The moonlight was brilliant, and the night air was as cool as water.
Niu Ben led this group of people stealthily, sneaking into the valley.
"This ox is indeed not right."
Ji Mo had not actually fallen asleep. He had closed his eyes and pretended to be dozing deliberately, wanting to test Niu Ben.
He hadn't expected this ox to be a scoundrel. First, it tried to abduct his precious Iron Eater, and after being sent flying, it actually led a group of people back. He wondered if they planned to team up to steal the panda, or if they intended to rob him outright.
Ji Mo feigned deep sleep and reached for the tiger tally in his embrace.
He had already discovered that the opposing party included demons and demonic beasts, and he had a plan in mind.
Tonight, he would ensure these scoundrels would never return.
"Look, that's Ji Mo, the demon."
Niu Ben pointed at Ji Mo lying on the giant rock from afar. "It's this fellow who enslaved Lord Nian Tie."
He intended to incite these scoundrels to deal with Ji Mo. As long as they could keep Ji Mo occupied for a short while, he should be able to escape with the Iron Eater.
"Is this the great demon you spoke of?"
All eyes in the field fell on Ji Mo, filled with confusion.
Wasn't this just a low-level demon with impure blood?
He only had a faint demonic mark between his eyebrows, and no energy fluctuations throughout his body. How could he possibly enslave Nian Tie?
Even though Nian Tie was still in its infancy, its divine beast bloodline was heaven-defying, and its combat power was not to be underestimated. Not everyone dared to provoke it.
"Appearances can be deceiving. This demon is insidious and cunning, and deeply hidden. He seems harmless, but his strength is immense. How about this: whoever can kill him will be credited with the greatest merit."
Niu Ben's eyes darted around as he incited them.
He didn't believe these fools wouldn't fall for it.
"That's right, let's do it this way. If you want to compete for the greatest merit, it's every man for himself. Let's see who this fellow ultimately dies by."
This decision was unanimously approved. They were all confident in their own strength.
A group against one, this was a sure win.
"Then let's go together."
Niu Ben spoke, but his body remained still. His gaze fell on the Iron Eater in the grass not far away.
As soon as a fight broke out, he would grab Lord Nian Tie and escape, and the chances of success were high.
"Kill!"
The burly demon spoke, about to charge forward.
But as soon as he took a step, his body flew sideways, his back a bloody mess, and blood gushed out.
The one who attacked him was a demonic beast behind him, which suddenly erupted, intending to kill him.
"Do you believe me if I say I couldn't control myself?"
This was a black panther, over five meters long. He spoke to explain himself, stating that the sneak attack was not his intention.
The black panther didn't know what had happened. He had just felt a moment of confusion and inexplicably launched an attack.
"Couldn't control yourself? You're clearly trying to eliminate a competitor. Are you trying to hog the credit?"
The rest of them stared at the black panther with unfriendly expressions, convinced it was intentional.
Couldn't control himself?
Such a lame excuse to fool a ghost.
Just then, the black panther's body trembled, its eyes lost focus, and then it pounced fiercely at a demon.
Subsequently, the other demonic beasts did the same, controlled by a mysterious force, attacking the demons beside them against their will.
Niu Ben quickly tried to intervene: "Hey, why are you fighting amongst yourselves? Stop it."
He was exasperated by this rabble, who were fighting their own kind. Utterly useless.
The jackal-headed man dodged an attacking demonic beast and seemed to have discovered something. He said, "These demonic beasts have been affected. They really can't control themselves; their minds are being interfered with."
The attacker was naturally Ji Mo. The immortal artifact tiger tally in his embrace possessed the power to control demonic beasts. After secretly activating it, he had temporarily gained control of these demonic beasts.
Thus, internal conflict ensued.
"It's that demon's doing."
The jackal-headed man looked towards Ji Mo, finally sensing the energy fluctuations emanating from his embrace.
It was clear that this scoundrel was the one pulling the strings.
"Niu Ben, let's join forces to kill this demon."
The jackal-headed man's eyes gleamed with ferocity as he invited Niu Ben to deal with Ji Mo together.
Around his waist, a toad the size of a bowl was tied. It slowly opened its eyes, waking from its unconscious state.
"I can sense the aura of the tiger tally. Mr. Ji, Mr. Ji must be nearby."
The Desolate Ancient Soul Devouring Toad was overjoyed and immediately opened its mouth wide, shouting, "Mr. Ji, help! Hurry and save me."
Niu Ben heard the cry for help and his gaze immediately fell on the jackal-headed man's waist. His pupils dilated, his body trembled violently, and he exclaimed, "Haha, is that you?"
The Desolate Ancient Soul Devouring Toad looked up at Niu Ben and responded excitedly, "Niu Niu, it's me."
Their eyes met, and in their gaze, there was only each other.
The jackal-headed man roared, "Niu Ben, what are you spacing out for? If you like this toad, I'll give it to you. For now, we need to deal with that demon."
"Release my good brother quickly, or I'll take your dog life."
Niu Ben roared at the jackal-headed man. Seeing the Desolate Ancient Soul Devouring Toad covered in bloody wounds and its aura weak, he felt a pang of distress.
His relationship with the Desolate Ancient Soul Devouring Toad was extraordinary. They had played together since childhood, sharing the same childhood friendship.
The jackal-headed man snorted, "Your good brother? This is a remnant of the previous dynasty. Aren't you afraid of being implicated?"
"I'll kill you first."
Niu Ben couldn't afford to worry about anything else. He directly raised his fist, as large as a sand pot, and smashed it towards the jackal-headed man's face.
The two sides engaged in a fierce battle.
Ji Mo stopped pretending to be asleep and stood up from the rock.
He had just heard someone call out and was curious who knew his secrets.
"Is that the big toad that got lost from home? Is it calling for help? Has it become a spirit?"
Ji Mo saw the Desolate Ancient Soul Devouring Toad and was greatly surprised.
How miraculous.
He had encountered the toad that had been missing for so long again, and it could even call for help.
Ji Mo controlled the demonic beasts to attack the demons, but he clearly felt that his control was not very strong. It was evident that the more powerful the demonic beast, the harder it was to control.
These demonic beasts were far stronger than those he had subdued in the ruins of the Human-Demon Ancient Battlefield. He could only control them temporarily, not subdue them for his own use. What a pity.
The tiger tally still had its limitations. Demonic beasts that were too powerful also possessed powerful spiritual energy, making them difficult to control.
"Xiao Tuan Tuan, wake up for a late-night snack."
Ji Mo spoke and directly summoned the little glutton.
As expected, as soon as it heard there was food, the Iron Eater reflexively woke up from its slumber and scurried over.
The little fellow was useless at everything else, but when it came to eating, it was definitely number one.
"These are all ingredients, all for you."
Ji Mo pointed at the demons and demonic beasts on the field, intending to leave none alive.
As soon as his voice fell.
Whoosh...
The Iron Eater turned into an afterimage and vanished from its spot.
The jackal-headed man, who was fighting Niu Ben, suddenly felt his legs grow heavy. Something had latched onto his thigh.
The next second, he let out a mournful scream, and his entire leg turned into a pool of rotten flesh.
Then, he was punched in the head by Niu Ben, dying on the spot.
The Iron Eater pounced on another demon again, and with another leg-crushing attack, easily killed him.
"Lord Nian Tie, we're here to save you."
These demon experts were in a panic. They never imagined that their greatest opponent on this trip would be the Iron Eater.
The Iron Eater didn't listen. Who asked you to save me? If you truly cared for me, offer your flesh and become my late-night snack.
It went on a killing spree, determined to annihilate this group.