The Lord of Beast Slayer City spoke of his reasons while looking at the numerous remains of ferocious beasts nearby.
He was indeed not deceiving Mu Jinyu; his refusal was not out of fear of encountering any danger in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, but rather because, as the city lord, he had many matters to deal with.
The countless ferocious beast remnants outside Beast Slayer City, and the bloody mud ground formed by flesh covering the land, all needed to be dealt with afterwards.
If not, over time, the stench would become unbearable. How could the residents of Beast Slayer City continue to live there?
Moreover, in this grand beast tide, although the vast majority of ferocious beasts and demon beasts were swept away by Mu Jinyu's Bloody Domain, turning into piles of white bones,
not all the beasts were killed by Mu Jinyu. A considerable portion was also slaughtered by Wu Zhiming's Golden Domain and by the people standing on the wall, using divine skills and techniques to bombard them from afar!
Such a method left behind many ferocious beast corpses!
Among these beasts, many were second-rank and third-stage ferocious beasts.
Their hides, bones, claws, fangs, and eyeballs are all excellent forging materials of significant value, so how to distribute these spoils is also an issue.
With this in mind, the city lord looked up at Mu Jinyu and mentioned the issue of distribution.
Although the ferocious beasts slain by Mu Jinyu were mostly reduced to bones by his Bloody Domain, those bones were valuable. Besides, since Mu Jinyu contributed so much effort, it wouldn't be right to just let him collect bones; most of the spoils should appropriately go to him.
As for the rewards and gratitude from Beast Slayer City, those could be discussed and decided upon later for Mu Jinyu.
Upon hearing the city lord mention the issue of distribution, Mu Jinyu's expression did not change, and he said, "I don't need them. Give those beast bones to the people who helped deal with the beast tide instead."
"This... how could we accept that..." The city lord was stunned for a moment but then quickly shook his head.
Mu Jinyu then said, "Have you forgotten that I still have the Tiger King's fang, the Rhinoceros King, Rabbit King, and Thunder Kirin bodies? Those are enough."
Hearing this, the city lord still felt uneasy but seeing Mu Jinyu's resolute attitude, he had to give up.
He thought, when they discussed the rewards later, he would add a portion for Mu Jinyu.
Then he looked at Wu Zhiming, asking about distribution.
Like Mu Jinyu, Wu Zhiming also refused, suggesting the city lord distribute the ferocious beast corpses to other contributors.
Having trained in the Demon Beast Mountain Range for years and killed countless ferocious beasts, he naturally wasn't interested in these beast materials at hand.
And with Mu Jinyu refusing first, how could he not save face?
Seeing Wu Zhiming also decline, Mu Jinyu glanced at him and then said to the city lord, "Since you have various matters to deal with, I'll leave together with Brother Wu."
"Alright." The city lord nodded.
The city lord then exchanged a few more words with Mu Jinyu and Wu Zhiming, expressing gratitude and such, before returning to the city to call people out to clean up the blood and beast corpses outside!
Mu Jinyu watched the city lord leave and then said to Wu Zhiming, "Brother Wu, after you."
"Please." Wu Zhiming replied politely.
Subsequently, the two of them soared into the sky, flying towards the Demon Beast Mountain Range.
The many cultivators resting on the walls were shocked by their movements and exclaimed, "Where are they going? Are they planning to attack the Demon Beast Mountain Range?"
"Probably. They might think the beast tide resulted from a change in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, maybe due to the emergence of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, or some other reason. Let's see!"
"Alas, if I still had the energy, I'd go with them to see too!"
"Come on, do you really think that just because the beast tide ended, the Demon Beast Mountain Range is now peaceful and you can casually go in to collect treasures? I reckon it's even more dangerous than the beast tide in there now! Otherwise, why would the Five Great Demon Kings have emerged all at once?"
"That makes sense, doesn't it?"
Wen Rou and Jian Ruyan, hearing their discussions, exchanged glances, and their eyes showed even more concern.
But they had no way of accompanying Mu Jinyu, so they could only pray in their hearts that Mu Jinyu wouldn't encounter any danger and would return safely.
...
The Demon Beast Mountain Range was very close to Beast Slayer City, visible at a glance.
But as the saying goes, 'looking at a mountain tires the horse.' It took Mu Jinyu and Wu Zhiming a full hour to arrive at the Demon Beast Mountain Range.
When Mu Jinyu arrived in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, he noticed the sky-piercing demon Qi permeating the air, and his brow furrowed.
This demon Qi was extremely dense, far denser than that of the Five Great Demon Kings.
Moreover, he could faintly sense a very strong fire element and thunder element, many times stronger than the Chasing Cloud Thunder Kirin.
'Hmm? Considering this, it seems that a top-tier demon beast inside the Demon Beast Mountain Range is about to transcend a tribulation, or perhaps it had the ferocious beasts and demon beasts driven away? To avoid being attacked by those demon kings once it succeeded and became weak during tribulation transcending?'
Mu Jinyu speculated uncertainly in his heart, but he knew the risks on this venture were significant.
If luck were on his side, he might encounter a weakened demon king. If not, he could face a demon emperor who had successfully transcended the tribulation and restored to peak condition!
Such a being was equivalent to a Hedao Realm Expert in the human realm!
There weren't many like that in the entire Kunlun Ruins!
Each of them was a terrifying existence, capable of causing great upheavals in the Kunlun Ruins with just a stomp of the foot!
Should he encounter one, surviving a few moves would be impossible, let alone escaping.
Turning to look at Wu Zhiming beside him, Mu Jinyu noticed a mixture of uncertainty and fear on his face.
Mu Jinyu knew that Wu Zhiming had been training in the Demon Beast Mountain Range for a long time and was well aware of how many ferocious and demon beasts were inside. Whatever terrifying demon Qi he had sensed, Wu Zhiming likely knew well enough what it was.
"Brother Wu, do you know what that demon beast inside is?"
To ensure safety, Mu Jinyu asked.
Hearing Mu Jinyu's question, Wu Zhiming came back to his senses and arduously replied, "It should be that Demon Phoenix!"
"Demon Emperor?" Mu Jinyu misheard, and his heart skipped a beat.
Wu Zhiming hurriedly explained, "Not emperor as in royal, but phoenix as in bird."
Hearing this, Mu Jinyu let out a sigh of relief, thinking it's fortunate indeed. If a demon emperor truly was present, it would be like delivering himself right to its door.
Wu Zhiming continued, "The top-grade existence within the Demon Beast Mountain Range is a demon king with a Phoenix Bloodline. The Five Great Demon Kings you previously slain were all its subordinates. Many years ago, it was already close to the Demon Emperor's Realm."
"Several months ago, I happened to encounter that Demon Phoenix once, but it didn't notice me, allowing me to safely leave the Demon Beast Mountain Range. Back then, its aura wasn't as pronounced as it is now. It might have recently broken through to the Demon Emperor's Realm!"
After saying this, the fear on Wu Zhiming's face intensified as he said, "Brother Mu, we should quickly leave here and report back to the Heavenly Palace, let them dispatch a Hedao Realm Expert to eliminate this Demon Phoenix!"