Luo Hao and his three daughters were following Wu Qi respectfully as they walked across a wilderness.
A little bit ahead of them, a big rabbit who stood about four feet tall was mimicking the way how Wu Qi walked. She had both hands clasped behind her back, her head held high, and taking slow, measured steps. As she wagged her head from side to side complacently, the rabbit demon giggled and said, "Aye, it feels so much better to be able to walk with a straight back! Haha, the color of the sky is so blue!"
Luo Ling hurried up to walk beside the rabbit demon, grabbed her rabbit ears, and asked curiously, "How did you walk before this?"
Shaking her head, the big rabbit breathed out a deep sigh and said, "I was burrowing everywhere! I dared not to travel alone in the wilderness like this. Those officials and soldiers of Great Yu are very fierce. Once I had just eaten two seasoned Ginseng from a mountain, a column of soldiers was sent to hunt me down! Aye, just for the two Ginseng I had eaten!"
Crooking her fingers, the rabbit demon began to tell Luo Ling all the dangers she had gone through. Not only was she being hunted by the soldiers of Great Yu and being searched and suppressed by the Oracles of the Directorate of Celestials, she also had to elude those stronger demons in the forest. Wolves, tigers, leopards, bears, eagles, any wild animals who had become a demon would hunt her for food. Not to mention the disciples and apprentices from the clans of itinerant cultivators. A big rabbit who did not have the capacity to defend herself was their best prey, and a demon core could produce an additional cultivator in their clans.
Although she had been a demon for hundreds of years, the rabbit demon only had the courage to visit the Blackfish Immortal Market, where she would sell some materials which she had stealthily gathered for some energy stones in order to aid her cultivation. For the rest of the time, she was hiding in the burrows she had dug out. Her nest was in the mountains near the Blackfish Immortal Market, where she had dug out several hundred holes that served as her hiding places.
Wu Qi could not help but breathe out a faint sigh when he heard the rabbit demon's complaints.
Cruelty where only the rules of the jungle applied, this was the true color of the world of cultivators. Weak demons such as this rabbit demon could only struggle at the bottom of the world. Unless they were lucky enough to bump into some strong figures who were willing to be their backing, it was only a matter of time before they became the prey of the stronger cultivators.
Wu Qi lightly patted the rabbit demon's head, grabbed her long ears, and said with a smile, "It feels so nice to the touch natural rabbit fur... Mm, rabbit, do you have a name?"
The rabbit demon tilted her head sideways, her long ears twisting like a windmill. "I don't have a name. Everybody just calls me rabbit!" She said with a giggle, "Master, you can just call me little bunny!"
Wu Qi thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Bunny? I don't like this name. Mm, since we already have a Meng Xiaobai in the Meng Village, tsk, I'll name you Tu Xiaobai! Also, Daoist Xiaobai will be your Daoist title. It is a simple name and easy to remember, so don't forget your new name!"
Tu Xiaobai, or Daoist Xiaobai, nodded her head stupidly. She did not know if the name was good or bad, but since it was a name Wu Qi had given her, she gladly accepted it. However, the triplets were already laughing until their bodies were bending back and forth. The name was just like the pet name they had given to the chickens and ducklings back in their home!
Wu Qi raised his head to look at the bright moon that was hanging up high in the sky. He chuckled and murmured, "Xiaobai, I dare not to use Master's name willfully, but I will make your name shine with a greater brilliance here! We already have a Meng Xiaobai in the Meng Village, and now we have a Tu Xiaobai here. In the future, I will find a Hu Xiaobai, a Gou Xiaobai, a Ma Xiaobai... Mm, perhaps I should gather all twelve Chinese zodiacs who bear your name, eh? After all, it is not hard to find a little white dragon, and I can always name him Long Xiaobai!" [1]
At the thought of that, he lightly patted Ao Buzun, who was coiling atop his shoulder and working hard to digest Flaming Tiger's energy. A naughty idea suddenly leaped into his mind. 'Maybe I should think of a way to dye Ao Buzun's hair white? No, not the hair, but his scales. Should I turn him from a black dragon into a white dragon?'
After losing himself in the foolish idea for some moments, Wu Qi grabbed and rubbed Tu Xiaobai's long ears and said, "Little bunny, from today onward, you will be part of the Underhand Sect!"
And then, he went into a silence, lost in thought again while he tied the pair of long rabbit ears into a knot. At last, he said, "Later on, I will go and bring that snakehead demon under control. After that, I want you to assemble all the little demons who live around your nest, who have no backing and are living in fear. As the Underhand Sect has just been established, we need more disciples and apprentices. Tell them that the Underhand Sect treats all disciples equally, regardless they are demons or fiends or ghosts, whether they are old or young, handsome or ugly. So long as they are cultivators and willing to pledge their loyalty to the Underhand Sect, be kind and helpful to their fellow disciples, I will guarantee that they will become a Heaven Immortal in the future!"
With the few profound cultivation techniques he had, and the supreme secret scripture which could lead someone straight to the realm of Primordial Immortal such as the Song of Gale, Wu Qi felt it was time for him to rebuild the Underhand Sect on Pangu Continent.
Tu Xiaobai nodded, though she had only half understood Wu Qi's words. She began to think, going through the names of demons who she had known, who were as timid as her and did not have the capacity to defend themselves. Meanwhile, a bright gleam was seen flickering in Luo Hao's eyes. From Wu Qi's words, he could sense a great ambition, or in other words, a wild ambition! 'Perchance, the Luo Clan will have a splendid future after following Wu Qi!' he thought.
Wu Qi had promised that he would make those little demons into Heaven Immortals. Then what about the Luo Clan? The Luo Clan was the first clan in the Mi Province who had pledged their loyalty to him!
