Hundred Demons Register

This book is single.

The wind carried a stench of blood.

The desolate wilderness lay in ruins, with dead grass stretching to the horizon and not a soul in sight.

Jiang Yuechu stared blankly at everything before her.

She still could not accept how she, a modern person from the twenty-first century, had somehow transmigrated into the body of an unfamiliar woman.

Fragmented memories flooded into her mind.

The Divine Land, the Great Tang Dynasty.

Demons ran rampant, devouring human flesh and blood and bringing chaos to the world.

But why had a woman as powerless as her ended up in this barren wilderness?

Jiang Yuechu got to her feet and looked around.

Corpses covered the ground.

Most wore dull gray prison uniforms, no different from the one she wore.

The others wore black garments, their collars and cuffs embroidered with crimson cloud patterns.

At the edge of her vision, a huge figure leaned crookedly against a massive boulder.

When the figure's outline came into focus, Jiang Yuechu's breath caught.

It had a human body and a tiger's head, its build as powerful as a small mountain.

Even without a trace of life left in it, its fierce baleful aura still bore down on her, tightening her chest.

A huge hole had been blasted through its chest, and black demon blood had spilled all over the ground.

A demon!

Thankfully... thankfully, it was dead.

She let out half a sigh of relief, only for her gaze to be drawn to another figure not far from the tiger demon.

That person also wore fitted black clothes patterned in crimson, and his figure was tall and straight.

But at that moment, he was half-kneeling on the ground, a broken saber embedded in the earth before him to keep him from collapsing.

He was covered in wounds. His left arm hung twisted at an unnatural angle, and his chest rose and fell faintly. He was clearly at the end of his strength.

The wilderness was filled with the sound of wind and startled birds.

Other than the man in black and herself, there were no survivors.

Jiang Yuechu instinctively held her breath and quietly took a step back.

The half-kneeling man in black seemed to notice her movement and laboriously turned his head toward her.

His face was young, perhaps only a little over twenty.

Yet he was deathly pale, with cracked lips and dry skin. His condition was clearly terrible.

He saw Jiang Yuechu and rasped out two nearly inaudible words.

"Come here."

"..."

You say come over, so I have to come over?

Jiang Yuechu grumbled inwardly.

She remembered now.

The original owner of this body had been the only daughter of a high-ranking official in the capital.

But when her father was suddenly convicted of a crime, the entire Household had been implicated. She had been reduced to lowly status and exiled to the frontier.

And this half-dead man before her was the official escort assigned to transport them.

The Demon Suppression Office.

Whenever the Demon Suppression Office was mentioned within the Great Tang, everyone turned pale.

There were rumors that whenever the Demon Suppression Office's mounted officers came to one's door, it meant the King of Hell himself had arrived.

Children who heard its name did not dare cry at night.

Besides, being sent to the frontier meant a fate worse than death.

Better to run now. Perhaps she might still find a way to survive.

Jiang Yuechu made up her mind.

She quietly backed away, turned around, and was just about to take a step.

A sharp whistle tore through the air.

Whoosh!

Half a broken saber sank into the ground less than half a step in front of her.

Jiang Yuechu froze, cold sweat instantly soaking her back.

What a terrifyingly powerful man, even at death's door!

In this state, he could still casually throw a weapon with such force!

If he truly meant to kill her, her head would not stay warm much longer than the corpses on the ground.

Jiang Yuechu took a deep breath, her heart filled with frustration.

Fine.

I'll come over!

When you were under another's roof, you had no choice but to bow your head.

She stiffly turned around and shuffled toward him in small steps.

The man raised his head. Seeing her move like a frightened chick, the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch.

He truly had used the last of his strength when he threw that half of the broken saber.

If she had been determined to run, he could only have watched helplessly.

Fortunately, that display had already frightened the girl before him.

"Help me up."

Perhaps afraid she would refuse, he added, "I am Pei Changqing, squad leader of the Longyou Demon Suppression Command."

By stating his identity, he was showing his sincerity.

He took a breath, his gaze falling on her still-shaken face.

"I know you want to run... but can you get away... A lowborn fugitive without household registration or travel papers—even if you somehow make it to the next town, what then?"

"If you do as I say, afterward, I will guarantee that you are freed from your lowly status and restored to freedom."

As Jiang Yuechu listened, she was already rolling her eyes inwardly.

Damn it!

Was he really trying to sell me empty promises?

How much workplace pep talk had she swallowed in her previous life? How many hollow promises had her boss made?

And what had happened in the end?

Her blessings had not been accumulated enough, so she had met the King of Hell early.

Still, he was telling the truth.

In her current situation, running was indeed the worst possible option.

A powerless woman in ancient times had virtually zero chance of surviving alone in a wilderness overrun with demons.

Besides, though this guy was half dead, who knew whether he had any tricks left?

If he got angry and split her in two with a saber, that would be a real loss.

After weighing the pros and cons, Jiang Yuechu gritted her teeth and nodded.

"...Fine."

She cautiously stepped forward and reached out to support Pei Changqing's arm.

He was burning hot to the touch. Even through his clothes, she could feel his frighteningly high temperature.

The smell of blood mingled with sweat, making for a truly unpleasant stench.

"This side."

Pei Changqing nodded toward his uninjured right arm.

Jiang Yuechu had no choice but to circle around him and laboriously place his right arm over her slender shoulder.

He was so heavy!

Nearly all of the man's weight pressed down on her, making Jiang Yuechu stagger. They almost tumbled to the ground together.

She clenched her teeth and used every ounce of strength she had before barely managing to haul him upright.

Pei Changqing was large and tall. Most of his body now leaned against her, his feet dragging across the ground as every step became incomparably difficult.

