Chapter 87: The City Without Worries

Perhaps that was a bit excessive...

Listening to the waves of furious roars below, Red Cloud unconsciously rubbed his smooth, bald head. He truly had not expected that the single stroke of his blade would wield such power.

Before his eyes, as the blade’s brilliance fell, the barrier above the entire Howling Moon Wolf Tribe trembled slightly, then shattered as easily as if it were made of paper. Not only that, but within his perception, he could distinctly sense that several of the previously formidable auras below had vanished in an instant.

Could it be that the Howling Moon Wolf Tribe was truly so fragile? That hardly seemed possible.

He had only intended to force out the tribe’s true experts—how had things turned out this way?

He sheathed his blade and stood quietly, watching below, waiting to see what further measures the Howling Moon Wolf Tribe would take.

...

Hm?

As he hovered in midair, he faintly sensed a tremor. Going with the flow, he opened his eyes once more, only to find that the world before him had completely changed.

The territory of the Howling Moon Wolf Tribe still lay in ruins; many wolves howled mournfully at the sky, and in the haze above them, the faint image of a bright moon seemed to appear.

Yet now, before him, stood a host of wolf-tribe elites encircling him on all sides. Their imposing presence, while perhaps not equal to the Mountain-Moving Demon King of the Half-Demon Kingdom, was at least no weaker than the Turtle Sage he had once met.

After all, the Turtle Sage had never relied on martial prowess; his exalted status arose from his extraordinary powers of divination.

Was this some kind of illusion?

Red Cloud eyed the dozen or so great demons standing before him, their auras either at the peak of Nirvana or at the level of Demon King. He raised an eyebrow, his fingers already resting lightly on the hilt of his blade.

Had he just arrived here, without any interaction with the Howling Moon Wolf Tribe, perhaps he might have been fooled for a spell or two. But among the crowd stood Youming Huan, from whom he himself had seized the Demonbane Pellet—now, that made things interesting.

Perhaps he should pretend not to notice for now, wait until his opponents revealed their true hand, and then strike back unexpectedly?

Settling this decision in his heart, Red Cloud stood motionless. After all, few techniques in this world could truly deceive him—he would have to be cautious...

...

The Martial King Dynasty, at its distant border, the city of Worryless.

This city marked the very edge of the Human Realm’s Martial King Dynasty, a bustling place where both humans and demons mingled.

Unlike the orderly peace of the Half-Demon Kingdom, here, bloodshed and peril were ever-present companions.

Outside the city, Yue Sansi stood atop a shattered mountainside, the ground around him littered with corpses.

Amid the carnage, a few cultivators—clearly at the late stage of Nirvana—trembled as they faced Yue Sansi, whose fierce glare made none dare to utter a word. Their only hope of survival lay in the weapons they gripped and the malice gradually returning to their eyes.

“You lot are bold indeed. How dare you ambush me here? If I hadn’t been so cautious, I might have lost my life.”

Yue Sansi’s shoulders bore two gaping wounds, no longer bleeding but raw and itching.

“We... we...” The leader, seeing Yue Sansi’s current state and glancing at the corpses strewn about, was filled with fear. Yet, as a cultivator at Nirvana’s late stage, he forced himself to muster some courage.

He did not know why this demon before him was so fierce—able to break the Demon-Locking Array and slaughter their ranks—but judging by the demon’s injuries, retreat might yet bring survival.

After a moment’s thought, he summoned his malice, gripped his longsword, and called out in a low voice: “Three Questions Demon, today we were unprepared. Will you allow us to withdraw? Your arms are wounded, and you cannot muster even half your strength. If we continue, it will only end in mutual destruction.”

“Let you leave?” Yue Sansi looked up, scanning the crowd, and saw that all agreed with this plea. He glanced again at his own wounds, muttering:

“Does he have any reason to harm me? Likely, yes—they set a great array to kill me, and if not for my tough hide, I’d have been skinned alive.

Has he harmed me? Certainly—my shoulders are wounded to the bone, and their numbers still threaten me.

Do they mean to kill? Of course—they nearly harmed my cook! That is... unforgivable!”

Even as he spoke, the few late-Nirvana cultivators standing before him shivered, then turned and fled in terror.

“This fiend is about to strike—run!”

Yue Sansi bowed his head, letting them flee. But behind him, three more arms sprouted.

He took up the Tranquil Heart Staff, stepped forward, and in the blink of an eye was behind one of the fleeing men.

As the wind whistled past, the man glanced back mid-sprint, and the moment he did, terror overwhelmed him.

With a dull thud, his body stiffened, momentum carrying him a few steps further before he fell into the demonic clouds with a crash, leaving a great pit in the stone. Looking again, his head was nowhere to be seen.

...

As Yue Sansi, eyes bloodshot, pursued and slaughtered the fleeing human cultivators, two figures stood high above upon the clouds.

“Lord of Worryless City, how did this creature come to be here? Have you found out?”

“Replying to your Highness—not yet.” The slightly shorter, rotund middle-aged man withdrew his gaze with a stiff, bitter smile. Seeing the prince’s expression grow colder, he hurried to explain:

“However, I have already made inquiries. Since this little demon appeared in the Human Realm, he’s broken into several minor sects, seeking ingredients for his cooking, and has rarely killed. Whenever he does kill, he mutters to himself, asking three questions—hence the name ‘Three Questions Demon’.”

Three Questions?

The prince’s expression did not change, but his eyes were deep as an abyss.

“When he calms down, go and extend an olive branch—invite him as a guest of the city. Whatever he wants, try to accommodate him.”

Seeing his subordinate nod in agreement, the prince said no more, turning to depart.

“The time is nearly upon us. Do not interfere with this little demon. All of their kind go through such a phase before adulthood—it will pass soon enough.

After all, this is... the Eight-Armed Golden Ape.”