In the Effulgent Great World, there was a ma.s.sive mountain range that extended for tens of thousands of kilometers named Bear Mountain. Countless demons resided in this mountain, and a great demon king from the Ancient Heavenly Courts era also called it home.

On a flat piece of land, a large-built bear demon was sitting cross-legged on a boulder. In front of him were basins more than ten feet wide. In them was large amounts of meat. He grabbed the fleshy bones and chomped down on them. While doing so, he watched as bear juniors sparred among themselves on the flat piece of land.

"Your Majesty." A white bear demon rushed over.

His king was the famous Demon King Bear Mountain of the Effulgent dominion.

He entered the Green Touring Palace in ancient times, and had once been a subordinate of the sixth prince of the Ancient Heavenly Courts.

"Oh?" Demon King Bear Mountain shot a glance at the white bear demon as the white bear demon quickly went forward to whisper, "Your Majesty, I just received news that the tree demon and hawk demon from the Hawk Fiend world are dead. They were killed by a Green Touring Palace disciple, Sword Immortal Qin."

Demon King Bear Mountain"s eyes flashed with a ferociousness. "Oh, why would this junior brother of mine kill them?"

"Your Majesty, apparently on that day, the hawk demon had invited many good friends to a banquet," said the white bear demon. "There were five other great demons present when Sword Immortal Qin suddenly appeared. It appears that he had come specifically to kill the hawk demon and tree demon. He first used a kind of divine power or Dharma spell to kill the hawk demon before using his flying sword to kill the tree demon in three strikes."

"Your Majesty… This Sword Immortal Qin is also from the Effulgent dominion. He"s a disciple of the Green Touring Palace after all. How can he so casually kill the greater powers of us demons?" the white bear demon could not help but ask.

"Do a more thorough investigation. I want to know why he did it," instructed Demon King Bear Mountain.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I"ll continue investigating," the white bear demon obediently answered before taking his leave.

Demon King Bear Mountain looked at the sparring bear juniors on the flat land, but his mind was not on them.

"Qin Yun?" Demon King Bear Mountain frowned. "In the Effulgent dominion, there are more than a hundred Green Touring Palace demon disciples. He so casually killed a great demon? He didn"t even inform us. Isn"t he thinking too little of us demons?"

He was feeling somewhat irritated.

The collapse of the Ancient Heavenly Courts and the rise of humans made the daily lives of demons become increasingly difficult.

Demon King Bear Mountain had watched all of this happen helplessly. He had experienced the golden days of the demons. Back then, he was a loyal subordinate to the sixth prince of the demons. He often recalled those days, but now? Humans occupied most of the living s.p.a.ces; furthermore, they were constantly reproducing, while the demons were deteriorating to smaller and smaller numbers.

…

Great Chang world, Grand Dominance Qin Manor. Nighttime.

Qin Yun sat cross-legged with several crystals piled in front of him. His flying sword was floating in midair as it constantly extracted the essence from the crystals beneath.

"I estimate that my Intrinsic Flying Sword will break through to the superior-grade Numinous treasure level within a month." Qin Yun looked forward to it. "Although I wouldn"t dare claim that it can match the might of a Connate Numinous treasure in my hand, it should definitely have twenty to thirty percent of a Connate Numinous treasure"s strength."

Sword immortals at the peak of the Skyimmortal realm had astounding combat strength. With their Intrinsic Flying Swords, they were able to battle even mighty figures.

If they were a Golden Immortal sword immortal, they would be even more impressive! The two Golden Immortal sword immortals of the Grand Supreme sword immortal lineage had forged names for themselves, creating the reputation of destroying all Dharma with a single sword.

"Once my Intrinsic Flying Sword breaks through, I"ll seek out Nine Mountain Island Lord," thought Qin Yun.

He had the patience.

He had already waited for so many years. He could wait an additional one or two months.

"Oh?"

Qin Yun sensed something and immediately stopped the nurturing of his Intrinsic Flying Sword. With a wave of his hand, the Misty Rain Sword flew into his body.

"Whoos.h.!.+" Qin Yun waved his hand as the void beside him produced ripples, opening up to a spot in a distant s.p.a.ce. On a throne carved out from rock sat a gigantic black bear demon with a rather terrifying aura. He grinned and said, "Junior Brother Qin."

"Senior Brother Bear Mountain," said Qin Yun when he saw this. "Senior Brother Bear Mountain, is there a reason why you are suddenly looking for me?"

"I wonder if you have the time to come to Green Touring Palace for a chat. Why don"t we meet at your place?" said Demon King Bear Mountain.

"Let"s meet in an hour, in my tiny yard in Green Touring Palace," said Qin Yun.

"Alright." Demon King Bear Mountain nodded.

Following that, the void ripples closed as they severed their communication.

