48-50

Chapter 48: Variables

Chirp!

The sky was just beginning to lighten, cloudless. Under the pale red dawn, a black-feathered, red-eyed crow spread its wings and swooped down.

Its wings cast a shadow as it flew over the thick walls and towers, past the undulating gray-white houses and buildings, finally landing on a stone pillar in a vast square, preening its feathers.

In the center of the square stood a dark red nine-story tower, over a hundred meters tall, its walls engraved with ferocious beast patterns, surrounded by thirty-six thick bronze chains.

As dawn broke, a persistent layer of dark clouds clung to the tower. Approaching it, one felt an involuntary chill, as if watched by countless ghosts, a shiver running down the spine.

In a low building near the tower, a thin old man slowly opened his eyes.

The man, barely 1.6 meters tall, wore a wide, black robe-like garment with two golden dragons embroidered on his forearms. His back was hunched, his body as thin as kindling. Regardless of his past strength, time had left indelible marks.

But in stark contrast to his aged body were his eyes—bright, like two miniature suns, radiating golden light, deeply sunken in their sockets. Thin, golden veins extended outwards, grotesque and imposing, giving him an air of authority.

In the darkness beside him stood a tall, muscular middle-aged man, over 2.1 meters tall, his white coarse cloth shirt straining against his explosive muscles. His exposed arms were crisscrossed with scars, hinting at countless brutal battles.

"Damn bastards!" The middle-aged man's face was contorted with rage. "Those greedy wolves! This Demon Suppression Tower was built by our ancestors, shedding blood and sacrificing their lives. They can't just take it!"

The two men were Li Daoxuan, the current Grand Marshal of the Demon Suppression Agency, known as the Golden-Eyed Ape King, and his volatile senior disciple, Wang Xinlong, another Deputy Grand Marshal.

Wang Xinlong's anger stemmed from a recent attack on the Demon Suppression Tower, leaving Deputy Grand Marshal Xu Tong severely injured. They had to choose a replacement from the remaining elders.

Among them, the strongest and most competitive was Hong Wen Dao. Hong Wen Dao was strong enough to guard the tower.

The problem was that Hong Wen Dao hailed from the oldest and most powerful of the Demon Suppression families, the Hong family.

As Grand Marshal, Li Daoxuan didn't want the tower falling into the hands of the Great Families. But they had no better choice, and it was procedurally correct. Even with his decades of experience, Li Daoxuan found himself in a difficult position, unable to find a solution.

Even more concerning was the apparent collusion between the demons and the Great Families.

Whoosh! As Li Daoxuan pondered silently, the sound of flapping wings broke the tense silence. A black crow flew through the window and landed on Li Daoxuan's arm.

"A letter from your junior disciple." Li Daoxuan removed the bamboo tube tied to the bird's leg, identifying its origin from the scent of the sealing wax.

"A letter from Xiao Li? Good news. It seems things are settled on her end," Wang Xinlong's fierce face softened into a smile.

For years, the Great Families had been trying to influence high-level decisions by controlling the Demon Suppression Agency's disciples. Numerous Great Family disciples had joined the Agency.

Wang Xinlong was unhappy but helpless; the Agency had lost its ability to fight back, and the Great Families' actions were within the rules.

In this environment, the emergence of Su Li, a prodigy who had humbled the Great Family disciples, was a welcome surprise. Her beauty and charm made her a favorite among the older generation.

"What does it say?" Wang Xinlong asked, reaching for the letter.

"Get away from me," Li Daoxuan pushed him away, chuckling. "You have no respect for your elders."

Despite their size difference, their strength was vastly different. Li Daoxuan easily restrained Wang Xinlong with a single hand.

Pop! With a flick of his finger, he broke the wax seal.

Reading the elegant script, Li Daoxuan's smile vanished, his expression growing serious.

"What is it?" Wang Xinlong's heart sank. "Did something happen to Junior Sister?"

"Read it yourself," Li Daoxuan said after a moment, handing him the letter. Wang Xinlong read it, his eyebrows rising in disbelief.

"Is this true?" Wang Xinlong couldn't believe it.

"Most likely," Li Daoxuan said after a moment. "The Yin Body Taisui did escape from the Demon Suppression Tower, and the description matches."

"Hiss…" Wang Xinlong gasped.

"If this is true, the deadlock we face might be broken!" Wang Xinlong exclaimed.

"Mm, you're right," Li Daoxuan said softly. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to see it with our own eyes."

"However…" He looked up, sunlight illuminating his weathered face, a hint of a smile appearing. "There are variables now. In the stagnant waters of Baihua Prefecture, variables are a good thing."

