Having dealt with Wang Sihai, Feng Zikang's expression soured. "Tomorrow we fight again, and I will surely put them to the sword!"

Grand Tutor Pang was startled. "General, you are the commander. To recklessly expose yourself to danger, I fear—"

"It is nothing!" Feng Zikang waved him off. "I will ascertain their true strength before making a move!"

Those four rested very early last night, leaving Feng Zikang unable to uncover their secrets. Now, having won the first battle today, their arrogance was already showing; perhaps tonight offered an opportunity.

Mourning Wang Sihai, a few who knew him well wept for a time. But life and death are uncertain, especially amidst this great cosmic calamity. Even cultivators could not guarantee their survival.

Even the Heavenly Emperor, who lived for forty-eight thousand years, could meet his demise. For those who seek the Dao of Longevity, there are countless trials and tribulations; one careless step, and life is forfeit.

Feng Zikang could not help but sigh. Just a few days ago, Wang Sihai had been drinking heartily with him. Now, he was nothing more than a cold corpse. Such is the impermanence of worldly affairs.

His funeral rites would be managed by his sect brethren. Though the army offered compensation, for Daoists, such things were merely external possessions. No one paid them any mind.

When the sky finally darkened, Feng Zikang returned to his resting place and directed his Formless Heavenly Demon avatar to infiltrate the demon army's camp.

Indeed, the demon camp was celebrating their victory.

The demon camps operated independently, vastly different from human armies; they had no single commander for the entire force. This made them a scattered rabble in battle, yet their individual ferocity allowed them to contend with the elite troops led by Grand Tutor Pang.

So, upon arrival, the four demons naturally assumed leadership over their respective tribal units. They were feasting in the camp now, with no other demons joining them.

Feng Zikang’s Formless Heavenly Demon avatar stealthily positioned itself in the camp, quietly listening to their conversation.

"Big Brother, before coming here, Master diligently instructed us to be extremely cautious. Now it seems the lot in Ganzhou City are nothing but a bunch of incompetents. How could they possibly compare to our profound cultivation?"

The speaker was the one holding the fan. He was short in stature, with a dark mole on his face. From their earlier conversation, he was known as the Iron Fan Daoist, the fourth oldest among the four.

"Don't underestimate them," the one called Big Brother replied. He wore a lotus crown, had triangular eyes, heavy-lidded brows, and a winding, sparse beard. "Didn't Er'ge's Heart-Eating Worms suffer a great loss today because of that brat? That young fellow's swordsmanship is quite decent."

The old man who had released the gnawing insects to kill Wang Sihai was the second in their group, named Chong Er. He was masterful with the Heart-Piercing Worms. Having lost dozens to Feng Zikang’s sword that day, he was nursing the pain and looked utterly miserable, grinding his teeth upon hearing his elder brother speak.

"That brat is despicable! I must slice him into ten thousand pieces!"

The stout, dark-skinned third brother roared with laughter. "Second Brother, rest assured, my Ox-Butchering Blade is no mere trinket. You can borrow it. If you want to carve that brat a few times, just do it. We are brothers, no need to be polite!"

Feng Zikang listened for a long time and finally had a clear picture of the four's origins.

The eldest, Fang Mu, whose lotus crown held inconceivable divine powers; the second was Chong Er, skilled in using the Heart-Piercing Worms to kill invisibly; the third was named Liu Tu, who wielded the formidable Ox-Butchering Blade; and the fourth was the Iron Fan Daoist, using his Brain-Shattering Fan, whose invisible kinetic energy targeted the very marrow of the skull, making it the most sinister weapon.

These four were all disciples of the Demon King of Bugui Sea, Nan Tian Wuji.

Feng Zikang vaguely recalled hearing the name of this Demon King. He was supposedly a great demon of the Nascent Soul stage, immensely powerful. In Bugui Sea, his reputation was second only to the Spirit Transformation stage old demon, Netherworld Superior.

"His disciples..."

Feng Zikang was secretly shocked. A Nascent Soul demon was indeed cause for alarm. After all, since General Lu's passing, no one among the military scholars of Longhu Mountain had reached the Nascent Soul stage.

"Big Brother, I still don't understand. This is just a minor affair, so why are the great Demon Kings of Bugui Sea paying it such close attention? Although they refuse to set foot in the Central Plains themselves, they have dispatched their favored disciples. Including us, this makes seven or eight waves of people, right?"

Chong Er posed this question, immediately capturing Feng Zikang’s attention.

The battle in the southwest was indeed peculiar. If it were simply revenge for Netherworld Superior's disciple, the White Bone Divine Lord, the great demons would have come, exacted vengeance, and left.

Mobilizing demon armies to assault the Central Plains, yet refusing to show themselves, only sending minions and grandchildren to bog things down—it seemed their sole purpose was to prolong the Southwest conflict. What was their plan?

Feng Zikang knew that after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, cultivators gained some degree of sensitivity to the workings of heaven and earth. The demons could not possibly be unaware that the Southwest was undergoing a great tribulation of heaven and earth.

In such an era where mortal lives were as fragile as paper, sending these disciples to the front lines was mostly sending them to be cannon fodder.

"I don't understand this matter either,"

Fang Mu pondered for a long moment, slowly shaking his head. "After the four of us descended the mountain, we heard that Master had already sealed his gates, declaring a ten-year seclusion, forbidding any other disciples from leaving the mountain. I tried to inquire, and the other Demon Kings have done the same." Were they the final batch sent for revenge?

