Hongdou landed and transformed into her human form, still appearing as a delicate little girl, but now holding a short blade in each hand.
She crossed her arms, raising the blades to her chest, her face full of eager anticipation. "Master, what rank are we now?"
"Last place."
For the past few days, they had focused solely on tracking Jiu Li and hadn't earned many points.
Hongdou's face scrunched up in dissatisfaction at this answer, but as she looked around at the surrounding demons, her excitement quickly returned, her eyes sparkling with energy.
She could sense that these demons were excellent nourishment for her.
Low-level demons, lacking intelligence, could only act on instinct.
Sensing the intense killing intent emanating from Hongdou, a stir rippled through the crowd of demons around them.
But for some reason, they didn't flee.
The little girl, gripping her blades, leaped into the darkness, and wherever she went, the demons had no chance to resist; they vanished without a sound, as if melting like snow.
Outside Jiuwu Mountain, the giant screen suddenly began to flicker continuously. At first, the Dongji Sect disciples thought the screen was malfunctioning, but after investigating, they realized that someone was rapidly accumulating points, causing the rankings to update quickly.
The screen only displayed the top ten ranked participants, with Qingxu Sect's Wen Miaomiao firmly in first place. Her score was far ahead of the others.
Just as everyone thought that a dark horse might replace her at the top, the screen stopped flickering. The original second-place holder was bumped down, replaced by Meng Shuying.
At the same time, an elder of Danyang Alliance suddenly discovered that three soul lamps in his Qiankun pouch had gone out.
One of them belonged to Jiu Li, the alliance leader's most cherished disciple.
After dispatching the surrounding demons, Hongdou set her sights on the only remaining demon, one completely shrouded in dark energy.
This demon's strength was close to that of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, making it a difficult opponent.
By rights, a demon of such power should have already gained intelligence. But for some reason, this one's eyes were vacant, as if it hadn't.
Hongdou originally intended to attack directly, planning to quickly take down this demon with her master in a pincer move.
But the demon, standing still, suddenly began to walk slowly toward Meng Shuying. It then knelt down on both knees and prostrated itself before her.
Meng Shuying had read in ancient texts that this was the highest form of respect in the demon world, representing absolute submission.
In the demon world, there are no mortals, only demon tribes and demon beasts.
The demon tribes are similar to humans, and their appearance is nearly identical to mortals. However, they lack spiritual roots and are born with demonic power.
Unlike human cultivators who must awaken their spiritual roots and then devote themselves to cultivation, the status of demons is determined solely by their bloodline.
According to demon legend, the demon world was originally a desolate place with no inhabitants. It was the Demon Lord who, using his own flesh and blood, created countless beings, eventually giving rise to the demon tribes.
Every member of the demon tribes carries the Demon Lord's blood, and the concentration of this blood determines their status and rank.
Demon beasts are similar to the beasts of the human world, except they are shrouded in demonic energy and appear more ferocious.
The abilities of demon beasts grow similarly to those of spiritual beasts; they can absorb demonic energy from the world or gain power by devouring other demon beasts.
After performing its grand salute, the demon rose and made two guttural sounds toward Meng Shuying.
For some reason, Meng Shuying understood its meaning.
It was asking her for her blood.
Meng Shuying frowned in thought for a moment, then slid her fingertip along the blade of her sword, causing a bead of blood to well up.
Seeing the blood on her hand, the demon grew agitated, but for some reason, it hesitated to approach directly.
With a thought, Meng Shuying sent the blood, encased in spiritual energy, toward the demon. Its eyes brightened, and it eagerly grasped the blood and consumed it.
To the demon, her blood seemed to have a special effect.
Because, moments after it swallowed her blood, its aura began to surge, soon rivaling that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
When it opened its eyes again, there was a newfound clarity in its gaze.
It bowed once more and spoke slowly, "Thank you for your gift, esteemed master."
This was likely its first time speaking, as its voice was hoarse and its tone peculiar.
Meng Shuying recalled Hongdou, who transformed back into a small bird perched on her shoulder. Both she and the bird looked at the demon before them with emotionless eyes.
Human cultivators are generally repulsed by anything from the demon world.
"Now that you've gained a benefit from me, we're even."
Though she appeared calm on the surface, Meng Shuying was already prepared to defend herself, unsure if the demon, now more powerful, might suddenly turn on them.
The demon initially wanted to pledge its loyalty to her, but seeing the coldness in her eyes and remembering that this was the human world, it realized that this master likely had a mission. If someone discovered them together, it might expose her and ruin her plans, which could lead to punishment.
Besides, it had its own tasks to complete.
The demon silently stood up and quickly left.
Only after its figure disappeared did Meng Shuying and Hongdou breathe a sigh of relief.
Though she didn't understand why these demons were submitting to her, the demon's reaction made it clear that her blood had some effect on them.
On the tenth day after entering Jiuwu Mountain, Su Luowei finally encountered Meng Shuying.
But contrary to her expectations, Meng Shuying was not in the least bit disheveled; she actually seemed quite composed.
She was still alone, with only a sword by her side.
Seeing them, Meng Shuying was also pleased. But this happiness faded considerably when she noticed Mu Xiu standing behind them.
When she saw what Mu Xiu was doing, the smile on her face disappeared entirely.
