Chapter 728: Chapter 728

After all, between martial artists, it was the flesh and physique that were compared.

The day Baili An devoured and awakened his Talent, the red spider lily might as well be considered an inseparable part of his body.

It was just that Hao Nong could never have imagined that one day he would be defeated by his own fist.

In today’s duel, his punches were hearty and full of vigor, and even in defeat, he was thoroughly convinced.

"Ha ha ha!!!" Hao Nong laughed heartily, without wasting another word on nonsense. He knelt down on one knee with a thud and proclaimed loudly, "Disciple of the Jiangshan Sect, Hao Nong! I vow to serve for generations, to follow wherever your heart directs, without the slightest defiance! To be loyal unto death, never to betray!"

Baili An couldn’t shake the feeling that Hao Nong bit down especially hard on the words "never to betray," carrying an undertone of tragic determination.

Baili An took an outer garment from the jade born of clear water to put on; after taking three solid punches from Hao Nong, the Blood Energy in his Corpse Pearl was nearly depleted.

The damaged insides were slow to recover, but fortunately, his aim for the night had been achieved.

"I heard from Meng Zifei that there are many War Slave Camps built in these mountains, holding many humans."

Hao Nong gave a peculiar look and said, "Does Young Master plan to save these human cultivators?"

Baili An shook his head; he wasn’t so driven by idealism.

He had no connections to these human cultivators. If he asked Hao Nong to let these humans go on a whim, not only would he startle the snake in the grass, but he would also surely provoke Mi Lu’s retribution.

In the Demon World, positions were clear, and the Demon Clan viewed humans as enemies. If they knew that a Demon from Mohe in the Demon World went to great lengths to protect captive war slaves, it would unquestionably lead to immense turmoil.

With his wedding approaching and at a critical time for finding the Gate, Baili An naturally wouldn’t allow his entire plan to be thrown into chaos over a fleeting sense of justice.

"These human cultivators belong to Mi Lu, I naturally won’t openly oppose him for a group of strangers, but among them is a girl named Chen Xiaolan, a disciple of Meng Zifei and a once friendly acquaintance of mine."

Hao Nong was taken aback for a moment but quickly said, "I will release the girl right away."

Baili An nodded, then added, "Though it is your duty to manage the beasts in the mountain, if humans abandon the common path, demons will thrive. Even if human cultivators have been in the wrong toward you, that doesn’t give you the reason to involve others and nurture powerful demons."

The two proceeded to walk down the mountain, with Hao Nong falling into silence.

Baili An could feel his resentment and anger but said again, "Starting from scratch, to open up mountains and forests. The path of Body Cultivation Martial Artists has always been considered difficult and deviant in the eyes of the majority.

Even if the Hundred Immortal Sects look down on you, by joining the Demon Path and opposing the Immortal Sects, aren’t you just proving their point that Body Refiners are nothing but side paths?

If you continue down this path, over time, these minor paths will become known as evil ways spoken of by all."

Hao Nong stopped in his tracks, his expression tangled and complex.

Baili An looked at him deeply and said, "Without culture, actions cannot go far. Instead of figuring out how to live wildly for a lifetime, it’s better to follow that remote and unlikely small path all the way to the top, to a place above the masses. Make those people have to look up to you; in doing so, that small path will be discovered by many more. If one thousand walk it, if ten thousand do, how could that small road not become a profound and major path?"

With just those words, Hao Nong was struck with a sudden realization, his blood boiling.

As if a beam of light pierced his darkened world, suddenly clearing his muddled thoughts and giving him a sense of direction.

He looked at Baili An with shining eyes and said solemnly, "The great path isn’t influenced by external factors; it’s only about pursuing what the heart holds fast. It was I who was narrow-minded and obstructive."

"No need to treat those human cultivators kindly, but don’t engage in pointless fury and vengeance anymore. Raising war instruments for Mi Lu won’t change your circumstances."

"Young Master’s guidance will be engraved in my heart," Hao Nong replied solemnly.

Although Baili An didn’t intend to meddle further, using his connection with Hao Nong to rescue the people in the War Slave Camps.

It didn’t mean he could stand idly by and watch demons feed on humans under his watch.

With Hao Nong’s words reaching this point, it seemed unlikely that acts like tonight’s hunting and eating of humans would continue.

