Chapter 204: Encountering a Dog Demon
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The ferocious beast lunged straight at him and sank its teeth into Zhou Qing.
“Crack!”
Under the leopard’s powerful bite came the sound of teeth shattering. Clearly, Zhou Qing’s body was simply too hard; the poor beast could not bite through him at all.
Not only had it failed to get any meat, it had even broken its teeth. The leopard was utterly aggrieved.
It let out a pitiful roar and tried to release its bite and flee. But just as it turned around, Zhou Qing swiftly reached out and seized its tail.
The beast struggled desperately to break free, but after several attempts, it realized that it could not escape his grasp. It then twisted its head around and bit down on Zhou Qing’s wrist.
The result was exactly the same as before. Because Zhou Qing’s body was far too hard, several more of the leopard’s teeth fell straight out of its mouth.
“Look at you. I brought you food, and instead of thanking me, you keep biting me again and again. You really are a naughty thing.”
Grabbing the leopard by one of its hind legs, Zhou Qing gave it a slap on the rump. He then picked up the roasted fish, which had been cooked black.
“Come, eat this. I roasted it especially for you. Once you’ve eaten it, I’ll let you go.”
He waved the fish in front of the leopard, but the beast remained unmoved. Seeing this, Zhou Qing lifted his leg and kicked it.
The leopard, still held by its hind leg, cried out in pain. Driven by its bestial instincts, it opened its mouth and lunged at Zhou Qing once more.
Quick to react, Zhou Qing stuffed the blackened roasted fish into its mouth.
The leopard bit down on the fish and chewed several times. In the end, however, it did not spit it out. Instead, it swallowed it.
It seemed that the leopard did in fact enjoy roasted fish. Zhou Qing therefore released its leg, tossed the fish in his hand onto the ground, and then walked toward the mountain forest in the distance.
Staring at Zhou Qing’s departing back, the leopard let out a low growl. Only after his figure had vanished into the woods for quite some time did it look away, pick up the roasted fish in its jaws, and leave.
The matter of the Water Lord had been settled. Now, there remained the black-clad young man.
In these mountains and forests, the best way to search for a demon was naturally to inquire among the demons themselves.
The waters within this forest were inhabited only by low-level minor demons, such as the Black Tortoise and its companions whom he had encountered before. Moreover, they had little contact with the demons living on land.
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Thus, Zhou Qing did not enter the water. Instead, he traveled directly through the mountain forest.
He continued onward through the woods, yet encountered not a single demon with any cultivation. In the end, he arrived at the mountain where he and Lin Yunxi had been separated by life and death all those years ago.
The mountain remained much as it had been then, with little change. Alone, he climbed to the summit and sat down on a patch of green grass.
“I’ve come back to avenge you, Yunxi.”
Sitting upon the grass, Zhou Qing took a purple robe and skirt and a blood-red jade pendant from his treasure pouch.
Both objects had belonged to Lin Yunxi, the woman he had loved so deeply.
Alone atop the desolate mountain, he gazed upon these keepsakes and recalled the woman he had lost. Only after a long while did he put away the purple garments and the blood-colored jade, then set off toward the next stretch of mountain forest.
He continued wandering aimlessly until, at last, he reached another familiar place.
He still remembered being hunted by that snake half-demon and fleeing for his life throughout the night. At dawn, when he finally came ashore, he had climbed out beside a riverside meadow that had been tended with extraordinary neatness.
And now, Zhou Qing stood once more upon that same meadow.
He swept his gaze across the grass and found that nothing here had changed in the slightest. There were still no weeds or trees anywhere on the meadow. At its very center, there remained the strange stone carved with an uncanny design.
The sight brought to mind the benevolent dog demon he had once encountered nearby.
For this reason, after standing on the meadow for a while, he did not leave. Instead, he walked to the strange stone in the middle and sat down, waiting for the dog demon to appear.
He remained there for nearly half a day. Just as dusk approached, a familiar figure appeared before Zhou Qing’s eyes.
“Though many years have passed, Senior’s bearing remains as magnificent as ever.”
The newcomer was indeed the benevolent dog demon from years before. Zhou Qing rose and saluted him, greeting him courteously.
When the dog demon saw Zhou Qing, a look of surprise first crossed his face. Then he remembered him. After all, he had encountered very few human cultivators in his lifetime, and Zhou Qing was the only one who had ever treated him with such courtesy and respect.
“So it is you, that young human cultivator. What brings you here?”
The dog demon walked up to Zhou Qing and looked him over. Then he continued, “I seem to recall that you once traveled north with a woman, intending to leave the Savage Forest.”
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“Yes. I owe Senior a great deal for your guidance back then.” After answering, Zhou Qing smiled and continued, “Senior, I have returned to the forest this time because there is something I wish to ask you about.”
“You wish to ask me something?” The dog demon pondered for a moment before saying, “Go ahead and tell me. If I know the answer, I may be able to tell you.”
“I wish to inquire about the whereabouts of a demon.”
As he spoke, Zhou Qing reached out and tapped his treasure pouch, taking out a portrait. The figure depicted was the enemy he had carried in his thoughts day and night for all these years.
“Isn’t this Black Lotus, the Grand Vanguard? Why are you looking for him?”
The dog demon recognized the figure in the portrait at a glance. From the title he used, it was clear that the demon known as Black Lotus was quite famous throughout the Savage Forest.
“There are some private matters between us. I ask Senior to tell me where he is.”
“Eight years ago, Black Lotus, the Grand Vanguard, went up to Myriad Demons Summit and never came back down. Perhaps he returned to the Demon Realm. I cannot say for certain.”
“Myriad Demons Summit?”
At the dog demon’s words, Zhou Qing remembered that when he had encountered Black Lotus in the Savage Forest years before, Black Lotus had also asked him whether he was planning to go to Myriad Demons Summit.
“Senior, what kind of place is Myriad Demons Summit?”
“I do not know myself. There are two different stories concerning Myriad Demons Summit, though you human cultivators should have heard them as well.”
“My sect is neither prominent nor powerful, so our information is rather limited. I ask Senior to enlighten me.”
Hearing this, the dog demon regarded him doubtfully. After thinking for a moment, he walked over to a flat stone on the meadow and sat down, then beckoned Zhou Qing to join him.
“To speak of Myriad Demons Summit, I truly cannot say what lies above. However, there are two different accounts concerning what can be found there.”
Upon the green meadow, the benevolent dog demon began to recount everything he knew about Myriad Demons Summit.
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