…

"This mountain is called Azure Dragon Mountain. Legend says it was formed from the body of a celestial dragon that fell here in ancient times. There's a spring on the mountain, the Dragon Eye Spring, that never dries up. Drinking from it improves eyesight; even at night, you can see the veins on leaves."

Su Li hopped onto a large rock by the roadside, pointing towards the mountain bathed in the reddish glow of twilight.

Su Heng looked up. The mountain was indeed as Su Li described, resembling a massive winged dragon, majestic and imposing.

"Beyond Azure Dragon Mountain lies Baihua Prefecture," Xiao Qing added softly.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 49: Demon Servant

"It's getting dark. We should find somewhere to rest for the night," Su Heng suggested, watching the sun dip below the horizon.

"Okay," Su Li agreed. She was indeed tired after three days of travel.

They searched for an inn or a post station, but found none. They continued onward, finding a dilapidated land temple at the foot of a mountain. Half of the temple had collapsed, the remaining half covered in dust and cobwebs. Moonlight streamed through holes in the roof. One arm of the land god statue was missing; the other stretched out.

Su Heng chopped it off with a single strike.

Crack!

He broke the remaining arm into manageable pieces and tossed them to Su Li.

"I'll go for a walk, see if there's any danger," Su Heng said. "And maybe catch something to roast."

"The second part is the real reason, isn't it?" Su Li teased, having become well-acquainted with her brother's monstrous appetite over the past few days.

Gurgling!

Su Li's stomach rumbled. Her smile faltered, her face reddening as she covered her mouth.

"Go already!" Su Li elbowed Su Heng in the ribs. He sighed and disappeared into the woods.

Whoosh!

The sound of flowing water came from nearby. A deer with beautiful markings drank from the tranquil stream, its ears twitching, alert to its surroundings.

Swish!

A sudden whooshing sound. The deer leaped, but it was too late. A pebble struck its forehead precisely. Its head exploded, half its brain vanished, its skull flying ten meters away, brains and blood splattering.

"Excellent!"

Su Heng smiled, appearing beside the deer. He hoisted the still-twitching deer onto his shoulder and turned to rejoin his sister.

But he stopped a few steps later.

His brow furrowed, his nose twitching, detecting a faint stench of decay.

"This…" Decaying corpses in the forest weren't unusual, but this stench had a subtle demonic scent.

"Are there really so many demons these days? Let's go check it out."

Su Heng was startled. He leaped, parting the bushes, and sped towards the source of the smell.

…

Meanwhile, in the damaged land temple,

Su Li and Xiao Qing had just built a fire when they heard footsteps. Su Li looked up, alert.

Two figures emerged from the moonlight—a young man and woman, both in their twenties. The woman was curvaceous, with alluring eyes, her tight purple dress accentuating her ample bosom. The man was fair-skinned and handsome, dressed like a scholar.

"Excuse us, ladies. May we rest here for a while?" the woman asked.

"We have some dried meat we can share," the man added.

Su Li didn't answer immediately. She took out the demon-seeking compass, infused it with True Force, and, seeing no reaction, relaxed slightly.

"It's fate we met. Please, don't be polite," Su Li nodded subtly, stepping aside.

"Thank you, little sister," the woman said sweetly.

They sat down. The man took out some cured meat from his bag and offered it to Su Li and Xiao Qing.

"No, thank you. We just ate," Su Li refused without hesitation, maintaining her vigilance despite her initial good impression.

The young people didn't insist.

The fire crackled, and they roasted meat and chatted. Su Li learned their names: the sister, Xu Ziyi, and the brother, Xu Bai Xia. Their family had suffered a tragedy, and they were traveling to Baihua County to seek refuge with a distant relative.

"My family of thirty… gone overnight… sigh," Xu Ziyi said sadly, sighing repeatedly, tears welling in her eyes.

Su Li, moved by her genuine grief, offered comfort and asked, "What happened? Were you robbed, or something else?"

"It wasn't robbers…"

Xu Ziyi looked around cautiously, lowering her voice. "A passing Taoist priest said it was a demon."

"A demon!?"

Su Li perked up. "Are there really demons in this world?"

"Who knows?" Xu Ziyi said sadly, shaking her head. Overwhelmed by grief, she couldn't continue, only weeping silently.

Su Li was curious but hesitant to pry further. Silence fell.

"It's remarkable that you two women travel and adventure alone," Xu Bai Xia said, glancing at the sword beside Su Li.

"I just learned some skills from a master for two years," Su Li vaguely replied, wondering why Su Heng hadn't returned. Had something happened? It seemed unlikely; even if he encountered a demon, Su Heng would be the one who came out on top.

Just as Su Li worried,

a sudden gust of wind howled, trees rustling, clouds swirling, obscuring the moonlight. Blurred figures appeared in the weak firelight.

