Volume One: The Divine Kingdom of the Long Night Chapter Fifty: The Great Demon Who Came to Slay an Immortal (Part One)

As Jiang Wang was attempting to negotiate with the Night Wandering God about creating a divine miracle, Constable Zhou of the Guardian Yamen paid a sudden visit.

Led by a white-robed cultivator, Constable Zhou walked straight into the courtyard where Jiang Wang was staying. He cupped his fists with a smile and said, "Little Marquis, calling on you so late at night, I am disturbing your peace."

Jiang Wang nodded and asked, "What is the matter?"

Constable Zhou replied, "Because of that incident in South City Alley, we found a young girl at the Du residence and temporarily brought her back to the yamen. No matter what we asked, she wouldn't say a word. It wasn't until tonight that she mentioned knowing the Little Marquis. Realizing there must be some misunderstanding, I brought her here."

With those words, he shifted his body slightly to the side, revealing Akong's small figure.

Akong opened her big, adorable eyes wide and said, "I'm hungry..."

Constable Zhou hurriedly explained, "It's not that we didn't feed her, but she eats far too much."

Jiang Wang gave her a silent look and said, "I can understand."

Constable Zhou did not leave immediately; instead, he continued with an ingratiating smile, "Strange to say, how did the Du family become completely empty overnight?"

Jiang Wang calmly replied, "Perhaps they offended someone and moved away with their entire household. As you know, there are many foreign cultivators in Hun City."

Constable Zhou looked enlightened and said, "So that's how it is."

He immediately took his leave.

The white-robed cultivator lowered his voice and asked, "Did this man notice something?"

Jiang Wang smiled faintly and said, "He is, after all, Hun City's premier detective, but he is a smart man."

Waving his hand to dismiss the white-robed cultivator to rest, Jiang Wang looked at Akong and said helplessly, "We aren't that familiar. Even if you have nothing to eat, why come looking for me?"

Akong said, "I saw your house is quite wealthy, and the stone slabs paved on the ground are very exquisite. If you give me food, I will do things for you."

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow and asked, "What can you do for me?"

Akong stretched out both hands, diligently counting on her fingers, "There are so many things I can do! I can cook, and I can eat; I can spend money, I can fight, and I can farm..."

Watching Akong rattle on endlessly, Jiang Wang thought that apart from being able to eat and spend money, she really did sound like a treasure chest.

"If you want to stay, then stay. Although you eat a bit much, my Marquis Manor can still afford to feed you." Jiang Wang stretched lazily, pointed toward a certain room, and said, "You can live right next to Xiaoyu."

Akong patted her small belly and grievance-wailingly said, "Give me a little food first, then."

Amused, Jiang Wang said, "Everything is in the kitchen. Go make it yourself."

Having pointed out the location of the kitchen to Akong, Jiang Wang paid her no further mind. His consciousness slipped into the divine kingdom, where he found the Night Wandering God rolling around playing on the mountain once more. Lying down right there, he said, "Since you are a deity, creating some divine miracles should be quite easy, right?"

The Night Wandering God glanced at him sideways and said, "You are oversimplifying things. If a second miraculous sign appears in Qixia Street and is detected by mighty beings, this immortal-seeking venture will take an extraordinary turn, and by then, you probably won't even have a whole corpse left."

Jiang Wang was deeply melancholy.

If he could not take the initiative, when would he ever attain true invincibility?

The Night Wandering God spread its wings and soared high, sending bits of grass flying in all directions as its form swelled to immense proportions, covering the entire mountain. Its voice seemed to come from all directions: "Recently, I have sensed great demons roaming around the outskirts of Hun City. Cultivators have been seeking immortals for so long that the demons coming to slay immortals are also about to arrive. If you manufacture a divine miracle now, you will inevitably be swarmed and attacked by the demons."

"Instead of plotting against those cultivators, you might as well go subdue demons and eliminate devils. By tomorrow at the latest, the first wave of vanguard demons will arrive in Hun City, and their tiers will not be too high—just right for you to pick up easy scraps."

