Chapter 160: Decisive and Merciless

In the jungle, a rare phenomenon was taking place: jackals, tigers, leopards, and panthers had gathered in large groups yet maintained complete harmony.

Normally, the various tribes could hardly be called natural enemies, yet they still hunted one another. Given the slightest opportunity, a tiger would prey on a leopard, and a wolf pack would target a bear.

Today, however, driven by shared interests, these mutually predatory species had come together.

Dozens of tribes had formed an alliance, sending thousands of fierce beasts surging in an imposing tide toward the territory of the donkey-headed wolves. Overhead, a troop of birds of prey led by the Vulture King wheeled across the sky.

At the head of this alliance were a dozen humanoid monsters.

That was correct—humanoid monsters, neither purely human nor purely beast.

They possessed human bodies, walked upright, yet retained the heads and physical traits of animals, much like the demons found in *Journey to the West*.

It was not that they were incapable of fully transforming into humans, but rather that they lacked a template for complete transformation, and furthermore disdained the idea of completely becoming human.

This touched upon the factional divisions among the demon race in the natural world.

The human race was favored by heaven and earth, regarded as the spirit of all living things. Their form was the most aligned with the Heavenly Dao, known as the "Dao Body."

Every demon acknowledged this point, which was why the primary goal of a demon's cultivation was to transform into a humanoid shape.

Could the cultivation speed of a demon that had taken on a humanoid form be measured merely by a twofold increase?

However, there was an essential difference between "transforming into a humanoid shape" and "transforming into a human."

One faction of demons believed that the human race was the protagonist of heaven and earth, possessing various cultivation techniques bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. Among all races, humans found it easiest to attain immortality, become ancestors, and achieve longevity.

Therefore, all races should attach themselves to the human race for survival, thereby gaining the opportunity to attain the Righteous Fruit, escape the animal path, and achieve the Immortal Dao.

This faction of pro-human demons was a minority—the left wing of the demon race. The honorary elders at the Zixiao headquarters were entirely composed of such demons.

The majority of demons, however, belonged to the right wing. They practiced the law of the jungle, championing the survival of the fittest and the rule that the strong preyed upon the weak.

They believed that a demon was a demon, and a beast was a beast, inherently opposed to the human race.

While they acknowledged humans as the spirit of all living things, they refused to acknowledge humans as the protagonists of heaven and earth, holding that whoever was strongest was the protagonist of the world.

The current world was dominated by the human race merely because humans wielded the most formidable power.

Since humans fed on beasts and consumed demons to increase their Dao cultivation and spiritual power, demons could likewise consume humans to increase their own Dao cultivation and spiritual power.

Though powerful, the human race was vastly outnumbered by the demons. Once the demons of the world developed and grew stronger, they would sooner or later supplant the position of humanity and become the masters of heaven and earth.

A demon might take on a humanoid shape for the sake of cultivation, but there was no need to truly become a "human." Doing so was an act of forsaking one's own bloodline and betraying one's ancestors.

Such rhetoric was mainstream among the demon race, which precisely reflected Li Yunfei's foresight.

The leader of the demon alliance was undoubtedly the Tiger King—more accurately, the White Tiger King.

Standing two meters and two centimeters tall, he possessed a robust and imposing physique, a tiger's head upon a human body, and was covered from head to toe in white fur marked with black stripes. Around his waist was tied a black-and-yellow tiger-skin skirt, and in his hand, he held a uniquely shaped, massive saber.

The blade was about five feet long, half a foot wide, with a one-foot-long hilt and a spine half an inch thick. The patterns running down the center of the blade looked precisely like a spinal cord.

In fact, it was a spinal cord. When the White Tiger King had fought and slain a tiger demon from another mountain, he had refined its spine and leg bones to forge the weapon.

He had even refined the soul of the defeated tiger demon into the blade itself, which was why he named the weapon "Tiger Soul."

The tiger-skin skirt around his waist was also crafted from the skin of that same tiger demon.

