Improving Her Strength

Jiang Yuechu actually did not like eating pork.

But as chunks of roasted meat went down her throat, the warm current rising in her stomach grew ever more turbulent.

Her hunger was rapidly fading.

She broke off another piece and was about to put it into her mouth.

Then her movement abruptly froze.

She stopped, closed her eyes, and carefully sensed the changes within her body.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

The hunger in her belly had long since vanished. By rights, her body's qi and blood should have been replenished almost completely.

Yet that warm current showed no sign of stopping. Instead, it grew fiercer and fiercer.

Like gentle little snakes, it slithered through her meridians, washing over them again and again, widening the riverbeds that had once been there.

This...

Jiang Yuechu suddenly opened her eyes and looked down at the piece of roasted meat still dripping oil in her hand, her gaze filled with shock and disbelief.

This demon flesh could not only restore qi and blood.

It could also... raise the upper limit of her cultivation?!

A bold thought, so bold it made her heart pound wildly, exploded in her mind.

Kill demons to gain Dao Cultivation, then use it to improve the Hundred Demons Compendium.

Eat demons to increase qi and blood, then use it to strengthen her own foundation.

Holy shit!

No longer caring about that nauseating, gamey stench, she grabbed the remaining half of the pig leg and wolfed it down.

As long as it could make her stronger, let alone Pig Demon meat—even... forget it, that one was out of the question.

One hind leg was soon picked clean.

Still wanting more, Jiang Yuechu licked her oil-slicked fingers and turned her gaze toward the two enormous corpses outside the ruined temple.

She rose to her feet, picked up her blade, and strode over.

Tonight, nobody was getting any sleep!

The last pig bone was tossed into the fire and turned to charcoal.

Jiang Yuechu let out a long breath of stale air, white mist dispersing in the chilly morning wind.

Three whole days.

The two String-Hearing Realm Pig Demons had been swallowed into her belly, skin and bones alike, save for a few parts that were simply too hard to chew.

At that moment, she felt the qi and blood within her surging like the mighty Yangtze River, scouring through her meridians.

She even had the feeling that her realm was about to touch the threshold of the next stage.

The corners of Jiang Yuechu's lips curled up.

Not bad.

Any improvement was a good thing.

She could not help thinking again of the corpses of the Tiger Mountain God and the Green-Faced Gentleman. Those two huge lumps had just been left out in the wilderness—what a waste of Heaven's gifts.

"What a pity, all that good meat..."

She shook her head, tossing that small regret from her mind.

So be it.

What I gain is my fortune; what I lose is my fate.

It did not matter that she had not known before. She only needed to keep it in mind from now on.

For now, the most urgent matter was still the demon in Jincheng County.

She had delayed here for three days. Who knew whether that thing was still there?

But there was no helping it.

If she had traveled while dragging the remaining corpses along, they would have been too cumbersome and far too conspicuous.

Shaking off the stray thoughts in her mind, Jiang Yuechu stood up and patted the dirt from her backside.

"Let's go, buddy. Time to get to work."

Hearing her, the horse raised its head, its mouth stopping as it chewed on grass roots.

It cast Jiang Yuechu a glance.

"Heh, you beast, you've got the nerve to give me attitude?"

Jiang Yuechu laughed and walked over to pat its face. "You've eaten and drunk your fill. Time to stretch those legs, or you'll really turn into a pig."

The horse reluctantly snorted, seemingly accepting its miserable fate.

One woman and one horse once more set out along the official road to Gold City.

The gates of Jincheng County stood wide open, like the gaping mouth of a corpse.

More than a dozen pitch-black Crimson-Eyed Stallions rode into the city.

Two men led them.

One was somewhat older, around forty, with a calm and steady expression.

The other was much younger, with a touch of sharpness between his brows.

"This smell..."

The young man frowned, reined in his horse, and waved a hand before his nose.

The wind carried an indescribable stench. Though he had seen plenty of horrifying scenes, this smell still made him deeply uncomfortable.

Xu Nian's expression did not change. He merely said flatly, "You'll get used to it."

Most of the doors and windows of the houses lining the street were battered and broken.

In the corners and along the roadside, congealed black bloodstains could be seen everywhere.

The young man tightened his grip around his sword hilt and said gravely, "Stay alert. They say this demon calls itself the Black-Clad Sword Immortal. Its Sword Qi runs rampant, and it has already entered the Bone Resonance Realm."

Bone Resonance.

Those two words made the breaths of the dozen Imperial Guards behind them hitch slightly.

"Split up."

Xu Nian gave the order. "Groups of three. If you find anything unusual, send a signal immediately. Remember, don't try to be heroes."

"Yes!"

The men answered in unison, quickly dividing into several groups and riding off in different directions.

Xu Nian and the young man led one other person slowly forward along the main street.

"Brother Xu, what do you think this demon wants?"

The young man lowered his voice, puzzled. "Slaughtering villages, occupying cities—it doesn't even eat them. Could it be trying to set itself up as king of the mountain?"

"Who knows."

Xu Nian shook his head. "Don't try to guess what demons are thinking. Guess all you want, and in the end, it comes down to just two words."

"Which two words?"

"Seeking death."

The young man fell silent.

That was precisely why the Demon Suppression Bureau existed.

No matter what kind of Great Demon you were, no matter what divine abilities you possessed, if you dared run wild like this on human territory, there was only one road waiting for you: death.

They turned a street corner and found a private school before them.

Its gate had already collapsed. Inside lay more than a dozen small bodies, scattered every which way. They were all children of seven or eight.

An elderly teacher with a head of white hair had been nailed to the wall through his eye socket with a writing brush.

On the wall beneath him, two crooked lines of large characters had been written in dripping blood.

The young man's eye twitched as he prepared to see what the two lines said.

But at that moment.

A teeth-grinding dragging sound came from the far end of the long street.

The three of them abruptly looked up.

A huge black figure slowly emerged from the swirling dust.

A pig's head atop a human body.

Blood covered its enormous pig face, and its eyes were filled with savage scarlet light.

On its shoulder, it actually carried a thick wooden stake. From the top of the stake, a raggedly dressed woman hung upside down by iron chains.

The woman was still struggling, muffled sounds coming from her mouth. Something had clearly been cut off.

"Beast!"

Liu Chen roared and immediately moved to draw his blade.

But a hand pressed heavily down on his sword hilt.

Xu Nian shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the figure at the end of the street.

He sat high upon his horse, his voice calm.

"Black-Clad Sword Immortal?"

The Pig Demon did not deny it. It grinned, exposing a mouthful of fangs.

"I came to look for traces of my son. I happened to catch a scent, so I came in to take a look."

Its scarlet eyes swept over the three of them before finally settling on Xu Nian.

"I never expected... it really would be the Demon Suppression Bureau."

The young man's expression turned strange.

A son?

This demon had a son?

Xu Nian's face remained expressionless as he said lightly, "I don't know what son you're talking about, and I don't care about your son."

He paused, his tone turning cold.

"Now, let her go, and I'll let you die with less suffering."

The Pig Demon's gaze turned utterly cold as well.

It said nothing more.

Nor was there any need to say more.

People from the Demon Suppression Bureau had appeared nearby.

Its two useless sons were likely already more dead than alive.

Overwhelming killing intent burst forth from its body.