Catching Monsters

Chapter 397 The Prelude to the Awakening of the Demon Saint

Within the demon kingdom, there are vast forests everywhere, like primeval forests. The trees are so large that it takes four or five people to encircle them, and the tallest ones even reach into the clouds.

At this moment, in the sky, an enormous goose-like bird spread its wings and glided extremely far with a single flap of its arm.

With its wingspan extended, it was nearly fifteen meters long, and its body was enormous.

A wooden platform was also tied to the back of the demon bird, and Jiang Yun, Linglong, Wei Li, and Yan Jiu, who was still unconscious, were on top of it.

Sitting on it, Jiang Yun looked at the wild goose demon bird and couldn't help but exclaim, "This is really a wonderful thing... If we had this, it would be so much more convenient to go anywhere."

"Buy one to take back to Zhou?"

Wei Li, sitting next to Jiang Yun, shook his head, chuckled, and explained, "Brother Jiang, he's just an entertainer, not a prostitute..."

"These are people from the Feather Clan. They're responsible for carrying us to Dragon Crystal City. They charge two Rank 8 Demon Cores per trip."

"Payment per visit".

"Unless you can subdue a stray demon bird yourself."

"But it is quite rare for a demon bird to grow to such a large size, and the Feathered Clan would not allow a human to leave with a demon bird."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun immediately felt a pang of regret.

This is what he wanted most since he came into this world...

Riding a horse sounds incredibly dashing, but sitting for too long can cause calluses to form on the inner thighs.

We still need to find something that can fly to get around.

At this moment, looking around from above the wild goose demon bird, the island was truly vast and boundless.

Even in the sky, it is like land, with the sea stretching to the horizon.

The wild goose demon bird flew for nearly half a day, and as dusk approached, a towering mountain range appeared in the distance.

The mountain range stretches as far as the eye can see, with its highest peaks piercing the clouds. And below the mountain range, from a distance, one can see many houses clustered together.

We've arrived at Dragon Crystal City.

The goose-like bird let out a strange cry and then swooped down.

Jiang Yun gripped the handrail next to the platform with her right hand, while her left hand held tightly to the unconscious Yan Jiu.

"That's really big."

Looking down at the massive Dragon Crystal City, Jiang Yun was also somewhat surprised.

While its scale is far from comparable to that of the capital, it is roughly the same size as that of Nanzhou Prefecture.

The wild goose demon bird flapped its wings and slowly landed in front of the gate of Dragon Crystal City.

The walls of Dragon Crystal City are three zhang high, and there are soldiers in red armor guarding the city gates.

After Jiang Yun and the others jumped off the wild goose demon bird, Wei Li casually tossed out two rank 8 demon cores. The wild goose demon bird caught the two demon cores in its beak, then flapped its wings and flew upwards.

"Let's go." Wei Li was clearly not a first-timer to Dragon Crystal City. Jiang Yun carried the unconscious Yan Jiu on his back and walked towards the city gate with Linglong.

As they approached the city gate, Jiang Yun asked curiously in a low voice, "Are the soldiers guarding the city gate also dragons?"

Wei Li shook his head and explained to Jiang Yun in a low voice, "The number of dragons is extremely small, unlike the monsters of our other races."

"These monsters are just attaching themselves to the dragon clan and living off their power."

As they approached the city gate, two monsters at the entrance blocked their way. Wei Li showed his identity as a member of the Tiger Clan and indicated that Jiang Yun and the others were his slaves before quickly letting them pass into Dragon Crystal City.

It is obvious that although Wei Li's strength is not high, his bloodline should be considered relatively high among the tiger clan.

Once they actually entered Dragon Crystal City, Jiang Yun and Linglong were truly amazed.

Grand mansions, towers, and temples—if it weren't for the dense demonic aura permeating the entire city, and the many monsters on the streets who hadn't fully transformed into humans, the city would be a sight to behold.

Jiang Yun and Linglong probably still think they've arrived in some unfamiliar county town in the Zhou Kingdom.

Linglong opened her eyes wide and said curiously, "This place is really beyond my expectations..."

Wei Li smiled and explained to the two of them, "Most of us demons who can cultivate into human form will transform into humans and yearn for the human way of life."

