Fairy, I'm going to control you tightly!

At this moment, the last-ranked Demon Lord Julu gritted his teeth and finally took a step forward.

"Your Majesty, there is one more matter... that I must report to you."

Upon seeing that it was the Giant Deer Demon Lord stepping forward, the Demon Emperor on the throne showed a clear hint of displeasure, but still raised his hand in a gesture, indicating:

"speak."

"Previously, I speculated that the escaped demon had likely infiltrated the Eastern Continent. After all, it's not within the territory of our demon race, and our forces are few, making it easier to hide. Therefore, I dispatched some capable subordinates to infiltrate the Eastern Continent and secretly investigate the demon's whereabouts."

"However, in a human city, my subordinates inadvertently exposed their presence, attracting human cultivators from the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect, resulting in the complete annihilation of my men."

The Demon Emperor's gaze suddenly sharpened.

"You personally intervened?" His voice was deep and scrutinizing. The Giant Deer Demon Lord's aura was unstable at the moment, and his injuries had not yet healed. He had obviously been through a fierce battle, so the Demon Emperor could naturally guess that he had also participated.

"Yes...yes."

"How dare you!"

With a furious roar, a terrifying pressure as immense as a mountain crashed down, as if it were a tangible force, forcing the originally standing Giant Deer Demon Lord to his knees, his joints groaning under the unbearable weight.

The oppressive aura almost solidified into black mist, permeating the air and radiating a chilling aura.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger! Please hear my explanation!"

The Giant Deer Demon Lord hurriedly begged for mercy. He was already severely injured, and under this pressure, he felt as if his bones and muscles were about to break. If this continued for a moment longer, he feared he would suffer incurable injuries and even become a crippled demon.

"Speak. If you cannot provide a reason that convinces me today, you will no longer need to sit on the throne of the Demon Lord."

The Demon Emperor snorted coldly and with a flick of his sleeve, withdrew his oppressive aura. But anyone could see that if the Giant Deer Demon Lord's explanation failed to satisfy him, the consequences would be far more severe than simply stripping him of his title.

"Your subordinate... I observed through the 'Blood Forbidden Spying Technique' that there were indeed faint traces of that little demon briefly staying near that human city! Moreover, the renowned 'Little Sword Immortal' from the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect happened to be present at the time, and there were no Nascent Soul stage cultivators guarding the area. I thought that if we could seize the opportunity to capture and kill that Little Sword Immortal, we might be able to force him to reveal the little demon's whereabouts, so..."

Of Julu Demon Lord's words, only the statement that "he saw the Little Sword Immortal present" is true.

He could never reveal the real reason—was he supposed to say that he secretly sent demons to infiltrate the Eastern Continent in order to cultivate that evil art that violated the laws of nature and required a large amount of human cultivators' blood essence, in an attempt to seize a city, only to run into the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect?

Could he say that he saw the little sword immortal appear alone in a secret technique, and then became greedy, wanting to use his essence blood to enhance his own cultivation, which is why he disregarded the overall situation and recklessly led the demon race to invade the Eastern Continent?

For his own selfish desires, he simultaneously provoked two behemoths: the Eastern Continent Immortal Dynasty and the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect.

If such a report were to be made, the Demon Lord Julu estimated that not only would he lose his position as Demon Lord, but he would also likely be annihilated and his body destroyed in an instant.

Therefore, he could only fabricate lies, shifting the blame to the "little demon" whom the Demon Emperor feared most, and cleverly bringing up the old feud between the demon race and the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect. Only in this way could his actions appear "justified," at least superficially justifying his actions.

If it were someone else who was meticulous, suspicious, and thoughtful, they might have some doubts about this explanation. Even if they didn't express it to his face, they would definitely investigate it secretly afterward.

Unfortunately, this demon emperor was stubborn, arrogant, and extremely conceited.

He found this reasoning logical and was convinced that under his absolute power, the Giant Deer Demon Lord would never dare to do anything too outrageous or that would harm the overall interests of the demon race.

As a result, he became seven or eight parts convinced.

"And then? You're not going to tell me that you were beaten so badly by a junior human, are you? And what about that little demon? Was it ever found?"

