Chapter 64: Memorial

After eliminating the bear demon, Li Hao noticed movement inside a nearby cave.

When he sent his spiritual sense to investigate, he saw seven ragged survivors—men and women, all around twenty to thirty years old, no children or elders.

Their limbs were bound with chains, the other ends threaded through a hole in a large rock; unless they could drag the rock, they could not escape.

Having endured some horrific event, their expressions were dazed, etched with terror; some were utterly vacant, numb and listless.

Li Hao sighed inwardly, used his spiritual sense to shatter the iron chains, and freed them.

But the chains on their limbs were gone—yet it seemed other chains still bound them.

After a brief stunned silence, they looked around blankly, remaining rooted in place, making no move to flee.

One seemed to recall something, trembling violently, curling on the ground, frantically picking up the broken chains and wrapping them around his own limbs, muttering desperately: “Don’t eat me, don’t eat me…”

They were utterly broken by fear.

Li Hao fell silent. He was unused to comforting others; he thought it best to give them time to regain their wits, and meanwhile, he would clean up the outside.

With a casual gesture, he summoned objects to gather all the demon corpses into one pile, stacking them into a high platform, neatly and precisely arranged.

“Uncle Lin, your apprentice is powerless—only these demons can serve as offerings to your noble spirit!”

Li Hao flipped his palm and drew a wine gourd from behind his back.

He uncorked the gourd and poured the wine onto the ground before the corpse altar.

Before him lay a sea of blood and corpses, but in his mind rose the image of a courtyard bathed in brilliant sunset glow.

That night when the man drank wine and chanted battle poems.

That afternoon when the man, seeing he could not absorb the Foundation Establishment elixir, hung his head in sorrow.

That autumn, when fallen leaves landed on the go board, and the two of them laughed, cursed, and played.

Li Hao shook the gourd—it held one last sip. He tilted his head and drank it, whispering softly: “Uncle Lin, cheers.”

Then he put away the gourd, turned, and picked up his demon-slaying blade, walking toward the forest beyond.

Within this hundred-li mountain range, there were tens of thousands of demons—merely around him, tens of thousands had gathered.

*Whoosh!* Li Hao stood atop a tree branch, his spiritual sense surging from the crown of his head, guiding the demon-slaying blade as it darted through the green sea of trees, sweeping all directions.

Demons crouching, sleeping, foraging, or playing—all were severed by a streak of black light, their lives cut short.

The black light darted through the mountains like a flying needle, piercing the bodies of demons one after another. The demons sensed the danger, panicked, and scattered in all directions—but the black light was faster.

A normal Fifteen-Li Realm cultivator might not have slain them so easily, but Li Hao’s range and speed in controlling objects were several times greater than a normal Fifteen-Li Realm cultivator’s—and he had not even used any special techniques.

The tens of thousands of demons gathered at the mountain’s base were terrified beyond reason, not understanding what had happened, only fleeing instinctively; some rushed toward the peak to ask their king what was occurring—but were beheaded before they even reached the summit.

The entire mountain shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.

The fleeing demons had barely escaped ten li when they were all slain.

Blood stained the shrubs and the earth, flowing like trickling rivers along the land’s creases, pooling into the lowlands—forming the mountain range’s tears of blood. His spiritual sense returned to his body; the black light settled into his hand.

Li Hao glanced at it.

Tens of thousands of demons slain—the blade’s edge was curled.

Had his spiritual sense not covered it, the blade would have shattered long ago, unable to pierce the thick hides of certain demons.

He did not stop. Holding the curled black blade, he dashed toward a forest dozens of li away, where some demons, unaware of the carnage, still wandered near their dens.

Since he had come.

He would eradicate them all.

…

…

“Indeed, demons have gathered!”

High above the Black Wind Mountains, a faint golden light glided through the clouds—it was Song Yueyao’s spiritual sense.

Her physical body traveled stealthily along the mountain’s perimeter, while her spiritual sense soared, surveying the entire range.

Along the way, she had already spotted numerous demon traces.

Near the city, the mountain’s outer edges held only occasional demons—weak, barely sentient, barely a threat; even hunters with crossbows might scare them off.

But as she ventured deeper, thick clouds of demonic aura enveloped the forests, growing ever more numerous.

“The Yuecheng Garrison Commander was right—demons have indeed gathered here, and in great numbers!”

Song Yueyao frowned: “But why, with the evidence so clear, has the Yuecheng Garrison Commander not confidently reported it and requested aid from the Xia family?”

She could not understand—did the garrison commander not fear these demons launching a surprise attack on the city?

Or did the Xia family refuse to come, holding some grudge? But if Cangyu City fell, civilian casualties would be catastrophic—and both the garrison commander and the Xia family would be held accountable.

She could not make sense of it; the situation felt complicated.