And that had strengthened Luo Hao's confidence once again. The Luo Clan must follow Wu Qi's footsteps closely, no matter what. For the past few days, the benefits which Wu Qi had given to the Luo Clan had already gone beyond his imagination. As long as they kept following him, the Luo Clan would definitely have a limitless future.
The moon was high in the night sky that was fully filled with blinking stars. A few sword beams were seen flashing over a ridge across a far distance. Some cultivators who had urgent errands were hurrying on their journey through the night. Wu Qi raised his head and gave the moon a glance. It was bright, but the stars around it were shining dazzlingly as well. The brilliant starlight and the moonlight tangled with one another, fusing into a sheet of silver-purple mist that sprinkled down from the sky.
Tu Xiaobai tilted her head up to look at the sky. Reflexively, she opened her mouth and drew in a deep breath. A stream of silver-purple mist that one could see with naked eyes came swirling down from the sky and went into her mouth. Her soft white hair were fluttering without any wind, each of them was shrouded in a layer of faint silver gleam.
It was midnight, the best time in a day for demons to cultivate. By sucking in a mouthful of the stars and moon essence during this hour, the result was much better than spending two hours meditating during the daytime. For Demon cultivators, the essence of stars and moon was the source of their power, the raw power for all the demons.
Wu Qi patted Tu Xiaobai's big head as he said in a deep voice, "Luo Hao, all of you can cultivate here as well. The essence of stars and moon is beneficial for you!" Casually, he threw out dozens of immortal stones and constructed a formation which could gather and compress the essence of stars and moon around them. After that, he spun and headed straight back to the Blackfish Immortal Market.
Obeying his order, Luo Hao and his daughters sat cross-legged down in the wilderness and began to cultivate. Meanwhile, with just one step, Wu Qi had arrived outside the Blackfish Immortal Market. Soundlessly, he plunged into the water and dove deeper like a spirit. Before long, he had gone under the market and was standing before a huge mud pit that measured over three hundred miles in circumference.
A massive snakehead was lying comfortably in the mud pit. Several dozens of fish demons were standing on top of his body, each using a steel trident to carefully lift up his scales, then rubbing some cold mud on his skin. It seemed the snakehead really enjoyed the soothing sensation that cold mud brought to him when it touched his body. He was shivering from time to time, and his scales were hitting with one another, producing a sound like the rustle of leaves.
"Snakehead demon, you sure know how to enjoy yourself!" Wu Qi laughed.
The laughter had startled the snakehead demon. He sprung up from the mud pit, throwing all the fish demons away from his body. His massive body began to shrink, and in just a blink of an eye, he had transformed into a dark fat man who stood twenty feet tall.
He gave Wu Qi a glance with panic. "How did you manage to come here?" he bellowed, "You... You are uninvited here. You have intruded the residence of an innocent civilian! You must be up to no good! What do you want from me?"
It was the same low, muffled roaring, but clearly, there was a fear and panic in the voice. The snakehead demon had witnessed how Wu Qi cruelly killed and devoured both Wind Wolf and Flaming Tiger. He knew that he was not Wu Qi's match. He thought Wu Qi would never come back, but yet the murderer was here, right before him, and it had given him a bad feeling.
Wu Qi hovered himself right above the snakehead demon, sizing the latter with a big smile on his face.
After some while, he asked suddenly, "What is the equivalent of one hundred and thirty-seven plus ninety-five?"
The snakehead demon was stunned. He stared blankly at Wu Qi for a long while, and only then began to crook his fingers and start the counting. However, no matter how he bent and unbent his fingers, he just could not come out with the correct answer.
Wu Qi shook his head, recollecting how this snakehead demon had managed the Blackfish Immortal Market. No matter what the value of a transaction was, he would always collect only one lower-grade energy stone as the tax. It seemed the rumor was true, that this snakehead demon was indeed a slow-witted fellow!
As he breathed out a faint sigh, Wu Qi patted the snakehead demon's head and said, "I will send someone to aid you in the management of the Blackfish Immortal Market, which will increase your daily income by at least ten times. I will also teach you a profound cultivation technique, and in the future, when you are breaking through the Heaven Immortal realm, I will assist you in transcending your Heavenly Tribulation. On top of that, I will give you a strong backing so that nobody in the Mi Province will dare to offend you again!"
The snakehead demon raised his head, aghast, and temporarily gave up the mathematics question which had made his head hurt. "So many benefits? What do you want from me then?" He asked with a frown.
Wu Qi said smilingly, "I am building a sect, and I need more disciples and apprentices. If you join me, those benefits will be yours!"
The snakehead demon sunk into a deep silence. At last, he stared at Wu Qi and asked, "What if I refuse?"
Wu Qi nodded and said, "If you refuse, I will have a roast snakehead as my dinner! Well, just to let you know, I am very curious about the taste of a Nascent Divinity demon. Since you are a big snakehead demon, I can try all the cooking styles, steam, roast, steamboat, anything you can think of. As for your soul, it happens that I am going to craft myself a few immortal items. I can always destroy your intelligence and make your soul as the item spirit!"
While Wu Qi was wondering whether these benefits were sufficient to attract the snakehead demon, the demon had already dropped to his knees before him.
"Old Black offers greeting, Ancestral Master! Mm, can Ancestral Master tell me what the answer to the previous question is?"
Wu Qi was rendered speechless. How he wished he could kick this stupid fellow far away from him!
[1] Hu (虎) is tiger, Gou (狗) is dog, Ma (马) is horse, and Long (龙) is dragon. The twelve Chinese zodiac is mouse, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, chicken, dog, and pig. By the way, my Chinese zodiac is monkey. Do you know yours? Comment the year you are born and I will let you know your Chinese zodiac!