Great Demon - Chapter 15

In the heavy snow, the crows cawed a few times.

As the fierce wind passed by, the broken branches buried in the snow and the remnants of houses emerged, their soaked wooden beams charred black, clearly burnt.

In the distance, a passerby clutching a baked cake glanced back, but still no one stopped. Nobody wanted to get involved.

The man who slipped to the ground stared foolishly at the beautiful face of the woman in black for a long time, not coming to his senses until he saw the golden eyes of the black snake on her wrist and shivering in fear. He wiped the bite mark on his hand, and spat out a mouthful of blood, afraid it might be poisonous.

Compared to these ragged refugees, Zhuyou wore even thinner clothes, yet she didn’t even shiver once. Touching the black scales of the dragon in her hand, she lowered her head and silently watched the fallen man.

The man saw her exposed face, neck, wrists, and ankles, all whiter than the snow. Thinking he had encountered some mountain spirits or ghosts, he hastily got up and ran away in a flurry. However, as soon as he got up, he stumbled and fell again. He breathed heavily in pain, with white mist coming out of his mouth.

The snow was trampled with a rustling sound, and the sound of footsteps was neither fast nor slow. As the man turned around, he saw the origin of that sound—a pair of black embroidered shoes.

Just as he was about to shout, a snowy-white hand reached out from behind his shoulders. It was slender and delicate, with nails trimmed into a curved shape—truly beautiful.

The man stiffened all over, not daring to move.

The hand hesitated for a moment, as if debating whether to pat his shoulder but then hesitated. After a while, it patted his shoulder once before withdrawing. Even through his old coat, the man felt the scorching heat.

It wasn’t a ghost because although the hand appeared snowy white, it burned like fire.

Zhuyou looked around, feeling that this place was too desolate. She didn’t know how long it had been snowing; most of the ruins were buried, and there were only a few dilapidated sheds around for shelter.

She extended her divine awareness to her consciousness on Luo Qing’s hair. Indeed, Luo Qing was in this place; her divine awareness couldn’t be wrong.

But wasn’t Luo Qing supposed to be looking for the reincarnation of the Devil Lord? Why would he come to such a place? Could it be that the sins of the Devil Lord were so deep that his reincarnation was suffering here?

Zhuyou felt no pity. She had never seen the Devil Lord before, only heard some things about him from others.

The man Zhuyou had touched felt a sudden numbness in his shoulder from the alternating hot and cold sensations. After the five fingers withdrew, he quickly turned his head and happened to catch a glimpse of the black evil-looking markings under Zhuyou’s sleeve cuff. It seemed like a brand, but different from a brand. It looked as if it naturally grew on her body, and it was quite beautiful.

Here, only slaves would have marks of branding. It was like putting a rope on livestock, so that everyone could tell they belonged to someone else.

Zhuyou withdrew her hand. She didn’t really want to touch this person, and it seemed like he wanted to run away. Not to mention she couldn’t use magic to stop him.

Only after touching the man’s shoulder did she suddenly remember, as a devil, what rules was she supposed to abide by?

The man trembled uncontrollably, unsure if it was from the cold. “I wasn’t trying to steal your treasure,” he said.

Zhuyou stood up straight. The dragon coiled around her wrist moved slightly, crawling up her arm. The tail of the dragon happened to rub against her wrist, making her feel a little itchy.

She grabbed Changying’s tail, intending to stuff her into her sachet with an unfriendly expression. But unexpectedly, the dragon seemed to have grown stronger. She struggled so much that Zhuyou couldn’t hold onto her for a moment.

The man stared blankly. As he watched Zhuyou try to stuff the snake into her sachet, he hastily got up to run away. But as he tried to get up, he fell again into the snow. This time, it was because he was pulled down by something.

The man abruptly turned his head, only to see a ghostly claw grabbing his calf, but in the blink of an eye, the ghostly claw turned into ashes and disappeared.

“A ghost—!”

Zhuyou pressed her index finger against her lips and whispered, “Speak softer. If someone sees that I have no shadow, I’ll eat you.”

The man was terrified, even his pupils trembled. His eyes stiffly turned toward the feet of the person in black, and indeed… there was no shadow to be seen.

Zhuyou had concealed her shadow; she wouldn’t let this man see it.

As the man opened his mouth, his expression suddenly became ferocious due to fear, yet his throat seemed to be sealed shut, unable to utter a word.

“You touched my treasure, so you must repay the debt,” Zhuyou spoke slowly. Her face was beautiful but not vulgar, as if untouched by any worldly dust. If she didn’t speak, she would truly resemble a celestial fairy.

The man screamed in his heart, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have touched your treasure. But unfortunately, not a single word came out of his mouth.

