Fellow Traveler

A moment ago, Qin Sang had caught a distant glimpse of the longevity banquet. He had spotted not only human figures among the guests, but even female cultivators. He could not tell whether they came from Myriad Demon City or had been abducted from somewhere by Qianji Demon King. These people seemed to have lived in the Ten Thousand Snakes Abyss for a long time and had grown accustomed to the ferocious demon beasts. Although the lesser demons drooled over human flesh, they were held in check by the enlightened demons and had no choice but to suppress their instincts. Still, it was hard to say whether they were truly safe here in the abyss forever. Qin Sang slipped inside alone. Bai had already laid the grand formation elsewhere and was waiting for his return. Qin Sang quietly surveyed the layout of the demon king’s cave dwelling. The terrain here was quite unusual. Upon reaching this point, the Ten Thousand Snakes Abyss widened into a massive basin, remarkably vast at its center, dotted with peaks of varying heights. At the foot of the mountains lay a stretch of marshland that seemed connected to an underground river. Though sunlight never reached the Ten Thousand Snakes Abyss, exotic flowers and rare plants flourished everywhere with lush foliage and vibrant vitality, and the mountains were no exception. Three treasuries were distributed among the hills. *This place is sealed by a spirit formation, with guards pacing back and forth. Infiltrating silently won't be easy; I have to wait for the shift change...* With the help of his Heavenly Eye divine ability, Qin Sang could clearly see the positions of the hidden sentries as well. He had already figured out the routine: with the demon king's permission, these guards were allowed to take turns heading out to the banquet to enjoy the fine delicacies and wine. That would be the best moment to slip in. In no rush, he remained motionless where he was. Time ticked slowly by. The atmosphere of the banquet grew increasingly lively. It was as though the guards inside the cave dwelling could already catch the alluring aromas of the wine and feast. One by one, their minds drifted, repeatedly glancing toward the banquet and gulping hard. "Dammit all! Did that white-feathered eagle pass out drunk and forget to relieve us?" On the summit of the outermost low hill, outside a stone pavilion, two demon pythons thick as water barrels—one black, one white—spoke in human tongue. The two demons were tasked with guarding the demon king's cave dwelling. They gazed longingly toward the dark lake, green with envy, but without orders from the demon king, they dared not abandon their posts, and could only huddle together, sighing in frustration. Having waited so long in vain, their patience was running thin, and the black python burst out cursing. "Arrogant as that white-feathered eagle is, he wouldn't dare brazenly cheat us brothers. Why don't you go cry to Her Ladyship? She's soft-hearted; maybe she'll just let us head over for a drink. We'd only be gone for a little while anyway. Who on earth would be audacious enough to sneak into the Great King's cave dwelling?" The white python sounded completely unconcerned. "Why don't you go?" The black python glared. "If the Great King finds out we neglected our duties for wine, he'll flay your hide off!" As they spoke, a rush of breaking air came from ahead. A white-feathered eagle appeared, swaggering arrogantly in an unsteady stagger as he led a pack of lesser demons swooping over from afar. The lesser demons' faces were all flushed red, clearly having indulged to their hearts' content. The two pythons rejoiced and let out a whistle. The other lesser demons on patrol immediately darted toward the formation entrance like a pack of ravenous wolves. "Damn, at least you didn't forget about us!" The black python lashed its tail fiercely toward the eagle, whipping up a blast of wind. With a flick of his wing, the white-feathered eagle blocked the gale. Letting out a drunken burp, he bragged, "The immortal vintage the Great King prepared today packs quite a punch—I can't even bear to disperse the buzz! You lot better hurry, or there won't be any left!" Hearing this, the two pythons cursed again and prepared to ride demon winds to grab their share of the alcohol. The white-feathered eagle suddenly caught the black python, jerked his chin toward the depths of the cave dwelling, and asked via voice transmission, "How is the Young Consort's mood?" "Heh, Brother Qing was ordered to take men to guard outside her boudoir under the guise of protecting her, only for her to scold him into the dirt. We didn't dare go near, so we made the little ones stay far away to avoid bad luck." The black python chuckled weirdly, gloating over the misfortune. The white-feathered eagle clicked his tongue. "When the consorts clash in jealousy, it's the little demons who suffer." "Just keep a good watch here! Wait for me!" The black python tossed a command medallion to the eagle, and seeing the white python already far off, hastily chased after him. Leading his subordinates into the formation, the white-feathered eagle activated the medallion, resealed the grand formation, made his arrangements, and then flew a lap around the perimeter. Once he was sure nothing was amiss, he returned to the stone pavilion to take a rest. By then, Qin Sang had already successfully slipped in. Still thoroughly immersed in the revelry, the demon beasts had not noticed in the slightest that a tail had followed them inside. Even that white-feathered eagle was only at the mid Demon Core stage; detecting Qin Sang was out of the question. Having infiltrated the perimeter, Qin Sang breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Yet this was only the beginning. *The longevity banquet will go on for a while longer, so there's plenty of time to search slowly. However, the dark lake is very close to here; Qianji Demon King could arrive in an instant. I must be careful and first inspect the restrictions on the three treasuries to see if there is an opportunity to exploit...* With these thoughts, Qin Sang quietly crept up one of the hills. There was a stone wall on the mountain. A hidden grotto lay behind it. Earlier, during the shift change, the eagle had immediately dispatched a squad of lesser demons to stand motionless before the stone wall, and the eagle himself had even made a round of inspection before feeling at ease. Hidden beneath a tree, Qin Sang instructed the Heavenly Eye Butterfly to use its divine ability to observe the restrictions on the stone wall. Evidently, these restrictions had been placed by Qianji Demon King himself. The Heavenly Eye Butterfly could spot flaws even in ancient restrictions, and right now it detected two weak points that offered a chance of breaching it. Doing so, however, would inevitably create a huge commotion and immediately alert Qianji Demon King. After observing for a while, Qin Sang quietly retreated and went to another treasury, only to find it just as troublesome. This showed that even if there were no treasures inside, these places were still held in high regard by Qianji Demon King. He refrained from acting rashly and proceeded to the front of Qianji Demon King's cave dwelling. He had now investigated all three locations that might house a treasury. Qin Sang estimated that if he were to slowly unravel the restrictions without alerting the demon king, even if he succeeded, he could open at most one of them. Once the banquet ended, Qianji Demon King would return, and he had to be gone before then. *The protective spirit formation is actually only partially active right now. Even if Demon King Yu does summon Qianji Demon King away—setting aside whether that will actually happen—the formation will be brought to full power, and sneaking in won't be nearly this easy. Besides, the Thousand Mountains Bamboo Sea won't be able to stay hidden by then either...* Qin Sang hesitated for a moment, recalling what he had heard earlier: Qianji Demon King kept a favored consort here. A favored consort was definitely not a Transformation stage great demon, so capturing her should not be difficult. Given her intimate relation with Qianji Demon King, she might know something. With that in mind, Qin Sang looked toward the depths at a somewhat secluded peak whose mountainside buildings were rather elegant and refined. Evading the guards, he was about to head over. Unexpectedly, the Heavenly Eye Butterfly suddenly issued a warning. Qin Sang's figure halted abruptly. To his astonishment, on the mountain ahead, a dark figure quietly slipped out from among the trees, heading toward the consort's boudoir as well! *When did that person get in?* Qin Sang was startled.