This battle had established the White Tiger King's prestige and made his name resound widely. Normally, tigers were solitary creatures who disliked living in groups, but after gaining spiritual intelligence, they too understood the importance of unity.

Consequently, the White Tiger King had traveled across numerous mountains, subjugating a dozen tiger demons as his subordinates, thereby carving out a powerful sphere of influence.

Though there were only a dozen tiger demons, they lacked no cannon fodder among their subordinates.

Tiger demons possessed an innate divine ability: they could transform the souls of the creatures they killed into *chang* ghosts, utilizing them to do their bidding.

This was the origin of the idiom "acting as a *chang* ghost for the tiger."

Similar to the Tiger King were the Leopard King and the Bear King. Leopards and bears were originally solitary creatures as well, living together at most while raising cubs, after which the mothers would drive the young away to live alone.

Yet, relying on their formidable cultivation bases, the Leopard King and Bear King had gathered most of their fellow clansmen in the forest region under their command, thus assembling forces of their own.

As for the forest wolves, they were pack animals by nature. The Forest Wolf King had slain the alpha wolves of many smaller packs, annexed their groups, and established himself as the undisputed Forest Wolf King of the Shennongjia forest region.

Another creature worth mentioning was the yellow-throated marten, known as the "wolf of the mustelid family." Its combat prowess was on par with the honey badger, and even giant pandas regarded it as a natural enemy.

Although it lacked the honey badger's explosive temper—which meant it was either fighting or on its way to a fight—its disposition was fiercely relentless. It either chose not to strike, or else fought an opponent to the bitter end.

In terms of never backing down from trouble, it shared the same stubborn, single-minded streak as the honey badger.

Barely half a meter in length, it would dare to charge head-on against giant pandas and leopards without a shred of cowardice, belonging entirely to the breed of creatures with nerves of steel.

Among the ranks of the demon alliance was also a group of giant white pythons, each at least ten meters in length and as thick as an adult's thigh.

This group was likely of the same kind as Lady White, for their leader was an enchanting woman in a white dress, possessing a alluring figure with a human upper body and a snake's tail.

The Shennongjia forest region harbored many albino animals. Aside from snakes, even creatures that were naturally supposed to be black, such as crows and black bears, could grow coats of white feathers or white fur; the Tiger King himself was an albino South China tiger.

However, it was said that although albino crows belonged to the same species as ordinary crows, their symbolic significance was entirely opposite.

Crows were symbols of death, whereas albino crows were signs of rebirth, and thus were also known as birds of rebirth.

Their innate divine ability was healing and recovery. Though incomparable to certain ancient divine birds, they could be regarded as the ultimate healers among ordinary avian species.

The sheer abundance of albino animals in the Shennongjia forest region further indicated that this place was a blessed land.

Albinism was often a manifestation of greatly increased spirituality. Albino animals possessed a higher affinity for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and their cultivation speed was correspondingly faster.

When the South China tiger became a white tiger, ordinary pythons became white pythons, crows became white crows, black bears became white bears, and forest wolves became white wolves, almost without exception, they all became kings of their respective tribes.

"Tiger King, do you think the Donkey-Headed Wolf King will submit?"

The White Bear King, who was roughly the same size as the White Tiger King, also covered in white fur, wearing leather armor, and carrying an eight-foot silver spear on his shoulder, asked in a muffled, rumbling voice.

Though the White Tiger King possessed the head of a tiger, his facial expressions could still be vividly displayed. With a somewhat solemn expression, he replied, "It's hard to say. Although the donkey-headed wolves belong to the wolf family, their temperament is just as stubborn as a donkey's."

"Back then, the wild boar tribe was powerful and pressured them on several occasions, but the donkey-headed wolves didn't yield an inch, fighting whenever provoked. Later, they were nearly wiped out due to a scheme by the White Boar King, and it's said they were rescued by human cultivators."

The White Bear King hesitated and said, "With human cultivators backing the donkey-headed wolf tribe now, I'm afraid they won't take us seriously. If this attracts human cultivators, then..."

