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

Seeing his alchemy cave being broken into by outsiders, Gou An felt a surge of anger.

He was just about to show himself and test his strength against the other party, to properly demonstrate the power of his newly promoted eighth-tier demon beast.

But before he could move, the figure that had just entered the cave slowly retreated.

Gou An quickly hid back into the shadows of the dense forest, thinking that the other party had left. But to his surprise, the person simply stood at the cave entrance and bowed to the surroundings.

Then a calm and mature male voice slowly rang out: "Fellow Daoist, there is no need to worry, I have no ill intentions whatsoever."

"I sensed the fluctuations of demonic energy indicating a breakthrough in cultivation in this place from afar, so I came here specifically to take a look."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man raised his hand and took off the hood covering his head, revealing a huge cat head covered with jet-black fur.

It turned out that the other party was not a human cultivator, but a cat demon in human form.

Gou An paused slightly, having initially thought it was a human cultivator, but now his anxiety eased a little.

Seeing no movement around him and no one appearing to answer, the cat demon calmly spoke again: "I come from the City of Ten Thousand Demons."

"The breakthrough aura just now was clearly discernible. Fellow Daoist has already stepped into the eighth level. Moreover, the fragrance of pills in the cave is long-lasting, which shows that you are proficient in the art of alchemy and have even cultivated the ability to transform into human form."

"A high-level demon cultivator like you, who is proficient in alchemy, is exactly the kind of talent that my Ten Thousand Demon City urgently needs. Please show yourself so that we can have a proper talk."

The City of Ten Thousand Demons?

Gou An's heart stirred, and he pondered to himself.

According to the cat demon, a group of high-level demon beasts capable of transforming into human form should be gathered in the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

If that's really the case, he'd really like to go and see for himself.

However, Gou An was always cautious and suspicious, and was unwilling to reveal his identity rashly, so he planned to observe the situation for a while longer.

The cat demon waited for a long time without anyone appearing, then smiled knowingly and spoke again: "I fully understand that you are wary, fellow Daoist."

"In that case, I will leave you a token, which you may consider carefully."

After saying that, he took out an ancient, jet-black token from his pocket and held it up high to show it off: "This is the exclusive entry token for the City of Ten Thousand Demons. With this token, you can follow the guidance to find the territory of the City of Ten Thousand Demons and have the right to enter the city freely."

After speaking, the cat demon gently placed the token on a protruding blue stone at the entrance of the cave.

"If you have considered it carefully, you may visit the City of Ten Thousand Demons." The cat demon introduced himself gently: "I am the manager of the Spirit Pill Hall in the City of Ten Thousand Demons, and my Daoist name is Xuan Ding Zhenren."

"Fellow Daoist, when you come to the city in the future, you are welcome to come to the Lingdan Hall to find me and discuss alchemy."

Having finished his explanation, the black cat demon, who called himself Xuanding Zhenren, pulled his hood back up, and with a light leap, disappeared completely into the depths of the mountains and forests in a few bounds.

After the cat demon left, Gou An remained still and waited quietly in the dense forest for a full half hour.

After confirming several times that there was no trace of the cat demon's aura remaining in the surroundings, he slowly stepped out of the bushes where he had been hiding.

Upon returning to his cave, Gou An immediately began to gather the medicinal herbs, alchemy furnace, and elixirs within.

Their presence here has already been exposed, and the fluctuations in his aura indicating a breakthrough may have been detected by far more than just that old cat demon.

Therefore, it is no longer safe and it is not advisable to stay for long.

As for where to go, he picked up the black Wan Yao City token left on the bluestone with his fingertips and fell into deep thought.

How much of what Master Xuanding said was true and how much was false?

Gou An moved to the entrance of the cave and sent a wisp of demonic energy into the token through his fingertips.

In an instant, the token's surface shimmered with spiritual light, condensing into a slender arrow of light that steadily pointed towards a location deep within the mountains, clearly the direction of the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

After much deliberation, Gou An finally decided to go and investigate the truth.

