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

Just as Gou An finished arranging things.

It was just past 10 AM, around 10 AM.

Ten tall, imposing figures, clad in standard black iron armor, arrived at the entrance of the mansion.

It was the ten demon generals that the esteemed hermit Zhenyue had promised to lend him, so he quickly had Pigsy bring them in.

After they entered, they stood steadily in the courtyard, forming a row.

The armor of the ten demons was uniform, with regular patterns. Each piece of armor was a high-quality magical artifact, with a faint spiritual light flowing across its surface.

Gou An glanced at them and saw that the transformations of the ten demons were very crude, clearly indicating that they had used most of their demonic power to improve their strength and cultivation.

They all bear strong characteristics of their original demonic beast forms, being rugged, fierce, and wild.

Although their transformations were crude, the aura emanating from the ten demon cultivators was quite powerful, surpassing Gou An's cultivation level at the moment.

Compared to Gou An, who had only recently broken through to the Golden Core stage, even the one with the lowest cultivation among them was already at the mid-Golden Core stage.

Even though their cultivation levels were higher than that of the newly appointed Protector of the Nation, the ten demon cultivators showed no contempt or arrogance in their eyes. Each of them stood tall and straight, with respectful and solemn expressions.

Clearly, before their departure, the wise man of Zhenyue had repeatedly instructed them to strictly follow the orders of Gou'an and to do their best.

Gou An slowly swept his gaze over the crowd, taking in the appearances and true forms of the ten people one by one.

The leader was the captain, a black tiger demon in human form, covered with faint black stripes, with a strong physique and a restrained murderous aura.

His cultivation level is at the Divine Realm, and his aura is domineering and composed, exuding the aura of a mountain beast king.

The vice-captain following closely behind was a black monkey in human form, with thick black fur all over its body.

Although it was a monkey in human form, it was as burly and strong as the black tiger, resembling a black Vajra. Its arms were muscular and it was also ranked in the realm of the gods, with fierce combat power.

The remaining eight Golden Core stage members each possess different physical forms, distinct characteristics, and unique traits.

There was a small, nimble rat spirit with bright, sparkling eyes. There was a powerful, incredibly strong ox spirit. And there was a rabbit spirit with protruding front teeth and reddish eyes.

Standing beside them were a snake spirit covered in scales, its long, thin tongue flicking out; a goat spirit with curved horns on its head and a long beard under its chin; and a wild boar spirit with bristling hair and menacing tusks.

Another pheasant spirit was described as having a nimble figure, a distinct beak, and a centrally parted crest.

The last one has long catfish whiskers and is covered in fish scales; it is clearly a water demon that has transformed from a fish.

At this moment, the Black Tiger Captain, who was leading the group, stepped forward, clenched his fist, bowed, and said in a deep and resonant voice: "Reporting to the Protector of the Nation, all ten demon generals have assembled and are now awaiting orders!"

Gou An looked at the elite team before him with satisfaction and nodded slightly: "Thank you for your hard work." He then took out a wooden box and handed it to Pig Old Nine beside him.

Pig Ninth immediately understood, picked up the wooden box and went up to it. He opened it in front of the Ten Demons, and inside lay ten cigars neatly arranged.

Upon seeing this item, all ten demons were moved.

After all, this was a treasure that the Demon King usually enjoyed, and even one of them was worth a fortune.

Gou An said, "It's a small gift since we've just met."

Seeing this, Black Tiger suppressed his joy and did not refuse, but simply said, "Quickly, thank the Protector of the Nation."

Upon hearing this, the other nine demons immediately expressed their gratitude in unison: "Thank you for protecting the nation."

Then each of them took a cigar and held it in their hands as if it were a treasure.

Seeing how much they enjoyed it, Gou An managed to suppress a smile.

The cost of this cigar is no more than a few hundred spirit stones for Gou An, but its rarity makes it valuable, and at this stage it is a treasure that only demon kings can enjoy, which makes it extremely attractive to them.

For Gou An, presenting this as a gift was a way to achieve great things with minimal expense.

If I were to give spirit stones or other treasures directly, it would be inappropriate to give too few, and I would feel reluctant to give too many.

This item is still the better deal.

"As long as you all cooperate well in the future, there will surely be even more rewards," Gou An emphasized again.

If you don't have a deep relationship with someone, you have to offer them a lot of benefits to get them to listen and cooperate.

"We will do our utmost!" Black Tiger immediately clasped his hands in a gesture of assurance.

Just as Gou An was about to inquire in detail about the abilities of each of the ten people so that he could have a clear understanding of them and allocate combat power reasonably, a burst of laughter, accompanied by the gentle shaking of a folding fan, suddenly came from outside the mansion.

"Wow, not bad, Fellow Daoist Gou."

The Evil Bone Taoist, dressed in flowing white robes, strolled slowly into the courtyard, fanning himself with a folding fan.

His gaze swept over the ten demon guards standing in neat rows in the courtyard with great interest, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but his mouth still smiled: "I didn't expect you to be so capable, actually managing to borrow the elite guards under the Zhenyue Protectorate."

Although Gou An held this person in low regard, he showed no sign of it on his face, feigning politeness and smiling ingratiatingly, "It's all thanks to Fellow Daoist Xie Gu's guidance. If you hadn't mentioned this to me, how would I have thought of borrowing troops from the esteemed Zhenyue Master?"

The Evil Bone Taoist was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, clearly not expecting Gou An to take the credit for himself.

After a brief moment of surprise, he immediately chuckled and shook his head: "Hahaha, it's all thanks to your own abilities. I was just mentioning it casually, and you actually managed to do it."

"I wonder what benefits you offered Gao Shi that made this usually rigid man relent?"

Gou An merely smiled slightly, shrugged lightly, and said in a calm tone, "I didn't offer any benefits. The High Priest of Zhenyue was considerate of my newly appointed Protector of the Nation, whose foundation is still shallow. It is extremely risky for me to besiege such a troublesome opponent as the Overlord Saint Lord right after taking office. That's why he specially dispatched elite troops to lend me a hand."

The Evil Bone Taoist's eyes flickered slightly, his smile unchanged. He didn't press the matter further, but instead gently waved his folding fan and said, "Now that the helpers are all ready, I wonder when you plan to set off westward?"

"The sooner the better, let's set off today." Gou An said decisively, "We'll depart promptly after noon, once the hour of Wei (1-3 PM) has passed."

"Very good!" The Evil Bone Daoist nodded slightly, closed his fan, and smiled, "Then I will wait for you at the city gate. Please don't be late."

Having said that, he didn't linger any longer, turned around, and left, fanning himself with his fan.

Watching the Evil Bone Taoist leave, Gou An's polite smile slowly faded until his figure completely disappeared before he withdrew his gaze.

Then, Gou An turned to the ten demon generals standing solemnly to his side and laughed loudly, "Before we set off, I'll treat you all to a feast at the Crimson Moon Tower in the city as a farewell meal."

The ten demons were overjoyed upon hearing this. As members of the Imperial Guard, they were stationed in the mansion year-round and rarely had the opportunity to eat, drink, and play freely.

It was a pleasant surprise to be able to visit such a wonderful place as the Scarlet Moon Pavilion.

Captain Black Tiger immediately clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply, sincerely saying, "Thank you for your compassion, Protector of the Nation!"

The other nine demons also bowed and thanked them, their hearts filled with anticipation.