Chapter 139 (2/2): Exposed

Li Lie picked up the paper and looked at it, his face instantly lighting up with excitement.

“Hahaha! Good! Hei-Feng, you old wolf, you really are in league with the Demon-Slaying Bureau!”

He praised the Mole Cricket Demon. “Well done! I will reward you handsomely when we return!”

“Excellent! I shall take this letter to the Great King immediately. Today, I will ensure you have no place to be buried, Hei-Feng!”

Li Lie tucked the letter away and hurried toward the Demon King Hall.

……

Hei-Feng returned to his bedroom.

He felt that something was not quite right.

Li Lie’s sudden, inexplicable visit must have had some hidden motive.

He checked his bedroom, but everything appeared normal.

The letters between him and Li Tianzheng had been completely burned, leaving no trace.

The Soul-Shifting Array he had used to contact the Poison Lady had also been destroyed by him, so no one would be able to tell.

To avoid suspicion over the past few days, he had stayed in his room and gone nowhere.

Li Lie should not have been able to find any leverage against him.

Hei-Feng carefully checked his bedroom once more and confirmed there were no loopholes before he relaxed.

He sat cross-legged on his bed, calmed his mind, and closed his eyes to rest.

He wanted to ensure his body remained at its peak state so he could begin his ascension to a Grand Demon the moment Hei Pi breathed his last.

Before long, a subordinate’s voice came from outside: “Great Chief, the Great King has sent someone to request your presence in the hall for a meeting.”

Hei-Feng opened his eyes.

A look of doubt flickered in his gaze.

Demon King Hei-Pi rarely summoned him.

Something felt off today. First Li Lie visited, and then Hei-Pi summoned him.

‘Did they find something?’

He became suspicious.

However, when the Demon King summoned, he could not refuse to go.

If he didn’t go, that overbearing wild boar Hei-Pi could easily throw him into a dungeon on charges of insubordination.

Then he could forget about becoming a Demon King.

Hei-Feng replied, “Understood. I’m coming.”

He walked out of his bedroom and saw one of Demon King Hei-Pi’s followers waiting in the courtyard.

The follower bowed and said respectfully, “Please follow this little one, Great Chief.”

Hei-Feng followed behind him, reflecting on his actions over the last few days to see if he had left any tracks.

After entering the Demon King Hall and seeing that everything looked normal, Hei-Feng gradually relaxed.

He thought that perhaps Hei-Pi was calling him to discuss a solution because the Secret Realm hadn’t opened and the life-extension ritual was facing complications.

Soon, he followed the attendant into the main hall.

As soon as he stepped inside, Hei-Feng realized the atmosphere was wrong.

Four demon generals stood in the corners of the hall, all of them Li Lie’s subordinates. They looked fierce and were radiating murderous intent.

Demon King Hei-Pi sat on his Treasure Throne, his complexion gray and lifeless like a corpse. His eyes glared at him with icy coldness.

Li Lie stood beside the Demon King, looking at him with a face full of mockery.

Hei-Feng immediately felt a sense of dread.

He turned to retreat, but the doors behind him slammed shut with a heavy thud.

Li Lie shouted, “Do it!”

The four demon generals threw out four long ropes, binding Hei-Feng tightly.

Hei-Feng was both shocked and enraged. He looked up at Demon King Hei-Pi and asked, “Great King, what is the meaning of this?”

Demon King Hei-Pi sneered and said through gritted teeth, “Good Hei-Feng. To think I always trusted you, yet you collude with the Demon-Slaying Bureau and lead them to invade my Erlong Mountain. Are you so eager for me to die just so you can take my place? You deserve ten thousand deaths!”

Hei-Feng was horrified and said, “Great King, I have been wronged! I have always been loyal to you. How would I dare to commit such a betrayal? It must be this bastard Li Lie whispering slanders in your ear! Great King, do not listen to his lies!”

Li Lie burst out laughing. “You scruffy old wolf, you’re still talking big even when death is at your doorstep. I have already obtained proof of your collusion with the Demon-Slaying Bureau. You should just confess and surrender. If the Great King feels soft-hearted, he might even leave you an intact corpse.”

