The forest was quiet.
The white bird overhead had quietly landed in the grass, watching the confrontational crowd in the forest with caution. The flower leopard flicked its tail and hid its body among the shrubs, no longer daring to look into the eyes of the silver lion.
After a long while, someone spoke up: “What kind of joke is this…”
The enmity between the demons and the humans was deep-rooted. It was already surprising enough that they hadn’t started fighting on sight. Now, they were being asked to hold hands and travel together. Was this even possible?
It was utterly insane!
“Our sect members will never ally with demon scum! There is no way we will join hands with them!” A cultivator shouted angrily.
“I’ll say this right now: even if I die, I’ll jump off this mountain rather than join hands with them!”
“Give it up.” Mountain Spider sneered disdainfully, “As if anyone wants to join hands with you. Look at yourselves in the mirror first. Pathetic humans, daring to dream of walking with us noble demons. Do you deserve it?”
“A lamp on a pole—can see others but not oneself!”
The noise and shouting continued without end. Zanxing found it quite annoying and turned to the Si Shi leader, You Lang: “As you can see, the enmity between us and them runs deep. It’s not easy to join hands.”
“This is the only way.” You Lang replied calmly. “If we can’t achieve ‘balance,’ we won’t be able to lead you into the mountain.” He paused and then added, “As you saw, we came from the barrier. Only those who achieve ‘balance’ can see the entrance. If you refuse to join hands, you can try other methods. However…” He emphasized his words, “If you want to fight, please take it elsewhere. Don’t destroy the mountain’s forest.” He then cast a sorrowful glance at the ruined flower fields.
Zanxing suspected that these two were only here to say this. If she and Gu Baiying hadn’t fought and destroyed this flower field, they probably wouldn’t have shown up even if they fought to the bitter end.
“If you are not going to enter the mountain now, we will leave first,” said Qiong Niang. She whistled, and the strange whistle immediately summoned the large bird and the flower leopard, which had been hiding, to come close to them.
“Wait a moment.” Gu Baiying suddenly spoke.
Zanxing was slightly surprised to see the young man suddenly looking at her and raising his chin, saying, “Hey, how about we cooperate?”
Zanxing: “?”
Was this even possible? Had Gu Baiying lost his mind? If he suddenly changed his attitude, wouldn’t the Demon Extermination Army kill him?
Indeed, as soon as he said this, before Zanxing could respond, Pu Tao frowned and asked, “Gu Baiying, have you gone mad? We came here to eradicate the demons… isn’t it absurd to cooperate with them?”
“It’s not about eradicating demons, it’s about eliminating the troublesome demon fiends.” Gu Baiying’s expression was impatient. He clearly didn’t want to continue explaining to her. He turned to the others and said, “Those willing to enter the mountain, come with me. Those who aren’t… well, you can either stay here or return to your sect. Choose one.”
“Gu Baiying!” Zhao Jiaming from the Chihua Sect broke free from the soundproofing spell, looking at him in disbelief. “What’s your attitude? As the leader of the demon extermination army, you’re mingling with demons. You… you’re a traitor!”
Gu Baiying looked at him coldly. “Since I’ve seen you, you’ve said this many times. And you also said this is my decision. Whether you listen or not is up to you.”
“You’re being irresponsible to the demon extermination army!”
“Why should I be responsible to you?” Gu Baiying’s attitude was very unfriendly. He looked at Zhao Jiaming with contempt and said, “I’m not your father.”
Zhao Jiaming was so exasperated he nearly choked.
The demon clan and the human clan members who had paired up looked at each other with deep reluctance. One group was determined with a resolve akin to “cutting off one’s own arm to achieve a greater goal,” while the other was grudgingly and condescendingly agreeing, reluctantly bringing their hands together.
Zanxing looked at Gu Baiying, who was scrutinizing her with a look of obvious disdain. After a moment, he said, “Perhaps we could use a rope…”
Before he could finish, Zanxing simply took his hand.
Gu Baiying was momentarily stunned.
Zanxing had already turned to look at Qiong Niang, saying, “Let’s go.” She didn’t spare him another glance, as if holding hands was perfectly natural and carried no burden for her.
Qiong Niang waved her hand, and instantly, a ripple appeared in the air, but this ripple was different from before. It seemed to distort even the air itself. Before everyone’s eyes, an entrance appeared. This entrance seemed to have materialized out of nowhere, revealing a view inside—a mountain forest that looked somewhat desolate.
“Follow me.” She led the way inside.
Zanxing, holding Gu Baiying’s hand, hesitated for a moment before following Qiong Niang. As soon as they stepped in, it felt like stepping into water, and the surroundings quickly became blurred. When she looked up again, the flower field was no longer beside them, instead, they were surrounded by a quiet, dense forest. In the distance, amidst the blurred mountain lines, a majestic white pagoda stood tall.
This was the true Yue Mountain.