Chapter 255: The Experience of Being Deceived Many Times

Chapter 255: Chapter 254: The Experience of Being Deceived Many Times

“Demon King?”

‘So their leader is called a Demon King. What a strange title.’

Everyone’s attitude was reverent, but the few cubs, looking like they’d never seen the world, kept pushing forward, desperate to get a look at this Demon King.

Someone nearby couldn’t stand it and was about to get angry, but then they considered that for the cubs to have cultivated human forms at such a young age, they were likely descendants of some Great Demon with an ancient bloodline. So, they held their tongue.

“Hey, look! Doesn’t this Demon King seem a little familiar?”

Feng Ling stared at the Demon King for a long moment, then suddenly remembered something and exclaimed, “He’s Beast Mother’s ninth Beast Husband, Jiang Li!”

When Yu Chu and Yu Jin were born, it was right when the Bianye Tribe was facing disaster. The Beast Fathers had each taken cubs and fled separately.

As a result, the two of them had only ever met the Beast Fathers who remained in the tribe; they didn’t know the ones who weren’t there.

Yu Chu, on the other hand, had met Jiang Li once before when he was with Chu Liangyu after being sold at the Black Market. He just hadn’t known the man’s identity at the time.

“But I heard that a while ago, our Xihe Tribe absorbed another faction, and their leader was Beast Mother’s ninth Beast Husband.”

“And he was supposed to have died at Beast Mother’s hands. How could he be here, and as some Demon King?”

At this, Yu Jin also found it strange. Although he’d never met Jiang Li, he had heard about the recent events in the Xihe Tribe while they were on the road.

“Could he have used some trick to deceive Beast Mother?”

The few of them huddled together, whispering, which seemed rather conspicuous in the relatively quiet scene.

Many people stopped looking at the Demon King and turned their curious gazes toward them instead.

Gradually, the cubs sensed that something was off. They stopped talking and instinctively turned around, only to find themselves face-to-face with the Demon King’s magnified, handsome face.

“From the sound of it, you seem to know me?”

Yu Chu frowned, stepping in front of his friends. “Sorry, I think we have the wrong person.”

Jiang Li’s eyelids lowered slightly, his eyes filled with contemplation. After a moment, he smiled and said, “To be able to take human form at such a young age, your bloodline must be noble. How about this? Stay and become my aides.”

“I can grant you whatever you desire.”

Feng Ling also stepped forward to stand beside Yu Chu. “Thank you for the invitation, but we have our own tribe. We won’t be joining you.”

‘Tribe?’

‘That must mean a clan, right.’

‘These little ones have a strange way of speaking, and they know my name. And looking at them, they even bear some resemblance to her.’

‘Could it be… that there’s some connection between them?’

“Is that so? Well, I won’t insist. But may I ask what brought you here?”

By now, the cubs had also noticed he was different. They understood in their hearts that he probably just looked identical to Jiang Li but wasn’t the same person.

“We…” After a moment of hesitation, Feng Ling decided it wasn’t a secret and continued, “We wanted to teach a Body Technique that promotes Beastification in females and cubs, but it seems the Beastmen here don’t really need it.”

“They indeed do not. What do you plan to do next?”

Jiang Li did his best to appear harmless, his tone tinged with concern.

“If it’s not needed, then there’s nothing for us to do here. We might as well find another place, or head back to our tribe.”

“The Demon Realm is very dangerous. I happen to be free, so why don’t I escort you back?”

The cubs had been tricked countless times on their journey here. They knew better than to trust a stranger so easily.

Especially one who seemed overly enthusiastic.

“No, thank you.”

Their refusal in unison made Jiang Li pause for a second, but he didn’t seem embarrassed.

“In that case, I won’t keep you any longer.”

Seeing him leave after saying his piece, the cubs exchanged glances.

Yu Chu was the first to speak. “We should get going, too.”

This place was too strange. Even if Yu Chu hadn’t said anything, the others were already planning to leave.

They had been here for several days and had noticed many oddities. Even the slowest among them could sense that something was wrong with this place.

Moreover, a suspicion had begun to form in their minds: this might no longer be the world they knew.

The thought sent a sliver of panic through their hearts.

They never imagined that simply entering a strange mountain hollow would bring them here. They didn’t know if they could even return to their original world by retracing their steps.

Among the five Phoenix cubs, the youngest male cub, Feng Yao, said with a trembling voice, “Big brother, I… I’m a little scared.”

“What if… what if we can never go back?”

None of them were very old; even Feng Ling was only twelve. Though he appeared calm on the surface, he was also afraid inside.

He tried his best to ignore the negative feelings and comforted him, “It’s okay. As long as we follow our original path, we’ll definitely be able to get back.”

At that moment, they no longer cared about the dangers of the night and focused only on picking up their pace.

As a result, they failed to notice something strange: it was supposed to be the time of night when beasts were most active, yet they hadn’t seen a single one along their way.

The reason was Jiang Li, who was following behind them. He had released the pressure of his Mahayana Stage Cultivation. Sensing the threat, what demon beast would dare to show itself?

Perhaps because his clone was made of wood, its emotions were completely still. When it stood silently, it was no different from the trees growing nearby.

For this reason, Jiang Li failed to notice that he, too, had a tail.

Before the cubs reached the exit, the clone had already relayed the situation to Chu Liangyu.

Meanwhile, Chu Liangyu was busy clearing out Wandering Beasts and rescuing the captured females.

Under the circumstances, she couldn’t get away. The only one who could help was the clone.

Therefore, she directly commanded the clone, “Drop your disguise. Stall Jiang Li and let the cubs escape. I’ll notify Lou Sang to go and repair the space.”

“Yes, Leader.”

From the information sent by the clone, Chu Liangyu finally understood why the mountain hollow was so strange.

Because that hollow wasn’t just a structure belonging to the Beast World; it simultaneously connected to the Demon Realm.

In a sense, it was a spatial overlap. The reason this had occurred was precisely because a hole had appeared in their Barrier.

Thankfully, the cubs had stumbled into it by mistake, allowing them to discover the anomaly. Otherwise, Chu Liangyu couldn’t imagine how severe the consequences might have been.

Chu Liangyu’s fingers tapped lightly on the Trading System’s panel, and Lou Sang quickly received the message.

He was clearly shaken as well, and replied, “Got it. I’m on my way.”

After all, the consequences of two worlds overlapping were extremely serious.

Setting aside how the two Heavenly Daos might quarrel, the changes brought about by contact between the people of two worlds could, with a single misstep, send the worlds’ trajectories down an irreversible path.