"Moreover, in this Dragon Crystal City, the number of humans far exceeds the number of monsters."

"Most of these houses were also built by your skilled craftsmen."

Jiang Yun nodded slightly, understanding now. No wonder the Demon Kingdom needed so many humans to be slaves.

Although monsters can also transform into humans and do these hard, dirty, and tiring jobs.

But they painstakingly cultivated themselves into demons just to do these dirty and tiring jobs?
Soon, Wei Li led the two of them onto the streets of Dragon Crystal City.

However, even though Jiang Yun, Linglong, and Yan Jiu all possessed a distinctly human aura.

There were no monsters paying any special attention to the two of them here.

After all, there were quite a few humans on the streets, and these humans all had various marks on their foreheads.

Like a black tattoo.

They displayed which demon clan's slaves they belonged to.

Occasionally, a monster would give Jiang Yun and Linglong a strange look.

Because they did not have the mark of slavery on their foreheads.

However, they were clearly following behind Wei Li.

Wei Li possessed a strong demonic aura, which he did not conceal along the way, radiating it without restraint.

This is also a tradition of the demon race in the demon kingdom.

They don't need to hide their demonic aura like thieves do in the Zhou Kingdom or the human world.

Instead, it openly and generously releases its demonic aura, letting the other demons around it know that it is not to be trifled with.

Looking into the distance, Jiang Yun could vaguely see a cluster of white palaces at the very front of Dragon Crystal City, near the mountains. The palaces stretched out in a continuous line, exuding a powerful demonic aura.

“That’s the Dragon Palace,” Wei Li, who was leading the way, said in a low voice. “The dragons mostly live there. It’s getting late today, so I’ll take you there to visit them early tomorrow morning to see if we can get Ao Yu to appear.”

Jiang Yun nodded slightly and asked curiously, "Is Dragon Saint also in there?"

Upon hearing the words "Dragon Saint," Wei Li's expression changed slightly. He coughed and said awkwardly, "This is not something I could possibly know." Soon, Wei Li led the two to a restaurant with a rather poetic name.

Tengyang Pavilion.

"This is a restaurant opened by our Tiger Clan." Wei Li smiled and pointed to the signboard. "I also came up with the name. What do you think? Not bad, right?"

Inside, the decorations were quite luxurious, and the busy staff were mostly tiger slaves. Only the manager was a tiger demon who had not yet fully transformed.

This tiger demon, with a tiger's head and a human body, was dozing off against the counter.

Wei Li tapped on the counter with some dissatisfaction.

"Oh, Uncle Wei Li, you've arrived." The tiger demon's eyes lit up.

Then his gaze fell on Jiang Yun and the other humans: "Lord Wei, are you sending me a few more slaves?"

"How dare you! This is my honored guest. Don't spout nonsense." Wei Li glared at the man. "Arrange four excellent rooms for my honored guest."

Upon hearing this, the tiger demon looked at the human in front of him with some surprise. A human whom Lord Wei would call an honored guest?

I've never seen this before in my life.

He hurriedly followed the instructions and respectfully invited the group upstairs.

Jiang Yun, Linglong, and Wei Li's rooms were all next to each other. Jiang Yun put Yan Jiu on the bed in the room and let her rest.

Wei Li then came to the door, mysteriously holding some tea leaves: "Have some tea..."

The demon kingdom is filled with demonic energy, making it unsuitable for many crops to grow, such as tea.

Therefore, these teas were basically obtained by exchanging gold and silver from the Demon Kingdom for sea salt city, making them quite precious.

After making Jiang Yun a cup of tea, Wei Li said, "I have already sent someone to the Dragon Palace to inform the Dragon Clan that you know Ao Yu. If Ao Yu is in Dragon Crystal City, you should be able to see him tomorrow."

Jiang Yun nodded slightly, and began to ponder in his heart whether the Night Pearl and the Holy Dragon Saliva were important enough to the Dragon Clan, and whether he could obtain them through Ao Yu.

According to Jiang Yun's plan, it would be best if Ao Yu could help resolve the issue.

If that doesn't work...