Mu Xiu was cooking.
He was the leader of Dongji Sect's group, the senior brother of those cultivators. Moreover, Golden Core cultivators no longer needed to eat.
So if he was cooking, it had to be for someone.
And that someone, it seemed, didn't notice the coldness in her expression, smiling at her instead. "You've arrived just in time. Senior Brother Mu just caught some fish from the lake and is about to grill them."
Mu Xiu, sitting on a large stone, was skillfully descaling the fish, his movements showing the ease of someone who had done this many times before. Seeing Meng Shuying look over, he smiled and said, "Junior Sister Luowei is just the same as when she was a child—she still loves to eat. Fortunately, I prepared some supplies when I found out you'd be participating in the Five Sects Conference. Otherwise, even if we met here, I wouldn't be able to cook something to her liking."
"Senior Brother is too modest. I still remember when I got into trouble and Father confined me. You secretly brought me food, and even then your cooking was excellent." Su Luowei's face took on a reminiscent expression.
In the original owner's memories, Mu Xiu had indeed treated her very well. Like a kind elder brother, he was always patient and protective. Even after Su Luowei went to Qingxu Sect, he would occasionally send letters and little trinkets.
Even this time, after they coincidentally met here, Mu Xiu had mentioned that the fish was particularly delicious at this time of year and that the lake in Jiuwu Mountain was one of the few freshwater lakes on Dongji Island, with fish that were rare and expensive outside.
Su Luowei was fine with it, but Xie Hanzhu had been thrilled at the idea, wanting to catch the fish herself.
The fish was soon grilled. After sprinkling a thin layer of salt, Mu Xiu handed the fish to Su Luowei. "Try it and see if my skills have held up."
The fish was delicate and flavorful, indeed a rare treat. Without thinking, Su Luowei broke off half of it and offered it to Meng Shuying, saying, "You should try some too."
Meng Shuying had already composed herself. She took a small bite of the fish and looked up at Su Luowei, saying, "If Senior Sister loves fish, I'll make it for you every day when we return to Qingxu Sect."
Su Luowei chuckled, "Alright."
Perhaps because Wen Miaomiao was with them, the next few days passed without incident. However, on the thirteenth day after entering Jiuwu Mountain, all their jade slips suddenly emitted a faint green light, and they were teleported out.
Compared to before entering the mountain, one-fourth of the cultivators were now missing. Most of the survivors were injured, and groups like theirs, still intact, were few.
"What's going on? The Five Sects Conference isn't over yet, so why were we sent out?"
"I've been tracking that beast for days! I was just about to slay it!"
"Where are the Dongji Sect people? They owe us an explanation!"
The newly teleported cultivators were abuzz with discussion. With only two days left until the conference's conclusion, those who had made it this far had gone through a lot. If Dongji Sect abruptly ended the event without a good reason, it would be hard for the participants to accept.
"Everyone, quiet down—"
A voice suddenly sounded from the high platform. Su Luowei looked up and saw that the speaker was Su Haocang.
"Three days ago, a demon escaped from Jiuwu Mountain and, taking advantage of our unpreparedness, killed many cultivators. I joined forces with the other four sects to capture it, but the demon was cunning and managed to escape."
Someone from below shouted, "What does this have to do with stopping the conference?"
Su Haocang replied, "That demon has reached the Heavenly Demon stage, with strength comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator. After it returned to Jiuwu Mountain, in just one day, twenty-two soul lamps went out."
A hush fell over the crowd.
Demons are classified by stages: Earth Demon and Heavenly Demon. Earth Demons correspond to cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, while Heavenly Demons are equivalent to those above.
The "Heaven" and "Earth" distinction exists because once a demon breaks through to the Heavenly Demon stage, it gains intelligence.
A Heavenly Demon possesses the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, an incredibly strong physical body, and intelligence.
Such a demon would completely overpower a Golden Core stage cultivator.
Moreover, humans and demons are natural enemies; just as humans loathe demons, demons loathe humans. So, after that demon returned to Jiuwu Mountain, it killed twenty-two cultivators in a row.
Faced with this threat to their lives, the cultivators below had nothing more to say. Compared to securing a spot on the Five Sects Conference's leaderboard, returning home alive was far more important.
Dongji Sect had considered this, which is why they had consulted with the other four sects and decided to call off the conference early.
Similar incidents had occurred in previous Five Sects Conferences, so there was precedent to follow. The heads of the sects didn't dwell on it and quickly agreed to end the event.
According to the rules, when the conference is interrupted, all results are nullified. Dongji Sect will host another conference in five years, where sects can send new disciples to compete for the leaderboard.
Since the conference was now paused, the cultivators were free to disperse. As they moved out with the crowd, Su Luowei, seeing that no one was paying attention to her, secretly asked Xiao Ba, "With the Five Sects Conference stopped, does my task count as a success or a failure?"
She glanced at the giant screen. According to the current results, Wen Miaomiao was in first place.
Following her were Meng Shuying, Mu Xiu, and some unfamiliar names. To her surprise, Yu Qing was also on the list, her points placing her in tenth place.
Xiao Ba responded, "When a task cannot proceed due to uncontrollable circumstances, it is considered invalid. Don't worry, there won't be any punishment."
In other words, failing this task wouldn't result in her death.