Chapter 65: Demon-Treasure Crystal

The fish market of Shuiyun Township was unusually empty.

Li Xiaoer and Liu Xiujie borrowed another horse cart, and loaded Li Xinhan and Ma Tao—who were bundled up like zongzi—onto it.

Even after taking the medicinal pill, Li Mujin was still weak, so he could only sit outside the cart, legs crossed, playing the part of a leisurely guide.

Shen Yi had only ever ridden the scrawny donkey from the Bai Yunxian government office; suddenly switching to a tall, sturdy half-demon steed, he still wasn't quite used to it.

The demon horse, normally stubborn-tempered, was unusually docile today, even trembling faintly all over.

Shen Yi glanced at the dark-red, dried demon blood on his clothes; his thoughts were not as relaxed as his outward appearance suggested.

The river demon's final words surfaced in his mind.

Dragon Consort of Yangchun River.

It had turned against Zhen Mo Si for the sake of that identity.

Shen Yi didn't believe there was any true dragon in the river—the panel clearly stated the demon's identity: a Water Demon.

A full fourteen hundred-plus years of lifespan, against his own mere hundred or so.

Converted into a mortal's age, that was roughly ten years old.

Still a minor, yet already possessing the strength of the early Jade Liquid Realm.

Shen Yi had once killed a demon with backing like this back in Bai Yunxian, but at that time he had Lin Baiwei's banner to hide behind, and when the fox demon sought revenge, it went to trouble the Outside Qingzhou Commander instead.

This time was different—Li Xinhan's shoulders might not be able to bear this black pot.

"……" Shen Yi lowered his eyes, lost in thought.

Fortunately, the Water Demon was covered in wounds, clearly hiding in the fishing village for refuge, and had promised the river god a pile of vague, empty pies.

As the saying goes, a tiger fallen to the plain is bullied by dogs.

Bah!

The saying goes that a Blackback Jiaolong out of water is like a withered branch—if it truly had overwhelming power, why would it flee in panic?

He needn't worry needlessly; besides, with the panel in hand, unless he abandoned it, no matter how cautious he was, he couldn't avoid making enemies of demons.

Still, necessary precautions were required—ultimately, it came down to strength.

As long as his strength was sufficient, if a few old Blackback Jiaolong came seeking revenge, he'd probably laugh himself awake in his sleep.

The panel unfolded before his eyes.

【Killed late-stage Jade Liquid fish demon, total lifespan 1,020 years, remaining lifespan 70 years, absorption complete】

【Remaining demon lifespan: 1,500 years. Can be condensed】

Apart from the five years consumed yesterday after slaying the Water Demon to replenish the great orifices' qi, the demon lifespan had now reached an extremely terrifying number.

The fish demon only had seventy years left to live.

Shen Yi wasn't surprised—if the other party had no hope, it wouldn't have wagered its life on a path.

Everything has its pros and cons.

Demons nearing the end of their lifespan usually had higher realms, the qi contained in their demon cores was richer, and the chance of obtaining a talent was greater.

The preciousness of talents, Shen Yi already had some inkling of.

Just one Fist-and-Palm Mastery had saved him over a hundred years of lifespan when cultivating Vein-Severing Dragon-Catching.

The Blood Fiend Qi obtained from the yellow weasel of the initial realm could even help Jade Liquid Realm martial arts advance further, evolving into a vicious killing move like Heavenly Gang Blood Fiend.

The more the better.

As for young demons, needless to say—long lifespans made mortals jealous to the point of red eyes; the downside was that they weren't fools either, and at such a young age, who would wander about aimlessly instead of waiting for their parents to feed them?

As for those both young and high-realm, like the Water Demon… they usually had some backing, easily triggering a chain of trouble, and were moreover very hard to deal with.

If it hadn't looked down on him and come together with the river demon to ambush him,

forget consuming forty years, even four hundred might not have been enough.

"……"

Shen Yi turned his gaze to the extra text that had appeared after the lifespan.

If he remembered correctly, this had only appeared after breaking through a thousand years.

As he looked, a line of text gradually emerged.

