Chapter 84: Tasty Food, No Money for Wine

“Hah! Hah!”

After flying an unknown distance, its massive dragon body rolled and convulsed before crashing to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

It reverted to human form.

Its body, covered in black scales, was riddled with fine, dark red wounds.

The grotesque dragon head gasped heavily, its sharp claws reaching downward, smeared with blood; its waist and abdomen had been cleanly severed by the great halberd, leaving only half its body.

Its eyes were filled with panic and lingering terror.

Leaning against a tree, it roared from its bloodied maw, its crimson tongue lashing out as its scaled, rough claws grew scorching hot, hissing as they sealed the wounds.

From today on, Zhang Hengzhou of Qingfeng Mountain no longer exists—only Liu Wang, the Dragon Lord of Yangchun River, remains.

Provided… I can make it back to Yangchun River.

Thick venomous hatred gathered in its monstrous eyes.

It was a three-thousand-year-old Golden Core demon, yet it had appeared utterly feeble before Chen Qiankun.

“Township Demon Suppression Bureau! Township Demon Suppression Bureau!”

The dragon demon slowly regained strength, its face twisted with intense envy; the Golden Core realm had three stages: condensing fluid into core, anchoring the core in the spiritual sea, and shattering the core to nurture the spirit.

The most crucial of these was the second stage.

The core was like a placenta; when first formed, it contained only pure heavenly and earthly energy, like an empty egg. What emerged after shattering depended entirely on what had nourished it during the anchoring phase.

If nourished by sword intent, blood qi, or essence, one could become a Hunyuan Wuji Master; demons attaining this realm could call themselves Demon Kings.

But among these dozen or so senior generals of the Township Demon Suppression Bureau—including the Regional Commander of Qingzhou—all but one had taken the shortcut of relying on incense and devotional power.

They fed their inner cores with the incense and devotional power of Qingzhou’s people, and when the core cracked open, it gave birth to a yin spirit.

This realm no longer adhered to martial arts; it was entirely distinct from Hunyuan, belonging to a separate path, known as the Martial Immortal.

In close combat, Martial Immortals were far inferior to Hunyuan Masters, yet they possessed their own subtleties: the yin spirit could leave the body, wander the four seas, and hear all directions.

This was originally the path for mountain spirits and wild demons: doing good, building temples, accumulating devotional power, and ascending to become Mountain Gods, River Mothers, or local Earth Gods.

But martial artists had stolen this path, leveraging imperial backing to greedily plunder incense under such favorable conditions.

How old was Chen Qiankun? Only eight hundred years.

Simply by virtue of his title as Grand Demon Suppression Commander of Linjiang Prefecture, he had amassed such deep reserves.

Though he couldn’t slay demons from a thousand li away, he could briefly summon his yin spirit to materialize with a blade and strike—nearly cutting me in half with a single slash.

This meant the Martial Immortal within his core had already begun to take shape, awaiting only time and refinement before the core shattered and the spirit emerged.

“Qingfeng Mountain cannot contain him!”

The dragon demon’s eyes showed despair; that boundless sword intent could trap the body, but how could it trap a yin spirit?

Even Zhang’s ancestral spirit within the ancestral sword—a mere wisp of soul sustained by generations of disciples’ blood—had thought himself safe, believing martial arts could not touch him, daring to appear before Chen Qiankun… he was surely now dead, slain by the old general’s yin spirit.

“Run!”

The dragon demon finally regained some strength, dragging its mangled body with both palms, crawling desperately across the ground.

Once back in Yangchun River, where the dragon returns to water, even if Chen Qiankun came, or even the true Martial Immortal—the Regional Commander of Qingzhou’s Township Demon Suppression Bureau—arrived, they could only sigh helplessly at the river.

I had painstakingly built a reputation as a hero, as a Qingfeng Mountain disciple, refining my core in the Sword Pool, destined to become Sect Master—had I continued step by step, I would have had a chance to compete for incense.

I clung to the identity of Zhang Hengzhou—and lost half my body!

And now, reduced to this, I dare not even reveal my true dragon form to hide my trail—this is utter humiliation!!

The dragon demon desperately suppressed its aura; as it crawled with its palms, its speed was nearly equal to flying through clouds—mainly because it was safer.

Suddenly, it shuddered violently, lifting its head to see the sky ahead filled with crimson divine energy.

A faint patter of footsteps reached its ears.

“Chen Qiankun, you’ve gone too far!”

The dragon demon, like a bird startled by a bowstring, whirled around, its voice cracking with terror.

But then it saw a figure that filled it with bitter hatred.

