The One Truly Raising the Blood Demon

After Lin Baichuan and Qin Qing entered the main hall together, they sat boldly opposite Liang Youtian. Both pairs of eyes stared straight at him, as though they wanted to see through him completely and lay bare every inch of his insides.

"Gentlemen, there's no need to look at me like that."

Liang Youtian felt the hairs all over his body stand on end beneath their scrutiny. He could not help but smile bitterly. "There is no real grudge between us, and I am not the person you two are looking for, am I?"

"Lord Liang, from the sound of it, you seem to know quite a bit."

Lin Baichuan narrowed his eyes at Liang Youtian, the corners of his lips lifting into a faint, knowing smile. A sharp glint flickered in his eyes, laden with meaning.

This Liang Youtian truly was no simple man. It seemed he had long since guessed why they had come.

At that moment, Qin Qing cast Liang Youtian an impatient glance and said coldly, "Liang Youtian, that Blood Demon was raised by you, wasn't it?"

As she spoke, her eyes remained fixed on Liang Youtian, trying to catch even the slightest change in his expression and draw clues from it. But this old fox Liang Youtian was practically a fox that had lived for a thousand years. After hearing Qin Qing's words, his expression did not change in the slightest. He merely continued shaking his head with a bitter smile. "You two think too highly of Liang. Blood Demons belong to the Earth Demon lineage of the Underground Abyss. With my abilities, there is no way I could bring a Blood Demon out of the Underground Abyss. This matter truly has nothing to do with me."

"If it wasn't you, then why did you deliberately stall us today and stop us from investigating the situation?" Qin Qing did not give Liang Youtian a moment to catch his breath before rebuking him again. "You tried every possible means to hold us back. That alone proves you have a guilty conscience."

"I didn't want you to go and throw your lives away!"

Liang Youtian sighed. "Because I knew how terrifying that Blood Demon was. I was afraid you would go and never return."

"Then I'm afraid we've disappointed you. Not only did we return, we slaughtered that Blood Demon and the Mountain Fiend as well." Qin Qing sneered.

"What? You... you killed that Blood Demon..."

Liang Youtian's expression changed drastically. He shot up from his chair with a swish, staring at Qin Qing in utter shock. "Impossible. With your strength, there is no way you could have killed that Blood Demon. That Blood Demon was at the peak of Soldier Tier 3. And with the Profound Yin Malevolent Qi aiding it, it was like a ghostly specter. How could you possibly have killed it? Unless... you possess exceptionally powerful spirit artifacts, and more than one at that..."

"That need not concern you. You only need to know that the Blood Demon has already been slaughtered by us." Qin Qing immediately shouted sternly, "Liang Youtian, will you still refuse to confess your crimes?"

"No, you must leave. Leave Yunshan County at once."

Liang Youtian seemed not to have heard Qin Qing's rebuke at all. Instead, he looked panicked and incomparably anxious as he said to Qin Qing and Lin Baichuan, "Go. Leave now. Go as far away as you can. If you delay any longer, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave..."

"Liang Youtian, how dare you! You dare ignore the Demon Slayer Guard?"

Qin Qing's face instantly darkened like water. Liang Youtian had actually ignored her words. In Qin Qing's eyes, this was naked provocation. How could she swallow such an insult? With a sharp rebuke, she was about to move and seize Liang Youtian.

Only then did Liang Youtian finally snap back to his senses. He immediately waved his hands and said, "Demon Slayer Qin, wait! I truly am not provoking you. You are genuinely in danger. You killed that Blood Demon, and its master will certainly retaliate against you. You are in great danger now and must leave Yunshan County immediately..."

"Retaliate? Who would dare retaliate against us? Hmph... I'll be waiting for him to come seek revenge."

Qin Qing snorted coldly, her gaze growing increasingly grim. She looked at Liang Youtian, and only after a long while did she ask in a cold voice, "You say the Blood Demon was not raised by you, that there is someone else. Who is it?"

"This..."

Liang Youtian's expression stiffened, and he fell silent.

Clearly, he knew who the person behind it was, but he was unwilling—or rather, afraid—to say. After hesitating for a long while, he finally said in a deep voice, "You two, that is not important. What matters is that you must leave now, otherwise you will be in danger."

"Lord Liang, the Blood Demon's master is Ying Que, an Intelligence Officer of the Demon Suppression Division, isn't it?"

At that moment, Lin Baichuan, who had remained silent all this time, suddenly spoke, his tone calm.

The instant those words left his mouth, Liang Youtian's lips twitched. He looked at Lin Baichuan with a face full of shock and disbelief. He did not speak to admit it, but from his expression, Lin Baichuan could already confirm that his guess had come true.

