Starting as a stray dog, I embarked on a journey of cultivation.

The flying boat traversed the vast sea of ​​clouds, skimming over the undulating mountains and rivers below.

After two full days of rapid driving, we finally slowed down.

We have now entered the area of ​​the Monster Mountain Range.

Shen Yu restored the disguise to his face and let Gou An take over the piloting of the flying boat.

After sailing for some distance, the boat began to sink slightly and finally landed steadily in a dark and dense primeval forest.

Ancient trees towered all around, their branches intertwined, and the forest was filled with a strange and eerie atmosphere, shrouded in a heavy mist.

Looking around, all that could be seen were mountains and fields, with no trace of a city in sight.

Shen Yu put away the flying boat, looked around, and asked in confusion, "Weren't we heading to the City of Ten Thousand Demons? Why did you bring me here?"

Gou An grinned upon hearing this, his tone carrying a hint of feigned profundity: "So there are things Young Master Shen doesn't know. Just follow me."

Having said that, he strode forward.

Upon reaching a clearing deep within the dense forest, the air before us rippled slightly like water, and a nearly transparent barrier enveloped the surrounding area, barely perceptible to the naked eye.

Gou An continued walking without stopping, heading straight into it.

Shen Yu followed closely behind, and as soon as he passed through the barrier, the scene before him suddenly changed dramatically.

The once dark and desolate forest has completely disappeared, replaced by a giant city standing in the plains.

High walls stretch endlessly, city towers stand tall, and an eerie aura pervades the sky.

Shen Yu looked towards the city gate and saw that the plaque above the gate read "Ten Thousand Demon City".

Upon seeing this, Shen Yu couldn't help but sigh, "I never imagined that the City of Ten Thousand Demons would be hidden within such a grand formation. It's certainly well hidden."

"Come into the city with me!" Gou An smiled faintly, then strode towards the city gate.

At this moment, a long queue had formed beneath the city gate, with demon cultivators coming and going in an endless stream.

However, everyone entering the city must undergo strict inspection by the demon soldiers guarding the city gate, who will verify their entry and exit tokens. The rules are very strict.

The two waited quietly in line. Before long, a sudden argument and commotion came from ahead.

Gou An looked up and recognized the monster causing trouble.

It was a wild boar spirit, covered in black hair, with a boar's head and a mouthful of tusks.

He was a demon general under the Black Horn of the mine, and Gou An had met him a few times before when he delivered pills.

At this moment, he was being held back by the demon soldiers guarding the gate, and was unable to enter the city.

"Why are you stopping me!" the boar demon roared, his face contorted with rage. "I was in such a hurry that I forgot my token. I have urgent business to attend to in the city. Let me through immediately, or I'll delay your mission!"

The demon soldiers guarding the gate were not highly skilled, but they strictly adhered to the rules and showed no leniency: "The Guardian of Zhenyue has decreed that no one may enter the city without a token! Who knows if you are a human cultivator disguised as a spy, infiltrating the city to cause trouble?"

Upon hearing this, the wild boar spirit was so angry that its head turned red and its bristles stood on end.

He pointed at his ugly, coarse pig-like head and angrily cursed, "My transformation is so crude, I can't even hide my demonic aura! How can I be a human cultivator? Open your dog eyes and see clearly! Do you even know how to do things properly?"

But the guards remained inflexible, refusing to budge an inch, insisting that they would not let anyone pass without a token.

After several arguments, the wild boar demon was completely enraged, his temper flared up, and he raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap across the face.

Snapped!

The crisp sound of a slap echoed beneath the city gate.

The demon soldier on duty was knocked back by the force of the blow, and half of his face instantly became red and swollen.

"You snobbish scoundrel!" The wild boar demon was still furious and shouted angrily.

Seeing that the wild boar demon was enraged, the guards dared not continue to obstruct him and could only retreat to the side in frustration, obediently letting him pass.

The wild boar demon snorted coldly and swaggered straight into the city, extremely arrogant.

Gou An stood at the back of the group, watching the whole thing unfold. He shook his head inwardly and thought to himself, "That pig demon is really something, only knowing how to bully the weak."

A moment later, the line moved forward slowly, and people could easily pass by simply showing their tokens.

Soon it was Gou An and Shen Yu's turn. Gou An raised his hand and took out the exclusive token of the head of the General Pill Hall.

As soon as the token was issued, the demon soldiers guarding the gate instantly became respectful, bowing and saluting without daring to be negligent in the slightest.

To Gou An's surprise, he was allowed to pass, but Shen Yu, who was following behind him, was stopped.

"Where is your token?" The demon soldier sized up Shen Yu, becoming even more wary after noticing that Shen Yu did not possess any demonic traits.

Before Shen Yu could speak, Gou An immediately turned around and explained, "This person is a physician I was sent out to find by the Demon King to treat the princess's incurable illness. This is his first time here, so naturally he doesn't have an entry token."

Logically speaking, with Gou An, the hall master, as guarantor, it should be enough to pass through.

But the gatekeeper was extremely inflexible, stubbornly insisting on blocking their way and clinging to the rules: "Master, please forgive us! Rules are rules. No one is allowed to enter the city without a token. Please don't make things difficult for us!"

Gou An patiently explained several more times, but the other party remained unmoved, stubbornly blocking his way and refusing to let him go for a long time.

Looking at these rigid and inflexible demon soldiers, Gou An suddenly recalled how the wild boar demon could beat people so easily and without hindrance, and his patience was completely exhausted.

Since reasoning with them is useless, we can only go along with these monsters' ways.

Gou An said no more, and with a backhand swipe, delivered a clean and decisive slap.

Logically speaking, his position was much higher than that of the wild boar demon, and he should be able to do what the boar demon did.

Snapped!

The loud slap rang out again.

The demon soldier on duty was stunned on the spot, and the other half of his face swelled up high, his head buzzing, making him look much more symmetrical than before.

After being slapped, the demon soldier seemed satisfied and quickly made way, saying, "Hall Master, please come in. It was my fault."

Gou An rolled his eyes at him, too lazy to waste any more words, and led Shen Yu straight through the city gate and into the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

Although he successfully entered the city, Gou An still couldn't help but complain: "At first I felt sorry for that gatekeeper monster, but I didn't expect him to be so stubborn. He deserved to be beaten."

Shen Yu followed slowly beside him. After listening to Gou An's complaints, he smiled faintly and said, "I think you misunderstood him. This little demon may seem rigid and stupid, but he is actually very shrewd."

"Hmm?" Gou An paused, turning to look at Shen Yu with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"

Shen Yu slowly explained, "For these lowly demons, sometimes they have no choice in what they do."

"If he has a token, he can just let them pass without stopping them."

"But if we let people pass without a token, and then problems arise later, he can't afford the consequences."

"So he could only stop you, but if you forced your way in by hitting people, he would naturally have a chance to argue if problems arose later."

"Whether they are human or demon, for ordinary people at the bottom of society, this is sometimes their rule of survival."

Gou An was stunned upon hearing this. After carefully recalling the stubborn appearance of the demon soldiers guarding the gate, he suddenly realized what was going on.

Although these lowly demons are of a slightly higher status than demon slaves, they are still at the bottom.

They definitely need to be careful if they want to survive.