Chapter 722: Chapter 722
Chapter 722: Chapter 610: War Slave_2
“Demons that roamed the Mortal World would be subdued and suppressed by the power of the Immortal Sects, yet every year within the Demon World, there would also be genius Disciples, carefully cultivated by the Hundred Immortal Sects, who would infiltrate the Demon World to eavesdrop on major events and convey important messages back to the Mortal World.
For thousands of years, countless genius Cultivators have met their end in the Demon World, but it is precisely because of these people that the Righteous Immortal Sects of our Mortal World have avoided catastrophic disasters time and again.”
“These Cultivators carry an extremely heavy responsibility; however, once their identities are exposed and they fall into the hands of the Demon Clan, they would be nailed with slave collars and banished to this Hundred Hills Mountain, becoming War Slaves to be trained by Demon Beasts for their entertainment, or even to sate their bellies.
Those who manage to survive unscathed for three years in Hundred Hills Mountain can be summoned back to Mo City, offer their allegiance, and swear to serve the Demon Clan for life. From then on, they will become the blade wielded by the Demon Clan on the battlefield, a sharp weapon pointing towards the righteousness of the Mortal World.”
At this point, Meng Zifei laughed at himself, saying, “It’s embarrassing to say, but I, Meng Zifei, am neither a hero who sacrifices himself for justice nor a gentleman who cares for the world. I have associated with the demons and before I could achieve fame and success, I was abandoned and humiliated by the Demon Clan, and have fallen to my current state. It is indeed a fault of my own doing.”
Jiang Shaoyu had initially been very disgusted and resistant to his confession of having involvement with the demons, but now, hearing the full regret in his words, and how he laid bare his misdeeds without any concealment,
This straightforwardness, instead, caused in him a semblance of admiration.
“Meng brother, don’t be too hard on yourself. No man is a sage; all have their private desires.
The Demon Clan is cunning and deceptive, and they are adept at beguiling and manipulating the human heart. Your brief straying onto the Demon Path is indeed wrong, but the silver lining is that you have a heart that discerns right from wrong. Now that you have regrets, just change what has passed, and there’s no need to dwell on it so.”
Under Jiang Shaoyu’s gentle persuasion, Meng Zifei seemingly found it hard to easily let go of his burden, managing only a forced smile and saying no more.
Baili An didn’t express too many thoughts on Meng Zifei’s self-abandonment and self-deprecation. His gaze swept lightly below the collar of their garments, spotting a metal collar engraved with patterns.
The collar appeared to be a functioning clasp, seemingly easy to remove, but neither of them had removed this symbol of humiliation.
“Is that slave collar you spoke of the one around your necks?”
Young Master Meng nodded, “Exactly.”
Baili An gave it a quick look; the collar seemed to have deeper secrets: “This slave collar doesn’t seem to lock a person’s cultivation. I saw that Young Master Meng’s movement technique was still unaffected. Why not take advantage of the cover of night to escape this valley and find a way to leave the Demon World?”
Jiang Shaoyu clenched his fists tightly and said, “We think all the time about leaving this cursed place, but the Demon Clan’s means of torment are just too sophisticated. This collar doesn’t damage our cultivation, but the slave collar can’t be too far from the key. If we leave the mountain without permission, we will surely end up beheaded.”
Regarding the collar around their necks, Meng Zifei felt shame but didn’t hide it from Baili An, instead openly pulling apart his collar to reveal the whole object.
“Besides, this slave collar seems to be detachable, but in fact, there’s a seven-inch-long iron spike crafted inside the neckline that, once the collar is fitted, pierces deep into the spine from behind the neck.
If we try to remove it forcibly, the uncontrolled power of that spike would snap our spinal column inch by inch, leaving us paralyzed for life, never to rise again.”
The methods of the Demon Clan were truly cunning; they had countless ways to torment humans unbearably.
They could have easily crushed the lives and dignity of these human Cultivators under their feet, yet they deliberately left a sliver of hope.
Dignity or life—one had to choose.
Both Meng Zifei and Jiang Shaoyu had the capability to remove the humiliating collars.
But if they did take them off, it would be like snapping their own spines—how could they struggle to survive in this chaotic night of demons?
