Chapter 62: One Man Surrounds All Demons

The rations at the Town Demon Office were excellent; even Li Yuanzhao and others accustomed to delicacies ate heartily, full and satisfied.

As Cui Fan said, we demon slayers face life-or-death dangers at any moment—can we die still half-starved? It makes sense.

After eating, they rested for half a quarter-hour; then Cui Fan pulled out the map of the patrol area for the afternoon, showed it to Li Hao and the others, and told them to prepare and gather outside.

The patrol area had previously shown demon traces, already dealt with; this time they were checking for leftovers—perfect for training newcomers.

When they assembled, Cui Fan saw only Li Yuanzhao, Ren Qianqian, and three others, and asked in surprise: “Where’s the other one?”

“Brother Hao said he went to the latrine and told us not to wait for him. As for the mission score, Brother Cui, you can decide it yourself.”

Li Yuanzhao relayed Li Hao’s words exactly.

Cui Fan was speechless.

Then he silently smiled to himself.

Of course—he’s a young master from a great family, here just for fun and to broaden his horizons; good thing I never took him seriously.

These days, whoever takes things seriously ends up losing.

“Fine.”

Cui Fan said no more and led the four off, mentally scrambling for an excuse to give that young master a perfect score.

In any case, giving him a low score was out of the question.

Better to admit I was negligent than give him a low score.

After all, his only loss is his grades; mine is my job.

…

…

Cangyu City was square, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

Thirty li east of the city, a mountain range stretched across the great river leading to Cangyu City, extending for dozens of li, with layered peaks and dense forests.

Sunlight struggled to pierce the massive leaves, making the forest damp; even in broad daylight, it felt eerie, like shadows lurking.

Scattered like mud spots around the mountains were villages, each with a few hunter families who lived off the land, hunting for survival.

As the saying goes, ducks sense water warmth first—those hunters, who spent their lives in the mountains, knew best how dangerous the wilds were.

After several bold hunters who refused to believe in spirits had their severed limbs retrieved from the mountains, no one dared climb up anymore; even gathering firewood was limited to the foothills.

At this moment, a figure shot swiftly across the mountain range, flying forward at high speed.

Dressed in the black robe of a Town Demon Officer, the man was Li Hao.

Going to the latrine was just an excuse; this patrol didn’t need him. Cui Fan wouldn’t truly take them to slay demons—even if there were any, they’d be minor ones for practice.

As for credits, he didn’t care; anything the Black and White Hall could exchange credits for, the Li family already had.

That supreme technique? Not something credits alone could buy.

He came to the Black Wind Mountain Range for one goal: to find the demon’s whereabouts.

The Tiger Robe Immortal.

…

Along the way, Li Hao noticed shadows of demons moving below in the forest, and spirits and ghouls lurking.

But all were minor demons, their aura faint.

Only those who reached the Soul Continuation realm could perceive demonic aura.

Through the vision of the soul-form, one could see the energy of heaven and earth; these scattered energies, like snowflakes, settled on mountains, rivers, and all things, accumulating over time and sticking fast.

Bamboo, stones, animals—all bore a coating of “qi.”

But it was extremely faint and pure, like thin mist without any taint.

Warriors who had begun cultivation were different—their qi burned like furnace flames, changing color depending on their cultivation art; the qi of Divine Wanderers or even the Fifteen-Li Realm shone like starlight, visible from miles away if not deliberately concealed.

Demons were the same.

But demons with real cultivation usually hid their aura, blending into human crowds, hard to detect. Here, in the Black Wind Mountain Range, colorful mists drifted, varying in depth.

Gold light rose from Li Hao’s head; his primordial spirit swept forward, scouting the area.

…

Deep in the mountains, before a cave of jagged rocks.

Leaning against a massive boulder was a demon, four to five zhang tall, half-man, half-bear.

At its feet lay piles of white bones; on the relatively flat stone beneath its buttocks lay scraps of wrinkled human skin, a foul stench thick in the air.

Nearby were other figures in various forms: a serpent with the upper body of a seductive woman, a crawling insect with a withered head, and a monster with the lower body of a pure white infant’s leg and a centipede’s waist.

“Great Strength True God, we’ve gathered over twenty thousand minor demons and eight hundred spirits in the Black Wind Mountain Range, with twenty-five who’ve taken human form—ready to join Red Eyebrow Daoist and swallow Cangyu City whole!”

A serpent woman, her body sinuous and face alluring, swayed her head in the air, speaking lightly.

Her eyes gleamed with hunger, her tongue flickering—she seemed impatient.

“Once we’ve devoured them, we leave. The Wangchuan Mountains are already Datong —we can depart anytime.” Another old man, with sparse hair, grinned.

“Wait for the right moment.”

The bear’s face radiated savage energy, yet its voice was calm:

“Wait until Red Eyebrow Daoist leads the northern ones first. Then we strike. That Yue fellow secretly sent word to the Xia family half a month ago—but Red Eyebrow Daoist has a way; the Xia family won’t come for now.”

“After so long, finally we can feast properly—so satisfying!”

“The meat the Yue fellow sent has gotten worse and worse—I’m going to eat him this time.”

“Ha, that’s not for you—Lord Tiger Robe claimed him long ago.”

The bear glanced coldly at the wolf demon speaking: “The Yue fellow is Tiger Robe’s brother—he belongs to it alone.”

“I was just joking! How could I dare compete with Lord Tiger Robe for food?” The wolf demon laughed nervously.

As they spoke, the bear suddenly sensed something and looked up toward the forest.

There, a boy in black robes, a demon-slaying saber at his waist, pushed aside roadside weeds and walked calmly into the mountain peak where the great demons gathered.

At that moment, the other demons also realized—someone from the human world had approached, so close, and none of them had noticed!

“So many demons…”

Li Hao’s gaze swept across them, one by one.

Their auras were only slightly suppressed—not fully hidden—like candles glowing in the dark.

When he saw the hellish scene before him, his expression changed; he couldn’t imagine how many humans had been brutally slaughtered here.

“Town Demon Officer?”

The demons, seeing his attire, froze.

The dragon embroidery on his cuffs, the number of patterns on his black robe—all showed he was merely a Town Demon Officer.

And yet, he dared come before them?

“Huh? Is this another meat delivery? But we just got some a few days ago… and you’ve got no meat with you.”

A tiny, shriveled old man, no taller than a dwarf, hopped toward Li Hao with a squeaky laugh, but his eyes were wary.

Li Hao knew what the demons meant by “meat.”

Meat delivery? He paused, suddenly realizing the horrifying implication hidden in those words.

Thoughts flashed through his mind; he scanned the demons and asked: “Which one of you is the Tiger Robe Immortal?”

“Looking for Tiger Robe?” The demons were startled.

The withered old man grinned: “Kid, you’ve got guts. Aren’t you afraid of us?”

“Afraid?”

Li Hao slowly drew his demon-slaying saber: “Your courage is impressive too—you’re surrounded, and still you don’t run.”

(End of Chapter)