Chapter 121: The Demon King and the Death Qi

The villager ran frantically, pounding on the door while glancing back over his shoulder.

Behind him, another figure was chasing after him.

The man moved stiffly, yet his speed was hardly slower than a normal person's—his rigid body and rapid motion made his gait grotesque, especially chilling under the moonlight.

Faint growls could be heard.

The figure behind was closing in on the villager.

The Daoist on the upper floor landed just then.

Before his feet touched the ground, he swung his sword scabbard.

"Thud!"

Lin Jue immediately sensed something was wrong.

The scabbard had struck the man's head with moderate force; though the feedback wasn't as crisp as hitting metal or wood, it was certainly not the feel of striking a living human—normally, a scabbard hitting a person would cause them to turn their head, the neck yielding and absorbing the impact, but this felt unnaturally stiff.

Lin Jue and the fox landed in turn, then turned to look back.

By moonlight, the man still looked human—but his face had twisted into a monstrous visage, drool dripping from his lips, sharp fangs barely sprouting, nails grown long and pointed.

He showed no sign of being affected by the blow, merely fixed Lin Jue with his blood-red eyes, then lunged forward.

Lin Jue stepped back two paces and drew his longsword.

A flash of moonlit blade vanished instantly.

"Sssch!"

The head hit the ground.

Yet the thing kept running forward?

Lin Jue sidestepped casually, extended his foot, and tripped the headless corpse, sending it crashing to the ground.

Only then did someone upstairs open a window.

"Third Shixiong!"

The one leaning out was the junior sister:

"What's wrong?"

"The incantation binds heaven and earth, summoning divine thunder to the swordtip; the decree commands yin and yang, true fire glows at the blade's edge! The Three Realms and Five Elements lend their aid—let my weapons manifest divine mystery!"

Lin Jue had no time for the window; he stood beside the headless corpse, muttering the incantation as he watched the corpse rise, turn toward him, and clumsily swipe its claws in a clumsy lunge.

Lin Jue stepped back calmly, his gaze flicking aside.

As expected—

The severed head rolled on the ground, its eyeballs fixed on him, sharp fangs gnashing open and shut.

Lin Jue merely extended his longsword.

"Sssch!"

The longsword he'd taken from a martial artist was superior to the iron sword in the temple—easily piercing the corpse's chest, a flash of spiritual light erupted, and it collapsed, motionless.

At that moment, the junior sister stood beside him.

This girl always liked to imitate him, yet this time she hadn't seen him leap from the window—yet she'd done the exact same thing, drawing her sword and jumping down from the window.

She stepped forward two paces, plunged her sword into the ground, and the head stopped moving.

It hadn't taken much time at all—the incantation alone took half, roughly the time to recite it twice.

Only then did the door open.

Several Daoists from Qiyun Mountain emerged, clearly having come down the stairs.

"What happened?"

"It seems there was a corpse transformation."

"Corpse transformation?"

The men immediately split up—one went to examine the corpse, the other to the villager cowering by the door.

At first glance, one might think the villager had collapsed from fright, relieved to see the Daoists and the zombie gone—but upon closer look, his body bore several claw marks and bite wounds.

"What's going on?"

Daoist Daoist Qingxuan helped him inside, bandaged his wounds; Daoist Daoist Chongqing immediately fetched a bowl of water, inscribed a talisman, and applied it to the wounds—immediately, foul-smelling white smoke rose.

"Hss!"

The villager cried out in pain:

"I don't know! I was sleeping soundly at home when suddenly he banged on the door…"

"I opened it and was shocked—I recognized him, but he'd gone into the forest days ago and was killed by the tree spirit; tonight, several Daoists brought his corpse back from the woods!"

"His face was black—I thought he was a ghost, but he spoke normally to me. Since we were close, I let him in."

Daoist Daoist Qingxuan listened, then murmured:

"You're bold."

"I thought he was so young, and died so suddenly—he must have unfinished business. We're cousins, so I wanted to hear what he had to say." The villager, still shaken, continued: "At first, he said he was dead but unwilling to let go—he said he'd buried money by the wall, and asked me to tell his new wife, to warn her not to remarry, to make her serve her parents well, and to tell the parents to treat her kindly. I promised everything, hoping to ease his mind."

The villager grew even more terrified:

"But after he finished speaking, he seemed to close his eyes—then his body stiffened, and his face slowly twisted…"

Lin Jue listened silently beside him.

Stories like this were common.

Many were just like this.

It was said that in the northwest, the soil was extremely thick—sometimes, after digging three or five zhang deep, no springwater was found. According to local custom, the dead were not buried immediately; the corpse was left exposed, uncovered, until flesh and blood had fully decomposed, otherwise the dreaded "fa xiong" might occur.

If a corpse was buried before fully desiccated, and absorbed the earth's spiritual energy, after three months it would sprout hair—white hair meant a white xiong, black hair meant a black xiong, and they would break into homes to cause havoc.

