Inner Demons

Before King Ao learned the news that the lair of the Tenth Prince, Li Shan, had been destroyed, he was gathering his generals to seek out the trouble-making Vicious Worm. However, in his mind, he didn't use the word "Jiao Dragon" but rather "Vicious Worm."

Not everyone knew that the Lord of Dongting had left Dongting, but King Ao was one of the few demons who did. This meant he wasn't just some random small fry—by his name, he was a Demon King.

When the Lord of Dongting was still around, the Vicious Worm didn't have many opportunities to cause widespread trouble. If it ever appeared, it would be instantly killed, not allowed to harm the various aquatic creatures. But now that the Lord of Dongting was gone, and Li Yunxin wasn't in a hurry to kill the dragon, the huge Vicious Flood Dragon was turning Dongting upside down today.

However, it didn't dare to venture near Jun Mountain—it had been scared stiff by that Old Man Su.

King Ao's true form was a river crab. He had achieved his Tao—his spiritual enlightenment—in Dongting, and he was the most ancient being there besides the Lord of Dongting himself. He gained sentience 1,500 years ago, and 1,000 years ago, his true form had grown to the size of a small mountain. One day, he saw the Lord of Dongting patrolling Dongting with his shrimp soldiers and crab generals. A flash of inspiration struck him, and he transformed into human form.

Now that the Lord of Dongting was gone, King Ao first lay low for a few days, observing the situation. He gradually realized that no one seemed to be stepping up to take charge. Although Lady Hong was the Lord of Dongting's daughter, all the demons in the lake knew she wasn't a decisive, swift, or ruthless demoness. Instead, she was someone who longed for human love and affection. A character like that couldn't handle such a great responsibility.

King Ao thought long and hard and eventually decided that he was the only one in the lake who could turn the tide. Dongting was inexplicably sealed, a disaster unseen for thousands of years. The demons and aquatic creatures in the lake were in a state of panic. What better time to build his reputation and legacy than now?

What's more, a few days ago, a great demon flew over his territory. It looked to be of a very high cultivation level. Since no one from the Su family came to tell him it was the Wei River Dragon King, Li Yunxin, King Ao had no fear. He was a great demon at the peak of the Manifestation Realm, and due to his extraordinary innate abilities, his body was even stronger than that of a typical demon. Therefore, he felt that…

His time had come, just like 1,000 years ago when the Lord of Dongting led his soldiers, rode the waves, and toured the six valleys and thirteen streams of Dongting.

That Vicious Worm was truly hateful. It had recently overturned many caves and eaten many demons. King Ao had observed it once from a distance and concluded it should be a True Realm demon. But while it was in the True Realm, it lacked the intelligence of a typical demon and was more like a large beast among demons. Given this, if he gathered enough people, there would always be a way to wound it. It didn't matter if they could kill it. What mattered was that if the Vicious Worm didn't die, other Demon Kings would. Either outcome was a good one.

Then, a Demon General rushed into his cave to report that the lair of the Tenth Prince in the Sunken Ship Valley had been raided.

Upon hearing this news, King Ao first laughed heartily and asked the Demon General to elaborate.

He and the Tenth Prince had a long-standing feud. King Ao was a millennial Demon King, had personally witnessed the Lord of Dongting's majestic patrols, and had even been taught by him on three separate occasions. He considered his status and identity to be higher. But that Tenth Prince—though he didn't know his true form—called himself the Dragon's Son. This alone was something he disliked.

Moreover, after several hundred years of cultivation, his realm was now comparable to his own. He was also associating with other Demon Kings and seemed quite restless. King Ao thought of these things and wished he could get rid of him quickly. But with 1,500 years of life, he wouldn't rashly engage in a life-or-death battle with another great demon at the peak of the Manifestation Realm.

Therefore, hearing this news was like jumping into a cool, refreshing well on a scorching hot summer day. He felt an indescribable sense of joy.

He grabbed a sticky, possibly putrid piece of meat from a huge golden plate beside him and threw it at the crab demon in front of him, saying, "Tell me, tell me everything in detail!"

The crab demon quickly gulped it down. Seeing its great King laughing heartily, it also became cheerful and said, "Hehe, Your Majesty, do you know? A great demon from the True Realm is said to have arrived in the lake, a hundred feet tall, with eyes like bronze bells, and breathing fire! It went all the way to the Tenth Prince's Sunken Ship Valley, opened and closed its mouth, and swallowed all the Demon Kings and Demon Generals! It only left the Tenth Prince, whom it carried to shore—probably to dry and eat him later!"

At this, the crab demon laughed uproariously.

King Ao was in his Traveling Palace at the moment. It was meant to look like a human emperor's palace, but unfortunately, due to his shallow cultivation, the area was small, barely the size of a courtyard. It was surrounded by a vast expanse of mist. So, he had found some golden cups, golden goblets, tables and chairs made of Nanmu wood, mud-stained carpets, and various mismatched paintings and hung them all on the walls as decorations.

A few small demons were squeezed together in the Traveling Palace. Hearing the crab demon's words and seeing King Ao and the Demon General laughing, they joined in.

But after laughing for a while, King Ao suddenly stopped. He frowned in thought. After pondering for a good while, he suddenly understood. He grabbed the golden plate beside him and, plate and meat included, threw it at the face of the crab demon general. "You idiot! Do you think this is a good thing?! How do you know that after he destroys Li Shan's cave, he won't come to destroy ours?!"

