Chapter 667: Great Demon 30
The female Cultivator merely listened in silence, as if the matters her sword servant spoke of had nothing to do with her. The sword servant watched her face carefully, and only when he saw her expression remained impassive did he cautiously continue, "Qing Ming was bought by a Loose Cultivator, but..."
The female Cultivator’s hand stilled as she brought the teacup to her lips. "But what?"
The sword servant bowed even lower. "Afterward, all the Cultivators who bought half-demons at the Treasure Pavilion were robbed. The culprits were lavishly dressed and possessed remarkable cultivation. Furthermore, it wasn’t limited to the Treasure Pavilion—any Cultivator who had ever purchased a half-demon from any auction was also robbed."
The female Cultivator set down her teacup. "You mean... they were specifically after the half-demons?"
"The ones robbing them were not Human Clan Cultivators," the sword servant said cautiously. "Some of the victims recognized them. They were from the Demon Market."
"The Demon Market," the female Cultivator’s expression soured. "What is that Golden Ring Snake scheming now?"
"There’s a rumor," the sword servant reported dutifully. "They say the Demon Clan has found a way to purify a demon beast’s bloodline."
"No wonder," the female Cultivator said with dawning comprehension. "Does she really see herself as some kind of Buddha, saving all of creation? In other words, Qing Ming is now in the Demon Market?"
"It’s highly likely," the sword servant said, not daring to make a firm promise. "But recently, the Demon Market has indeed been openly accepting half-demons."
"Half-demons," the female Cultivator spat the word with disgust. "His own mother is still alive. Why should he be a burden to others? He should be brought home and settled properly. Prepare my belongings. I’ll pay a visit to the Demon Market myself."
The sword servant agreed in a low voice. Just as he was about to back out of the room, the female Cultivator added another command. "Bloodthirst hasn’t tasted blood in a long time. It’s about time it had a good drink."
A chill ran through the sword servant. He didn’t dare say another word and could only quickly agree before leaving.
’But she was their sword master. What could they possibly say? For a woman ruthless enough to kill her husband to advance her cultivation, would killing her own children with her own hands really be that surprising?’
’However, she was only at the Body Integration Realm. That other one... back when she was merely an eighth-rank beast, she had managed to grievously injure Mahayana Realm Cultivators... The sword servant didn’t dare to dwell on it, nor did he dare try to dissuade her. After all, his master truly loved to kill.’
Tan You had no idea that someone was making a beeline for her Demon Market. She was blissfully happy. She was surrounded by fluffballs: little cats, a Little Tiger, a Little Leopard, chubby little birds—almost every variety imaginable.
She felt no guilt at all cuddling them. After their Human Clan bloodlines were removed, these little demon beasts were barely bigger than newborns. They couldn’t talk, only making little "AWOO AWOO" sounds and soft whimpers.
Take the one on her lap right now, for example: a black fox, barely the length of her forearm. The little fox clung to Tan You’s arm with its front paws, its pointed snout nuzzling her palm. Its big, fluffy tail was even wrapped around her waist, as if it wanted to have her all to itself.
A mottled Little Tiger, not to be outdone, nudged the little fox’s body and even let out a little "AWOO." But it was too small. Where was the imposing aura of the king of beasts? All one could hear was an utterly adorable, kittenish sound.
Tan You gave her affection to all of them equally, favoring none. She hugged the fluffballs, a wide, happy smile on her face.
Bai Ze was amused. "You really like these little ones, don’t you?"
Tan You said, "They’re cubs! They’re only fun when they’re small. Once they grow up, they’re not fun anymore."
Bai Ze felt compelled to remind her, "They’re only in their juvenile forms. If you go by a Cultivator’s age, they’re long past adulthood. They understand everything."
"You said it yourself, that’s by a Cultivator’s standards," Tan You had her own retort. "They’re demon beasts now. They have nothing to do with Cultivators anymore. There’s no need to keep bringing up their past."
Bai Ze chuckled. "You always have an answer for everything. Someone’s coming. And they don’t seem friendly."
Tan You sensed it too. "Daring to attack the Demon Market? They’d have to be crazy or something close to it."
"Let’s go. I’d like to meet this ’hero’ myself. Speaking of which, our God Trapping Array hasn’t made an appearance in a long time. Maybe everyone’s forgotten how powerful it is."
Bai Ze shook his head. "What would you call this? A one-trick pony? You plan to get by on the God Trapping Array alone? Aren’t you worried people will say you only know how to rely on the power of your arrays? That they’ll say you have no real combat strength?"
Tan You couldn’t care less. "I’ll just treat it as sour grapes, which is exactly what it is. My powerful arrays are part of my strength. Why would I give up my greatest advantage and use my weaknesses to fight my enemies?"
"A war of words is pointless. What I want is victory, not a good reputation."
To be honest, since coming to this world, Tan You had rarely fought the Demon Clan or Cultivators directly. Even though she practiced Body Refining, she mostly relied on her arrays to navigate the world.
When it came to actual combat, the original Golden Ring Snake would have run circles around her. But Tan You didn’t mind one bit. It didn’t matter what her fighting style was; as long as she was strong, that was enough.
Bai Ze accepted her explanation. "You really don’t care what anyone else thinks at all, do you?"
"There’s no need to," Tan You said calmly. "Why should I care about people who have nothing to do with me? All that matters is living my own life well."
With that, Tan You carried the little fox and the Little Tiger out of her cave abode. Outside, a female Cultivator in black robes hovered in the air. She carried a longsword on her back, its blade a dark, blood-red. Even from a distance, Tan You could smell the thick stench of gore.
Just then, the female Cultivator spoke. "I am Shi Miao. A few months ago, I lost a half-demon. I heard from my sword servant that it was taken by a Great Demon from the Demon Market. I am here today to take that half-demon back. I would ask that the Snake King make things easy for me."
Even though Tan You rarely ventured out and her cultivation wasn’t even the highest among the snake clan, she had earned the title "Snake King" precisely because she was the master of the Demon Market.
It was just that Tan You usually stayed within the Shifang Mountains and was on familiar terms with the other Great Demons, so it was rare for anyone to address her so formally.
Hearing Shi Miao address her this way now, Tan You found it rather novel.
In fact, the moment Tan You saw Shi Miao and the longsword on her back, she had already guessed her identity. After all, there was a small green snake coiled around her own wrist. The little snake had tensed up the moment it heard Shi Miao’s voice, making it impossible for Tan You not to notice.
Tan You patted the backs of the little fox and the Little Tiger. The two little creatures hopped out of her arms and trotted over to nuzzle against Bai Ze. Tan You then stood up straight. "Are you looking for a half-demon, Fellow Cultivator? Our Demon Market only has demon beasts, not half-demons. I believe you’ve come to the wrong place."
She wasn’t lying in the slightest. To date, every half-demon that Peacock, Old Niu, and the others had brought back had their Human Clan bloodline removed. They were now full-fledged demon beasts, no longer half-demons.
Tan You couldn’t produce a single one of the half-demons Shi Miao was looking for. Of course, she had no intention of handing any over, either. If she just gave things away to anyone who showed up at her door demanding them, what shred of authority would she have left?