However, not now; he plans to wait a few more days to avoid any potential dangers.

Seven days later.

The atmosphere in the core area of ​​the Monster Mountain Range is completely different from that of the outer areas.

The entire mountain forest was deathly silent and desolate, without even a trace of ordinary monsters, as if all beasts and monsters were deliberately avoiding this place.

Gou An concealed his demonic aura and carefully moved forward under the cover of the trees.

But when the token led them to the end, all they could see were rolling mountains, with not a trace of a city in sight.

"That cunning old cat, how dare it try to fool me!"

Gou An was filled with rage and turned around to go back the way he came.

But just as he turned around, his nostrils twitched involuntarily as he caught a wisp of a completely different, peculiar demonic aura. He quickly dodged behind a boulder to conceal himself.

Before long, a humanoid bull demon appeared out of thin air. It walked to an open area before shedding its human form and revealing its enormous bull body, then galloped toward the distant mountains.

Where the bull demon appeared, the surrounding air rippled like water, and the outline of a barrier faintly appeared.

It was a barrier!

Gou An instantly understood. No wonder the city's entire appearance couldn't be seen from the outside; the entire Ten Thousand Demon City was shrouded in layers of giant concealment barriers.

After patiently waiting a while to make sure there were no other monsters around, Gou An slowly stepped forward.

When he reached the spot where the bull demon had stepped out of the barrier, he reached out and touched the air, but his fingertips only touched nothingness, without any sense of obstruction.

Gou An had made up his mind, and holding the token in his hand, he probed forward again.

The next moment, his entire arm pierced straight through the void barrier, as if half of his arm had vanished into thin air, which was extremely bizarre.

Sure enough, the entrance is here!

Gou An's gaze sharpened, and he stepped directly into the barrier.

From the outside, Gou An seemed to have suddenly disappeared.

For Gou An, the endless barren mountains outside vanished in an instant, the light and shadow before his eyes flickered, and the surrounding scenery was completely changed.

Where is there even a trace of the deep mountains and forests?

In the distance, it had turned into a vast, open plain.

In the very center of the plain, a colossal city built entirely of black rock stands majestically, its walls towering high and magnificent.

Its grandeur was in no way inferior to any human town Gou An had ever seen before.

"It's actually true!"

Gou An felt a surge of wild joy.

It's impossible for someone to build such a huge city just to fool themselves!

After calming himself down, Gou An walked along the smooth and wide bluestone road toward the gate of the City of Ten Thousand Demons.

The city gate was bustling with people, and various demon cultivators came and went from time to time, making it a lively scene.

Several demon soldiers, clad in iron armor and exuding a fierce aura, stood guard at the city gate, their ramrod straight, their sharp eyes scanning the flow of people coming and going, occasionally stopping any suspicious demon cultivators for detailed questioning.

One of the demon soldiers, with a leopard's head, sized Gou An up and down, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He spoke first: "A dog demon? That's rare. Where did you come from?"

Gou An remained silent for a moment, but still replied cooperatively, "The Monster Mountain Range."

"Nonsense!" the leopard-headed demon soldier snapped, his tone impatient. "I'm asking how you managed to get through the outer barrier."

Upon hearing this, Gou An immediately raised his hand and took out the black token given to him by Xuan Ding Zhenren, and said frankly, "The demon cultivators in the city invited me here, and this is the token."

Upon seeing the token of the City of Ten Thousand Demons, the leopard-headed demon soldier's expression softened slightly, and he immediately stepped aside to make way.

"Since you had the city entry token, why didn't you just take it out?" he muttered, a hint of dissatisfaction in his voice, but he didn't stop him anymore, letting Gou An pass through.

Gou An stepped into the city, and the sight that greeted him filled him with delight.

Apart from the fact that all the residents of the city are demon cultivators, the layout, appearance, and atmosphere of the entire city are exactly the same as those of human cities.