The axe-bearing demon general narrowed its crimson eyes and stared at the old Daoist.Firelight leapt within its pupils, making those eyes look like two pieces of red-hot iron.It did not attack at once.
It had seen clearly how the old Daoist descended from the sky and destroyed a demon soldier with a single finger calling thunder. No ordinary cultivator could have done it so cleanly, and certainly not while carrying two boys down on the wind and still keeping his breath as steady as if nothing had happened.
This old Daoist was not simple.
The axe-bearing demon general slowly lifted the haft of its weapon. The heavy blade dragged across the ground, scraping out a line of dark-red sparks.
"Who exactly are you?"
Its voice was low and hoarse, as if squeezed out of a charred throat.
On the other side, the spear-bearing demon general also spoke.
It was thinner and taller than the axe-bearer, black armor clinging to its bony frame. Its long spear hung at an angle, the tip lightly touching the ground. It looked at the old Daoist with eyes colder and more cautious than the axe-bearer's.
"What are you to The Celestial Void Palace?"
It asked.
"Why interfere in our affairs?"
Flames churned behind the two demon generals, staining half the night sky dark red. The ordinary demon soldiers gathered at a distance, fangs bared, growling low in their throats, but not one dared rush forward on its own.
The villagers on the high ground held their breath.
They still gripped hoes, hatchets, and wooden forks, but such things seemed laughable before the demon generals. Many were so weak in the legs that they could barely stand. They could only support one another and look toward the white-haired old Daoist standing before them.
Wu Chensi stood behind the old Daoist, gripping his short knife tightly.
His chest still hurt.
Each breath felt as if broken stones were rolling inside his bones. But he did not retreat. He looked at the two demon generals, cold sweat covering his palm.
The demon soldier from before had already been so strong that he had no power to fight back.
And these two were on a completely different level.
They merely stood there, and the air grew heavy. It was as if two invisible mountains were pressing down upon the battlefield, making it hard to breathe.
The old Daoist stood before the villagers, his expression calm.
He did not even so much as lift an eyelid.
Night wind blew past. His white hair stirred slightly, and bits of ash and sparks clung to his gray-white robe, yet there was not the slightest trace of disarray about him.
He only glanced lightly at the two demon generals.
Then he slowly said,
"I have no need to tell the dying."
His voice was very soft.
There was no anger.
No killing intent.
It did not even sound like a threat.
Yet when the words fell upon the battlefield, they were like an invisible blade cutting straight through the frozen air.
The growls of the demon soldiers immediately stopped.
The villagers on the high ground also froze.
Wu Chensi stared blankly at the old Daoist's back.
The dying.
He heard those words clearly.
Facing those two terrifying demon generals, the old Daoist spoke as if their deaths were already decided.
The axe-bearing demon general's face darkened at once.
Two streams of gray-black mist sprayed from its nostrils. Its fingers tightened little by little around the haft of its axe, making the handle creak faintly under the pressure.
The spear-bearing demon general narrowed its eyes, the tip of its spear lifting slightly.
But in the next moment, the axe-bearing demon general suddenly revealed a strange smile.
Its manner changed abruptly.
Its originally savage voice lowered, even taking on a false hint of respect.
"Immortal, you misunderstand."
It spoke slowly.
"We are merely following orders and strayed into this place by mistake. If you are willing to show mercy and let us leave, we can spare these villagers as well."
As it spoke, it glanced toward the terrified people on the high ground.
"What do you say?"
The words sounded like retreat.
But standing behind the old Daoist, Wu Chensi instinctively felt something was wrong.
The axe-bearing demon general spoke of letting them go, yet there was no trace of retreat in the depths of its eyes. The way it looked at the villagers was still the way one looked at ants that could be crushed at any time.
The spear-bearing demon general did not speak.
But the fingers around its spear silently shifted position.
They were stalling.
Looking for an opening.
Waiting for the old Daoist to turn his head, or for the villagers on the high ground to relax, or for the wind, fire, and encircling demon soldiers to close in again.
Wu Chensi could not explain these things.
But his years in the mountains told him that a beast about to bite often became quiet before it lunged.
