85 Rebellion

Huxian hopped over a small and fearful family of spirit mice as he wandered through the mountain woods. Using his natural control over darkness, he slinked through the shadows, cleverly bypassing a demon bear's territory. The bear was weak, but he was one of the mountain sovereign's staunchest followers. Alerting him wouldn't be wise at this juncture.

He had less than half a year remaining before the next summit. As the mountain's official method to distribute power, it was the only place he could publicly accuse the bear of colluding with the humans. Before that, he needed supporters. More importantly, he needed strength.

Strength was everything on this mountain, and without it, the mountain sovereign would simply laugh away his accusation. If the strength of his follows didn't make the cut, they would simply be slaughtered under the sovereign's orders. With strength, he could talk on an even footing with the despicable bear.

Huxian checked over his back before entering a small tunnel hidden under a rock near the river. It was barely large enough for his reduced form to navigate, but he didn't care. Discretion was key in this operation. Soon the tunnel expanded by connecting into a larger one. There, he met the demon ferret he had tamed a short while ago. Technically, the beast was a follower of Lord Sky Stoat, but Huxian's strength made it impossible for the lesser demon to refuse his orders.

They continued traveling together for some time before the tunnels enlarged yet again. This time, the walls were made of stone, and the tunnels were a hundred feet in diameter. This allowed them both to assume their original forms. Naturally, Huxian no longer hid his original black-and-white form. Instead, he used it to cow and intimidate his growing circle of influence.

They were soon joined by three herons, one badger, four wolves, and a mastiff. One of the wolves was the moonlight frost wolf who had pledged his support during the last summit. By the looks of it, he'd found a few friends who were also ready to throw their lot in with him.

Eventually they arrived in a large underground cavern. Three other large tunnels led into the massive chamber. A mid-sized group emerged from the one to Huxian's left. There were two deer, one moose, a boar, and three owls. The owls were predatory and nocturnal animals, so there were no conflicts of interest between them and most of the other beasts present. They competed fiercely with the cats, who were followers of the bear sovereign.

The deer, moose, and boar, on the other hand, were preyed upon by many of the animals. Their lot in life wasn't so great, given the great power held by the bears and the cats, and so they were willing to entrust their fates with Huxian for amnesty and better living conditions. The ancient moose was a king-level beast, and very few who had accumulated in this tunnel would dare tangle with him.

From another tunnel, Huxian saw many insects. Two twenty-foot-long Hercules termites spearheaded the group, which also contained a massive praying mantis and a swarm of bees, though the swarm could be considered a singular entity rather than a group. The worker bees couldn't think for themselves, and only the queen bee counted as a person. It was no wonder that such a prideful demon beast had shown up—the bears had stolen her honey for far too long. Despite her small size, she was a king-level demon beast and commanded enormous respect.

Finally, a symphony of slithering sounds echoed through the fourth tunnel. A dozen snakes emerged first, all lord-level existences. Then three small boas entered the large cavern. They were followed by their mother, the geomantic boa, who had created this network of tunnels. In addition to being very powerful, this king-level beast was the most cunning demon beast on the mountain. Her faction was the most powerful king-level influence on the mountain, and her territory was a natural fortress.

The beasts gathered at the center of the cavern in front of an elevated platform. Then, at the geomantic boa's insistence, Huxian moved to stand at the top of the platform. As was customary, he first released his bloodline pressure, causing many of the beasts present to cower. The only ones who didn't were the moose, the boa, the queen bee, and strangely enough, one of the owls. This caused Huxian to reevaluate this cryptic figure, and it also simplified his plan.

"Everyone, I have an important announcement to make," Huxian said. "My follower, Lei Jiang the Calamity-Swallowing Mouse, overheard an important conversation a few weeks ago. It was a conversation between the mountain sovereign and a human cultivator."

Murmuring, bleating, and chirping ensued. Many voiced outrage while others voiced skepticism.

"May we see this Calamity-Swallowing Mouse?" the geomantic boa slithered.

Huxian obliged and sent a mental command to the small mouse, who erupted from a rune on one of his two tails. The many beasts gasped when they saw this early-purification demon beast. Most of them felt a bloodline suppression. Just like Huxian, this mouse was many levels above them.