Jiang Wang raised his gaze to look at the Night Wandering God and said, "Small demons are uninteresting. Wouldn't it be better if I just went and solved that major demon directly? The rewards obtained would surely be much greater than killing small fry."

The Night Wandering God spat in disdain, stirring up a violent gale within the divine kingdom. "In your dreams! Do you think a major demon daring enough to come slay immortals will be weak? Picking up scraps is one thing, but once that major demon truly manifests, you'd better start thinking about how to pack up your family and flee."

Jiang Wang frowned and asked, "Major demons are coming—will Hun City fall?"

The Night Wandering God spoke in a deep voice, "Had I remained at the height of my power, a single sneeze could have blasted it to smithereens. But if no Grand Void realm mighty cultivator appears in Hun City, once the major demon descends, Hun City will undoubtedly fall."

Jiang Wang's expression turned grim.

If he summoned mighty beings using divine miracles, he might lose his life; but if he failed to do so, Hun City would perish.

Whether to save his own skin or save Hun City—this was a tremendous dilemma.

Even though he had yet to traverse the entirety of Hun City and only knew a handful of people there...

...

The next day, the Si hour.

It was raining in Hun City.

Luo Xianshan arrived at the Marquis of Xuyang's Manor just as usual.

Although practicing martial arts in the rain possessed a greater poetic mood, Venerable Luo cherished Xiaoyu and chose to teach her in a sheltered place away from the rain.

Jiang Wang lay watching from beneath the covered corridor. While Xiaoyu practiced and enlightened herself, he asked Luo Xianshan, "The major demons running amok within the borders of the Sui State have not been dealt with yet?"

Luo Xianshan frowned and replied, "Although my Martial God Temple has dispatched Fourth Realm martial artists and even grandmaster experts to help slay demons, because the Sword God is in Kutan, there was indeed no opportunity for me to strike. Since major demons are elusive and never stay in one place, it always takes time to completely resolve the issue."

Jiang Wang asked, "Does Aoyin count as a major demon?"

Luo Xianshan shook his head and said, "Aoyin is merely a major demon among small demons. True major demons naturally possess strength capable of rivaling Grand Void realm cultivators. Even for me, facing a major demon leaves me with very little chance of victory."

He looked at Jiang Wang and asked with curiosity, "Why did you suddenly bring this up?"

Jiang Wang said, "Mirages have manifested in Hun City, drawing cultivators here to seek immortals, while major demons have simultaneously started running amok everywhere. Haven't the mighty figures of the Sui State felt that something is wrong?"

Luo Xianshan said in a deep voice, "In the past, whenever anomalies of immortals descending to the mortal world occurred, major demons would always surface. Yet, a scale like this is indeed rare. Chief Chancellor Chang of the Yuyuan Academy once suspected that the demons fear immortals and are attempting to nip the immortals in the bud just as they descend."

"However, ever since the Sui State erected its barriers to block off the majority of demons, events like demons attacking a city can hardly be said to never happen, yet they are still exceedingly rare."

"If they truly want to kill immortals, why are major demons running amok far away from the anomalies? Their purpose might be to attract the attention of mighty cultivators, but there ought to be some action afterward, yet none has been heard of previously."

Luo Xianshan pondered, "I suspect it might be because past immortal-seeking attempts all ended in failure without ever sighting a true immortal; after the demons caused an uproar, they naturally withdrew. Yet, the State Preceptor once found an immortal, and although major demons ran amok then as well, there were still no subsequent developments. This matter is indeed rather bizarre."

Jiang Wang thought to himself: when major demons perceive immortals descending, they take action. But it was entirely likely that past anomalies were not all caused by descending immortals. Since there were no immortals, retreating was entirely reasonable.

As for the State Preceptor finding an immortal, it could also be explained by the demons failing to find the immortal in time. If they had directly attacked the Divine Capital, they likely lacked the capability; otherwise, the entire world would have been left with only monsters and no humans long ago.

