Li Mo had been cautious for over two hundred years. His greatest dream was to break through to the Nascent Soul stage and then establish his own territory within the Demon City.
He was still fantasizing about building the most magnificent Demon Lord's mansion once he acquired a demon treasure and became a Demon Lord, when his head was severed by a demon who appeared out of nowhere.
Less than ten breaths after killing Li Mo, the demon met his own end, an arrow piercing his throat.
Slaughter raged in every corner of the Demon Mountain.
Outside the Demon Mountain.
When Yin Shan arrived, the demonic pillar had already vanished. Without needing to sniff the air, he detected the overwhelming scent of blood.
For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to the arena outside the Demon Lord's mansion in Black City.
Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong.
"Yin Shan, how have you been lately?"
Yin Shan frowned. "Still alive."
"Why are you always so short-tempered?"
As the voice faded, a figure as vast as a mountain slowly materialized before Yin Shan.
"Shen Zhong, you've become so obese, yet you traveled a thousand miles just to watch the commotion?"
Shen Zhong, ranked seventh among the eighteen Demon Lords, was of comparable strength to Yin Shan.
Shen Zhong smiled good-naturedly, his fleshy face piled high, obscuring his features so much that only a few faint slits were visible.
"I heard Han Hong is dead? How did he die, and why didn't you avenge him?"
Yin Shan was not afraid of Shen Zhong, and Shen Zhong certainly did not fear him.
Therefore, he immediately brought up the matter Yin Shan least wanted to discuss.
Yin Shan's brow furrowed, and he remained silent, his expression darkening considerably.
"What? Is there something you can't say? Why are you acting so peculiar today? Could it be you're hiding something from me?"
Having interacted with Yin Shan for hundreds of years, Shen Zhong saw through his unease at a glance, which only fueled his curiosity.
"He's unwilling to speak because he couldn't capture the female demon who killed Han Hong, and thus has no face to mention it. Yin Shan, am I right?"
A charming, giggling laugh suddenly echoed.
"Mei Mo, you've come too?" Shen Zhong's eyes brightened, the tiny slits on his face appearing even more prominent.
"You're all here, why shouldn't I be?"
Kui Mo's appearance was the closest to that of humans. Apart from his pair of blood-red eyes, there was not a single trace of demonic characteristics on his body.
Mei Mo, ranked third among the eighteen Demon Lords, possessed unparalleled charm techniques and was the most troublesome among them.
When Yin Shan met Mei Mo's alluring gaze, he immediately reined in his senses, daring not to meet her eyes.
As for her earlier provocative remark, he did not dare to retort.
"So that's how it is. Mei Mo is indeed well-informed." Shen Zhong flattered, though he felt a pang of frustration inwardly.
He hadn't expected Mei Mo to show up as well.
This significantly reduced his chances of obtaining the demon treasure.
The top three among the eighteen Demon Lords were all formidable demons he dared not provoke.
"Since you're all here, why haven't you gone in yet?"
Mei Mo glanced at the two demons and suddenly asked.
Shen Zhong chuckled, "Yin Shan and I haven't seen each other for a long time, so we're catching up here."
"Hmph, I never knew the two of you demons had such interest in each other. Since you're not in a hurry, I'll take my leave first."
Mei Mo's voice still echoed in the air, but her presence had already vanished from the surroundings.
Shen Zhong's eyes narrowed as he looked at Yin Shan. "Aren't you going to move yet?"
"If you want to go, then go. I'm here to watch the show."
Yin Shan, firmly remembering the severe losses he had suffered last time, held his ground, refusing to step forward.
Shen Zhong looked at him strangely, then, after a moment's thought, transformed into a gust of dark wind and disappeared before Yin Shan.
Although he didn't know what Yin Shan was up to, he knew that good things must be secured.
Even if he couldn't snatch it from Mei Mo, he at least wanted to witness the origin of this demon treasure.
After Mei Mo and Shen Zhong departed, several other Demon Lords arrived.
Some stopped to greet Yin Shan, while others simply swept past him. In any case, they all, like the previous two Demon Lords, rushed into the Demon Mountain.
Yin Shan sat in his sedan chair, his expression growing increasingly peculiar.
He had a premonition that all these Demon Lords would return empty-handed.
As for the outcome, he expected to know in a few days.
...
"What is this? Such potent demonic energy."
A male demon with a pair of strange, large horns on his head curiously pried a seemingly ordinary sphere from the mountain wall ahead, examining it in his hands.
The origin of this object was unclear, but it gave off an extraordinary feeling.
He tentatively injected his demonic power into it.
Bang!
A massive pillar of black light immediately pierced the demonic energy, shooting up from the ground.
Demons within a hundred-mile radius could see the incredibly conspicuous demonic pillar.
"This... this..."
The demon's hands trembled incessantly, a flush of excitement surging onto his face.
A demon treasure! He had found a demon treasure!
Before he could celebrate for long, demons, drawn by the demonic pillar, had already surrounded him.
A bloody battle commenced.
The circular demon treasure, having no demonic power injected into it, returned to its normal state, lying quietly on the rocks nearby.
Around it, countless demons were engaged in a fierce struggle.
"Demon treasure, hee hee, I'll take it."
When Mei Mo appeared beside the demon treasure, the other demons noticed nothing unusual.
By the time they reacted, a colossal pressure was bearing down on them, making it difficult to breathe.
They prostrated themselves on the ground, indicating their submission.
"This demon treasure seems a bit off..."
Mei Mo, having lived for nearly a thousand years, possessed extraordinary vision. Initially, she hadn't noticed anything amiss, but the moment she touched it, she could sense its strangeness.
However, before she could examine it closely, a demonic palm descended from the sky.
"Crack!"
"Crack, crack!"
"Ah!!!"
Under the shockwave emanating from the palm print, the bones of the demons surrounding Mei Mo shattered, crushing them into a pulp.
A fierce glint flashed in Mei Mo's eyes. "Ye You, how dare you contend with me?"
She sneered, tossed the pseudo-demon treasure into her storage space, and with a flash, appeared beside Ye You, who was hiding in the shadows, extending her five fingers towards him. Simultaneously, a peculiar fragrance spread.
Ye You's face changed drastically.
He was ranked tenth among the eighteen Demon Lords and had never dared to provoke Mei Mo. If not for the immense temptation of this demon treasure, he would not have gritted his teeth and made a move.
Now, seeing Mei Mo attack him, he retreated while urgently calling out to the other Demon Lords for help.
"Wu Bang, Shen Tie, Mo Xin, why aren't you acting yet!"
If they didn't join forces, the demon treasure would undoubtedly fall into Mei Mo's hands.
The Demon Lords he had called out to exchanged glances in the void and finally chose to act.
The four of them, working together, could make Mei Mo hesitate.
"What? Are the four of you planning to gang up on me?"
Mei Mo stopped her movements, her gaze chillingly sweeping across the four Demon Lords who had formed a semicircle. Her face showed no trace of fear.
"Mei Mo, we have no intention of opposing you. You cannot monopolize that demon treasure," Shen Zhong said in a deep voice.
"Ridiculous! Are there any rules within this Zhuzhou region! Originally, the demon treasure was neither here nor there for me, but now that you've said this, I absolutely must have it."