The crab demon and the other demons weren't as quick-witted as their King. Their smiles froze on their faces as they stared blankly, unable to figure out what the destruction of Li Shan's cave had to do with the destruction of their own.

But King Ao's anger must have a reason, and his words must be profound and mysterious. They immediately turned from joy to rage, also gnashing their teeth and shouting that they would skin that great demon and pull out his tendons.

King Ao sighed, disappointed that they weren't better. He stared with his two bulging eyes for a moment before finally coming up with a brilliant idea.

He laughed three times and ordered the Demon General, "Go quickly and notify the Demon Kings of the Four Valleys and Thirteen Streams. Tell them that a killer has arrived and intends to flatten all our caves one by one. Tell them to come to my Wind and Wave Valley immediately to discuss a great plan—to elect me as the Lord of Dongting, wouldn't that be wonderful!"

Upon hearing this, the Demon General knelt there, eyes rolling, thinking for a long time—trying to figure out what was so brilliant about this plan. But how could his hard-shelled brain think clearly? He just remembered the few sentences King Ao said, and stood there with a goofy expression, dazed for a while.

King Ao became angry again at his stupid appearance. He kicked him to the ground, where he tumbled a few times, and said, "You fool, hurry up and go!"

The Demon General could only shout a few times, "Your Majesty is wise!" and "This is a great plan!" before rushing out of the cave.

The crab demon general sent by King Ao to deliver the message had some innate abilities, so his travel speed was extremely fast. He returned after only two days and two nights.

But when King Ao saw the Demon General again, he found that its two thick arms were gone, leaving only a smooth torso supporting its head. Its face was mournful.

The Demon General explained that he first went to the Coiling Immortal Valley. But the Serpent King there said she didn't care about any great demon or whether it had come to her home. The crab demon general, in a moment of inspiration, said that while it hadn't reached them yet, if it flattened King Ao's Wind and Wave Valley, wouldn't it come straight to the Coiling Immortal Valley?

The Serpent King grew impatient, saying he was rambling on about nothing, and wanted to use him as a side dish for her wine.

The Demon General said he was King Ao's messenger and that if she ate him, King Ao would be enraged and would attack her home. The Serpent King thought that made sense. But she still said she was greedy for a taste. The Demon General had no choice but to break off one of his pincers and give it to her to eat, which allowed him to escape.

After escaping, he continued to the next place, the Cauldron Forging Valley. The master of this valley was a thousand-year-old tortoise, known for its slow nature and being an old rival of the Serpent King of Coiling Immortal Valley. When it saw the Demon General, it didn't ask about anything else but where his other arm had gone.

The Demon General thought that since this great tortoise was an enemy of the Serpent King, he might be able to stir up some trouble. In his decades of existence, this was the only time the crab demon had such great wisdom, so he quickly told the tortoise what had happened. To his surprise, the great tortoise's tiny green-bean eyes widened, and it said, "You gave one pincer to that Serpent King to eat. If I don't eat one now, won't I lose face?" and then broke off his other pincer to eat.

The poor Demon General, with his stick-like body, rushed to the other two valleys but was met with closed doors. The two Demon Kings there only sent someone out to say that if King Ao's Wind and Wave Valley was flattened, and then the Coiling Immortal Valley and the Cauldron Forging Valley, wouldn't they be able to become the new rulers? They wouldn't bother with his troubles.

So, he had no choice but to go to the last one, the Long Bend Valley. The master of the Long Bend Valley was a thousand-year-old Crimson Flame Vermilion Toad demon, who lived at the bottom of the winding valley. When the Demon General arrived, he saw the Toad King absorbing the essence of the sun and moon over the water to nurture his Qi Sea and prolong his life.

If the tortoise who gained enlightenment was slow-witted, then the Toad King was even more so. Seeing the Demon General and listening to his story, he said that he had seen many great storms and was fortunate enough to have once chatted and laughed with King Ao. Since King Ao had such a plan, and as a 1,200-year-old demon, it was a good opportunity for them to help each other.

The Demon General was moved to tears, thinking that this millennium-old elder truly had great wisdom. He didn't dare to go to the Thirteen Streams. It should be known that the masters of the Four Valleys were all highly cultivated demons who had long since taken human form and were considered "gentle." But after one trip among these gentle great demons, he lost two arms. Going to the "uncivilized" Thirteen Streams would surely cost him his life.

So he rushed back to report to King Ao.

King Ao was furious upon hearing this. He immediately tore the golden plate in his hand into two halves and ordered his troops to be assembled. He would first attack Coiling Immortal Valley, then Cauldron Forging Valley, then rendezvous with the Toad King to destroy the Thirteen Streams, and the two would divide Dongting.

He had completely forgotten about dealing with the great demon from the True Realm.

However, before he could assemble his troops, he received another report—the Serpent King was asking to see him.

King Ao was stunned for a moment. He first asked the little demon reporting the news what was going on. The little demon smugly said that the Vicious Worm had gone on a rampage in Coiling Immortal Valley. The Serpent King had fought with the Vicious Worm for three rounds but then fled and ran to Wind and Wave Valley for help.

King Ao was overjoyed. He raised the two gilded mace-like hammers in his hands and shouted, "Hmph, that demoness! She refuses a toast but will have a full meal instead! I'll go and get back her left pincer for her!"

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