As high-strung as they were, they jumped out of their skin at mere rustling leaves. 

But as it turned out, such an excessive reaction didn’t seem warranted.

The celestial tribe hadn’t come knocking at their door. Instead, one of the visitors was a monster demon, and the other two forefathers of the shadow tribe. Inside the tent, the three of them were met with a rather glacial welcome.

The monster forefather chuckled when he noticed Goldenhowl’s presence. “Heh, as I thought, Daoist Goldenhowl is here. We visited your tent before coming here.”

The latter responded coolly, “As a lone wolf, I can go wherever I please. Why were you looking for me?”

The two shadow demons smiled awkwardly at his standoffishness.

“Don’t be like that, my friend. We’re probably here for the same reason as you.”

“Heh, I don’t have a particular agenda. I simply came to see how Daoist Bloodreed is faring with his injury. What’s your purpose?” he asked, his tone still icy.

“We came to check on Daoist Bloodreed as well, but also wanted to confide something in him,” replied the monster demon with a simper.

One didn’t react hostilely to a smiling face, so Bloodreed couldn’t pay their friendliness back with outright hostility. He chuckled instead. “Thank you for your concern. I’m not yet fully recovered, so let’s get straight to the point. I was about to see my guest out and rest.”

“Heh, fellow daoist, you’re not having a good day, are you? To tell you the truth, our tribes have held talks in private. All of us feel the celestial demons are to blame for today’s debacle. We can’t continue to suffer their leadership, or our grand campaign will end up in failure. So we’d like the two of you to take charge instead. Perhaps…”

A strange expression floated over Bloodreed’s face as he toyed insouciantly with a blood-colored ring on his finger. “You think too highly of us. Neither of us have a tribe to back us up anymore. The celestial demons did blunder today, but they’re still the most legitimate commanders, given their strength. I only hope they’ll wise up in the future.”

“Oh? Fellow daoist, are you truly speaking from the heart? Surely not.” The monster demon frowned.

Bloodreed stood up and poured liquor into a few cups.

“Heh, the two of us are genuinely humbled by your offer, but you shouldn’t bring up such a topic this lightly. To lead demonkind? That’s no joking matter. A single mistake can cause internal ruin and our race’s downfall. We don’t want to be forever remembered as sinners.”

Goldenhowl nodded. “I agree. The celestial demons are lowlifes, but their strength speaks for itself. No one can deny that.”

As an awkward lull descended on the tent, which Bloodreed broke by offering each caller a drink. They looked at the cups, but, rather than downing the contents on the spot, they put the cups aside. 

“What a sad sight to see. You two have such outstanding strength, yet you flee your responsibilities when the chips are down. This lack of valor is disappointing.”

His eyes suddenly flashing, Bloodreed tossed his cup in the air, sprinkling the crimson liquid like a shower of rain and shrouding the tent’s interior in a fog of blood.

“Let’s go!” he called. Alongside Goldenhowl, he flew outside, leaving his guests in the lurch.

Back inside the tent, the three demons hurriedly used their powers to dispel the fog. But when they regained their vision, they felt the blood boil in their veins, like they’d been poisoned.

“Damn it, Bloodreed is a damn sly bastard. Looks like he’s saw through our cover and was planning a getaway from the start.”

“Did he hit us with the poison when he was fiddling with his blood ring?”

“Most likely! We need to hurry up and force the venom out.”

“We should notify the forefather first.”

“No need, he’s waiting nearby. They’ll have a hard time getting past him!”

They recovered their original appearances as they spoke. The leader’s real identity was actually the second forefather of the celestial tribe, accompanied by the fourth and fifth forefathers.

They’d absorbed the monster and shadow demon forefathers beforehand. Though they hadn’t fully assimilated the stolen cultivation yet, they’d pilfered their victims’ abilities and disguised themselves in order to fool Bloodreed and Goldenhowl.

Once their decision was set, the celestial demons acted extremely swiftly. The other tribes had more or less been entirely sorted out by the time they’d made their way to Bloodreed’s tent.

As for the two runaways, they flew out of the army camp at breakneck speed, escape the only thing on their mind.

However, as soon they resorted to their movement arts, the surrounding space shook and formed an invisible barrier ahead of them, stopping them cold.

Someone had obviously predicted the direction of their flight.

In the air, Celestial’s figure transformed in a gorgeous display of light, a pair of wings unfolding from his back. He slowly descended from the sky, looking down at the two deserters with a stern glare. “Sure enough, rebellion runs in your veins. Just as I’ve guessed, you’ve forsaken demonkind.”

Color drained from Bloodreed’s face. Things had gone south now that Celestial barred their way in person. Even together, the two of them weren’t a match for his immense powers. he was a bona fide advanced divine realm cultivator.

“Old Golden, let’s attack together!” Bloodreed shouted at Goldenhowl.

The latter glanced left and right for an opening, still hoping to avoid a direct confrontation.

“Don’t waste your time. You won’t find a weak spot once sealed inside the celestial tribe’s domain. We must fight to the death or we’ll be slaughtered like lambs!” shouted Bloodreed.

Goldenhowl steeled his resolve, his eyes glinting fiercely. “Very well, a fight it is!”

A sharp blade appeared in his hands. It slashed across the sky and ripped the void apart in an explosion as blinding as the celestial bodies.

His goal was to forcibly tear a hole in space so they could flee.

Meanwhile, Bloodreed rubbed the blood ring on his finger and muttered an incantation. Bloody rays rose in waves of crimson runes that turned into a smorgasbord of evil spirits lunging at Celestial. From the get-go, he’d resorted to his ultimate skill.

Two great forefathers fighting for their lives was truly a frightening sight to behold. However, their opponent was Celestial, the undisputed number one among the demons.

Facing Goldenhowl’s incoming slash, he merely smiled and lifted his right hand, then swatted it down.

The swat instantly enlarged into a giant palm as big as a mountain. It slapped away the stroke as if snuffing out a candle.

As for Bloodreed’s incantation, Celestial simply blew on the evil spirits and disintegrated them into red flecks that scattered away with the wind!

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