Beside them, the short, lean, and fiercely cold Forest Wolf King let out a cold snort and said, "What is there to fear? The forest is our home turf, and besides, human cultivators cannot stay in the forest forever."

The White Tiger King nodded in agreement. "The Wolf King makes sense. Our demands aren't too excessive; we only want some spirit stones, not to actually seize their territory."

"We don't even need them to hand them over directly. As long as they permit us to mine freely on the outskirts of their territory, there's no reason for them to fight us to the death."

The Leopard King, whose body was covered in black spots, sneered, "Whether it's the donkey-headed wolf tribe or the golden eagle tribe, their reproductive capacity is extremely low, and their numbers cannot grow by much in a year. The loss of even a single donkey-headed wolf or golden eagle would cause them great heartache."

"I refuse to believe they would disregard the safety of their clan members for the sake of external goods and choose to suffer mutual destruction with us."

Hearing this, the various demon kings nodded in agreement, their hopes soaring instantly.

A moment later, when they arrived at the valley where the donkey-headed wolf tribe's territory was located, they saw the valley entrance firmly blocked by nine humans of strikingly similar appearances, backed by hundreds of donkey-headed wolves.

This was clearly not the entirety of the donkey-headed wolves, for vultures and hawks still hovered threateningly in the sky above.

If all of them were deployed and the golden eagles slipped past their watch to seize some spirit stones, that would be a minor issue; however, there were young ones of both tribes inside the mining caves!

The young were the future of both tribes, and the loss of even one would be equivalent to carving out a piece of their hearts. Naturally, they had to make thorough preparations.

The nine individuals consisted of four males and five females, clearly transformed from members of the donkey-headed wolf tribe. Only the Donkey-Headed Wolf King possessed the cultivation of the mid-stage Yin Spirit realm, while the other eight were all in the early stage.

Three others remained guarding the lair in the mining caves with another portion of the tribe, serving as a reserve force. In total, the donkey-headed wolf tribe had twelve transformed clansmen.

Though the combat strength of the Tiger King's faction varied, their cultivation levels were all at the early Yin Spirit realm. In terms of high-end combat power, although they outnumbered the wolves by a few individuals, they held no overwhelming advantage.

Though the demon alliance numbered thousands of fierce beasts and raptors—seven or eight times the number of donkey-headed wolves and golden eagles—their individual strength could not compare to the two tribes, meaning they held no advantage there either, though they would not easily fall behind.

To put it mildly, the strengths of both sides were closely matched. If a war truly broke out, mutual destruction was the most probable outcome.

Seeing the arrival of the Tiger King's group, a flash of coldness appeared in Lü Dalang's eyes, though a playful smile soon spread across his face.

He said to the Bear King and the seductive snake beside him, "Stinking bear, white snake, the two of you aren't sleeping in your caves in the dead of winter, yet you run over here to cause trouble. Could it be that you don't wish to hibernate, but rather enter an eternal sleep?"

The Bear King's expression shifted, and with a cold snort, he remained silent. The white snake, however, put on a grievously wronged expression and said, "Everyone is striving hard in cultivation nowadays to preserve their lives and attain longevity. How could this humble one possibly sleep?"

"The Great King refuses to allow me to take shelter in your territory, and the golden eagle tribe preys upon my children day after day. If I don't think of a way out, my snake tribe will be exterminated."

Hearing this, Lü Dalang's eyes flashed with a malicious smile as he said, "So that's how it is! My mistake then. I'll give you a chance."

"As long as you kill any one of these demon kings right now, I will let you enter my territory to take shelter, and I'll even put in a good word for you with the Golden Eagle King so they stop preying on the snake tribe."

Expressions across the entire demon alliance shifted instantly, and they hurriedly raised their guard against the snake tribe, stepping back a distance.

The white snake's expression turned ugly as she inwardly regretted her loose tongue, and she hastily sought to remedy the situation. "Great King need not sow discord. Today, our various tribes have come together to demand an answer from you."