Qin Yun frowned slightly. "Demon King Bear Mountain? There are many demons among the Green Touring Palace disciples, making for more than a hundred demon disciples in the Effulgent dominion. However, humans are more naturally perceptive than demons. The Daoists, Buddhists, and even the Heavenly Courts have a human majority. The demons are weaker to begin with, but many of the great demons that lived during the Ancient Heavenly Courts era are very disgruntled at the present state of affairs. Demon King Bear Mountain is one of them. He has always been a protector of sorts for the many demons in the Effulgent dominion."

Now that there was less s.p.a.ce to live in, the birth of demon experts also declined.

Most of the powerful demon experts that were famous in the Three Realms were mostly great demons from ancient times.

Ever since G.o.ddess Nüwa created mankind, causing the birth and rise of humans,the general trend became that of the demons" decline!

…

Qin Yun continued nurturing his flying sword. After he was done, he activated his disciple mark and headed for Green Touring Palace.

Green Touring Palace, Qin Yun"s residence.

The moment Qin Yun appeared outside his yard, he heard a distant voice. "Junior Brother Qin."

He traced the voice and looked over to see Demon King Bear Mountain walking over.

"Senior Brother Bear Mountain," greeted Qin Yun.

As Bear Mountain looked at Qin Yun, he felt somewhat wistful. "The talent of humans far exceeds us demons indeed. It"s already difficult for us demons to gain sentience. Our cultivation speeds are also slower than humans. What a demon gains in a century of cultivation probably takes humans a mere decade. How long has this junior brother of mine cultivated? He is already able to create a brand new sword immortal lineage. His strength is probably at the seventh or eighth firmament Skyimmortal realm."

"Over all these years, I"ve seen the birth of powerful immortals and buddhas. 99% of them are humans, and there are fewer and fewer demons. We are only being propped up by a bunch of old guys," thought Bear Mountain wistfully.

"Creak."

Qin Yun pushed open the courtyard"s door and said with a smile, "Senior Brother, please come in."

The two entered the yard and, after sitting down, Bear Mountain waved his hand. An alcohol flask and alcohol cups appeared on the stone table. He personally poured the alcohol. "Come, have a taste of this Centaurea Immortal Brew. This immortal brew was obtained from the Heavenly Courts."

"Oh? A immortal brew of the Heavenly Courts?" Qin Yun looked at the clear as amber alcohol and took a tiny sip. Instantly, he felt a warmth spread through his body, feeling as though a hundred flowers had bloomed around him. "Great alcohol."

"Hahaha, I don"t even use such good alcohol back at my mountain. If I let the lesser demons under me drink this, it would only be wasting such an immortal brew," said Bear Mountain with a smile.

Qin Yun tilted his head to down the alcohol and took the initiative to pour himself more. He asked with a smile, "Senior Brother, is there a reason you"ve contacted me today?"

"Did you previously head to the Hawk Fiend world to kill that hawk demon and tree demon?" inquired Bear Mountain.

Qin Yun nodded and said, "Yes. Didn"t Master leave three rounds of tests? To pa.s.s the first round of tests, I needed to kill three Skyfiends or three beings with heinous sins. Therefore, I chose the hawk demon and tree demon."

"I see. The hawk demon and tree demon were indeed riddled with heinous sins. I did try to reason with them before, but unfortunately to no avail," said Bear Mountain with a sigh. "Them dying under your hand can only be considered karmic retribution."

"It"s indeed karmic retribution," said Qin Yun. "To be honest, there are a bunch of Skyfiends in the vast Three Realms. I could have killed three Skyfiends for the first round of tests, but the reason why I chose those two specifically had to do with karma I owed. It had to be them."

"Ah, so it"s because of owed karma." Bear Mountain laughed. "I thought perhaps you had some hatred for us demons."

"No, I have no such hatred for demons. There are many demons who I respect greatly," said Qin Yun.

Bear Mountain nodded and smiled. "Understood, Junior Brother Qin. But now that I think about it, you are also a Green Touring Palace disciple. You managed to create a brand new sword immortal lineage. You are rather famous in the Three Realms, so you need to consider your status. Isn"t killing a bunch of junior demons being a bit too much of a bully?"

"A bully?" Qin Yun was taken aback.

Bear Mountain nodded. "You are my junior brother. We are on the same level of hierarchy. Wasn"t killing them a form of bullying? In the future, if fifth or sixth firmament great demons offend you, just tell me. I will help you resolve the matter. I will definitely do it to your satisfaction, so how about it? As for those lesser demons, go ahead and kill them if they dare cross you. But as for great demons… please show a little mercy on my account. After all, we demons do have fewer and fewer juniors these days."

"I can try to show mercy on account of you. However, I do have an overly feisty temper. If someone with heinous sins crosses me, I"ll still kill them regardless if they are human or demon. These beings with heinous sins will only wreak havoc on other humans and demons if they are allowed to live," said Qin Yun.

Bear Mountain frowned slightly before he smiled. "It"s good that you can show mercy."

After a short conversation, Bear Mountain bade Qin Yun farewell.

When he came out of Qin Yun"s yard, Bear Mountain"s eyes turned a little cold as he thought to himself, "An overly feisty temper? Hmph!"