Chapter 114: What Did You Smell

【In the 623rd year, you cultivated this half of the Life-and-Death Zen Body to perfection, faintly stepping past that threshold…】

【Remaining demon lifespan: 643 years】

Looking at the familiar description, Shen Yi closed the panel.

He had already personally tested the effect on the abbot of the Jin Gang Gate; there was no need for this thing to give another vague introduction.

Black-and-white flowing light flashed across his skin and vanished.

He loosely clenched his fist to feel it out—sure enough, just as he had guessed.

With the boost of his demon talent and the Bodhi Jin Gang Treasure Body, his physical frame had already exceeded the scope of the Jade Liquid Realm, and this half-volume of the Life-and-Death Zen Body had finally completely closed the last gap.

Now he only lacked demon beast crystals to attempt deducing the complete Core-Forming Body Tempering Method.

He figured these tiger demons had each already picked their targets, so staying at the Deng household any longer held little point.

Shen Yi picked up his ceremonial blade, then rose and headed for the door.

In the main hall.

The black-robed youth had clearly become the pillar of support; his sudden movement threw everyone's already uneasy hearts into panic once more, and the previous scene surged back into their minds.

"Demon, come out! We've already spotted you!"

The many Deng family martial artists immediately looked toward the door, shouting harshly; even Lin Rou began to doubt her own judgment. She had been continuously casting her Qi-Gazing Art and clearly sensed no demonic aura, yet she still tensed her whole body, ready to strike.

Then she saw Shen Yi walk into the rain and reach down to haul up the tiger demon's corpse.

"What are you doing?"

Lin Rou asked instinctively.

"Going out for a stroll."

Shen Yi casually took a single step, his figure sweeping across the long sky, merging into the pitch-black curtain of night.

In an instant, he vanished at the edge of everyone's vision.

Going out… for a stroll?

In the main hall, every Deng family member—young or old, man or woman—as well as that group of martial artists, were all dumbstruck.

The sliver of safety so painstakingly gained from that earlier scene instantly dissipated with Shen Yi's departure.

"Is Brother Lin just leaving us to fend for ourselves?"

Deng Mingxu struggled to suppress the trembling in his legs, trying to squeeze out a composed look, but the panic in his voice could not be concealed no matter what.

"There never was any Brother Lin to begin with."

Lin Rou rolled her eyes, her mood irritable, and raised a small bronze bell into view.

Upon seeing the bronze bell, a few martial artists with slightly more experience froze briefly, then despair welled up in their eyes: "Demon Hunter…"

They were, after all, a locally renowned noble house—how could they not have heard the legends of Demon Hunters.

In these people's eyes, ordinary lives were far less important than hunting demons and quelling evil; the other party had no ties to the Deng family, so how could they possibly stay here just because of a single word from the old ancestor.

"Let me say this first—if we run into demons we really can't handle, I won't bother with you lot."

Lin Rou sighed, listlessly walked to the seat of honor, and sat down.

They hadn't even managed to gather the auras of a few tiger demons, could only guess at what realm the other party was in, and were truly willing to throw their lives away for a bit of merit.

Moreover, in this vast Yong'an City, finding two tiger demons hiding in the shadows was hardly an easy task.

"Not finding them isn't necessarily a bad thing—at least we won't lose our lives."

Lin Rou still had a fair sense of self-awareness. Even if Shen Yi couldn't compare to Boss Jiang or Xiao Qiangwei, what he intended to do was absolutely not something she could meddle in or advise on.

……

Yong'an City.

The peace sustained for many years was so fragile that only a few demons were needed to shatter it.

Shen Yi stood atop a high rooftop and saw the government office ablaze with lights; countless constables gripping useless steel blades, faces bloodless, darting through the alleys.

The silver bell at his waist jingled nonstop.

Dozens of Demon Hunters ceaselessly exchanged information with one another, desperately chasing after traces, all for the sake of obtaining a wisp of aura from the Mountain Lord's tiger cubs.

The Captains of the Zhen Mo Si stationed here poured out in full force, eager to bring the situation under control.

Yet wails rose from every direction, impossible to tell which came first.

Nearly every wail signified some renowned martial arts expert being devoured.

The entire city had abruptly become a hunting ground where demons ran amok for sport.

"……"

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze, no longer bothering with the chaotic information in the silver bell.

He now roughly understood why the Zhen Mo Si kept such iron-fisted control over the Core-Forming Method.