This was caused by the earth's spiritual resonance.

Similar incidents occurred elsewhere too.

But the causes varied: lingering attachments, the spiritual resonance of the burial site, pre-death exposure to demonic arts, or post-death contamination by evil qi.

Thinking back on that "man," he wasn't particularly fierce.

If an ordinary person faced him unarmed, they'd surely be injured—but if armed and brave enough to fight, even one-on-one, victory wasn't impossible. If there were many people or a martial artist with skill, it would be even easier.

Even if its head was severed and it still moved, just cut off more limbs—when daylight came, the evil qi would dissipate, or burn it in a fire.

If one knew talismanic spells, it would be even simpler.

At this moment, the others were still describing the scene.

But Lin Jue suddenly felt something was wrong—

If this were merely due to lingering attachment and sudden corpse transformation, how could sharp fangs and claws grow so quickly?

"Trouble!"

Lin Jue immediately rose, drew his sword, and rushed out the door.

The junior sister and the fox hurried after him.

The Qiyun Mountain Daoists, seeing this, instantly understood his concern and grabbed their weapons to follow.

After only a few steps, they heard screams from the village—something terrifying had been seen, shattering the night.

"As expected!"

Lin Jue's mind raced—

If the corpses in the ancestral hall were compromised, what about the others still left in the forest?

"Quickly wake everyone in the village and gather them in the ancestral hall! Bring weapons, poles, anything!"

"Understood!"

As they spoke, they didn't slow—only Daoist Daoist Qingxuan turned down a side alley, knocking on doors one by one.

Not far ahead, two figures appeared.

The two figures stood back-to-back with them, walking forward, their movements stiff and unnatural—no one knew where they were headed, but hearing the noise behind, they turned around.

Both wore the attire of martial artists.

"You… who are you?"

The figure on the left actually spoke.

Their faces were blackened, clearly not human, and emitted a faint stench—even Daoist Daoist Chongqing, who had personally cut them down from the trees, remembered their faces.

Daoist Daoist Chongqing pulled out another talisman from his sleeve.

"Save your talismans."

Lin Jue knew the talismans they'd brought might be powerful, but they weren't limitless—couldn't be drawn at will, anytime—so he stepped forward with his longsword.

The two clearly grew wary.

"What are you doing?"

"Where are you going?" Lin Jue realized they could still speak, still retained some semblance of mind, yet kept his calm: "Why so wary? Don't you remember I accompanied you partway back from the forest?"

"Where are we going?"

Their expressions had been dazed, but upon hearing his question, they instantly hardened, teeth clenched:

"We were summoned to the forest to slay the tree spirit!"

"We couldn't defeat it before—now our weapons are gone. Since you're a Daoist, lend us your precious sword!"

"You truly are heroes—even dead, you still think of slaying the spirit!" Lin Jue sighed, shaking his head. "But you're already dead. Your bodies stink. And the tree spirit has already been slain by us. Now you're merely tainted by evil qi, sustained by lingering soul attachments—that's why you've transformed."

"What are you talking about?!"

"We're alive! Where did we die? We were just careless, ambushed by the tree spirit!"

"No… we really did die…"

"Dead? Annoying tree spirit! Grandpa will kill you!"

"Exactly! Even if I'm dead, I'll still slay that tree spirit! Revenge and justice!"

"Bring me weapons! Bring me weapons!"

Both gnashed their teeth, even stepping toward Lin Jue, reaching out as if to seize his longsword or choke his throat—losing all reason for a moment.

"Calm down. If your heavenly souls scatter and your obsessions leave your bodies, you'll become mindless killing corpses." Lin Jue stepped back. "The tree spirit has already been destroyed by us. You may now rest in peace."

"Huh? Destroyed by whom?"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true."

"That tree spirit was so powerful—how could you have destroyed it?"

"I don't believe it! I don't believe it!"

The two opened their mouths, revealing sharp fangs.

Though the scene was somewhat terrifying, Lin Jue endured and spoke to them patiently, sighing: "It's true—they're gone. Please rest now."

"…"

"Leave now, both of you."

"…"

Seeing them standing frozen, frowning helplessly—as if unwilling to leave yet unsure where to go, their resentment deepening—Lin Jue spoke again:

"If you were righteous souls, with hearts devoted to subduing demons and eliminating evil, and were slain by evil forces, your lingering grievances keep you bound—unwilling to depart, unsure where to go—then come with me. I am a Daoist of Yishan. You may aid me in subduing demons and eliminating evil, and fulfill your unfinished purpose."

"Come with you?"

"Subdue demons and eliminate evil?"

Like the earlier villager, their lingering obsessions still held fragments of reason.

Having bodies, they could understand speech like the bean soldiers. And since their temporary bodies were their own, their thoughts, though stiff, remained more complete—and they could answer him.

"Of course! Punish evil, drive away demons, subdue the wicked!" Lin Jue said. "If you find I'm lying, feel free to leave!"

"I'll go with you!"

"I'll go with you too!"

