Chapter Ninety: The Unusual Behavior of Green Sandalwood

For days after the eagle demon obtained the jade pendant and the sphere of demonic power, he left early and returned late. Even at night, he deliberately wandered toward the most desolate areas.

A full week passed like that, and nothing happened.

More and more of the demons in Devouring Heaven City even began praising the eagle demon for his diligence and sense of duty.

He was making quite a name for himself in Devouring Heaven City.

And yet the eagle demon still felt that dangerous presence every day.

Strangely enough, whenever he went alone to roam those lonely places, that dangerous presence would actually weaken.

He could not make sense of it no matter how hard he tried.

Jun Yang was growing nearly sick of staying in the demon realm, and he missed Heavenly Pepper Blossoms terribly.

But roasting Heavenly Pepper Blossoms would make his identity too easy to expose, so he could only endure it.

“Little ancestor, is this eagle demon really reliable? Why has that Hong Chen still not made a move?”

With his chin propped in his hand, You Xiyue gazed out at the various demons beyond the window.

He answered faintly, “One must understand the prey well enough before making a move.”

Jun Yang recalled the eagle demon’s every action. He was the simplest demon imaginable; what else was there to understand?

“That eagle demon keeps such a fixed routine every day. Even if I didn’t watch him, I could still tell what he was doing. What more is there for that Hong Chen to figure out? Isn’t he being far too cautious?”

“Caution is exactly right.”

Jun Yang cast a puzzled glance at You Xiyue. Why did that sound almost like praise for Hong Chen?

You Xiyue had his own thoughts and could not be bothered to explain them to Jun Yang.

Besides, they had never set up any protective formation, so it was entirely possible that Hong Chen had already sensed their presence.

One could never be too careful of prying ears.

After all, in the demon realm there were some demons whose hearing, smell, and even sight were innate abilities, needing no cultivation at all to reach such levels. These were not things an ordinary cultivator could easily guard against.

Such natural gifts could not be detected through divine sense.

As for someone like Jun Yang, whose acting was less than convincing, it was better to let him keep guessing.

During that time, Greenwood Altar came twice, but each visit lasted only a few minutes before he left again.

This was because two suspicious demons had indeed been discovered around him.

As for whether they were connected to Hong Chen, that still required further observation and confirmation.

So every visit was hurried.

Jun Yang looked miserably at the wine and food before him. Although meals laced with demonic energy were not a problem if eaten a few times, what if he had to eat them for a whole month?

Lately he had even begun to feel a little unwell in his stomach, and he could not tell whether it was real or only in his head.

Just as he was hesitating over whether to eat, or simply begin fasting instead, there came a knock at their door.

Jun Yang went to answer it in confusion, only to find that it was Greenwood Altar.

In the past, Greenwood Altar would usually knock once and then push straight in. Today, however, he was unexpectedly courteous.

“Why are you here?”

Jun Yang let him in, and the first thing he noticed was the wine jar in Greenwood Altar’s hands.

“This is?” Jun Yang rubbed his hands together hopefully. “For me and the little ancestor?”

Greenwood Altar smiled and handed it over.

“This is Snow Immortal Intoxication. It was personally brewed by my master.”

Jun Yang took the wine, and then heard Greenwood Altar add, “It contains some spiritual energy. Drink it with confidence; the demons outside will not detect it.”

“Really?” Jun Yang asked excitedly, pouring himself a cup at once and swallowing it in one gulp.

The flavor was not as refined as those fine vintage wines, but after drinking demon tea for so long, it now tasted heavenly.

“Not bad at all.” Jun Yang happily took another cup, then turned to ask You Xiyue, “Little ancestor, do you want some?”

Before You Xiyue could answer, Greenwood Altar said, “My master instructed me that the higher one’s cultivation, the easier it is to become drunk. Senior should not overindulge.”

Those words were actually directed at You Xiyue, who had not yet taken even a single sip.

You Xiyue pressed his lips together and looked at Greenwood Altar, his gaze deepening.

Greenwood Altar, for his part, met that gaze openly and without flinching.

“I understand.” You Xiyue withdrew his eyes and cast an unhappy glance at the wine.

Greenwood Altar nodded in satisfaction, then said to Jun Yang, “Then please enjoy the wine, Senior. I shall take my leave for now; there are still matters I need to prepare.”

At this point, Jun Yang had no care left for what Greenwood Altar was doing and waved him off absently.

“Go on, go on.”

Greenwood Altar turned to leave. Just as he was about to close the door, Jun Yang suddenly called out, “Remember to bring another jar next time.”

The door shut at once, and Greenwood Altar gave no reply.

After reaching the inn below, Greenwood Altar glanced up toward Jun Yang and You Xiyue’s room, then turned and departed.

...

After eating and drinking his fill, Jun Yang leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

He was still muttering, “Little ancestor, are you really not going to try that wine? The more you drink it, the better it tastes.”

You Xiyue ignored him and sat nearby in a daze.

Jun Yang did not feel awkward at all and went on, “Still, the taste of this wine feels oddly familiar to me.”

Only then did You Xiyue shift his gaze and look at Jun Yang.

Just as Jun Yang was about to continue, he suddenly sensed that the eagle demon was coming up from downstairs.

“How strange. Why did they both come today?”

In the past, Greenwood Altar and the eagle demon had never come on the same day.

The eagle demon had not even knocked yet when Jun Yang opened the door in advance.

“You came too?”

“Too?” the eagle demon asked curiously. “The Demon King Greenwood came by as well?”

Jun Yang nodded. “Mm, he just left.”

The eagle demon slipped quickly into the room. “My lords, I think tonight is the night.”

Jun Yang raised a puzzled brow. “How can you be so sure it’s tonight?”

The eagle demon said mysteriously, “Because the gaze that had been fixed on me suddenly disappeared. I think that means he has already chosen his moment and gone to prepare.”

“That does make some sense.” Jun Yang nodded in agreement, then sized up the eagle demon. “Have you brought everything with you?”

“Yes.”

The eagle demon patted the bulging part of his belt. “Your jade pendant and the demonic power sphere from Immortal Beast Scholar Xu are both here.”

“Good. Be careful then.” Jun Yang gave the eagle demon’s shoulder a pat, as though entrusting him with a grave mission. “Try to stay alive if you can.”

The eagle demon looked a little offended and retorted, “I will definitely live.”

“Mm.” This time it was You Xiyue who answered.

Delighted, the eagle demon bowed to the two of them, then went back out to patrol.

Though nervous, he was also inexplicably excited.

Night fell very quickly, and tonight was indeed eerily quiet, as though foreshadowing that something was about to happen.

The eagle demon had patrolled Devouring Heaven City all day and was just preparing to return to Greenwood Altar’s cave dwelling to rest.

Before he even reached the entrance, however, terror surged through him so violently that his legs began to tremble.

He realized instantly that something was terribly wrong. Hastily, he drew the jade pendant from his waist and crushed it with all his strength.

Then he forced himself forward into the cave dwelling.

The farther he went, the less his legs obeyed him.

In the end, he had no choice but to crawl forward inch by inch.

Along the way, he encountered many lesser demons, all cowering in the corners. Even one of the demon lords was in the same state.

The eagle demon knew his own power was pitifully weak and that he could barely move another step, yet he still wanted to inch forward a little more.

He never would have imagined that the vile demon-devouring fiend’s target was not him at all, but Greenwood Altar!