"Lord Lin, don't say any more. You must leave quickly!" Liang Youtian grew even more anxious. "Take my advice and leave Yunshan County at once..."

"There's no need. He's already here."

Lin Baichuan shook his head slightly and suddenly looked beyond the county yamen.

Whoosh... whoosh, whoosh...

At that instant, a sinister wind rose from level ground outside the county yamen. A wave of icy malevolent aura swept over them, making everyone in the yamen shudder.

"He's here!"

Liang Youtian trembled all over, his face turning deathly pale in an instant. His entire body shook as though all his vitality and spirit had been drained away in a moment.

Qin Qing, however, shot out of the main hall. Her longsword left its sheath, and amid a crisp sword cry, she shouted sharply, "Die..."

Clang... bang...

The next instant, a heavy impact rang out from the courtyard. Qin Qing, who had just rushed out, was sent flying back. She spat out a mouthful of blood and crashed into the hall like a falling boulder, smashing a deep pit into the stone-paved floor.

Thud, thud, thud!

Qin Qing staggered back repeatedly. Seeing this, Lin Baichuan immediately stepped forward and appeared behind her, pressing a palm against her back to help disperse the excess force. Then he narrowed his eyes and looked toward the entrance.

A man in a black robe was walking in through the main gate.

It was Ying Que, the Intelligence Officer who had inexplicably vanished from the village earlier.

"So it really was you..."

Lin Baichuan stepped out from behind Qin Qing and narrowed his eyes at Ying Que as he entered the main hall. "I can't understand it. Since the Blood Demon was raised by you, why didn't you come out to stop us in Baixi Village?"

"Because I wasn't confident I could stop you."

Ying Que shook his head slightly. There was actually a faint smile on his face as he looked meaningfully at Lin Baichuan. "I never expected you to have comprehended Saber Intent. I was not confident I could stop you. If I had acted rashly, I might even have lost my life."

"So you chose to leave. But now you've come back. Does that mean you're already confident you can kill me?"

Lin Baichuan raised his brows and sneered.

"That's right!"

Ying Que actually nodded with great solemnity. "Naturally, I only came after making absolutely certain. You killed the two demon beasts I raised. That Mountain Fiend was nothing—I hadn't invested much effort into it. If it died, it died.

"But that Blood Demon—I paid an enormous price to bring it out of the Underground Abyss.

"To raise it, I consumed far too many resources. I even let it slaughter tens of thousands across several villages. It was already on the verge of transformation, but... you destroyed all of it."

As he spoke, a savage killing intent abruptly surfaced on Ying Que's otherwise ordinary-looking face.

His gaze gradually turned gloomy, vicious, and hate-filled. He glared fiercely at Lin Baichuan and snarled through gritted teeth, "You killed my treasure, ruined the fruits of my labor, and wrecked my grand plans. Since that's the case, you'll have to fill the debt with your life.

"I studied you carefully. Though you're only at the Ninth Rank Skin Refinement Realm, your foundations are remarkably profound. You should have reached the limit of the Skin Refinement Realm, with ten thousand jin of physical strength, a powerful body, and comprehension of Saber Intent.

"If I refine you into a corpse puppet, you could probably step directly into Soldier Rank 4. Your potential would even surpass that Blood Demon.

"So... you must die today..."

The icy killing intent and overflowing resentment sent chills crawling over everyone's skin.

"Ying Que, you've got some nerve! As a member of the Demon Suppression Division, you actually raised demon beasts and slaughtered commoners—knowingly breaking the law..."

Qin Qing, standing behind Lin Baichuan, stepped forward. She casually wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, glared fiercely at Ying Que, and rebuked him angrily, "Surrender now, and you may still have a sliver of hope. Otherwise..."

"Shut up!"

Ying Que roared, cutting Qin Qing off. He growled through clenched teeth, "I hate sanctimonious people like you most of all. Demon Suppression Division... Hmph, the Demon Suppression Division is nothing but a pack of hypocrites, a cesspit that hides filth and corruption—the dirtiest place under heaven. What right do you have to judge me?

"Today, all of you will die.

"Bitch... I'll refine you into a corpse puppet too. Your strength isn't bad—you'll make excellent material..."

Boom!

The instant his words fell, Ying Que suddenly flicked his hand. An Emerald Jade Talisman shot forth, erupting in midair with dazzling light and bone-chilling baleful qi. In an instant, it transformed into a sinister emerald-green net that descended over Lin Baichuan and Qin Qing.