【Condense thousand-year lifespan into Demon-Treasure Crystal】

【Demon-Treasure Crystal: An object gathering the remnant grudges and memories of a demon in life; when infused into martial arts, it can use the demon's memories to aid deduction; consuming it has the effect of prolonging life】

Shen Yi quickly understood its true meaning.

After all, as an ordinary person with no talent, he knew well the importance of comprehension and knowledge—a single Wind-Thunder Demon-Subduing True Understanding had been pondered for who knows how many years, still with no progress.

Now that it involved Jade Liquid Realm martial arts, it had been a long time since he'd had a "flash of inspiration."

On one hand, it was his lack of common martial knowledge; on the other… his brain just wasn't up to the task.

Those who could found sects, create martial arts, and transmit the Dao were all prodigies of their age.

As an ordinary person, mastering two or three out of ten was enough to defend oneself; he dared not be greedy for more.

But borrowing the power of demons to aid martial arts deduction could break through the shackles of the upper limit.

"It may not be of much use."

Shen Yi muttered expressionlessly in his heart, with a hint of sourness.

A thousand years—really dare to ask.

The thing was a good thing.

Expensive! That was a flaw it could never conceal!

Without hesitation, he closed it.

Shen Yi steadied his mind; given his current situation, first fishing some ready-made benefits from Zhen Mo Si and quickly raising his strength was the proper path.

The pledge of allegiance had already been given; it was time to see whether this so-called first-rate force of Outside Qingzhou was truly as lavish as Butcher Zhang had described.

At that moment, the carriage suddenly slowed down.

Shen Yi raised his eyes and looked.

A swarming crowd had gathered on the road that everyone leaving the city had to pass — there were porters hawking their wares, there were those in short shirts reeking of fish, all manner of people, only every single face was shrouded in gloom.

They kept their mouths shut, merely standing at the roadside watching.

Countless government office runners gripped their sabers, spread their arms, gritted their teeth as they shoved the crowd back, sweat even beading on their foreheads.

"Don't look. Just keep going."

Li Mujin stopped the slight swinging of her calves, her body tilting toward the young man.

And so, among the cold stares of the common folk, there was now one more of her.

"Don't look, don't look."

Li Mujin forced a casual laugh, her palms quietly damp with sweat.

She was just afraid of angering Shen Yi.

A martial artist capable of slaying a late-stage Jade Liquid Realm river demon — even if the monster was in a weakened state — was proof enough of his strength.

One who could kill ten villagers could casually kill a thousand more.

Once the killing mood took hold, a thousand and seventy thousand made no difference in his eyes.

This was why, among the Zhen Mo Si, though the Outside Qingzhou natives produced talent in abundance, with no lack of those of high cultivation, none were willing to provoke that river demon.

They were all people of standing, who cared most about their reputation.

To butcher common folk here would leave a stench on one's name; once the news traveled back to Qingzhou, how could they hold their heads up before family and friends?

"Trust me, it'll be fine soon."

Li Mujin reached out and gripped his sleeve.

That short ruler earlier had not been measuring mortals — it had been measuring a god.

The fishing village's common folk were in spiritual disarray, in urgent need of another temple.

Clearly, the tall figure who had stepped onto the offering table and lopped off the river god had left an indelible mark on their hearts.

They only needed to wait a little longer.

A new name would spread from the lips of storytellers, echo through tea stalls and eateries, until the story was altered beyond even the protagonist's own recognition.

This was also why Li Mujin praised him inwardly for acting so cleanly and decisively — in anyone else's hands, that filth really couldn't be washed off.

"Huh?"

Shen Yi turned his head slightly, puzzlement in his eyes.

"Uh, aren't you angry?"

Staring at the young man's calm face, Li Mujin was briefly taken aback.

Shen Yi rolled his eyes and gripped the reins tighter again.

Back in Bai Yunxian, that lot had cursed far worse in private.

With over a thousand years of a demon's lifespan in hand, two Jade Liquid Realm demon cores tucked away, who cared about these dogshit empty reputations.

Sentimental nonsense.

(End of chapter)