The Demon Realm—this place was quite surprising to Qingmu, much like the Deep Woods District in the Fantasy Reality World, filled with strange plants. The residents of the Demon Realm seemed somewhat chaotic to Qingmu’s eyes.
Some took human form, some were half-transformed, some moved on all fours, others had human heads with beast bodies, or beast heads with human bodies.
Most of the demon residents appeared to be animals; insects were extremely rare. The only one Qingmu saw was a passing demon with a millipede’s body and a human head.
When he asked Benji nearby, he learned that insect-type demons naturally found cultivation much harder than other demon clans.
Noticing how respectfully the demons addressed Benji as the Demon King, Qingmu understood that Benji was a formidable figure.
Not long ago, they had descended from the Immortal Ship. Benji led Qingmu and Nongli through a city street in the Demon Realm, while Nongli was curious about everything—this was her first time seeing so many demons besides herself.
Qingmu remembered Nongli saying that she had awakened her spiritual consciousness by a fortunate coincidence because she carried ancient bloodline heritage. In that sense, Nongli was considered to have “returned home.”
This time, Qingmu was not stingy with showing his half-human, half-fox form. After walking a while on the street, he shifted back into a fox and darted ahead.
“Nongli?”
Benji glanced at Nongli’s two tails in front of them and suddenly spoke. Qingmu behind him gave a hum of confirmation, signaling that Benji hadn’t called out wrongly.
“She carries a strong ancient great demon bloodline. If she focuses on cultivation, she could become a Demon King in the future.”
“Nongli is currently working hard on growing her tails.”
Benji’s sharp words put Qingmu on alert, but denying it now seemed useless. He nodded and reminded himself to stay vigilant because he had never encountered demons in the two Immortal Worlds he simulated. He couldn’t be sure if demons would devour each other to strengthen themselves.
Though that might seem overly cautious, a demon is still a demon, right?
Thinking of some of Nongli’s demonic instincts, Qingmu reluctantly admitted that he held a prejudice against demons.
“Long ago, demons and humans had conflicts. After those clashes, there was no reconciliation—only alienation and hostility.
In human territories, people either know nothing about demons or harbor prejudice against them.
We demons are far more committed to contracts and rules than humans.
The chaos caused by the Youjian Sect’s war affected several provinces. Qingmu, you understand, I didn’t bring you here out of kindness but for a transaction.”
“Of course, exchanging Qi for Qi.”
Qingmu chatted casually with Benji while Nongli ran and jumped ahead.
After walking an unknown distance, they arrived before a small palace, where demon guards led them inside.
This was Benji’s residence. As the Demon King of this area, his dwelling was naturally grand.
He instructed a lesser demon to arrange accommodations and other matters for Qingmu and Nongli before taking his leave, promising to visit Qingmu later.
“Follow me, both of you.”
The lesser demon was a giraffe demon. His humanoid form was somewhat comical—though his body was human, his limbs retained animal traits, and his face was irregular: a human eye on the left, a beast’s eye on the right, and a horn on one side of his forehead.
His neck was long and thin, and when he spoke, his tongue lolled out, slobber flying everywhere.
Nongli couldn’t help but laugh, covering her mouth as her fox ears twitched uncontrollably.
Qingmu flicked Nongli’s fox ear, signaling her to behave.
“What cultivation level does Brother Deer have?”
As he spoke, the giraffe demon looked at Qingmu. A human visiting the Demon Realm was rare, so being asked directly, he revealed his cultivation level.
Qingmu was a little puzzled. This demon’s level was quite high—far beyond what the silly little fox beside him could reach.
So, how did this transformation work?
“Little fox, are you hurt?”
As the giraffe demon walked with them, his eyes caught Nongli’s leg, which was limping. Qingmu recalled Nongli’s earlier hopping; she had almost healed but then reinjured herself by showing off.
What could he say?
Nongli nodded.
The giraffe demon asked again, “Your transformation looks really beautiful! Your cultivation level must be very high, right?”
Nongli replied with her level, and the giraffe demon’s tongue stretched even longer as he exclaimed, “You’re such a genius! At this level, your transformation is already this good?”
This surprised Nongli. She glanced at her master, Qingmu, scratched her fox ear, and then shifted into a girl with black hair and black eyes, which startled the giraffe demon into screaming. He called Nongli the genius of geniuses and began speaking with utmost respect.
“This is your room!”
The giraffe demon found a room for Qingmu and then said to Nongli, “Miss Genius Fox, come with me this way!”
“No no no, I want to stay here.”
Nongli took a step back and hid behind Qingmu.
“Then please come with me,” the giraffe demon said to Qingmu.
“No, we live together!”
Nongli blocked Qingmu’s path again, crossing her arms.
“Hm? What’s your relationship?”
The giraffe demon was taken aback.
“Uh, master and disciple.”
Nongli answered.
“Oh! Then it’s only natural you live together.”
“What do you mean?”
Qingmu was confused by the giraffe demon’s assumption.
“A master and disciple should sleep together, right? Many of us demons do, like the cat clan or the bird clan—they all—”
“Stop, stop!”
Qingmu had forgotten this topic. As expected, demons were more uninhibited regarding ethics.
“Then you two stay here first. I’ll go tell the kitchen downstairs to prepare food and send it to your door.
Benji the Great King will come to visit you later.”
The giraffe demon efficiently finished his work and then waddled away with his long neck and head.
“Hmm… demons really do speak human language. At first, I thought they had their own language,” Qingmu said awkwardly, hesitating at the door.
Nongli silently closed the door and then gave him a meaningful look.
“Demons, indeed. They’re not something an ordinary person like me can understand. There’s so much I don’t know.”
Her words carried subtext, and Qingmu seemed to catch it on Nongli’s face.
“N-no way, Master… you think that way…?”
Nongli’s cheeks flushed, her gaze reflexively tried to avoid his, yet she stubbornly kept looking at Qingmu.
Qingmu’s face was the picture of embarrassment, his brows furrowed as he covered his eyes helplessly and said, “Behave yourself.”
“This is the Demon Realm, Master?”
Nongli stepped closer with a sly smile, giving Qingmu just the right distance.
The next moment, a chestnut was thrown onto Nongli’s head. She clutched her head, crouching and whining on the floor.
“I was joking…”
She said with a tearful voice.
“If you weren’t joking, I’d split your head in two.”
Qingmu snorted and said, “Ahem, I’ll go get another room.”
With that, Qingmu left. Nongli looked up from the floor, no tears on her face, muttering, “What are you afraid of?”
Her two tails swished behind her, clearly displeased.