His words echoed in the ears of the great ancient demons. The ancient great demon from before suddenly realized something.
"No wonder you hoped that Centipede Immortal Lord would win. I remember you had a conflict with him before, right?"
"That's right. This old one had a feud with Centipede Immortal Lord three hundred years ago. If it weren't for the chaotic heavenly fate and the complex situation outside the mountains, how could I possibly wish for Centipede Immortal Lord to win…"
He didn't even finish saying the word "win" before, a miserable scream erupted. It interrupted the old turtle's words and drew the attention of the ancient great demons.
Deep within the Hengduan Mountains, a devastated wasteland had been plowed by the Gu King Centipede.
Blue centipede blood poured like a torrential downpour, dyeing the entire area in blood.
The old turtle and the ancient great demons looked over, their pupils contracting.
The Gu King Centipede's body, as hard as stone, had cracked with web-like fractures. Then, it broke apart—split in half at the waist.
Its lower half, over 200 meters long, flew out in a parabolic arc, its tail embedding into the mountainside as centipede blood sprayed freely, as if it cost nothing.
As for its upper half, it lay a thousand meters away on another mountain peak.
The Gu King Centipede was sprawled among the rocks, the miasma around it thinning, blood constantly coughing from its mouth.
Anyone with eyes could tell, it had suffered a heavy defeat.
Upon seeing this, the old turtle and the others ignored their shock and focused on the mountain peak where the upper half of the Gu King Centipede lay.
There, atop a mountain summit, a man shrouded in black mist stood, looking down at the centipede's bloodied head.
It was visible that he had sustained some injuries too. His injuries consisted of a tear in the delivery uniform he wore and a small scrape on his face.
At this moment, the black mist man spoke.
"As expected of a Gu King who has cultivated for three thousand years."
He glanced at the tear in his uniform, then retracted the terrifying aura surrounding him and spoke again.
"Considering your three thousand years of cultivation, as long as you are willing to surrender, sign a servant contract with me, and help manage the Hengduan Mountains by preventing other ancient great demons from leaving, I will spare your life."
Deep in the Hengduan Mountains, the ancient great demons fell silent.
A second later a voice emerged, addressing the ancient great demon who had previously believed in the strength of the Gu King Centipede.
"Do you still think my words earlier were wrong?"
It was the ancient great demon who had bet on the black mist man.
The ancient great demons—both those who had initially supported the centipede and the others—remained silent.
Beyond being unable to refute, they were more so in shock. They never expected the black mist man to defeat the Gu King Centipede so decisively.
As they were still reeling from surprise, the old turtle sighed deeply, his aged voice carrying a long sigh.
"Alas, this old one truly did not miscalculate. The situation outside the mountains is no longer something we can control. Even Centipede Immortal Lord has been utterly defeated."
Saying this, the old turtle seemed to age even more, his voice growing even wearier.
"It seems this old one will never be able to leave these mountains again. There is no way to extend my lifespan now. In the end, it will benefit you all instead. Never mind, never mind. For hundreds and thousands of years, this old one has devoured too many living beings to extend my life. Perhaps this is Heaven's punishment upon me."
The ancient great demons' eyes flickered.
If the old turtle died, they would be the greatest beneficiaries. This was undoubtedly a moment for joy.
But thinking further, the Gu King Centipede, for better or worse, was one of the ancient great demons of the Hengduan Mountains. Its defeat stirred a sense of shared fate—if it could not leave the mountains, would they be trapped here forever too?
They were ancient great demons. The path of cultivation was about seizing the heavens and the earth—who would willingly remain confined to one place?
Unconsciously one of the ancient great demons spoke.
"That human is indeed powerful, possessing at least three thousand years of cultivation, making him one of the Great Immortals of the mortal world. But he is not invincible. If we join forces, we have a chance to suppress him."
However, before he could finish speaking, the old turtle cut in.
"Young one, that is a good thought, but you seem to have forgotten one thing."
"What thing?"
"That human cultivator isn't stopping us from leaving the mountains out of kindness for humanity. He came under orders."
Upon hearing this, the ancient great demon's heart sank. He fell silent. The black mist man was already so powerful, what kind of being did he serve?
It was unimaginable. But one thing was certain: his master must be far beyond five thousand years of cultivation.
They had to struggle just to deal with the black mist man—how could they even hope to defeat his master? Even if they won, how many of them would survive?
The old turtle glanced at the many great demons in the depths of the mountains and advised kindly.
"Drink some turtle soup after this old one dies and go back to sleep. The world outside is in chaos. Rather than courting disaster, it is better to stay hidden in the mountains—perhaps that way, you might survive the dangers of this era."
Just as he finished speaking, the black mist man had also finished dealing with the Gu King Centipede. Although the centipede was unwilling, the choice between submission and death was clear.
In the end, the Gu King Centipede submitted, signing the servant contract with the black mist man and becoming his mount.
Its duty: managing the Hengduan Mountains and preventing the other ancient great demons from leaving.
Then having settled this, the black mist man turned toward the depths of the mountains. He hadn't had time to deal with the other great demons while handling the Gu King Centipede.
Now that he had the time, he wasted none.
His voice, though not loud, carried clearly into the ears of every great demon present. "You've all seen enough. I don't think I need to repeat myself. If any of you still want to leave the mountains, step forward now. As long as I am here, I will be your obstacle."
His tone was polite—yet his words were pure dominance.
For a moment, silence filled the Hengduan Mountains. Then, the old turtle broke it.
He stepped forward, standing on a mountain peak, in his human form—an old, hunched figure. He cupped his hands toward the black mist man and bowed.
"Great Immortal, your instructions—I am more than willing to obey."
With the old turtle setting an example, though some of the ancient great demons remained stubbornly silent, they did not stand up in defiance either.
In the end, most chose to reveal themselves.
Dignity existed only at the edge of a blade—without life, what was face worth?
At a distance, Situ Lao and the others watched.
One after another, terrifying ancient great demons emerged from the depths of the Hengduan Mountains. They followed the old turtle's example, bowing with ancient formalities.
In unison, they spoke, "We obey the Great Immortal's instructions."
The black mist man nodded. Just as he was about to heal the Gu King Centipede and move on to suppress other mountains and forests—
"This Great Immortal." The old turtle spoke again.
The black mist man looked over.
The old turtle cupped his hands once more.
"This old one's lifespan is nearing its end. I will never leave these mountains. Before I die, I wish to pass on with clarity. May I ask your name?"
"Black Mist." The black mist man answered directly.
The old turtle smiled and swept his gaze over the other demons. Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well do them a favor—ask for more details about their adversary.
Would the black mist man answer?
"Then I don't know whether this old man can again shamelessly ask, your master's name and title, let this old man be an understanding ghost."
The old turtle's aged face had a smile, and while speaking, he glanced at the many great demons.
"Anyway, this old man is going to die, helping you all a little, asking some details about the other side, just take it as doing a good deed before death, accumulating some merit."
At the same time, the many great demons, the nine people of Situ Lao, all couldn't help but perk up their ears, curious whether the black mist man would answer.
And at this moment, facing the old turtle's question.
The black mist man thought for a moment, speaking out seemingly would not affect Qin Ye's trip outside.
He instantly spat out three words.
"King of the Night."
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