Wizards in the world of cultivation

Chapter 95 Demon King's Birthday Banquet
The transformation into a third-tier demon beast is too disruptive, especially since high-tier demon beasts all have their own territories.

If other third-tier demonic beasts perceive it as an invasion of its territory and a fight breaks out, that would be quite bad.

After all, Su You entered the Changqi Mountains to test his ability to transform.

In his subsequent actions, Su You became much more discreet, constantly changing his form within the forest.

Sometimes it transforms into a squirrel, darting swiftly through patches of grass; sometimes it transforms into a wild monkey, leaping incessantly between trees; and sometimes it transforms into a dandelion, drifting in the wind.

Su You is becoming more and more adept at using his shapeshifting talent.

After traveling for several days, he had traversed more than 5,000 li and arrived at the Wanyao Mountain Range, which is connected to the Changqi Mountain Range.

The Ten Thousand Demon Mountains stretch for hundreds of thousands of miles, crisscrossing and situated across three continents, teeming with countless demonic beasts.

Once you get here, you have to be very careful with every step you take.

Pfft!

A long, blood-red tongue suddenly shot out from the tree branch and slapped Su You's body, seemingly wanting to devour him like prey.

But in the next instant, the long tongue retracted, and the lizard perched on the branch let out a painful cry.

Just now, its tongue felt like it had hit a steel plate. With its limited intelligence, it could only look at the fast-flying gray butterfly in confusion, wondering why it couldn't swallow its prey.

This is the 10th or 10th attack we've encountered since arriving at the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains.

Although Su You can transform into ordinary life forms, they still have various natural enemies.

His target this time was Jiaolong Pool, the only place he knew of where late-stage fourth-tier demonic beasts existed, and it was located near Qingzhou, making it easy to reach.

This was useless information I bought from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion last time, but I never expected it to come in handy this time.

As Su You delved deeper, he gradually discovered some different scenes.

Vast expanses of neatly arranged spiritual fields appeared before his eyes.

In addition to planting a large amount of spirit rice, a large amount of spirit herbs are also grown there.

This made Su You believe that he had returned to the human world.

"Have all the monsters learned how to farm?" Su You wondered.

Unless a third-tier demon beast farms the land itself, it is very difficult for them to enslave lower-tier demon beasts to farm.

Farming is a delicate task. It's easy for high-level monsters to drive low-level monsters into battle, but it would be difficult for them to understand farming, given their intelligence.

Most low-level demonic beasts have very low intelligence. Unless they are demonic beasts with a trace of true spirit bloodline, only third-level demonic beasts can rival humans in intelligence.

Su You transformed into a little bee, flapping his wings as he approached the spirit field.

"A human voice? How could a human be here?" Su You wondered, and quickly moved closer to the direction from which the sound came.

A moment later, Su You saw dozens of human cultivators, their feet shackled, slowly casting spells with spiritual plants.

Most importantly, the word 'slave' was imprinted on the foreheads of these human cultivators.

"Human cultivator slaves? I see. No wonder demon beasts couldn't possibly be capable of farming." Su You suddenly realized.

Seeing these human cultivators reminded him of when he had just transmigrated, when the original owner of this body was also escorting cultivator slaves to the demon race.

The cultivator slaves before us might just be the ones the Blood Abyss Organization sold to the demon race.

Su You glanced at it a few times and then continued heading north without stopping.

These slaves have nothing to do with him, and he has no intention of saving them. This is something that the bigwigs of the human race should be concerned with.

A nobody like him should just mind his own business.

After traveling over a thousand miles, they encountered three areas where spiritual fields were being cultivated.

Su You had some guesses about these areas; they were probably the territories of those third-tier great demons. They possessed third-tier spiritual veins and had enough strength and wisdom to manage these slaves.

Just as Su You was about to pass through the territory of another third-tier demon, a deafening tremor suddenly came from ahead.

boom! boom! boom!
A giant rhinoceros, ten zhang tall, took huge strides and ran quickly, leaving deep pits in the ground with each step.