"Your territory is vast and can easily accommodate us. As fellow members of the demon race, we ought to look out for one another. For you to occupy such a massive area is sheer waste."

"We demand to enter the donkey-headed wolf territory for shelter. Do you agree or not?"

Hearing the white snake's words, the gathered demons finally lowered their guard, showing expressions of satisfaction.

The White Tiger King spoke up in a timely manner, "The white snake is right. Your donkey-headed wolf tribe has occupied this blessed land for millions of years, and we acknowledge this as your territory."

"However, as the white snake said, such a massive domain is inhabited by only two tribes while other demons are barred from entering. To the demon race as a whole, this is utterly unfair."

"The spiritual energy of heaven and earth can never be exhausted; it only increases. Why can't you benefit the broader demon race?"

"Hmph, hmph, hmph... Ha, ha, ha, ha..."

Lü Dalang laughed, though his face carried a thick sense of mockery. Amidst the White Tiger King's unsightly expression, he bantered, "White Tiger, that shameless look of yours right now is almost identical to that stupid boar's."

"Benefit the broader demon race? Fine, since you brought this up, I'll give you a chance."

"Spare me the nonsense of demanding entry into our territory to take shelter; what you're really after is nothing more than spirit stones."

"I can state it clearly to you: I have already sworn allegiance to a human cultivator, and all the spirit stones within my territory now belong solely to my master."

"If you want spirit stones, very well—surrender your true spirits, and I shall collect them on behalf of my master. At the same time, I will make the decision on his behalf: you may mine spirit stones to your heart's content, and you may even dwell on the outskirts of our territory. I will raise no objections."

As Lü Dalang's voice fell, an uproar erupted among the demon alliance, accompanied by curses and insults.

The Forest Wolf King pointed at Lü Dalang and berated, "Donkey-Headed Wolf King, you are after all prehistoric anomalies that have existed since ancient times, yet you willingly act as lackeys to humans. You truly shame the wolf race."

Lü Dalang looked at the Forest Wolf King with a gloomy expression, offering no courtesy as he retorted, "Get lost! What kind of thing are you? How dare you claim to be of the same kin as my donkey-headed wolves?"

"You..."

The Leopard King said sinisterly, "Donkey-Headed Wolf King, you had better think carefully. Willing to serve as a human lackey is a betrayal of the entire demon race. It would be no exaggeration to call you a demon traitor. Do you know what fate awaits a demon traitor?"

Lü Dalang sneered, "A pack of ignorant cats and dogs! The human race is the protagonist of heaven and earth decreed by the Heavenly Dao; attaching ourselves to humans is precisely following the Heavenly Dao."

"Those who follow heaven flourish, and those who defy heaven perish. Since you know my donkey-headed wolf tribe is an ancient prehistoric anomaly, who among you knows the events of ancient times better than we do?"

Lü Dalang was bluffing to a certain extent. While their tribe had indeed journeyed all the way from ancient times, through millions of years of transmission, the stories passed down from generation to generation had dwindled.

As for the events of ancient times, though they knew a thing or two, they were far from omniscient. Yet, what little they did know was sufficient to make them realize that only by attaching themselves to the human race could they have a bright future.

The White Tiger King dismissed Lü Dalang's words entirely, saying in a deep voice, "Donkey-Headed Wolf King, since you are bent on acting as a human lackey and setting yourself against the entire demon race, don't blame us for disregarding kinship."

"If we spread this news far and wide, the ones coming to trouble your donkey-headed wolf tribe won't just be our tribes."

Lü Dalang's heart tightened. If the demon alliance truly did this, the donkey-headed wolf tribe would have no choice but to abandon their territory and flee far away.

He had dared to act so tough against the demon alliance because he was certain they wouldn't dare wage an all-out war.

However, if they truly spread the news that there was a spirit stone mine here and that the donkey-headed wolf tribe had defected to the humans, the wolves would face total annihilation unless they retreated.

"If you really do that, then I must properly thank you."

