Chương 29: I Kneel

"Wait!" Suddenly, King Yellow called out to stop King Tiger.

"Brother Tiger, as they say, a friend from afar is still a guest. No matter what, this young brother is a guest. We can't be rude to a guest." King Green watched from the sidelines, his nose twitching. He muttered under his breath, "I can't sense his cultivation level, but his blood aura is thick. Only slaughtering countless lives could build that up." King Tiger came to his senses as well. A Second Level cultivator wouldn't dare set foot in the Everlasting Mountains. This man was definitely not simple.

He withdrew his claw and smiled.

"Young brother, you must have come to the Everlasting Mountains for the Immortal Dream Cave. I know where it is. Let us eat and drink our fill first, then I'll take you there."

"What the hell is the Immortal Dream Cave? I'm just passing through. I'm hungry and want to fill my belly." Fang Cheng stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. When King Tiger had swiped at him, the wind had kicked up ash from the fire.

"Eating is good! I've got foxes, badgers, raccoons, deer, elk, wild boars, pheasants, hawks, antelopes, oxen, whatever you want. If you like eating people..." King Tiger glanced at the three Li brothers and the plump man on the stone table, grinning.

"I can offer you those too. Ever had brain hotpot? White, tender brains with spicy red oil, the taste is incredible." Dagou and Xiaogou looked like they were about to cry. They'd only wanted to recruit an errand boy. How did they end up with a demon king? Zhonggou breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If Fang Cheng did eat anyone, it'd be his big, burly brother, not him.

"Sorry, I've been feeling weak lately. I could use some tiger penis to boost my stamina." As Fang Cheng spoke, the demon sword appeared in his hand of its own accord. Black demonic flames dripped from its blade.

"Hmph?" King Tiger's expression shifted. So this kid was hiding his strength, a demonic cultivator. But King Tiger was no pushover. He'd turn this brat into mincemeat! King Tiger's arm muscles bulged like writhing dragons. Behind him materialized a hundred-zhang tall ferocious tiger phantom. Its eyes opened, each twice the size of a giant bell. It opened its maw and unleashed a deafening roar.

"ROAR!"

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" The whole cavern shook. Walls cracked, stone crumbled, dust and debris rained down. It felt like the cave was about to collapse. King Yellow was stunned.

"I didn't expect Brother Tiger to have reached Observing Freedom and achieved True Deity Manifestation! Among us spirit beasts, his talent is top-tier. One more step and he'll reach Sacred Manifestation, shedding his beast form entirely. Incredible. Truly incredible." King Green nodded in agreement.

"Our demon race's Eighth Realm True Deity is equivalent to a cultivator's Ninth Realm Sacred Manifestation. And Brother Tiger has consumed spirit fruits that washed his marrow and refined his body. His physical form is incredibly tough. Even a peak Ninth Realm cultivator would struggle against him. Only a celestial immortal could match him."

"Haha! See that, boy? This is my power. Kneel and beg for mercy, and I might let you live." King Tiger stepped forward, hovering in midair, the ground trembling beneath his feet. He looked down at Fang Cheng, his voice like rolling thunder. The three Li brothers were already prostrate on the floor, shouting, "King Tiger's might is boundless!" Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. King Tiger's presence was overwhelming. But Fang Cheng felt no fear.

If anything, his blood boiled with excitement. His bones crackled like a symphony, his blood came alive like venomous snakes surging through his veins.

"Yes! I love big things! Bigger! Make it bigger! So I can feast all at once!" Fang Cheng raised the demon sword and began to dance. He felt his soul traveling back to ancient times, watching his primitive ancestors celebrate a successful hunt around a bonfire, stomping and leaping in wild joy. La la la, hand in hand, jump up, spin around, land, squat low, hands on hips, fingers pointing up, run in circles around the cauldron, feet wide apart, like zebras on the savannah with their big, thick hooves.

"Damn you!" King Tiger was furious. Not only did this brat refuse to beg for mercy, he was dancing, a blatant challenge!

"Since you're asking for death, don't blame me!"

"ROAR!" King Tiger roared again, and the hundred-zhang tiger phantom lunged at Fang Cheng, swiping down with a claw. Air exploded as violent qi surged outward.

