Wait a minute, where is my master?

"That's truly a pity,"

the centipede muttered, counting its own legs and responding in a rather ingratiating tone.

It knew all too well the groundhog elf's nature of boasting.

Just the last outing, when the Demon King took this rat out for a raid, they merely slaughtered a single village of about a hundred people. Yet, on returning, it spoke of corpses strewn everywhere and rivers of blood and as if they had conquered Qingmu City.

Also, the time before that, when the Demon King went out to hunt for fresh blood and they encountered a Loose Cultivator from the Golden Core Realm, whom they killed casually. The rat spun the fight to sound as if it rivaled the grand celestial-demon war a thousand years ago.

And the time before that...

Nonetheless, though all the lesser demons in the cave knew of the rat's tendency to exaggerate, none would call it out, and some would still flatter it a bit. After all, it was said that the true form of their Demon King in the cave was also that of a Rat Elf.

They really could be of the same kind.

Otherwise, why would the Demon King always bring it along?

"Hmph, once this banquet is over, I'll surely go back and avenge that sneak attack!"

The groundhog elf waved its steel fork back and forth in front of the den, making a raucous fuss.

"Shh, we've got guests arriving upstairs,"

the centipede, interrupted halfway through its counting, sensed something and looked up to warn.

Upon hearing this, the groundhog immediately returned to its post. Though it was boastful, it still took seriously the Demon King's orders to receive the guests properly.

Besides, handling this well might even bring some extra perks.

At the entrance of the cave, the two little demons felt a chill in the air, which caused the torches mounted on the cave walls to flicker.

Sounds echoed in the tunnel hundreds of meters long.

"I bet a Low Grade Spirit Stone that our guest is a terrestrial demon, dare you take that bet?"

the groundhog elf whispered to its companion.

The centipede rolled its eyes and cursed the rat's greed in its heart.

It knew that among the Demon King's acquaintances from nearby, nine out of ten were terrestrial demons; its companion was clearly looking for an easy way to win some Spirit Stones.

But even though it knew the rat was up to no good, the centipede didn't dare to outright refuse and could only resignedly whisper back, "Then I will bet the guest is not a terrestrial demon."

The two demons quietly finalized their wager and fell silent. They both widened their eyes, focusing on the turn in the tunnel, eager to see who would win this bet.

The sound echoed through the cave, coming closer to the turn, and the eyes of the two demons grew wider as the sound approached.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Two figures, at the same moment, rounded the corner.

Upon seeing the two, a flash of disappointment crossed the groundhog elf's eyes, but then its pupils shifted as if it had thought up a new scheme to swindle some Spirit Stones.

The centipede, upon seeing the figures at the corner, breathed a sigh of relief, knowing it wouldn't have to lose that Low Grade Spirit Stone just yet.

The reactions of the two demons were so different simply because the two guests who had walked down the passage had transformed into human shapes.

Being mere gatekeeper demons, they couldn't very well greet their guests and then ask,

"Pardon me, just checking if your true form is terrestrial or celestial."

If the two demons dared to do this for the sake of their bet, they would definitely be dealt with on the spot by the visiting Demon Kings.

"On the orders of the Demon King, I, Shuli, am here to welcome our honored guests. May I kindly ask the two Demon Kings to present your invitation?"

The Groundhog Elf waited for the two Shape-shifting Demons to approach closely, then gripping a steel fork in a proper manner, stepped forward to greet them.

"Is this it?"

The taller woman among them, her face marked with a half-black pattern, took out a badge of indeterminate material from her chest and threw it to the small demon in front of her.

The Groundhog Elf took the badge, gave it a brief inspection, and after confirming its authenticity, turned to the shorter Shape-shifting Demon with grey short hair and said, "Esteemed guest, please present your invitation as well."

Their Demon King was hosting this banquet not merely for fun and games but also to prepare for discussing significant matters; hence, an inspection was essential.

The Demon King had specifically emphasized this when assigning it the duty of guarding the entrance.

"I'm with her," said Little White, carrying the frozen Jin Xu and pointing at the woman with the black face mark.

The Groundhog Elf looked towards the taller woman momentarily, hesitated, pretending to be in a bind, and said, "Esteemed guest, it's not that I can't accommodate. It's just that our Demon King decreed that one invitation permits entry for only one individual. As a member of the Demon King's own clan, I must respect his command, so this..."

Meanwhile, the Centipede Demon was shocked, thinking how this rat was risking its life for money, blatantly misrepresenting the Demon King's orders.

Where did their Demon King ever make such a rule!

The woman with the black mark on her face, upon hearing this, wasn't irritated. She smiled slightly, swiped her chest with her delicate hand, and discreetly handed two Low Grade Spirit Stones to the small demon before her.

"This young friend of mine has long admired King Mao's renown and wishes to broaden his experience at this grand gathering, so I hope little brother mouse can make some exceptions."

"Oh, how could I accept this… However, since your friend came out of admiration, I don't wish to dampen his spirits. After all, all of us in the Demon Clan are one big family, and if I were to prevent your entry today, outsiders would surely criticize that the small demons of Ten Bamboo Cave are exploiting the fact that our Demon King belongs to the top tier of the Nascent Soul Realm to behave arrogantly."

Having received the money, the Groundhog Elf's attitude changed instantly, but he still subtly emphasized the greatness of their Demon King in his speech.

The woman merely smiled and said nothing, preparing to enter the cave with Little White.

However, the little demon made another fuss.

"May I ask, this thing you're carrying…"

The Groundhog Elf pretended to hesitate and looked at the frozen Taoist on Little White's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm quite picky with food, so I always bring my own ingredients when I step out," said Little White nonchalantly.

"Oh, this…"

Just as it was about to excuse itself, the woman with the black mark threw two more Low Grade Spirit Stones.

Seeing this, the Groundhog Elf, with utmost respect, invited both women and the ice sculpture inside the Ten Bamboo Cave.

...

Once the three had entered the cave, a servile small demon naturally acted as a guide to lead them towards the main cavern of the banquet.

On the way, Jin Xu, lying on Little White's shoulder, transmitted his thoughts to the black-marked woman.

"Thank you for earlier, Miss Zhuzhu."

"Pfff, King Yan is easy to meet, but little devils are troublesome. That was nothing compared to what you have to do, Mr. Taoist. Besides, it was just a few Low Grade Spirit Stones. If you manage to eradicate the demons in Ten Bamboo Cave tonight, I'd be willing to spend thousands, even millions more Low Grade Spirit Stones gladly," the Transformed Demoness named Zhuzhu responded telepathically.

Her expression remained calm, but her heart was a mix of excitement and unease.

As a beautiful and kind Spider Demon, she had suffered harassment from the Demon King of Ten Bamboo Cave since her transformation. Had she not fortuitously encountered Taoist Jin Xu tonight, she had been considering moving to the territory of Great Xia.

A quarter of an hour earlier...