The Grey Rat's Demon Path

According to the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng's assessment, this Secret Realm was likely the ruins of a Demon King's estate.

There were very likely many Tier Three Spiritual Items inside!

And so on and so forth.

Xu Chang'an and the other demons listened intently to what the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng had to say.

As the Spiritual Food Banquet drew to a close, the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng promptly excused himself.

He needed to go back and do some research on how to break the Array!

They agreed to meet early the next morning at the entrance to the Five Thunders Marketplace.

"Fellow Daoists, what do you make of what Fellow Daoist Dou just said? How much of it do you think we can believe?"

Once the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng had left, the Yellow Rock Bull Spirit Di Yan asked the other demons.

"In my opinion, we can believe about sixty to seventy percent of it!"

The Flame Bird Monster Huo offered his assessment, his eyes glinting.

"Oh? What makes you say that, Fellow Daoist Huo?"

Dali the Bear Demon asked from the side.

"This business with the Secret Realm came up suddenly. Since Fellow Daoist Dou wants our help, there's no reason for him to lie to us about the big picture.

What he said was probably mostly true. I just fear he's hiding quite a few of the details.

What do you all think?"

Huo said slowly.

"Fellow Daoist Huo has a point."

Xu Chang'an nodded.

"But… to be honest with you all, there's one thing I'm rather worried about!"

The Yellow Rock Bull Spirit Di Yan stammered.

"Go on, Fellow Daoist Di Yan. Speak freely!"

"I'm worried that during this expedition to the Secret Realm, Fellow Daoist Dou might decide to play the part of a Tribulation Cultivator and try to kill us for our loot!"

Hearing this, Dali couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Di Yan! As long as we demons stick together and watch each other's backs on the way to the Secret Realm, we have nothing to fear, no matter what Fellow Daoist Dou is planning!"

"That may be so, but…"

Di Yan was still worried.

Among the demons present, his Cultivation was the lowest, so it was only natural for him to be worried.

"Are you worried, Fellow Daoist Di Yan, that Fellow Daoist Dou has accomplices, and that even if we work together, we won't be able to fend them off?"

The Flame Bird Monster Huo asked with a faint smile.

"That's exactly it, Fellow Daoist Huo."

Di Yan sighed. This was what he had been worried about all along.

'Who knows what the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng is planning, or if he has other helpers!'

"You don't need to worry about that, Fellow Daoist Di Yan! If he'd been planning that from the start, he wouldn't have kept raising the price on us and putting us on our guard!"

Xu Chang'an nodded slightly from the side.

'That's right. If the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng had intended to act as a Tribulation Cultivator from the very beginning, luring them from Thunder Demon City to the Five Thunders Marketplace, and then from the Marketplace out into the wilds…'

'...he would have spent the entire process building their trust.'

'He definitely wouldn't have done something like raising the price, which would only damage that trust!'

"That's true!"

Dali the Bear Demon also understood the logic behind it.

'If the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng really planned to kill them for their loot, there would have been no need to raise the price at all!'

The demons discussed among themselves for a while, deciding how they would watch each other's backs during the Secret Realm expedition and how they would respond to any unexpected situations.

During their discussion, the White Tiger Demon Shan Xiong said very little.

He only offered a brief reply when asked a direct question.

By the time the demons had finished their discussion, it was late at night.

Early the next morning, the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng was already waiting at the entrance to the Five Thunders Marketplace.

"Good morning, Fellow Daoists!"

Seeing the demons arrive together, the smile on the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng's face didn't falter.

"Good morning, Fellow Daoist Dou!"

After a few pleasantries, the demons all summoned their Magical Artifacts and took to the sky.

The Secret Realm was over a thousand miles from their current location. With their strength as Late-stage Foundation Establishment demons, it would only take a few days to arrive even at a normal flight speed.

"Fellow Daoist Dou, can we make our trade now?"

While they were traveling, Di Yan approached Dou Haifeng.

"Patience, Fellow Daoist Di Yan. We'll make our trade once we're inside the Secret Realm."

Dou Haifeng said with a beaming smile.

Xu Chang'an glanced at the two demons before quickly looking away.

Then, he glanced over at the White Tiger Demon Shan Xiong, who was riding a Supreme-grade Magical Artifact.

Shan Xiong was expressionless, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The other two, the Flame Bird Monster Huo and Dali the Bear Demon, looked more relaxed and seemed quite excited.

Any Secret Realm represented a great opportunity!

Having reached Late-stage Foundation Establishment, their Demon Power was vast, so flying at normal speed for several days wasn't much of an issue.

However, they were heading to a Secret Realm to explore. If they consumed too much Demon Power, it would leave them in a weakened state.

Moreover, the demons all had their own reservations and private thoughts.

If they weren't in peak condition, they feared they could be ambushed!

The other demons were fine, but the Yellow Rock Bull Spirit Di Yan was the first to grow impatient.

"Fellow Daoists, I see a valley below. Why don't we rest for a bit? There's no rush to get there, anyway!"

"Alright!"

The Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng was the first to agree.

Since Dou Haifeng didn't object, the other demons naturally had no objections either.

Nestled between the intersecting mountains was a small valley.

Inside, great trees towered toward the sky, and the vegetation was lush.

By now, the sky had darkened. Moonlight cascaded down, illuminating the valley and creating a rather picturesque scene.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The demons descended into the valley one by one.

Xu Chang'an glanced around the valley, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

The demons were just about to settle in to recuperate and restore their Demon Power.

Just then, the Leopard Spirit Dou Haifeng stood up and spoke to the other demons with a smile.

"There's something I'd like to ask of you, Fellow Daoists.

I was wondering if you'd be willing to lend me a hand!"