Chapter 41: The Father Sighs, the Son Smiles? Terrified Demonic Overlords!

“Ah?”

All the demonic overlords jolted in unison, their eyes full of shock, as if they’d just heard the most unbelievable thing in the world.

“This really was something he did casually,” Ping Wuqi nodded, completely certain.

He naturally didn’t know exactly what kind of uproar Xu Gu had caused outside, but inside the Demon Grotto he had arranged several clones, and one of them just so happened to be the gatekeeper.

Whenever Huan Caiyi and the others discussed truly confidential information, they would use voice transmission.

But Xu Gu’s actions while out on his mission hadn’t been concealed at all—there was no need, and there was no way to hide them.

That was how Ping Wuqi had grasped the whole story.

“Hiss!”

Hearing Ping Wuqi’s explanation, all the demonic overlords sucked in a cold breath.

So this is the true weight of our Heaven-sent demonic boss? He just goes out on a mission, says one casual sentence, and that alone throws the whole world into turmoil?

If you said anyone else had done this, they’d never believe it. That would just be nonsense.

But if it was Xu Gu… then they had no choice but to believe it.
Especially with Ping Wuqi backing it up.

To be honest, they’d long since grown sick of those martial artists.

Lawless, arrogant, not only did they look down on demon cultivators, they also seized the grassroots base that should have belonged to them!

Because of that, they had basically no control over the lower layers of society and could only skulk around in the shadows.

But, no matter how much they hated them, so what?

Even if the entire Demon Path—all demon cultivators combined—rushed out at once, they still couldn’t do anything about those martial artists.

First, the martial artists weren’t that strong individually, but they were everywhere—like stars in the sky, spread throughout countless corners of the land. Hitting them did hardly any real damage.

Second, martial artists exploited loopholes in the law and were treated leniently by the legal code, while demon cultivators were heavily suppressed by the righteous path and the imperial government—stick your head out and you’re smacked flat.

You could say that something all demon cultivators together, including these great demonic overlords, still couldn’t achieve…

…had just been effortlessly solved by Xu Gu.

And on top of that, he’d triggered a battle between an ancient Tribulation-Crossing body cultivator and the righteous path’s Tribulation-Crossing experts.

No matter how they thought about it, it was all terrifyingly monstrous.

“Inconceivable. He stirs up chaos across the world with just a few words… that’s too freakish.”

“Terrifying, absolutely terrifying.”

“His talent might be a mediocre three spiritual roots, but that mind of his is like a demon, a ghost peering down upon the board.”

“No wonder Heaven’s mandate says the Demon Path will rise. With Xu the demonic prodigy around, making the Demon Path flourish really doesn’t sound that hard.”

At this moment, they all felt like the Demon Path’s underlying strength was terrifyingly deep—

Even if that entire foundation was being carried by one person.

“But speaking of him… what mission did he go out to do?”

The demonic overlords slowly came out of their shock, the joy still lingering on their faces, and someone asked curiously.

“Not good!”

Elder Chihu and Elder Lanyan’s expressions both changed drastically, their hearts filled with dread.

Before this, although they knew Xu Gu had performed monstrously well in the illusion trial, he hadn’t shown much in reality, so they honestly hadn’t felt much awe toward him.

Now, after seeing just how terrifying he truly was, they immediately lost their nerve.

They’d handed that near-impossible mission to him—
would he think they’d done it on purpose to make things hard for him?

Would he come back and settle the score later?

Just the thought made their faces look like they were attending their own funerals.

They were doomed. They’d offended a future Demon Emperor.
There could be no good end to that.

“How about we just go all the way and…”

Elder Chihu and Elder Lanyan met each other’s eyes, vicious light flashing in both their gazes as they transmitted their voices.

The next moment, the two of them started laughing together, like they’d just found a soulmate.

“Reincarnate by self-dissolution.”

Once again, they showed frightening tacit understanding.

Offending Xu Gu meant there was only one path—death.

Even if they struck first while he was still weak, the other demonic overlords would only kill them first, and in the future they were bound to be purged anyway.

So they might as well be sensible, self-dissolve, give up their cultivation, seize the body of some ordinary cultivator, and run as far as they could.

Ping Wuqi’s mouth twitched.

Faced with the other elders’ questions, he truly didn’t know how to phrase it; in the end, he could only answer honestly:

“Senior Brother ordered Elder Lanyan and Elder Chihu to build a Pill Refining Peak. But they didn’t have enough alchemists, so the two elders handed the task off to Xu Gu—told him to go and get some pill refiners.”

“Swish!”

In an instant, countless demonic overlords turned their gazes like sharp blades on Elder Lanyan and Elder Chihu.

Their eyes stabbed straight through, making it hard for the two elders to breathe; both of them trembled, nearly crying out for mercy.

The demonic overlords really had killing intent now.

Giving that kind of mission to Xu Gu?

Wasn’t that just making things hard for him?