The only option is to find a way to steal the Holy Dragon Saliva and the Night Pearl.

Of course, this is also a poor choice.

Wei Li, of course, had no idea what Jiang Yun was thinking. After brewing the tea, he happily invited Jiang Yun to drink it.

Just then, Yan Jiu, who was lying on the bed, suddenly let out a soft groan and slowly woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, a demonic light flickered in his pupils, with more than a dozen strange colors swirling within them.

Upon seeing this, Wei Li's expression changed slightly. He quickly stepped forward to carefully observe Yan Jiu's condition, gasped, and couldn't help but say, "This kid, what's wrong with him...?"

"Demon Eyes".

Wei Li quickly grabbed Yan Jiu's wrist and examined him. His face was grave, and he said in disbelief, "This kid has completely absorbed the power of those demon cores. He's no longer half-human, half-demon..."

"But he is a pure demon."

Jiang Yun looked puzzled and asked, "What's the difference between a half-human, half-demon and a demon?"

“Of course they’re different.” Wei Li nodded, took a deep breath, and slowly said, “Half-human, half-demon, that can only be considered a hybrid, just a human that has been corrupted by demonic energy and turned into a demon.”

"The legendary demons are generally the product of the union of humans and demons."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun frowned and asked, "Can a human and a demon conceive?"

“Of course it’s impossible.” Wei Li shook his head and said in a deep voice, “Even the ape demon, which is most similar to humans, cannot do such a thing when it mates with a human.”

Jiang Yun was not surprised by this, after all, reproductive isolation was a joke.
Their genes are completely different, so of course they can't have a child together.

But looking at Wei Li's shocked expression, Jiang Yun realized there was more to the story.

"Brother Jiang, can I have this child?" Wei Li's eyes burned with desire, his gaze filled with greed.

Jiang Yun frowned slightly and shook his head: "Brother Wei, why are you suddenly so interested in him?"

Wei Li took a deep breath and slowly said, "In our demon kingdom, there has always been a prophetic proverb..."

"Demons with demonic eyes appear in the world, and blood rains down in Dragon Crystal City. The Demon Island mountain range is suddenly cracked, and the Four Saints will awaken and disrupt the universe."

"But in all these years, no purebred demon has ever appeared."

"He has already fulfilled the first proverb," ​​Wei Li said excitedly. "This is a sign that the Demon Saint is about to awaken!"

"Perhaps this kid is even closely related to the awakening of the Demon Saint!"

"We must send him back to our Tiger Clan!"

"Perhaps if we sacrifice this kid, our tiger clan's ancestor can be awakened!"

Upon hearing Wei Li's words, Yan Jiu, who was lying on the bed, changed his expression slightly and cautiously moved back a little.

"Brother Jiang, keep an eye on him. I'll find someone to take him away right away!" Wei Li hurriedly turned and walked out.

Jiang Yun stared at Yan Jiu, then slowly sat down at the table, took a sip of his tea, and asked, "Kid, you heard what Wei Li said just now..."

"I don't want to be sacrificed, I don't want to die." Yan Jiu looked timidly at Jiang Yun.

“I’m here on business. As Wei Li said, if you stay, you might cause me a lot of trouble, and I can no longer protect your life.” With that, Jiang Yun stepped forward and opened the window: “If you can escape, it’s your own good fortune.”

Yan Jiu was slightly taken aback, not expecting Jiang Yun to let him go, even though Jiang Yun seemed to be in cahoots with Wei Li.

"Mr. Jiang, if I run away, wouldn't that cause you trouble?" Yan Jiu asked in a deep voice.

"Given my personality, if you don't run away, you'll cause me trouble," Jiang Yun said calmly. "Let's go. If you get caught again, I won't help you."

Yan Jiu took a deep breath and looked at Jiang Yun gratefully: "Mr. Jiang, I, Yan Jiu, will never forget your kindness."

After saying that, he gave Jiang Yun a deep look, then leaped up, jumped out of the window, and disappeared without a trace.

Jiang Yun stared at the empty window, lost in thought.

Soon, the door was pushed open again, and Wei Li led a group of tiger demons from the shop into the room.

(End of this chapter)