Chapter 56: The Aura of Ferocity

“Great King, I truly do not know, Great King,” the tiger demon kept kowtowing to Yuan Wuji.

“Where are Fox Third and Fox Laugh?”

Yuan Wuji had thought that Firecloud Cave had descended into chaos and needed his return to restore order. Unexpectedly, the foxes only knew how to feud among themselves; the mountain had been taken over, and of the three foxes leading the infighting, one was killed while the other two had become prisoners in the dungeon. It was almost laughable.

“Great King, I’ll take you there, I’ll take you right now.” The tiger demon struggled to its feet, leading Yuan Wuji in the opposite direction of Firecloud Cave.

The demon soldiers quickly made way for them, already cowed by Yuan Wuji’s earlier show of force. Now, seeing even their own king grievously injured by a single blow, their hearts were filled with fear. Only a handful of fox soldiers wore thoughtful expressions.

“No need,” Yuan Wuji called out, stopping the tiger demon.

He then returned to Firecloud Cave, with the tiger demon hesitating a moment before following inside.

Unlike other powerful demons, the tiger demon had been captured as a cub by human cultivators and used as a mount. Over time, the tiger demon learned many skills from its human masters. Unwilling to remain a mount forever, it seized an opportunity to escape, gathered a host of spirits and wild beasts, and sought to carve out its own domain. Eventually, it encountered the fox demons of Firecloud Cave and became king of the mountain for a hundred years—though, as luck would have it, the mountain belonged to Yuan Wuji.

Besides the abilities it picked up from human cultivators, the tiger demon also learned their methods, so under its management, Firecloud Cave began to thrive.

Fox Third and Fox Laugh were imprisoned in a nearby hill specially constructed by the tiger demon to hold those who had offended it over the past century, including not a few human cultivators. Rather than simply killing or devouring them, the tiger demon used the hill to both detain prisoners and intimidate the lower-ranking demon soldiers, sometimes even reaping unexpected benefits.

When Bull Demon King gifted Firecloud Cave to Yuan Wuji, word spread, and for over two hundred years many demons, and even some human cultivators, attempted to seize it. Yet none proved a match for the tiger demon. Firecloud Cave was either too insignificant for powerful beings to bother with, or too well-defended for lesser ones to conquer.

Those captured by the tiger demon, be they human or demon, were all locked inside the little hill and subjected to daily interrogations and beatings, which always yielded some gain. As the number of prisoners grew, Fox Third and Fox Laugh were gradually forgotten.

“You have some ability to have managed Firecloud Cave so well,” Yuan Wuji remarked, appreciating the tiger demon’s accomplishments. To have so quickly brought the cave under such firm control showed real skill.

“I dare not claim credit,” the tiger demon replied humbly.

“Then serve under me,” Yuan Wuji declared, his tone making it clear that refusal would mean death.

“Yes, yes,” the tiger demon stammered, startled by his tone. But having encountered such a calamity, it had no choice but to obey, hoping to find some future chance to escape.

After centuries as a mount, it had only just regained its freedom, and now it was forced to serve another master. Naturally, the tiger demon was unwilling, but survival came first; it could only agree for now and scheme for a way out of Firecloud Cave in the future.

“As for Fox Third and Fox Laugh, I won’t meddle—handle them as you see fit,” Yuan Wuji said indifferently. To him, the two foxes had little value, but since they were once his subordinates, allowing the tiger demon to punish them a little was more than enough.

The tiger demon understood Yuan Wuji’s meaning: just let the two foxes suffer a few days.

It walked out of Firecloud Cave and whispered a few words to a nearby demon soldier, who immediately ran off toward the little hill near the cave.

“Let them know the Divine Ape King has returned, and let them stew a few more days,” the tiger demon said, handling the matter with remarkable thoroughness.

Earlier, when the tiger demon had left Firecloud Cave, Yuan Wuji had told it his title—after all, it would not do for his own subordinate not to know who he was.

To Yuan Wuji’s surprise, the tiger demon was visibly shocked upon hearing his name. Over two hundred years ago, the Divine Ape King had annihilated an entire human kingdom in the Northern Continent—a deed which quickly became infamous throughout the cultivation world, landing the Divine Ape King at the top of the human cultivators’ most wanted list. The tiger demon had heard the tale from human cultivators and, with the worsening relations between demons and humans, Yuan Wuji’s reputation as a ruthless demon king had only grown.

Thus, upon learning that Yuan Wuji was in fact the Divine Ape King, the tiger demon was shaken to its core at being in the presence of such a figure. Yet this only deepened its fear that one day it might meet its end at Yuan Wuji’s hands, making its desire to escape even more resolute.

What the tiger demon did not know was that the destroyed kingdom was one of the rare few among humans devoted to cultivation. Though small, such nations were uncommon; otherwise, the tale would not have spread so widely. Many demon kings had committed massacres, but few became famous for it. Yuan Wuji’s notoriety stemmed from having wiped out an entire cultivation kingdom—a karmic burden not easily borne. Even those at the Da Luo level would not dare such an act, but Yuan Wuji had done it, erasing even the emperor from existence. This was the true source of the Divine Ape King’s fearsome reputation.

Of course, Yuan Wuji himself was unaware of all this; he had dwelled in the Celestial Court for years, knowing little of mortal affairs.

At this time, Yuan Wuji was still secretly siphoning the essence of the Dragon Soul. After days of absorption, his mastery of fire had reached twenty percent, and the glow of the Nine Dragon Divine Fire Shield had dimmed slightly. Yet, being a primordial treasure, fully consuming the nine dragon souls would not be accomplished overnight.

Now, it was known throughout Firecloud Cave that the Divine Ape King was its new master. There were, of course, a few foolish spirits who resisted, but all were smashed to pieces by Yuan Wuji. Under his ferocity, there was not a single demon soldier who dared disobey; their fear of him was even greater than what they had felt for the tiger demon.

At the very least, the tiger demon would spare your life, but Yuan Wuji would wipe you out entirely. The warning of bloodshed was always the most effective. Some of the fox soldiers had at first believed it was simply Yuan Wuji returning, but after witnessing his methods, they quickly dismissed the thought. Not only did his appearance differ from before, but his actions were also unlike the image of their former king—once bold and brimming with heroic energy, he was now enigmatic and ruthless.