Instant Refinement

Chapter 27: Instant Refinement

The mountains twisted and the paths turned. After circling past another gorge, Ugly Slave slowed his steps and said, "Qingfeng, we've entered the demon domain. Be careful."

Ning Xuan nodded.

Ugly Slave added, "The demon aura in the demon domain is chaotic, everywhere. I can't use it to pinpoint where the demons are. You'll have to sense and guard against everything yourself."

Ning Xuan nodded again.

He could already feel the eerie chill of this place.

Though morning light had only just risen, it carried a coldness that seeped into his body.

As the two continued forward, that chill grew stronger and stronger. Wisps of mountain miasma, like ghosts dragging long tails, drifted slowly past. The demon aura here was gradually thickening.

How could the demon aura not be dense in a place where three demon lairs were crammed together?

Suddenly, Ning Xuan stopped and swiftly turned to look toward a patch of tree shade.

Ugly Slave immediately halted as well.

Ning Xuan raised a hand to press downward, then abruptly stepped forward. His figure swept toward the tree shade like the wind as he shouted, "Demon, reveal yourself!"

Swish!

His slash struck nothing.

Only a few leaves drifted down.

Standing beneath the falling leaves, Ning Xuan tilted his head at his elder brother and said, "Celestial Master, I sensed wrong. There are no demons here."

Ugly Slave relaxed his guard and smiled. "Don't be nervous."

Ning Xuan sheathed his saber, resting the ten-foot Beast Slaying Saber across his shoulders, his hands dangling leisurely from either end. "I'm not nervous."

Seeing him like this, Ugly Slave assumed the youth was too proud. Having lashed out at a phantom born from a cup's reflection and mistaking it for a snake, he felt embarrassed, so he put on an easygoing air to salvage some face. Thus, he said again, "The first time I saw a demon, I was so frightened I pissed myself. It dripped from my trouser legs, drip, drip, drip. The master who brought me there pointed at me and laughed his head off. Qingfeng, you're far better than I was."

Ning Xuan looked at his elder brother, who was trying to comfort him, and suddenly asked, "What if I'm still sensing wrong now?"

Ugly Slave said, "Demons possess abundant qi and blood—the stronger they are, the more abundant it is.

"Celestial Masters cannot sense such qi and blood, but martial artists can.

"There is an ox, a sheep, and a monkey on this mountain. The monkey can conceal its tracks, the sheep can warp one's sight, and the ox can summon gust after gust of yin wind. But the exact details can only be learned after fighting them.

"The monkey poses the greatest threat to us. You only need to sense whether powerful qi and blood is approaching nearby. If it is, shout and tell me."

Ning Xuan nodded. "Understood."

As those three words fell, he drew in a deep breath, clearly inhaling the scent of humanity from his elder brother.

His earlier startle and false discovery of a demon had merely been a test. In truth, when he rushed beneath the tree shade, he had already summoned the Heavenly Demon Scroll.

Demon aura had begun emanating from his body, yet it blended into the demon domain's aura. Thus, even though he stood right beside Ugly Slave, Ugly Slave never noticed that a demon had appeared at his side.

Of course, if Ugly Slave had exposed him, then it would simply have been the demon hiding beneath the tree shade. He could just put on a show and retrieve the Heavenly Demon Scroll.

Within a demon domain, I can summon the Heavenly Demon Scroll depending on the situation.

Ning Xuan silently committed this to memory.

Then, sensing his current physique of 4.7 and the "Yan He" he had comprehended, he wondered whether the leader of the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkeys could withstand a single slash from him.

Once he had uncovered the roots of the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkeys' demon arts, the next step would be instant refinement.

At this moment, he was feeling relaxed.

He loved challenging foes above his level most of all.

His physique was 4.7, while the Ghost Shadow Horse Monkey leader's was 3.5. This was called challenging above one's level.

Manfeng Mountain, deep in the mountains, behind a curtain of hanging vines.

Black mist hung heavy, and rank winds blew in gusts. Faint screams and wails drifted from within.

Several oil lamps hung along the cave passage, though no one knew what kind of oil they burned.

The dim light deepened further inside, revealing a stone-built hall. The throne at the center was extravagantly luxurious, a beast hide inlaid with gold, pearls, and gemstones. Four smaller stone chairs stood on either side; one was empty, while the other three were occupied by demons.

Ox Head, Sheep Head, Monkey Head.

Upon the massive table in the hall lay gnawed remains—severed limbs and arms—but they appeared to be from wild beasts rather than humans.

Before the hall, several lesser demons were fighting over a leg, tearing and biting at it until their mouths were crimson.

The three demon leaders were conversing as they looked at the empty chair in the center.

The Sheep Demon smacked its lips, making the saliva in its mouth slap and roll, then sighed. "Every day, it's these wild beasts with no damned flavor to them. Yet those delicacies are locked away in the back mountain, untouchable."

Ox Head patted the stone armrest and said in a deep, muffled voice, "Once that lord arrives, we can begin the feast. If that lord eats happily, perhaps he'll even recite some scriptures for us to hear, perhaps pass down a scripture for us to comprehend. Then we too may gain enlightenment and take another step forward."