He thought this ghost might be coming to take his life, but to his surprise, when the person in black with thin red lips spoke, she merely asked, “Are there any cultivators here?”

The man’s throat loosened, and he hurriedly said, “There have been some benevolent people giving alms these past few days. They wear all-white clothes and are said to practice immortal techniques. Th-they should be members of the immortal sects!”

“Immortal techniques, immortal sects?” Zhuyou seemed to hear a joke, and couldn’t help but laugh disdainfully, as if amused.

No wonder these refugees either carried hot porridge or baked cakes; it turned out there were people giving alms.

It seemed that the wealth hoarded by the Three Lords was related to these mundane cultivators.

“Where are these people distributing porridge?” she asked again.

The man quickly pointed to a place. “It’s right over there!”

Zhuyou glanced at him and walked in the pointed direction while pushing the dragon that had climbed onto her elbow back down.

Changying really was like a piece of hemp rope; she rolled around when pushed and almost fell off. Luckily, her tail was wrapped around something tightly.

It seemed that the dragon had indeed gained some strength as she coiled around Zhuyou even tighter than before. hHr teeth seemed to be in good condition, too.

After Zhuyou walked away, the ragged man got up fearfully and quietly glanced in the direction she had left. Though the sky was overcast, there were shadows, faintly following her footsteps.

He ran off as if he had seen a ghost, not even looking back.

***

In the wooden shed ahead, there were indeed people distributing porridge. Several young cultivators dressed in white were ladling hot porridge into several bowls.

These cultivators had quite high cultivation levels, mostly having reached the Golden Core stage, showing great promise at a young age.

Zhuyou paused under a pine tree in the distance, effortlessly listening to the conversation among the cultivators.

Why did our shizun ask us to come here to distribute porridge? The opening of Shenhua Mountain is approaching. What’s the use of coming here to distribute porridge without focusing on cultivation?
(T/N: Shizun = Teacher or Master)

You don’t understand. Shenhua Mountain is opening earlier this time. Not only will disciples above the Golden Core stage be allowed to enter, but even those in the Qi Refining stage will have the chance to enter and witness it. But our shixiong said that only those with profound blessings can enter.
(T/N: Shixiong/Shige = Older martial brother. For senior male members of one’s own sect.)

He said that? Although Shenhua Mountain is full of treasures, there are many demonic beasts and rumors of devils inside. Isn’t it certain death for cultivators in the Foundation Establishment stage to enter?

Who knows? Anyway, let’s distribute the porridge first. Only those with deep blessings can enter Shenhua Mountain.

The questioning cultivator nodded repeatedly, looking unwilling and resentful.

The ordinary people couldn’t hear the thoughts of the cultivators. They thanked them repeatedly while holding their bowls and walked away in the snow, their steps gradually fading.

Zhuyou touched the cold dragon on her wrist, pondering in her heart, feeling that something was amiss.

She had never heard of Shenhua Mountain opening early. The mountain opened once every hundred years, bestowed upon the Mortal Realm by the heavens, allowing those who sought immortality to ascend earlier.

Upon further thought, there should be more than twenty years left until the mountain reopened. Opening it so early seemed impatient.

The reincarnation of the Devil Lord was a major event in the Devil Realm. After all, if one soul didn’t enter the cycle of reincarnation in the Heavenly Realm, the timing and location of its descent depended entirely on fate.

After the Devil Lord’s three souls were split apart, only one soul entered the Crystal of Law, while the other two souls disappeared without a trace. Only when those two souls reincarnated and returned could their fate be calculated.

She hoped so much for the Devil Lord to be reborn, as she needed to obtain something from him.

Zhuyou raised her wrist, revealing the black dragon coiled around her wrist. The dragon’s eyes, golden and cold, flickered mercilessly. She extended her index finger and tapped Changying’s forehead, like teasing a cat or a dog.

She suddenly realized. “If Luo Qing can calculate the Devil Lord’s rebirth here, then surely the Heavenly Realm can too. It seems that Shenhua Mountain is open for a reason; there’s quite a suggestive intention to lure the devils in.”

Changying remained silent, still staring fixedly at the person before her.

“You silly thing.” Zhuyou tapped her forehead again.

As soon as she spoke, her finger was nibbled, not too heavily, like a child teething.

Zhuyou thought this dragon was really not well-trained, truly cold-blooded. She pulled the corner of her mouth and said, “You’re not happy being called silly? Can you understand me? Are you intentionally not transforming?”

Changying closed her eyes, coiling around Zhuyou’s wrist bone without moving.

“Tell me. Wag your tail or something,” Zhuyou said again.

Changying’s dragon tail drooped down and swayed slightly.

Zhuyou’s eyes curved, thinking that this dragon was indeed obedient.