Half a month later, Xiao Mo arrived in Quicksand Kingdom.
Quicksand Kingdom was not only one of the main bases established by the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, but also the most important city at the very front of the entire line of confrontation.
One could say that the line of standoff between the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance and the Holy Demons Alliance had been built with Quicksand Kingdom at its core.
The situation on this vast battlefield across the Demon Realm had by now descended into genuine chaos.
The Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, the Holy Demons Alliance, and the Heavenly Demons Alliance, along with the Human Alliance, were all locked in a four-way war of mutual slaughter, producing a situation of four equal and opposing factions.
But because the Human Alliance was by far the weakest of the four, the Holy Demons Alliance and the Heavenly Demons Alliance had temporarily set the Human Alliance aside and were not engaging them.
The two of them had joined forces and intended to first eliminate the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, whose principal force was the Tushan clan, before considering anything else.
During the journey, Xiao Mo also came to understand some of the organizational structure and rules of the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance.
The Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, and indeed all the alliances of the Demon Realm, were quite different from ordinary kingdoms at war.
Though the four major alliances did have leaders and senior elders responsible for commanding and coordinating, the number of factions participating was simply too great and too varied and too disorganized.
There were also countless wandering cultivators with no sect or school who had joined directly.
As a result, in the vast majority of cases what happened was that the upper leadership would distribute and assign tasks, which cultivators would then go and carry out.
Cultivators could even choose of their own accord to accept certain posted bounty tasks.
If a more straightforward way to describe it were needed, the factions on the demon side were like loose sand that would not hold together.
Joining them did not feel like joining an army. It felt more like joining an enormous, chaotic sect of mixed composition.
Of course, now that Xiao Mo had chosen to join the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, the Alliance could also compulsorily assign tasks to Xiao Mo, and he would have no way to refuse but these mandatory tasks were reportedly not very common, only assigned if truly no one else was taking them.
Not long after arriving in Quicksand Kingdom, Xiao Mo was shown to his assigned quarters.
Because Xiao Mo was himself a Golden Core cultivator, he was allocated a separate small courtyard.
The courtyard had three rooms in total and could accommodate as many as three people.
This meant Xiao Mo did not have to crowd into a noisy inn as other cultivators did.
"Senior, here is the formation jade tablet for this courtyard. If you need anything, just summon me through this tablet."
A human cultivator named Zhao Hongfei stepped forward and held the jade tablet out to Xiao Mo with respectful hands.
"Thank you." Xiao Mo expressed his thanks sincerely.
"Senior has no need to thank me. This is simply my duty." The young man gave his nose an honest scratch.
"By the way, how are things for our human people here?" Xiao Mo asked casually.
"What can I say?"
The young man named Zhao Hongfei spoke while casting a somewhat admiring look at Xiao Mo.
"Those with lower cultivation do miscellaneous work, like myself. Those with higher cultivation are like you, Senior, able to properly join the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance, earn merit on the battlefield, and receive substantial rewards."
"Though I am not too badly off either."
Zhao Hongfei continued, a gleam of anticipation in his eyes.
"I draw a monthly wage that is enough to let me cultivate steadily. If I can reach the Cave Mansion realm, I could go to the battlefield too, and then have a chance to compete for greater opportunities."
Xiao Mo gave a nod, his manner apparently casual. "I have heard there is something called a Human Alliance, with quite a few human cultivators in it."
At the words "Human Alliance," Zhao Hongfei's face went distinctly pale, and he quickly lowered his voice. "Senior, please be careful about mentioning the Human Alliance inside Quicksand City. It is a forbidden subject here."
Zhao Hongfei, guessing what was behind the senior's question, quietly added an explanation. "I understand what you mean, Senior. I myself have thought about joining the Human Alliance."
"But Senior, I am essentially an orphan. I was raised from childhood by a demon. My adoptive mother is getting on in years now, and I cannot leave her. So I have put that thought out of my mind."
"And beyond that, from what I have come to understand over these past days, there are actually quite a few problems on the Human Alliance's side as well. I have heard that ordinary people in the Human Alliance live little better than animals."
"Why is that?" Xiao Mo's brow furrowed slightly, and he looked genuinely puzzled.
By that reasoning, since it was the Human Alliance, it should naturally have humans at its center. How could ordinary people live like animals within it?