"Old Rhinoceros, are you provoking me?" A huge roar came from afar. A cheetah, three zhang tall and covered in crimson, leaped over a thousand zhang in a single bound and arrived in front of the Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros in the blink of an eye.

That one trampling has directly destroyed dozens of acres of spiritual fields.

These spiritual fields can grow high-grade spiritual rice, which is quite valuable.

"Haha, I forgot you're still farming here." The Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros lightly raised its front paw, pretending to change the subject casually. "I came here to invite you to the Great Demon King Qingyan's five-thousand-year birthday banquet. I wonder what birthday gift you have prepared."

"Don't change the subject. What do you think we should do with these spirit fields?" the Crimson Leopard roared in a low voice.

These dozens of acres of spiritual fields, which have been cultivated for more than ten years, have now been destroyed, and the losses are considerable.

"How about this, I'll compensate you after my crops mature?" the Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros said with a smile.

"Your spirit field? I heard you've almost eaten all the human slaves who farmed for you. What are you going to use to compensate?" The Crimson Leopard scoffed at this.

Since the major demon emperors jointly promoted the human farming system, their self-produced resources have gradually increased, and the power of their demon beasts has continued to expand.

Some rare and precious herbs that were hard to find in the past can now be enjoyed every few decades, and they also have a slight effect on one's cultivation.

"Alright, at worst, we'll go to the secret realm sixty years from now. You can choose first, my darling."

Upon hearing this, the Crimson Leopard was overjoyed. This Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros was not very intelligent, but its strength was extraordinary.

So in previous Secret Realm Journeys, it always chose the treasures first, so letting it choose first this time is a very good compensation.

Although the Crimson Leopard was pleased, he still pretended to reluctantly agree.

"Since that's the case, I won't stand on ceremony." The Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros opened its mouth wide and swallowed all the spirit rice from dozens of acres of spirit fields. After finishing, it burped and said, "The taste is not bad. It seems I'll have to buy another batch of slaves at the next trade fair."

"You..." Before the Crimson Leopard could finish speaking, the spiritual field below was completely emptied.

Now it can only accept its bad luck, unless it is willing to give up the chance to choose first. The thought of the opportunity to choose the best treasure makes the Crimson Leopard feel a little better.

"So, what treasures have you prepared?" the Crimson Leopard inquired.

……

Su You turned and left before they finished speaking.

Based on the conversation between the two demonic beasts, he found an opportunity to test himself.

That was to disguise himself as a third-tier demon beast to attend the five-thousand-year birthday banquet of the Great Demon King Qingyan.

Those who can be called Great Demon Kings must have a cultivation level of at least the late stage of the fourth rank. If they can sneak in without being discovered, then this test of the shapeshifting talent can be considered a success.

"Looks like I'll have to borrow a birthday gift," Su You thought to himself, then flew back.

If you're attending a birthday banquet, you definitely need to bring a birthday gift; showing up empty-handed will easily attract attention.

He had previously passed through the territory of a third-tier great demon, where many spiritual herbs were planted, including some that were quite old. He could borrow one of them as a gift.

Returning quickly, Su You looked at the restrictions surrounding the spirit herb garden and did not rashly break in.

He can change his form at will, but he does not have the ability to freely pass through restrictions.

Although these restrictions could be easily broken in his eyes, they might attract the attention of a third-tier demon, so it was better to be on the safe side.

Su You wasn't in a hurry; he transformed into a mosquito and waited at the entrance of the barrier.

He is now waiting for the cultivators who manage the spirit herb garden to open the restrictions, so that he can follow them into the spirit herb garden.

Several hours later, a slave at the peak of Qi Refining, with a slave mark engraved on his forehead, opened the restriction. Su You quickly flapped his wings and followed him into the spirit herb garden.

"As expected of a third-tier great demon's demon garden!" Su You couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the dazzling array of spiritual herbs.

Most of the spiritual herbs in the herb garden are already a hundred years old, and a small portion are approaching five hundred years old. Only demonic beasts with such long lifespans can cultivate spiritual herbs in this way.

Only those forces with long-standing traditions in the human world are capable of cultivating high-quality medicinal herbs.

Monsters generally live three times longer than humans. Humans with Golden Core stage can live up to eight hundred years, but third-tier monsters can live for at least two thousand years.

