[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-immortality-begins-with-slaying-demons":3,"chapter-immortality-begins-with-slaying-demons-immortality-begins-with-slaying-demons-chapter-78":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Immortality Begins with Slaying Demons",{"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},2317966,4533,"Chapter 78: Anger Accumulated Within, Return to the Peak","immortality-begins-with-slaying-demons-chapter-78",78,"\u003Cp>Captains carried the two men up the low slope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a commotion must have drawn the deputy commanders rushing over, but it ended too quickly… truly too fast to believe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as they reached the top, Hong Lei and Zhao Kanglin arrived with dozens of men in a throng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What happened?” Hong Lei’s eyelid twitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There was a major incident… but now there isn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Meng couldn’t explain the situation clearly in a few words, so he kept carrying the men upward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several captains chattered excitedly—sword energy, black blades…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Lei took a long time to piece together what had occurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression grew complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, when he saw Dai Bing’s severe injuries, he’d already guessed part of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he couldn’t quite understand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had clearly instructed Shen Yi to watch her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How had the woman ended up like this… and why was a steward dressed in official robes bound with her?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Qingfeng Mountain stewards weren’t easy targets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even he himself would struggle to gain the upper hand against them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Deputy Commander, what do we do with them?” Wang Meng dropped the men to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Zhao Kanglin coldly said: “It’s already a time of crisis—no need to follow protocol and waste manpower guarding them. This one nearly killed a comrade; since he’s an inside traitor, execute them both!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Lei frowned at him, then turned and asked: “Was Shen Yi injured?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Meng opened his mouth: “Uh… probably not. Master Shen looked perfectly at ease.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought back carefully, then nodded firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense!” Zhao Kanglin sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could anyone fight two opponents and make it look as simple as these beginner martialists claimed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Lei ignored him, studying the three cloud patterns on Dai Bing’s sleeve—how many demons had to be slain, how many civilians saved, to earn such marks?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, if Shen Yi could wound them this badly, adding one more slash wouldn’t have been hard. Yet he left them alive, bound, and delivered them here—perhaps there was another meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed heavily and said: “These men are nearly beaten to death—what’s the point of guarding them? Keep them. If they’re lucky enough to survive, take them back to the Demon Suppression Bureau for judgment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, Dai Bing, barely clinging to life and with a dark expression, turned his head to look at his senior brother, swallowing the metallic sweetness in his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met, both lips curling with a bitter, complicated expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had been personally cut off from escape by that young man—yet now, they still had a chance to live, and owed it to his brutality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stubborn and unyielding, clinging to those outdated rules—you’ll never achieve great merit in your life.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Kanglin sneered. Above had ordered them to guard, yet Hong Lei sat motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he’d known this, why even bring these men here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing they completely ignored him, Zhao Kanglin snorted: “Where’s Shen Yi? With such a major incident, why hasn’t he reported?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Meng and the captains had long endured him; they instinctively wanted to retort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then they saw Shen Yi walking slowly up from the base of the slope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression showed no sign of injury—not even the slightest hint he’d just fought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching this, Zhao Kanglin’s face twitched, a flicker of wariness crossing his eyes… the captains had been telling the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing this, he silently turned away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Lei smiled with admiration and bowed: “Brother Shen, impressive skill.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a young talent—he, an old man, felt humbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Yi walked to his side, paused, then warned: “They’ll strike on the mountain soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Lei’s bowing motion halted; he instinctively replied: “It’s just a steward, desperate and reckless. Brother Shen doesn’t need to be so cautious—General Chen…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mid-sentence, shock crossed his square face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The internal steward fled under cover of night—meaning he disagreed with the higher-ups. The Furious Sword Elder sat on the cliff, yet made no move to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the entire Qingfeng Sect had already fractured…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could the Sect Master truly dare defy the world?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether the Qingfeng Mountain disciples united to resist the Demon Suppression Bureau or surrendered the disciple, the pressure rested on the summit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if those above wanted to protect him, while those below planned to flee…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then our group, originally only assigned to guard the pass, would face a counterattack from nearly the entire sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing this, Hong Lei gritted his teeth: “Thank you for the warning!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He snatched a torch from a nearby man, stepped into the open, and used all his Jade Fluid realm vision to gaze upward at the cliff top.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, the Furious Sword Elder—who had been sitting cross-legged—had risen to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He pulled out the wooden hairpin from his head; thin silver strands fell loosely over his shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His cloudy eyes held no emotion, yet strangely brimmed with fury—as if not an emotion, but a deliberate accumulation of latent power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man looked down, his gaze settling on the Qingfeng Mountain steward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his disciple still clung to a thread of life…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sighed faintly; the fury in his eyes was just a hair’s breadth from overflowing, yet never fully took hold.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You said you severely wounded him!” Hong Lei roared to the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I did injure him.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Kanglin’s voice lacked conviction; the Furious Sword Elder’s aura now was sharper by threefold than in his prime: “What’s the rush? As long as he dares come down, we’ll activate the Demon Suppression Array—he’ll never leave alive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This man seemed unreliable, but his words held truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Suppression Bureau’s deputy commanders enjoyed the finest martial arts and elixirs; even against major sect disciples like those of Qingfeng, their accumulated resources were never inferior—often superior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two deputy commanders at Jade Fluid mid-stage guarding here, plus dozens of captains forming an array, could easily subdue an aged, weakened Furious Sword Elder without incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Lei feared… judging by the old man’s expression, either he’d lost his mind and sought death, or the Guanjian Gorge—the worst possible escape route—had become this sect’s breakout point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shen Yi, attend.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned, drawing a metal token from his waist: “Carry my order in the name of Commander of Guanjian Gorge—fetch these eight deputy commanders. Remember: hurry. Be careful.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Yi raised his eyes. This was only his second mission—he’d offered his opinion, but wouldn’t presume his judgment surpassed that of such seasoned generals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Jade Fluid peak cultivation was strong, but in this situation, it couldn’t single-handedly decide the outcome, nor could it outmatch the combined strength of eight deputy commanders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached for the token—but another snatched it first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Kanglin gritted his teeth: “I’m wounded. Let me go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Shen Yi’s expression remained calm, but the surrounding Golden Eagle captains turned away, gritting their teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Lei glared at the spoiled brat in frustration—the man controlled the Demon Suppression Array, an elite technique from the Inner Camp, which outsiders like himself couldn’t possibly comprehend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go quickly and return!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, he turned back to the high cliff. Fortunately… the old man still needed time to gather his strength.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shen Yi watched silently, yet his brow didn’t relax as Hong Lei’s had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under his sharp vision…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the Furious Sword Elder, far up the cliff, a group of disciples with faint auras slowly approached the edge—some at beginner stage, even some whose mortal bodies hadn’t yet reached full completion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1246,"2026-06-20T15:00:36.117Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d5535a11c3c863c3e6e47834dc83277b70cf222a0df1de1c827cbc72b006d041","immortality-begins-with-slaying-demons-chapter-79","immortality-begins-with-slaying-demons-chapter-77",840,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fimmortality-begins-with-slaying-demons-cover.jpg"]