The mountain cave where the demons dwelled matched every impression he had of such monsters: winding, dark, fetid—those words seemed to have been coined for a place like this.
Yu Ci merely stood at the bend nearest the cave entrance and cast a few glances within before feeling deeply uncomfortable. He could not help admiring Master Bi Chao. To venture so far inside truly required no small amount of courage.
Not far from where he stood was the source of the light.
When Yu Ci looked over, the first thing he saw was a demon. Under the illumination, he could clearly see that it stood no more than four feet tall and was exceptionally scrawny. Yet its jet-black skin and sharp, elongated forelimbs told Yu Ci that it was the sort of sinister creature skilled at delivering fatal blows in the darkness.
At present, however, the demon lay sprawled dead on the ground. Not a single wound could be seen anywhere on its body. Yu Ci flipped it over with the tip of his foot, revealing a twisted, ugly face that still bore a trace of bizarre excitement.
The demon had not been dead long. Yu Ci guessed that it had been hiding in the cave and had intended to launch a sneak attack when Bi Chao entered, only to be slain by the female cultivator in an instant. Yu Ci had been waiting in the carriage outside the cave, practically within arm's reach, yet he had noticed nothing at all. The female cultivator's clean, decisive strike was rather similar to the goal Yu Ci pursued. To be honest, he was more than a little envious.
At last, Yu Ci shifted his gaze to the source of light that had drawn him here.
The core of the light source was