Chapter 504: Innocent Youth, Loyal Dog Dahuang

Only when they drew near did Wurei clearly see the appearance of the beast, the Grudge Demon.

Its canine features were quite distinct—four-legged, with a dog's tail and a dog's head—but after its corruption, its entire body was covered in a cold, ferocious cyan carapace, and its size had become like that of a sturdy draft horse; just standing there, it naturally exuded the feeling of a king among beasts.

What was surprising, however, was that it did not launch an attack upon their approach, but instead stopped not far away, staring with its full eight cyan eyes, its gaze filled with suspicion as it rested on Wurei, as if confirming something.

"Duen, what is this?"

"It looks like a dog related to the Divine Tree Sect. Compared to ordinary wild beasts, it may have been trained and cultivated, which is why it underwent a different kind of corruption. It seems quite controllable for now."

As Duen answered, he floated around it, but whenever he got too close, it would appear uneasy and restless, with an instinctive urge to eliminate the threat.

Yet that was all it did; compared to the various Grudge Demons they had seen along the way, it had to be said that this was quite miraculous.

"Even the strong among humans cannot overcome it—no, it should be said that precisely because they are strong, they are too obsessed and hold on too deep, which instead becomes an excessive catalyst..."

As Duen thought this, he gave Wurei a look.

Wurei's eyes lit up immediately, and she began to step forward, getting a little closer to coax the dog.

However, although the dog Grudge Demon did not resist her approach, it did not show any other reaction because of it.

"Try using the signature behaviors of the Divine Tree Sect members."

Under Duen's prompt, Wurei changed her behavior.

Derived from those memories and obsessions, she displayed the sect's rigid and formal mannerisms.

But this dog Grudge Demon still appeared completely indifferent.

This was somewhat intriguing...

"What a strange dog. Perhaps we should just grant it release."

After getting close, Wurei could not discern any clear or precise will in its eyes, so she could not help but say this at that moment.

Duen, however, had thoughts of verifying something further, so he calmly said, "Try this instead."

He tossed out the mask he had just obtained not long ago.

The moment it appeared, the dog immediately turned its head to look, its gaze following it intently until it saw it land in Wurei's hand.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

The dog Grudge Demon immediately became excited, running and jumping around Wurei, not caring even when it brushed against and shattered the mountain wall.

"Is it becoming overly excited?"

Duen keenly sensed the signs of it losing control amidst its excitement, so he flew back abruptly to retrieve the mask.

Sure enough, once the mask was in his hand, the Grudge Demon dog calmed down immediately.

Turning its head back to look at Wurei, perhaps finally able to associate something, it immediately let out a soft growl.

It was signaling them to follow.

The two followed in silence.

As they went further and further away, moving from the main tunnel of the official road into a side cavern revealed by a collapse, they could hear movement coming from deep within as soon as they entered.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom! The closer they got, the more obvious it became.

It was the sound of cannonball bombardment.

Accompanying it was a scattering of grudge energy and demonic energy.

There was clearly a Grudge Demon ahead.

Duen calmly manifested, two magical artifacts already appearing in his hands.

The leading dog Grudge Demon whimpered, as if in sorrowful sighing.

For a dog to have such clear emotions would be perfectly normal if it had previously been a demonic beast, but he had just observed it and found no signs of it ever having been one; at most, it was a psychic dog carefully raised by the Divine Tree Sect.

However, this speculation seemed to be wrong.

As they advanced further, the face of the matter began to unfold completely.

After a turn, they saw the scene in the depths of the cavern.

A Grudge Demon with a straight back was holding a rather ferocious slingshot, futilely firing bullets of grudge energy and demonic energy, constantly shattering the rock and mud in front of it; it was actually digging its way forward incessantly.

Because it retained most of the features of the youth it was before its corruption, especially the clothing on its body, Duen immediately determined that his previous guess was wrong.

This was not a person from the Divine Tree Sect.

This was someone from a nearby post-station village.

"Ugh... Charge! Charge!"

The Grudge Demon with distinct youthful features noticed their presence, immediately turned around, let out a hoarse sound, and pulled back its slingshot to fire a shot.

Duen immediately swung his sword, divine fire shot out, and the two collided in mid-air.

Boom! Clang, clang, clang—a crisp sound of chains clashing rang out; amidst the lingering shockwaves of the explosion, a blade suddenly pierced through. The youth Grudge Demon seemed stunned, not having reacted in time, or perhaps not knowing how to react, and was pierced straight through.

