Chapter 276: Immortals and Demons (Part 1)

The talisman drifted lightly in the air, emitting a faint white glow that illuminated the surroundings. Everywhere, bloodstains and severed limbs became visible as a hazy luminescence rose from the darkness.

Li Qinghong's eyes flashed with anger as she took a quick glance. The man beside her respectfully lowered his head and replied:

"Twenty-seven households, one hundred and ten people, no survivors."

Li Qinghong narrowed her eyes, planted her long spear into the ground, and cast a spell to investigate. She murmured:

"There's no demonic aura; this wasn't done by a demon. It's likely a cultivator seeking blood sacrifices."

"Whoosh..."

As Li Qinghong carefully observed, a dark dart suddenly shot out before her. Magical light pulsed around it, and a pitch-black silk thread, attached to its tail, vanished into the darkness.

Li Qinghong, who had been on guard, brushed aside her dark hair. With a flick of her long spear, a burst of purple magical light erupted. The dark dart was struck, spiraling erratically as it fell. Li Qinghong called out clearly:

"Which fellow cultivator dares to seek blood sacrifices in my Li family's territory? You're quite bold, to even lie in wait here."

A black mist billowed from the darkness, revealing a gaunt old man with a grim expression. He still clutched the black thread, which clinked as it dragged along the ground. The old man merely frowned, then glanced at Li Qinghong and exclaimed:

"Girl, why are you making such a fuss? I haven't harmed any of your noble family members. I was merely passing through this immortal territory, stopped to rest, and consumed a few 'two-legged sheep'. You, however, are being quite aggressive. Where is your esteemed family's demeanor?"

Li Qinghong studied him for a moment, her eyes brightening and the purple glow within them intensifying. Hearing the old man use terms like "passing through immortal territory" and "two-legged sheep"—phrases exclusively used in the northern states of Zhao and Yan—she realized he was from the north. She said with delight:

"So, you're from north of the river. By your appearance, you're a demonic cultivator. Come, let's have a match; it will broaden my experience!"

Ignoring the old man's stunned expression, she swept her spear down. The old man, left with no choice, lifted his sleeves as if blowing a horn, and with a puff, exhaled a cloud of smoky black mist. Within it sat men, women, old, and young, simply dressed, all bearing joyful expressions.

Li Qinghong showed no fear. Wherever her long spear struck, thunder erupted. Thunder, by its very nature, shatters illusions and banishes evil, instantly sweeping away the smoky mist. The men, women, old, and young all shrieked in agony. The old man was immediately horrified and cursed:

"By your grandmother, you're a lightning cultivator!"

It was Li Qinghong's first time battling a cultivator who wasn't from the Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao. She was secretly cautious, not daring to approach closely. Thunder gathered on her long spear, striking down relentlessly. After taking two hits, the old man could no longer restrain himself and cursed:

"How dare a mere Qi Condensation cultivator defy me!"

With that, his robes exploded, revealing his thin, frail, and decaying body. He surged forth, and from his abdominal cavity, fleshy masses pushed out. In an instant, these converged to form a bald, greenish head the size of several people. Two bloodshot red eyes, each as large as a human head, stared directly forward, bloody and tear-streaked. His stark white, sharp fangs were neat, bright, and glowed with a pearly white luminescence.

"So this is a demonic cultivator... truly monstrous!"

Li Qinghong thrust her long spear forward, and thunder rippled out like water. The demonic creature spat a mouthful of bloody qi from its fanged maw, completely neutralizing Li Qinghong's attack. It cursed:

"Damn it, you're going too far! I cultivate the Benevolent Joy Demonic path; I'm far more humane than your Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao!"

By this point, the demonic creature's aura had surged to the sixth or seventh level of Qi Condensation. Though it cursed fiercely, it displayed little true intent to fight.

He was, after all, a demonic cultivator who had achieved the level of a Master, equivalent to the Foundation Establishment stage of the Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao. He had been consuming humans throughout his journey without incident. Only today, unable to curb his gluttony, he had taken a few extra bites, and was now secretly annoyed by his lapse.

Normally, considering the unspoken balance between factions, most aristocratic families wouldn't expose him without cause. But if he truly encountered a serious family that decided to bring this matter to light, he would indeed be in the wrong. Moreover, he didn't want to genuinely injure Li Qinghong.

