Dong Kui, already mortified by the teasing, felt a flush of relief when Zuo Yingchun deftly changed the subject. She hurried to follow suit.
âThis book,â she said, holding it up, âthe
Righteousness Primer
, was given to me by Ye Yu. Its contents are rather childish, but if you read it as a joke book, itâs quite amusing!â
As the saying goes, when you love someone, you come to love everything about them. Dong Kui had long since discarded this primerâits very title was enough to repel her. But after falling for Ye Yu, everything changed. This book, once abandoned in a corner, had become a constant companion. She even found it entertaining enough to carry everywhere.
The
Righteousness Primer
had another, more practical use: she could hold it before her face, ostensibly reading, while in fact eavesdropping on the other ladiesâ conversations. This trick had never failedâuntil today. How embarrassing!
Curious, Zuo Yingchun stepped forward, flipped through a couple of pages, then tossed it back. âWhat nonsense this is!â
Dong Kui caught the primer, opened it again before her face, and said nothing. Whether it was nonsense or not didnât matterâwhat mattered was that it had been Ye Yuâs first gift to her, and she could never find it dull.
At that moment, a roar rang out outside Wuwei Tower.
The assembled ladiesâ expressions darkened. They had been in Wuwei Tower long enough to know Ah Kong, their guardian celestial beast. A roar like that meant battle was underway.
They vanished in streaks of light and emerged outside the tower to find Ah Kong dragging a Monkey-Race demon cultivator through the clouds, raining blows upon him. Two more demon cultivators hovered nearby, eager to join in.
Zhu Diezhenâs cold voice rang out: âWhat do you think youâre doing?â
Startled, the two demons noticed the beautiful celestial maidens. They bristled, then a tall Bull-Race demon stepped forward.
âMy name is Niu Ge,â he said. âThis is my second brother, the Great Peng demon LĂź Xiang, and up there on the clouds is my third brother, Sun Hezhen. We three have just come through from the Demon Realm. Passing by, a misunderstanding occurred. Please forgive us, fair ladies.â
Zuo Yingchun raised an eyebrow. âWhat misunderstanding? Explain yourself.â
Niu Ge hesitated, embarrassed. Beside him, the Great Peng demon spoke without restraint: âBig brother, whatâs there to hide? My third brother saw that celestial ape and thought she was perfect for a demon mate. He proposed marriage, but she refusedâand so they fought. No big deal; who doesnât get punched when seeking a mate? Maybe after a few hits, love would blossom.â
Jiang Jinhe and Luo Ning couldnât help but laugh. Indeed, that was a demonâs courtship style: straightforward. If both agreed, fine; if not, keep pesteringâor throwing punchesâuntil one gave in. Their laughter left Niu Ge momentarily dazed at how stunning Celestial Realm maidens could be.
LĂź Xiang chimed in cheerfully, âSee? You agree with me, right? Anyway, my brotherâs business is his own. Letâs talk about you: which of you ladies would like to spar with me? I feel weâd get along splendidly!â
At once, every ladyâs face darkened as if the sun had been blotted out. A terrifying oppressive force of celestial power descended upon Niu Ge and LĂź Xiang, both only at Demon Lord Realm cultivationâthey had no hope against these ladies, many of whom were at Demon King, Immortal King, or Ghost King Realms. Under their combined pressure, the two demons knelt within moments.
Jiang Jinhe stepped forward and made a grasping motion at LĂź Xiang. He was seized by an invisible force, curling into a ball as his bones cracked. A burst of blood mist followed, and both his arms shattered. Even if healed, he would never fly again; his cultivation would fall a full realm to Gold Demon.
âSecond brother!â Niu Ge cried as he watched his siblingâs agony.
Jiang Jinhe pointed skyward, and countless celestial swords of {Nâ˘oâ˘vâ˘eâ˘lâ˘iâ˘gâ˘hâ˘t}
Extreme Yang Qi
materialized, rending the Monkey-Race demon into countless holes. The body collapsed beside LĂź Xiang.
Niu Geâs eyes turned red. In only two breaths, both brothers lay grievously wounded.
Consumed by rage and despair, he snarled, âSurely you ladies are too cruel!â
âCruel?â Jiang Jinhe laughed. âYou three came to the Celestial Realm and spoke without restraint. This is but a lesson. Were you not demons, Iâd have dispersed your souls on the spotâno chance to even speak!â
A golden light flickered in her eyes, and behind her the phantom image of a colossal Luan bird appeared. Niu Ge stared, dumbstruck: he knew she did not exaggerateâshe had the power to do just that. He wondered why an Ancient Mythical Beast like the Luan would accompany so many celestial maidens.
From afar, a cool voice spoke: âWhy must demons treat demons so harshly?â
All eyes turned north. A woman in multicolored robes descended and hovered between Niu Ge and the celestial ladies. It was Nangong Jingtang.
She had journeyed from the Demon Realm, seeking any sect with âTowerâ in its nameâbut had not found one. Then she sensed the Luanâs aura and used her divine sense to locate it. Seeing demons oppressing demons stirred her displeasure, hence her timely arrival.