This is probably Heaven's compensation for the low intelligence of monsters.

Once inside, Su You casually used his mental energy to knock the cultivator unconscious. Then, he selected several of the oldest spiritual herbs from the herb garden and put them into his storage bag.

He didn't damage the medicinal herbs in the herb field, thinking he could come back and visit sometime in the future.

After quickly leaving, Su You transformed into a three-zhang-tall ape covered in golden fur, the very same third-tier mighty dragon ape he had seen in the Changqi Mountains.

He can transform into a powerful dragon ape and imitate it almost perfectly. He possesses all the talents of the powerful dragon ape, and they have all reached the mid-stage of the third tier.

Even if it were to actually fight other third-tier demonic beasts, it would not reveal any weaknesses.

Su You pounded his chest with both hands and let out a roar. Feeling that he had imitated the movements quite well, he started running quickly.

He was planning to go to the Crimson Leopard's place and go together.

After all, he didn't know much about the Great Demon King Qingyan, nor did he know where the cave was, so he still needed them to lead the way.

When Su You arrived at the territory of the Crimson Leopards, they had not yet left.

"A mid-stage Tier 3 Mighty Dragon Ape? I don't think I've seen one around here before?" The Crimson Fiend Leopard's eyes darted around as it saw Su You pass through its territory, and it called out, "Is this demon brother also attending the Great Demon King Qingyan's birthday banquet?"

Su You strode forward without the slightest fear. These were just two great demons; he was about to meet dozens, even hundreds, of great demons, as well as a fourth-order demon king.

“Yes, I heard that the Great Demon King Qingyan’s five-thousand-year birthday banquet is just around the corner, so I came to offer my congratulations,” Su You said loudly.

"What birthday celebration? It's all about vying for a spot in that secret realm." A cry of an eagle came from afar, and a third-tier giant eagle landed on the territory of the Crimson Fiend Leopard.

Su You glanced at it and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it wasn't that third-tier giant eagle from the Changqi Mountains, otherwise he would have been worried about whether the other party recognized him.

After all, they all live in the Changqi Mountains, so the possibility of third-tier demon beasts knowing each other is extremely high.

"Sky Eagle, it seems you've prepared an extraordinary birthday gift. You're confident you can obtain this secret realm in one fell swoop," the Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros beside him hummed.

"This time, the Great Demon King Qingyan has changed the usual selection method for entering the secret realm. I heard that this time the spots will be selected from among the great demons who are celebrating his birthday. It is very likely that the selection will be based on the value of the birthday gifts. Many great demons from outside Qingyan territory have brought treasures to celebrate his birthday." Tianying looked at Su You meaningfully.

After all, there are no Mighty Dragon Apes in their Qingyan Territory, let alone Mighty Dragon Apes that have reached the mid-stage of the third rank. They must have come from the territory of other demon kings in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains.

The more powerful demons from outside the region there are, the fewer opportunities they have to obtain a spot in the secret realm.

Fortunately, Skyhawk only made a few sarcastic remarks and then fell silent.

After all, judging from Su You's appearance, he is a powerful dragon ape with a high level of true spirit bloodline, and his strength and potential should not be underestimated.

If you manage to secure a spot in the secret realm during this birthday banquet, you might become an adventure partner in the future.

That secret realm is extremely dangerous; it requires the concerted efforts of many demonic beasts to achieve any gains.

After introducing themselves, the monsters chatted casually.

Upon learning that Su You came from the Changqi Mountains, tens of thousands of miles away, Jin Man couldn't help but ask with curiosity, "Jin Man, that mountain range seems to be close to the human side. Have you ever encountered any humans at the Golden Core stage?"

Humans and monsters are two distinct worlds. Humans rarely venture into the monster world, and monsters rarely come to the human world.

Especially for demonic beasts that have cultivated to the third rank, which possess intelligence no less than that of humans, they naturally cherish their lives even more.

The third-tier demonic beasts in the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains are relatively peaceful and rarely have the opportunity to fight human cultivators. Except for once every hundred years when they drive low-tier demonic beasts out of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains to attack humans, they will not take action themselves.

