Chapter Fifteen: Ten Thousand Thunderbolts

Such a scene was far from what Six Ugly had hoped for. He had aided Chang Xiangzhi for three reasons, the foremost being the power behind her. But now, Chang Cun had become a pariah, unable even to protect himself. The only bargaining chips left for Six Ugly were two: the background of Tianshan Escape and a favor owed from a single blow in the past.

Six Ugly fell silent. He sat down again, took dried meat from his pack, and roasted it over the fire. Once softened, he ate greedily, offering some to Chang Xiangzhi with a simple word: “Eat.”

Chang Xiangzhi’s gaze shifted slightly. She took the food to her lips, but after a long pause, she suddenly asked, “Are you going to let me go?”

Six Ugly replied calmly, “No. We go together.” He drew a deep breath, held it in his lungs for a moment, then exhaled slowly, as if purging his inner turmoil. “If you’re not in a hurry to head west, you can follow me for now.”

A look of undisguised astonishment crossed Chang Xiangzhi’s face; Six Ugly’s words seemed even more incredible than letting her leave. “Follow you? Don’t joke. The master of the Twenty-Nine Valleys is no ordinary wind demon. I was captured but didn’t lose my life, but you… you’re just a sixth-tier minor demon. How can you dare provoke the master?”

This demoness, truly a descendant of a great demon, though lacking in cultivation, had keen eyesight. She discerned Six Ugly’s rank with a single glance. Yet he persisted, “I have my own means of survival. No need to worry.”

Six Ugly spoke with his head bowed, so Chang Xiangzhi could not see his eyes or guess his intentions. She frowned. “I don’t look down on you, but even with you, we might not escape the masters’ hunt. Within half a day, those valley masters will catch up. If we travel together, we’re doomed.”

“We’ll move together, a hundred paces apart, each on our own path, heading east,” Six Ugly’s tone remained calm. After deciding to protect Chang Xiangzhi, he felt a strange tranquility within himself. Even he did not understand why; perhaps after breaking through the Ten Thousand Demons Art, some new emotion stirred in his heart, lending him a certain intuition. This intuition, unfounded, told him what was right and wrong, and rippled through his soul. “Our ultimate goal is Dog Hill. Once there, I have a way to send you west.”

Chang Xiangzhi gazed deeply at Six Ugly. The confusion faded; her face grew cold. The feigned innocence, youth, and bewilderment she showed on first meeting Six Ugly vanished entirely, replaced by the icy demeanor forged over a year’s hardships. “Then, aside from thanking you, I’ll remember this favor for now and repay it later. But I want to know: why help me? Is it just because of that one time before? That hardly seems worth such risk!”

This, after years on the run, was Chang Xiangzhi’s true self.

“I just want to kill those creatures,” Six Ugly raised his head, faced Chang Xiangzhi directly, revealing a hideous, frightening grin. He licked his lips. “You’re the bait. I need their demon cores, nothing more!”

“One word settles it!”

Chang Xiangzhi’s gaze sharpened, and she nodded emphatically.

She could not judge the truth of his reason, but in Six Ugly’s eyes, she saw a degree of sincerity. In other words, he truly meant to hunt his enemies; the reasons were his own. For Chang Xiangzhi, that was enough. Trust or distrust was no longer important; at least this minor demon had not harmed her while she was unconscious, which was a foundation for initial trust.

Their conversation ended simply. Six Ugly, using his motive for demon cores, won Chang Xiangzhi’s temporary trust. She shed her childish facade and established a fleeting understanding between them. After finishing the dried meat, Six Ugly told Chang Xiangzhi to rest for an hour before departing.

While Chang Xiangzhi rested, Six Ugly left her sight and entered the World-in-a-Pot.

The demon cores he had just harvested were already refined. After consuming them, his demonic power, physique, and speed all climbed another step, securely entering the seventh tier. His hand crossbow, having absorbed the snake demon’s weapon and armor, and been tempered with demon cores, underwent further mutation.

The crossbow’s appearance changed little, but it grew far heavier than before. The body, string, and mechanism all became thick and black, exuding an aura that seemed to devour light. Its dark hue was intimidating to behold.

Six Ugly caressed the crossbow, checked it thoroughly, and quickly etched its new specifications in his mind. The greatest change was its speed—nearly doubled compared to before!

In other words, its range, power, and speed had all greatly improved; in modern terms, it was fully optimized.

The most important upgrades, however, were two functions—

Three-shot burst!

Three bolts could now be nocked simultaneously, and with a single pull of the trigger, all would fire in quick succession. Like a firearm shifting from single to triple shot, the power remained the same, but the ammunition tripled.

The difference between “BANG—” and “BANGBANGBANG—”.

Each burst consumed a demon core, and it had to be from a minor demon or higher; ordinary beast cores could no longer fuel it.

Thunderbolt Arrow!