Lin Jue took out a small vial once more.

"Reside within this vial for now."

Their lingering soul fragments immediately left their bodies and entered the vial.

It is said that humans possess heavenly souls and earthly spirits—the heavenly soul is good, the earthly spirit evil. While the heavenly soul remained, it could resist some evil influence; once gone, only the earthly spirit remained in the corpse, swiftly corrupted by evil qi.

Now the two bowed their heads, trembling, their faces slowly twisting into monstrous forms, black qi rising from their bodies.

Before long, they became corrupted corpses.

The moment they raised their heads, they lunged at Lin Jue.

But Lin Jue and his junior sister moved faster.

As they took only a single step, the tips of two swords pierced their foreheads—longswords imbued with exorcism power effortlessly laid them to rest.

"What a tragedy…"

Lin Jue sighed, then turned to the Daoists of Qiyun Mountain. "Go summon others. We'll handle the villagers here."

"Understood!"

Daoist Chongqing, Chongming, and Jiang Jiang Daozhang also departed, leaving only the two siblings in the alleyways.

"Are you afraid, junior sister?"

"Not at all!"

"Really not afraid?"

"Not afraid!"

"Then join me in eliminating demons!"

"Third Shixiong brother! You take this path, I'll take this one!" The junior sister's expression turned serious, pointing to two roads ahead.

"Huh?"

"Splitting up is better!"

Lin Jue glanced at her, then nodded.

Tall horse-head walls and narrow alleys blocked even moonlight, plunging the place into deep gloom. The two turned and split to either side; the fox, called by Lin Jue, followed the junior sister as her companion.

…

The villagers were soon gathered in the ancestral hall.

As Lin Jue had expected, when the first group was led in by Daoist Daoist Qingxuan, the hall was already empty—the several corpses previously placed there had vanished.

At first, some were confused, but others had already been hunted down by deceased relatives and friends, barely escaping death; once they told each other, terror spread.

"Who could have imagined that after dying and returning, their first act was to seek out their former loved ones?"

"Indeed."

"Now outside…"

The villagers were utterly terrified; their only remaining sense of safety came from Daoist Daoist Qingxuan standing at the door.

Rumor said the two Daoists exterminating demons outside were from Yishan.

Soon, a faint hint of dawn appeared on the horizon—the two Daoists returned with swords, each bearing traces of blood.

"How was it?"

"The village's demons have been cleared."

Lin Jue and his junior sister stood at the door, away from the villagers, speaking with the Qiyun Mountain Daoists: "But the death qi here grows heavier by the moment."

"Heavier?"

"Haven't you noticed? Dawn broke just now, yet the sun still hasn't risen."

"Hss!"

The two middle-aged Daoists looked outside.

The sky still resembled pre-dawn light—dim and heavy—but the moon had vanished, and thick fog blanketed the village alleys.

They had assumed it was morning mist, common in autumn—but upon closer look, they realized: this fog was black, not the mist of night, but fog that blocked the sky's light.

"Could it be right here?"

The two middle-aged Daoists widened their eyes.

"What do you mean?" Lin Jue asked. "Didn't you come down just to eliminate demons?"

"Of course we came to eliminate demons," said Daoist Chongming. "But we also had another mission. The Yili Shenjun told us it was nearby. When devout believers from here came to the mountain to beg for aid, we decided to stop here first, slay the tree spirit, restore temporary peace to the village, then continue searching for the Yili Shenjun's designated site to suppress it."

"What site?" Lin Jue asked.

"One of the places where the Demon King secretly hoarded death qi," said Daoist Daoist Qingxuan, impatient with Chongming's vagueness. "Didn't we say when we went to Fuxiu Peak to beg for help? If we let this Demon King go unchecked, when chaos erupts, he'll claim territory and become a kingdom, bringing ruin to the region! He truly intends to do it!"

He paused:

"For decades, he has secretly stored vast amounts of death qi, sealing it in places around here. This death qi is his unique power, capable of creating demonic creatures—precisely the demonic soldiers he prepared for the coming chaos!

"Now his whereabouts have been detected by the Emperor. The Emperor has ordered the extermination of demons. The Three Holy Ones have descended together. Even with all his preparations, he stands no chance against the combined might of the Three True Lords.

"The Emperor, with great power, sensed this land might harbor death qi, and foresaw that if cornered, he might unleash it to buy himself time. So the Yili Shenjun sent us ahead secretly to find and suppress it before he noticed.

"But we've only just arrived…"

Lin Jue understood.

No wonder only a tree spirit had drawn two middle-aged Daoists—and even Jiang Jiang Daozhang came. Though Jiang looked young, his status was extraordinary.

No wonder they told the two of them to leave at dawn—they feared being dragged into this.

But whether the Yili Shenjun's lack of divine generals—sending only ordinary Daoists—had been detected by the Demon King, or whether the Demon King had simply outmaneuvered the Yili Shenjun in strategy, the death qi had been released prematurely.

…

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