Chapter 2 

The room was set up with a soundproof barrier, ensuring not a single sound from inside could be heard outside. Otherwise, the commotion they had just made would have long since attracted the little demons outside.

The three former giants of the Prehistoric Era looked at the wailing Little Fox Cub with mixed expressions, utterly unable to fathom what was going on in the little one’s head.

Just moments ago, he had scorned them as being inferior to even the minor demons of Thunderclap Mountain. Now, he was crying as if they were long-lost fathers. But wait—they couldn’t possibly sire a fox, could they?

The Little Chicken propped her chin on her hand, dazedly poking the Little Green Snake beside her. “Could this Little Fox Cub be your long-lost offspring?”

“Do you think that’s possible?” Zu Long’s temple twitched. Though he wasn’t particularly fastidious, they had been dead for so many years, and this fox cub was barely a few centuries old. How could he possibly be his spawn?

Seeing the two about to bicker again, Shi Qilin had no choice but to step in once more. “Stop arguing, or you’ll just make the little one laugh at you.”

Yuan Feng and Zu Long shot each other disdainful glances before straightening their postures, trying to appear more dignified.

They were now supposed to be fearsome demons from the Northern Kuru Continent—powerful enough for the little fox to ride their coattails. They had to maintain some semblance of authority in front of the cub.

Ah, to think they had once dominated the Prehistoric Era, only to now rely on the infamous reputation of the Northern Kuru Continent to intimidate an ignorant and fearless little cub. Truly, a tiger fallen to the plains is bullied by dogs, and a phoenix in decline is worse than a chicken.

Fu Li wiped his tears, his large ears trembling adorably and pitifully. “Honored seniors, since you’re recuperating at Thunderclap Mountain, if any bullies come to cause trouble, could you lend a hand and chase them away?”

Well, staying as guests meant they ought to pay some symbolic rent to the host. He wasn’t asking for rent—just for the mighty ones to right wrongs when they saw them. Besides, it wasn’t just for his sake, but for the sake of their peaceful recuperation.

Though he didn’t know how severe their injuries were, the fact that they didn’t even have physical forms suggested their wounds were far from light. Given how badly they were hurt, they needed a good environment to heal.

Constant fighting and killing weren’t conducive to recovery. Only by driving away all troublemakers could they rest easy.

“Little cub, you’re not very old, but you’ve got plenty of tricks up your sleeve. It’s just an old bull—we’ll help you chase him off,” Yuan Feng mocked mercilessly, ridiculing the cub who had more temper than skill. A mere thousand-year-old bull, and he was already this scared?

Fu Li pouted, indignant at the mockery, and defended himself righteously. “What do you mean ‘just a thousand years old’? I’m only two hundred! It’s perfectly normal for a two-hundred-year-old to lose to a thousand-year-old!”

Shi Qilin nodded, his eyes filled with affectionate agreement. “He’s still just a little cub. As long as he’s happy, that’s enough. Leave the fighting to us.”

“Exactly, exactly!” Fu Li bobbed his head like a pecking chick. It made perfect sense for the Bull Demon King to be fierce and strong—who had ever seen a fox that fought with brute force?

He was a fox spirit, after all. Most fox spirits specialized in charm and allure; their combat skills being laughably weak was common knowledge across the Three Realms. It was normal for him to be weak. If he could ever beat the Bull Demon King into submission, that would be the real anomaly.

Yuan Feng snorted. “At your age, you should be full of pride and ambition. How can you be so spineless?”

“I call it self-awareness,” the young lad retorted, straightening his back without a hint of shame.

However, those who came to Thunderclap Mountain to stir up trouble weren’t just the Bull Demon King—there were others as well. These three great demons from the Northern Kuru Continent wanted to stay here long-term, so he couldn’t afford to hide anything.

Fu Li rubbed his face, his eyes carrying a trace of hatred. “The monks from Vulture Peak in the West came to disrupt my father’s tribulation. At the time, my father drove them back, but now Thunderclap Mountain has no master to guard it. Who knows when those monks might return?”

His father was known as the Ten Thousand Year Fox King, a being of immense magical power and profound cultivation. If not for those damned bald-headed monks scheming behind his back, how could he have failed to overcome the Heavenly Tribulation of Thunder?

