Layers upon layers of mountain ranges stretched from east to west, and the deeper one went, the more treacherous and terrifying they became.
Cliffs rose thousands of feet high, with vines and creepers hanging upside down.
Streams flowed across the terrain, and waterfalls cascaded like white silk.
The cries of apes echoed from the depths of the secluded valley, reverberating against the mountain walls several times, the lingering sound never fading.
Wangchuan.
Located in the western heartland of the Yu Mountain Great Range.
Surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing an abyss on the other.
That abyss was unfathomably deep, shrouded in thick white mist all year round.
Amidst the churning mist, the faint roar of water could be heard, as if a heaven-swallowing river was hidden at the bottom of the abyss.
This place was thus named—Wangchuan.
The entrance to Wangchuan was a natural rift that split the mountain body.
The rift was no more than dozens of yards wide, yet the rock walls on both sides were over a thousand feet high.
Looking up, only a sliver of daylight remained.
Walking inward along the rift.
One would find a massive cavern embedded deep within the mountain's belly.
The vastness of the cavern far exceeded common imagination.
It was large enough to hold several Danhua Cities.
On the ceiling, unknown Ores emitted a faint blue cold light, illuminating the entire cavern like the deep sea.
Deep within the cavern.
Inside the Beast Bone Great Hall, the lamplight was dim.
Several figures stood with their hands at their sides.
They were all demons of various shapes and sizes.
Some were covered in scales and armor, while others had protruding fangs.
The Qi aura they emitted was, at its weakest, in the late stage of Ascending the Tower.
And on the stone seat at the very front of the hall.
A thin and aged figure sat perched.
It was a monkey.
To be precise, it was a withered monkey demon, so old it could not be older.
Its grayish-white fur had almost entirely fallen out, revealing shriveled and dark skin.
Its back was hunched, and its limbs were thin and withered.
Only in those cloudy monkey eyes did a glint of sharp light occasionally flash.
With such an unremarkable appearance, if it were thrown into the dense forests of the Yu Mountain Great Range, even ordinary Yao Beasts probably wouldn't bother to give it a second glance.
Yet none of the great demons standing in the hall dared to show the slightest contempt.
Because this old monkey.
Was one of the five Great Elders of the Xirang Lineage—Yao Emperor Tian Zhu.
"Old Master."
A Python Demon in the hall was the first to speak, its voice muffled and heavy.
"Green Phoenix Tree's people swallowed the South Cliff Ore veins again yesterday... Even South Cliff is gone. In our Wangchuan, we only have three usable Ore veins left in total."
Before the words had even finished.
A One-horned Bull Demon nearby took up the conversation.
"Not only that... that old turtle also sent his Yao Generals a few days ago to occupy our Spirit Medicine Valley to the east... The brothers below are full of complaints, this life..."
Demon cultivation was naturally slow.
Aside from consuming blood food, they could only rely on devouring Heaven And Earth Treasures to increase their cultivation.
The Human Race was scarce in the Yu Mountain Great Range, so decent blood food was naturally very rare.
Now even the Spirit Medicine Valley had been taken.
It was fine for Yao Emperors like them, but what about the little demons under their command?
Rely on breathing in the sun and moon to naturally Cultivate?
How long would that take? It would take forever...
The hall fell silent for a moment.
In fact, every demon present was well aware of these matters.
The Xirang Lineage was different from other Dao Lineages.
Almost the entire sect was comprised of demons; from the Yao Race tribes living in the outer reaches to the Yao Emperor powerhouses entrenched in the core area of the Yu Mountain Great Range.
Almost all were under the jurisdiction of the Xirang Lineage.
Within the Xirang Dao Lineage, the five Great Elders each occupied a territory.
Each Elder presided over a region, commanding the Yao Race under them.
On the surface, they belonged to the same lineage and addressed each other as Senior Brothers.
But this kind of structure.
To put it nicely, it was called staying in one's place and performing one's duties.
To put it bluntly.
It was just five mountain kings, each occupying their own territory.
The The Main Seat of the Dao Lineage resided high atop the peak of Yu Mountain and rarely concerned himself with mundane affairs.