As it spoke, it turned to the Monkey Demon beside it. "Was the entire nest of Mountain Crashing Bear Demons truly slaughtered clean?"

The Monkey Demon said, "My trusted subordinate went there personally and saw it clearly with his own eyes. That fellow slaughtered the Bear Demons' Great King and Second King alike. He must be a tough one."

Ox Head said, "I'd long heard of the Mountain Crashing Bears of Black Wind Mountain. Never expected them to be such worthless cowards. It's good they were slaughtered—it saves them from taking a share of the feast's provisions."

Just as the three demons were talking, the wall lamps on either side of the passage suddenly began to sway, rocking back and forth.

A little Monkey Demon came sprinting in from outside and said, "King, King, a powerful demon aura is approaching from afar."

The ox demon froze and asked, "How powerful?"

The little Monkey Demon said, "Stronger than all the kings."

Within demon territory, demons possessed extraordinarily keen senses. Especially among groups, they could spread an "aura net"; whenever an outsider demon intruded, they would detect it at once.

The ox demon leader said, "Brothers, sit tight. I'll go take a look."

With that, it snorted and reached out. Incense smoke billowed from its left hand, swiftly condensing into a gray banner. Looking at it, the ox demon said, "Best if it is willing to join us. If not, my Yin Wind Banner is no paper tiger."

It then hefted a ghost-head broadsword, gripping the blade in one hand and the banner in the other as it strode outside.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, it stood atop a rise and gazed into the distance.

Though it had yet to see anything, it could already sense that powerful demon aura drawing nearer.

Yet what puzzled it was that there was actually a human scent beside that demon aura.

Just as it was wondering about this, it finally spotted two figures walking through the gorge.

One was a Daoist in purple robes and a ghost mask; the other, a martial artist in fitted clothes and a ghost mask, carrying a blade across his shoulder.

And the moment it saw the pair, they seemed to notice it as well.

In the next instant, the two vanished with startling abruptness.

The ox demon leader was taken aback, but it reacted swiftly. It hurriedly planted the Yin Wind Banner in the ground, then looked left and right, trying to find its opponents so it could unleash the treasure's power.

Just then, it suddenly felt that demon aura appear behind it.

It waved a hand.

At once, gusts of Yin Wind swept backward like countless fine blades.

The Yin Wind Banner abruptly billowed. As it did, the Yin Wind unleashed by the ox demon intensified many times over. Sand and stones shot into the air in an instant, even rocks as large as human heads rising aloft.

Yin Wind flayed flesh and scattered blood with a thousand cuts. Against Daoists here, it was utterly lethal. Once unleashed, Daoists could not advance at all.

If it were used in open ground, the Daoists could only hope that Daoist Boys might fend it off for a moment or two. Otherwise, before they could even display their abilities, they would likely be dead and gone.

With the Yin Wind Banner added to the mix, it became even deadlier.

Then the ox demon leader turned around.

Sure enough, the two were behind it.

The ghost-masked martial artist stood in front of the Daoist.

The Daoist, meanwhile, closed his eyes and raised a hand.

At some unknown point, a golden great seal had appeared in midair, landing in his hand.

With a clang, the great seal was hurled out with brutal force.

The ox demon leader wanted to dodge, only to find itself as though trapped in a nightmare. It clearly wanted to run, yet could not; its limbs utterly refused to obey as the golden great seal struck it squarely.

Its head spun, and it cried out in pain, "Ow!" before collapsing where it stood.

With that blow, it felt the nightmare paralysis grow even worse.

It could clearly see everything, yet it was as if its three souls and seven spirits had left its body. It could see, but could do nothing.

Having lost control, the Yin Wind Banner immediately fell still.

The ghost-masked martial artist took three steps as two and appeared before the fallen ox head in an instant. He drew his blade and beheaded it.

Bang!

The ox demon leader was dead!

Ning Xuan raised a hand and dipped a finger in the ox blood.

[Yin Wind Ox]

[Heavenly Demon Fate Attribute: Order of Ox, Ordinary Class, Yin Wind Species (Physique): 3.5]

[Heavenly Demon Scroll: Observe the Heavenly Demon that has arrived, follow its essence blood, glimpse the root of its life, and forcibly refine a scroll. Failure means death and the dissipation of the Dao; success turns it to one's own use.]

[Refine scroll?]

Ning Xuan recalled the ox demon's performance just now.

It summoned Yin Wind, then used that gray banner to amplify it.

Yet treasures could not be brought into nightmares.

The demon art was already clear, and when refining a scroll within a nightmare, time outside stood still. He had experienced this twice already. The first time, he had perhaps still been muddled; the second had confirmed it.

Since that was the case.

Refine.

Ning Xuan closed his eyes.

The dream spun around.

Then—

he opened them again.

A new scroll had appeared within his [Heavenly Demon Scroll].

The Yin Wind Ox demon had been refined in an instant.