Chapter 2236 - 2232: Not a Wise Choice

Chapter 2236: Chapter 2232: Not a Wise Choice

Ever since he became a Demon, he thought about nothing but returning to the throne of the Immortal Mountain and slaughtering every last person who betrayed him.

But wanting to reclaim the Immortal Mountain was easier said than done, so he set his sights on the West Desolation instead. This land was rich, with vast fields of Spirit Rice that could feed his subordinates.

With enough food, his people could reproduce faster. Once he had a powerful army, marching back to the Immortal Mountain would only be a matter of time.

So, the Demon Eye descended upon the West Desolation. Yet even the Demon Abyss Emperor hadn’t foreseen that the coming of the Demon Eye would bring with it the aura of the Demon Abyss.

The land tainted by the Demon Abyss aura turned barren; all planted crops yielded nothing, the trees withered and rotted, and even some Demon Beasts that originally lived in the West Desolation became cruel and vicious because of that aura.

In one night, the West Desolation changed from the granary that once fed the entire Jiulong Dynasty, into the wasteland where everyone now worried about food.

"They’ve all been killed."

Hu Sanqiu, like a gust of wind, landed beside Tang Ming with Hu Mei’er in tow.

Tang Ming nodded, then pointed at the Fox Tail Mountain Range and said, "Third Aunt, I want to take this place back."

"Hahaha, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Let’s go, we’ll go find your Eighth Aunt and get her to make arrangements."

Hu Sanqiu quickly transformed into a huge red fox. She opened her mouth wide and swallowed both the Iron Hoof Beast and the carriage in one gulp.

The four of them exchanged a look, then swiftly jumped onto Hu Sanqiu’s back.

The City Lord Mansion of West Desolation City.

Ever since giving the order, the West Desolation Old Demon had been pacing back and forth in the study. The Skeleton Elder felt he was about to fall asleep, yet he still didn’t say anything.

After all, whatever the West Desolation Old Demon worried about was also what he worried about.

"Someone, come!"

The West Desolation Old Demon stopped and shouted loudly.

The Attendant outside pushed the door open and walked in. "City Lord."

"Is there still no word from the scouts we sent out?"

The West Desolation Old Demon’s brows twitched.

Just as the Attendant was about to answer, the scout the West Desolation Old Demon had sent out earlier stumbled and rolled his way in. "Ci–City Lord, bad news. The Butcher Meat Mountain Range is lost."

"What?"

The West Desolation Old Demon’s face changed drastically, and the Skeleton Elder, who had been sitting on a chair to the side, also shot to his feet.

"The Butcher Meat Mountain Range is lost. Lord Meng Xiao is dead. Not a single member of the mountain’s Mine Guard Team survived; they were all killed by those foxes from the Fox Spirit Mountain Range. When I went over earlier, I found blood at the foot of the mountain, and when I went up, I saw Sentinels of the Fox Demon Clan."

The scout took a deep breath and then spoke.

The West Desolation Old Demon’s body swayed, his expression turning extremely ugly. "Trash, that Meng Xiao really is trash. He couldn’t even kill one Tang Ming, and he let those foxes from the Fox Spirit Mountain Range seize the chance to occupy the Butcher Meat Mountain Range."

"City Lord, now isn’t the time to curse Meng Xiao. The Butcher Meat Mountain Range has been taken—what do we do? I’m afraid everyone in West Desolation City is waiting to laugh at us."

The Skeleton Elder smiled bitterly, deeply vexed inside. He even felt that the earlier decision, having Meng Xiao go alone to kill Tang Ming, had never been a wise choice.

If they’d sent two more people with him, the outcome would likely be very different.

The West Desolation Old Demon stayed silent for a long while before speaking: "Want to laugh, do they? Soon enough, they won’t be able to. Those damned foxes of Fox Spirit Mountain, I’ll let you bask for a couple of days first. Once Meng Xiao’s Master arrives, we’ll see if you can still laugh."

"Meng Xiao’s Master?"

The Skeleton Elder looked at the West Desolation Old Demon in astonishment.

Back then, when the West Desolation Old Demon drew Meng Xiao in and heavily relied upon him, the Skeleton Elder couldn’t understand it at all. Meng Xiao was too brutal; nobody liked him, everyone despised him.

Because of recruiting Meng Xiao, a few people who had originally planned to side with the West Desolation Old Demon chose instead to join the Neutral Faction.

Yet the West Desolation Old Demon hadn’t cared about any of that. He didn’t even heed the Skeleton Elder’s attempts to dissuade him.

All these years, the Skeleton Elder hadn’t asked about that matter again. Perhaps it was because Meng Xiao truly was loyal to the West Desolation Old Demon.

Or perhaps it was because Meng Xiao had been assigned to the Mine Guard Team, so his impact on the internal affairs of West Desolation City wasn’t great.

But now it seemed that the West Desolation Old Demon had taken Meng Xiao in not because of those reasons, but because of Meng Xiao’s Master.

"Mm. Meng Xiao’s Master is a formidable Divine Separation Stage Demon Cultivation expert, the Fear Demon Elder Lu Gou."

The West Desolation Old Demon laughed in triumph.

The Skeleton Elder, standing not far from him, also broke into an excited grin. "Excellent, truly excellent. If Senior Lu Gou is willing to come seek revenge for Meng Xiao, then Fox Spirit Mountain is nothing more than a tiny scrap of land."

"Mm. I’ll have someone send out the news of Meng Xiao’s death right away."

The West Desolation Old Demon turned and said.

Tang Ming ambushed, Hu Jiuze’s return, and the occupation of Fox Tail Mountain Range.

The three things Tang Ming and Hu Mei’er did upon returning caused major changes throughout Fox Spirit Mountain.

When Hu Jiusheng and Hu Jiuze met, both their faces were full of guilt, but Hu Jiuze still stubbornly refused to forgive Hu Jiusheng and insisted on living together with Tang Ming and these humans.

After Hu Bachang’s persuasion, Hu Jiusheng took the initiative to yield. After all, Hu Jiuze being willing to return to Fox Spirit Mountain itself was already a good thing.

"I want to transform the land here. I need your help, Uncle."

Seeing Hu Jiusheng so dejected, Tang Ming sought him out first and then stated his request.

"Transform the land?"

Hu Jiusheng, who had been in a daze, was startled, and then a very interested look appeared on his face.

"Yes. I signed an agreement with the Demon Slayer Clan. I’ll hand over the components of the things I designed to the Artifact Refining Masters of the Demon Slayer Clan to forge, and the two of us only need to handle the Core Array Formation. But that means we’ll need to consume a lot of grain."

Tang Ming explained his agreement with the Demon Slayer Clan to Hu Jiusheng.

Hu Jiusheng nodded. What Tang Ming mentioned, Hu Mei’er and Hu Bachang had already talked to him about before. It was just that his mind had always been on Hu Jiuze, so he hadn’t given it much thought.

Thinking about it now, although Tang Ming had changed those Demonized lands, it would still take some time before those lands produced grain.

Which meant that the first batch of grain for trade would likely have to be taken out of Fox Spirit Mountain Range’s granaries to be traded to the Demon Slayer Clan.

"Bachang mentioned this to me earlier. Tell me your plan in detail. Even if Fox Spirit Mountain Range has reserves, they’re only enough for your first trade, and it would easily leave my clansmen hungry."

Hu Jiusheng’s expression grew solemn. As Clan Leader, he had to take responsibility for his people.