Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 479 Tianxuan Palace

Lu Kong's smile deepened.

He walked up to the wild boar spirit, squatted down, and looked at its pig face.

"The Tianxuan Palace, specifically in charge of demon affairs?"

"That's right!"

"So, capturing these minor demons is also part of the Immortal Alliance's official duties?"

The boar demon paused for a moment, then his eyes darted around. "Of course! These little demons aren't registered; they're wild demons. What's wrong with us capturing them and registering them?"

Lu Kong nodded, stood up, and looked back at Chen Anran.

"Uncle-Master, did you hear that? The people from the Immortal Alliance are capturing little monsters and taking them back to 'register'."

Chen Anran looked at the chained monsters. "From the Immortal Alliance? Perfect, let's kill them."

No sooner had he finished speaking than chaos erupted among the chained monsters.

"Wang Yezhu, shut up!"

"If you fucking want to die, don't drag us down with you!"

"Master! Master! We're not with him! We're just following him to make a living!"

The weasel spirit with its pointed snout and monkey-like face was the first to give in, collapsing to the ground with a thud, trembling like a leaf, its head banging loudly: "Immortal, spare us! Immortal, spare us! We're just errand boys; this wild boar and those big demons are the ones leading the way in catching the lesser demons! If we don't follow along, they'll eat us alive!"

With it taking the lead, the other monsters also knelt down.

A gray wolf spirit kowtowed the most vigorously, blood streaming down its forehead: "Your Excellency, please understand! I have elderly parents and young children to support, I was truly forced into this situation! Those powerful demons said this was an order from the Celestial Alliance, and anyone who dared to refuse would be skinned alive!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" a spotted leopard demon quickly chimed in, "They also said that if we capture a hundred lesser demons, they'll reward us with a Foundation Establishment Pill! I've been cultivating for over a hundred years, but I'm stuck at the Qi Refining stage and can't seem to advance, so I've been bewitched..."

"Please spare me, Immortal Master!"

In an instant, cries of "father and mother," kowtows begging for mercy, and mutual accusations filled the air, even more noisy than the hooting of owls in the mountains.

Seeing the situation was dire, the wild boar demon tried to lie down, but the rope held him back. He still stubbornly insisted, "You...you spineless cowards! The Immortal Alliance will not let you get away with this!"

Chen Anran stood there, the firelight casting flickering light on his face.

"It's too noisy. Let's kill it."

The wild boar demon's legs went weak, and it finally collapsed. It opened its mouth, wanting to beg for mercy, but found its throat blocked by something, unable to utter a single word. A foul, fishy stench emanated from beneath it.

I was so scared I peed my pants.

Lu Kong smiled and replied "Okay," then lifted his foot to walk forward.

Just then, a dull sound came from the end of the rope.

"Immortal Venerable, please wait!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the enormous black bear spirit who was speaking.

It lay on the ground, its two-zhang-tall body curled up in a ball, its jet-black fur trembling slightly in the firelight. Its blood-red eyes were filled with fear, but deep within that fear lay a resolute determination.

"Immortal Venerable," its voice was deep and muffled, like distant thunder, yet it was very low, filled with cautious respect, "this humble one has something to say."

Chen Anran looked at it without saying a word.

The black bear spirit lay prostrate on the ground, its head bowed low, not daring to raise it. It had lived for eight hundred years, cultivating from an ordinary black bear to its current level, and had seen many powerful figures. But it couldn't see through any of the people before it.

Especially the young man carrying the red gourd.

He stood there, doing nothing, only saying three words, but the invisible pressure made the black bear spirit feel as if he were being crushed by a mountain, making it difficult to even breathe.

It knew that if it couldn't get through this ordeal today, it would lose its life.

"Immortal Lord," the black bear spirit's voice trembled, yet he struggled to remain calm, "we know we deserve to die. We followed this stupid pig out to capture lesser demons and committed countless sins. But we were forced into it."

It paused, mustered its courage, raised its head, glanced at Chen Anran, and then quickly lowered its head again.

"The Celestial Alliance's Tianxuan Palace claims to manage demon affairs, but in reality, they treat us demons like cattle. Those Nascent Soul stage demons can order us to our deaths with a single word. Capturing lesser demons is Tianxuan Palace's job, supposedly for registration, but who doesn't know they're just using them for alchemy and weapon crafting?"

Its voice carried a hint of bitterness and helplessness.

"If we don't comply, they'll eat us. Immortal Venerable, look at us! We're just lowly demons with no background or backing. We've cultivated for hundreds of years to finally take human form. In the eyes of those great demons of Tianxuan Palace, we're nothing more than a dish."

As it spoke, its eyes reddened.

"I don't want to die. I've cultivated for eight hundred years, rising from an ordinary black bear to where I am today. I've endured so much hardship, hunger, and survived so many predators to get to where I am today. I haven't lived enough yet; I want to live another eight hundred years."

The black bear spirit's voice grew softer and softer until it almost became a murmur.

"Immortal Lord, I am willing to submit. I am willing to serve you, even at the cost of fire and water."

After it finished speaking, it lay down on the ground and remained motionless.

Upon hearing this, the chained monsters were taken aback at first, then, as if reminded of something, they all began to kowtow.

Upon hearing this, the chained monsters were taken aback at first, then, as if reminded of something, they all began to kowtow.

"I, too, am willing to surrender!"

"Immortal Venerable, please accept me as your disciple!"

"I can do anything! Running errands, fighting, guarding the door, keeping watch—I can do it all!"

The wild boar demon lay on the ground, its face deathly pale, its lips trembling as if it wanted to say something, but it couldn't utter a single word.

Lu Kong glanced back at Chen Anran, his smile unchanged, but now tinged with amusement.

"Uncle-Master, this bear is quite clever."

Chen Anran ignored Lu Kong and instead looked at the black bear spirit, asking, "Where are those captured little demons now?"

The black bear spirit shuddered and quickly replied, "Reporting to the Immortal Venerable, they are all in the cave not far away! We were ordered to capture lesser demons here. Once we've captured enough, we'll send them to the cave to lock them up. After we've gathered a batch, we'll send them to the Tianxuan Palace's stronghold."

It paused, then added, "There are now more than thirty lesser demons locked up in the cave, all captured from within a radius of several hundred miles."

Before it could finish speaking, a gasp came from the doorway of the cabin.

The little deer rushed over, grabbed the black bear spirit's fur, its fluffy deer ears standing straight up, and its eyes wide open.

"They...they're still alive?"

The black bear spirit was in excruciating pain from the deer's grip, but dared not move. He could only nod cautiously, "Live, live, all of you live. We have to report back to the authorities for capturing little demons; we can't kill them, or they'll become worthless."

The little deer let go, and tears welled up again.

She turned around and looked at Chen Anran, her lips trembling.

Chen Anran glanced at her once before turning her face away.

"lead the way."

The black bear spirit was taken aback for a moment, then quickly realized what he meant and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes! This humble servant will lead the way! Immortal Venerable, please follow this humble servant!"