What if something happened to Xu Gu—would the Demon Path still rise?

And what if he held a grudge against them, hating everyone by association?

Wouldn’t they all be finished?

Fortunately, Ping Wuqi spoke up in time, his expression turning even more complicated.

“He seems to have completed the task. It’s just that… the way he completed it is a little… strange.”

He honestly didn’t know how to describe Xu Gu’s approach.

“Strange? That’s your choice of words?”

“Out with it already—no more suspense.”

“Either it worked or it didn’t. There’s nothing to hide. This wasn’t something a human could complete in the first place.”

Under all the questioning, Ping Wuqi recounted in full what he had personally seen at the Demon Grotto’s gate.

“Hiss!”

“Using head chefs instead of alchemists?”

“So that’s what you mean by ‘a little strange’…”

“This is… hiss…”

The demonic overlords all froze on the spot, brows furrowed, faces serious, each of them wearing an expression of wanting to speak but not knowing what to say.

Their instincts screamed: Isn’t this just nonsense?

But… it was Xu Gu’s idea.

They really didn’t have the guts to refute it.

Honestly, after seeing his last few moves with their own eyes, they were completely convinced.

At this point, if Xu Gu pointed at a pile of dog crap by the roadside and said, “Eat that, and your cultivation will soar,” they’d probably swallow it down without hesitation.

Compared to that, asking chefs to refine pills… seemed even more outlandish.

“We’ll only know if it works by trying. If it doesn’t, those chefs he brought back can just stay in the Demon Grotto to cook. We can upgrade the food for the brothers.”

Ping Wuqi said, addressing the group.

Senior Brother Han Changsheng was out hiding from debt.
Second Brother had always been wandering outside.

Right now, among the true disciples in the Demon Grotto, only Ping Wuqi was present, so his words carried the most weight.

In this situation, it naturally fell to him to steer the ship.

“That makes sense.”

The demonic overlords all nodded.

Whether it’s a mule or a horse, just take it out for a run and see.

…

“Looks like it’s over.”

“Boring.”

“I thought he could at least last ten breaths.”

“Totally wasted my feelings.”

The five righteous-path infiltrators, who had moved little stools to the gate to eat melon seeds and watch the show, all wore blank expressions like they’d just swallowed flies.

It was like they’d been hyped up for some epic blockbuster movie, only to have it end the moment they sat down.

Anyone would be speechless.

Xu Gu: “…”

No wonder none of these “lights of the righteous path” had panicked at all.

So in their eyes, that ancient Tribulation-Crossing body cultivator was nothing from the very start?

They’d already known he’d be crushed effortlessly?

How is the Demon Path supposed to rise in this kind of world? The righteous path is this strong.

Thinking of this, Xu Gu’s lips curled slightly, his gaze heating up, pure and bright.

It’s a good thing I came.

“What trash. He didn’t even manage to land one punch on my dad…”

In the chorus of disappointed voices, one particularly harsh sigh rang out.

The speaker was, of course, Zhao Jingang.

Xu Gu raised an eyebrow, giving Zhao Jingang a strange look.

What kind of reaction is that supposed to be?

Did you really want to watch your own father get beaten up? Is this what you call a filial son?

Huan Caiyi laughed and explained:

“The Zhao clan has a rule. If a child wants to be recognized as an adult, they have to defeat their own father. Uncle Zhao only became recognized as an adult after he defeated his father.

“Just now, Zhao Jingang was hoping that ancient body cultivator would force Uncle Zhao to use his full strength, maybe reveal one or two trump cards, so he’d have more to work with when he fights Uncle Zhao in the future. But in the end there was nothing.

“At the rate Uncle Zhao is going, I’m afraid it’ll take one or two thousand years before Zhao Jingang can come of age.”

With that, Huan Caiyi couldn’t help but laugh.

The others—Li Shaobai and the rest—also let out the kind of laughter you could only hear from close friends who enjoyed roasting each other.

For a scion of a great clan, the rules were strict.

As long as they weren’t recognized as adults, what they could do was heavily restricted.

Zhao Jingang’s face twisted with grievance.

His chest felt stuffed and uncomfortable.

Xu Gu listened, glanced in the direction where Zhao Futu had just revealed his divine might, then looked back at Zhao Jingang with a sympathetic expression.

Under normal circumstances, with Zhao Jingang’s Heaven spiritual root and the full support of the Zhao clan and King Kong Sect, surpassing Zhao Futu would mostly be a matter of time.

But with Xu Gu the “mediocre man” on that mountain… there might never be a chance.

For a moment, Xu Gu actually felt like consoling him.

Just then, the gatekeeping disciple stepped forward.

“Senior brothers, please head to Pill Refining Peak. Senior Brother Wuqi requests your presence.”

Clearly, Ping Wuqi and the demonic overlords were already impatient.

They couldn’t wait to see just how spectacular “chefs refining pills” was going to be.

(End of this Chapter)