Su Li's brows furrowed. "Who's there?!"

She stood, drawing her sword.

"Xu Ziyi, Xu Bai Xia, do you really think you can escape?" a cold voice echoed. "Hand over the Skynet Scripture, and I'll make it quick!"

A thin man in a straw hat entered the temple. His face was wrapped in yellow-brown, pus-soaked cloth, only his eyes visible. A strong stench of decay filled the air.

"A demon!?" Su Li was startled, then realized, "No, a demon servant! His target isn't me, but them."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter 50: Despair

Su Li and Xiao Qing exchanged a glance, a plan forming in their minds. Since they weren't the primary target, their best course of action was to escape and avoid further conflict.

The hooded man was quite strong, and lurking in the woods behind him were numerous corpses, creating immense pressure. They didn't possess Su Heng's strength. Their priority was survival.

"Attack!" The hooded man gestured, coldly ordering, "Kill them all!"

Swish, swish, swish! Shadows surged from behind him. Simultaneously, the walls of the land temple collapsed, and seven or eight corpses surrounded them, blocking their escape.

The hooded man's main targets were Xu Ziyin and her brother. Their strength was unexpected – they had surpassed human limits, reaching the Demon Form realm. The sister wielded two razor-sharp short swords, while the brother wore metal knuckle-dusters. Despite being surrounded by over a dozen corpses, they managed to hold their own, though the situation was perilous.

"Now! Let's go!" Su Li hissed, her eyes sharp, bursting towards the right. The gentle, life-giving energy of the Evergreen Longevity Art flowed into her sword, extending its reach to a foot.

Bang! The sword struck a corpse's neck, a metallic clang echoing. The recoil jolted Su Li's hands, surprising her. She hadn't expected the decaying corpses to be so hard, like they were made of bronze.

But Su Li wasn't weak. She quickly composed herself, pouring more energy into her sword. With a muffled puchi, the blade sliced through the neck, spewing dark, foul blood. The corpse's head rolled, its body collapsing.

A gap appeared in the encirclement. Su Li saw the swaying bushes outside the temple.

"Go!" She breathed a sigh of relief, about to leave with Xiao Qing.

Xu Ziyin, surrounded, grew anxious. Su Li and Xiao Qing had been crucial in diverting the pressure. If Su Li escaped, they would be overwhelmed and killed. She wouldn't let their efforts go to waste.

Bang! Xu Ziyin tossed a small purple orb, the size of a peanut, which exploded near Su Li's clothes.

The temple was chaotic, and Su Li, focused on escape, didn't notice. But the corpses did. Drawn by a strange scent, they turned their attention from Xu Ziyin to Su Li.

Swish! Claws slashed down.

Su Li's arm was grazed. A three-inch wound appeared on her arm, the surrounding flesh dark red and emitting a pungent odor – clear signs of poisoning.

Su Li felt dizzy. She gritted her teeth, her face pale, forcing herself to suppress the poison with the Evergreen Longevity Art, which required significant energy.

The gap closed, and with the added burden of suppressing the poison, their situation worsened.

"That energy… the Evergreen Longevity Art!" The masked man recognized the technique.

"You're from the Demon Suppression Bureau!" He gritted his teeth, hatred flashing in his snake-like eyes.

"Good! Excellent! Wonderful!" He laughed maniacally. "I, Jin Yu, have made a great find. After I've had my fun with you two, I'll turn you into corpse prostitutes. Many in the Heavenly Demon League will love you."

"You said… turn us into what?" A cold voice interrupted.

His laughter ceased. He turned, seeing Su Heng's impassive face.

The next instant – bang! Su Heng slapped him, shattering the bandages on Jin Yu's face. His rotting flesh trembled, his sores bursting, spewing pus, his bones cracking. He shot away like an arrow, leaving a trail in the moonlight, crashing into a tree.

He was surprisingly resilient, still breathing after the blow, but barely. His neck was twisted, nearly paralyzed, clinging to life only through demonic vitality.

"Don't celebrate too soon… someone… will avenge me!" Jin Yu spat blood, his face contorted with madness.

"Oh?" Su Heng raised an eyebrow. "These people?"

He lifted an object in his other hand. Moonlight illuminated the scene.

Jin Yu's madness turned to despair. Su Heng held five heads impaled on a vine, their faces frozen in terror, their temples pierced. As Su Heng moved, the heads swayed, blood dripping from their necks.

"Your companions seem to have died a little sooner," Su Heng smiled, watching Jin Yu's despair.

Crack! He pressed his hand on Jin Yu's head, twisting it. The head was removed and tossed aside. Su Heng then moved like a blur, touching the foreheads of the corpses, their heads exploding in a spray of blood.

The temple fell silent.

(End of Chapter)