Chapter 789: 789: There's More to It

Chapter 789: Chapter 789: There’s More to It

“””

Wu Manyue’s face showed a trace of confusion:

“The Human Clan and Demon Race are at war, you’ve killed so many demons, they’d hate you to the bone.”

“How could they possibly give you intelligence?”

Jiang Fan took out the parchment scroll and glanced at its contents.

Then he asked Wu Manyue: “Why don’t you talk about yours first.”

Wu Manyue frankly shared her intelligence, spreading out the paper.

It contained a line of bold and powerful handwriting.

“Two hours ago, traces of the Hell Beast were discovered on Chongcui Mountain.”

Jiang Fan’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

One had to admit, Wu Manyue indeed had connections within the Demon Race.

And quite high ones at that.

If the news from two hours ago came from the Sea Charm, it likely had just barely been leaked.

This was the limit of intelligence the Human Clan could obtain from the Demon Race.

“What about you?” Wu Manyue looked at the parchment scroll in Jiang Fan’s hand.

“An hour ago.”

Jiang Fan replied.

Ren Guhong’s pupils abruptly widened:

“An hour ago, I’d guess this intelligence was still in the hands of the Demon Race’s heads waiting for verification.”

“It probably hadn’t even left their command tent.”

“Junior Brother Jiang, your network is almost terrifyingly formidable.”

Wu Manyue glanced at her paper, then at Jiang Fan’s parchment scroll.

Her composure faltered.

“How did you get it?”

“To obtain such precise intelligence, the cost must have been significant, right?”

She had spoken every flattering word imaginable and given away no small amount of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures just to get her intelligence.

The worst part was—

The other party had even tried to take advantage of her.

She’d had to exert every ounce of her prowess and cunning to force the other party to relent.

In the end, they begrudgingly handed over the intelligence, though not without showing her some cold disdain.

Presently, Jiang Fan somehow managed to secure intelligence.

Even more precise than hers.

Who could take this lying down?

That being said.

For him to obtain such confidential intelligence, Jiang Fan surely paid a heavy price.

Vastly steeper, no doubt, than the cost she had borne.

Maybe he had even been forced to sacrifice his dignity.

Thinking of this, she felt a bit better.

Jiang Fan unhurriedly unfolded the parchment scroll and said:

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad—they were rather courteous.”

“I mentioned I needed intelligence, and they simply handed it over.”

“What’s the matter, Senior Sister Wu? Surely you didn’t pay any price for your intelligence?”

Wu Manyue’s body stiffened.

She stammered: “Of… of course not.”

“I’m so beautiful, the moment I asked, they were all smiles to hand it over.”

“How could there possibly be any price?”

Jiang Fan nodded slightly: “That’s good, then.”

“If your rather useless intelligence had cost you too much, it would’ve been a great loss.”

“No, no, not at all.” Wu Manyue forced a stiff smile.

Her right hand, however, clutched the paper so tightly smoke seemed to rise from it.

Ren Guhong noticed and couldn’t help the slight twitch at the corner of his eye.

What kind of price had Wu Manyue paid?

For her to be this incensed?

He coughed lightly:

“It’s urgent; let’s set out immediately to verify the authenticity of this latest intelligence.”

The group leapt onto their mounts.

Without delay, they flew eastward.

An hour later.

Bunyun Mountain.

Before the group even landed, they had already seen the devastation below.

Amidst the snow-covered terrain, patches of scarlet blood stood out starkly.

Several enormous Demon Beasts, each tens of meters tall, had been gruesomely torn apart by some horrifying entity, their remains scattered across an area spanning over a thousand meters.

“The intelligence is accurate!”

Wu Manyue angrily slammed her fist against the eagle’s back.

She had paid such a high price—almost at the cost of her chastity—

And the intelligence she obtained turned out inferior to what Jiang Fan had casually acquired for free!

This was infuriating!

She fiercely glared at Jiang Fan, jealousy brimming in her tone:

“Junior Brother Jiang, you seem to be quite popular within the Demon Race.”

“Could it be you’ve managed to earn yourself a rather respectable position there?”

Jiang Fan nodded slightly and didn’t conceal the truth:

“Nothing too significant, just a title as their Prince Consort.”

“Alright, let’s head down and take a look.”

He leapt forward, descending towards the ground aboard his sword.

Leaving the other two frozen in place on the eagle’s back as though struck by lightning.

Prince Consort?

The Demon Race’s Prince Consort?

The two were completely stupefied.

Jiang Fan landed on the ground.

Carefully inspecting the corpse, he furrowed his brows slightly moments later.

Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue took quite some time to come to terms with the shocking revelation of Jiang Fan’s astonishing identity.

