The kill was still fresh, the scent of demon blood thick in the air, when a notification pinged in my mind. I froze.
You have slain the minor chieftain of Leopard Mountain, the Gold-Coin Demon Leopard. A Treasure Map Fragment has dropped!
Before I could even process it, a scrap of dark, black hide materialized in the air before me. It was no bigger than my palm, etched with a web of delicate white lines that seemed to shift in the light.
A treasure map?
My curiosity flared. With a flick of my thoughts—or maybe something more primal—I drew the scrap of hide to me. The moment it made contact with my scales, a jolt of raw, spiritual energy surged from the hide and shot through my entire body. It was an ancient, potent force that left me buzzing.
"Incredible," I hissed to myself. A palm-sized piece of leather humming with this much power? The beast that came from must have been a legend.
I spent the next several minutes examining the fragment, twisting and turning it, but it was useless. The lines were a meaningless tangle, a puzzle with too many missing pieces. It was just a small part of a much larger secret.
Just as I was about to set it aside, the System spoke again.
Items dropped by the Gold-Coin Demon Leopard will vanish in one hour if not claimed. Do you wish to absorb the target's memories and knowledge?
Right. The leopard's memories. In the excitement over the map, I'd almost forgotten.
This guy had a piece of the map, I reasoned. He was sitting on a secret. His memories might tell me what that secret is.
"Yes," I sent back. "I accept."
Absorbing memories of the Gold-Coin Demon Leopard. Brace for impact.
There was no bracing for it. A torrent of information, a lifetime of brutal, wild knowledge, slammed into my consciousness. It was a chaotic flood of scents, sounds, and raw emotion. It took me a good fifteen minutes to sort through the chaos and piece together the story.
And what a story it was.
It started a century ago. A demon beast of immense power, an ancient spiritual species, stumbled into the Bright Moon Mountain Range, already mortally wounded from a battle fought elsewhere. Knowing its time was short, it performed a final, desperate ritual. It skinned itself, creating a map from its own hide. The treasure it marked was the greatest it had to offer: its own life force.
It had refined its essence blood into the purest form of bloodline power—a universal elixir that any demon beast could absorb to trigger a profound evolution. The news sent shockwaves through the mountains. To drink that blood was to transform from common stock into a true spiritual beast, putting you on the fast track to becoming a great demon.
The map was the key. Not only did it pinpoint the location, but it also offered protection. The dying beast had corrupted its resting place, turning it into a "Land of Decay," a death trap for any who entered. Only those holding a piece of its own hide—the map—would be shielded from the lethal aura.
What followed was a century of bloodshed. The map was torn to shreds in the conflict, its pieces scattered. One of those pieces ended up with Boss Leopard's father, who passed it down to his son. And now, it was mine.
A thought struck me, and I pulled up the System interface.
"System," I demanded, "You told me that any significant treasures in a new area would be marked on my map. I've seen markers for herbs, but nothing about an ancient spiritual species. Why?"
A pause, then the System's flat, clinical voice replied.
The spiritual species in this location is of too low a realm. Its blood essence is too weak to qualify for a treasure marker.
I was floored. "Too weak? Then what does it take to get a marker?"
At minimum, a Demon King.
"A Demon King? And that would just barely qualify?" My serpentine eyes widened in disbelief. A Demon King was a walking cataclysm, a creature of mythic power. A casual flick of its tail could wipe me from existence. And the System called that barely worthy?
Perhaps sensing my shock, the System added, Host, your current perspective is that of a frog in a well. You cannot yet comprehend the true scale of this world.
"Right. You're the system, you're the boss," I muttered, shutting it down. The damn thing's honesty was brutal.
With that settled, I turned my attention to the future. First things first: Leopard Mountain was now Snake Mountain. As its new master, I was officially a minor chieftain. I could start recruiting followers, building an army, carving out a bigger territory.
But I couldn't be bothered. All I wanted was to cultivate in peace.