"This is... not very easy to talk about."
Zhao Hongfei shook his head, his expression somewhat reluctant.
"It is only what I have heard. Apparently the human side is also quite severely divided, with many different factions. Most ordinary humans who go there are, if their cultivation is not high enough, treated no differently than slaves in practice."
"Of course, all of this is only hearsay on my part. The specific situation, I genuinely do not know much about."
"I see." Xiao Mo gave a thoughtful nod.
"If Senior has no further instructions, I will take my leave and show the other seniors to their quarters." Zhao Hongfei said.
"Go ahead." Xiao Mo casually gave him some spending money.
"Many thanks, Senior." Zhao Hongfei happily accepted the money, gave a respectful bow, and left the courtyard.
Xiao Mo picked a room at random and began setting out his belongings and making himself comfortable.
"This courtyard is quite nice."
Just as Xiao Mo had more or less finished settling in, a woman's voice came from outside the courtyard, and it sounded rather familiar.
"Surely not..."
Xiao Mo's heart stirred, and he walked out of his room to find that Xiangniang was indeed standing in the courtyard and the moment Xiangniang saw Xiao Mo, her eyes immediately lit up.
"Xiangniang pays her respects to sir."
Xiangniang walked forward and gave him a gracious bow, the smile in her eyes full of pleasure and surprise.
"How unexpected that things would work out so conveniently, meeting sir again here. You and I have quite a connection."
"What a coincidence indeed."
Xiao Mo looked at Xiangniang with a smile.
"What has brought the young lady to the front lines?"
"Aah, what else could it be?" Xiangniang let out a sigh, a note of grievance in her expression. "You, of course, sir."
"Originally, if sir had just been willing to cultivate with me in dual practice, I would have had nothing to worry about. By now I might even have been carrying little fox cubs. But as things stand, I have no choice but to come to the front lines myself and look for an opportunity to break through to Golden Core."
"I am truly sorry about that." Xiao Mo smiled.
Though Xiao Mo was somewhat surprised that Xiangniang had also come to the front, and she could at times be something of a nuisance, that warmth of meeting someone familiar in a strange place still gave him a faint glow of feeling.
"Rather than saying things like that, sir would do better to simply give in to me at last."
Xiangniang swayed her waist and stepped forward, her gaze flickering.
"There is no one else here anyway. Whatever we might get up to, no one would know. Is that not so, sir?"
As she spoke, Xiangniang's slender hand moved toward Xiao Mo's chest. But Xiao Mo once again stepped back at an unhurried pace and looked at her with a mild smile.
"Hmph! Sir is truly no fun."
Xiangniang turned her head away, unsparing with her words.
"Sir is so oblivious to all worldly pleasures, you will probably die on the battlefield still untouched, having come into this world for absolutely nothing. When you regret it, do not say I did not warn you."
"The young lady need not worry herself about that." Xiao Mo glanced at the room beside his. "Would the young lady like to go and choose a room first?"
"Of course. I will take the one right next to sir's." With that, Xiangniang raised her chin and walked straight toward the room beside Xiao Mo's but she had only taken two steps when the courtyard gate was pushed open again, and a young woman walked in.
She was a human woman, with clean-cut features, dressed in a black close-fitted martial robe, a slender broadsword at her waist. Beneath that capable and spirited exterior lay a cold and lethal quality.
The woman's gaze swept slowly through the courtyard, passing over Xiangniang, before settling steadily on Xiao Mo.
"Well, well, where has this girl come from? Rather pretty, I must say."
Xiangniang unhurriedly positioned herself in front of Xiao Mo, one hand propped on her elbow, the other tapping lightly at her own chest, her tone carrying a note of mockery.
"Only to walk in the door and immediately fix her eyes on someone else's man. That is quite lacking in restraint, is it not?"
"My name is Xin Xiao'er. I am moving in today." Xin Xiao'er stated her name coldly and said nothing further, drawing her gaze back and walking directly toward the room at the far end.
"Sir is not interested in that type, is he?"
Xiangniang noticed Xiao Mo's gaze following Xin Xiao'er's retreating figure and could not help teasing. "If sir likes it, this one can put on that sort of look too. All that cool capability with just a hint of something tempting underneath."
