Yellow-Skin Demon Seeking a Seal? Death Wish

When Xu Jin returned to his rented room, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The dilapidated wooden door creaked open, and a smell of mold mixed with dampness rushed to meet him.

Three days ago, he would have had to pinch his nose and endure it, but now he felt that this dump was truly no place for a human to stay.

He dumped the silver from his embrace onto the broken table, the white glitter dazzling his eyes.

The back rent he owed didn't even amount to a fraction of this, and with the fixed monthly tribute money from the quarry to come, he would never again have to count copper coins or ration coarse rice to get by.

After tidying up the money, he took out the remains of the Stone Spirit wrapped in oil paper. The pigeon-egg-sized cyan demon crystal felt cool to the touch, with a faint flow of yin energy moving within it. The few pieces of stone armor were absurdly hard; even when he hacked at them with a kitchen knife, they didn't show a single white mark.

Xu Jin turned it over and over for a long time, unable to figure out its specific use, so he decided to treat it as hard currency and store it away; sooner or later, he could trade it for money or use it for refining.

Without dawdling, he settled the rent with the landlord that very day, packed his meager belongings into a small bundle, and checked out immediately.

This tenement courtyard was crowded and full of prying eyes. If a demon really came knocking, not being able to unleash his full strength was a minor issue, but implicating a whole courtyard of ordinary people would be a real headache.

He planned to find a detached little courtyard on the edge of the city—quiet, and convenient for practicing his skills.

Xu Jin, who had just finished asking about two properties at the Yahang and was planning to look elsewhere, suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

The sinister gaze was definitely not that of a human.

His heart skipped a beat, followed immediately by an irrepressible excitement.

Good heavens, he had just killed one, and now another had come? Did the big one come after the little one was finished?

He didn't turn his head, nor did he make a scene.

The streets were bustling with people; if he revealed his Palm-Rolling Sword Formation, he would be surrounded and gawked at like a monster on the spot. If the Demon Suppression Bureau came knocking to check his background later, it would be too much trouble.

Xu Jin pretended to be strolling and meandered slowly toward the west gate of the city.

Outside that gate lay a stretch of barren slopes and a few abandoned earthen kilns—spacious and deserted, the perfect place for a slaughterhouse.

He walked at a steady pace, even buying two meat buns on the way, munching as he walked, not the least bit panicked.

The gaze behind him trailed him at a constant, close distance.

Xu Jin sneered inwardly: Follow me then, you're definitely in for a nasty surprise later.

When he reached the abandoned kilns, he swallowed the last bite of his bun, wiped his mouth, and turned to shout at the woods:

"You've been following me all this way, come on out. Aren't you tired of skulking around?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a yellow shadow darted out from the woods.

It landed as a creature half the height of a man, with a sharp mouth, monkey-like cheeks, and yellow fur all over. Its eyes glowed with a green light, and it stood there in a tattered gray cloth shirt, looking like a mockery of a human.

It didn't attack immediately, but instead sized Xu Jin up from head to toe, as if confirming something. Then, it spoke in a shrill, strange voice, every word piercing into one's ears:

"Fellow countryman, do I look like a human, or do I look like a god?"

Xu Jin laughed on the spot.

So, he had actually run into this classic scene?

A yellow-skin demon seeking a seal was a sinister piece of folklore that had been passed down for thousands of years. When a yellow-skin demon reached a bottleneck in its cultivation, it would block a person's path to ask for a seal. If told it looked like a human, it would shed its demon form and become human; if told it looked like a god, its cultivation would soar. If one dared to answer carelessly, it would turn around and bring disaster upon the person's entire family.

In the modern world, this was just a joke, but in this place, it was a truly lethal supernatural rule.

He had originally thought it was an accomplice of the Stone Spirit seeking revenge, but it turned out to be an experience pack that had delivered itself to his door?

