After more than a month of traveling on and off, Xiao Han had spent the whole time wandering from city to city, slaying demons and vanquishing fiends.
The current Imperial Preceptor, Pu Du Cihang, was actually a Thousand-Year Centipede Demon in disguise. With such a monster holding sway, how could the world not descend into chaos?
As Xiao Han traveled, he saw that the empire still belonged to the emperor, but if the chaos continued, the local strongmen across the land would surely rise in rebellion before Yan Chixia could destroy the Centipede Demon.
Then the warlords would rise up, and iron-clad cavalry and clashing weapons would bring slaughter everywhere. It would only leave the already suffering common people homeless and scattered. The demons and ghosts, seeing the world in such turmoil, would grow even more brazen. Battlefields strewn with corpses would be steeped in bloodshed, constantly strengthening the demons' power.
Humanity's internecine slaughter—both the flesh and blood, and the vengeful souls of the dead—would become their greatest source of nourishment!
Over the past month, Xiao Han had killed nearly two hundred demons alone. Most were lesser demons that had only just gained intelligence, but quite a few were Great Demons with strength equivalent to nine-star Dou Masters!
Just a few days ago, Xiao Han had encountered one such monster!
It was on a mountain littered with bones, ruled by a Tiger Demon who could use the Summon Wind and Rain Technique. It had reminded Xiao Han of Journey to the West.
The Tiger Demon was highly intelligent and had already taken human form. Its hundred or so underlings were all at least eight- or nine-star Dou Zhe. And on one side of the mountain, it kept the humans of an entire town penned up as food.
It wasn't that no Daoists or monks had come to vanquish the demon. The Tiger Demon had simply laid traps and used trickery to wear them down until they died.
The Essence Blood contained in those who cultivated the Dao or practiced Buddhism was incredibly potent. Even an ordinary Daoist had more vital essence and Essence Blood in him than a hundred commoners!
The Tiger Demon had devoured three Daoists and two monks. The depth of its cultivation was unfathomable.
But it had let its guard down around Xiao Han, a "Demonic Path cultivator" who had deliberately released the Demonic Qi of his Demon Armor. After all, as far as the demons were concerned, Daoists and monks were humanity's greatest enemies.
Demonic Path cultivators were different. They were ruthless and vicious, and sometimes they'd raze an entire town to the ground to cultivate their evil arts! In the human world, they were notorious, like rats crossing the street with everyone shouting to beat them!
Demonic Path cultivators often colluded with demons or evil spirits, committing arson and murder.
At first, the Tiger Demon had wanted to swallow this Demonic Path cultivator whole, but feared being corrupted by his Demonic Qi. Then it saw that Xiao Han was young yet powerful, with Martial Path cultivation no weaker than its own, and figured the sect behind him was beyond its reach. So it decided to make friends with him.
Over the past month, Xiao Han had naturally learned just where Demonic Path cultivators stood in this world.
Since the Tiger Demon had invited him, he had no reason to refuse. He followed it up the mountain, looking for an opportunity to kill it with a single strike.
Apparently convinced that this "Demonic Path cultivator" must need to practice evil arts, the Tiger Demon ordered its underlings that very night to seize ten young, beautiful virgins from the town it kept captive. They stripped and washed the girls, then sent them to Xiao Han's room for his pleasure.
The ten girls lay naked on the bed, like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, completely at their captors' mercy. Their faces were tear-streaked, their bodies trembling, and they were pitiful to behold.
They were human, yet had no dignity at all. The Tiger Demon kept them like livestock, killing them whenever it pleased.
And from what the Tiger Demon had just said, it and the lesser demons on the mountain always raped the captured girls to death before washing them and throwing them into the pot.
What a monstrous sin. Some of the girls weren't even ten years old! Seeing this, Xiao Han burned with rage, and his murderous intent toward the Tiger Demon grew even stronger.
Xiao Han closed his eyes and murmured, "Amitabha. Forgive me for this sin." Then he used his Soul Power to knock the girls unconscious.
When he opened his eyes again, his once-black irises had turned into an eerie, deep blue.
He drew the Crimson Longsword and used the "Heaven and Earth Have No Limits, Tracking for Thousands of Miles" technique to spy on the Tiger Demon. It was already sound asleep. This was the perfect chance to launch a surprise attack!
He crept along the route the Tiger Demon had laid out, then stealthily made his way into its Cave Mansion. The Tiger Demon had survived until now for a reason; it naturally had extraordinary means at its disposal.
"ROAR!!!!"
Just as Xiao Han burst into the Tiger Demon's Cave Mansion, the creature awoke. Its head transformed into a tiger's, and it roared at Xiao Han, leaving him dazed for a moment and costing him the perfect chance to attack by surprise!
Seizing the opening, it drew a tiger-headed saber and slashed at Xiao Han. Its swordsmanship was no ordinary affair either.
Clang! Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
The clash of metal rang through the Cave Mansion, echoing again and again.
The man and the tiger, sword against saber, fought from inside the Cave Mansion to the open air outside. Xiao Han had meant to move somewhere spacious where he could fight freely, but he had walked right into the Tiger Demon's plan.
