Xiao Wan, you better behave yourself

Chen Yi walked up to the black horse and circled it a few times.

It really didn't look like a demon...

Although it emitted demonic qi, it was too faint and intermittent. He had never encountered such a situation in the simulations.

But it could speak and had acted the part the whole way, which meant it possessed intelligence.

This perfectly matched the characteristics of a demon.

"Why did you disguise yourself as a horse to deceive me? If you don't give me a reasonable explanation today, I'll be eating horse meat for dinner tonight!"

The black horse knelt on the ground, shivering uncontrollably.

"Spare my life, Master!

This old servant had no other choice. If I spoke, people would call me a demon and try to kill me!

I understood this truth when I was very young.

Fortunately, I am different from other demons. I was born looking exactly like a horse, without a single flaw, so I never even needed to use a disguise.

Therefore, this old servant has always pretended to be an ordinary horse, bearing burdens willingly and allowing myself to be ridden and driven.

I have never met a master as powerful as you. Just now, when I heard you say you were going to kill demons, I panicked and begged for mercy..."

Chen Yi stared at the horse.

It was currently showing a very human-like expression. He could tell it was genuinely terrified and was quite a cowardly fellow.

Having spent day and night together for the past two months, Chen Yi hadn't noticed any signs of cultivation in it.

It just had better endurance and was sturdier than a normal horse.

Of course, it also ate a lot more.

"Stop calling yourself 'old servant'. I don't take slaves. From now on, your name is Black Wind. You will continue to be my mount. However, in front of others, you must not speak human language and expose the fact that you are not an ordinary horse."

Black Wind knelt on the ground and gently raised his eyes, seemingly unable to believe it.

After knowing he was a demon, not only did this martial artist lord not kill him, but he was actually willing to keep him.

Every master he had ever met in the past, upon realizing he was no ordinary horse, would panic and then grab knives and torches to kill and burn him.

Black Wind didn't know how many times he had narrowly escaped death.

He also didn't know how many nightmarish moments he had experienced where someone would affectionately stroke his horse face one second, saying "This is my beloved horse," only to try and kill him the next.

"Black Wind obeys! I will definitely not disappoint Master's grace!"

Chen Yi said with some amusement.

"Is not killing you considered grace? Be more confident, you're a good horse."

Black Wind trembled.

"But I don't understand, are you a horse or a demon?"

"Black Wind gained intelligence in a beast's body, so I should be a demon."

"The demon race can all cultivate. Can you?"

Chen Yi had dealt with demons for over sixty years in the simulations.

He had some understanding of the characteristics of the demon race.

For example, the demon race could all cultivate, and they did not have the concept of root bones.

Instead, they had bloodlines.

Demons with stronger bloodlines didn't cultivate faster, but rather possessed greater combat prowess.

In terms of cultivation, the demon race basically relied on outliving everything else. The higher their realm, the longer they usually lived.

However, they couldn't just exist. Basking in the sun every day wouldn't work; they also had to train diligently.

The lifespan of the demon race was much longer than that of the human race.

Cultivating bitterly every day only to see their realm progress at a snail's pace was somewhat unbearable for many demons.

That was why so many demons chose to risk entering the Five Domains, waiting for an opportunity to eat humans.

Eating humans allowed their cultivation to increase much faster; it was a shortcut.

As for why demons eating humans increased their cultivation, but humans eating humans did not, Chen Yi still didn't know.

"Black Wind has never tried this thing called cultivation."

"I'll teach you an external martial art. See if you can cultivate it."

The Myriad Soul Banner complained.

"You are a human, and he is a horse. Even if he is a demon, it's impossible for him to cultivate a human cultivation technique!"

That sounded reasonable.

But Chen Yi felt that Black Wind might not necessarily be a demon, and he was obviously not just a simple horse.

There was another kind of creature in the Five Domains known as exotic beasts.

Like the demon race, they possessed formidable physical bodies and bloodlines, but they lacked intelligence. They were usually tamed by martial artists to become battle pets, mounts, or guard beasts.

Black Wind could speak, so he also didn't fit the characteristic of an exotic beast lacking intelligence.

