[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-devouring-evil-exterminating-demons-across-all-h":3,"chapter-devouring-evil-exterminating-demons-across-all-h-devouring-evil-exterminating-demons-across-all-h-chapter-101":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Devouring Evil, Exterminating Demons Across All Heavens",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2267046,4426,"Chapter 101: Born to Never See the Sun","devouring-evil-exterminating-demons-across-all-h-chapter-101",101,"\u003Cp>When Chu Tianshu and the others set out, each rode light horses at speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On their return, the large convoy of carts and horses inevitably moved much slower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only by afternoon did the group finally reenter Wang Cheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui’s steward seemed to have been waiting already; as soon as they entered the city, he hurried over and whispered to Zheng Hui’s side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet his method of lowering his voice meant nothing to Chu Tianshu, who stood within three zhang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, someone has come bearing the token you once gave General Wei Gao.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui took a slip of paper from the steward’s hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a small gilded note, bearing only a single line of verse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fear not the road ahead with no true friends—throughout the land, who does not know you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui rubbed the paper with his fingertip and knew at once it was one of the small notes he had personally made years ago; the script, too, was his own left-hand writing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only General Wei Gao, Military Governor of Xichuan, could have given it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, even if someone obtained this slip, they would never know it was Zheng Hui of Nanzhao’s token.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fear not the road ahead with no true friends—throughout the land, who does not know you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui murmured softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within Nanzhao, the situation had grown increasingly tense; recently, important figures—including a Tang diplomatic delegation and a Tibetan high priest—had been killed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, regaining the old token, Zheng Hui’s face remained impassive, yet his spine straightened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After entering the city, the crowd on the streets forced everyone to slow their horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui tucked the slip into his sleeve, still calm and composed, guiding the entire convoy toward the Zheng residence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the gate, he dismounted and entered; only then did his pace suddenly quicken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Chu Tianshu stepped into the mansion, he immediately caught the scent of medicine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The source lay in the back hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vast hall’s upper half swirled with white steam.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the mist rising and lingering in an old-fashioned kitchen during winter as food boiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Nanzhao’s climate was warm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To produce such a scene, at least four or five ceramic jars of water would have had to boil and evaporate in a short time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the floor lay several empty jars, all filled with medicinal dregs—but no stove was visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A guest clad in black cloth and red robe sat upon a large pearwood chair, cradling a ceramic jar in both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From within the jar came a bubbling sound, thick steam rising.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed this man was using his bare hands to accelerate the boiling, concentrating the decoction in moments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The decoctions boiled in those jars had likely already been consumed by him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you Lord Hai of the Inner Guard’s Right Division?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Zheng Hui had some suspicion, he still drew out the gilded slip, “Was this token obtained from General Wei Gao?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai replied: “Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One word answered two questions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the Tang Army defeated the combined Tibetan and Nanzhao forces, Zheng Hui had heard the Inner Guard had competed with the military for credit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the leading figures on both sides during that battle, Hai Donglai and Wei Gao had been at odds in court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this secret token must have been voluntarily given by Wei Gao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, the rumors were false.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui nodded and said, “Lord Hai, you’ve come regarding the diplomatic delegation. I have no idea how their route was leaked.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Please rest here for now. After I meet the monarch, we shall discuss matters together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai lifted his eyes, scanning the men before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from the steward and guards, Chu Tianshu and Cheng Xianzi’s attire clearly differed from the others in Zheng’s household.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet their presence here proved Zheng Hui trusted them deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It seems you’ve already seen the delegation’s corpses.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai said, “I didn’t know the delegation’s route—I came to Nanzhao solely to investigate Inner Guard affairs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet I never expected someone would assassinate our Tang envoys!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai’s voice deepened, “Those monks were no ordinary men—especially the old one.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He surpassed even the famed champions of old Chang’an’s wandering heroes. And his weapon…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A remarkable man—he must be a Tibetan high priest.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui nodded, his expression grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu had picked up one of the ceramic jars, examining the dregs inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Scutellaria, Forsythia, Houttuynia, Violae, Moutan bark…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon inspection, Chu Tianshu realized nearly all were anti-inflammatory herbs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several were especially rare and valuable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging by the growth rings on the herbs, they were precious items—likely from Zheng’s personal collection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The herbs are well-chosen, but this ratio is reckless—do you think more herbs mean better medicine?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu sat beside Hai Donglai and extended his hand, “I’m a physician—let me examine you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he sat down, even with the room thick with medicinal scent, Chu Tianshu caught the heavy stench of blood on Hai Donglai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Frankly, he was deeply curious about Hai Donglai’s current condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What physiological changes occur in a martial expert severely wounded? How exactly do they cope?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu could theorize from martial manuals and medical principles, but he’d never witnessed such a case.