Ye Jiuge frowned. The swamp was the Mud Frog's territory; Wolf Beasts shouldn't hunt in this area.

Something must have happened that forced them to come here.

Ye Jiuge opened her Spiritual Eye and discovered that a strange red light glowed in the depths of these Wolf Beasts' eyes. This strange light was spreading throughout their entire bodies. It was evident that these Wolf Beasts were poisoned. With their malice heightened, they were treating Ye Jiuge like an enemy.

Ye Jiuge took out her Beast Repellent Pills and scattered them in the animals' direction. The alpha took a few steps back. However, urged on by its malice, again, it moved closer to Ye Jiuge. Then, it opened its mouth and spewed out swift and sharp green-colored wind blades.

Ye Jiuge dodged the wind blades, and they landed behind her on a large tree, which was as wide as two people. The tree crashed to the ground.

The alpha bristled and dug several holes in the ground with its claws. The rest of the pack crouched low and snarled threateningly. They were impatient and ready to attack at any moment.

Ye Jiuge looked around for an escape route. She could kill all these Wolf Beasts, but the smell of blood would send the other demonic beasts in the forest into a frenzy. If another group of demonic beasts arrived, she would never get out of the forest alive. 

The alpha loosed another battle howl, and three more Wolf Beasts in a battle formation lunged at Ye Jiuge. She did not engage with them but turned and climbed up a tree. Agile as a monkey, she fled this way and that while the Wolf Beasts chased her under the trees.

After running in circles a few times, she was still unable to shake them. The Wolf Beasts had a way of locking in on their prey; unless she could escape the Demonic Beasts Forest, they would hunt her down. 

Zi Shang seemed to be enjoying the show. "Look at your silly expression," he said.

"Since you aren't silly, why don't you give it a try?" Ye Jiuge shot back peevishly.

"Sure, I will have pity on you today and let you see what it means to have a king's aura!" Zi Shang laughed.

Suddenly, Ye Jiuge felt a mysterious power in her body. She lifted her head high, puffed up her chest, and swept the demonic beasts with her gaze as though she were watching mole crickets and ants. 

The frenzied Wolf Beasts shuddered. They began whimpering for mercy and prostrated on their bellies, as though they were wors.h.i.+pping their Wolf King.

Ye Jiuge had to admit that Zi Shang's ability was impressive. She took out some Antidote Powder and scattered it on the ground. Then, she ordered the Wolf Beasts, "Eat."

Anger and fear flitted past the alpha's green eyes. It must have thought that Ye Jiuge was forcing them to eat poison. Ye Jiuge did not explain, using only Zi Shang's king's aura to subdue them. 

Helplessly, the alpha could only lead over its younger brothers and swallow the Antidote Powder. The Wolf Beasts yelped loudly in pain. Then, they opened their mouths and vomited black blood. After retching, the redness faded from their eyes and insides. They began to recover their consciousness.

"Black Hat, take your younger brothers and go. Next time, if you feel that something is wrong, quickly run downwind." When Ye Jiuge saw them vomiting blood, she'd guessed how they'd fallen into the trap.

The alpha looked at Ye Jiuge with grat.i.tude before hurriedly leading its younger brothers away.

"Zi Shang, can you find the people who urged on these Wolf Beasts?" Ye Jiuge asked in a low voice.

She had only told Qing Mama that she was gathering spiritual herbs in the mountains. How could anyone ambush her? She did not believe that Qing Mama would betray her. She had to capture and interrogate the person who had ambushed her to find out.

"They are on the east side," Zi Shang said.

"I would like to see who has been plotting against me!" 

With a flash, Ye Jiuge ran east. She covered half a kilometer in less than the time needed to burn half a stick of incense.

Ye Jiuge stopped and stood on a tree branch. In the distance, she could see a group of people dressed in black standing in a clearing. One of the figures was short, skinny, and very familiar. It was Elderly Lady Xu. 

"Why is she here?" Ye Jiuge frowned.

"With me by your side, what are you afraid of?" Zi Shang replied unenthusiastically.

He already knew that the old lady was leading a group of men into the mountains to track Ye Jiuge. He had said nothing because he was waiting for Ye Jiuge to find out for herself. However, the girl was so fixated on the spiritual herbs that she had not realized a thing. 

With her muddle-headed personality, what would she do without his protection? It seems that, in this lifetime, she is going rely on him forever.

"To take revenge, I must do it myself. What am I if I always require your help?" 

Ye Jiuge knew that Zi Shang was powerful. As long as he was willing to put his hand to something, no threat could pose too big a problem for him. It was easy to depend on his strong power, but she did not wish to become a useless person who had to rely on others.

Besides, Zi Shang was a demon. If he acted too frequently, she feared that he would leave a trace. If anyone discovered that she was colluding with the Demon Clan, she would be done for. 

"Stupid, have you forgotten about the medical consultation fee I earned for you?" Zi Shang asked.

"Are you talking about the Lightning Snake Magical Whip?" Although the spiritual whip was powerful, it was no match for Elderly Lady Xu.

"Yes. Actually, it is not a spiritual weapon but a demonic one," Zi Shang said.

In fact, the Lightning Snake Magical Whip was somewhat connected to Zi Shang. It had been made from a seventh stage demonic snake known as the White Qilin King, a traitor whom Zi Shang had killed when he had attempted to seize the throne. Then, he had thrown the corpse onto the ancient battlefield. Zi Shang did not know who among the Demon Clan's younger generation had secretly entered the ancient battlefield to retrieve the White Qilin King's corpse and refined it into a demonic weapon. It was really quite well-made. Nevertheless, an unsuspecting person would mistake it for a badly damaged spiritual weapon. 

"How can it be a demonic weapon?" Ye Jiuge was bewildered. How can her spiritual power possibly control a demonic weapon? Does he think that she is a three-year-old child?

"In the hands of the human race, it is merely an ordinary spiritual weapon. However, in the Demon Clan's control, it is an extremely powerful and bloodthirsty demonic weapon. Although you are not from the Demon Clan, in my presence, I can awaken it to recognize you as its master." For Zi Shang, the matter was simple.

"Aren't you afraid that people will find out that there's something between us if you let me use a demonic weapon to murder somebody?" Ye Jiuge rolled her eyes.

She wanted nothing more than to hang a sign in front of her chest announcing that she had no dealings with the Demon Clan. Why would she wield a demonic weapon and recklessly go around killing people?

"Silly, if I hadn't told you, would you have been able to tell that it is a demonic weapon?" As long as Ye Jiuge did not tell anyone, no human would ever know the true nature of the magical whip.

"No matter what you say, I will not use it." Ye Jiuge shook her head firmly.

Becoming entangled with a demon was dangerous enough. Adding a demonic weapon to the mix would be like playing with fire and getting burned.

"Not even if it can help you kill Elderly Lady Xu?" asked Zi Shang in reply.