Hei-Feng was secretly alarmed but kept up a front.

He questioned, “Where is the evidence? You long-haired wild boar, don’t you dare slander my reputation with nothing but your mouth!”

Li Lie sneered. “You old wolf really won’t shed a tear until you see your coffin. I’ll let you die with a clear mind!”

As he spoke, he pulled a fragmented piece of letter paper from his robes.

Although the paper was incomplete, the general content was still readable.

Li Lie waved the letter and asked triumphantly, “Scruffy old wolf, do you recognize this letter?”

Hei-Feng recognized it at a glance as the reply Li Tianzheng had sent him.

In the letter, Li Tianzheng had declined the invitation to harass Erlong Mountain and explicitly stated he could not afford the consequences of killing a Demon King.

Hei-Feng’s pupils shrank instantly.

He didn’t understand. He had clearly burned the letter to ashes just moments ago. He had no idea what kind of demon technique Li Lie had used to restore it.

But he had no time to think.

Now that the letter was in the hands of Li Lie and Demon King Hei-Pi, he no longer had a place to stand on Erlong Mountain.

Hei-Feng immediately exerted his strength, dragging the four demon generals—who were in the middle and late stages of the Jindan realm—to the ground.

He broke free from the long ropes and shot into the sky, smashing a large hole in the roof of the hall as he bolted outward at maximum speed.

‘As long as the green mountains remain, one need not worry about firewood.’

As long as he escaped this mountain, he could rely on his cultivation to eventually find another suitable place to become a Demon King.

Why did he have to be tied down to Erlong Mountain?

Inside the hall, Demon King Hei-Pi coldly watched Hei-Feng break through the roof and flee like the wind.

A look of disdain appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He opened his mouth and reached in to pull out a tusk.

The tusk instantly grew long, resembling a slender, curved blade.

With a flick of his hand, the curved blade shot through the hole in the roof, chasing after Hei-Feng at high speed.

Hei-Feng soon reached the edge of the Mountain Protection Array.

The array enveloped the entirety of Erlong Mountain and prohibited any demon from entering or leaving.

Any demon wishing to leave required the permission of either Demon King Hei-Pi or one of the two chiefs, Hei-Feng or Li Lie.

As a chief, if Hei-Feng wanted to leave the array, he normally just needed to strike a spirit technique into the array to send a request and then approve it himself.

Hei-Feng cast the spirit technique to request departure and was about to approve it when he suddenly realized his permissions were gone.

Demon King Hei-Pi had revoked his authority to approve entry and exit.

He was blocked by the array.

A flash of panic appeared on Hei-Feng’s face.

He heard the sharp sound of wind behind him.

He turned his head and saw a long wild boar tusk appearing before his eyes.

The tusk flew with such speed that Hei-Feng didn’t even have time to dodge before it pierced through his body.

Hei-Feng felt a cold sensation in his body, followed by intense pain.

He looked at the slender tusk in disbelief, his face twisting in agony.

He howled and reached out, trying to pull the tusk out of his body.

But the tusk suddenly surged with a powerful force, dragging him back the way it came.

It flew back into the Demon King Hall at high speed, passing through the hole he had made in the roof and landing before Demon King Hei-Pi and Li Lie.

Hei-Feng looked up at the ice-cold, ruthless Hei-Pi and Li Lie, who stood beside him with a face full of triumph.

His face contorted.

He had started as a small Body Tempering demon and had worked his way up, cultivating hard, struggling through the ranks, and flattering his superiors to finally reach where he was today—only a step away from being a Demon King.

Just as he thought he was about to achieve his ambition, he had been defeated by Li Lie and ended up in this state.

Hei-Feng was utterly unwilling.

He spat out a mouthful of demon blood and sneered at Li Lie.

“Heh, don’t be so smug, you long-haired wild boar. I’ll be waiting for you down below. You’ll be joining me soon enough.”