Yet the more he thought along these lines, the more panicked Jiang Wang felt.

If monsters were going to attack Hun City, did that not mean they had already found an immortal?

If there genuinely was an immortal here, fine; but the moment they targeted him, he would be done for!

Jiang Wang looked solemnly at Luo Xianshan and said, "I have received news that major demons are active in the vicinity of Hun City, and there may even be a gathering of multiple demons. Can the Venerable return to the Martial God Temple to mobilize personnel to guard Hun City?"

Luo Xianshan's expression changed drastically. He lowered his voice and asked, "Is your news reliable?"

Jiang Wang replied, "Basically reliable."

Luo Xianshan's expression shifted uncertainly. "If that is the case, could there truly be an immortal in Hun City?!"

Jiang Wang fell silent.

Luo Xianshan looked at him and said, "This matter must be reported to the Sword Pavilion. If major demons attack the city, it is very likely an immortal has truly descended here. As long as we find the immortal a step ahead, the demon threat will not be worth worrying about. The situation is critical; I must indeed make a trip back to the Martial God Temple, though I do not know if I will make it in time."

...

Jiang Wang had no confidence in the existence of an immortal in Hun City.

Otherwise, why would the Night Wandering God have sought him out?

Yet, he desperately hoped that Hun City truly possessed an immortal.

...

Inside a tavern on Pianlan Street.

Cups were passed and goblets exchanged amidst a bustling hubbub.

Jiang Wang sat slumped by a window seat.

Opposite him, Xie Wuxing drank in silence and said in a deep voice, "Before I came to Hun City, my master had already descended the mountain to slay demons. It is said that monsters are only running amok around the periphery of cities, but the citizens within the walls are also panicked. The cultivators of the Sword Pavilion with any real cultivation base have all gone down the mountain. To turn back and rescue Hun City will be exceedingly difficult."

Jiang Wang asked, "Is Chief Chancellor Chang staying in the Yuyuan Academy?"

Xie Wuxing replied, "Both the Martial God Temple and the Yuyuan Academy are slaying demons in nearby locations. Most regions are handled by the Sword Pavilion, after all, very few in the Martial God Temple can contend with major demons, and the Yuyuan Academy goes without saying—Chief Chancellor Chang is the sole Grand Void realm mighty figure there."

"Major demons are running amok across all territories of the Sui State, dispersing the power of the Divine Capital. Hun City has already reached a state of utter isolation with no rescue in sight."

Hearing this, Jiang Wang realized that even if he provoked mighty beings with a divine miracle, by the time those so-called mighty beings descended, Hun City would have long since been breached by monsters.

Other than fighting, there was only flight—these two paths.

Although Hun City was not large, it was certainly not small either. According to the Night Wandering God's estimation, the first wave of attacking monsters would appear today. To have the entire city's populace evacuate would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.

Therefore, there was actually only one path left.

And it still boiled down to that same question.

Either save only the manor, along with Old Man Xu, or fight to defend the city.

Xie Wuxing seemed to recall something and said, "Do you still remember that man surnamed Xiao who appeared on Qixia Street?"

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow.

Xie Wuxing continued, "I suspect he might be a Grand Void realm mighty cultivator. If that can be verified, relying on our combined strength, we might just be able to hold off the attacking major demons."

Jiang Wang asked, "Do you know where he is?"

Xie Wuxing said, "I have been searching for him these past few days and have already pinpointed his location."

Jiang Wang stood up and said, "Then let's go."

A bamboo grove in West City Alley.

The gentle drizzle imbued this place with a damp mist.

Holding a black oiled-paper umbrella, Jiang Wang let out a soft breath, lowered his head to look at his mud-spattered boots, and frowned as he asked, "He lives right here?"

Xie Wuxing pointed ahead, where a bamboo house was faintly visible. Clearly newly constructed, it possessed a rather marvelous ambiance amidst the misty rain.