Yet, if they allowed the collars to remain in place to survive the night, it meant sacrificing their own dignity.
The struggle and agony were beyond the scope of words.
If indeed someone could last three years in this mountain like livestock, scraping by, any semblance of pride and defiance would have been ground away long ago, thereafter serving the Demon Clan obediently for life, never daring to have the slightest contrary thought.
The Demon Clan’s method was akin to training dogs.
“I did not see any Demon Generals supervising the humans on the mountain, so who governs the humans and the demons in this place?”
Meng Zifei straightened his collar, explaining, “The hierarchy is clear within this mountain. Even those who have become War Slaves would find ways to stand higher within the Slave Camp to gain privileges and make their own lives more comfortable.
Those with strength who are willing to be driven by the Demon Clan are entrusted with the power to govern us, hence such a person does not need to fear being hunted as prey by Demon Beasts at night.
But the true masters here are the demon beasts within the mountain. The War Slaves who survive the night dare not hide themselves and return dutifully to their cages, not daring to make waves.”
Baili An was silent for a moment, then asked again, “Breeding humans, feeding demon beasts, and cultivating War Slaves—is this the intent of the Demon Lord?”
Meng Zifei paused, then said with a wry smile, “I’ve only been in the Demon World for a few days; I have no knowledge of who set up these rules.”
Fortunately, Jiang Shaoyu, who had been infiltrating the Demon World for ten years, could clear up Baili An’s doubts.
“I know this. The Demon Lord isn’t that interested in humans. Those who have offended her don’t live past the second day, and she doesn’t like keeping humans in the Demon World. The establishment of Hundred Hills Mountain is said to be the work of the Young Lord of the Demon Clan, Mi Lu.”
Baili An sheathed his Heavenly Strategy Jun Mountain Sword after cleaning it.
Then Meng Zifei, with hesitation in his voice, said, “Brother Si Chen, I know I’m unworthy due to my lack of virtue, and I don’t deserve your effort to save me. But my apprentice is innocent. Could you please save my mortal apprentice?”
Baili An’s expression changed slightly, his gaze growing stern, “You’ve dragged the little girl Lan into this?!”
Full of deep remorse and regret, Meng Zifei said, “Out of a momentary lapse of judgment, I implicated an innocent. Flaying and deboning would be too light a punishment for me, but my apprentice has never done evil. I hope, Brother Si Chen, for the sake of the difficulties we faced together on Kongcang Mountain in the past, you can at least… at least save my apprentice.”
Without wasting any more words, Baili An said sternly, “Lead the way.”
“Thank you, Brother Si Chen, for your righteous rescue!” Overjoyed, Meng Zifei hurriedly bent to help Jiang Shaoyu up but, with a turn, bumped his nose against a mountain wall.
Yet, when he sat down, it was clearly empty behind him.
The sudden change drained the color from his face, and his body was covered in cold sweat.
It was the small mountain on the Human-faced Ape’s back!
But just moments before, that mountain behind the ape had been pushed away by Baili An, when had it silently appeared behind him again?
Not even Meng Zifei had noticed; nor had Baili An, despite always extending his Divine Sense to be vigilant about his surroundings.
It was as if that little mountain had vanished in an instant only to reappear behind Meng Zifei the next.
As Meng Zifei stood frozen, a human face slowly emerged from the mountain.
What was eerie was that this human face had the same features as Meng Zifei.
Twisted in agony as if tortured, the eyes of the stone face bled tears of blood from their hollow sockets.
The sight was chilling, making one’s skin crawl.
The mouth on that face moved, emitting indecipherable sounds, like a curse, piercing the ears like a thousand needles.
The sound seemed to have an invisible magic power, and Meng Zifei, who wanted to flee immediately, found his legs rooted to the ground.
His face stiffened, uncontrollably opening his mouth in sync with the face on the mountain.
The twisted human face let out sharp, urgent screams, and from Meng Zifei’s mouth and nose, visible pure white Qi began to flow out, continuously absorbed by the face.
In the blink of an eye, the pieces of rock on the human face crumbled away, revealing skin like that of a human.
Looking back at Meng Zifei’s face, it was turning spotty and petrified, his expression of horror and twist permanently hardened.