"This Li family is rumored to be a Sword Immortal lineage, and this young one is proficient in lightning magic... Her background must be anything but simple."

The demonic cultivator now found himself in an impossible situation. He resentfully endured Li Qinghong's lightning, yet dared not retaliate and injure her. Fleeing by wind would disgrace his standing as a venerable Master. He could only wait for a Li family elder to emerge and provide him with a graceful exit.

Meanwhile, Li Qinghong had only made two strikes and already understood that the demonic cultivator's cultivation was definitely above hers, likely at the sixth or seventh level of Qi Condensation. However, he was suppressed by her lightning and seemed to lack the will to fight, thus creating a stalemate. She pulled out a jade pendant, quietly crushed it, and mused to herself:

"I haven't even used my Talisman Qi yet. If this old demon were to develop murderous intent, I could still hold out until my clan members arrive..."

For a time, lightning flashed beneath Jade Court Mountain. Though the demonic creature's strength far surpassed Li Qinghong's, it could not withstand the formidable and fierce lightning from her hands, which subtly carried the power to break curses and banish evil. Feeling its cultivation being eroded and a faint sense of regression, it instantly grew anxious and cried out:

"Girl, stop at once! Your cultivation technique damages one's cultivation. If you keep this up, I'll have to get serious!"

Li Qinghong paused slightly. Fortunately, streams of magical light, carried by the wind, arrived from both sides. One person approached with a sword, looking anxious and fierce, while the other, appearing to be forty or fifty years old, had a solemn expression and simply bellowed:

"Who dares to act so wildly in my Li family's territory!"

The newcomers were Li Yuanjiao and Tian Youdao. Tian Youdao had recently successfully broken through to the Qi Condensation stage, becoming the Li family's third Qi Condensation cultivator from outside the clan. He cultivated a second-grade method provided to external practitioners, achieving his breakthrough by consuming minor clear spiritual qi. The two landed beside Li Qinghong. Li Yuanjiao, slightly wary, mused to himself:

"This person's timing is remarkably shrewd, coinciding precisely with An Zheyuan and Uncle Donghe being away. Only a few of us remain at home. If we don't alert the ancestor, it will be genuinely difficult for us to subdue him."

Seeing that an increasing number of people were alerted, the demonic cultivator quickly retracted his bloody demonic form, returning to his human shape. A bitter feeling rose in his heart as he said in a deep voice:

"I am Murong Xia. I came to Jiangnan on a journey and, passing through this immortal territory, did indeed consume a few 'two-legged sheep'. If I have caused any offense, I ask for your forgiveness. A mere handful of mortals should not be cause for us to become enemies."

Li Yuanjiao frowned upon hearing this. Li Qinghong, standing beside him, whispered:

"Twenty-seven households, one hundred and ten people."

The demonic cultivator froze for a moment. Being old, he understood from Li Qinghong's quiet words that these people didn't resent him for taking without permission, but genuinely abhorred his cannibalism. He immediately reacted, clasped his fists, and said sincerely:

"You, who have long resided in Jiangnan, are unfamiliar with the tenets of my Demonic Sect. You have probably heard the Immortal Sect's propaganda and believe my Demonic Sect commits all manner of evil and delights in cannibalism, but this is a grave misconception."

Li Yuanjiao and the others, who had never expected this person to utter such words, found it amusing. They exchanged glances, watching Murong Xia as he moved his lips, and then he said earnestly:

"Even those about to die are granted a few last words. Please, listen to what I have to say, so you don't condemn all of us who cultivate the demonic path without distinction."

Li Yuanjiao, however, looked at the increasing number of townspeople below and, seeing the uneasy glances from the crowd, frowned and said:

"This is not the place to talk. I ask you, fellow Daoist, to come with me up the mountain."

"Alright!"

Murong Xia, surprisingly fearless, nodded in agreement. Li Yuanjiao made an inviting gesture, and the individuals who had just been in a tense standoff immediately ascended the mountain together. Li Qinghong sneered and transmitted her voice:

"Eating people is eating people; there's no way to talk your way out of that!"

Li Yuanjiao simply shook his head silently, and likewise transmitted his voice with spiritual power:

"On the mountain, there's a grand formation and the ancestor suppressing it. As long as this person enters the formation, we'll have him at our mercy."