Demon Aura

There was a bit of helplessness in the voice, a bit of emotion, and more importantly, a complex emotion that was difficult to explain.

He brought Yang Xiao to the Mystic Bone Sect with the intention of broadening the young man's horizons and gaining experience.

Zhou Zheng was even prepared to step in and protect Yang Xiao at any time.

And the result?

He protected loneliness.

Yang Xiao not only didn't need protection, but he also solved the biggest goal of this trip.

"You killed Bear Mountain Lord all by yourself, don't you have any thoughts?" Yan Tieyi stared at Yang Xiao's overly calm face and couldn't help but ask.

Yang Xiao glanced at him.

"Thinking?"

He thought for a moment, then said seriously, "The Demon Core of Bear Mountain Lord is of good quality, and his physical body is also very valuable."

Yan Tieyi: "..."

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but then he didn't know what to say.

Is this kid discussing the quality of Demon Core with me?

Meng Jiu couldn't help but chuckle and shook his head, saying, "Iron Armor, don't ask anymore. Some people are born to kill demons."

Yang Xiao ignored their conversation and turned his gaze to Zhou Zheng.

"Bear Mountain Lord is dead. Are there any other Demon left in this forest?"

Zhou Zheng was taken aback.

Looking into Yang Xiao's serious eyes, he realized that this guy wasn't showing off his strength, but simply confirming whether there were any more battles to fight.

"...There shouldn't be any more." Meng Jiu continued, "Bear Mountain Lord was the strongest Demon King in this forest. With its death, the other Demon were terrified and fled long ago."

Yang Xiao nodded, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding mountains and forests.

After confirming that nothing was missing, he stood up, pulled the Army-Breaking Spear from the ground, and slung it over his shoulder.

"That's good."

Three words, a simple and understated description.

It was as if he had just killed not a Demon King at the Half-Step Mystic Core realm, but casually eliminated a few troublesome insects.

Zhou Zheng watched Yang Xiao's retreating figure with a gun on his back, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Thinking back to when he first met Yang Xiao, from Pei Xuance killing the Dragon Lord of Guanlan River with a single spear thrust on the river to the current situation where the Tongqiao Realm cultivator killed the Half-Step Mystic Core Realm Mountain Lord with the Aperture-Penetration Realm thrust.

But the latter shocked him even more.

The former is self-evident, while the latter is clearly illogical.

How long has it been? The other party has already grown to the point where I have to look up to them...

Footsteps came again from the direction of the mountain path.

Gao Chengen, the sect leader of the Mystic Bone Sect, led the sect elders and disciples, hurrying along the mountain path.

They spotted the giant black bear embedded in the cliff face from afar as they walked, and their steps quickened.

Upon closer inspection and a clearer view, everyone fell silent once again.

Bear Mountain Lord, who had threatened the Mystic Bone Sect for months, now lay dead beside the cliff face, his chest wound a horrifying sight, piercing through from his back to his chest, revealing a huge bloody hole.

Gao Chengen's gaze swept back and forth between Bear Mountain Lord's corpse and Yang Xiao, finally settling on Yang Xiao.

He opened his mouth, his voice a little hoarse.

"Deputy General Yang... this..."

Yang Xiao glanced at him but didn't say anything more.

"The crisis facing the Mystic Bone Sect has been completely resolved."

When he said those words, Gao Chengen finally felt the heavy burden that had been on his shoulders for months lifted.

He turned around, and at his signal, the elders and disciples quickly lined up in two rows in front of the mountain gate, facing Yang Xiao, Zhou Zheng, Yan Tieyi, and Meng Jiu.

Gao Chengen was the first to bow, solemnly performing a grand salute.

"The entire Mystic Bone Sect thanks Deputy General Yang, Deputy General Zhou, Deputy General, and Deputy General for their assistance."

The elders and disciples behind him bowed in unison.

"If you need anything in the future, the Mystic Bone Sect will not refuse."

Gao Chengen straightened up, looked at Yang Xiao, his eyes full of sincerity, and said, "The gates of the Mystic Bone Sect will always be open to Deputy General Yang."