He might be some kind of special existence, and it wasn't entirely impossible for him to cultivate a human technique.

Therefore, during the return journey, Chen Yi used their resting time to teach Black Wind a low tier external martial art, the Reckless Bull Force.

This low tier external martial art, obtained from the Thunderstrike Martial Arts Dojo during his first simulation, was of very low quality, but its advantage lay in its simple core principles.

Black Wind couldn't even read. For his first time cultivating, Chen Yi couldn't set his expectations too high.

A month later, one man, one horse, and one banner arrived at the banks of the Azure River.

"If we follow this river downstream, we'll reach White Cloud County."

The Azure River was very long, spanning across three provinces.

Riding a horse was nowhere near as comfortable as taking a boat.

Chen Yi directly bought a beautiful small painted pleasure boat and sailed down the river. Along the way, he sang songs, enjoyed the scenery, and taught Black Wind how to cultivate.

He was happy and content.

The only annoying thing was that the Myriad Soul Banner was too talkative.

After understanding Chen Yi's realm and root bone, it once again proposed the "earth vein breakthrough theory".

"Still sleeping? How can you sleep at your age? With a low tier root bone at your realm, thinking you can break through on your own is an idiot's daydream! Hurry up and find an earth vein, I'll help you break through!"

"Still eating? Cultivation is like sailing against the current. If you don't break through, others will! They will trample you underfoot and humiliate you to their heart's content! Go find an earth vein and defy the heavens to change your fate, right now!"

Chen Yi brought out the Myriad Soul Banner, held it in his hand, and placed it over the edge of the boat.

"If you keep nagging, I'll shout three times, 'The Myriad Soul Banner is here, come quickly and enforce justice on behalf of Heaven'."

The Myriad Soul Banner let out a fawning laugh.

"Hehe, look at how things have turned out..."

"I'm the one who needs to break through, not you. Why are you more proactive than I am?"

"You are my master! If you become stronger, I can enjoy the shade under a great tree!"

"Is that so?"

Chen Yi looked at this fellow with a suspicious gaze.

During the third simulation, the Myriad Soul Banner had followed him for decades.

Apart from having a foul mouth, it didn't have any other flaws.

Although this guy was full of wicked ideas, it was just an artifact after all, and it couldn't bewitch him, so all it could do was flap its gums.

"Xiao Wan, you better behave yourself. To me, you are not an 'indispensable' existence.

I've said it before, if I have to rely on slaughter to improve, I will definitely choose to kill demons.

Take a guess, is there something in this world that is more useful than you when it comes to killing demons?"

The Myriad Soul Banner was sweating profusely.

Of course it knew.

The Demon Refining Pot!

The Demon Refining Pot was currently sealed away by the demon race within the Great Wilderness, in a place called the Myriad Demon Lake.

Chen Yi didn't know exactly where this was, nor did he know how far it was from the Five Domains.

That would have to wait for future simulations to explore.

Suddenly, a wave of demonic qi drifted over the surface of the river.

"There's a demon."

Black Wind took a step back, wanting to hide inside the cabin.

Seeing that Chen Yi was still on the deck, he walked back out, his four horse legs trembling as he stood beside Chen Yi.

Chen Yi patted the horse's back, signaling him not to be afraid.

Looking at this demonic qi, Chen Yi felt it was somewhat familiar.

"Oh... an old acquaintance."

Ahead on the river, there was another painted pleasure boat.

That boat was much larger and more luxurious than Chen Yi's. The harmonious sounds of lutes and zithers drifted from it, and those sitting aboard appeared to be either wealthy or noble.

"Splash..."

The calm surface of the river began to churn with waves.

The small boat quickly began to sway violently from side to side, at risk of capsizing at any moment.

Chen Yi lightly stomped his foot, and the entire boat instantly became as steady as a rock.

With another stomp of his foot, he exerted a perfectly controlled burst of strength, giving the boat a sudden forward acceleration.

The small painted pleasure boat, which had been merely drifting with the current, instantly shot forward like a speedboat, riding the wind and cleaving through the waves!

"Fathead Fish! Since fate has brought us together, come and be the very first honored guest within my banner!"