"Sword, rise!" Fang Cheng laughed, leaping into the air with a flick of his toes. He brought the demon sword down in a gentle arc. In an instant, the tiger phantom quaked violently. Cracks spiderwebbed across its body, crack, crack, crack, until it shattered into nothingness. King Tiger coughed up blood and crashed to the ground. He clutched his chest and stumbled to his feet, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Impossible! How could this be? You're not a demonic cultivator. You're a true demon! Heavens above! This lowly one is blessed beyond measure to have met the Demon Lord! My lord! My most noble and supreme Demon Lord! Please spare me! I'll serve you as a beast of burden, a horse, a slave, a dog, anything! Just let me live!" With that, King Tiger dropped to his knees, kowtowing furiously, smashing the stone floor to pieces. Dagou stared in stunned disbelief.

The mighty king who had towered over them was now groveling before the errand boy he'd brought back. He was already kneeling, but he quickly turned around and prostrated himself toward Fang Cheng. Zhonggou and Xiaogou had already done the same. The other minor demons were so terrified they'd wet themselves, all pressing their faces to the ground. Only King Yellow and King Green remained standing. Fang Cheng's gaze swept over them. King Yellow dropped to his knees immediately, pressing his forehead to the floor.

He wasn't human, what did face matter? Living was what counted.

"Demon Lord, have mercy!" King Yellow begged. King Green stood silently, expression cold. He looked tough. Fang Cheng walked slowly over to King Green, the demon sword in hand.

"Why aren't you kneeling?" King Green opened his mouth to answer, but Fang Cheng's sword rose and fell. A massive snake head rolled across the floor.

"I'm not listening! I'm not listening! I don't want to hear your excuses! Haha, I just want you dead!" Fang Cheng laughed maniacally. After a moment, he stopped and eyed the hundred-meter-long snake body that King Green had left behind. He swallowed.

"You, yellow furball. Go dig out his gallbladder." King Yellow scrambled to comply. He clawed open the snake's belly and pulled out a green orb the size of a baby's fist, handing it to Fang Cheng.

"My lord, this is the gallbladder, the essence of centuries of cultivation." Fang Cheng bit into it, then spat it out immediately.

"Bitter! Disgusting!" He tossed the gallbladder into King Yellow's wine jar, then raised the jar and took a long gulp.

"Not bad, not bad. This wine is sweet." King Yellow quickly ingratiated himself.

"My lord, this is a specialty wine from the Hall of Eternal Life, brewed from various spirit fruits. Even a sip makes mortals feel like they're floating. For cultivators, it's even more precious, as it tempers the body."

"Hall of Eternal Life's stuff?"

"Exactly. I'm a Dark Night elder of the Hall of Eternal Life. My lord, have you heard of Dark Night? It's the Hall's underground organization." As he spoke, King Yellow pulled out a red token from his robes. On the front was engraved the character for "Dark"; on the back, a bat with bared fangs. Fang Cheng examined it briefly. He'd never seen or heard of it before. Definitely some shady organization.

"Everyone in the Hall of Eternal Life deserves to die!" A flash of sword light, and another head rolled. Wait, that looked like a yellow weasel. Hey, how shameless, pretending to be a leopard. Fang Cheng lost his appetite instantly. He kicked King Yellow's head aside and walked over to King Tiger. King Tiger quickly said, "Demon Lord, I have nothing to do with the Hall of Eternal Life! I don't even know that yellow weasel well. He showed up uninvited.

I'm the master of this fortress, I couldn't very well turn him away."

"I wasn't asking about that." Fang Cheng waved a hand.

"I want to know, is your true form also a lie? I don't like little cats."

"No, my lord! I'm a true tiger. My ancestor was the primordial beast Bi'an. I inherited his bloodline, which allowed me to take human form. I swear on my life, I'm no cat or dog. May lightning strike me down if I lie."

"Oh, a real tiger! Wonderful! I love tigers!" Fang Cheng clapped his hands and laughed. King Tiger breathed a sigh of relief, until Fang Cheng's next words sent his heart plummeting into an abyss.

"Hahaha, now I can eat tiger penis! Slurp..."