Dong Kui, already mortified by the teasing, felt a flush of relief when Zuo Yingchun deftly changed the subject. She hurried to follow suit.
“This book,” she said, holding it up, “the Righteousness Primer, was given to me by Ye Yu. Its contents are rather childish, but if you read it as a joke book, it’s quite amusing!”
As the saying goes, when you love someone, you come to love everything about them. Dong Kui had long since discarded this primer—its very title was enough to repel her. But after falling for Ye Yu, everything changed. This book, once abandoned in a corner, had become a constant companion. She even found it entertaining enough to carry everywhere.
The Righteousness Primer had another, more practical use: she could hold it before her face, ostensibly reading, while in fact eavesdropping on the other ladies’ conversations. This trick had never failed—until today. How embarrassing!
Curious, Zuo Yingchun stepped forward, flipped through a couple of pages, then tossed it back. “What nonsense this is!”
Dong Kui caught the primer, opened it again before her face, and said nothing. Whether it was nonsense or not didn’t matter—what mattered was that it had been Ye Yu’s first gift to her, and she could never find it dull.
At that moment, a roar rang out outside Wuwei Tower.
The assembled ladies’ expressions darkened. They had been in Wuwei Tower long enough to know Ah Kong, their guardian celestial beast. A roar like that meant battle was underway.
They vanished in streaks of light and emerged outside the tower to find Ah Kong dragging a Monkey-Race demon cultivator through the clouds, raining blows upon him. Two more demon cultivators hovered nearby, eager to join in.
Zhu Diezhen’s cold voice rang out: “What do you think you’re doing?”
Startled, the two demons noticed the beautiful celestial maidens. They bristled, then a tall Bull-Race demon stepped forward.
“My name is Niu Ge,” he said. “This is my second brother, the Great Peng demon Lü Xiang, and up there on the clouds is my third brother, Sun Hezhen. We three have just come through from the Demon Realm. Passing by, a misunderstanding occurred. Please forgive us, fair ladies.”
Zuo Yingchun raised an eyebrow. “What misunderstanding? Explain yourself.”
Niu Ge hesitated, embarrassed. Beside him, the Great Peng demon spoke without restraint: “Big brother, what’s there to hide? My third brother saw that celestial ape and thought she was perfect for a demon mate. He proposed marriage, but she refused—and so they fought. No big deal; who doesn’t get punched when seeking a mate? Maybe after a few hits, love would blossom.”
Jiang Jinhe and Luo Ning couldn’t help but laugh. Indeed, that was a demon’s courtship style: straightforward. If both agreed, fine; if not, keep pestering—or throwing punches—until one gave in. Their laughter left Niu Ge momentarily dazed at how stunning Celestial Realm maidens could be.
Lü Xiang chimed in cheerfully, “See? You agree with me, right? Anyway, my brother’s business is his own. Let’s talk about you: which of you ladies would like to spar with me? I feel we’d get along splendidly!”
At once, every lady’s face darkened as if the sun had been blotted out. A terrifying oppressive force of celestial power descended upon Niu Ge and Lü Xiang, both only at Demon Lord Realm cultivation—they had no hope against these ladies, many of whom were at Demon King, Immortal King, or Ghost King Realms. Under their combined pressure, the two demons knelt within moments.
Jiang Jinhe stepped forward and made a grasping motion at Lü Xiang. He was seized by an invisible force, curling into a ball as his bones cracked. A burst of blood mist followed, and both his arms shattered. Even if healed, he would never fly again; his cultivation would fall a full realm to Gold Demon.
“Second brother!” Niu Ge cried as he watched his sibling’s agony.
Jiang Jinhe pointed skyward, and countless celestial swords of {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Extreme Yang Qi materialized, rending the Monkey-Race demon into countless holes. The body collapsed beside Lü Xiang.
Niu Ge’s eyes turned red. In only two breaths, both brothers lay grievously wounded.
Consumed by rage and despair, he snarled, “Surely you ladies are too cruel!”
“Cruel?” Jiang Jinhe laughed. “You three came to the Celestial Realm and spoke without restraint. This is but a lesson. Were you not demons, I’d have dispersed your souls on the spot—no chance to even speak!”
A golden light flickered in her eyes, and behind her the phantom image of a colossal Luan bird appeared. Niu Ge stared, dumbstruck: he knew she did not exaggerate—she had the power to do just that. He wondered why an Ancient Mythical Beast like the Luan would accompany so many celestial maidens.
From afar, a cool voice spoke: “Why must demons treat demons so harshly?”
All eyes turned north. A woman in multicolored robes descended and hovered between Niu Ge and the celestial ladies. It was Nangong Jingtang.
She had journeyed from the Demon Realm, seeking any sect with “Tower” in its name—but had not found one. Then she sensed the Luan’s aura and used her divine sense to locate it. Seeing demons oppressing demons stirred her displeasure, hence her timely arrival.
