Chapter 657: Great Demon 20
Tan You shifted her head. Unfortunately, Bai Ze’s snake-petting technique was so good that she couldn’t help but squint her eyes in contentment. "I’ll just have to recover slowly. It’s a shame Little Mouse will have to face its fifth-rank Heavenly Tribulation soon, and I can’t help it this time."
As she spoke, she wrapped herself once around Little Mouse’s neck. If you ignored her head and tail, she looked just like a silver collar.
Bai Ze smiled as well. "If Little Mouse is facing its Heavenly Tribulation, it can come find me. Although I was imprisoned for all those years and had my auspicious aura stolen, my cultivation level is still there. It won’t be hard to help it through the tribulation."
Tan You laughed. "Then Little Mouse is the real winner here, getting to have Bai Ze help it through its Heavenly Tribulation."
Little Mouse stood up on its hind legs and bowed repeatedly toward Bai Ze. Tan You, wrapped around its neck, hadn’t expected the little creature to make such a sudden move and immediately slid off.
The demon beasts in the entourage scrambled over each other to catch Tan You, but none were as fast as Bai Ze. The small silver snake landed right in his palm. Instead of letting her go, Bai Ze wrapped her around his wrist. "You should probably just stay with me. Little Mouse is too clumsy."
The Two-tailed Cat let out a meow, as if in agreement with Bai Ze. ’I’m fluffy too, so how come Tan You never looks for me to be her source of warmth? Besides, most of us demon beasts are fluffy. Is there any one of us who isn’t more reliable than Little Mouse?’
Tan You unceremoniously hid herself inside Bai Ze’s sleeve. Although his auspicious aura had been stolen, he would eventually generate it again as long as he had enough time.
’Good fortune and auspiciousness... who wouldn’t covet something like that? In any case, Tan You felt she was always a bit short on luck when doing things. If she could just soak up a bit of Bai Ze’s auspicious aura, nothing could be better.’
This campaign of vengeance on behalf of the demon beasts took nearly three months. Tan You, Bai Ze, and the others had traveled to nearly every inch of the Cultivation World and brought back hundreds of thousands of demon beasts.
Even within the vast Ten-Direction Great Mountain, this was an eye-catching number. As they stepped into the borders of the Ten-Direction Great Mountain, Bai Ze couldn’t help but pause. Tan You poked her head out from his sleeve. "Cang Long?"
And who else could be standing there but Cang Long? Beside him were the native inhabitants of the Ten-Direction Great Mountain—the Golden-winged Great Peng Bird, the Nine-tailed Fox, and the Red Flame Tiger, among others.
In truth, after leaving the Tianyuan Sect, Cang Long, the Nine-tailed Fox, and the other Great Demons had returned directly to the Ten-Direction Great Mountain. Unlike Tan You, who was human at her core, they felt basically no empathy for the demon beasts that had once been enslaved by contracts.
Thus, from the perspective of Cang Long and the other Great Demons, Tan You’s quest to find more of their kind was incomprehensible. Besides, their original goal had been to find Bai Ze. Now that Bai Ze had been found, their objective was achieved, even if he was currently staying with Tan You.
That was why Cang Long and the others hadn’t involved themselves in the aftermath, instead returning to live their own quiet lives.
Tan You couldn’t say they were wrong about this. It was merely a difference in thinking between a human and a demon beast. When she saw these formerly oppressed and enslaved creatures, she wanted to give them a sanctuary where they could live in freedom.
But Cang Long and the other Great Demons felt that being enslaved and oppressed was a sign of weakness. Those beasts had brought disgrace upon the Demon Clan and should have ended their own lives. How could they be allowed to return to the fold?
Both sides had their points. ’Of course,’ Tan You thought, ’I still believe I’m the one who’s right.’
Seeing her tiny snake head, Cang Long snorted. "So you’re finally willing to come back?"