The handsome young man breathed heavily, his disheveled hair damp with sweat, clinging to his pale face; his dark robe fluttered slightly, his hand gripping his saber’s hilt tightly, his dark, deep eyes brimming with endless killing intent.

Then he stopped, at a distance he deemed safe.

“It’s you.”

The dragon demon froze, suddenly finding the situation absurd, yet filled with unbearable pain.

Did I look so pitiful that even a Jade Fluid cultivator dared to chase me?

Watching him stand still, the dragon demon puzzled: “You’re merely a Captain, earning two hundred taels a month—why come alone?”

Shen Yi wiped sweat from his brow; he swore that since waking in the Liu household, he had never exerted himself so utterly.

Fortunately, an inexplicable connection bound them, allowing him to slowly catch up despite his weak legs, never losing track.

Thinking this, he lowered his palm.

The full-power Heavenly Divine Blood Demon Energy crashed down, slamming into the dragon demon’s half-body!

Only now did Shen Yi begin to catch his breath, whispering: “Because you looked at me three times.”

The divine energy had left white marks on the dragon demon’s scales; its countless wounds began to split open, demonic flames lapping at its flesh.

Yet the dragon’s head showed no change in expression: “You look at me once, and you want to kill me?”

“Three times.”

Shen Yi gazed steadily, calmly correcting him: “Not just want to kill you—I want to kill your entire family.”

He spoke nothing but his truest feelings.

In the dragon’s eyes, he saw hatred, saw venom—but saw no path to escape.

So even if the enemy had the faintest chance to flee,

he would crush it himself.

Otherwise, what awaited him might be the entire Yangchun River dragon clan’s vengeance.

“Hah! Ha—”

The dragon demon fell silent for a long while, as if sensing the youth’s intent, then burst into laughter, trembling violently, gasping for breath, its claw slamming down hard: “You’ve got some brains.”

Zhang Hengzhou was treated like a son by the Qingfeng Sect Master—there truly was a shared trait between them.

That was their fierce protectiveness.

Moreover, Jiao Feng was no half-demon—he was the dragon demon’s own offspring, born before it left Yangchun River with its mate. But fearing the child’s youth and vulnerability to persecution by other clan members, it had pulled the cub from the river.

He was its only… true… offspring!

And now, the youth’s thick, familiar aura drove it into madness.

Even knowing Chen Qiankun might arrive at any moment, dispatching a Jade Fluid martial artist would take almost no effort.

“So what are you waiting for? Come! Kill me!”

The dragon demon shrieked, crawling forward again—only to see Shen Yi silently step back a few paces, then raise his hand and summon another wave of Heavenly Divine Blood Demon Energy.

It advanced; he retreated.

For every step forward, he took one back—precisely.

The dragon demon: “...”

“Don’t come closer—I’m scared.”

Shen Yi stood with hands at his sides, speaking calmly and honestly, then raised his hand to summon a third wave of blood divine energy.

The previous clash between Golden Core cultivators had utterly exceeded his understanding.

Thus, he truly felt uncertain.

His ever-reliable Blood Divine Energy, striking the dragon demon, showed no visible effect.

But Shen Yi firmly believed: small accumulations would eventually yield results—if not, then not enough.

In mere breaths, nearly twenty palm strikes left his face deathly pale.

As the power of the Blood Divine Energy increased, its consumption far surpassed its former levels.

The dense, storm-like divine energy rained down upon the dragon demon, darkening the sky with crimson.

Just as the dragon demon thought him spent, Shen Yi slowly held his breath.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again—his pupils reignited with golden light: “...”

His hand, which had just paused, rose once more!

“What demonic art is this?”

Facing this incomprehensible sight, the dragon demon’s expression shifted, a strange unease stirring within.

Feeling the tearing pain spreading across its back, its gaze turned cold; after hesitation, it slowly turned and crawled away.

Something’s wrong! Flee first!

“...”

The faint footsteps sounded again.

The dragon demon whirled around, glaring furiously—but helplessly withdrew its gaze, crawling even harder.

Yet the footsteps followed steadily behind, ceasing only when it turned back; Shen Yi stood ready to retreat at any moment, giving it not a single chance to counterattack.

Along with them came an unending, boundless rain of divine energy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Scorching flames seared its hardened spine, its countless wounds fully ruptured, dark red demonic blood gushing and staining the ground.

Finally, it stopped, staring at the youth who clung to it like a ghost, its pupils flooding with blood, mouth opening to reveal rows of fangs and a crimson tongue, roaring in fury: “You’re scared of your own mother!”

“Get the hell away!!”

The opponent struck with such brutality—where was the fear?

Who the hell is this guy? Does he have even a shred of dignity befitting a warrior?!

Bullying a disabled dragon?!

(End of Chapter)