Then, the chain blade, which was as if alive and made of a material easy to control without extra consumption, bound him tightly on the spot.

"Ah, that's it?"

Wurei felt the considerable grudge energy and demonic energy accumulated on the other side and had thought it was a quite powerful existence; she hadn't expected it to be bound and lose its ability to counterattack in a single encounter.

"Before he corrupted, he appeared very ordinary. Yes, just ordinary."

Just as he was speaking, Duen was about to disarm him, but as the youth struggled, he let go of his hand himself, leading to this definitive conclusion.

An ordinary youth, yet he corrupted into a quite formidable Grudge Demon.

The dog associated with the youth also became extraordinary.

A thoughtful look flickered in Duen's eyes; he did not turn back into a light orb, continuing to control the chain blade to bind the demon while keeping his eyes on the Grudge Demon dog and sharing the pain of the purification transfer.

His mind was multitasking, his expression calm.

Wurei did not delay, deftly beginning the purification.

A glowing green light brightened; the Grudge Demon dog's tail suddenly stood straight up, then it curled into a nest on the spot, just staring with those eight eyes, the green light reflecting off the green light.

Lying in the cool, dark shade, it could see from afar that a group of people was walking into the village.

That was a group of people surrounded by many; the leader wore thick, complex clothing even in the sweltering heat, a hood on their head, and a mask hanging over their face.

Are they not hot? The psychic big yellow dog, tongue lolling out, tilted its head in confusion.

The master sitting beside it, a youth whose face could not be seen, gently stroked its head with one hand while pointing at that person in the bright light outside with the other.

"Da Huang, that is Lady Qinglan the Witch Priestess. I hear she is very powerful and can purify and eliminate Grudge Demons!"

"Woo?" "You ask me what a Grudge Demon is? Well, I don't know either."

The youth scratched his head in distress, racking his brains to think of what the adults said, "The adults in the village always say Grudge Demons are terrifying monsters, the culprits who force them to live such ordinary lives. There's also talk of immortal cultivation, ancestors, and the like—probably people like the mages of the Research of Dharma Assembly, who can all use mysterious spells."

"You can understand 'spells,' right? No? Then never mind. In short, Grudge Demons are very scary. My dad said our Qing Kingdom originally had tens of millions of people, but it was reduced to the few hundred thousand we have now. By the way, how much is tens of millions versus hundreds of thousands?"

The youth continued to scratch his head in confusion, finally choosing to give up, resting his chin on his hand: "Anyway, Lady Qinglan is the hope; that's what everyone says..."

As he said this, the Witch Priestess of the Divine Tree in the distance seemed to notice this inconspicuous gaze from this inconspicuous place, turned her head to look, paused her movements, and seemed to smile toward this side.

"Lady Qinglan is someone who looks very beautiful when she smiles!"

Although he actually couldn't see any smile, the face opposite was completely blocked by a mask, but he thought so inexplicably.

The big yellow dog also nodded, barked, and finally expressed agreement and understanding.

The youth laughed and rubbed the dog's head.

The group from the Divine Tree Sect departed.

Life in the Post Village returned to normal.

One person and one dog were silent and nameless, ordinary; they were neither the center of attention among their peers nor the ones being despised, just plain and inconspicuous. Even the dog seemed very ordinary among a crowd of excellent military dogs.

Until that day, the Grudge Demon rain began to fall.

It was an ominous rain; verdant plants withered black, people and beasts fell into corruption one after another, turning into the Grudge Demons of legend, slaughtering those who had not yet transformed, and then infecting them to spawn more Grudge Demons.

"Da Huang, let's go!"

Because of the rain's influence, the youth, who had already forgotten his name and was usually inconspicuous, felt a sense of mission welling up as the rain fell and Grudge Demons swarmed, looking at the withering trees beside him.

Just like the "Post Village" itself, which had also forgotten its original name yet still fulfilled the mission of supporting the Teaching Hall, the youth picked up his slingshot, mounted the yellow dog, and charged into the rain.

The welling sense of mission made him sprint toward the Teaching Hall, intending to go and reinforce the Divine Tree Teaching Hall blocked by the mountains.

He felt no fear; his will was pure and bright.

But in the end, he still turned into a Grudge Demon, trapped inside a mountain cave in the middle, mindlessly digging at the cave, attempting to punch through the mountain to continue his reinforcement.

As the purification reached its end, the youth grew quiet.

"Is the Teaching Hall still there?"

As his bindings began to loosen and he gradually turned into a stone statue, he asked Du En, who was in front of him.

"It is no longer there."

