Chapter 71: The Eight Great Demon Kings

“Huff, huff, huff…”
Once again, he soared through the sky, carried by the Black General. The wind howled in his ears, and his body felt wrapped in an immense layer of demonic power, holding him fast.
This time, Lu Fei could sense it clearly.
If he struggled just a little, he could break free from the Black General’s demonic hold.
Unlike before, when he was just a fledgling demon, utterly immobilized by the power that enveloped him.
Feeling his body whisked along at dizzying speed, Lu Fei couldn’t help but recall the Black General’s furious roar before they departed.
Lu Fei sighed inwardly as he thought back on it.
Even someone as powerful as the Black General could be bound, forced to submit, driven to rage, unable to escape. What hope did he, a novice barely starting down the demon’s path, have to resist?
The nature of this world, he realized, was not so different from Earth after all.
This fleeting insight made his entire being feel lighter.
Suddenly, Lu Fei became aware that, though he appeared to have blended into this world, in truth, he had not.
“Perhaps I ought to let go a bit more…”
With this dawning understanding, Lu Fei drifted into contemplation.
Time slipped by.
When Lu Fei’s feet finally touched solid ground,
he was no longer dazed and oblivious as he had been upon arrival. He estimated that the journey from the Sinanlang Mountain Range back to the Great Wilderness Mountain, home of the Three Lords, had taken five or six hours.
“This is the place we first came to…”
“It’s still so vast, and there are so many demons around…”
“Look! The demons from Serpent Coil Mountain are here too!”
“Where? I don’t see them…”
“Over there! Can’t you see with those big eyes?”
“Let go of me, you stupid dog—watch your tail!”
“Stay away from me! You really are a skunk—you stink so much!”
“We don’t need to squeeze so close now. If you come any nearer, you foxy thing, I’ll bash your head in!”
“…”
No sooner had they landed than the crowd of little demons erupted into noisy commotion.
Lu Fei looked up and saw they were back at the place they’d first visited: a vast arena fashioned from the sheer face of a mountain split clean in half.
It was far more spacious than the hillside at Sinanlang Mountain.
Now, on this enormous expanse, countless demons with all manner of heads and bizarre shapes had gathered, many clustered in groups.

Clearly, the Three Lords had summoned not only the Sinanlang Mountain horde.
At that moment,
Lu Fei spotted three serpents—no, three serpent demons approaching.
At their head was the beautiful, mature female serpent demon from Serpent Coil Mountain, the one he’d encountered before.
Now, she was known as Lady Hua, the Flower General.
Following her were two other serpent demons, one male, one female.
Lady Hua led them straight toward the Black General and the Wolf Commander at the front of their ranks.
Lu Fei’s gaze shifted to the Serpent Coil Mountain demon horde behind her.
Of all the little demons from Serpent Coil Mountain, the one he remembered most was the female rabbit demon he’d once threatened and extorted.
She had given him his first spiritual medicine, surrendered an item storing supernatural power, and provided a wealth of knowledge about demonkind and spiritual herbs.
If opportunity allowed, Lu Fei would gladly acquaint himself further with her.
After all, his first fortune had come from extorting that rabbit demon.
He had actually glimpsed her once when he was patrolling the territory at the start of his journey to Sinanlang Mountain, targeted by the Bear Leader.
But they were separated by a river then, unable to speak.
Now, perhaps he’d have a chance to meet her anew.

“What did you do to me?”
A sudden voice from behind—
Lu Fei turned to see the Crow Demon staring resentfully at the Toad Demon, Jin Hua.
“What could I have done? I just kissed you, didn’t I?”
Jin Hua, the Toad Demon, looked at the Crow Demon with a smug expression. “Didn’t you hold me so tightly just now? Don’t you like me?”
“What, are you denying it now?”
With her words, the surrounding demons began to jeer and tease.
“I like you…?”
The Crow Demon’s face turned pale with anger. Though he might be odd, he certainly had no interest in a stocky, greenish-yellow, pus-marked female demon.
He pointed at Jin Hua, his voice sharp: “What dreams are you having, Toad Demon!”
Jin Hua was unfazed. “Why did you hold me so tight, then, if you don’t like me?”
The Crow Demon grew even more enraged. He’d only hugged her because the General had ordered it, the Leader had demanded it, and that foolish bull behind had squeezed him forward. Hugging the Toad Demon had been oddly comfortable—soft and plush—but he could not admit it, so he retorted, “I was forced to…”
Hearing such scandalous affairs behind him,

Lu Fei instinctively tuned it out and looked ahead.
Lady Hua, the Serpent Demon, was conversing with their own Black General.
Lady Hua: “Who notified you to return?”
Black General: “The Black Hawk…”
Lady Hua: “Me too. Did he tell you the reason?”
Black General shook his head. “No, only said something changed on the main mountain.”
Lady Hua: “Same here, though the Black Hawk sounded urgent…”
“If the Three Lords are rushing to summon us back, the enemy must be formidable this time…”
The Black General spoke slowly: “Though we’ve had conflicts before, that was for the survival of our tribes.
Here, among the four generals, you and I are now the weakest, and our subordinate demons barely a tenth of the others’. This situation is grave. We can’t afford further losses. I think we should talk…”
Lady Hua considered for a moment and nodded, “I was thinking the same…”

At the same time—
If one gazed west from the vast broken peak platform, sharp eyes could just make out, amid the endless mountain ranges, a colossal summit piercing the clouds.
Atop that mountain,
stood an ancient palace, wreathed in floating white clouds.
In its grandest hall,
eight figures sat, their presence overwhelming, demon aura soaring skyward.
At the main seats,
three figures sat side by side.
In the center, a tall, gaunt figure with jet-black hair and an ancient, rugged face.
On the left, a middle-aged man in a fiery red robe, with flaming hair and deep-set eyes, an aquiline nose.
On the right, a tall youth with dark skin and ordinary features.
Had Lu Fei been present, he would have recognized the youth on the far right, the one with the unremarkable face and swarthy complexion, as the very Third Lord who had once frightened their Black General out of his wits.
With the Third Lord seated at the end, the two before him could only be the legendary Second and First Lords, whose names were famous but faces seldom seen.
Across from the three demon lords of Great Wilderness Mountain,
sat five guests, each radiating terrifying demon power, facing them with intent gazes.

Dreams of the Deep Sea Cat