"Wawa..."

At that moment, a resounding sound came from the sky, instantly followed by a terrifyingly oppressive coercion.

The vultures and hawks in the sky fell tumbling down like dumplings, screaming in alarm. Had their demonic bodies not been tough and far superior to ordinary birds, that fall alone would have left them heavily injured.

The White Tiger King and his faction crashed heavily onto the ground, their backs pressed down as if beneath a massive mountain, making even breathing difficult.

Faces turned pale with terror. What manner of entity could release an aura capable of immobilizing them with mere pressure?

Yet that pressure seemed aimed solely at the demons of the alliance. Though Lü Dalang's group felt the force as well, no pressure was actually brought to bear upon them.

Lü Dalang and the others looked up to see a man and a woman drifting down slowly from the sky.

Upon recognizing Li Yunfei's appearance, the donkey-headed wolves were overjoyed. The moment Li Yunfei landed, they stepped forward, cupped their fists, knelt on one knee, and called out with excitement, "Master, you have returned."

The other donkey-headed wolves likewise prostrated themselves on the ground, performing the grand salute of the beast race.

Li Yunfei stepped forward to help Lü Dalang up, saying with gratification, "Rise, everyone! Dalang, you have done exceptionally well and have not辜负 (let down) my trust."

Lü Dalang grinned and said, "It was only what Dalang ought to do."

With that, he looked toward Honghong and said in astonishment, "Is this little sister Honghong? Her cultivation now is unfathomable."

Honghong smiled faintly and greeted, "Older Brother Dalang."

"Ah." Seeing that Honghong had become so powerful yet her attitude toward him remained unchanged, Lü Dalang was overjoyed.

Li Yunfei looked at the eight individuals behind Lü Dalang and said with satisfaction, "Not bad, so many clansmen have transformed. It seems none of you have slackened in your cultivation during these days."

Lü Dalang hurriedly introduced them to Li Yunfei. The names of these eight were quite simple: following the order of transformation, male wolves were named with "Lang" (wolf) and female wolves with "Niang" ( maiden), running from Lü Erlang, Lü Sanniang, Lü Siniang, Lü Wulang, all the way to Lü Jiulang.

The three guarding the lair were Lü Shiniang, Lü Shiyilang, and Lü Shiershang, making exactly six males and six females.

The transformed male wolves bore a resemblance to Li Yunfei, while the female wolves closely resembled Honghong, as Honghong had used Li Yunfei as a template when she transformed.

Consequently, the transformed male wolves were all strikingly handsome, and the females were exceptionally captivating. Though lacking Honghong's natural alluring charm, they could still be considered fresh and refined.

Hearing Lü Dalang's introduction, Li Yunfei couldn't help feeling somewhat amused. What was this? The generals of the Lü family?

Naming them this way was harmless enough; asking him to come up with individual names for every single donkey-headed wolf would have been quite troublesome.

However, this naming convention could only apply to Lü Dalang's generation. The next generation could not continue this sequence, or it would ruin the generational order.

For the next generation, male wolves could be named with "Mao" (fur) and female wolves with "Ya" (bud), running Lü Damao, Lü Erya, Lü Sanmao, and so on.

After the eleventh, they could drop Mao and Ya and simply be named Lü Eleven, Lü Twelve, Lü Thirteen. Such names were easy to remember and rolled off the tongue.

As for the generation after that, they would figure it out when the time came.

While Lü Dalang was introducing his clansmen to Li Yunfei, the Golden Eagle King also landed with dozens of golden eagles, standing quietly not far away.

The Golden Eagle King himself, accompanied by five transformed clansmen, walked aside and stood in respectful attendance.

When Lü Dalang finished introducing his tribe, he gestured toward the Golden Eagle King and introduced him: "Master, this is the Golden Eagle King. Our two tribes have shared relations for dozens of generations, and he also wishes to pledge allegiance to the human race."

"Golden Eagle King, this is my master of the donkey-headed wolf tribe, the senior human cultivator Li Yunfei, and this is the master's beloved pet, Tushan Honghong."