"W-where... are we going?" Jiang Yuechu asked between gasps.

"South."

Jiang Yuechu said no more. She focused on dragging this damn man, step by step, in the direction he had indicated.

But just as they had taken a few steps.

An unusual sound came from behind them.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

At that moment, both Jiang Yuechu and Pei Changqing stiffened.

Then came a long sigh.

"Haa..."

"Stop running."

"In this godforsaken wilderness, where do you think you can run to?"

Jiang Yuechu felt that heaven truly was not leaving her even the slightest chance at survival.

They said the dead could not come back to life...

But nobody had told her demons could!

Her hand suddenly went slack, and she forgot to keep supporting him.

"Urgh!"

The badly wounded Pei Changqing let out a muffled groan and fell straight to the ground.

But he had no mind to blame her.

All color drained from Pei Changqing's face as his eyes locked onto the figure slowly rising in the distance.

The gruesome, flesh-riddled hole in the tiger demon's chest was still horrifying.

Yet it acted as though nothing had happened—or rather, as though nothing had happened to a demon. It twisted its thick neck, producing a string of crackling pops.

It looked at the dumbstruck pair and grinned.

"Surprised...?"

"Did you truly think a few insignificant Demon-Suppression Guards, plus a mere squad leader like you, could kill me?"

Cold sweat seeped down Pei Changqing's back.

How was this possible?!

That strike just now had clearly pierced the tiger demon's heart.

He had killed demons for years. There was no way he could have mistaken it.

Yet aside from the still-savage bloody hole in its chest, the tiger demon showed not the slightest sign of weakness.

Unless...

A thought rose in Pei Changqing's heart.

This demon had already stepped halfway into the Bone-Resonance Realm!

It was said that demon cultivation differed from that of human martial artists.

Once their sinews and bones resonated as one, they could awaken innate divine abilities!

Some could regenerate from a drop of blood, while others could manipulate illusions. They were endlessly strange and unpredictable.

But why would such a powerful demon appear here?

How could a mere group of prisoners being exiled to the frontier be worth its personal intervention?

Was it here to seize people?

Yet it clearly did not care whether these prisoners lived or died.

In that flash of time, Pei Changqing had no chance to think further.

He forcibly stirred the final thread of surging vitality within his body. Ignoring whatever hidden injuries it might leave behind, he bent down and picked up a horizontal saber belonging to some unknown colleague.

"Die!"

With a furious roar, Pei Changqing lunged forward, his horizontal saber slashing out in rage at the tiger demon's neck.

However.

The tiger demon neither dodged nor evaded. It raised its right leg and, despite moving later, struck first with a kick.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out.

Pei Changqing's body flew backward and crashed heavily at Jiang Yuechu's feet. The horizontal saber in his hand also fell beside him.

That scene wiped out the last trace of hope in Jiang Yuechu's heart.

Damn it!

It was bad enough that she had just transmigrated and become a weak woman, but now she was about to die in a demon's jaws?

What kind of joke was this?

The tiger demon licked its massive palm, its thick tongue covered in backward-facing barbs.

He was in no hurry. Instead, he even had the mood to persuade them.

"Human lives are filled with suffering. Would it not be wonderful to free yourselves sooner? Stop resisting."

"Go in peace. Later, I will dig graves and erect memorial stones for you. That will count as a good deed and earn me virtue."

"..."

Screw that!

She had only been transmigrated for a few minutes?

If she died like this, she would definitely make it onto Tomato's list of the most pathetic transmigrators.

And take first place.

Just as Jiang Yuechu fell into complete despair,

an ancient scroll slowly unfolded before her eyes.

Lines of golden text appeared one after another.

[Host: Jiang Yuechu]

[Realm: Mortal Realm]

[Martial Arts: None]

[Dao Cultivation: Zero (By killing living creatures, you can obtain corresponding Dao Cultivation.

Consume Dao Cultivation; using demon blood as ink and the Hundred Demons Register as the scroll, you may trace their forms and seize their divine abilities.

It may also be used on your own moves, unleashing in a single burst the power equivalent to the corresponding years of Dao Cultivation.)]

This... this was...

A cheat?!

Having read countless web novels in her previous life, she was naturally no stranger to such things.

But what use was this cheat now?

Kill living creatures? Obtain Dao Cultivation?

Where was she supposed to get Dao Cultivation?!

Was she, a mere mortal powerless enough to be unable to truss a chicken, supposed to kill that tiger demon?

Jiang Yuechu took a deep breath and bent down to pick up the horizontal saber lying on the ground.

The hilt still retained some warmth.

"Cough..."

Pei Changqing, lying on the ground, unexpectedly woke again. When he opened his eyes, he happened to see the girl standing with her saber in hand, her back facing him.

His face was filled with bitterness.

This woman had some courage, at least.

Unfortunately, she was still trying to stop a chariot with a mantis's arm.

How could a mortal body possibly find even a sliver of survival in the hands of such a monster?

The tiger demon watched this with great interest. "Even ants cling to life. Could it be that you still intend to..."

But Jiang Yuechu did not look at the tiger demon.

She lowered her head, her long hair covering most of her face.

Her arm trembled slightly.

In her mind, that line of text was incomparably clear.

Kill living creatures. Obtain Dao Cultivation.

In this wilderness, aside from that unkillable tiger demon, the only living creature left...

was the dying man at her feet.

"I'm sorry..."

Her quiet words stunned Pei Changqing.

"What...?"

But before he could figure out what she meant,

the next second,

Squelch.

The long saber plunged into his chest.

Horizontal saber.

Three Mortal Realms: String-Hearing - Bone-Resonance Realm - Core Formation