Eventually, they descended slowly on their mounts.

Wu Manyue’s tone was riddled with resentment as she said:

“I heard the Demon Emperor’s daughter, Liu Li, is an unparalleled beauty, is that true?”

Jiang Fan nodded, saying: “She’s indeed beautiful; what’s wrong?”

Crunch—

Wu Manyue clenched her fist: “How do you always manage to encounter such good fortune?”

Even Ren Guhong couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy before he turned curious and asked:

“I’ve also heard the Demon Emperor has a concubine named Yun Xia.”

“Said to be as beautiful as a fairy descended from the heavens, nicknamed Immortal Beauty. Have you met her?”

“Is she really as stunning as the rumors say?”

Jiang Fan didn’t hesitate to nod: “Even more than the rumors suggest.”

“She is gentle, kind, thoughtful, and attentive—truly the ideal woman in every man’s dreams.”

“No amount of praise would do her justice.”

Wu Manyue scoffed:

“Gentle, kind, thoughtful, and attentive? You make it sound like you’re close friends with her.”

Jiang Fan replied: “Fairly close—intimately so.”

Before they could comprehend what he meant.

Jiang Fan pointed to the corpses ahead, his expression suddenly serious.

“I believe everyone has been deceived.”

“The ones wreaking havoc among the Demon Race aren’t Hell Beasts.”

What?

Wu Manyue was still pondering what “intimately so” meant.

Then Jiang Fan’s earth-shattering words struck her like lightning.

“Not Hell Beasts?”

“How do you know?”

Ren Guhong, too, wore a look of sheer disbelief.

Could the rumored Hell Beasts terrifying everyone actually be a hoax?

“Junior Brother Jiang, do you have concrete evidence?”

“Such claims carry tremendous weight; please choose your words carefully.”

The entire Continent was working together to combat Hell Beasts.

Yet Jiang Fan claimed they weren’t Hell Beasts.

If Jiang Fan’s judgment was mistaken, he risked being accused of disrupting the greater effort—

A crime with potentially dire consequences.

Jiang Fan focused on the claw marks raking through the corpses and spoke in a low voice:

“Count the claw marks on the corpses.”

The two glanced first at the corpse before them, then at those scattered in the distance.

They both said: “Five marks.”

“Whether left by the left or right claws, all the marks show five lines.”

Jiang Fan narrowed his gaze slightly and said:

“What if I told you.”

“I once severed one of the claws from a Hell Beast?”

What?

Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue gasped audibly.

They were stunned first by the revelation that Jiang Fan had once fought such a terrifying Hell Beast!

And second by the shocking notion that some unknown group was impersonating Hell Beasts to massacre wildly through the Demon Race’s territory!

Wu Manyue said anxiously: “Could it be that the Hell Beast has regenerated its severed limb?”

Ren Guhong flatly denied: “Impossible!”

“Whether the Demon Race or Hell Beasts—”

“At best, they possess slightly superior healing abilities compared to the Human Clan.”

“But nowhere near the miraculous ability to regrow a severed limb.”

“Unless someone provided a High Tier healing spirit pill from the Human Clan to aid in recovery.”

“Such pills are exceedingly rare across the Continent; only the legendary Revitalizing Pill possesses such power.”

“How would the Hell Beast acquire one?”

He paused.

His expression grew icy.

“So there’s no need to question.”

“Someone is undoubtedly masquerading as Hell Beasts to slaughter the Demon Race!”

Wu Manyue’s face darkened as well.

She recalled hearing about the gruesome devastation wrought upon tribes during her conversation with a Demon insider while seeking intelligence.

She had heard even newborn demon beasts hadn’t been spared—

Torn to pieces in the carnage.

Now it all made sense.

The indiscriminate slaughter, including the young and old—

It was clearly to eliminate witnesses!

As this realization dawned on her, a chilling glint rose in her eyes: “We need to notify the elders immediately.”

“Ensure these villains have no escape!”

Jiang Fan shook his head.

A murderous aura flared in his eyes.

“If they dare to provoke such slaughter within the Continent, they are surely not of the Continent.”

“If our elders found out, they’d weigh the pros and cons and likely hesitate to act decisively.”

“If that happens, won’t it just be doing those beasts a favor?”

Ren Guhong’s eyes lit up: “Junior Brother Jiang, are you suggesting—?”

Jiang Fan retrieved the Sky Observation Treasure, his gaze frosty:

“Let’s make sure we know nothing.”

“While investigating the Hell Beast, we unintentionally killed a few outsiders, that’s all.”

Wu Manyue’s body trembled slightly.

Jiang Fan intended to unleash hell itself upon them?

“””