Xu Yi guessed this was a calamity sweeping across the entire Divine Continent.
What she hadn't expected was that the situation was even worse than she had imagined.
Along the way, the corpses of demonic beasts were everywhere.
Even the earth was stained with a hint of blood.
The Eight-tailed White Fox had gone all out this time; all demonic beasts that disobeyed it faced only death.
In the past, with the Monkey King's presence, they could contend with the Eight-tailed White Fox.
But now, the Monkey King was dead, and there were no demonic beasts left to restrain the Eight-tailed White Fox.
Xu Yi thought she might have to return empty-handed.
She glanced at the Great Peng Golden-winged Bird on her shoulder.
Since entering the Divine Continent, the Great Peng Golden-winged Bird had been unusually quiet, as if it too was troubled by the current situation.
Due to its incomplete soul, it couldn't express its feelings clearly, only conveying its mood through silence.
Xu Yi, with the Great Peng Golden-winged Bird, traveled day and night, finally detecting traces of demonic beast activity five days later.
It was a small group of demonic beasts, skillfully divided into four small squads, advancing uniformly along the forest. No demonic beast in their path escaped their notice.
Xu Yi suddenly realized that this must be a troop under the Eight-tailed White Fox. They were searching for any hidden demonic beasts to exterminate them all.
Xu Yi thought for a moment and, without alerting them, quietly followed behind them.
She wanted to use this troop to understand the situation better.
Xu Yi made the right decision.
A day later, Xu Yi killed the demonic beast squad and rescued a small demon, the Blackfang Dog, who refused to join the White Fox organization.
The Blackfang Dog squatted nervously in front of Xu Yi, its tail, dulled by the long journey, wagging frantically behind it, conveying a fawning humility.
"My lady," it said, revealing its black teeth with a smile, "I felt a sense of kinship the moment I saw you, and couldn't help but show my submission."
Its words became even more obsequious, and its eyes sparkled.
Xu Yi instinctively glanced at her left shoulder.
The Blackfang Dog wasn't lying, but its subservience wasn't because she had saved it; it was because of the Great Peng Golden-winged Bird on her shoulder.
"What has happened in the Divine Continent recently? Why are they hunting you?" Xu Yi asked.
Upon hearing Xu Yi's question, the frequency of the wagging tail behind the Blackfang Dog noticeably slowed.
Even though its face was covered in black fur, it couldn't hide its dejected and bewildered expression.
"My lady, you don't know. The day I woke up, the sky of this Divine Continent had changed."
The Blackfang Dog was a small demon living in this forest. Although its cultivation was not high, it had lived a comfortable life in this forest thanks to its clever mind and agile movements.
The change occurred half a month ago.
That day, as it was out hunting, it received news from other demonic beasts that the most intelligent great demon of the Divine Continent, the Eight-tailed White Fox, had contacted several renowned great tribes within the Divine Continent, deciding to unite, break the seal, and return to the Nine Provinces.
At that time, the Blackfang Dog didn't take it seriously because a similar incident had happened not long ago, except that the Monkey King had intervened, and the entire alliance quickly collapsed.
It only needed to hide and wait for this storm to pass to resume its normal life.
Not only it, but almost half of the demonic beasts in the Divine Continent thought the same way.
However, it underestimated the Eight-tailed White Fox's resolve and misjudged the situation among the demonic races. The storm soon swept into the forest where it lived.
Even when more than half of the demonic beasts in the Divine Continent had surrendered under the threat of the Eight-tailed White Fox, no great demon came forward to stop it.
Even the Barbarian Ox, another great demon as renowned as the Eight-tailed White Fox, hadn't appeared, seemingly accepting the current situation.
The demonic beasts living in this forest either fled, surrendered, or were killed. Only the Blackfang Dog, relying on its familiarity with the terrain, managed to escape the first two rounds of searches.
But this time, it wasn't so lucky and was discovered. If not for Xu Yi's intervention, this forest would have had one more soul lost.
"My lady, you are human, aren't you?" the Blackfang Dog suddenly asked.
Xu Yi neither admitted nor denied it.
The Blackfang Dog grinned, "I know you are human. Although you've disguised yourself, you don't have the scent of a demonic beast. My nose is the most sensitive.
I'm just curious. They all say there are few good humans, yet you saved me, while my own kind wanted to kill me. Why is that?"
The Blackfang Dog was truly perplexed.
It was just an insignificant small demon. Whether it joined the Eight-tailed White Fox's ranks or not would have no impact on the overall situation. Why did the Eight-tailed White Fox want to exterminate them, leaving them no room to live?
It still remembered the small demons it had grown up with in this forest.
They didn't have powerful strength, nor top-tier talent. They often ate one meal and went hungry for the next, with even the next meal's whereabouts being unknown.
But they were also easily satisfied. With a piece of rotten meat or a spiritual herb, they could be happy for a long time. Why would the great Eight-tailed White Fox deny them even this small joy?
Xu Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "Then why didn't you surrender to them? As long as you surrendered, they wouldn't kill you."
Xu Yi had seen clearly at the time that this Blackfang Dog could have survived. As long as it was willing to bow its head and expose its submission to the leader of that demonic beast squad, it could have lived.
But it didn't. It chose to resist and was almost killed by a palm strike from that leader.
Xu Yi was curious why it chose a path that led to certain death.
The Blackfang Dog narrowed its eyes slightly. "My strength is weak, and I have no family to rely on. Even if I joined the Eight-tailed White Fox, I would soon die, perhaps by human swords or human magic, without even a complete corpse.
Therefore, I would rather die in this forest where I grew up. At least I wouldn't be displaced and homeless."
Xu Yi hadn't expected an ordinary Blackfang Dog to have such strong attachment to its territory.
This wasn't just the thought of one Blackfang Dog; many demonic beasts likely harbored similar sentiments, but they couldn't express them.
This might be a breakthrough.
"Although I saved you, I can't take you with me. What do you plan to do next?"
The Blackfang Dog grinned again, "I'm going to Monkey King Mountain."
"Monkey King Mountain?" Xu Yi was taken aback.
Her destination was also Monkey King Mountain.
The Blackfang Dog thought Xu Yi didn't know and explained, "Monkey King Mountain is our Monkey King's territory. As long as we enter Monkey King Mountain, we won't be pursued by the Eight-tailed White Fox.
I wanted to go there before, but there were many ambushes on the way to Monkey King Mountain, and I was too scared to try. But now I have no other way out."
Monkey King Mountain was currently the last pure land in the Divine Continent.
All demonic beasts unwilling to join the Eight-tailed White Fox's faction were heading towards Monkey King Mountain. This also meant that the journey would inevitably be fraught with many hardships and dangers.
The Eight-tailed White Fox would not let them go easily.
Whether it was one death or another, many demonic beasts still held onto hope and headed towards Monkey King Mountain. The Blackfang Dog also wanted to try its luck.