Chapter 109: The Quarrel

Within the palace of the Otherworldly Demon Realm, flashes of fire appeared from time to time, and the pressure of this power could be felt even from afar.

Judging by the time, Ye Sansi had been cultivating with the Sovereign for the entire morning. He had gained new insights into the Soul-Devouring Technique and learned how to adapt his moves, showing significant improvement in just a few short hours. Ye Sansi was so engrossed in his studies that he lost track of time. He continued to practice, pausing only to consult the Sovereign whenever he encountered something he did not understand.

The Sovereign laughed and said, "Brother Sansi, you have been studying for nearly three hours now; do you not feel tired?"

Ye Sansi looked outside the palace gate. True enough, the sun was high in the sky—it was already noon. He scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and replied, "Brother Sovereign, whenever I practice martial arts or cultivate techniques, I become completely immersed. Ha ha, I lost track of time. I hope you will not take offense."

The Sovereign thought for a moment and said, "If you wish to come to the palace to cultivate or seek guidance, you are welcome at any time. I have no urgent matters today, but I will skip the midday meal. I ate some yesterday and still feel quite uncomfortable; it seems I really cannot indulge my appetite."

Ye Sansi asked softly, "Brother Sovereign, didn't you say yesterday that you could use your magic to purge it? How... how did the old injury flare up?"

"Ha ha, no, no, it is a good thing that you are so diligent in learning the Soul-Devouring Technique. Why would I blame you? If you wish to continue, I will accompany you. I have nothing pressing today. I only suggested you rest because I feared you might be tired and hungry."

Ye Sansi laughed. "I hadn't felt it before, but now that you mention it, I am indeed a bit hungry. Why don't we go eat together, and when you are free, I shall come to seek your guidance again?"

After speaking, he walked out of the palace gate and ascended on his sword. Looking up at the sun, he thought, It is truly quite late. It would be inconvenient to go to Brother Peng's house now; it would be too much of a bother if they had to prepare a separate meal for me. Although he thought this, he knew he had to find Peng Xian to get something to eat—he couldn't go hungry before his afternoon practice.

"Ha ha, Brother Sansi, I am fine, do not worry. I was greedy yesterday and ate too much, which aggravated my injury. It is no longer serious, but even though the food is delicious, I must keep my appetite in check. It is getting late; you should go on your own."

Ye Sansi nodded, bowed, and took his leave. "If you are well, Brother Sovereign, then I am relieved. Sansi takes his leave."

A moment later, Ye Sansi leapt down and landed steadily in the field from earlier. However, there was no one in sight. It seemed the villagers were all at home, and he likely wouldn't find that young girl.

Seeing this, Ye Sansi had no choice but to turn back. But just as he was about to take flight on his sword, he heard the sound of arguing. Curious, Ye Sansi followed the noise.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he smiled to himself. "Right, the little girl from this morning seemed to enjoy the stories I told. Perhaps I should go find her and beg for a meal—a few leftovers shouldn't be too much to ask."

As he spoke, he turned his sword, Tiannu, and sped toward the village of ten thousand households.

Woman B: "I've seen this land lying fallow for a year, covered in weeds. I thought Aunt Rabbit had extra space and didn't intend to plant it, so I cleared the weeds and planted some vegetable seedlings. Now that they are ready for harvest, you come and claim the land is yours and that the vegetables belong to you too. That is truly overbearing and unreasonable."

Woman C: "Hey! Hey! Hey! You cannot say it like that! What do you mean we are being unreasonable? Do you not have your own land? It’s already full of fruits and vegetables, and now you want to occupy this plot too. Tell me, who is being more overbearing?"

There were four women, their ages appearing to be about fifty by human standards. Ye Sansi cautiously approached to listen to their situation.

Woman A: "That plot of land on the east side was planned by Aunt Rabbit for me to plant. How did it suddenly become yours?"

Woman B: "You! You... you are truly excessive! I won't plant here anymore, but why can't I take the vegetables that are already ripe? To put it bluntly, even if I hadn't planted here, it would just be weeds, and you would have gotten nothing."

Woman A: "Heh, that's right, I like weeds! The more the better. You cleared them without my permission; I haven't even settled that account with you yet, and you still want to harvest the vegetables?"

Woman D: "What do you mean 'occupy the land'? Old Sister saw that it was lying fallow and unplanted, so she sowed some seeds. She put in the effort and the cost; you can't expect her to walk away empty-handed."

Woman A: "Whether I plant this land or not, it is my territory. What kind of logic is it for you to come and plant here? Now, I don't care—the vegetables were planted on my land, so they belong to me. Who told you not to ask clearly before putting in the effort? Now that things are this way, you deserve it."

Ye Sansi activated the Eight Treasures Technique and looked closely. He realized that the four women had all revealed their true forms.

A tiger, a leopard, a wolf, and a fox—each bared sharp fangs, their claws scraping against the soil, all radiating a murderous aura that shot straight into the clouds.

Ye Sansi shook his head helplessly, thinking, So it was just a trivial matter; how did it escalate to this? If they each took a step back, the problem would be solved. It would be best if I didn't get involved; once they tire of fighting, they will naturally yield.

As he thought this, he turned to leave, but he suddenly sensed something amiss. He became alert, crouched slightly, and muttered to himself, "Demonic energy!"