"It's true," the mouse said. "I overheard them talking after we noticed the strange behavior of the cultivators during the last human tide. They seemed to have information that only insiders would have, and they sent twenty cultivators in a direct attempt to overwhelm my master. It was only with the help of many of the noble beasts here that we managed to stop them."

"You overpraise us," Lord Frost Wolf said. "It is our responsibility to fight against the humans, for the benefit of all beasts."

"Nonsense," a badger yelled. "The law of the jungle is sacrosanct. We should all fight for ourselves. When has there been a need for beasts to stay united?"

"And that," Huxian said, "is the problem." The whole crowd hushed in response. "The orders of the sovereign make no sense. Instead of fighting the humans as a team, we've become a farm to be harvested every year. Furthermore, I suspect that he has been using this to exterminate budding threats. I trust that the current kings in attendance have noticed something."

The geomantic boa hesitated before speaking. "It's true that many promising beasts have died mysteriously. And often, they have been killed by cultivators during a human tide. Still, that's not enough reason to prove the charge you've brought forth."

"I, for one, have always been suppressed," the queen bee replied. "My species is a higher tier than most here—I am a Celestial Rainbow Queen Bee, and my advancement is heavily based on my stored honey. Unfortunately, the sovereign always comes to bully me by taking my honey, making it impossible for me to advance."

"It is true that there is something suspicious going on," the great owl hooted. "As a True Seer Great Owl, I have also suppressed my advancement. My prophetic abilities have sensed that I will be eliminated should I proceed one step further."

His words made Huxian grin from ear to ear. "As a True Seer beast, you should be able to validate the truth of what happened that day, should you not?"

The owl hesitated. "I can. However, to validate the truth, the recipient of my inquiry must be willing to open up his mind and soul to me. Any resistance will cause the recipient to sustain damage to his true soul. In my opinion, it is hardly appropriate to subject a beast of Lei Jiang's caliber to this technique. It is a great loss of face to bare one's soul."

"Loss of face isn't an issue," Huxian said with a snort. "Lei Jiang, prepare yourself to be examined."

"Yes, Master," the Calamity-Swallowing Mouse said obediently.

Under the stares of the many spirit beasts, the owl fluttered up to the top of the platform. Then, after bowing to Huxian, he hopped over to the small mouse, who sat docilely on the ground despite facing its natural predator.

With a sudden motion, the owl grabbed the mouse with a claw, and the claw began glowing like a full moon. A beam of light shot out from the mouse's head and traveled to the top of the cave, expanding into a two-hundred-foot-wide viewing screen.

There they saw things not from Lei Jiang's perspective but from an omniscient one. Everything within two hundred feet of Lei Jiang was revealed. In the projection, Lei Jiang was cowering in a small crevice on a cliff. Above him, they saw a large bear speaking quietly with a white-haired cultivator wearing a Daoist robe. They could see their lips moving but couldn't hear any sound.

Huxian cleared his throat. "Your ability is indeed amazing, and I wasn't wrong to have you come up here. However, would it be possible to hear what they're saying?"

The owl's feathers shook nervously as the True Seer Great Owl realized the problem.

"My apologies, Great King," the owl said, stammering. He then made a gesture with his claw, and five small gray demon energy cables appeared. They were accompanied by three smaller cables: one white, one red, and one yellow. The owl began fiddling around with the cables, and the screen above sometimes blacked out and sometimes became a blue screen. At some point, they heard the rustle of the wind clearly, as the conversation in the memory was already over.

Huxian massaged his brow with his paw. Unfortunately, setting up audio and video at the same time was a huge problem for spirit beasts, and despite the many instruction manuals that had been released over many aeons, the problem never seemed to go away.

After a quarter hour, the issue was finally resolved. Just as the owl was about to resume the movie, Huxian cleared his throat once more. "Can we get subtitles, please? Many of us are hard of hearing."

The owl shivered and resumed his work. A half hour later, the issue with the subtitles was finally resolved. The owl then brought the film back to its original starting point, and the recording started again.

"You told me that he was a two-tailed fox!" the white robed Daoist yelled. "That beast's abilities are clearly much greater than you reported. Now I've lost a good tenth of my sect's foundation-establishment disciples."

The large bear grunted in response. "You can't blame me. Your sect members underestimated the enemy. If all fifty of the cultivators you sent had attacked him in tandem, this never would have happened. Of course, this would have exposed me. Still, with twice as many cultivators, you could have made up for quality with quantity."

