Chapter 375 361: The Winds and Clouds of the World, All Within the Lake

At the feast, people drank and made merry.

The Bear Demon, who had been slouched alone behind a banquet table furiously gnawing on a roasted leg, suddenly stood up. Sticking his belly out, he walked to an open space in the center of the feast. With a wave of his hand, a set of large drums materialized before him.

Wielding a Demon Beast femur that he had picked completely clean, the Bear Demon struck the drumhead with wild abandon.

DONG!

A deep, piercing drumbeat rang out. For an instant, it was like the roar of a primordial beast from beneath a ten-thousand-year-old glacier, echoing in everyone's ears.

Across the small lake, the other guests in the garden heard the sound and couldn't help but turn their heads, their gazes all landing on the Bear Demon at the center of the festivities.

The Bear Demon laughed heartily as he beat the drum. "We're three rounds in! Time for this old bear to liven things up! Hahaha!"

DONG DONG DONG!

He beat the heavy drums before him like a sudden squall, like rolling spring thunder.

Beat after beat, DONG DONG DONG, RUMBLE RUMBLE!

As the drumming reached a frantic crescendo, plumes of spray shot into the air from the small lake surrounding the island.

The spray shot into midair, the white waves forming a continuous sheet. At a glance, it looked as though a screen of water had erupted over the lake's surface.

As the water screen rose, all sorts of bizarre and fantastical images appeared upon it.

On the island and in the gardens beyond the lake, a series of surprised gasps rang out.

The guests cried out, "Quick, look! What is that?"

Among the rapidly flashing images were all sorts of strange and indescribably twisted scenes, but there were also a few scattered, clear images depicting definite locations.

"Is that Dingfeng Abyss?"

"Yes, that's Dingfeng Abyss! There's no mistaking it!"

At a banquet table not far from a garden pavilion, Yin Xuan Yi, who was in the middle of a round of drinks with a Demon, paused. Cup in hand, he turned his head to look at the splashing water screens and the scrolling images upon them, momentarily stunned.

The Demon sitting with Yin Xuan Yi had a human face but the body of an ape. His entire body was covered in golden fur, except for his face, which was as black as lacquer.

The ape's body was covered in shaggy fur, beneath which knotted muscles rippled, making him seem exceptionally tall and powerfully built.

Unlike an ordinary ape, this Demon had two ears on each side of his head—he was a four-eared monkey.

This was a monkey, a Monkey Demon—yes, his form was clearly that of the Demon Race. So why was he also considered a corrupted sort of Demon?

It was because this demon was not a pureblood of the Demon Race. He was a Macaque Demon who had consumed a Demon Fruit and was then born in a land of resentment, a being that was half-corrupted, half-demon.

In the Demon Race, an impure bloodline is an unforgivable sin.

From the moment of his birth, the Demon Ape was ostracized and despised by his own kind. His Cultivation progressed with incredible speed, and he soon possessed outstanding power. Even though the other Monkey Demons grew polite to his face as his strength increased, their courtesy was born only of fear.

He inspired dread, but not respect; fear, but not love. Though the Demon Ape had a corrupted body, he still had the heart of a demon—

And what is the heart of a demon?

In some ways, it is quite similar to a human's. It is simply more primitive, more direct, and far more savage.

But fundamentally, the Demon Ape, possessing the heart of a demon, still craved a certain degree of warmth and acceptance.

Unfortunately, in the past several centuries, no one had ever offered him that warmth and acceptance.

Whether it was his own Monkey Demon kin, other clans of the Demon Race, or even other kinds of Demons, they all instinctively rejected him.

The Demon Ape endured endless contempt. He slaughtered and was worshiped by those he defeated, and in turn, he kneeled before beings stronger than himself…

Just as he was gradually hardening his heart into a fortress of indifference, he unexpectedly encountered Yin Xuan Yi, a Celestial Pride of the Human Race, at this peculiar banquet. Yin Xuan Yi was a magnanimous and free-spirited person who cared little for race and never looked down on anyone.

At the banquet, the Demon Ape sat all alone. No one would have anything to do with him.

Yin Xuan Yi had been making his rounds, cup in hand. As a Celestial Pride of the Human Race, he had status, strength, and standing. As he moved through the crowd to socialize, almost no one dared refuse him.

And yet it was Yin Xuan Yi, a man clearly in his element and with no shortage of friends, who after making a full circuit of the hall, ended up in front of the Demon Ape, cup in hand.

The Demon Ape's first words were cold. "Yin Xuan Yi, you are a Celestial Pride of the Human Race. I, however, am half-demon and half-corrupted. The world says a Demonic Nature like mine will eventually erupt into chaos. What are you doing before me? Are you not afraid I will lose control and devour you?"

Yin Xuan Yi just laughed, unconcerned. "Why don't you try it? We'll see whether you eat me or I cut you down first."

If he had simply said he wasn't afraid, or made some hypocritical show of trust—insisting he believed the Demon Ape wouldn't go berserk—the Demon Ape might not have given him the time of day.

But Yin Xuan Yi's response was brimming with pride and confidence. This powerful answer, carrying the carefree air of a hero from the world of Martial Arts, had a unique charisma all its own.

Before he knew it, after just a few sentences exchanged with Yin Xuan Yi, the Demon Ape felt as if they were old friends.

Though they had only just met, some people have a way of making you feel like a dear friend just by sitting with you.

The Demon Ape, a half-demon half-breed, was no exception.

On the island in the lake, as the Bear Demon beat his drum to liven the mood and the water screens rose from the lake, Yin Xuan Yi stared at the rapidly scrolling images of Dingfeng Abyss, momentarily frozen.

Beside him, the Demon Ape's four ears twitched. He suddenly spoke. "In Dingfeng Abyss, the Wind Demon King died while facing his human tribulation. The power of the Wind Demons has plummeted, and the corrupted Wind Demons have no sentience at all. The Ten Thousand Beasts Alliance from the Celestial Demon Country has broken through the defenses at Dingfeng Abyss and reached Demon Suppression Pass."