Once one set foot in this domain, let alone ordinary counties and towns, even a sizable city like Yong'an had no power to resist.

The demons capable of stirring up such chaos were most likely at a realm far surpassing this group of Demon Hunters, and likewise not something the far less experienced him could track down.

If nothing unexpected happened, the outcome this time should be the same as last time—the other party would eat its fill, then withdraw.

"Choose the Biao King?"

Shen Yi pressed his lips slightly together.

The next instant, the aura of a perfected Jade Liquid Realm was released openly, without the slightest concealment.

In that instant, he became the most alluring human cauldron medicine in all of Yong'an City! Fragrant, sweet jade dew drawn from heaven and earth, stored within the qi sea!

Then, without the slightest hesitation, the Molten Sun Treasure Furnace within his body—composed of countless dark-red meridians—slowly activated.

The fierce, baleful aura within the Heavenly Demon Outer Core gradually spread, and under Shen Yi's control, revealed a demonic aura slightly above the Jade Liquid Realm.

He carried that tiger, turned, and shot off toward the outskirts of the city.

Two utterly opposing auras surged forth in alternation—a presence only seen when striking at full power—impossible to miss in Yong'an City.

Shen Yi played both the role of a human-body treasure medicine and the ferocious demon in pursuit.

At the same time, he circulated the Turtle Breath Art, gradually diminishing the Jade Dew's aura, as if he had expended tremendous energy while fleeing.

"Since there's competition, and the number of experts within the city is limited—"

"—then the fattest piece of prey surely wouldn't be willingly left for one's brothers."

The ink-dark figure moved on and off, pausing intermittently, then dashed out of the city, deliberately waiting a while longer before stepping into the hillock.

He hung the tiger demon's corpse on a tree.

Shen Yi pushed his Turtle Breath Art to perfection and exerted it with full force; though he still stood in place, his aura vanished in an instant without a trace.

He leapt up onto a tall tree, looking down indifferently at the ground below.

The ink-wash night sky was torn apart by white lightning, illuminating the youth's calm face; within those deep eyes there was not the slightest hint of impatience.

He held the saber hilt casually, much like an old fisherman holding his fishing rod.

"……"

The wind and rain grew hurried and urgent.

Yet abruptly ceased.

From behind the massive tree on which the enormous tiger corpse hung, a single claw slowly emerged; a startlingly burly body stepped out from the pitch-black darkness, its spine towering high, its muscles bulging in ridges, as if cast from refined iron.

Even hunched over, its entire body stood a full one zhang and six chi tall.

Its vertical pupils shimmered with a halo as it stared at the corpse right before it; there was no anger in its eyes—instead, a mocking smile welled up: "Died well, you rule-breaking fool."

Such a rich human-body treasure medicine—how could a piece of trash that merely follows behind to scavenge scraps even dare covet it?

Just then, an even broader arm gently draped itself over its shoulder, and a hoarse voice said: "Since it's so good, why not go keep it company."

The two fist-sized tiger heads met each other's gaze: "Hiss!"

Almost simultaneously, bloodstained fangs were bared; though still somewhat unsteady, the vast auras unmistakably belonging to the Nascent Core Realm slammed violently into each other.

After a moment, the taller tiger demon looked up with a savage grin: "Are you planning to keep dragging your heavy-wounded body, cowering up in the tree shaking, hoping the two of us will kill each other, so you can seize the chance to flee in panic like a dog?"

It released its brother, stared at the distant treetop, its expression carrying a hint of mockery: "Come out. I've already caught your scent."

Before the words had even faded, a slightly puzzled voice suddenly rose from behind the two tiger demons.

"Ah?"

Accompanying the voice was the searing pain of a blade piercing into the back of the heart.

On the tiger demon's towering spine, a black saber had silently sunk in; the sturdy muscles clamped tightly around the dark blade, yet could not stop the blood from being sucked inside.

"Roar!"

Under the agony, the tall tiger demon's hackles stood on end; it whipped its head around and let out a frenzied howl!

A sweep of ink-dark robes surged forth—the handsome youth released the saber hilt, and a palm shimmering with profound light had already struck viciously!

Posting a bit earlier today, because this little scrub also plans to post early tomorrow, and will add a chapter for the VIP launch announcement—probably going up around midnight tomorrow night… or noon the day after, depending on when the VIP volume comes out.

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(End of this chapter)