This mountain was rich in origin energy stones—the perfect fuel for my growth. I spent the next few days slithering across my new domain, marking it with my scent, letting the whispers carry through the undergrowth: Leopard Mountain had fallen. The Black Snake ruled now.
Soon, lesser demons arrived at my borders, looking to join the new power. I sent them all away. I wasn't interested in lackeys.
Then came a more significant visitor. Boss Niu, from neighboring Ox Mountain, showed up with his entourage, ostensibly to "congratulate" me.
"Brother Snake!" he boomed, his eyes wide with feigned astonishment. "I heard the rumors, but I didn't dare believe it! You've really reached the Demon Origin Realm! To think it was you who took down Boss Leopard! Incredible!"
He laid the praise on thick, but I felt nothing but cold amusement. I remembered this old ox. The moment Boss Leopard had marked me as an enemy, Boss Niu had sold me out without a second thought. I offered him a few curt words and sent him on his way, then declared Snake Mountain closed to all visitors.
Finally, peace.
The days blurred into a quiet routine of digging and consuming. I'd spend an entire day wrestling a single white origin energy stone from the earth, only to devour it for a paltry 20 experience points. It was a slow, arduous grind, but it was progress.
And so it went for half a month. Until the day two uninvited guests shattered my solitude.
I was sunning myself on a ledge when two powerful auras slammed into the mountain's perimeter. I shot up, coiling as I scanned the horizon. Two massive shapes were barreling in my direction—a pair of enormous, pitch-black boars with long, wicked tusks. They were moving with purpose.
My internal scan brought up their details.
Name: Black-Tusk Demon Boar
Strength: Mid-Stage Demon Origin Realm
Affiliation: Pig Mountain Minor Chieftain
Two of them. Both are stronger than I am.
This is going to be trouble, I thought, every muscle in my serpentine body tensed, ready to strike.
They thundered to a halt before me, kicking up clouds of dust.
"A snake?" one of them grunted, looking me up and down. "Where's your boss? We're here to see Boss Leopard."
They thought I was a subordinate.
"What's your business with him?" I asked, my voice a low rumble.
"That's chieftain business, none of yours," the boar snapped impatiently. "Now go tell him his father's old friends are here to talk about the map."
The map.
The words sent a jolt through me. I shook my head slowly. "I'm afraid you can't see him."
"What do you mean we can't see him?" the other boar demanded, taking an aggressive step forward. "This is about the treasure map! Tell him to get out of here!"
The boars suddenly went quiet, their snouts twitching as they tested the air. "Wait a second," the first one muttered, a look of confusion on its brutish face. "I don't smell the leopard anywhere. Is this not his mountain?"
"It was," I said, my forked tongue flicking out to taste the air. "It's Snake Mountain now."
"Snake Mountain?" The second boar's eyes narrowed. "What happened to the leopard?"
"I killed him."
They stared at me, then at each other, their shock palpable. "You killed him?" one of them finally snorted in disbelief. "You're just an early-stage Demon Origin. He was mid-stage, with a whole crew of toughs!"
The other boar shook its massive head. "Forget it. It doesn't matter. If you killed him, then his piece of the map belongs to you now, right?"
"It does," I confirmed.
"Good," the boar grunted. "Then we'll work with you. It's all the same to us, as long as you have the fragment. Tell me, what do you know about the treasure?"
"The basics," I said, choosing my words carefully. "I know about the ancient bloodline and the Land of Decay. What I don't know is why you're here. What's this 'cooperation' you're talking about?" I remained coiled, ready for the slightest hostile move.
"We were getting to that," the first boar said. "We're from Pig Mountain. You could call us... coordinators. The ten fragments of the map are scattered across the territories of different minor chieftains. Our job is to act as messengers, to bring everyone together."
"And why now?" I asked, a sliver of suspicion hardening in my voice. "You aren't here to avenge your old friend, are you?"
