Otherworldly Demon

In the courtyard of the Cold Moon Pavilion, Lei Guang's corpse lay on a makeshift wooden stand in the center. Although it was burned almost beyond recognition, it was still barely recognizable as human. After the snake's tail shattered, the corroded, festering legs inside had been exposed.

Mo Yan, Xue Lanyuan, and Jin Buhuan stood around it. Behind them, Lin Qingyang covered his nose as he looked at the mangled corpse in the middle, fighting the urge to vomit. "If you want to talk, do you really have to put him here?"

"There are important clues on the body. I need to show you," Xue Lanyuan said. As the Nine Skies Sect's physician, she naturally also handled the duties of a coroner.

"What can you possibly tell when he's burned like this?" Lin Qingyang asked.

"Lei Guang's abdomen was cut open, and demonic qi was forcibly poured into his spiritual root," Xue Lanyuan explained, pointing at the enormous wound in Lei Guang's abdomen.

At that, Lin Qingyang reluctantly leaned closer for a look. Inside the enormous wound in Lei Guang's abdomen was his spiritual root, already withered and blackened.

Mo Yan stared at Lei Guang's corpse, frowning without a word. After all, this was a disciple he had trained himself. Although he had done wrong, Mo Yan still could not bear to see him meet such an end.

"This wasn't a normal method of cultivation. Someone probably forced him to become like this," Jin Buhuan said.

Lin Qingyang frowned at the corpse. "There's a normal way to cultivate into this thing? And what exactly was that Otherworldly Demon you mentioned earlier?"

Mo Yan and Xue Lanyuan also turned to Jin Buhuan, evidently not knowing either.

"I only heard about it from others," Jin Buhuan explained. "Cultivators today cultivate by nourishing their spiritual roots with spiritual qi. But long ago, some cultivators tried cultivating with the demonic power of demon cores. Some did indeed make tremendous gains in cultivation within a short time, but most found it difficult to suppress the demonic power inside them. In the end, their spiritual roots were completely contaminated by demonic qi, and they became monsters that were half human, half demon. They were called Otherworldly Demons."

Lin Qingyang listened with a frown. He had never heard Lin Yao mention this setting before.

"But forcing the two together the way it was done to Lei Guang would only make him rapidly lose his mind under the control of demonic qi," Jin Buhuan continued. "Even if he hadn't been killed yesterday, he probably would have soon died when his body burst from being unable to suppress it."

Lin Qingyang frowned. Lei Guang certainly would not have done something so suicidal. Then who exactly was behind this?

"Also, the tendons in Lei Guang's wrists and ankles were severed. Look here," Xue Lanyuan said.

Xue Lanyuan pointed, and everyone leaned in. Although Lei Guang's corpse was charred, they could still make out the wounds where the tendons at his wrists had been cut. Lin Qingyang also remembered that Lei Guang's hands had hung limp throughout the fight. They checked his ankles as well and found identical wounds.

"Who could have done something so vicious?" Xue Lanyuan asked with a frown.

"It must be some demon creature from somewhere again. How dare it do this on Nine Skies Sect territory! I'll send disciples to investigate right away!" Mo Yan said angrily.

The others looked grim as well. After all, whoever was behind this had turned Lei Guang, whose cultivation had been completely destroyed, into this in just a few days. If that person targeted cultivators with higher cultivation in the future, there was no telling what terrifying monsters they might create. If they failed to find this person, the Cultivation World would likely soon be plunged into bloodshed.

But as Lin Qingyang looked at the wounds on Lei Guang's wrists, he frowned in puzzlement. Their discussion yielded no answers for the moment. The Cold Moon Pavilion still had many injured disciples, and yesterday, Lei Chen had joined them with broken arms and legs. Once the discussion ended, Xue Lanyuan went back to work, while Jin Buhuan returned to notify the other major Immortal Sects.

Lin Qingyang's injuries had not healed, so he could not use the Movement Technique and had to walk back. He had only just left the Cold Moon Pavilion when Mo Yan followed him out.

"Need something?" Lin Qingyang asked. Mo Yan looked full of energy. After completely refining that Phoenix Fire Spirit Pill, not only had his injuries healed, but his cultivation had also increased considerably.