The old Daoist did not answer.
He simply stood there.
For that moment, the air seemed to freeze.
The crackling flames, the villagers' suppressed sobs, the low breathing of the demon soldiers — all stretched long and thin.
The axe-bearing demon general and the spear-bearing demon general looked at each other.
In an instant, their killing intent aligned.
The next moment, both attacked at once.
"Kill!"
The axe-bearing demon general gave a low roar, and demonic energy erupted from within its body.
The ground beneath its feet collapsed. Black-red waves of energy burst outward. The black armor covering it shattered inch by inch. Heavy muscles swelled as if alive, and its skin split open, releasing rolling black flames.
Its spine rose rapidly.
Its arms twisted and thickened. The giant axe in its hand was swallowed by demonic energy and transformed into a pair of burning tusks. In the span of a breath, it changed from a half-human demon general into a massive wild boar wreathed in black flame.
The boar was terrifyingly huge.
Its back was almost level with the edge of the high ground. Each time its hooves struck the earth, the ground trembled. Its tusks were like blades, its eyes crimson, its bristles burning with black fire. Wherever it passed, even the mud cracked and charred.
It did not charge at the old Daoist.
It charged straight toward the villagers on the high ground.
One to slaughter the villagers.
One to kill the strong enemy.
That had been their true plan.
At the same time, the spear-bearing demon general moved.
Its body twisted and lengthened within the demonic energy. Its black armor cracked open, and fine scales grew wildly from beneath its flesh. The long spear merged into its spine, while a spearpoint-like cold gleam extended from its tail. In the blink of an eye, it had become a black-scaled serpent dozens of zhang long.
The serpent coiled up, almost blocking half the firelight.
Its snake eyes were cold, its tongue sharp as a blade. When it opened its mouth, foul wind rushed out, and venom dripped from its fangs, corroding black pits into the ground.
The giant serpent ignored the villagers.
It rose from the side into the air, opened its bloody maw, and lunged fiercely at the old Daoist, as if to swallow him in one bite.
Wu Chensi's pupils contracted.
He could clearly feel that those two powers far exceeded all the demon soldiers from before.
These were true monsters.
The demon hounds, the demon soldier, even the black bears and wild boars of the mountain seemed small before them. The pressure rushing toward him made his body instinctively want to retreat.
But his feet did not move.
Because the old Daoist did not retreat.
Even the hem of his robe remained undisturbed.
The black-flame boar crushed the earth beneath its hooves, its tusks aimed straight at the high ground. The villagers screamed in terror. Some turned to flee, only to realize that behind them were the old, the weak, women, and children. There was nowhere to go.
Yuan Qingshan's father raised his iron hammer. His face was ashen, yet he still stood at the very front.
"Don't retreat!"
He roared.
His voice trembled, but he did not move aside.
Just as the black-flame boar was about to crash into the high ground, the old Daoist slowly raised his left hand.
And pressed down lightly.
Boom!
The earth shook.
A surge of cold erupted from deep beneath the ground, sweeping across the battlefield like a tide. The sparks in the air were pressed down by the chill and went out one after another. Frost spread rapidly across the ground, white ice patterns crawling through mud and stone cracks.
In the next instant, a hundred-meter-high wall of ice rose from the earth and cut across the battlefield.
The ice wall was crystal clear, yet heavy as a mountain. Faint runes flowed within it, like countless snow-white scales layered together.
Boom!
The black-flame boar slammed hard into the ice wall.
Fire and ice collided wildly, erupting in a deafening roar.
Shards of ice burst outward.
Black flames scattered.
The entire ice wall trembled violently, thin cracks spreading across its surface, but it did not fall. Instead, the boar roared in fury and was forced staggering backward by the shock.
The villagers on the high ground were so stunned they almost forgot to breathe.
Wu Chensi's eyes widened as well.
The black-flame boar's charge was powerful enough to shatter half a village.
Yet with one press of his hand, the old Daoist had raised an ice mountain before the villagers.
At the same time, on the other side, the black-scaled serpent had already reached the air above the old Daoist.
Its fangs opened wide. Foul wind rushed down.
