Chapter 91: Testing the Waters

Someone behind him...?!

The Luanbird standing before him, whose aura clearly showed cultivation at the peak of the Treasure-Body realm, did not dare say much after hearing that. It merely bowed politely and stood there until a single feather drifted in from afar.

The crimson feather seemed to move slowly, yet in the blink of an eye it had arrived nearby. Scarlet light swirled within it, gradually taking the form of a woman.

She lifted her eyes to Red Cloud, and her gaze immediately brightened.

"Junior Luan Honghong of the Luanbird clan greets you, senior."

"At least you still have some eye for things."

Red Cloud studied her cultivation and found that she was also at the peak of the late Nirvana stage. He gave a slight nod.

As for how she addressed him, that mattered little. What mattered was that the title sounded comfortable to him.

Seeing that the little demon nearby had not dared to speak after Luan Honghong's arrival and had stood respectfully at attention, Red Cloud guessed she held some authority. So he went straight to the point.

"Among the Luanbird clan, who now holds authority? I have pressing matters to discuss. If possible, go report to them."

Luan Honghong was briefly stunned by the question.

As an elder with real power in the Luanbird clan, she had rarely heard anyone speak to her in such a tone.

But when she thought of the other party's unfathomable cultivation, she still forced a smile.

After all, anyone who dared come alone to the Luan-Phoenix clan's territory looking for trouble was either a fool or a powerhouse. She leaned toward the latter.

"May I ask what business the senior has with our clan leader? If I am to report it, I will at least need a reason."

A reason?

Red Cloud had initially intended to invent one on the spot, but in that instant he caught the aura from the hairpin atop her head, and his eyes flickered.

He remembered clearly that when the old wolf of the Howling Moon Wolf clan, You Minghuan, had come looking for trouble, there had also been a flame with a similar aura beside him.

Though that flame had gone out after finding him, how could he have mistaken it?

Since you ask for a reason, then I shall give you one.

Red Cloud composed himself and spoke leisurely.

"Some days ago, a Howling Moon Azure Wolf came looking for trouble, and around his body he carried a plumage-born flame of the Luanbird clan. That gave me no small amount of trouble."

He paused there, and when he saw the other woman's expression tighten, he gave a faint smile.

"So I went straight to their ancestral grounds and cut down those so-called Five Elders in one stroke. After that, by a roundabout path, I ended up here. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

As he spoke, he lifted a hand and drew the hairpin toward himself. It flew into his grasp.

With a light pinch, a flame slowly appeared, and then he raised his hand and extinguished it again.

"I'll wait right here. If you think you can settle this matter, then I can speak with you. If you cannot... then there is nothing more to say."

At that, waves of shock surged through Luan Honghong's heart. As for the hairpin being taken from atop her head, she did not even react in time.

Her expression froze for a moment. She forced out a smile and had intended to ask something, but meeting his indifferent gaze, she could only obediently close her mouth.

The Five Elders of the Howling Moon Azure Wolf clan were dead!

The Guest in the Clouds before her had slaughtered his way into the ancestral grounds of an entire clan!

And now he had come out again and followed the trail all the way to the Luanbird clan!

She remembered all too well that back then, craving a drink, she had divided off a thread of the Luan Ember Seeking Mist Flame and handed it to You Minghuan of the Howling Moon Wolf clan...

Could it be that he had chased after it, only to be dealt with, and then came here seeking revenge?

Although she held real power within the Luanbird clan, she truly did not dare say another word now. She transmitted a message to the little demons left here to treat the guest well, then immediately slipped away again.

The remaining little demons, seeing this, could only hold their breath and stand rigidly, not daring to breathe too loudly. Luan Five-Hundred-Two in particular had gone so pale he looked as though his face had been coated in white breadcrumbs.

...

After watching her leave, Red Cloud gathered his thoughts and turned his gaze to the Luan-Phoenix clan's domain in the south of the demon realm.

As one of the demon race's most powerful clans, they truly lived up to their reputation, guarding the southern reaches of the demon realm with the strength of a single clan.

And because this clan had little interest in territorial expansion, it had long remained at peace with the human race. That alone left Red Cloud with a rather favorable impression.

Half an incense stick later, the clouds on the horizon turned crimson. Red Cloud narrowed his eyes slightly as an old woman leaning on a phoenix-headed cane approached.

Her speed was astonishing; with a single step, as though propelled by the clouds around her, she arrived before Red Cloud.

The old woman studied him for a long while, only to discover that she could not see through his cultivation at all. Her heart grew faintly wary.

"Your cultivation is impressive. I am Luan Qingye, the Third Grand Elder of the Luanbird clan. Greetings."

As she finished speaking, the phoenix-headed cane in her hand paused slightly. The clouds reversed course and gradually formed into a palace, enclosing the entire area.

Before Red Cloud could speak, Luan Qingye withdrew her gaze from him and instead stared at the cane in her own hand.

"Why have you come here, sir? Though my eyes are old and dim, I do not think the small matter Luanhonghong mentioned is enough to make a cultivator like you so invested."

Red Cloud looked at the old woman for two more breaths. Seeing that Luan Honghong was still nearby, he lifted a hand, made a grasping motion in the air, and gently pushed. She was sent away.

To be blunt, if his earlier guess was correct, then the Luan Ember Seeking Mist Flame that You Minghuan had obtained was, nine times out of ten, given to him by this very demon.

Though she had once come to his door and forced a move against him, clear-minded people understood clearly enough: if he had been unable to defeat her, the matter would have become something else entirely.

Seeing that she paid no heed to his actions, he raised an eyebrow and lightly tapped the armrest of his chair. The sound rang out hollow and desolate.

"I said, can you make the decision?"

Luan Qingye fell silent for a moment after hearing that. She tightened her grip on the phoenix-headed cane, her vigilance rising.

"Speak of the matter first. Is it related to the survival or destruction of my clan?"

"Straightforward!"

Red Cloud gave a soft laugh.

He could see her condition clearly. At the slightest disagreement, she would likely draw blood.

For him, if something could be settled with words, he naturally would not resort to force.

After pondering it several times, Red Cloud cautiously voiced what he had inferred.

"I want an item that has long remained within the Luanbird clan."

"It must have been in your clan for a very long time. You may not even know what it is, but it is certainly kept under strict guard."

He had been watching the slightest change in her expression as he spoke, word by word.

"That object is of great use to me, though I still do not know exactly what it is.

"It may be a flame. It may be a land of molten fire deep within a magma field. Or perhaps... a heart."