Li Yunfei gladly extended his right hand to the Golden Eagle King and smiled, "That's wonderful! Welcome, welcome. As the saying goes, those who know the times are wise men; the Golden Eagle King will never regret this decision in the future."

Having frequently flown into human cities to observe humans, the Golden Eagle King naturally understood human etiquette. He extended his hand to shake Li Yunfei's and said humbly, "I hope for the master's generous guidance in the days to come."

After shaking hands with Li Yunfei, the Golden Eagle King bowed slightly to Honghong and said, "Greetings, Lady Tushan."

Honghong smiled and nodded in return. The title "Lady" felt quite novel to her, and the word "beloved pet" used in Lü Dalang's introduction warmed her heart.

Different people could interpret that title in different ways. At the very least, what Lü Dalang meant by "beloved pet" and what Honghong herself understood it to mean were not the same thing.

Because the golden eagle tribe was familiar with humans, they had long since given themselves names. The Golden Eagle King was called Jin Peng, the hippie-looking man was called Jin Han, and the ponytail woman was called Jin Ling.

The remaining three consisted of two males and one female, named Jin Yong, Jin Xing, and Jin Lian. The transformed clansmen of the golden eagle tribe also happened to be three males and three females.

The White Tiger King and his faction were pinned firmly to the ground, helpless no matter how they struggled or resisted, unable even to muster their demonic power.

Watching anxiously as Lü Dalang and the Golden Eagle King conversed with Li Yunfei, they felt a lingering sense of unease, uncertain of how they would be treated.

When Li Yunfei concluded his exchange with Lü Dalang and Jin Peng, he smiled at Honghong and said, "Go ahead and do what needs to be done."

Honghong nodded, her demeanor instantly shifting into one of majestic authority. She turned and walked toward the demon alliance, stopping before the White Tiger King, and stated proudly, "My name is Tushan Honghong, the legitimate successor of the Tushan nine-tailed celestial foxes."

"From this day onward, I shall be the Queen of All Demons in this world. Who supports this, and who opposes?"

The demons flickered their gazes, clearly calculating within their minds.

"I oppose, I don't submit! What right does your fox tribe... ugh..."

Just as Honghong finished speaking, the short, lean, and vicious-looking Yellow-Throated Marten King cried out in protest.

However, before he could finish his words, Honghong extended a hand through the air. The Yellow-Throated Marten King gasped as if someone had seized his throat, lifting off the ground and floating in mid-air beside Honghong.

His eyes bulged, his legs kicked wildly, and his hands clawed desperately at the empty space before his neck, but all efforts were in vain.

*Crack.*

With a slight flick of Honghong's palm and a crisp snap, the Yellow-Throated Marten King's neck went limp, tilting to one side before dropping to the ground, reverting to his true form—a yellow-throated marten about a meter and a half long.

Honghong beckoned with her hand, and a slightly illusory yellow-throated marten emerged from the corpse.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

"Ugh, ah... Ah, ah, ah..."

That was precisely the Yin Spirit of the Yellow-Throated Marten King. His cultivation was clearly not deep; having just transformed not long ago, his Yin Spirit had not yet reached the realm of "day roaming" and could not withstand the sunlight.

The moment the sunlight struck it, it sizzled as if dropped into a pan of boiling oil, the ghostly body emitting wisp after wisp of smoke and rapidly fading.

True to the stubborn, single-minded reputation of the honey badger family, the yellow-throated marten did not utter a single plea for mercy until it was burned to ashes by the sun.

"Jiulang, drag him back to serve as a treat for the little ones."

Lü Jiulang cupped his fists submissively and replied in a stern voice, "Understood, Queen."

He then stepped forward, hoisted the corpse of the Yellow-Throated Marten King onto his shoulder, threw it across the back of a donkey-headed wolf, and walked away.

Filled with grief and indignation, the yellow-throated marten tribe—those who had not yet transformed and could not speak human words—cried out in shrill squeaks and chirps.