Yang Xiao watched this scene without much change in expression.

He simply nodded slightly, accepting the offer with a nonchalant air.

"You're too kind, Master Gao."

"Alright, alright, no need to put on airs!" Yan Tieyi, telling Gao Chengen to quickly drop his act.

"I've been busy all night and haven't even had a hot meal."

He walked over to Yang Xiao, patted him on the shoulder, grinned, and accepted the young man he was meeting for the first time.

"Come on, let me take you back to the Mystic Bone Sect for a hot meal to warm you up."

Having confirmed that the Demon Plague from the Mystic Bone Sect had been eliminated, the four of them did not linger and immediately mounted their horses to return home.

Before his departure, the Mystic Bone Sect Master presented him with some of the Mystic Bone Sect's specialties, including Body Tempering Pill made from demon bones, which were said to be helpful for physical cultivation.

After all, it was a token of their goodwill, so Yang Xiao and the others accepted it without refusing.

Then, with the entire clan welcoming them out of the mountain gate, they were respectfully seen off on the official road back to Qingzhou.

Watching the carriages and horses depart, the old man turned to look at the young and strong disciples of the sect, and was filled with emotion.

At the same age, how come Deputy General Yang is so imposing?

The Demon Suppression Division truly lives up to its reputation as a colossal entity that overshadows the Great Zhou. Its resources and circumstances are incomparable to those of a small sect like mine, yet it has managed to cultivate such a remarkable talent.

He shook his head and sighed softly, his expression filled with undisguised envy.

The journey back was silent; each person led their horse in quiet solitude.

Yang Xiao lagged behind, absentmindedly popping the Body Tempering Pill given to him by the Mystic Bone Sect into his mouth like candy.

Although the effect was negligible for me, the slightly sweet and sour taste of wild fruit made it a nice snack.

"Deputy General Yang."

Meng Jiu quickly pulled him along, landing beside Yang Xiao. "There's something I need to confirm."

Yang Xiao turned his head to look at him.

"I heard that last night you killed an Aperture-Opening Dog Demon inside the Mystic Bone Sect, and with Bear Mountain Lord, that makes two. Including the Demon you encountered last night, how many Demon auras did you collect in total?"

"Collecting the aura of Demon?" Yang Xiao frowned slightly.

Meng Jiu was stunned. "You don't know?"

"Nobody told me," Yang Xiao shook his head, looking completely bewildered.

Yan Tieyi was at the front, immediately stopped his horse and turned to look at Zhou Zheng in disbelief. "You brought this person into the Demon-Slaying Battalion, and you didn't even teach him this?"

Zhou Zheng's expression stiffened, and he coughed lightly.

"This was his first mission with me. I was planning to talk about it on the way, but the Mystic Bone Sect incident came too suddenly, and then we ran into Tiger Mountain Lord... I didn't have time to talk about it."

Yan Tieyi was speechless.

"Your method of leading people is quite peculiar. You don't even mention the most basic rules of the Demon-Slaying Battalion, yet you dare to bring people into the Demon King's lair."

Yang Xiao blinked, realizing he'd overlooked something in their conversation. "Why are we collecting Demon energy?"

Meng Jiu also spoke up to explain:

"The rewards and Merit of the Demon-Slaying Battalion Camp are different. They are recorded using Demon energy and exchanged for precious Core Condensation Method."

"Each aura of Aperture-Opening Demon counts as a minor merit, while Demon King at the Mysterious Core Realm counts as a major merit. One major merit is equivalent to 20 minor merits."

Yan Tieyi picked up the conversation and glanced at Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao nodded.

"If I didn't collect any aura last night, doesn't that mean I can't prove I killed the Mountain Lord?"

"It's not that bad," Zhou Zheng quickly explained. "There's a corpse, Demon Core, and testimonies from everyone present at the scene. It's just that the procedures will be a bit complicated."

Yang Xiao blinked.

"So it won't have much of an impact. You'll all testify for me, right?"

After a long pause, Yan Tieyi sighed.

"We didn't do anything, so we'll naturally testify for you."