The clan moved swiftly.
By the next night, a patrol of fifteen Gu Masters swept through the forest, torches burning bright. Their elder, a Rank 3 cultivator with piercing eyes, commanded them.
"The demon is near," he barked. "He preys on our men. Tonight, we burn him out."
The MC crouched in the shadows above, watching. He had tracked them for an hour, learning their movements, their discipline. This was not like the careless scavengers. These were organized, cautious, led by a veteran.
To fight head-on was suicide.
The abyss whispered eagerly: We can devour them. Tear them apart. Feast.
He shook his head. "Not this time."
He had read Reverend Insanity. Fang Yuan survived not because of raw power, but because he schemed, deceived, manipulated. If he wanted to live long, he had to do the same.
So he wove a plan.
He sent a puppet corpse staggering into their path, tendrils guiding its limbs. The Gu Masters froze, confused.
"There! The demon's trick!" one shouted, hurling fire. The puppet burned, thrashing before collapsing.
At that moment, the MC struck from behind. Tendrils lashed out, dragging two mortals into the dark. Their screams echoed, sending panic through the group.
The elder snarled, activating a defensive Gu that shimmered around him like steel plates. "Stay together! It's trying to divide us!"
The MC circled them, using shadows to rustle bushes, fling stones, and create false shapes. Every flicker of movement made them lash out with essence and Gu, wasting strength.
Then he struck again—using a puppet to bait a lone cultivator away, then ambushing him with claws through the throat. Another gone.
One by one, their formation weakened. Fear spread faster than the abyss itself.
By dawn, only the elder remained, battered and bleeding. He staggered into a clearing, clutching his side, eyes wild.
"You… what are you?" he demanded, voice trembling.
The MC emerged from the trees, tendrils writhing behind him like wings of darkness. His armor gleamed with blood, his eyes bottomless void.
"I," he said softly, "am hunger."
The elder charged, but his strength was gone. In moments, the abyss swallowed him whole.
That morning, rumors spread like wildfire. Entire patrols missing. Survivors babbling of shadows, puppets, and a demon that killed without Gu.
The clan sent warnings to their allies. Traders whispered of a cursed cultivator in the forests. Mortals prayed to the heavens for protection.
And the Abyssal Demon's legend grew.