The third brother, Liu Tu, chuckled heartily. "That's fine too. We can slowly carve up those little insects without worrying about others coming to steal the merit."

Fang Mu looked puzzled. "Actually, before our main army pressed forward, the great Demon Kings had come to the Central Plains once... Our Master also visited."

"Ah?"

Hearing this secret revealed by the eldest brother, the other three, who had been focused on drinking, all pricked up their ears. "Master came here? How did we not know?"

Fang Mu shook his head repeatedly. "Even I learned of this by accident. I heard that the Five Great Demon Kings of Bugui Sea had all traveled to the Central Plains for the matter of the White Bone Divine Lord, engaging in fierce combat with the top masters of the Central Plains."

"Central Plains experts?"

Fang Mu nodded. "Reportedly, there was Mo Wu, the Grand Master of the Mohist School; Li Tiangang, the Sect Master of the Yin-Yang School; the venerable Monk Minghui of Wutai Mountain’s Pure Land Sect; and two others whose identities are unclear. In short, they were figures of similar stature. They fought Master and the others for seven days in the Southwest and returned injured."

This matter was highly secretive and had not circulated in the Central Plains cultivation world. Feng Zikang heard it for the first time and was quite amazed.

If the initial confrontation involved forces capable of such direct clashes, the current drawn-out war made even less sense.

"They fought to that extent? Why do they still need us?" Chong Er, not being a fool, sensed that something was amiss and voiced the question on Feng Zikang's behalf.

"I know!"

The fourth brother, the Iron Fan Daoist, leaned in, mysteriously showing off. "I overheard Master mentioning this matter once inadvertently. This Southwest affair is purely a smokescreen!"

"A smokescreen?" Chong Er was shocked and quickly pressed for details. "Fourth Brother, why didn't you say so earlier? What is the real matter? Hurry up and tell us."

The Iron Fan Daoist looked smug. "You wouldn't know about this. That day, Master was playing chess with that old tortoise, and I was serving tea nearby. In their idle chatter, they mentioned the Southwest conflict. Superior said the real target isn't the Southwest at all, but somewhere else."

"Somewhere else?"

The other three demons all questioned him. The Iron Fan Daoist hemmed and hawed, unable to articulate a coherent explanation. He had only caught fragmented whispers and truly did not know the core issue.

Feng Zikang, however, furrowed his brow, as if grasping something.

He had come to this camp in his avatar today merely to gauge the four demons' true abilities, but he unexpectedly uncovered such critical intelligence. Truly, the trip was worthwhile.

The four demons drank half the night away, eventually becoming heavily inebriated. Feng Zikang then retracted his Heavenly Demon avatar and smiled.

The next day, the four demons called out for battle again before the array. Grand Tutor Pang rushed to stop Feng Zikang from personally going out to meet them. Feng Zikang assured him and soared out of the city on his sword light, standing disdainfully below the walls.

"You four demons, I won't waste any more effort. All of you come at me together!"

The third brother, Liu Tu, who was laughing cheerfully and about to strike, suddenly changed expression, then burst into laughter again. "Big Brother, is he insane? He actually wants the four of us to take him on together—"

"Whoosh!"

A streak of white sword light pierced the air and struck. Liu Tu was caught unprepared. Just as he tried to dodge, the light was already at his face. He quickly jerked his head aside, and the sword light grazed past his ear, slicing off half an earlobe!

He screamed in pain. Fang Mu’s expression shifted. With a wave of his hand, the other two joined him, and the four surrounded Feng Zikang.

"Good lad! You do have some skill! Since you injured my brother today, you certainly must die!"

Fang Mu attacked with his sword. Feng Zikang feigned a few moves, while the other two attacked from the flanks. Liu Tu also scrambled up and sneakily drew his blade to hack from behind.

Feng Zikang laughed aloud. A faint golden arc surged around him, forcing them all outside the circle. The four brothers were furious and each summoned their magic treasures.

Fang Mu conjured his lotus crown, bathing heaven and earth in ten thousand rays of rosy light; Chong Er released thousands upon thousands of Heart-Eating Worms, a pitch-black mass; Liu Tu raised his Ox-Butchering Blade high, radiating killing intent; the Iron Fan Daoist menacingly lifted his Brain-Shattering Fan and swung it fiercely at Feng Zikang.

Grand Tutor Pang and the others on the city wall watched in terror, shouting warnings to be careful.

Feng Zikang laughed heartily, swept his sword light across, deliberately exposed a gap, and darted out of the encirclement. He then unleashed Nian Li Liu Xing (Yearly Flow), fleeing southward. The four demons dared not let him escape, chasing close behind with their treasures, determined to slay him.

Feng Zikang fled until he was far from the city, where no one could see them. Only then did he abruptly halt his flight.

The four demons shouted and chased, stopping confusedly when they saw him suddenly pause. Liu Tu, whose ear was half-gone, was the most enraged. He stepped forward and sneered, "Brat, have you resigned yourself to fate? Very well! This saves my brothers the extra effort. Let Old Liu give you a swift end!"

Feng Zikang swept them with cold glances and sneered. "For you to chase me all the way here means you've sought your own demise!"

He stood calm and collected, fully confident, which caused a ripple of unease in the four demons. They looked around, wondering what trump card he held, but saw no ambush.

Before them, there was truly only this young man, alone!