The tiger and leopard were on one side, and the wolf and fox on the other. In terms of raw bestial power, the tiger and leopard held the upper hand, and the wolf and fox seemed to be at a disadvantage. However, as Ye Sansi used his Eight Treasures Technique, he saw that the cultivation of the wolf and fox exceeded that of the tiger and leopard, which compensated for their physical inferiority. Each side cast spells to attack and defend, and after four or five rounds, neither side had gained an advantage.

"No way, no way, are they really going to resort to violence over such a small matter?" Ye Sansi was puzzled by the actions of these four demons. It was just a minor conflict; a little compromise would have settled it. Why were they now brawling?

Ye Sansi was still wondering when the four demons began to fight in earnest.

Unfortunately, on Nameless Peak, only the wild boars were somewhat aggressive, and their attacks were just head-on charges with no technique to learn from. But here in the Otherworldly Demon Realm, seeing ferocious beasts fight—beasts that had lived for at least hundreds or thousands of years—was far more spectacular. Every move was a distillation of real combat experience; if he could learn a thing or two, it would be excellent.

Ye Sansi had intended to intervene, but the battle was truly magnificent. The tiger's attacks were fierce and overbearing, the leopard's were swift and agile, the wolf's were decisive and ruthless, and the fox's were cunning and unpredictable.

This situation was an excellent learning opportunity for Ye Sansi. By observing the movements and techniques of these beasts, he could incorporate them into his own swordsmanship and martial arts.

Seeing the situation, Ye Sansi said to himself, "This is not good. If I don't intervene now, in a few more rounds, the wolf and fox will have their defenses broken. If the tiger and leopard don't hold back, and someone gets killed or injured, this will become a real mess."

As he spoke, Ye Sansi ascended on his sword, flew close to the four demons, and tossed his sword, Canghua, onto the ground, instantly creating a shockwave.

After a dozen rounds, the tiger and leopard seemed to have gained the upper hand due to the innate pressure of their beast forms. It appeared that the slightly higher cultivation of the wolf and fox could not overcome this natural suppression. As the fight continued, they were gradually unable to defend themselves, and their strength was nearly exhausted.

Hearing Ye Sansi's words, the four demons felt there was some truth to them and resumed their human forms. However, it was not out of a desire for harmony, but fear of being laughed at by others. Although they stopped fighting, their anger remained, and they glared at each other with deep-seated resentment.

The wolf demon thought that the land belonged to the tiger demon anyway, and it was not worth occupying it, especially since she couldn't beat her. If she continued to argue, she would only suffer. She decided to let the tiger have the vegetables, considering it a small loss that didn't matter.

Canghua was a pure sword imbued with the power of evolution. As it was tossed down, the resulting shockwave suppressed the demonic energy. The four demons finally noticed the outsider and stopped fighting, staring straight at Ye Sansi.

Ye Sansi landed and smiled. "Dear seniors, I was listening nearby. I know you are arguing over a minor matter. You are all neighbors, so why resort to violence? Don't ruin your harmony and let the demons of the surrounding villages laugh at you."

Hearing this, Ye Sansi took two steps back and said, "I was only kindly trying to persuade you to stop, fearing you might lose control and cause injury or death. Why do you repay kindness with ingratitude and demand compensation from me?"

Before the wolf demon could speak, the tiger demon interrupted. "Oh~~ it seems this little demon is a spy."

Even though the wolf demon thought this, she remained unconvinced. After all, she had invested the effort, working the land every day; giving it up for nothing made her feel resentful.

Thus, the wolf demon sought to vent her anger on Ye Sansi and shouted, "What kind of demon are you? With such a foolish look, how did you learn to be a meddlesome busybody? I don't want the vegetables; you compensate me instead."

Ye Sansi heard the tiger demon's interpretation and couldn't find a way to refute it. The attention of the four demons had long been focused on him, waiting for a signal to attack him together.

Although these four were powerful beasts, their cultivation was still shallow. If Ye Sansi were to fight them, he could win, but he feared that Tiannu and Canghua would have no eyes and might accidentally injure them, causing trouble.

"Big Sister Tiger, what do you mean by that?" the leopard demon asked.

The tiger demon pointed at the Canghua sword stuck in the earth and the Tiannu sword on Ye Sansi's back, saying slowly, "Look, both of these are powerful weapons. The one on the ground suppresses our demonic power; it is an item of the immortals. Therefore, this little demon must be a spy!"

Ye Sansi was also quite surprised by the way the four addressed one another. He thought, The big sister looks to be less than thirty by human standards, yet she acts as the elder to these four women? It seems one truly cannot judge a demon's age by their appearance.

Ye Sansi also bowed and addressed them as "Big Sister."

"Stop! Do not be rude!" A voice came from afar. Ye Sansi looked over and saw it was the Rabbit Demon, and his anxious heart finally settled.

"Aunt Rabbit." The four demons all bowed respectfully.

The Rabbit Demon smiled and nodded at Ye Sansi, helping him up, and asked softly, "Brother Sansi, are you alright?"

"Big Sister, I am fine. I was afraid that if you had arrived any later, these four seniors would have fought me! Ha ha ha."

The Rabbit Demon turned to the four demons and said angrily, "How bold! This is Elder Ye of our Otherworldly Demon Realm! If you had hurt him even in the slightest, could you have borne the consequences?"

"What? An Elder?" Hearing the Rabbit Demon's words, the four demons were immediately flustered. They knelt down abruptly, knocking their heads against the ground, and kept repeating, "Please, Elder, forgive our sins..."