The autumn night was especially chilling. The various residences in the Mortal Realm had long shut their doors and snuffed out their lights to rest.
Deep in the mountain forests, thousands of demons were gathered.
The many species of demons had made an unprecedented attempt to come together after casting aside their differences, be they tigers, rabbits, foxes, or snakes… All kinds of demons were present. At this moment, the entire forest was filled with voices from the various demon species; some loud, some soft, others even charming. Seated right at the top were ten Demon Monarchs. These ten experts stood at the apex within the Demon Realm, but they were wearing heavy frowns between their brows.
"Demonfolks, I believe everyone is aware of the recent happenings!" Tigers were one of the more domineering species, so the demons immediately fell silent the moment the Tiger Monarch spoke. "As fellow demons, in light of the crisis we are facing, I believe that we should put aside our differences and work to overcome the problem facing us."
"But there is something amiss about this matter." The Wolf Monarch frowned. "We still have no idea who it is that attacked us, nor do we know their aim."
"Is there even a need to guess?" The Tiger Monarch snorted coldly. "Other than the cultivators from the Six Schools Three Sects, who else would do this? Just think about how many of us demons they have slaughtered over the years!"
"But we have always tried to stay out of the cultivation sects' way as much as possible. Why would they suddenly blockade the path out of our Demon Realm?" the Wolf Monarch questioned doubtfully.
"That's right! The worst the demons who went beyond the Demon Realm borders did was to devour some mere mortals. It's not as if the disciples of the Six Schools Three Sects had been eaten," analyzed the Snake Monarch. "There's no need for them to go this far, right?"
"Isn't that so!" the Panther Monarch agreed indignantly. "All these years, which demon has never devoured a mortal before? Why would the Six Schools Three Sects suddenly make things difficult for us? I don't think it is them."
"That's right. Everyone knows that the demonic aura of our realm is damaging to their cultivation, making it rare for them to approach the periphery forest of our realm. Why would they suddenly deploy manpower to guard the borders?"
"But… other than the Six Schools Three Sects, who else possesses the might to kill every demon who stepped out of the Demon Realm over the past three months?" insisted the Tiger Monarch.
The Eagle Monarch nodded, seeming as if having recalled something. It shook its feathers and said, "I heard that the demons who traversed out of the Demon Realm were left without bodies. They were even mercilessly slaughtered, skinned, and cooked. There were corpses that were left to dry on the ancient Pagoda Tree in the forest. Such ruthless means… makes them truly worse than a beast!"
"It's completely intolerable!" The Tiger Monarch smashed the stone armrest of its seat and stood up furiously. "My fellow Demon Monarchs, rather than guessing blindly, why don't we just forge our way out and figure out the culprit's identity? I refuse to believe that—no matter how powerful they are—they will be able to stand against the horde of our great demon army!"
Those words immediately gained the approval of the other nine Demon Monarchs. Indeed, rather than to cower in fear, they might as well take the initiative to strike.
"That's right!" echoed the Deer Monarch. "My children died at their hands. Instead of guessing, I'd rather slaughter a way out. So what if they are the Six Schools Three Sects. When have we demons been afraid of them?"
"Well said! Isn't that the very reason why we are gathered here today? Regardless of who the culprit is, we have to slaughter our way out to exact vengeance for our brethren!" Even the timid Rabbit Monarch also stood up and echoed in agreement. After all, the species that had suffered the greatest losses was the rabbits.
"Agreed! If we don't exact vengeance, it would be embarrassing to call ourselves demons!"
"The dead souls of our departed brethren, we vow to exact revenge for you!"
"We shall rid those despicable humans and bring peace back to our Demon Realm!"
"For the Demon Realm…"
The other Demon Monarchs stood up in support, and even the demons gathered in the area returned to their true forms, baring their claws as they cried out for revenge. They were the very picture of an army that was prepared to march to war. All sorts of roarings from the demons swept through the area and reverberated through the clouds endlessly until…
"Hey…" A faint voice suddenly sounded amid the demon horde. "I don't think there is a need for you to proceed."
This objection that suddenly sounded amid the fervent demons managed to capture the attention of the demons despite being faint. The roarings came to an abrupt halt, and all the demons immediately scanned their surroundings for the perpetrator.
"Who is it?" the Tiger Monarch roared furiously as it searched for that cowardly demon.
Despite possessing keen senses, the demons failed to find the one who had said those words.
"Who was the one who spoke earlier?" The Tiger Monarch was infuriated. "Where did such a timid demon come from? Show yourself!"
"Here! I'm here!"
"Where?" The demons scanned their surroundings once more, but still failed to find the originator of the voice.
"Here, here…" That voice sounded once more. "To your left, left… That's too much! Right, a little more to the right… You missed it again! Over here, look here!"
The demons followed the instructions of the voice, but they still failed to find the person.
"Sigh! Forget it, I'm here!"
It was only after a sigh sounded and a figure used all its limbs to climb up to the stand where the Demon Monarchs were seated did the demons finally see the source of the voice.
It was a woman dressed in a gray robe. Her shoulders were slouched weakly and her spiritless eyes seemed to droop lowly. Her entire being seemed to effuse an aura of laziness. She had a short and skinny figure, and her face was a little sallow.
Instantly, a single word emerged in the minds of every single demon: "Weak!" She was way too weak! Even the weakest, most pathetic demon present could blow her away with a single puff.
It was no wonder they had failed to find her despite searching all day; such a demon was simply way too inconspicuous.
The hot-blooded Tiger Monarch could not stand for any of this. With an angry snort it said fiercely, "Hmph, you gutless fellow. To think a few mere cultivators are able to scare you to the point of assuming such a form." Demons possessed the ability to morph themselves, but this was the Myriad Demon Congregation. The demons gathered here were in their true forms yet she had chosen to retain her human form instead. This irritated the Tiger Monarch even further. "You do not dare show your true form to us? What kind of demon are you?"
"I'm human," answered the woman.
"A human
"…" The woman's face twitched. Hey, don't insult me.
"How dare a random lesser demon like you attend the Myriad Demon Congregation?" The Tiger Monarch glared at the woman furiously. "You spineless lesser demon, don't you continue your nonsense and dampen the morale of our warriors who seek revenge!"
"No, I'm serious." The woman raised her hand, showing no repentance. However, her gesture only caused her shoulder to slouch even further, making her look even weaker. "There is really no need for you to seek the culprit for revenge."
"More of these demoralizing words?!" The Tiger Monarch became incensed as he roared, "Do you think that I'm afraid of devouring a lesser demon like you?"
"Even after you eat me, there's no need for you to make a wasted trip, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that the merciless fellow you spoke of earlier who slaughtered demons and is worse than beasts…" She sighed and patted her gray robe. With that same spiritless look on her face, she pointed at herself. "Might… be me!"
All the demons: "…"
!!!!!!!!
Σ(°△°|||)
The entire area fell silent for three seconds.
Three seconds later…
"Kill her!"
As soon as they snapped to their senses, the demons simultaneously pounced at the woman.
However, the woman gave a long sigh while exuding that same languid attitude…
These little animals or whatever they are—sure are troublesome!
Five minutes later.
Demon carcasses were strewn across the ground along flowing rivers of blood…
Thus, the curtain closed on the first and last Myriad Demon Congregation!