Its shadow pressed over them, dimming even the firelight for an instant.
Wu Chensi instinctively tightened his grip on the short knife.
Yuan Qingshan was so frightened he could barely make a sound.
The old Daoist only murmured a single incantation.
"Earth, rise."
Boom!
The ground split open.
Countless stones shot into the air and swiftly gathered together. Faint runes appeared across each stone, their yellow-brown light interweaving like veins.
In the blink of an eye, ten enormous rune-carved stone swords formed in midair.
Their bodies were broad and thick, their edges heavy, covered in ancient markings and radiating a pressure like mountains.
The next instant, the stone swords fell together.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The black-scaled serpent did not even have time to fully turn before several stone swords pinned its body hard to the earth.
The first pierced its vital point.
The second stabbed through its tail.
The third pressed down its coiled belly.
The rest fell one after another, locking the serpent's huge body piece by piece in the center of the battlefield.
Scales shattered. Black blood sprayed.
The serpent let out a shrill hiss and thrashed wildly, trying to break free. The stone swords shook under its struggle, and the ground cracked into spiderweb patterns, but not one blade was pulled loose.
On the other side, the black-flame boar had just steadied itself when it charged again.
It was completely enraged.
Black fire surged several zhang high from its spine, and thick demonic energy wrapped around its tusks. It roared and crashed toward the ice wall, trying to smash the barrier protecting the villagers.
The old Daoist raised his hand again.
Another ice wall rose from the ground.
This time, it appeared behind the black-flame boar.
Two ice walls, one before and one behind.
The boar's momentum was too fierce. It had no time to stop.
In the next moment, the two ice walls closed inward at the same time.
Boom!
The black-flame boar was crushed between them.
Under the collision of tremendous force, the dull sound of breaking bones rang clearly across the battlefield. Its massive body convulsed violently. Black flames surged wildly, only to be smothered layer by layer by the cold. Demon blood sprayed from its mouth and splattered across the ice, immediately freezing into dark stains.
It roared in agony.
Its four hooves clawed desperately at the ground.
But the ice walls were like mountains, unmoving.
A moment later, the black-flame boar crashed to the ground, shaking the earth.
It could no longer rise.
The old Daoist walked forward slowly.
Step by step.
Flames shone behind him, yet could not come within half a step of him.
The fallen black-flame boar was still breathing. The crimson glow in its eyes flickered. It seemed to be trying to return to human form, its body twitching, but the icy force held it firmly down.
The old Daoist lifted his sword.
Only then did Wu Chensi realize that a long sword had appeared in his hand at some point.
The blade was plain.
No ornate markings. No dazzling light.
But when the old Daoist lightly swung it down, a clear, cold sword energy cut through the air.
Sssht.
The black-flame boar's head was split open in an instant.
Its massive body stiffened.
Its breath ended.
For a brief moment, the battlefield fell silent.
The villagers on the high ground stared in a daze.
Yuan Qingshan's mouth hung open, unable to speak for a long time.
Such a terrifying demon general, a monster that shook the earth and sent flames roaring into the sky, had died just like that.
Dead within a few gestures from the old Daoist.
But the black-scaled serpent pinned to the ground was completely enraged.
It thrashed madly, scales bursting apart in patches, black blood flowing along the stone swords. It lifted its head, its cold serpent pupils filled with hatred and terror.
"Do you know who we are?"
Its voice was sharp, like iron scraping bone.
"You dare kill us?"
"I'll make all of you die!"
Its tail swept violently.
Though several parts of that enormous tail had been pinned by stone swords, one section could still move. It tore through the air with a shrill whistle, sweeping toward what remained of the village.
If that tail landed, no one knew how many survivors would be crushed into pulp.
Wu Chensi's heart tightened.
He instinctively took a step forward.
But the old Daoist remained calm.
He only raised his hand lightly.
The next instant, the sky shook.
Dozens more rune-carved stone swords appeared.
This time there were more of them, and they fell faster. They formed in the night sky with a heavy rumble, like a storm made of mountain stone.
They crashed down.
Sssht!
Sssht!
Sssht!