Honghong swept a cold glance over them and said grimly, "Come, slaughter the yellow-throated marten tribe and take them back as rations."

Lü Dalang looked at Li Yunfei, and seeing the latter nod slightly, he unhesitatingly responded, "As you command."

With a wave of his hand, over a hundred donkey-headed wolves surged forward out of the ranks, killing the paralyzed yellow-throated martens one by one, slinging their corpses over their backs, and heading straight back toward their territory.

Honghong's resolute and decisive slaughter chilled the hearts of the gathered demons, sending a cold shiver through them.

Honghong scanned the crowd once more and asked, "Does anyone else oppose?"

The Bear King was the first to fold. Among the demons, he considered himself relatively smart, and the smarter a creature was, the more it cherished its life and the quicker it was to yield.

After all, submission could sometimes be interpreted as knowing the times and reading the situation.

He laboriously raised both hands above his head, cupped his fists, and shouted loudly, "This subordinate, White Bear, pays respects to the Queen."

The second to yield was the white snake: "This subordinate, White Snake, pays respects to the Queen."

Honghong nodded with satisfaction and said, "Surrender your true spirits, and there will be benefits for you in the future."

Hearing that they had to surrender their true spirits, the two hesitated. Yielding verbally and showing submission in words was something they didn't mind.

Yet once their true spirits were surrendered, their lives and deaths would no longer be their own.

Seeing this, Honghong narrowed her eyes and opened her left palm, where a flame as red as blood began to leap.

The moment the flame appeared, every demon felt their soul tremble. The white bear and white snake no longer dared to hesitate, immediately forcing out two wisps of true spirit from between their brows and sending them drifting toward Honghong.

Seeing their kings submit, the beasts of the two tribes had no reason to hold out any longer, and one after another, they offered up their true spirits.

With a wave of Honghong's hand, a cluster of starlight drifted toward Li Yunfei.

Li Yunfei reached out and caught it in his hand, but his expression shifted slightly. He then tossed the true spirit back to Honghong and said, "You keep their true spirits."

Honghong turned to look at him with a puzzled expression, though she said nothing. She caught the true spirit and sent it into the purple talisman within her glabella.

For the moment Li Yunfei had seized the true spirit, a system prompt had rung out in his mind.

"True spirit detected. Do you wish to accept the true spirit, take the owner as a bondservant, and digitize their physique?"

Li Yunfei understood instantly. It turned out that the theory Ziwei had guessed entirely on her own was correct.

When he accepted a true spirit, he could indeed take the owner as a bondservant and perform physical digitization.

Consequently, whenever he killed living beings, his bondservants would also receive a share of experience points, rapidly boosting their cultivation.

If all living things surrendered their true spirits and swore allegiance to him, it might seem they lost their freedom and handed over their fate, but to them, it was actually a supreme opportunity.

Naturally, he was unwilling to bestow this opportunity upon these forcibly subjugated demons. To put it bluntly, they were not worthy.

If it were Abao, Xiaobei, Dahuang, or Heizi, that would be a different story.

However, he would not proactively make this proposal to these demons who had approached him; it had to be voluntary. Only creatures who genuinely wished to follow him were qualified to receive this chance.

Once Honghong put away the true spirits of the bear and snake tribes, the demons of those tribes instantly felt the oppressive weight lift and vanish without a trace.

They stood up one after another, stepped out of the demon alliance formation, and took their places at Honghong's side.

Honghong glanced at the white bear and white snake and commanded, "Find a template for yourselves and transform into humans. I have no use for half-beasts under my command."

The white snake had already transformed into a human, and her appearance was similarly captivating; all she needed to do was transform her snake tail into a pair of legs.

The white bear scratched his head, glanced at Li Yunfei and the others, but ultimately did not dare use Li Yunfei as a template. Instead, he modeled his transformation after Lü Dalang and the others.