"I heard you took that little beast back again," Mo Yan said bluntly.

"Did Lei Chen complain to you?" Lin Qingyang asked as he walked.

"So many people saw him drag Lei Chen down. Favoring him was bad enough, but you even threatened to destroy Lei Chen's cultivation in front of the disciples. That was going too far," Mo Yan said disapprovingly.

"A couple of threats was going too far? Then what about Lei Chen deliberately mistreating him for revenge?" Lin Qingyang countered.

"Nothing much happened to him. Lei Chen broke both his arms and legs," Mo Yan said.

Perhaps demons had different bone density. The two had tumbled down together, yet apart from a cut on his forehead, Qi Mo had not suffered a single broken bone.

"He was lucky to come out all right. Being worse off doesn't make someone right," Lin Qingyang said.

"So that beast was justified in hurting someone? This wasn't the first time he'd done something like this. He even dared to hide a blade before!" Mo Yan said.

"You really have too much time on your hands. An elder, picking on him all day long," Lin Qingyang complained.

Mo Yan shot him an irritated glance. "A year ago, a disciple of mine caught him poaching on the Back Mountain and taught him a lesson. Not long afterward, demonic qi disrupted that disciple's cultivation, causing qi deviation that eventually destroyed all his cultivation."

Lin Qingyang frowned. "Don't tell me you think he did it?"

"Although there's no proof, he must have had something to do with it. You probably don't know this, but he wasn't a demon slave born in the Jin Yao Workshop. Demon Hunters caught him in the Ten Thousand Demons Forest. Wolf demons are extremely vengeful by nature. One like him probably hates the Human Clan to his very bones," Mo Yan said.

Lin Qingyang frowned, remembering how Qi Mo had said his family was all gone. Had it happened then?

Mo Yan paused before continuing, "That boy will be trouble sooner or later. I advise you to stay out of his affairs."

Lin Qingyang snorted. "Instead of worrying about me, hurry up and investigate the Otherworldly Demon. If you'd put more effort into teaching your disciples back then, there probably wouldn't have been so much trouble."

Before Mo Yan could speak again, he pointed in another direction. "The Ink Cloud Hall is that way."

With that, he left carrying the Windflower Sword, leaving a thoroughly displeased Mo Yan standing there. Lin Qingyang continued walking, but his expression gradually grew grave.

In a bedroom in the Clear Wind Pavilion, Qi Mo opened his eyes. It was already dark outside, and the room was dim as well. As he shook off his grogginess, the familiar scent in the air told him this was Lin Qingyang's bedroom.

Qi Mo propped himself up into a sitting position, and a dull ache spread through his shoulder. He was not wearing his top. The wound on his shoulder was bandaged, and medicine had been applied to the other wounds on his body.

Hearing faint breathing in the room, Qi Mo's expression softened as he looked toward the figure sitting at the table nearby.

With a casual wave of Lin Qingyang's hand, the candle on the table lit, brightening the room. But with the candlelight falling across Lin Qingyang's serious face, he looked somewhat grim.

"How are your injuries?" Lin Qingyang asked in a low voice.

"They're fine now," Qi Mo replied, then paused before speaking again.

Lin Qingyang raised his hand and poured a cup of tea. The sound of flowing water was particularly distinct in the quiet room. Qi Mo sensed that Lin Qingyang was angry, but could not quite understand why, and did not dare speak for the moment.

Only after taking a sip of tea did Lin Qingyang say evenly, "Since you're fine, tell me what you did."

Qi Mo frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I dragged Lei Chen down on purpose."

"Who asked you about that?" Lin Qingyang lifted his eyes toward him.

Qi Mo looked at him in confusion, then followed his gaze toward the edge of the table. There on the table lay the curved saber he had secretly hidden before.

Qi Mo's expression briefly froze. "I stole the blade too," he admitted.

Lin Qingyang said nothing, merely raising an eyebrow at him as he slowly set down his teacup. His voice carried a rare sense of pressure as he said in a low tone, "Tell me about Lei Guang."

Qi Mo froze, and his amber eyes darkened.