Tan You nodded. "Mhm, we’ve made a tour of all the sects in the Cultivation World, so it was time to return. Some of the demon beasts have had their foundations damaged and need a place to recuperate."
Cang Long glanced at the dense crowd of demon beasts and let out a disdainful huff. "The Ten-Direction Great Mountain doesn’t belong exclusively to us, anyway. Pick your own territory, but once the boundaries are drawn, don’t wander about randomly."
Tan You tilted her head. The next moment, she leaped from Bai Ze’s wrist, transforming into a tall, slender female Cultivator as she landed. "Oh? You’re really letting us choose for ourselves? Since when are you so agreeable?"
’Ah, I get it,’ Tan You realized. ’It’s because Bai Ze is here. If he weren’t with us, I imagine we’d be forced to live on the outer edges of the Ten-Direction Great Mountain.’
’Who says all demon beasts are simple-minded and direct? This one’s clearly got a brain.’ With that thought, Tan You dropped any pretense. "In that case, we thank you all. Bai Ze and I have already discussed it. We’ll settle in my former territory."
Bai Ze nodded as well. "I have no desire to go to the inner regions, either. It doesn’t hold any pleasant memories for me."
Cang Long and the other Great Demons had nothing more to say. Since Bai Ze had made his decision, there was no room for argument. And so, after a few more awkward pleasantries, they returned to their respective territories.
The Two-tailed Cat sidled up to Tan You and meowed, rubbing against her. Tan You bent down and scooped it up. "Our territory isn’t far from here. It’s actually quite large. From now on, everyone will be able to live freely here."
Although many of the demon beasts’ true forms were enormous and fearsome, they were incredibly cute once they shifted into their smaller, mimicked forms. Tan You had very little resistance to fluffy creatures, and her voice unconsciously softened as she spoke to the Two-tailed Cat.
Bai Ze asked, amused, "You don’t have any sort of charter?"
Tan You laughed. "What sort of charter? Everyone can just focus on cultivating and healing their wounds. As long as no one kills the innocent, that’s enough. I’m not trying to make everyone obey my orders. How would that make me any different from those Human Clan Cultivators?"
Bai Ze teased, "So the main goal is just to do good deeds."
Tan You thought for a moment. "Pretty much. A demon beast’s life is a life, too. Doing this counts as a meritorious deed."
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Tan You’s territory was on the outskirts of the Ten-Direction Great Mountain, which made it sound small—that was only relatively speaking. The Ten-Direction Great Mountain was immeasurably vast. Even with hundreds of thousands of demon beasts settling in, the land still seemed immense and... well... sparsely populated.
After everyone settled down, fewer and fewer demon beasts came to mill around Tan You, with the exception of the Two-tailed Cat. It had started playing with Little Mouse. Now, Tan You and Bai Ze were living as neighbors, while the Two-tailed Cat and Little Mouse stayed with Tan You.
While Tan You was in seclusion to heal her injuries, the two little ones were also cultivating diligently. Little Mouse had been spurred into action. With its pathetic combat ability, it was only safe as long as it stayed with Tan You.
The moment it stepped out of the Ten-Direction Great Mountain, there was no telling how many Cultivators would covet it. During their months on the road, more than a few had eyed it with greed. After all, it possessed the bloodline of a treasure-hunting mouse. If a Cultivator could form a contract with it, their own cultivation journey would be smooth sailing.
Thus, Little Mouse developed an unprecedented sense of urgency.
As for the Two-tailed Cat, it had been oppressed in the past. After regaining its freedom, it developed an immense thirst for power, vowing to never again live a life of confinement, driven at another’s command.
And as for Bai Ze, he too was cultivating diligently. ’As a Bai Ze, how can I possibly go without my auspicious aura?’
It could be said that this part of the Demon Clan had become unprecedentedly quiet and harmonious. In any case, Cang Long and the other Great Demons wouldn’t be dropping by for a visit. After all, compared to Cultivators, demon beasts were particularly solitary creatures.