Seeing him only laughing and not speaking, the yellow-skin demon took another half-step forward, its voice growing even shriller: "I'm asking you! Do I look like a human, or do I look like a god?"

Judging by its posture, if Xu Jin dared not answer according to the rules, it would turn hostile and release its bewitching smoke on the spot.

Xu Jin sneered, his tongue already pressing against a lead pellet.

"I think you..." He drew out the tone, watching the yellow-skin demon's expectant expression, and slowly spat out the second half, "...look like a beatable, featherless beast."

The yellow-skin demon: "???"

It was stunned on the spot, clearly having never encountered someone who didn't play by the rules.

It had been seeking seals for decades; people either kowtowed in terror and called it a deity, or gritted their teeth and said it looked like a human. No one had ever opened their mouth to call it a beast!

At these words, it felt its blood and qi surging, and its century of cultivation wavered along with it.

"You're courting death!!"

The yellow-skin demon shrieked, its yellow fur bristling. It opened its mouth and sprayed a thick, yellow mist that reeked of rot and made one dizzy just by smelling it.

This was its bewitching smoke; ordinary people would collapse upon contact, and even cultivators would be dazed for a moment.

Xu Jin had long since held his breath, giving his tongue a light flick.

A lead pellet flew from his mouth and landed in his palm. The pellet rolled halfway along his palm lines, transforming into a small, inch-long sword. A spark of fire flickered at the tip of the blade, shimmering like a snake flicking its tongue.

With a thought from Xu Jin, the small sword in his palm turned into a streak of white light and shot out with a whoosh.

The yellow-skin demon was still posturing while spraying smoke and hadn't reacted at all. It only felt a flash of white light before its eyes, and the sharp sword qi was already at its face.

Terrified, it scrambled to the side, but it was still half a beat too slow.

Sshhh—

The white light swept past, and a yellow-skin leg went flying, black blood spraying all over the ground.

"Squeak!!"

The yellow-skin demon let out a shrill, miserable scream, fear finally appearing in its eyes.

It turned to bolt into the woods, but how could Xu Jin give it the chance?

With a flick of his finger, the white light curved in the air and chased after its back.

Swish, swish, swish—

The white light was so fast it left only afterimages.

The yellow-skin demon's body was sliced into four pieces on the spot, twitching a few times on the ground before falling completely still.

The yellow smoke dissipated entirely, leaving only a faint scent of blood in the air.

Xu Jin beckoned, and the white light flew back into his palm, reforming into the lead pellet, which he swallowed back under his tongue.

"That's it?" He curled his lip, kicking the mangled corpse on the ground.

Behind a dirt mound not far away, two men from the Demon Suppression Bureau were frozen in shock.

The two had been following clues to investigate Xu Jin's background and had just happened upon this yellow-skin demon as they followed him out of the city. Their hearts had tightened at the sight.

This demon had been roaming the vicinity for over half a month, specifically targeting lone travelers to seek a seal. If they didn't answer correctly, it would drain their essence, and it had already crippled three or four commoners.

The Bureau had sent men twice but failed to catch it; the thing was fast and knew bewitchment arts. Even the two of them combined wouldn't dare claim a sure victory.

And yet, it was just... chopped into pieces by this guy?

And how could this person's mouth be so vicious, directly shutting down the demon's path to seeking a seal?

"Chu, Brother Chu..." the young demon suppressor's voice was dry. "What exactly is this kid's background? Even the Hundred-Household official in our Bureau might not have this kind of skill, right?"

The middle-aged man surnamed Chu stared fixedly at Xu Jin in the clearing and said in a low voice, "Indeed. This lethality... it's too absurd."

He had originally thought the kid was just a greenhorn who knew a little bit about demon slaying, but now he understood that this was a ruthless character hiding his true strength.

Meanwhile, Xu Jin, standing in the clearing, 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 (Novice)]

[Gather sunlight into the mouth with hand gestures, then inhale and swallow]