"ROAR!! Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, obey my command! Heavenly Thunder, descend!"
The Tiger Demon roared, then made hand seals and chanted an incantation like a human cultivator. Dark clouds gathered, and raindrops the size of soybeans poured down from the sky.
Bolts of Heavenly Thunder crashed down one after another, like enraged dragons bent on striking Xiao Han dead!
Xiao Han immediately realized he couldn't withstand even one of those lightning dragons. Faced with this, he stopped hesitating and summoned his complete Demon Armor in an instant!
Silver-gray and deep-blue Demon Armor quickly covered his entire body: helmet, shoulder guards, arm guards, chest plate, greaves. Like a hero in a Tokusatsu show, Xiao Han completed the summoning in a flash.
If the situation hadn't been so urgent, he would've wanted to shout, "Armor up!"—a cool catchphrase to go with it!
Although this was his first time summoning the Demon Armor for battle, the system had directly instilled a template that let Xiao Han master it completely. So he felt as if he'd fought countless battles in the armor already. With practiced ease, he transformed the slender Three-foot Sword in his hand into a greatsword, then brought it down on the Tiger Demon in a single strike, its fearsome power surging.
But Xiao Han wanted to hone his close-combat skills, so he held back his Demonic Flame. If he'd gone all out, the Tiger Demon wouldn't have lasted ten exchanges!
"DIE!!!"
After taking three lightning bolts head-on, Xiao Han roared and raised the greatsword, striking the Tiger Demon again and again.
Under the greatsword's continuous blows, the Tiger Demon could barely hold on. And that wasn't all: seizing his chance, Xiao Han flung out the Wrist Blade in his hand, cutting a wound into the Tiger Demon's thigh.
The Spinning Blade hit, and Xiao Han's Attack Speed and movement speed instantly surged by thirty percent.
The Tiger Demon had already been barely holding on. Now it couldn't keep up at all. A kick from Xiao Han, his leg armor covering his greave, sent it flying, and a spray of Blood Mist burst from its mouth!
"Grandpa, spare me! Let's talk this out! I'm willing to hand over every treasure on Tiger Head Mountain. Just please spare my life!"
Kicked so hard that it spat blood and suffered severe injuries, the Tiger Demon had no backbone at all. It dropped to its knees and begged for mercy. Its cultivation had plummeted; it might as well have been crippled. But it knew cultivation secrets, and as long as it survived, it could be a hero again in a few years! Or rather, a fine demon!
Seeing this, Xiao Han sneered and hooked the Tiger Demon's head up with his foot. "You ungrateful beast. Do I look like I'm short on money? Hm?!"
"Grandpa, spare me! Besides money, I also have some Daoist techniques. I stole them from the Daoists and monks I killed before!" The Tiger Demon trembled under Xiao Han's murderous intent, shaking its head and begging over and over.
"Oh? Did you learn that Summon Wind and Rain Technique you used just now from one of those manuals?" Xiao Han's interest was piqued. He hadn't expected to find the spell he'd been coveting all this time in a place like this.
"Hand over those manuals, and I'll spare your life!"
"I can hand them over, but you have to swear an Oath to the Heavenly Dao that you'll let me go once you get them!" The Tiger Demon wiped the blood from the corner of its mouth and spoke to Xiao Han cautiously.
"Fine."
Xiao Han glanced at the Tiger Demon, then made a show of taking the oath.
"Phew—"
After Xiao Han swore the oath, the Tiger Demon finally breathed a sigh of relief, feeling it had escaped death. It led Xiao Han into its Cave Mansion and opened a hidden compartment. Inside lay a Buddhist Scripture and two Daoist Techniques. Beside them was a Dharma Sword.
"Hm?!"
Xiao Han's murderous intent surged. "You said you'd killed five demon slayers. Why are there only three books? Did you hide the rest?"
"Grandpa, spare me! I didn't hide any books. Only three of the five had manuals on them. The other two just had ordinary travel bags!"
The Tiger Demon's legs gave way. It dropped to its knees and begged for mercy again.
"Hmph! I doubt you'd dare deceive me."
Xiao Han snorted. "Gather all your lesser demons. I have a job for them. If you help me get it done, I'll let you go."
"Yes, yes! I'll go gather those little brats right now," the Tiger Demon said with a fawning smile.
Fifteen minutes later, every lesser demon on the mountain had entered the Cave Mansion. Looking at the huge pile of Energy Value and experience fodder below, Xiao Han wore an evil smile.
BOOM!!!
"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!!!"
With a single Flame Splitting Wave Ruler driven by Demonic Flame, all the lesser demons in the Cave Mansion were reduced to a pile of charred, foul-smelling meat.
As it died, the Tiger Demon stared at Xiao Han in terror. "Y-You actually broke your Oath to the Heavenly Dao? Aren't you afraid... of being... punished by... the Heavenly Dao?"
Hearing this, Xiao Han sneered and cut off the Tiger Demon's head. "The Heavenly Dao dares punish me? Do you know that in this world, the Heavenly Dao and I are in cahoots!"
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