The stone swords pierced through the serpent's body, pinning it completely to the earth.
The tail that had swept outward was pressed down by three stone swords at once. It stopped only a few zhang from the nearest villagers and could not advance another inch.
The serpent struggled wildly.
The ground cracked again and again beneath it.
But each struggle only sent more black blood spraying from its wounds. Its aura weakened rapidly. The fierce light in its serpent eyes dimmed little by little, and true fear finally appeared.
"You…"
Its voice came in broken gasps.
"You are not an ordinary cultivator…"
"You are not commander rank…"
"You are—"
It never finished.
The old Daoist had already walked before it.
He raised his sword.
And brought it down.
Sssht.
The serpent's head was severed.
Its enormous body twitched a few times, then finally stopped moving.
Its aura vanished.
At the sight, the remaining demon soldiers collapsed at once.
Both demon generals were dead.
Dead cleanly and utterly.
They no longer had the courage to continue the slaughter.
"Run!"
"Run!"
The demon soldiers howled in terror and scattered in all directions. Some fled into the sea of flames in the village. Some ran toward the mountain forest. Some turned directly into black smoke, trying to slip away under cover of night.
The old Daoist gave them no chance.
Lightning suddenly appeared around him.
White arcs of electricity leapt along the edges of his Daoist robe. The scorched earth beneath his feet glowed faintly under the pressure of thunder.
He took one step forward.
Heaven and earth trembled.
"Thunder."
Boom!
A massive pillar of lightning descended from the sky.
Then a second.
A third.
Thunder fell like rain, covering the entire battlefield.
The wasteland, the ruined houses, the edge of the fire, the entrance to the mountain forest — every direction in which the demons fled was sealed by lightning.
The demon soldiers struggled and howled within the sea of thunder.
Some had only run a few steps before lightning pierced through their chests.
Some turned into black smoke, only to be torn apart by electric light in midair.
Others fell to their knees and begged, but their voices had barely left their mouths before they were drowned by rolling thunder.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Thunder continued to fall.
As if the heavens had split open.
As if all of Mount Daoyuan had been enraged.
When the final bolt faded, only a scorched ruin remained around the village.
Not a single demon still stood.
Wind swept across the battlefield.
Ashes rose from the ground, then quickly fell again. Among the charred earth, broken weapons jutted crookedly from the mud. A snapped wooden fork lay beneath a blackened roof beam. A water jar crushed earlier by the demon soldiers had fallen on its side by the road, its mouth cracked. Water mixed with dust slowly leaked out, dragging a muddy trail across the ground.
In the distance, the village was still burning.
The flames were no longer as fierce as before, but they still licked at the collapsed houses one patch at a time. Occasionally, a burned-through beam would fall with a dull crash, making the villagers on the high ground tremble.
No one cheered.
No one spoke at once.
Everyone seemed emptied of strength. Those still standing leaned on others. Those kneeling kept their heads lowered and shook. Mothers held their children tightly in their arms, pressing down their cries until even weeping came out faint and small. The survivors stared at the fire below, at the homes that had burned, their eyes hollow, as if they had not yet woken from a nightmare.
The smell of blood, burning flesh, and smoke mixed together, pressing into the night wind and refusing to disperse.
Yuan Qingshan stared blankly toward the village.
He saw that half the blacksmith shop had collapsed. The forge fire and the house fire had merged together, burning so thoroughly that he could no longer tell where home ended and ruin began. He opened his mouth, as if wanting to call for his parents, but the sound stuck in his throat and would not come out.
Wu Chensi stood where he was.
He still held the short knife in his hand.
Mud, blood, and ash clung to the blade, making it look dark beneath the firelight. The wounds on his body still hurt. Every rise and fall of his chest pulled a dull ache through him, yet he seemed not to feel it. He only looked at the land before him, where thunderfire, demon blood, and the bones of ordinary people had been mixed together.
The wind of Mount Daoyuan blew from the north.
There were no beast roars in it.
No insect calls.
Only the distant crackle of burning flames, and the suppressed, almost soundless weeping of the survivors.
That night, the village beneath Mount Daoyuan seemed to have had half of itself torn from the world.