Now, as she pressed deeper, she soon reached the heart of the Black Wind Mountains.

Along the way, the strongest demons she encountered were Soul-Integration level patrol demons, which she easily avoided without being detected.

Suddenly, a reeking stench drifted through the forest ahead. Song Yueyao’s expression changed; she halted and cautiously probed forward with her spiritual sense.

Soon, she saw an unbelievable sight.

Blood flowed like rivers through the forest—nearly every water source was stained crimson, and demon corpses littered the ground nearby.

Song Yueyao froze. She had assumed the stench came from demons preying on humans—but it was the demons’ own blood!

Her face filled with shock and doubt—what had happened here?

After hesitating, she sent her spiritual sense forward cautiously. Soon, she reached several demon corpses, swiftly examined them, and found fresh wounds—all less than an hour old.

Someone is slaying demons! The thought struck Song Yueyao, her heart trembling—could it be the other Patrol Commander of the Demon Suppression Bureau?

Cangyu City’s Demon Suppression Bureau had only one Patrol Commander—a Spirit-Traveling Realm cultivator—who guarded the border city alongside the Yuecheng Garrison Commander.

She was an outsider, temporarily assigned—her position would not be permanent.

Still startled, Song Yueyao sent her spiritual sense ahead to scout—if she could find the other commander, they might assist each other and investigate the situation.

But as she pressed deeper, her expression grew increasingly stunned.

Everywhere were demon corpses! Everywhere!

Dense and countless—her spiritual sense had surveyed at least ten thousand.

The density of demons here was unquestionably a small-scale demonic tide—but what was most shocking was that all these demons were dead! Whoever commanded such a horde must be a great demon.

Where was the great demon?

Song Yueyao had never fought the Patrol Commander, but seeing this, she knew she could not have done it herself—and lacked the courage to even attempt it.

As her spiritual sense advanced, she saw more demon corpses—even more than before, including massive demons, some with partially transformed bodies, nearing Spirit-Traveling Realm, yet all dead, all with identical wounds: sharp objects piercing vital points.

Soon, Song Yueyao arrived before a great mountain.

She faintly saw thick, cloud-like demonic aura swirling at the summit—such terrifying mist could only come from a great demon, and judging by its hue, there was more than one. Her heart pounded with dread; she wanted to turn and flee—but the sea of corpses at the base and the eerie silence atop the peak stirred an impossible thought in her mind.

Fighting her fear, she lifted her spiritual sense silently, suppressing her aura, and peered down toward the demonic clouds atop the peak.

The sight froze her expression.

A mound of flesh, built from over twenty great demon corpses, stood atop the summit—neatly, precisely stacked.

A breeze stirred, revealing the frozen eyes of the great demons, still holding the terror and horror of their final moments.

Song Yueyao stood rigid, speechless with shock.

The number of great demons was greater than she’d imagined—but they were all dead! These were Spirit-Traveling Realm great demons—who could have killed them all?!

The Patrol Commander? Impossible—he was only Spirit-Traveling Realm.

To accomplish this, even the top Spirit-Traveling Realm prodigies would struggle—only a Fifteen-Li Realm powerhouse could do it. Was it a general sent by the Xia family? Or a master from some sect? Regaining her composure, Song Yueyao suddenly noticed several figures slowly emerging from a cave atop the mountain—human, by their appearance—survivors, judging by their ragged state.

She swiftly ascended the summit and approached the survivors.

“Were you all captured by demons?” Song Yueyao asked immediately upon seeing them.

She expected their fear to ease upon seeing her Demon Suppression uniform—but instead, they shuddered violently at the sight of her, eyes wide with terror as if facing demons themselves.

“Don’t, don’t take us!”

“Please, let us go!”

Several survivors collapsed to their knees, pounding their heads on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

Song Yueyao was stunned.

For a moment, her mind could not process it; then she snapped: “What are you talking about? I’m the Demon Suppression Patrol Commander—I’m here to rescue you!”

“Spare us, my lord, spare us!”

The survivors only kept pounding their heads, begging.

Song Yueyao was left speechless—had they all been driven mad by the demons?

If so, she would learn nothing from them. The mysterious figure who slew the demons was not here—he must have realized these survivors were already broken.

Yet these great demons had clearly died very recently.

Thinking of this, Song Yueyao abandoned the survivors and swiftly activated her spiritual sense to survey the area.

Soon, she spotted a trail of blood—lined with demon corpses.

She hurried after it.

Not long after, as Song Yueyao leapt onto a tree branch, she froze.

Ahead, in a forest clearing, lay countless demon corpses—all monkey demons, seemingly an entire tribe.

But now all were slain.

Blood pooled on the ground, and at the center stood a young boy.

Dressed in the plainest Demon Suppression Bureau black robe, gripping a broken, battered demon-slaying blade.

(End of Chapter)