Chapter 56: Journey to the Demon Realm

Cold City was the Demon Realm’s closest city to the border of the Cultivation World. Because of its freezing climate, coupled with the Demon Race’s general distaste for human cultivators, outsiders were a rare sight here.

However, today, three unfamiliar faces had appeared on the streets of Cold City.

The locals couldn’t help but look at the trio with some curiosity, but they flinched the moment their eyes landed on the first figure.

That was a Great Demon. Though they couldn’t see through the Great Demon’s true form, they felt a sense of chill emanating from the depths of their hearts.

Behind this Great Demon followed a human cultivator, and in the human cultivator’s arms was a Demon Beast cub. Although the cub had taken a human form, it was clearly not yet proficient, as the cat ears on its head and the tail behind it hadn’t been retracted.

“This is the Demon Realm?” The so-called cub was naturally Lin Chuyun. Having taken the form of a young boy, he was now lying obediently in Feng Xixing’s arms, his slightly rounded pupils curiously surveying the surroundings.

The Demon Realm’s city didn’t look much different from the Cultivation World, just a bit more desolate. Besides that, the other difference was the people living here.

Or rather, the Demon Beasts living here.

The Demon Beasts on the streets fell into two categories. One type was in their complete original body forms. The other type had transformed into human shapes, though this group seemed unwilling to look exactly like human cultivators, always retaining some features of their original bodies.

Some had snake pupils, some had beast claws, and one Demon Beast, whose original body might have been a Tree Demon, had leaves growing among the long hair on its head.

Seeing Lin Chuyun looking around, Feng Xixing even lifted him a bit higher, allowing him to see more clearly.

The red-clothed man following beside them saw Lin Chuyun’s expression and teased, “You look just like a little Demon Beast who just came out of the mountains.”

“I am from the mountains…” Lin Chuyun muttered quietly. Wasn’t Spirit Cloud Peak in the mountains?

The red-clothed man, also known as Feng Wu, shook his head helplessly at this and said to Feng Xixing, “Look, your Shizun’s temper is getting worse and worse!”

However, Feng Xixing was not provoked by him. He still looked at Lin Chuyun with a gentle smile. “Shizun is very kind and has a very good temper.”

“Tch…” Feng Wu pouted, feeling deeply that he was being bullied by the two of them. And so, when he sensed the prying gazes around them, he returned the stares with great displeasure.

The aura of a Great Demon quickly spread in all directions. Every Demon Beast that felt Feng Wu’s Demonic Pressure hastily withdrew their gazes, terrified of angering this Great Demon.

In the Demon Realm, if a Great Demon was in a bad mood, they could casually attack other Demon Beasts, and no one would blame the Great Demon for it. However, Great Demons usually weren’t so idle and bored as to roam around; they generally stayed within their own territories, so Demon Beasts would move far away from a Great Demon’s territory.

Seeing that no one around was scrutinizing them anymore, Feng Wu turned back with satisfaction and raised an eyebrow smugly at Lin Chuyun. “How about that? This Se… ahem, isn’t your big brother here pretty impressive?”

Lin Chuyun’s mouth twitched. He turned and buried his head in Feng Xixing’s embrace, trying to pretend he didn’t know him.

Originally, Lin Chuyun had planned to come alone with his little disciple. But not only were they strangers in an unfamiliar land, one was an underage human cultivator, and the other, after transforming, also had the appearance of a cub. They simply couldn’t put anyone’s mind at ease.

In the end, Feng Wu took the initiative. He hadn’t returned to the Demon Realm in a long time anyway, so it was a convenient trip back, and he could protect Lin Chuyun on the way.

With Feng Wu accompanying them, Fang Tianyuan felt considerably more at ease.

The territory of the Demon Realm lay at the westernmost end of the Cultivation World. The three of them had spent nearly two months just to cross into the Demon Realm’s borders. However, they were still very far from the Demon Realm’s main city, so they didn’t plan to stay long. They decided to find a random inn to stay for one night and then leave.

As the three were discussing this, the Tree Demon Lin Chuyun had noticed earlier suddenly walked over. Feng Wu narrowed his eyes, gazing at the Tree Demon with a hint of menace, but he remembered Fang Tianyuan’s instruction before they left—not to cause trouble casually—so he didn’t attack immediately.

The Tree Demon walked up to the three and his gaze landed on Feng Xixing. This human cultivator looked young, but his cultivation was decent, and his appearance was quite handsome. He also seemed to be taking diligent care of the little Demon Beast in his arms.

Coincidentally, he had recently grown tired of his last lover; a change of taste wouldn’t be so bad. Thinking this, the Tree Demon spoke to Feng Wu, “Name your price.”

“N-name a price?” Lin Chuyun’s reaction was lightning-fast. He turned and clung tightly to Feng Xixing’s neck, saying decisively to the Tree Demon, “Not for sale!!”

The Tree Demon just thought Lin Chuyun was throwing a childish tantrum and ignored him, still looking at Feng Wu. Feng Wu twitched his mouth speechlessly; he hadn’t expected the Tree Demon to be targeting Feng Xixing.

Indeed, such a custom existed in the Demon Realm. If someone took a fancy to another’s human cultivator, as long as the other party agreed, they could buy them outright, just like buying and selling Demon Beasts in the Cultivation World.

Under Lin Chuyun’s furious gaze, how could Feng Wu dare to nod? If he dared to sell Feng Xixing, this protective little kitten would turn around and sell him off too.

“Not for sale.” Feng Wu shook his head in refusal.

The Tree Demon smiled faintly and offered proactively, “Two hundred Demon Stones. How about it?” In the Demon Realm, two hundred Demon Stones could even buy a pretty good Demon Core. It was definitely a high price for a human cultivator. The Tree Demon believed no one would refuse such a high price.