The Demon Lord of Giant Deer quickly put on a look of deep sorrow and helplessness.

"The Immortal Spirit Sword Sect reacted extremely quickly! After discovering the traces of my demon race, they dispatched two Nascent Soul stage cultivators to provide reinforcements in a very short time! Even though I rushed to the scene immediately after receiving the news, the journey was too long... Ultimately, the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect was closer. I was outnumbered and outmatched, which is why..."

In fact, the Demon Lord Julu truly believed this to be true.

He always felt that the Seventh Elder and that Sword Sect Master must have rushed over in a hurry because they had noticed the large-scale disturbances of the demon race.

After all, Xiao Jingxi's appearance in Luoling City was purely coincidental.

If Ji Nanbei (who was controlling Xiao Jingxi) hadn't chosen Luoling City when planning the route, the Seventh Elder and Xiao Jingxi wouldn't have happened to be in that location at that time.

It can be said that the Demon Lord Julu has had a terrible stroke of bad luck this time, his luck has run out.

Otherwise, the replacement of the city lord of Luoling City and the secret infiltration of the demon race would probably not be exposed for a long time.

"……waste."

The Demon Emperor flicked his sleeve, his tone still rebuking, but this time, he clearly had no intention of pursuing further punishment.

"That little demon has actually fled to the Eastern Continent... Issue this imperial decree: mobilize your capable subordinates to infiltrate various parts of the Eastern Continent and continue searching for clues. There must be no mistakes!"

"Yes, sir!"

The nine demon lords bowed in unison to receive the order.

However, each of these nine demon lords harbored their own ulterior motives.

At least half of them were deeply skeptical of the Giant Deer Demon Lord's words. However, no one dared to offend the Demon Emperor at the moment, so they had no choice but to suppress their doubts and obey orders.

The back of the Giant Deer Demon Lord was soaked with cold sweat.

Just now, he truly had a brush with death.

"Finally, I've gotten through this hurdle... In a way, it's convenient. I can use the pretext of searching for lesser demons to legitimately bring more demonic power into the Eastern Continent. It also saves me the trouble of finding excuses to send my subordinates out later. I can now legitimately collect the essence blood needed for cultivation in the Eastern Continent..."

The Demon Lord of Giant Deer secretly pondered the situation, and a sense of unexpected good fortune arose within him.

His previous unauthorized dispatch of demons to infiltrate the Eastern Continent violated the unwritten rules between demons and humans.

Although the Eastern Continent has not explicitly prohibited the demon race from entering, if the demon race were to cause trouble within its territory, it would be tantamount to actively provoking a full-scale war between the two races.

Given the current state of the demon race, they actually lack the confidence and chance of winning a full-scale war against the human race.

However, the Giant Deer Demon Lord was incredibly audacious. In order to improve his own cultivation, he had long since abandoned the interests of his clan and recklessly took this dangerous step.

at the same time……

On the side of the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect, the True Person in charge of handling this matter has completed negotiations with the special envoy dispatched by the Eastern Continent Immortal Dynasty.

The new city lord of Luoling City has taken office, and at the same time, an astonishing reward and compensation has been delivered to the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect.

Following this incident, the Eastern Continent Immortal Dynasty has become wary of potential loopholes in its city defense system and has dispatched special envoys to various important cities to conduct thorough investigations.

Meanwhile, the higher-ups of the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect were having a heated discussion about whether to use this incident as a pretext to demand an explanation or even "attack the Heavenly Demon Capital."

The fact that they dared to lay a hand on Xiao Jingxi is something the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect will never let go of easily!

Even if Xiao Jingxi is unharmed, or even breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage by virtue of the misfortune, it is absolutely unacceptable! The demon race must give a clear explanation and pay the corresponding price.

Xiao Jingxi deserves such strong support from the sect, and the Immortal Spirit Sword Sect also has the strength and confidence to do so!

And deep in a remote, dense forest in the southern barbarians.

Su Qianxue (the little fox) was completely unaware of this. A small team of demons, who had been carefully searching her hiding place, received new orders from their superiors and had already changed course, preparing to leave the Southern Barbarian Lands and head to the distant Eastern Continent to carry out a new mission.