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu the Squad Leader would have been an ideal subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his character was abysmal; circumstances forced me to kill him outright—what a pity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I gained experience diagnosing such a master, should I ever be gravely wounded myself—or my strength depleted beyond recovery—I could better judge, stimulate, and sustain my own condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai poured the decoction from the jar into a porcelain bowl, filling it halfway, then set the jar aside and extended his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai poured the herbal decoction from the clay pot into a nearby porcelain bowl, filling it more than halfway, then set the pot aside and extended his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though rumors painted him as arrogant and bloodthirsty, this man was surprisingly courteous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu noticed his hands wrapped in many thin white cloth strips, all stained with blood, so he rolled up his sleeves slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the bandages extended all the way to his forearms, already faintly yellowed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These bandages have been on a while—were you injured before fighting the Tibetans?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai replied calmly: “Not an injury. A disease.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Chu Tianshu’s acute sensitivity to force, he could feel the pulse even through the cloth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed his fingers on Hai Donglai’s wrist and fell silent in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui and the others sat down quietly, waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve never seen such a pulse in my life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu frowned, “When did this illness begin? What other symptoms?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai said, “As a child, elders told me I was born with this affliction—I cannot endure sunlight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As a child, exposure to sunlight for more than half an hour caused red spots to appear—worse in summer, milder in winter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After age ten, exposure for even half a moment caused dense red spots to merge into patches, burst, and bleed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Later, it worsened—attacks came faster, ulcers ran deeper, each year worse than the last.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All in the hall were startled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one had ever heard of such a strange illness—it sounded like something cursed, a demon that shunned sunlight—hardly human.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui instantly realized: this was a fatal flaw in Hai Donglai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if those present never betrayed it, and even if Hai Donglai’s martial skill made exploiting this flaw exceedingly rare,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>for him to reveal it so openly before everyone revealed an unusual mindset.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless—he believed he had little time left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zheng Hui’s heart sank slightly, his gaze turning hopeful toward Chu Tianshu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a martial master, severe injury might heal on its own—but combined with grave illness, only medicine could help.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu, hearing these symptoms, recalled the porphyria he’d read about in medical journals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A rare disease worldwide; mild patients might live near-normal lives with strict light avoidance and treatment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But severe congenital porphyria patients usually died in childhood from complications—even with perfect light avoidance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai clearly understood his condition, yet he only took these imperfect anti-inflammatory herbs—indicating no prior physician had offered a proper cure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had simply endured, training his body into formidable strength to survive this long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet with such a congenital illness, cultivation would be far harder than for ordinary people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To endure this death spiral for so many years, and still cultivate martial arts renowned across the land—you truly have iron will!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu could not help but admire.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A physician always feels moved by patients with such fierce will to live—especially when they are fellow martial artists.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Born to never see the sun, yet his name shines like the blazing sun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Chu Tianshu could not help but think of the Radiant Wheel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Chu Tianshu couldn’t help thinking of the Burning Sun Disc.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Hai Donglai is just terribly unlucky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Born with such a condition, and facing an enemy wielding the Chiri Wheel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If that old monk had used a different spirit weapon, Hai Donglai’s injuries wouldn’t be this severe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Severe to the point… where he could drop dead at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, Hai Donglai appears able to walk and converse, and even if he fought someone, he might barely manage a few moves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this grave injury has triggered and unleashed all his complications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this inflammation were taken to a place with hospital equipment,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the test results would make doctors think either the machines were broken or they were dreaming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is beyond the scope of any medicine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If, in the next instant, the strain on Hai Donglai’s cerebral blood vessels worsens even slightly, he will truly die right here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because his condition is this dire, Chu Tianshu’s most skilled needle technique cannot be applied to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even before you were injured, with a condition this severe, you should’ve stayed home to rest properly—how dare you wander around like this…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait, you’re this badly injured—you can barely walk, yet how did you reach Wang Cheng within a single day? You didn’t ride a horse, did you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu’s eyes lit up; he activated his Spirit Sight and carefully observed Hai Donglai, his gaze fixed on his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your spirit weapon is inside your body!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hai Donglai had long anticipated the severity of his condition; his expression held only a faint trace of sorrow and regret as he nodded. “My umbrella was destroyed—I could only temporarily house the spirit weapon within myself.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When a spirit weapon is deeply cultivated and perfectly attuned to its master, it can indeed be temporarily housed inside the body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this way, even if the original weapon’s material is poor and shattered in battle, the spirit weapon can transfer to a new one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the reason spirit weapons manifest such wondrous power is because they are purer than humans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If housed inside the body too long, they become tainted by the host’s turbulent emotions, their power regresses, or even dissipates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’d forgotten spirit weapons had this trait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Tianshu’s brow relaxed; his demeanor brightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good, good, good—you might still be saved!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1851,"2026-06-19T20:45:51.976Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","75d3a10bbc74045fd0fd35358039605166ed7fcd828f784afbff136c8505d8ac","devouring-evil-exterminating-demons-across-all-h-chapter-102","devouring-evil-exterminating-demons-across-all-h-chapter-100",155,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdevouring-evil-exterminating-demons-across-all-h-cover.jpg"]