The facial features of Lü Dalang's group bore only a five or six-tenths resemblance to Li Yunfei to begin with. When the bear transformed, incorporating his own facial traits made him even less like Li Yunfei, retaining only a three or four-tenths resemblance.

A three or four-tenths resemblance was no different from not resembling at all. In fact, many strangers could sometimes find slight shadows of themselves on other faces, and completely unrelated strangers might even look identical.

The human form chosen by the white bear looked somewhat honest and steady—a trait that was evidently deeply deceptive. He was the classic type who looked honest on the surface while harboring a mountain of schemes inside.

Honghong looked at the remaining demons and stated coldly, "Very well. The white bear and white snake made a wise choice. It seems the rest of you have chosen to be reduced to ashes. The Queen will grant your wish."

With that, the crimson flames in her palm blazed intensely. Li Yunfei hurriedly called out, "Hey, Queen, don't use fire! Save their flesh and blood so they can increase the cultivation of our lads."

Honghong nodded with an expression of sudden realization and said, "That makes sense. White Bear, White Snake, leave it to you two."

"Understood, Queen."

The White Bear raised his long spear, while the white snake flipped her hand to summon a sharp sword, stepping forward to carry out the order.

The small tactic played out by Honghong and Li Yunfei completely shattered the psychological defense of the demon alliance. Primarily, Li Yunfei's casual remark was simply too vicious, leaving them no choice but to tremble with terror.

The White Tiger King was the first to cry out, "Stop! I... I am willing to surrender."

With that, he promptly surrendered his true spirit. The Leopard King, Wolf King, Wild Boar King, Golden Cat King, Large Indian Civet King, as well as the Vulture King and Eagle King not far away, quickly followed suit.

Then came their clansmen. In an instant, thousands of wisps of true spirit surged toward Honghong.

The corners of Li Yunfei's mouth curved upward. The Shennongjia forest region was now settled; with this good start, everything that followed would proceed smoothly.

Most sentient beings possessed a herd mentality of blind obedience.

When they went to subdue other tribes in the future, upon seeing that so many fellow clansmen had already yielded, the resistance in the hearts of others would be drastically reduced.

Honghong's performance today had truly made Li Yunfei look at her in a new light.

Decisive in execution, ruthless in action, and possessing a pitch-perfect grasp of the situation, even if he had handled it himself, the result would have been no different.

She was truly capable of standing on her own two feet now.

The art of ruling subordinates required a balance of benevolence and severity. The display of force had concluded; now came the bestowal of grace.

After retracting her aura, Honghong addressed the gathered demons: "I am the Queen of All Demons. From now on, the demon race shall honor me as supreme and submit to my command."

"Know this: whatever achievements I possess today are entirely due to the cultivation techniques imparted by my master. If the demon race wishes to attain the Righteous Fruit, attaching ourselves to the human race is the only path."

"Since you have submitted today, I shall naturally request my master to impart true Daoist scriptures to aid your cultivation. In the future, so long as you render meritorious service to the human race, divine weapons, treasures, and heavenly resources will be yours in abundance."

The demons, who had just been forcibly subjugated and felt their future was bleak and shrouded in darkness, felt somewhat better upon hearing these words.

Very well. Though they belonged to the right wing of the demon race and were not pro-human, they practiced the natural law of the jungle.

Presently, humans were strong and they were weak; escaping the cooking pot was already a stroke of immense fortune, and now cultivation methods were attainable, with magical treasures and heavenly resources within reach.

On second thought, it didn't seem so bad after all.

With this realization, the demons cupped their fists and bowed to Honghong in unison, saying, "We thank the Queen for her grace."

Although they would effectively be working for humans, their leader was Honghong, and any benefits they wished to reap had to be requested from humans through Honghong. Thus, their target of gratitude was naturally Honghong.

This was also a dynamic Li Yunfei had deliberately cultivated: presenting a situation where the demon race acknowledged only Honghong and no one else.

With the demon race firmly in Honghong's hands, they were effectively in his hands. Without his command, no one could mobilize the demons, ensuring maximum security.