The murder of his father was an unforgivable enmity. A gentleman’s vengeance may wait ten years—once he dealt with the mess at hand, sooner or later, he would storm Vulture Peak and turn it upside down.

The three Prehistoric Era overlords hadn’t known about these grudges, but their impression of the Buddhist sect wasn’t favorable either, especially Yuan Feng, whose eyes burned with fury at the mention of those bald heads. “What a coincidence. We don’t get along with those hypocritical monks either. If they don’t come, fine. But if they do, we’ll settle old and new grudges together.”

Fu Li raised an eyebrow curiously. “Senior, you hail from the distant Northern Kuru Continent—how do you also have a feud with Vulture Peak in the West?”

Thunderclap Mountain was located in the Western Continent of Cattle-Gift, which was Buddhist territory. It made sense for those monks to cause trouble here. But the Northern Kuru Continent was filled with savage beasts—why would they seek trouble there instead of avoiding it?

“Two of his children were forcibly taken by the Buddhist sect—how could that not be considered a feud?” Zu Long coiled up, flicking just the tip of his tail idly. Seeing Yuan Feng’s dark expression, he quickly added, “Many of my own kin were also abducted to Vulture Peak as mounts. In short, we’re all at odds with Vulture Peak. Even if those bald heads don’t come looking for trouble, we’ll eventually seek them out.”

Fu Li nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at the slender Little Green Snake and muttered under his breath, “Capturing snake demons as mounts—those monks have rather peculiar tastes.”

He had seen tigers ridden and dragons mounted, but never heard of anyone riding snakes. This was certainly an eye-opener.

Zu Long: “…”

Fine, snake demon it was. At least all three of them were equally humiliated—none of them had fared any better.

When Pangu split the heavens and the earth was first formed, the three of them led their clans to flourish. The dragon race ruled over scaled creatures and governed the four seas; the phoenix race ruled over winged creatures and governed the skies; the qilin race ruled over beasts and governed the land.

Alas, the three clans’ glory was too great, and friction was inevitable. Thus began the first Cataclysmic Tribulation of the Prehistoric Era. The dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans were all severely weakened. Yuan Feng perished at Phoenix Fall Slope, Shi Qilin transformed into Qilin Cliff atop Mount Kunlun, and he himself was suppressed beneath Mount Kunlun, unable to escape.

What could they do? The Heavenly Dao couldn’t stand any being surpassing its majesty—whoever rose too high would be cut down. They had realized it too late, or their fates wouldn’t have been so wretched.

The events that followed were self-explanatory. Whenever a thorn appeared in the world, the Heavenly Dao would unleash a Cataclysmic Tribulation. The dragon, phoenix, and qilin clans fell. The witch and demon clans fell. The Daoist sect competed with the Buddhist sect for followers and faith, and after so many disciples were forcibly taken to the West during the Investiture of the Gods, it was likely their downfall wasn’t far off.

The Heavenly Dao was truly ruthless. Their past conflicts were nothing—surviving a Cataclysmic Tribulation was the real test of skill.

So what exactly does the Heavenly Dao mean? Or has the Daoist sect finally realized that the Buddhist sect will never be satisfied with an inch if given a mile, and is preparing to strike first and trip them up?

If the Daoist sect has devised a way to deceive the Heavenly Dao, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the three of them to slip past it and return to the mortal world.

It would be even better if they could return in their original forms.

But things aren’t bad as they are now. They’ll lay low for a while to assess the situation before deciding whether to cause a big or small stir in the future.

Fu Li had no idea what was going through the mind of the swaying Little Green Snake, but he gave them a detailed account of the situation at Thunderclap Mountain. Aside from being weak, he felt their mountain had no other shortcomings.

Yuan Feng laughed at his reasoning. “‘Aside from being weak’? Little brat, just the weakness alone is enough to plunge you into eternal damnation. To live well, you must become strong—the weak don’t survive.”

The fox-eared boy puffed out his cheeks, lowering his head in frustration. “I can’t even properly transform into a human form—that’s how poor my cultivation talent is. Whether I become strong or not isn’t up to me.”

