Chapter 80: The Demon

“To grant a demon entry into the Dao, the potency of the Gathering Essence Pill must be extraordinary. If it were mine… in half a year—no, five months—I could forge the secret essence of the Primordial Dragon-Tiger Canon, shatter my fetters, and step into the Dao myself.”

Qi Xiu’s gaze burned with intensity, the reflection of the fabled Gathering Essence Pouch already flickering in his eyes.

Demons differ from humans. They are not bound by the physiological limitations of ancient celestial force. As long as their cultivation meets the mark, they can ascend into the Daoist realm. However, the cultivation required for demons to achieve this is often several times greater than that needed for humans.

The Gathering Essence Pouch enabled Lord Jin Cai to enter the Daoist realm. This alone attests to the power of the Gathering Essence Pill.

“It seems I have cause to make a journey to East Li County. But before that, I must finish my current tasks.”

With a flick of his sleeve, Qi Xiu turned, lightly rapping his bamboo staff against the rear of the donkey munching on wild grass. “Gluttonous creature,” he chided.

He then unfastened the saddle and bit from the donkey’s back. Patting its large head, he said softly, “I was counting on you to bear me home, but my plans have changed. The place I now go, you cannot follow. I’ll let you go today—try not to be so greedy hereafter. Off you go.”

The donkey brayed plaintively, then nuzzled Qi Xiu’s arm before trotting off into the forested hills.

Having released his donkey, Qi Xiu shook out his sleeves, fastened the bamboo staff to his waist, and set off toward Tiger’s Roar Pass.

…

Tiger’s Roar Pass, Longhorn Pavilion

Once a humble relay station for passing merchants and travelers, it had become a gruesome field of carnage—everywhere, mangled flesh, bones underfoot, a place steeped in terror.

At the entrance stood a tall, ancient wooden gate mottled with rot, its surface carved with bizarre, chilling glyphs. To cross that threshold was to enter a domain of darkness under demonic rule.

Inside the dilapidated, desolate hall, several hundred merchant guards—faces sallow, expressions stricken with terror—were penned in. The air reeked of decay and death, thick with putrid stench.

A dozen or so toad-men—hybrid fiends with weapons in hand—circled the captives, eyes glinting with greed, tongues flicking over their lips, picking their teeth and swallowing hungrily.

“Boss, it’s already afternoon. Shouldn’t we pick a few out for a little snack?” One sneaky-looking toad-man sidled up to a hulking, particularly toad-like hybrid, whispering his suggestion.

The third commander opened his bulging, round eyes and glanced at him. “I think you’re just hungry.”

“Heh, the chief and second commander are out on patrol. You’re in charge now, boss. There are so many people here—if the lads have a few, it won’t hurt. I spotted a little girl, maybe six or seven, in the crowd—so tender. Shall I…?”

Tempted, the third commander swallowed hard and peered outside. “Fine, you can have a few, but don’t overdo it.”

“Right away! Brothers, let’s eat!”

With permission granted, the toad-men grew excited, urging the others to join in while he himself moved to the edge of the crowd, reaching out to seize the little girl.

“Don’t eat my child! Please, don’t!” A woman clutched her daughter desperately, sobbing and begging for mercy.

But these distorted, monstrous hybrids had lost all trace of human morality. The victims’ pleas only further aroused their depraved excitement.

“Let go! If you don’t, I’ll eat you both!”

The bloated head twisted with malice, the toad-man’s jagged teeth bared as he lunged at the woman’s arm.

Suddenly, a streak of violet light screamed through the air and plunged into the toad-man’s body.

With a bang, his features twisted in agony, and he exploded into a shower of viscous, stinking gore and fragments.

“Who’s there?!”

The sudden chaos jolted the third commander alert. He sprang up, eyes darting about, searching for the intruder.

“A pack of beasts, playing at talismans?”

Standing before the ancient, rotting gate, Qi Xiu gazed coolly at the twisted glyphs carved upon it.

“Who are you?” The third commander hefted his serrated cleaver and strode from the hall, fixing his gaze on the pale, scholarly youth before him.

“I’m the one who’s come for your lives.”

Qi Xiu stepped forward, crossing the threshold. Instantly, the crimson, writhing glyphs—like maggots—came alive.

In a flash, a demonic force filled the air, twisting into serpentine threads that lunged at Qi Xiu, enwrapping him in a seething cocoon.

These worms were hair-thin, and a closer look revealed their bodies covered in countless tiny white specks. If they bored into flesh, the victim would erupt in boils and die, dissolving into bloody pus.

“Hahaha, arrogant wretch! You want my head? If you get through, I’ll give it to you as a ball to kick!”

Seeing the demonic seal react, the third commander laughed triumphantly. Their lord was a demon of the Daoist realm—who could break his magic?

But as he gloated, certain the scholar would die a gruesome death, a fierce golden light tore through the cocoon.

With a violent shudder, the worm-mass shattered.

Qi Xiu stood calm and unmoved, golden talismans bearing the character “Suppress” whirling about him, swiftly annihilating the demonic worms.

From his satchel, sealing talismans flew forth, clinging to the ancient gate, rasping away the evil glyphs bit by bit as if with a file.

Stepping through, Qi Xiu looked at the now-stiff third commander. “I’m inside. Where’s your head?”

With a crash, the gate, stripped of its demonic power, collapsed.

The third commander, panic in his eyes, raised his cleaver, teeth clenched. “Get him, all of you!”

“Don’t throw your lives away—this is no ordinary martialist!”

As the third commander prepared to lead the toad-men in an assault, two towering figures, shrouded in toxic mist with ulcerous skin and eyes as yellow as coins, dropped down before him.

“Chief, Deputy! You’re back!” With his reinforcements returned, the third commander’s trembling legs finally steadied. Although a commander himself, he was the most junior and far weaker than the chief and deputy.

The chief stepped forward, his coin-like pupils fixed thoughtfully on Qi Xiu. “Whose disciple are you? If you’ve come to rescue these people, speak your name. We’ll let you take them.”

He could not fathom the pale scholar before him, so the chief abandoned thoughts of a direct fight. Their lord had instructed them to lure martialists here as bait for his feast. But this scholar had broken the very demonic seals left by their master—he was clearly beyond their measure.

To fight would mean mutual destruction…