Xu Jin returned to his rented room just as dawn was breaking.
The rotten wooden door creaked open, and the stench of mold mixed with damp air hit him in the face.
Three days ago, he would have had to pinch his nose and endure it. Now, he only thought that this dump was no place for a human being.
He tipped the silver from his arms onto the rickety table. It spilled out in a dazzling heap.
Even the rent he owed wasn't worth a fraction of this. And with the monthly offering fee from the quarry to look forward to, he'd never have to count out copper coins and scrape by on coarse rice again.
After putting away the money, he took out the remains of the Stone Spirit, wrapped in oiled paper. The pigeon-egg-sized azure demon crystal felt cool to the touch, with faint traces of yin energy flowing within it. Several pieces of stone armor were absurdly hard; even a kitchen knife couldn't leave a white mark on them.
Xu Jin turned them over and over, but couldn't figure out their exact use. For now, he'd treat them as hard currency and stash them away. Sooner or later, he could trade them for money or use them to make something.
He didn't dawdle. That very day, he settled the rent with his landlord. His few belongings fit into a single bundle, and he moved out at once.
The crowded courtyard was full of prying eyes. If a demon came looking for him, having no room to fight would be the least of his problems. Dragging a courtyard full of ordinary people into it would be a real headache.
He planned to find a secluded little courtyard on the edge of town, one with its own walls. It would be quiet and convenient for practicing.
Xu Jin had just asked the real estate broker about two courtyards and was heading off to look elsewhere when he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his neck.
That sinister gaze was unmistakably inhuman.
His heart gave a thump, followed close behind by a surge of excitement he couldn't suppress.
Well, would you look at that. He'd barely finished killing one, and another had come along? The little one was down, so now the old one showed up?
He didn't look back or draw attention to himself.
The streets were crowded. If he showed off Palm-Rolling Sword Formation, everyone would surround him and gawk like he was some kind of monster. Then the Demon Suppression Bureau would come knocking to inspect his water meter. What a hassle.
Xu Jin pretended to be out for a stroll and leisurely wandered toward the west gate.
Beyond it lay a stretch of barren slopes and a few abandoned earthen kilns. The area was open and deserted—a perfect slaughterhouse.
He walked at an unhurried pace and even bought two meat buns along the way, munching as he went without the slightest hint of panic.
The gaze behind him followed at a steady distance.
Xu Jin sneered inwardly. Keep following. You're in for a nasty surprise.
When he reached the abandoned kilns, he swallowed the last bite of his bun, wiped his mouth, and turned to call toward the woods:
"You've been following me all this way. Come on out. Aren't you tired of skulking around?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a yellow blur shot out of the woods.
It landed as a waist-high creature, with a pointed snout, beady eyes, and yellow fur all over. Its eyes glowed green, and it wore a tattered gray shirt, standing there like a person.
It didn't attack right away. Instead, it looked Xu Jin up and down, as if confirming something. Then it spoke in a shrill voice, each strange, thin syllable drilling into his ears:
"Fellow villager, do I look like a human, or a god?"
Xu Jin burst out laughing.
So he'd actually run into this classic scene?
A Yellow-Skin Demon seeking a blessing—an eerie folk tale that had been passed down for over a thousand years. When a Yellow-Skin Demon reached a crucial point in its cultivation, it would block someone's path and ask for a blessing. If they said it looked human, it would shed its demonic form and become human. If they said it looked divine, its powers would soar. But if they dared to answer carelessly, it would turn around and bring disaster upon their whole family.
In the modern world, it was a joke. Here, it was a genuinely deadly demonic custom.
He'd thought one of the Stone Spirit's allies had come to avenge it. So, after all that, had a free experience pack come straight to him?
When the Yellow-Skin Demon saw that he only laughed and didn't answer, it edged half a step closer. Its voice grew even shriller. "I asked you a question! Do I look like a human, or a god?"
Judging by its expression, if Xu Jin didn't answer according to the rules, it was ready to turn hostile and unleash its mind-fogging smoke right there.