Du En answered calmly.

"I see. I didn't make it in time after all. If I had known there would be a day like this, I would have learned more martial arts back then, or studied to see if I could master spells."

The person opposite was also very calm, without any regret or unwillingness.

Because he had not fallen on a path of retreat, nor had he harmed anyone due to his corruption, and furthermore, he was just one of the ordinary, common masses to begin with.

In other words, he hadn't thought that much.

"That Research of Dharma Assembly, do the people inside have cultivation?"

"Cultivation? What is that? Oh, right, the old grandfather in the village said our ancestors were all immortal cultivators who could soar high, and the origin of the name Qing Kingdom meant seeking the grace of the heavens in the blue sky. Hmm... I don't know much more. But the village chief or the old warriors might know, especially the old warriors; they have been to the Border Great Wall, though they are quite hard to get along with..."

Speaking ordinarily, without letting any regrets linger, without any extra sentiment, just plainly, he nodded at Da Huang beside him, then quietly closed his eyes, completely turning into a stone statue.

"Incredible, it doesn't hurt at all."

Wuruo opened his eyes at this moment, looked at his dimming hand, and couldn't help but clench and release it.

Du En, however, fell into thought.

This nameless youth and his big yellow dog were truly exceptionally different. Rather than saying they became Grudge Demons, it was more that two types of Qi entered their bodies; because they lacked cultivation and could not withstand the alienation, they ended up in this state.

Thus, this allowed him to confirm one very critical thing.

A heart of an innocent child, open and unconstrained.

Without obsession, no evil is formed.

"... A twist of fate? If the original plan of True Monarch Chengru had succeeded, letting the Great Dao Mo Ju lock the Evil Fetus, that really would have been handing over a Great Dao of human obsession for It to eat for nothing."

Unlike now, where there was long since no original owner, the Great Dao Mo Ju continued by the True Monarch only acted as an outer perimeter blockade; what was truly suppressing and trapping the Ten Thousand Stars Evil Fetus was his Zhu Jun Great Dao.

And the reason it could be successfully suppressed lay in the sacrifice of Zhu Jun; by nature, one must pay everything to be bright and scorching.

Since he had already paid, naturally there was no more obsession.

Those without obsession do not become evil.

It was just that there were still hidden dangers; the best food and nourishment were placed right at the doorstep... The schemes of their master and disciple were truly a back-and-forth, and then I disrupted the situation—no, the Four Saints Sealing, True Monarch Chengru actually still had a backup plan.

Du En calmly deliberated, completing the various pieces from before.

Why say True Monarch Chengru had a backup plan? Because within the Four Saints Sealing there was a Vermilion Bird; It would also perform acts of paying everything, or rather, as long as the Four Saints' legacy dharma was triggered, depending on the situation, the Four Saints Venerables could naturally make the appropriate choices.

That is why it seems quite like a twist of fate now.

Hmm, I even lost my Great Dao because of this; after returning to the Immortal Sect, I must definitely fleece him properly. It just so happens I was worried about how to start before.

Du En thought calmly, not feeling that it would be impossible to do.

Not to mention things like karma, which those with higher cultivation pay more attention to, just the act of threatening and coercing would be enough to make the other side obediently hand things over.

Of course, that is on the condition of being able to return successfully.

After thinking through these matters, his gaze shifted to the present.

Da Huang had already stood up, circled the statue of its master released by the chain blade twice, then barked at the two people here, and turned its head to look at its own back.

It inherited the legacy.

Although the dog had changed color and mutated, it still upheld its mission of support; it wanted to help everyone related to the Divine Tree Sect.

Charge, continue to charge! It snorted roughly through its nose, looking quite spirited.

Wurei immediately prepared to mount it.

"Beasts lack intelligence, but they also have a persistence for survival, which is why they fall into demonic paths. It is only because this one understands human nature and is sincere that, through the balance of these factors, the current, still-controllable situation was created. But you know, when facing resentment and demonic Qi, willpower is a very fragile thing; persistence is merely a tonic for the soul."

Du En pointed out the key point calmly and directly at this moment, causing Wurei to stop and lower her head in some disappointment.

"Then let's purify it; send them to reunite."

"Woo?"

Dahuang did not understand these words and scratched the dirt impatiently, eager to continue fulfilling its mission.

Because its master had left, it needed to change to a new master.

It instinctively knew that it needed to change to a new "anchor point."

Otherwise, regret and unwillingness will breed, subsequently transforming into persistence, and then comes true corruption! (End of chapter)