Chapter 44

Yang Zhu grabbed the saint's leg bone in his hand; he had repeatedly tried to smash it with his fleshly body, yet he could not leave a crack on it.

Indeed, beneath a saint all are ants; even the remaining leg bone possesses such might, one can imagine how terrifying the saint himself was.

"Yang Zhu brother! That ……"

Duan De stared at the leg bone, his eyes flashing with excitement, he darted like a puff of smoke to Yang Zhu's side, his face full of smiles, almost fawning.

"Bring the broken bowl to exchange."

Yang Zhu interrupted him; every part of a saint's body is a supreme treasure, usable to forge ultimate divine artifacts, its value immeasurable.

In this age when saints do not appear, it is all the more precious, a once‑in‑a‑lifetime find! "Well… well, let Daoist Master ponder a moment."

Hearing that, Duan De could only grudgingly shut his mouth; if it were someone else, he might have resorted to underhanded tactics, but facing Yang Zhu……

Just thinking about it makes his neck feel cold.

It is precisely because he has repeatedly witnessed Yang Zhu's strength that Duan De dares not entertain any wicked thoughts.

"What should we do? Even the Supreme Elder has been cut down……"

"I don't want to die!"

Even the strongest Chiyou inside the Demon Pavilion was slain outright; the remaining members of the Demon Pavilion became lambs awaiting slaughter, at the mercy of their captors.

A deathly oppressive atmosphere overwhelmed them, driving them to despair.

"How should we deal with them?"

Duan De looked at the disciples of the Demon Pavilion; he was not a bloodthirsty person, he let it go with just a sigh, not wishing to exterminate them completely.

As soon as he finished speaking, the remaining disciples of the Demon Pavilion seemed to see a glimmer of hope, all turning their gazes toward Yang Zhu, so tense they dared not breathe.

"Judging by their cultivation, they likely haven't devoured any origin; let them leave on their own."

To devour origin to boost cultivation undoubtedly requires a terrifying amount; even ordinary elders lack the qualification, let alone disciples.

"Thank you, thank you……"

Upon hearing that, everyone felt as if a great burden had been lifted, a joy of having survived a calamity; they dared not linger, expressing thanks while fleeing swiftly, fearing Yang Zhu's return.

Yet some preferred death to submission, disregarding life and death, they charged at Yang Zhu.

For these people, Yang Zhu didn't even bother to look; with a raise of his hand he reduced them to ashes.

His divine sense spread throughout every corner of the Demon Pavilion; Yang Zhu reached out a big hand, uprooted a small hill by its roots, then scooped up an iron cage.

Inside was a young boy in tattered clothes, curled up in a corner of the iron cage, half‑crouched, tightly clutching his knees, his small frame trembling incessantly.

Since he had only just been captured and not yet devoured, in short the trip wasn't wasted.

"Come with me."

Yang Zhu, being amicable toward the Dao, quickly discovered that in one of the demon pavilions the spiritual energy was extremely rich, guessing this was the treasure store of the Demon Pavilion.

Duan De stored the iron cage together with the boy into his broken bowl, then followed Yang Zhu into a remote demon pavilion, which, compared to the others, was quite inconspicuous.

The moment they opened the entrance, they saw the ground littered with spiritual medicines, rare treasures, and some magical artifacts; these riches were the accumulated hoard of the Demon Pavilion over hundreds of years, all gathered here.

"Haha, Daoist Master knew it wouldn't be in vain!"

Duan De's eyes turned green, his mouth split back to his ears, he practically wanted to throw himself upon it.

"Medicine King?"

Among the spiritual medicines, Yang Zhu quickly found a stalk of Medicine King, a rare heaven‑earth treasure that needs to absorb the essence of sun and moon for a long time to grow.

Although it cannot compare with the elixir of immortality, it still easily prolongs lifespan by over a thousand years; even within a holy land it is exceedingly rare.

Yang Zhu put away the Medicine King, then casually took a few items that pleased his eye; everything else went to Duan De.

The unscrupulous Daoist originally wanted to vie for the Medicine King as well, but after Yang Zhu let him have the remaining thousand or so spiritual herbs, he could only say, "Elders don't count the faults of juniors." "Isn't this better than grave‑robbing?"

Duan De hauled away treasures by the handful, experiencing the feeling of "a sack full of money"; his face looked smug, and at first glance he seemed to deserve a beating.

After cleaning out the loot, the two didn't linger, leaving the place at once.

As soon as they left, the monsters that had been gathering to watch swarmed forward, beginning to ransack the other demon pavilions indiscriminately, all hoping to strike it rich.

The elders of the Demon Pavilion who were outside rushed back to see most of the pavilions collapsed, the nearby mountains utterly destroyed; they were struck as if by five thunderbolts to the head, frozen in place.

"You……"

They wanted to do something, but realized they were powerless to turn the tide; the crowd descended like a locust plague, snatching away anything that looked decent.

Many of them had once been on friendly terms with the Demon Pavilion; when the wall falls, everyone pushes, and once you fall, your former acquaintances may become executioners, stabbing you in the back.

That day, the Southern Ridge trembled again.

The turmoil surrounding Yang Zhu surged again, spreading rapidly through word of mouth and domain gates.

"The Sacred Body Dao Embryo has struck again—he even cut down the mighty of the Four Extremes, Four Heavens?!"

"It's too terrifying; among our peers, which heavenly pride could be his match?"

The Sacred Body Dao Embryo uprooted the Demon Pavilion entirely; a power with over a thousand years of inheritance vanished just like that.

People were shocked; the Sacred Body Dao Embryo already shows an unstoppable trend, moving many great sects to hesitate whether to befriend it or nip it in the bud; the greatest pressure falls on the younger generation of heavenly pride.

It was supposed to be a golden age, with heavenly prodigies and divine bodies emerging en masse; a single southern demon was already troublesome, and now an even more formidable Yang Zhu has appeared.

They even have the heart to curse people—does this still allow anyone to live?

"Let's think another way—surely the pressure on the Eastern Wasteland's Radiant Holy Son and others must be greater? After all, the Sacred Body Dao Embryo comes from there."

Some also felt fortunate, for the Radiant Holy Son shines like the midday sun and the Ji family's divine body is peerless; if they were to encounter Yang Zhu, who knows what sparks would fly? Near South City.

The sun set westward, its dusky glow falling upon a remote village; there were only a dozen or so households, though the villagers were somewhat poor, the place was tranquil and beautiful.

"Mother…… Mother!"

A young boy in clean clothes sprinted toward one of the houses, his face brimming with childish innocence, shouting as he ran.

"Xiao Le…… is that my Xiao Le?"

A woman carrying a girl stepped out of the house in small steps; the moment she saw the young boy, two streams of tears could not help but trace down her cheeks.

"Are you all right? Mother thought she would never see you again……"

The women examined the boy up and down; he had no injuries, and they couldn't believe their eyes—even if it were just a dream, they didn't want to wake up.

Hearing this, the boy shook his head and glanced back: "Two brothers saved me—one was very handsome, the other quite fat..."

In the mountains several li away, Yang Zhu and his companion stood on the peak, silently watching the little boy reach home safely.

"Damn, I saved this brat for nothing, and he dares call Master fat..."

The corrupt Daoist priest sneezed, then muttered.

"It's time to return to the Eastern Wasteland." Yang Zhu spoke; the matter is settled, it's time to set off back to the Eastern Wasteland.

"Master, come with me."

"You're not staying here?"

"The tombs in the Southern Ridge are too poor; I'm too lazy to keep digging here. The Eastern Wasteland is richer, though I'm constantly being hunted..."

"..."

(End of chapter)