Just then, the anxious voice of a Fox Maidservant came from the entrance. “Young Prince, the princess summons you. The Bull Demon King from Emerald Cloud Mountain is here again.”

Fu Li: !!!

“Actually, after Father passed, I was the strongest on Thunderclap Mountain. Now, I’ll pass that title to you three seniors. Please don’t disgrace our mountain’s reputation.”

Without waiting for a reaction from the three senior demons, he bolted out in a flurry. If Shi Qilin hadn’t swiftly retracted the barrier, he would have knocked himself out on the spot.

The scenery on Thunderclap Mountain was splendid. The Bull Demon King, accompanied by thirty or fifty ox-headed minions, made his way up the mountainside with a noisy procession, as if celebrating a wedding.

The old ox was dressed in a magnificent golden armor embroidered with velvet, a triple-lion belt cinched at his waist, and curled-toe deerskin boots on his feet. His eyes shone like polished mirrors, and compared to the rowdy minions, the Bull King’s presence was overwhelming.

Passing through the pine shade, the view suddenly opened up. The Bull Demon King, dressed to impress, grinned broadly and called out in a booming voice, “My beauty, Old Ox has come to see you!”

At the entrance of Cloud-Touching Cave, the Jade Faced Princess flushed with anger, wishing she could run the shameless old ox through with her sword. “Bull Demon King, how dare you show your face here?”

The Bull Demon King scratched his head and replied in a thick, guileless voice, “What are you saying, my beauty? Before your father passed, he entrusted you to me. Old Ox can’t go back on his word.”

He and the Ten Thousand Fox King had some history. Thunderclap Mountain and Emerald Cloud Mountain were only a thousand miles apart—a mere few steps for beings like them. They were practically neighbors and would exchange a few words whenever they met.

The old fox king’s cultivation was profound, and the wealth he had amassed over the years was beyond counting. Who would have thought he’d pass away so suddenly?

Such a vast estate on Thunderclap Mountain couldn’t be held by just the delicate princess and the still-growing young prince. It needed a powerful master to manage it properly.

These days, being a demon king isn’t easy—everything costs money. Not all demons are as capable as the Ten Thousand Year Fox King in amassing such wealth, so most mountains barely scrape by.

When he learned that the old Fox King had failed his tribulation, he had already made up his mind—to sacrifice himself and come to Thunderclap Mountain to take care of these helpless siblings. All he asked was for them to send gold, silver, and money to Emerald Cloud Mountain every year for his wife and children to spend.  

He, the Bull Demon King, was known as the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Once a mighty demon who had fought against the heavenly soldiers, establishing himself at Thunderclap Mountain was nothing to him.  

At first, he thought it would be simple. As long as he married this stunningly beautiful jade-faced beauty, the vast Thunderclap Mountain would naturally fall into his hands. Never did he expect the siblings to be so stubborn. Upon learning that he, the old bull, already had a family in Emerald Cloud Mountain, they outright refused to let him in.  

So what if he had been married before? He wouldn’t mistreat the siblings!  

Fu Li stormed out, murderous intent blazing in his eyes. The sight of that bull’s head only fueled his anger. “Old bull, don’t push your luck! You’ve got a wife and kids, yet you still come here to be a live-in son-in-law? Push me too far, and this fox will strike you dead with a bolt of lightning!”  

No sooner had he spoken than the winds howled and dark clouds swirled overhead. A thunderbolt struck the Bull Demon King, leaving him charred on the outside and tender on the inside.  

Fu Li: !!!  

Holy shit!!!  

He had just been making his usual threats—he never expected actual lightning to strike! Was this the joy of having cheat-code grandpas on standby?  

Behind him, Yuan Feng poked Zu Long with a chicken wing, glancing at the Bull Demon King before asking, “Was that you?”  

“Nope, I didn’t even get a chance to act,” Zu Long replied blankly, then nudged Shi Qilin with the tip of his tail. “Was it you?”  

Shi Qilin blinked his big, watery eyes and answered honestly, “I don’t know how to summon lightning.”  

The cheat-code grandpas stared at each other, completely baffled.  

Author’s Note: Fox cub (boastfully): Today, everyone gets to eat beef!