It extracted the world’s spiritual essence from a demon core, infused it into the bolt, and used the wielder’s own energy as the medium. When fired, it struck with the force of ten thousand pounds—tendons snapped, bones shattered, bloodlines ruptured!

This upgrade consumed many demon cores, but the greatest change was these two features. One could only imagine the power of the Thunderbolt Arrow!

Thunderbolt Arrow—arrow of ten thousand pounds, shattering liver and intestines, breaking body and soul.

Six Ugly stroked the crossbow’s mechanism. Its touch was smooth; after countless battles, he felt a subtle connection to the weapon. Each time he gripped it, it was like reuniting with an old friend, a sensation that calmed him and helped him vent his killing intent.

Time slipped by quickly. The hour of the Ox passed. Chang Xiangzhi had begun her solitary journey east, crossing mountains and hills toward Dog Hill. After nearly a quarter-hour, Six Ugly summoned Golden Eye from the World-in-a-Pot and set out as well.

Dog Hill was not far. If unimpeded, it would take two days of swift travel. The dried meat they had was enough for the journey. If, after two days, pursuers had not caught up, they would be within Dog Hill’s bounds, where even the masters of the Twenty-Nine Valleys would hesitate to enter directly.

About two hours later, a cold wind swept close to the ground, disturbing the grass and stones, scattering debris, and finally dissipating beside the corpses of the snake demons. Several ferocious minor demons appeared.

Among them, a leopard demon examined the corpses carefully, flaring its nostrils. “Poison! These snake demons were all poisoned, then killed. There must be other demons here!”

A worm demon nodded, quickly flying to the site where the two had rested and eaten near the campfire, and declared, “The other’s a monkey—perhaps a remnant from Walnut Hill. They’re heading east now. Go report to Stone Cave Master; we’ll follow.”

“East? That’s all human territory. She struggled from the south to here, yet instead of heading west, she’s turning east. Is this another trick?” Another minor demon wondered. “Should we send some west?”

“That’s not our concern. Just report to Cave Master; he’ll decide. Our job is simply to track them. As long as we don’t lose the trail, it’s a great achievement!” The worm demon, clearly in charge, spoke decisively.

“Understood!”

The minor demons quickly split up. One returned, while the others fanned out and pursued eastward. If any veered off course, the worm demon corrected and reoriented the group, keeping them on track.

These minor demons were all wind demons from various valleys, their power at seventh tier or higher, and their speed astonishing. The leopard demon’s innate magic was swift movement; he summoned a cold wind to carry the group quickly. Only their limited power kept them from catching up instantly and confronting Six Ugly and Chang Xiangzhi.

Tracking, shapeshifting magic, and their natural resilience allowed them to pursue for three days and nights without rest—this was the greatest difference between demons and humans. Though their affinity for spiritual energy was lacking, their bodies compensated fully, making them formidable.

Several hours later, as the demons gave chase, Six Ugly perched atop a tree off the pursuit path, watching the distant valley where the minor demons emerged one by one. With his keen hearing, their movements were laid bare.

Six Ugly silently counted: five minor demons, all seventh tier or above. No sign of the valley masters yet; these were merely the vanguard. The masters had not received word and were still en route.

Just as he wished—an opportunity to claim five demon cores!

Six Ugly slid down from the tree, landed squarely on Golden Eye’s back, and with a squeeze of his thighs, Golden Eye shot away like an arrow, vanishing into the deep, endless night.

Not long after, a minor demon approached a large tree, detecting traces of demonic presence beneath it. Vines sprawled everywhere, but among them was a faint scent, drawing him closer.

The scent was subtle; only up close could it be detected.

The minor demon edged toward the vines, cautious, using his weapon to probe rather than his hands. In prolonged contests with Chang Xiangzhi, this young demoness had begun to learn trap-making, and though her skills were still immature, they could still leave minor demons battered and bruised. So he was extra careful.

As another clump of vines was lifted, the demon failed to notice a fine hair stretched taut among them. It snapped and recoiled.

The minor demon sensed something amiss. He stopped, raised his weapon defensively, prepared for any trap—

But just then, something swept across from the opposite tree branch, suspended in mid-air, swinging toward him with a loud rush.

It was a tree trunk, strung up by the vines!

The demon reacted swiftly, rolling aside without thinking to escape the spot.

But—

He had barely stopped, his body not fully extended, when a sudden chill struck his back. A crossbow bolt pierced through, shredding heart and lungs, protruding from his chest!

Six Ugly had hidden nearby, using the crashing trunk to distract the demon, then unleashed the crossbow for a fatal shot.

The demon struggled vainly, but a hand clamped around his throat, and with a crack, his head twisted oddly, ending his life.

After a couple of spasms, he lay motionless.

Only then did Six Ugly slip from behind, carve out the demon core, and stash the corpse in the World-in-a-Pot, leaving no trace behind.