Xu Jin scoffed, the lead pellet already pressed against his tongue.
"I think you look—" He drew out the words. The Yellow-Skin Demon's face showed its anticipation as Xu Jin leisurely finished, "like a mangy little beast that needs a good beating."
The Yellow-Skin Demon: "???"
It froze on the spot, clearly having never seen anyone refuse to play along so thoroughly.
It had been seeking blessings for decades. People either fell to their knees in fright and called it a deity, or gritted their teeth and said it looked human. No one had ever opened their mouth and called it an animal!
At those words, it felt its blood and qi surge through its body. Even a hundred years of cultivation wavered.
"You're asking for death!"
The Yellow-Skin Demon shrieked. Its yellow fur stood on end, and it opened its mouth to spew a cloud of thick, yellow smoke. The stench was nauseating, and the smell alone made a person dizzy.
This was its mind-fogging smoke. Ordinary people would collapse as soon as they came into contact with it, and even cultivators would be dazed for a moment.
Xu Jin had held his breath well in advance. He gave a slight nudge with his tongue.
A lead pellet flew out of his mouth and landed in his palm. It rolled halfway along his palm lines, transforming into a sword barely an inch long. A spark of flame leapt at its tip, flickering like a serpent's tongue.
With a thought from Xu Jin, the little sword in his palm turned into a streak of white light and shot away with a whoosh.
The Yellow-Skin Demon was still spewing smoke and putting on a show. It didn't react in time. It only saw a flash of white before sharp Sword Qi was already at its face.
It leapt frantically to the side, but was half a beat too slow.
"Shhk—"
The white light swept past, and one of the Yellow-Skin Demon's legs went flying. Black blood sprayed across the ground.
"Eek! Eek!"
The Yellow-Skin Demon let out a shrill scream. At last, fear showed in its eyes.
It turned and tried to dive into the woods, but Xu Jin wasn't about to give it the chance.
He guided the white light with a flick of his finger. It curved through the air and chased after the demon's back.
Swish, swish, swish—
The white light moved so fast that only afterimages remained.
The Yellow-Skin Demon was cut into four pieces on the spot. They hit the ground and twitched twice, then went still.
The yellow smoke dispersed completely, leaving only a faint smell of blood in the air.
Xu Jin beckoned, and the white light flew back to his palm, re-forming into a lead pellet. He swallowed it back beneath his tongue.
"That's it?" He curled his lip and kicked the mangled remains on the ground.
Behind an earthen slope not far away, two members of the Demon Suppression Bureau stared, their faces frozen.
They'd been following the leads to investigate Xu Jin's background. Just after they'd followed him out of town, they'd run into this Yellow-Skin Demon, and their hearts had immediately tightened.
The demon had been roaming the area for more than half a month, seeking blessings from people who were alone. If they answered wrong, it sucked out their vital essence. Three or four ordinary people had already been crippled.
The bureau had sent people after it twice, but they hadn't managed to catch it. The thing was fast and knew mind-fogging arts. Even working together, the two of them couldn't be sure they'd win.
And now it had just been cut into pieces?
And how could this guy's mouth be so vicious? He'd shut down the demon's whole blessing-seeking routine with one insult!
"Chu, Brother Chu..." The young Demon Suppression officer's voice was so dry it nearly croaked. "Just what kind of background does this kid have? Even our bureau's hundred-household commander might not be capable of that, right?"
The middle-aged man surnamed Chu stared hard at Xu Jin and said gravely, "Exactly. That kind of killing power... it's absurd."
He'd originally thought Xu Jin was just some hotheaded youngster who knew a little about exorcising demons. Only now did he understand that this was a ruthless character who'd been hiding his true strength.
Xu Jin, meanwhile, had already seen the familiar golden light in his mind:
[Slayed Lesser Demon · Yellow-Skin Demon ×1] [Obtained Demon Fragment ×5] [Unlocked Divine Ability: Swallow the Sun, Refine the Form (Beginner)] [Draw sunlight into your mouth with your hands, inhaling and swallowing]
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