Upon meeting up again with Yin Baishuang and the others, Meng Zifei and Jiang Shaoyu were once again speechlessly astonished, having no clue what had transpired in the time they were away.

In such a short amount of time, the human who commanded demons had lowered his stance so much.

Jiang Shaoyu, invigorated, speculated that Baili An’s identity must be extraordinary, and a desire to form an alliance arose:

"Despite his youth, Young Master Si Chen has reached Chengling in his cultivation, which is truly an admirable feat. Young Master saved us with great righteousness today, and I will never forget this for the rest of my life.

However, I do not know where Young Master comes from. If we are fortunate enough to leave the Demon World, I will surely prepare a generous gift to offer my thanks in person."

After the ordeal at Mountain Realm, Baili An didn’t want to let those he was not familiar with enter Kongcang Mountain, so he tactfully declined.

Guided by Hao Nong, the group quickly arrived at the largest War Slave Camp in the mountains.

This camp had demons guarding the watchtowers to monitor all directions.

The demons were puzzled by Hao Nong bringing strangers near, but they didn’t react with violence or suspicion.

Hao Nong didn’t even bother to explain himself to the demons, taking Baili An straight into the War Slave Camp.

This indicated that Hao Nong held high prestige in the eyes of these demons.

It was a man who wasn’t valued in the world of his own kind but had managed to carve out such an unquestionable status in the Demon World, where demons roamed free.

For a moment, Baili An wasn’t sure whether to feel saddened for Hao Nong or for the current state of affairs among the Immortal Sects in the Mortal World.

When Hao Nong lifted the curtain of the War Slave Camp, through the dim light of the charcoal basin, Baili An immediately spotted the girl locked in a massive Beast Cage.

At that time, Chen Xiaolan was curled up in a corner of the cold iron-made cage, wearing a slave collar around her neck just like the one on Meng Zifei and the others, her body covered in wounds and blood-smeared, barely breathing.

"Xiaolan!" The first to rush over was Meng Zifei, but as he approached the cage, a massive black Tiger Demon thrust open its eyes as fierce as flames. Its coiled body sprung up, roaring furiously.

In front of it, Meng Zifei seemed like an insignificant ant, unable to withstand the natural demonic aura. With a splutter, he was forced to spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Unable to advance further, he watched the cage with sheer terror, unable to bear the pressure of the Tiger Demon’s presence.

It was hard to imagine the kind of torturous and fear-filled life little Xiaolan must have led these past days.

Hao Nong’s gaze darkened as he glanced at the Tiger Demon.

The still-arrogant Tiger Demon suddenly cowered under his gaze, low to the ground, daring not to cause any more trouble.

Hao Nong strode forward, tore open the thick steel bars of the cage with his bare hands, and removed the slave collar from the girl’s neck.

When Baili An took Chen Xiaolan from his hands, her little face was pallid, already unconscious.

"Young Master Meng, usually meticulous in everything, I thought before choosing to side with the Demon Clan, you would at least ensure Xiaolan was settled safely, seeing she has no Spirit Root and is just an ordinary person," Baili An said, touching the wet blood on her back and realizing the wound was deep. His gaze grew cold.

The blood at Meng Zifei’s lip edges was slightly dry as he murmured, "I didn’t mean to drag Xiaolan into this..."

Hao Nong said, "I can vouch for that. A month ago, when Erhe Zangxin delivered Meng Zifei to me, I was curious why a person of great Mohe status would take the trouble of capturing a girl with no cultivation at all. At that time in the Mortal World, he actually did not want to waste energy on an ordinary person, but when Xiaolan saw Zangxin taking her master, she refused to leave alone. Zangxin, running out of patience, simply brought her along and threw her into the War Slave Camp. Luckily, the Tiger Demon doesn’t eat cultivators, showing disinterest in ones without Spiritual Power. Mostly keeping her alive to play with like a tormenting cat does a mouse, she has managed to survive on scraps of food; truly impressive."

Meng Zifei felt a sour sting in his eyes, and Hao Nong’s words felt like a whip lashing on him, causing extreme distress.

Humans entered the War Slave Camp as playthings for demons, with countless cultivators dying each night without a proper burial.

Chen Xiaolan, with no cultivation, had just barely pulled through, a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.