The four-winged blood horse and the snow leopard felt their blood run cold at the sudden female voice, an unbelievable thought dawning in their hearts.
They looked in the direction of the sound, their pupils contracting, an indescribable mix of emotions rendering them speechless.
It was really them.
In that moment, the shame of having their names called vanished, replaced by a secret joy.
The two great demons, who had been laughing maniacally, were suddenly silenced as if their throats were seized, unable to utter another sound.
Where had these three people appeared from? How had they gone completely unnoticed?
An ominous premonition simultaneously arose in the hearts of the two great demons.
Meanwhile, Xu Yi, standing in the void, let out a quiet sigh of relief. Thankfully, they had made it in time.
Although she hadn't signed a master-servant contract with the four-winged blood horse, they had spent enough time together for her to have memorized its aura.
Upon approaching this area, she had immediately sensed the presence of the four-winged blood horse and the snow leopard.
Xu Yi, moved by past affection and wanting to check on the well-being of the two demonic beasts, had temporarily changed their route, bringing Ji Buwang and Bai Shan with her. To her surprise, they had arrived just in time to rescue the two demonic beasts from danger.
The two great demons were dealt with by Bai Shan before Xu Yi even had a chance to act.
Ever since Bai Shan learned that he had been deceived by several battle-hungry great demons, his good feelings towards all combatant demon races had soured, and he had channeled all his anger onto these two great demons.
On the other side, Xu Yi and Ji Buwang had already reached the four-winged blood horse and the snow leopard.
"Shiliu, Mudan, why aren't you happy to see old friends?" Xu Yi asked with a smile.
The hidden excitement in the eyes of the four-winged blood horse and the snow leopard was utterly crushed by Xu Yi's address.
These two names were simply unbearable for the demons, no matter how many times they heard them.
Xu Yi, sensing the beasts' helplessness, burst into laughter and stepped forward to gently embrace the four-winged blood horse.
"Beautiful little horse, long time no see."
Upon hearing Xu Yi's deep voice, the four-winged blood horse could only whinny and flick its tail, unable to speak.
Seeing this, the snow leopard looked expectantly at Ji Buwang, only to be repelled by his icy gaze.
Never mind, it should have known what kind of person he was.
"Xu Yi, you have quite the network, knowing even demonic beasts."
Bai Shan returned after finishing off the two great demons and saw Xu Yi leaning against the four-winged blood horse, chatting intimately with it. He opened his mouth and involuntarily blurted out his thoughts.
Xu Yi smiled faintly, "Let me introduce you, this is the Four-Winged..."
"Shiliu." The four-winged blood horse suddenly spoke, its gruff voice tinged with shyness. "This young master allows you to call me Shiliu."
Xu Yi paused, then her smile widened.
"Alright, Shiliu, this is Shiliu, and that one is..."
Under Xu Yi's knowing gaze, the snow leopard had no choice but to lower its head and whisper, "Mudan."
They never imagined that they would eventually succumb to the oppressive force.
"Shiliu and Mudan?"
Bai Shan frowned.
Damn it, why did he think these two names sounded so much better than his own?
It was a miscalculation; he should have been more careful when choosing names back then.
If he had voiced this thought, Xu Yi would surely have recognized him as a kindred spirit. However, out of pride, he kept it to himself, thus missing a golden opportunity to get closer to Xu Yi.
Shiliu and Mudan, upon learning of their next destination from Xu Yi, expressed their desire to accompany them.
With the two great demons dead, they couldn't linger in this place any longer. It was better to travel with Xu Yi.
Xu Yi and Ji Buwang had no objections, and Bai Shan's opinion was not even considered.
Thus, the group heading to Monkey King Mountain grew by two.
An hour later.
"Hey, hey, don't you think you're going a bit too far!"
Bai Shan walked at the rear, watching Xu Yi riding the four-winged blood horse and Ji Buwang riding the snow leopard, while he had to walk on his own two legs. He felt extremely unbalanced.
Xu Yi replied without turning her head, "You can also reveal your true form and travel."
Speaking of which, she had never seen Bai Shan's Ice Mountain Twin-Faced Butterfly form and turned her head with a hint of anticipation.
"Hmph, absolutely not. Even on two legs, I can run faster than those two."
For some reason, Bai Shan felt uncomfortable at the thought of revealing his true form in front of Xu Yi and Lu Zaiye.
He believed it was likely due to their relationship not being close enough.
Yes, it must be because of this.
Xu Yi turned her head back, disappointed. "How much further is it to Monkey King Mountain?"
"Soon, we should arrive in another two days."
Bai Shan collected his thoughts, examined the surrounding scenery, and stated with certainty.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
When Xu Yi saw the strangely shaped mountain peak in the distance, resembling a peach, she knew they had reached Monkey King Mountain.
Before they could even approach Monkey King Mountain, two large, black-furred apes blocked their path.
"Where are you from? Where are you going? Where do you live? What is your purpose? Speak, speak, speak!"
The agile speech of the black-furred apes surprised Xu Yi.
Are the monkeys' vigilance levels this high now?
"We are here to seek an audience with the Monkey King." Bai Shan stepped forward, initiating contact with the two black-furred apes.
"The Monkey King is not someone you can just meet. State your names first."
Upon hearing Bai Shan's words, the two black-furred apes' tone grew more hostile.
Demonic beasts seeking an audience with the Monkey King had been arriving incessantly lately; these were already the third group of demonic beasts they had stopped today.
What further displeased them was that the beasts before them were disguised as humans.
Indeed, many demon races possessed extraordinary talents that allowed them to transform into humans early on. However, such behavior was not well-received within the demon race and was even looked down upon.
"Please inform the Monkey King that Ice Mountain Bai Shan seeks an audience."
"Ice Mountain Bai Shan? What kind of demonic beast is that?"
The two black-furred apes exchanged glances, suspecting the human was making things up.
Bai Shan: ...
"Not Bai Shan, it's Bai Shan!"
"It's Bai Shan!"
"Not that Bai Shan!"
"Then which Bai Shan is it?"
"..."
Bai Shan was about to spit blood from the ignorance of the black-furred apes.
Seeing the two black-furred apes becoming increasingly confused, he took out a silkworm cocoon that could prove his identity and threw it to them.
The pure demonic aura emanating from the silkworm cocoon completely dispelled the black-furred apes' suspicions about Bai Shan.
"Wait, I will go inform him."
One black-furred ape instructed, holding the silkworm cocoon and heading up the mountain.
The other black-furred ape stood in front of Xu Yi and the others, staring intently at them as if afraid they would flee.
Xu Yi looked at the vigilant black-furred ape and, with a thought, took out two spiritual fruits exuding a peculiar fruity fragrance from her storage ring.
The fruity aroma quickly caught the black-furred ape's attention.
Xu Yi clearly saw the black-furred ape's throat move silently beneath its thick fur.
Xu Yi chuckled inwardly and then separately placed the two spiritual fruits into Shiliu and Mudan's mouths.
Shiliu and Mudan were already accustomed to Xu Yi's feeding. As the spiritual fruits entered their mouths, the two demonic beasts began to chew with a crunching sound.
"Gulp."
The sound of swallowing became increasingly noticeable.