Su You pretended to be thinking, and then said, "Human Golden Core cultivators are indeed very strong, especially their natal magic weapons, which are very powerful. I once met a Golden Core cultivator in the early stage whose natal magic weapon was able to break through his physical body, which is simply unbelievable."

"God truly favors humanity," Sky Eagle said resentfully.

Clearly, they had also encountered troublesome cultivators.

A day later, another third-tier demonic beast arrived in the territory of the Crimson Fiend Leopard, and together they set off for the Azure Rock Cave.

After traveling another three thousand miles, Su You saw a towering mountain peak that reached into the clouds. That was Qingyan Peak, where the Great Demon King Qingyan resided.

Around Qingyan Peak, a large number of spiritual fields have been cultivated, amounting to at least hundreds of thousands of acres, and there are tens of thousands of human cultivators and slaves living below.

The Crimson Leopard looked at the spirit fields with some envy, "If I had this many spirit fields, I wouldn't have to worry about reaching the fourth level of cultivation."

"Don't even think about it. Unless you have a high-grade fourth-order spiritual vein, you can't afford to cultivate so many spiritual fields," Tianying said sarcastically.

The group quickly climbed to the top of the mountain.

When Su You arrived at the cave, he saw several newly arrived third-tier demonic beasts.

After calming my nerves slightly, I followed the Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros slowly into the cave.

Upon entering the cave, one sees a wide passageway.

The cave dwellings of demon cultivators are quite different from those of humans. After all, only fourth-order demon beasts can transform into human form, while most third-order demon beasts retain their demon bodies.

Moreover, the bodies of third-tier demonic beasts are all very large, often several zhang tall, and some, like the Crimson Moon Giant Rhinoceros, are more than ten zhang tall.

Like the Blackwater Spirit Serpent that Su You hunted before, its entire body was hundreds of feet long.

They simply cannot pass through without a wide passage.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the hall, one sees a petite, human-like, third-tier butterfly demon with a pair of colorful wings on its back, talking with a group of third-tier demons.

"So it's the Butterfly Fairy." The Crimson Leopard approached.

Although the butterfly looks very delicate, it is very powerful in its illusion magic and is very popular in the adventure of the secret realm.

It also wanted to see if it could build a relationship with them and bring them into its own ranks.

When Su You and the others approached, Fairy Butterfly looked at Su You with a hint of surprise, but then her expression returned to normal.

"Could it be that they've been discovered? No way, could it be that he died before he could even begin his training?" Su You also saw Fairy Butterfly's expression and instantly became tense.

"This butterfly is only at the mid-stage of the third rank. Could it really be able to detect my identity problem? Could it be because it also possesses a similar talent and is able to sense my problem?" Su You kept pondering the reasons in his mind.

Leaving now is definitely not an option. Regardless of whether Cai Die has noticed his problem or not, he must force himself to hold on until the banquet begins.

If no one makes a move by the time the banquet starts, it means he hasn't been exposed yet.

No matter what, the worst that can happen is death.

Thinking of this, Su You's mood began to calm down, and he sat down calmly at the simple stone table.

Looking around, there were now fifty third-tier demons in the cave. Su You glanced at the remaining seats and realized that at least a hundred demons would be present at this banquet.

This force is only slightly inferior to the Void Heaven Sect in terms of high-level combat power.

It's no wonder that the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains held their own against the forces of the three major human continents.

No, it should be said that it is facing the power of two major states.

In Qingzhou, where he was located, there wasn't even a Nascent Soul Venerable, so they could only share a small portion of the pressure. Fortunately, the Ten Thousand Demon Mountains extended relatively little over Qingzhou, so the pressure wasn't too great.

With hundreds of powerful demons gathered together, today's protagonist, the Great Demon King Qingyan, finally made his appearance.

Su You waited quietly, somewhat absentmindedly drinking the spiritual wine and eating the spiritual fruit.

But to everyone's surprise, nothing happened halfway through the banquet.

"If the next part of the gift-giving can fool the Great Demon King Qingyan, then this test can be considered a perfect ending," Su You thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)