Chapter 218 - 193-194: Duel at Black Mist Valley, Advancement in Skills

Chapter 218: Chapter 193-194: Duel at Black Mist Valley, Advancement in Skills

Gray Rat Cave on Cloud Sea Peak had, by now, become something of a landmark outside Peacock Demon City.

Whenever demons spoke of Gray Rat Cave, they thought of the highly skilled Alchemist who resided within.

A Second-Order High-grade Alchemist, the Gray Rat Alchemist!

However, Xu Chang’an was not satisfied.

’He hoped that one day, the very mention of Cloud Sea Peak would bring his Gray Rat Cave to mind!’

’Oh, no!’

’He wanted people to think of the Gray Rat Alchemist whenever Peacock Demon City was mentioned!’

’Mhm!’

’Wait!’

’Perhaps...’

’I can be bolder!’

’After all, no matter how you looked at it, the Peacock King of Peacock Mountain was his Dao Companion of convenience.’

’It wouldn’t be too much to ask for people to associate Peacock Mountain with the Gray Rat Alchemist, would it!’

But alas, for now, it was just a thought.

As for Alchemists on Peacock Mountain who could achieve that level of recognition, there was only one: Master Luo, the Chief Alchemist of Peacock Demon City.

A Third-rank Middle-grade Alchemist!

He was on good terms with many Demon Kings in the Red Cloud Mountain Range!

He even had Demon King friends in the Thundering Mountain Range!

His status was revered, comparable to a Veteran Demon King!

Xu Chang’an wholeheartedly focused on refining Elixirs, studying Secret Techniques, and occasionally mingling with representatives from the major networks.

「Three years passed in a flash.」

One day, Xu Chang’an went to Peacock Demon City, intending to buy more Spirit Flower and Spirit Medicine seeds.

He had recently expanded the Spirit Medicine Garden in front of his cave residence.

He could now plant some more Spirit Medicines.

Furthermore, he could add more varieties of Spirit Flowers to his pond.

He spent the better part of the day making his purchases.

He returned with not just Spirit Medicines, Spirit Flowers, and seeds, but also a piece of momentous news!

The Peacock King of Peacock Mountain had challenged the Red Snake Demon King of Red Cloud Mountain!

The incident had just occurred, so the news hadn’t spread far yet, circulating only within small circles.

’A challenge!?’

After hearing a little about it, Xu Chang’an quickly grasped the gist of the situation.

Though he wasn’t directly involved, he paid close attention to the overall situation in the Red Cloud Mountain Range.

Ever since two new Demon Kings emerged on Red Cloud Mountain, giving them a total of five, they had begun to act more and more overbearingly.

A few months ago, citing trade issues, Red Cloud Mountain had made a move on Peacock Demon City!

Red Cloud Mountain was the overlord of the Red Cloud Mountain Range, but the core trade hub of the range was not on Red Cloud Mountain.

This had long been a sore spot for Red Cloud Mountain!

Take the Thundering Mountain Range, for instance. Its central trading hub was Thunder Demon City, with its commerce influencing several mountain ranges!

Normally, the trade hub of the Red Cloud Mountain Range should have been on Red Cloud Mountain itself.

But in reality, it was Peacock Demon City on Peacock Mountain!

Now that Red Cloud Mountain’s power had surged, they naturally wanted to rectify the situation.

Peacock Demon City had been established for hundreds of years. The demons who frequented it were familiar with it, its location was prime, and its various trade channels were well-established and orderly. Forcibly relocating everything to Red Cloud Mountain would not only be time-consuming and laborious, but success wasn’t even guaranteed!

Therefore, Red Cloud Mountain decided to take control of Peacock Demon City instead!

In fact, this wasn’t just about Peacock Demon City. Previously, Red Cloud Mountain had already seized a share of Sleeping Ox Mountain’s Kaiyuan Blessed Land.

Despite having two Demon Kings of their own—the Profound Demon King and the Bull Demon King—Sleeping Ox Mountain had reacted with extreme restraint and tolerance!

Relatively speaking, Red Cloud Mountain’s approach toward Peacock Demon City was actually quite restrained.

They were willing to pay a corresponding price in Demon Stones to purchase a share of Peacock Demon City. Furthermore, Red Cloud Mountain promised not to interfere in the city’s day-to-day management.

Peacock Mountain would remain the de facto manager of Peacock Demon City!

Given Red Cloud Mountain’s current overwhelming dominance, these terms could be considered remarkably restrained.

This was likely out of consideration for the Peacock King.

However...

However, Peacock Mountain refused to yield an inch! They even sent a formal letter denouncing Red Cloud Mountain’s actions!

Naturally, this poked the hornet’s nest!

Red Cloud Mountain, intent on restoring its glory as overlord, was not about to back down!

At this point, interests were a secondary concern.

The many powers of the Red Cloud Mountain Range were all watching!

Now that they had shown their hand, if they were to retreat, what would the other factions think of them?

That Red Cloud Mountain would retreat at the first sign of an obstacle!?

Impossible!

Peacock Mountain set this precedent.

If other major factions followed their example, how could Red Cloud Mountain ever grow bigger and stronger? How could it truly restore its glory as the hegemon of the Red Cloud Mountain Range!

Not only could they not back down, they had to act even more forcefully and deal Peacock Mountain a crushing blow!

Riots in the mining districts, disputes over Spirit Gardens, renewed proposals for the redistribution of Spirit Veins, debates over shares in the Peacock Secret Realm...

At Red Cloud Mountain’s instigation, incidents like these began happening one after another.

The intent to retaliate was blatantly obvious!

Red Cloud Mountain was already a dominant force, and now they were bringing their full power to bear.

In an instant, Peacock Demon City was plunged into a perilous crisis, besieged on all sides!

Faced with this, the other major factions were scared into silence!

Red Cloud Mountain’s retaliatory measures were beyond their imagination.

Factions like Snake and Scorpion Cave, Leopard Ridge, and Lion’s Mane Cave couldn’t help but put themselves in Peacock Mountain’s position. If they were the ones facing such retaliation from Red Cloud Mountain, how would they possibly respond!?

The answer, of course, was that they would be helpless!

In response, the top factions began communicating with one another, intending to form alliances.

However, the matter was of great importance and could not be accomplished in mere days or months—it might even take years!

Just as the various factions were waiting to see how Peacock Mountain would respond...

Peacock Mountain’s reaction to Red Cloud Mountain’s retaliation was far more aggressive than any of the factions could have imagined!

The Peacock King of Peacock Mountain challenged the Red Snake Demon King of Red Cloud Mountain!

The news sent the entire Red Cloud Mountain Range into an uproar!

The Red Snake Demon King had formed his Inner Core and held the title of Demon King for over a thousand years!

With a Cultivation at the Peak of Late-stage Core Formation, he was a top-tier Demon King!

He was universally acknowledged as the number one Demon King in the Red Cloud Mountain Range!

He was by no means an ordinary top-tier Demon King!