Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 309: Chapter 309 Know-it-all

Ye Qingchen activated his Dual Pupil Martial Soul and quickly located a pig demon within the mountain range.

This pig demon only had the strength of a great martial master. It had evolved into a humanoid form but still had a pig’s head, which was quite a jarring sight.

With his power, Ye Qingchen easily subdued the creature. The helpless pig demon looked at Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao, then asked, ”Great demons, please tell me your commands. I will be sure to follow them. Just please don’t eat me! My meat is sour and doesn’t taste good at all.”

Xiao Xiao curled her lips and patted the pig demon’s head. ”Who said anything about eating you? Do you know if there are any Demon Kings nearby?”

The pig demon shook its head in confusion. ”To be honest with you, great demons, I’m already the strongest being in this mountain range.”

Xiao Xiao almost burst out laughing in exasperation. A pig demon with the strength of a great martial master was actually the most powerful demon here.

Ye Qingchen sighed. He knew a creature of this pig demon’s strength was unlikely to have any significant information. ”In that case,” he asked, ”tell us where we can go to gather more information.”

The pig demon hurriedly replied, ”You two must be new to this area. Five hundred miles east of this mountain range, there is a place called Hundred Beasts City. It’s teeming with masters. I’m sure you will find the information you seek there.”

Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao exchanged a glance, released the pig demon, and then headed east in the direction it had indicated.

After half a day’s travel, they arrived before Hundred Beasts City.

To their surprise, the city was populated entirely by semi-bestial demons. There were creatures with the heads of humans and the bodies of horses, some with the heads of fish and the bodies of men, and even some with human heads and serpentine bodies, slithering through the streets as they dragged their long tails behind them.

Xiao Xiao said to Ye Qingchen, ”The Demon Domain Envoy once said that members of the Demon Race can take on human form once their cultivation reaches a certain level. However, many deliberately retain some of their bestial features to showcase their noble demonic bloodlines.”

Ye Qingchen pursed his lips. How could these half-human, half-demon forms possibly be considered noble?

The two didn’t dwell on it. They strolled through the streets and found that most of the demons were at the Martial Master Realm. Occasionally, one or two great demons at the Martial Spirit Realm would appear, and the crowds on the streets would invariably part to let them pass.

”So much for Hundred Beasts City being a gathering place of masters,” Xiao Xiao grumbled indignantly as she looked at the semi-bestial demons. ”It seems that pig demon wasn’t honest at all!”

Ye Qingchen smiled. ”You can’t blame him. Since he’s only a great martial master himself, it’s natural that he would consider these people to be masters.”

He then took Xiao Xiao by the hand and led her to the most bustling tavern on the street. If they wanted to gather information, a place like a tavern was undoubtedly the best choice. People came and went all year round, making it a convergence and dissemination point for all sorts of information.

Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao’s attire, while common in the human world, was quite eye-catching in the Demon Region, where appearances were largely ignored. As soon as they entered the tavern, a shop assistant greeted them with great enthusiasm.

The shop assistant was a chicken demon with a human’s body and a chicken’s head. He enthusiastically led Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao to the tavern’s VIP seating.

Ye Qingchen took out ten Low-grade Spirit Stones and placed them on the table. ”This is for you,” he said coolly.

Seeing the Low-grade Spirit Stones on the table, the shop assistant’s eyes lit up. He happily pocketed them, his attitude becoming even more respectful.

”We’re new here,” Ye Qingchen continued. ”Could you tell us about the powerful factions around Hundred Beasts City? We’d like to know who we should avoid provoking, just to be safe.”

Blinded by the spirit stones, the shop assistant readily answered all of their questions. However, after listening to the explanation, Ye Qingchen shook his head in disappointment. According to the shop assistant, the most powerful factions were led by great demons merely at the Martial Spirit Realm, a far cry from what Ye Qingchen was looking for. As for any factions led by a Demon King, the shop assistant didn’t mention them at all.

Ye Qingchen finally lost his patience and interrupted. ”Are there truly no Demon King-level experts nearby?”

The shop assistant shook his head in confusion. ”Great demons, those Demon King experts are figures of legend. They’re almost never seen. Forgive my limited knowledge, but I’ve never heard of any Demon King-level powerhouses in this area.”

Ye Qingchen sighed and waved his hand to dismiss the shop assistant, but Xiao Xiao stopped the demon and ordered a table full of food, claiming she wanted to sample the local cuisine.

Ye Qingchen smiled and shook his head. He understood that it was only natural for a low-level demon like the shop assistant to be ignorant of anything related to Demon Kings. He also understood why Xiao Xiao insisted on staying for a meal. It was her unique competitive spirit at work; she wanted to collect recipes for delicious dishes to cook for him in the future.

However, as soon as the dishes were served, Xiao Xiao began to regret her decision.

The plates were filled with all sorts of insects—red, green, and yellow—an entire table of bugs.

Xiao Xiao’s chopsticks froze in mid-air, unable to descend. Ye Qingchen, meanwhile, was doing his best to stifle his laughter.

To deflect from the awkwardness, Xiao Xiao stopped the shop assistant again. ”Excuse me,” she asked, ”is there any place here that specializes in selling information?”

The shop assistant thought for a moment before replying, ”My lady, in our Hundred Beasts City, there is a storyteller known as the Sage of All Things. He is said to know everything and have an answer for anything. I’m sure that if you two can find this Sage of All Things, he will absolutely know what you’re trying to find out. You won’t be disappointed!”

Ye Qingchen’s eyes lit up. After thanking the shop assistant, he asked for the specific location of this so-called Sage of All Things’ residence, then pulled Xiao Xiao out of the tavern.

Following the shop assistant’s directions, Ye Qingchen searched through Hundred Beasts City and finally found the sage’s residence in a rather secluded alley.

They knocked, and a young demon opened the door. After learning their purpose, he led them into an inner courtyard. After seating Ye Qingchen and Xiao Xiao, the young demon went further inside to summon his master.

Xiao Xiao asked Ye Qingchen curiously, ”Master, what kind of person do you think this Sage of All Things is? It takes a lot of guts to use a title like that.”

Ye Qingchen smiled and shook his head. ”His background doesn’t matter, as long as he can give us the information we need.”

As they were speaking, a figure emerged from behind a screen.

The person was no more than three feet tall, with a pointed face, sunken cheeks, and two long, flamboyant mustaches that curled sharply upwards. Trailing behind him was a long rat’s tail, revealing his true identity: a rat spirit!

Seeing his appearance, Xiao Xiao had to fight to keep from laughing, but a stern look from Ye Qingchen was enough to make her suppress it.