The older cultivator looked at the bear coldly. "You need to compensate me for this. I want that fox dead and his core in my possession. During the next 'human tide,' you will deliver him to me on a silver platter. Otherwise, our relationship can't continue. I'll find another demon beast to replace you, and we will continue harvesting you like the farm animals you truly are."

With these words, the cultivator flicked his sleeve and vanished. The old bear sighed and closed his eyes. Lei Jiang kept deathly silent before finally finding an opportunity to slip out.

On the way down, the mouse encountered some seeds, which he ate. Then he proceeded to the True Seer Great Owl's territory and urinated on his tree, snickering. Then he went to Lord Sky Stoat's territory and impregnated one of his concubines. Then—

"I think that's enough, Lord Great Owl," Huxian said, coughing. He shot a reprimanding look at the mouse, whose consciousness had finally returned.

"Lei Jiang's antics aside," Huxian said in an authoritative voice, "it's clear that the old bear is colluding with the humans. The situation is downright deplorable. We should be the ones unleashing a beast tide every few years, not the other way around. While personal territory and food-chain order is important, it's equally important to band together against the humans that want to invade our territory. There shall be no more cowering, no more giving in. I won't have it!"

He nodded toward the screen. "This is why we need to rebel. Only once we overthrow the old bear and start a cooperative relationship can we shake these despicable humans off. This isn't a human city, this is the forest. The forest belongs to us beasts, just like it always has. But let me clarify: I don't hate the humans. They are just fighting for more territory like the rest of us. What I won't stand for is treachery. That old bear has been lining his pockets and preserving his power long enough. Who's with me?"

The beasts all looked at each other hesitantly. Only the wolves gave their immediate approval.

"Regrettably," the geomantic boa slithered, "this force is not sufficient. Our kings are fewer, but we are more powerful. Our lords are sorely lacking. The only way that we can make up for this is by having a strong enough leader. And I regret to say that you are not strong enough yet."

The fox smirked. "I can be strong enough. I need a drop of each of your purified essence blood. With that, I'll break through to middle Purification Realm, and I'll be a cut stronger than that old bear."

The beasts murmured in dissent.

"The price is high," the geomantic boa said. "What do we get in return?"

"Of course, I wouldn't ask you to do this for free," Huxian said. "This loss of essence blood will weaken you slightly and delay your purification by five years. In exchange, I'll gift each of you with a beastly purification technique suited to your species. This will allow you to easily recover the lost essence. Some of you may even break through to king level."

Immediately, every beast but the snakes were enthusiastic about the idea.

"And for us?" the geomantic boa asked. After all, she had previously been gifted with such a scripture before, and it had been more than adequate for her and her children.

"Seeing as you are a long-term business partner," Huxian replied, "I will pass on to you the Triple Lotus Venom Strengthening technique."

"Trip-Triple Lotus Venom?" the geomantic boa exclaimed. "Very well, My Sovereign. This humble one subjects herself to your authority."

After their meeting, the beasts all returned to their homes and began training intensely. The upcoming summit would be the deadliest in the history of their small mountain. They would either overpower their opponents or perish.

Inside Huxian's cave, Lei Jiang served as a scout while Huxian purified the blood essence he'd collected and began devouring it through his laws of darkness. They were converted to pure demonic energy, which he used to purify his bloodline, which in turn strengthened his muscles and bones.

After a few days, he heard a snap, and the energy surrounding his cave traveled toward him in vast amounts. He'd broken through to middle Purification Realm, and now there was only one being on the whole mountain who stood a chance against him.

***

At the peak of the mountain, a large bear was eating honey from a pot. It was the honey that he'd been extorting from the queen bee for years. He was sure she resented it, but he couldn't resist. The honey was great sustenance for him, and he was sure that in a year, he would be able to break through to the upper Purification Realm. By then, he wouldn't even need to rely on those humans to reign unhindered.

But as he ate, he noticed a vacuum in the mountain's ample demonic energy.

A breakthrough? He narrowed his eyes when he noticed that the commotion was coming from Lord Two Tails's cave. He's getting far too strong. I need to take him down soon, otherwise I won't stand a chance.

Regrettably, he couldn't do that on his own, so he resigned himself to the fact that Lord Two Tails would become a king of the forest, wrecking the precious balance that he'd carefully crafted over the years.