Without the The Main Seat's intervention, the Elders below naturally had fewer restraints.
Although they wouldn't go as far as openly falling out and meeting in battle.
The secret infighting, annexation of territory, and seizing of resources.
Had never stopped.
Among the five Great Elders.
Those ranked first and second had the largest territories, the strongest power, and countless Yao Race powerhouses under them.
The remaining third, fourth, and fifth Elders dared not provoke them at all.
Meanwhile, Elder Qingwu, ranked third, and Elder Linggui, ranked fourth.
Had similar strength and adjacent territories.
They should have been a pair of rivals with the most intense conflicts.
Yet these two had somehow reached a secret understanding.
No longer consuming each other's resources.
Instead, they turned their sights together on the lowest-ranked Tian Zhu.
The reason was simple.
Although Elder Tian Zhu's own cultivation was decent and he wasn't weak among the five Great Elders.
There were far too few demons under his command who could fight.
In a one-on-one fight, Tian Zhu might not fear any of the Elders.
But when has a conflict in the cultivation world ever been won by a single person?
Territory needs people to guard, Ore veins need people to mine, and Spirit Medicines need people to plant.
All of these required a large number of Yao Race elites.
Unfortunately, Tian Zhu, this old monkey, was reclusive and not good at winning people over.
Aside from a few old subordinates who had followed him for years, he had no decent Yao Emperors at his disposal.
Green Phoenix Tree and Linggui joined forces to encroach upon Wangchuan's territory.
One advanced from the southwest, and the other infiltrated from the east.
A pincer attack, pressing closer step by step.
In just a few short decades.
Wangchuan's territory had shrunk by nearly thirty percent.
The great demons looked at each other.
Everyone was clear about the current situation.
But no one could come up with a way to break the deadlock.
Fight?
With what?
Combined, the two sides had over a dozen Yao Emperors above the late stage.
Wangchuan couldn't even match a fraction of their numbers.
Seek help from the The Main Seat?
It wasn't that they hadn't tried.
But the The Main Seat's attitude had always been ambiguous.
The The Main Seat seemed happy to see the infighting among the five Great Elders.
As long as things didn't get too out of hand, he would turn a blind eye.
As for seeking help from the top two Elders.
That was even more of a pipe dream.
Those two wished for the fighting below to be as fierce as possible so they could reap the benefits.
This Wangchuan.
It was about to be devoured bit by bit until nothing was left.
A full half-cup of tea's time passed.
Upon the stone seat.
Tian Zhu finally slowly opened his cloudy monkey eyes.
"The matter of Spirit Medicine Valley... is not urgent for now."
Several great demons in the hall raised their heads simultaneously.
Tian Zhu tilted his head.
His withered fingers scratched at the few remaining hairs on his head.
"I would rather know..."
He narrowed his eyes.
"Why hasn't that little Beast returned yet?"
The Python Demon was stunned for a moment, then bowed and replied, "Reporting to Old Master... Young Master Yi went to Danhua City a few days ago to take a concubine..."
"Take a concubine..."
Tian Zhu grinned, revealing a few sparse yellow teeth, and said with a cold smile, "Whether he went to take a concubine or for something else, do you think I don't know?"
The Python Demon's body stiffened, not daring to respond.
Tian Zhu snorted and closed his eyes again.
"Forget it, let him toss about..."
Before he finished speaking.
A sudden flurry of hurried footsteps came from outside the cavern.
A gray-furred Rat Demon rushed into the hall, stumbling and crawling.
It knelt on the ground with a thud.
Panting heavily.
"Old... Old Master!"
"Young Master Yi's carriage... is back!"
Tian Zhu's eyebrows twitched slightly.
He gave a hum of acknowledgment, showing no major reaction.
But the Rat Demon's next words caused all the demons in the hall to change their expressions simultaneously.
"But... but on Young Master Yi's carriage..."
The Rat Demon swallowed hard.
"There are several... several outsiders sitting on the carriage."
"Young Master Yi... he is personally driving the carriage outside."
The hall suddenly fell silent.
Tian Zhu slowly opened his eyes.