"That will not be necessary."
Xiao Mo gave a mild response and shook his head.
For reasons he could not quite explain, he had a persistent feeling that this Xin Xiao'er was carrying a concealed killing intent directed at him.
…
"Fifth Elder, you have finally arrived."
"I am certain that with Fifth Elder here in person, defeating the Holy Demons Alliance and the Heavenly Demons Alliance is as good as certain!"
At this moment, in the city lord's manor of Quicksand City, Chen Bing, the ruler of the Heavenly Demons Kingdom, saw Tushan Hongxia stride in and immediately rose from the high seat of the city lord, stepping forward to meet her with great warmth.
"My respects to the ruler."
Tushan Hongxia smiled and returned the bow, then said, "For the ruler to have decisively left the Heavenly Demons Alliance and joined our Ten Thousand Demons Alliance is truly a great fortune for our entire Tushan."
"Hmph, do not remind me, Elder Hongxia, or I cannot help but get furious!" Chen Bing's eyes went wide and his face darkened with irritation. "Our Heavenly Demons Kingdom has always had deep ties and a close relationship with Tushan. When we took the lead in establishing the Heavenly Demons Alliance, our original intention was to join forces with Tushan and stand together."
"But who could have anticipated that the other kingdoms and sects within the alliance would actually attempt to destroy Tushan? How could I possibly remain among them?"
"Ha ha ha, the Heavenly Demons Kingdom's regard for our Tushan is something we keep close to our hearts. The ruler need not worry. Our Tushan has always been guided by loyalty and gratitude. We would never allow the Heavenly Demons Kingdom to suffer for it."
Tushan Hongxia heard this and only smiled lightly.
She understood perfectly well the various turns of calculation going on beneath the surface.
The Heavenly Demons Alliance and the Heavenly Demons Kingdom shared similar names, but the founding of the Heavenly Demons Alliance had nothing to do with the Heavenly Demons Kingdom.
The "heavenly demons" in the Alliance's name referred to the legendary "demons born of heaven" spoken of in the Demon Realm's traditions.
The reason the Heavenly Demons Kingdom had withdrawn from the Heavenly Demons Alliance was entirely because Chen Bing had failed to secure the position of Alliance chief.
Beyond that, several of the more powerful kingdoms and sects within the alliance had united against him and even seized more than half of the Heavenly Demons Kingdom's territory.
Left without options, Chen Bing had had no choice but to come over to the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance.
And the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance had accepted him precisely because of the remaining strength of the Heavenly Demons Kingdom and because he himself was an immortal-realm cultivator.
At the end of the day, every creature in the world running about and working tirelessly was doing so for one thing only, and that was gain.
Who was not weighing their own interests in the end?
"From this point forward, all command and coordination of the front lines will be under my leadership. I trust the ruler has no objections?" Tushan Hongxia said.
"None whatsoever! And beyond that, Fifth Elder, who throughout this world does not know your talent and your reputation?"
Chen Bing said this in all sincerity.
In recent months on this front, he had suffered one defeat after another.
Though the responsibility was not entirely his, regardless, as the leader at the front, he had drawn considerable criticism from the other sects of the Ten Thousand Demons Alliance.
In his view, Tushan sending Fifth Elder Hongxia to come was no different from sending someone to rescue a failing situation, and it would take a great deal of pressure off him.
"Since the ruler has said as much, I will not be modest any further."
Hongxia gave a nod, then drew a letter from her storage pouch, shifting the subject.
"Actually, there is something I need to ask the ruler's help with."
"Oh? There is something where I can be of help to Fifth Elder?" Chen Bing took the envelope, glanced down at it, then the corner of his lips curved upward and he said with an easy laugh, "I thought it might be something significant. But if anything, this seems more like Fifth Elder doing a favor for my son Jue."
With that, Chen Bing passed the letter to the son at his side. "Jue'er, I will leave this matter to you. Can you handle it?"
Chen Jue stepped forward, and as his gaze landed on the black characters on white paper in the letter, a burning light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He clasped his hands and said in a clear, firm voice, "Please rest assured, Father, Elder Hongxia!"
"I will make certain that Xiao Mo dies without anyone knowing, with not the slightest sign of anything unusual for anyone to detect!"