blazing blade materialized in his grasp as he lunged straight toward Lu Wufei.

Fully prepared, Lu Wufei's figure immediately retreated in a flash.

His divine intent stirred slightly.

The next second—

Rumble!

A sudden clap of thunder split the sky, illuminating the hazy pre-dawn firmament.

Following closely,

Gales churned violently, and the cloud cover shifted at blinding speed.

Simultaneously,

Lu Wufei let out a thunderous roar.

His form rapidly swelled and transformed into a half-demon physique featuring a wolf head and a human body.

In the span of a mere blink,

The half-demon Lu Wufei surged rapidly to a height of a hundred zhang.

A short distance away, Second Great King Golden Eye—who had originally intended to leap forward, but now watched as the white wolf expanded to a hundred zhang in the blink of an eye, rivaling his own mid-stage Demon King true form—abruptly halted his steps and flew back to his big brother's side.

Yet within just one or two breaths,

In the distance, Lu Wufei's half-demon form violently ballooned to two hundred zhang...

Two hundred zhang—a true form nearly six hundred meters in magnitude!

This was already the limit for the true form of a demon at the Demon King realm.

Gazing at the white wolf before him expanding to two hundred zhang in an instant, Yuan Zhang—who had managed to remain relatively composed until now—saw his expression instantly undergo a drastic transformation. Even his own original true form barely reached a hundred and fifty or sixty zhang, topping out at around five hundred meters in height.

By what right could this white wolf, a mere newcomer to the Demon King realm, command such a divine神通?

"Not good!"

At that moment, Yuan Zhang's expression shifted violently as realization dawned on him. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Second Brother, hurry!"

Mid-shout,

Yuan Zhang let out a low roar, his entire body rapidly beginning to shift and swell.

Only true form against true form!

That was his only chance to contend with the white wolf.

Otherwise, once the opponent completed his transformation, the danger would become absolute.

Golden Eye reacted with equal swiftness.

With a furious roar, his body immediately began to expand and transform in tandem.

While the two demon kings of the Great Desolation Mountain underwent their transformations,

Lu Wufei's half-demon physique continued its relentless climb.

Three hundred zhang!

Three hundred and fifty zhang!

Four hundred zhang!

A full four hundred zhang!

Lu Wufei's half-demon physique expanded until it surpassed twelve hundred meters in height, finally halting its growth.

"Rumble, rumble..."

Trails of fierce lightning tore across the dim sky.

Gales roared.

The jaws of not only the two Great Desolation Mountain demon kings dropped in utter shock at the sight of that four-hundred-zhang towering demon form, but also those of—

The two demon kings of Lishui Prefecture in the south,

And the two demon kings of Fiery Light Cave in the west.

At this very moment, all of them were struck dumb with astonishment, shaken to their very cores.

Even standing alone in the high northern skies,

Demon Ancestor Hu Yue—who had brought her disciple Hu Meiniang to observe the battle—wore a look of profound shock as she gazed upon the towering, mountain-like white wolf form illuminated by the thunderbolts that seemed to prop up the heavens.

A four-hundred-zhang demon form!

This was already on par with her own demon form after changing into her true shape.

"This little demon is truly..."

Demon Ancestor Hu Yue's expression as she looked toward the white wolf demon below finally turned grave.

Down below,

Lu Wufei—standing like a titan supporting the heavens—looked down at the enormous crow demon some three hundred meters in size and the gargantuan ape spanning roughly five hundred meters, and let out a booming declaration: "Old demons, come die!"

A voice rolling like muffled thunder erupted.

Lu Wufei swung his massive arms, hurling himself fiercely toward the two demons, neither of which reached even half his size.

Knowing full well that flight meant certain defeat and certain death,

Yuan Zhang and his second brother Golden Eye chose to stake everything on a desperate struggle!

Yet, with a disparity of more than double in physical scale, the gap in power was like heaven and earth.

There was no suspense whatsoever.

The colossal ape and crow transformed by Yuan Zhang and his second brother Golden Eye appeared as frail and insignificant as toddlers before Lu Wufei.

They possessed virtually no ability to fight back.

In an instant,

Mountains collapsed and the earth split asunder;

The ground shook and the mountains quaked.

Before long—

Lu Wufei seized the gargantuan crow demon by its wings, tearing them off with a single wrench, then bit clean through its head before casting the carcass aside as a shower of blood rained across the forest.

"Second Brother!!!"

Watching his second brother meet a gruesome death before his very eyes, Yuan Zhang let out a tearful, thunderous roar.

He then turned tail and fled!

"Where do you think you're going?!"

With eyes wide with fury, Lu Wufei roared in rage, drenched from head to toe in blood, and pursued him with massive, earth-shaking strides like a divine demon descending upon the mortal world...

(End of this chapter)