Yet Feng Wu still shook his head, as if he hadn’t hesitated at all. “This human cultivator is not for sale.”

After speaking, he didn’t entangle himself with the Tree Demon any further and led the other two away. The smile on the Tree Demon’s face vanished. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the trio’s retreating backs.

Behind him, several figures hurriedly rushed up. “You… Young Master, you… how did you walk so fast?”

“Go follow that Great Demon. Find out where they’re staying,” the Tree Demon commanded directly.

That Demon Beast looked up and saw Feng Wu’s silhouette in the distance about to disappear. There was no time to ask questions; he had to quickly chase after them.

Because Cold City was sparsely populated, there was only one inn, located at the very end of the city. It looked run-down and shabby. The moment the three walked in, it felt as if the surrounding light had dimmed several degrees.

A small demon was dozing off at the front desk. Feng Wu walked over and knocked on the table with a frown. The little demon was startled, its head snapping up. It was then that Lin Chuyun realized it was a Rat Demon. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes; the tail behind him suddenly twitched.

The little mouse demon felt a wave of inexplicable chill. When it looked up and saw Feng Wu, it thought it had angered this Great Demon. Its voice trembling, it asked, “W-w-w-w-what do you want?”

“…To rent a room.” Feng Wu rolled his eyes. He was a principled Phoenix, absolutely unwilling to eat such an unpalatable Demon Beast.

The little mouse demon nervously checked them in and led them to their rooms upstairs before scurrying away in a flash. Lin Chuyun’s tail had been wagging excitedly behind him the whole time. When the little mouse demon ran off, he even turned his head specifically to watch him, only retracting his gaze with satisfaction once the mouse demon had completely vanished.

Feng Xixing shook his head with a helpless smile. Seeing his Shizun’s rare moment of mischievousness, he asked, “Did Shizun want to catch that Rat Demon?”

Lin Chuyun’s tail smacked Feng Xixing with a ‘pat’ sound upon hearing this. “Why would your teacher catch him?”

Feng Xixing didn’t expose him, instead carrying Lin Chuyun into one of the rooms. Although this inn looked quite shabby from the outside, its interior was surprisingly well-stocked. The bed, while not made of Spirit Silk, was still rather soft.

However, looking at the bed, Feng Xixing couldn’t help but feel some dissatisfaction. He gently lifted his little master up and placed him on a chair beside them, patting his head. “Shizun, wait for Xixing for a moment.”

He also casually handed Lin Chuyun a Spirit Fruit.

Turning around, Feng Xixing first put away the original bedding on the bed, then took out a piece of Spirit Silk from his Storage Bag. He meticulously re-made the bed with it before turning back to carry Lin Chuyun onto the bed, even carefully wiping the juice from Lin Chuyun’s fingertips clean.

Lin Chuyun looked down at the Spirit Silk on the bed, almost getting used to his little disciple’s extravagance. He swiftly transformed back into the little black cat, rolling around a few times on the bed, when he heard the sound of the door being pushed open.

The little black cat poked its head out from under the covers, looking towards the door in confusion, and found that Feng Xixing was about to leave. “Little disciple? Where are you going? Your teacher wants to come too!”

Feng Xixing paused in his steps and turned back. “Your disciple is just going to the room next door.”

The room… next door? The little black cat blinked blankly, suddenly realizing that Feng Wu had indeed booked three rooms. But that meant his little disciple would be staying separately from him.

The little black cat was still worrying about this when his tail behind him began to flick in agitation. He clearly didn’t want to sleep apart from his little disciple, but he was afraid that if he voiced it, his little disciple would think he was too clingy and find him, the master, too bothersome.

Feng Xixing had been by Lin Chuyun’s side for so long; how could he possibly not guess what Lin Chuyun was thinking?

Fang Tianyuan’s warning flashed through his mind, but Feng Xixing still stopped in his tracks. He turned back to look at his own master, his expression carrying a hint of embarrassment. “Shizun, Xixing… is actually a bit afraid to sleep alone. I wonder if I could trouble Shizun to…”

“Yes, yes, of course.” Lin Chuyun agreed rapidly before Feng Xixing even finished speaking.

The little tail behind him also wagged happily, the tip flicking back and forth as if beckoning to Feng Xixing. A trace of a smile flickered in Feng Xixing’s eyes. He closed the door behind him and turned back to the bed.

The little black cat had already curled itself very proficiently into a ball. After Feng Xixing lay down, he placed the little black ball on the spot over his heart, one hand gently resting on the little black ball’s body.

The little tail loosely coiled around Feng Xixing’s wrist. The little black cat rubbed against Feng Xixing’s neck contentedly, its two little paws tightly hugging Feng Xixing’s long hair, and slowly fell into a deep sleep.

Feng Xixing looked down at the little black cat on his chest, his brows and eyes filled with tenderness. After waiting until the little black cat was fast asleep, Feng Xixing lowered his head and kissed it on the forehead, then closed his eyes.

Midnight.

A silence fell over the entire inn, with only faint breathing sounds coming from two of the rooms. A strange rustling sound arose from the outer side of the inn. The sound traveled, finally entering one of the rooms.

Feng Xixing opened his eyes in the darkness. A branch appeared before his eyes, reaching towards his head, as if trying to bind him. Feng Xixing narrowed his eyes slightly, his body remaining completely still. In the darkness, something seemed to silently approach the branch.

The next moment, the branch looked as if it had suddenly combusted, instantly turning into a pile of black ash.

A muffled groan came from outside the room, accompanied by the sound of rapid fleeing. Feng Xixing, however, showed no intention of pursuing. Seeing that the little black cat in his arms was still sound asleep, the ferocity in his eyes gradually faded away.