They both let out a rough, barking laugh. "You've got it all wrong," one chuckled. "There's an unwritten rule about the map, one that's a century old: we follow the fragment, not the beast who holds it. Possession is everything."
He leaned in, his voice dropping. "For fifty years, nine of the ten fragments have been accounted for. But the final piece was missing. Seven days ago, it was found. The time has come. We can finally assemble the full map and claim the inheritance."
"So you're making the rounds," I finished for him. "You came for the leopard, but you found me instead."
"Exactly. His death means you take his place. You come with us to the Land of Decay."
I processed this for a moment. "Just so we're clear," I said slowly. "We're all going to this Land of Decay for the inheritance. How many shares are there?"
"One," the boar stated flatly. "Only enough for one beast to inherit."
I let out a cold, dry hiss of a laugh. "Ten chieftains, one prize. You're inviting me to a bloodbath. No thanks. I'm not interested."
"It is a bloodbath," the other boar agreed, his tone grim. "Most of us won't walk out alive. But the prize is the blood of an ancient spiritual species. A chance to rewrite our destiny. That's a prize worth dying for."
I shook my head again. I didn't need to tell them that I was already an ancient species. I just needed time and peace to grow. Why would I risk everything in a deathmatch?
Seeing my refusal, the first boar's demeanor shifted. The friendly facade evaporated, replaced by a menacing sneer. "You keep saying no," he growled. "But I don't think you understand. You don't have a choice."
A flicker of killing intent sparked in my eyes. "Is that a threat? Are you planning to take my fragment by force?" I was ready to fight, even against two stronger opponents. If things went south, I could always take to the sky. They couldn't fly.
But the boar shook his head. "Not us," he said, a cruel smile on his face. "We won't touch you."
"Then who?"
"The Great Chieftain from Bright Moon Lake." The boar gestured vaguely with his snout. "His spies have been tailing us. He knows we're the ones contacting the fragment holders. Wherever we go, he knows a piece of the map can be found."
He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in. "And now, we've found you. Which means, in a matter of hours, he'll know too. If you don't join our alliance, you'll have to face him alone. And he is not known for his mercy."
As if on cue, he looked up. "See that hawk circling overhead? It's been there since we arrived. It's one of his lookouts."
I followed his gaze. A large goshawk was indeed gliding in lazy circles, its sharp eyes fixed on us.
"And look there," the boar added, nodding toward the horizon. "See that pangolin, half-buried, watching us? Another one of his spies. Even if you kill the bird, the pangolin will burrow away and deliver the message. There's no escape."
My blood ran cold. He was right. These boars hadn't just brought me an offer; they'd brought me a death sentence. They were a pair of walking plagues.
Seeing the grim realization on my face, the boars looked pleased. "So you see," one said, "you have to join us. Even if you tried to surrender the fragment to the Great Chieftain, he'd still kill you just to be safe. He's famously thorough."
"But why does he even need it?" I asked, stalling for time. "He's already in the Demon Spirit Realm."
"He's a common beast who got lucky," the boar scoffed. "He's hit his genetic ceiling. Without the inheritance, he'll never get any stronger. This is his only chance to evolve into a true spiritual species. He'll kill anyone who gets in his way."
He took a step closer, his voice a low, conspiratorial rumble. "Now do you understand why we need you? Why do we need everyone with a fragment? We're not trying to rob you. We're trying to build an army. Our only chance of surviving the Great Chieftain is to stand together. Our enemy isn't each other—not yet. It's him."
He stared at me, his piggish eyes gleaming with grim intensity.
"So that's your choice. Join us for a shot at becoming a legend, or wait here to be hunted down and slaughtered by the Great Chieftain. What's it going to be?"
Silence descended on the mountainside. The only sound was the wind and the distant cry of the hawk circling above, a vulture waiting for a corpse.
"Give me some time," I finally said, my mind racing. "I need to think."