"What the hell! I haven't said anything, and you're hitting me with your ultimate move? Isn't that bullying!"
She Maohai complained internally, but dared not utter a word. He lowered his head, awaiting Yu Kewei's next move.
"Kewei, let that She Maohai in," Yang Hong transmitted to Yu Kewei.
As Yu Kewei arrived above the City Lord's mansion, Yang Hong's voice reached her. He had already discerned that She Maohai wasn't unwilling to speak, but rather, unable to. Under the suppression of the Great Brightness Buddha Scripture, the late seventh-tier She Maohai could barely utter a sound. It seemed the Great Brightness Buddha Scripture exerted a severe suppression on the Serpent Transformation Dragon Art. This put Yang Hong at ease to support the Ci Snake tribe, as no matter how much they developed or grew in strength, they would always remain within his grasp, destined to become his pawns.
"You, late seventh-tier She Maohai, come in."
Hearing Yang Hong's transmission, Yu Kewei retracted the aura of the Great Brightness Buddha Scripture and slowly flew to the entrance of the City Lord's mansion, pushing open the gate.
"Yes, alright, I obey, sir."
She Maohai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Daring not to wipe the sweat from his brow, he bowed his head and agreed, then cautiously followed Yu Kewei into the City Lord's mansion. Although his divine sense could clearly detect that Yu Kewei's cultivation was only at the sixth-tier, seventh-layer, he absolutely refused to believe she was merely a sixth-tier Demon King. The lethal threat he had just felt was no mere pretense. He would sooner believe Yu Kewei was a ninth-tier Mahayana Demon Emperor than a sixth-tier Nascent Soul Demon King.
She Maohai soon arrived at the main hall he had visited once before. Before him was a colossal skeleton, with small flower and tree demons playing games on and around it. Though the demons themselves were small, all 628 of them were fifth-tier Great Demon cultivators. She Maohai immediately recalled Xiao Kui mentioning she had many tribesmen, and these little demons must be among them.
"Greetings, City Lord Xiao Kui, greetings to all City Lords."
She Maohai, with great perceptiveness, performed a full bow to the masters of the hall.
"Huh, it's you, big snake? I thought it was someone else! Want some meat?"
Xiao Kui poked her head out from the mountain of flesh. Recognizing She Maohai, she immediately identified him.
"Heh heh~ City Lord Xiao Kui, you remember me? No need, thank you, City Lord Xiao Kui." She Maohai greeted her with a wry smile. He had just been contemplating attacking Flower Wood City and devouring the flower and tree demons within. Now, he truly dared not.
"Big snake, are you here to trade again? What do you have this time, and what do you want to trade for?" Xiao Kui tossed aside the fourth-grade magic artifact sword she was holding and stepped out from the flesh mountain. Immediately, a subordinate behind her picked up the sword and continued to carve and eat the meat. As She Maohai approached Xiao Kui, he began to state his needs.
"City Lord Xiao Kui, do you happen to have any Earth-grade cultivation techniques? I need a few techniques to aid in cultivation and for my subordinate races to cultivate. Do you have any?" She Maohai dared not harbor any ulterior motives and directly stated his request.
"Earth-grade cultivation techniques? Yes."
"Really? Island Lord Xiao Kui, whatever you need, I will satisfy." Upon hearing that Xiao Kui had Earth-grade techniques, She Maohai's eyes began to gleam. However, Xiao Kui shook her head and continued.
"Wait, let me finish. Although I have a few Earth-grade cultivation techniques, they are not suitable for snakes or dragons. They are all suitable for the avian race." Xiao Kui suppressed a smile and relayed the lie Yang Hong had taught her.
"The avian race? City Lord Xiao Kui, even if they are Earth-grade techniques for the avian race, I still want one. What is the price?" Although disappointed to hear they were for the avian race, She Maohai did not give up.
"Oh, you still want them. Then, 30 seventh-tier demon cores." Hearing She Maohai's genuine interest, Yang Hong brazenly named a high price.
"This, Island Lord Xiao Kui, I truly don't have seventh-tier demon cores. Even fourth to sixth-tier demon cores, I don't have them. We've all absorbed them." She Maohai lowered his head, blushing with shame. He was genuinely poor.
"City Lord Xiao Kui, how about I pay with spirit stones? I have mid-grade spirit stones. I'll offer ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones." Spirit stones in the cultivation world have different grades, the lowest being low-grade spirit stones used for daily cultivation and transactions. Cultivators typically trade in units of low-grade spirit stones, referring to them as "spirit stones." Above these are mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade spirit stones. One hundred low-grade spirit stones exchange for one mid-grade spirit stone, with a hundredfold exchange rate between grades. However, it's more common for those with higher-grade spirit stones to exchange them for lower-grade ones; it's rare for those with lower-grade spirit stones to willingly exchange them for higher-grade ones, even at double the price. This is because higher-grade spirit stones contain more abundant spiritual energy, are easier for cultivators to absorb, and yield higher benefits upon absorption. Thus, ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones from She Maohai were equivalent to one million low-grade spirit stones.
"Little snake, you can leave. You are not welcome here." Hearing She Maohai's offer, Xiao Kui, without needing Yang Hong's prompt, angrily put her hands on her hips and began to dismiss him.
"Island Lord Xiao Kui, please let me finish." Hearing Xiao Kui's displeased tone, She Maohai attempted to explain and then produced a small iron shield.
"City Lord Xiao Kui, those ten thousand mid-grade spirit stones are just a bonus. The real treasure is this."
"Hmph, are you playing me, you big snake? Although I don't understand artifact refining, I can tell this is a third-grade magic artifact."
"Yes, it is indeed a third-grade magic artifact, but it is also the key to a secret realm."
"A key?" Hearing She Maohai mention it was a key, Xiao Kui and several others looked over.
"This key? It's a bit strange. What is it a key to?" Yang Hong felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing the small iron shield and couldn't help but ask directly.
"This City Lord asks a good question. This is a secret realm controlled by the largest human island in the Myriad Demon Archipelago ten thousand years ago. During the war between demons and humans ten thousand years ago, that human island was submerged, but most of the humans escaped. Our senior demons suspected they escaped back to the Taiyuan Continent through that secret realm."
"A secret realm that connects to the Taiyuan Continent?" Hearing the function of this secret realm, Yang Hong's heart began to pound. It felt as though an unseen force was urging him to enter that secret realm quickly and return to the Taiyuan Continent.
"Yes! It's a secret realm that can lead to the Taiyuan Continent." Seeing Yang Hong's intense interest, and although he didn't know Yang Hong's identity, he assumed anyone who could appear in this hall and in an adult form must have an extraordinary background. Thus, She Maohai continued his explanation.
"This secret realm is said to be known only to the royal demon clan. There were only 18 such keys in total. Each one used is one less. The key in my hand might be the last one." Yang Hong looked at the small shield and suddenly remembered where he had seen it before. He possessed one himself.
"The trade can be made. Here is the jade slip." Yang Hong did not hesitate and directly tossed a jade slip to She Maohai. His heart was filled with a premonition of mortal danger, constantly urging him to enter that secret realm and return to the Taiyuan Continent quickly, as if his life depended on it.