Chapter 22: Shen Ni, Hong Huang

Luo Hou understood Xiang Xuanqing’s confusion and gave a direct explanation: “The Dao has no form or substance, making it impossible to grasp—but dealing with the Master of the Dao is far simpler.”

“If you could kill Shen Ni as many times as I have, you’d also be able to extract something from devouring the Dao.”

Master Luo Hou adopted a look of effortless competence.

His emotions showed not the slightest ripple; he remained utterly calm, as if killing Shen Ni several times was a trivial matter.

Xiang Xuanqing didn’t know where to begin.

“...Can I take this as you showing off?”

Luo Hou responded calmly: “You can interpret it that way.”

The Master of Demons knew nothing of humility.

Xiang Xuanqing stared at Luo Hou for a long while.

Luo Hou’s expression remained serene as he continued: “Of course, Shen Ni isn’t entirely useless—he has quite a few ways to preserve his life.”

“Although I dismantled his vessel of the Dao—the coffin—at Cangwu Abyss, he still slipped away this time.”

“Expected.” Xiang Xuanqing was not surprised.

During his travels through Hong Huang, he had indirectly clashed with Shen Ni, with victories on both sides.

Overall, Shen Ni’s strength was not as simple as Luo Hou claimed, but he certainly wasn’t truly defying heaven.

The key was—he was a lunatic!

Shen Ni was obsessed with destruction.

He was even more obsessed with destroying Hong Huang’s heavens and earth.

Xiang Xuanqing had indirectly encountered him several times; the man was either causing trouble or on his way to cause trouble.

He had no idea where Shen Ni got his energy.

“This time you block him, it should keep this madman quiet for a while.”

As the top power in the Taiwei Yuan, Luo Hou’s strength was unquestionably among the highest tier in Hong Huang’s heavens and earth.

Xiang Xuanqing trusted him completely.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have notified Luo Hou the moment he detected Shen Ni’s trail.

Of course, Luo Hou himself had a karmic tie with Shen Ni.

“Do you think this guy might be a remnant of the Chaos Demons?”

Xiang Xuanqing voiced his doubt to Luo Hou: “Otherwise, it’s impossible to explain Shen Ni’s behavior—a primordial deity born of Hong Huang’s heavens and earth would never make the destruction of creation his mission.”

Primordial deities were all born of heaven and earth; who but a madman would constantly seek to destroy Hong Huang?

Besides, this is the world Pangu opened—do you really think any deity can reforge earth, fire, water, and wind?

Dream on!

The words “Supreme True Realm” aren’t empty.

As the ultimate evolution of Pangu’s Dao, when you lay hands on this Dao fruit, you must weigh whether your body can withstand even a few blows of the Opening Axe.

But which Hong Huang deity doesn’t understand this?

Yet Shen Ni is the exception—he simply loves thrills.

Xiang Xuanqing had reason to suspect Shen Ni was either a lunatic or a remnant of the Chaos Demons.

“Chaos Demon?”

Luo Hou’s tone dripped with disdain: “He’s not worthy.”

“You’re overestimating him.”

“Not?” Xiang Xuanqing was startled.

“No.”

Luo Hou shook his head slightly. “Your guess isn’t entirely wrong.”

“He is indeed closely tied to the Primordial Demons.”

“Oh?”

Xiang Xuanqing became interested. He adopted the posture of a listener and gestured for Luo Hou to continue.

Luo Hou spoke slowly: “If I must say, Shen Ni has some connection to your Underworld.”

“My Underworld has no ties to such a madman!” Xiang Xuanqing declared—though his Underworld lacked souls, it wouldn’t harbor a terrorist. Luo Hou smiled: “I didn’t mean that—I meant his actions.”

“Shen Ni is a soul-retriever.”

“All his frantic activity is aimed at summoning the lost spirits from the dawn of the Opening!”

“Soul-retriever?” Xiang Xuanqing mulled over the term, understanding dawning in his mind.

Luo Hou said: “I don’t know whether he was chosen by the Primordial Demons or if he made a pact with them himself.”

“Overall, based on my observations, Shen Ni has truly served as a ‘soul-retriever.’”

Xiang Xuanqing pondered for a moment and asked: “Can he succeed in summoning them?”

He recalled Luo Hou’s warning on the River of Time and Space—some Demons might be attempting to smuggle themselves across.

This proved at least a few such Demons had survived the Opening Cataclysm.

Luo Hou signaled Xiang Xuanqing not to worry: “Whether he succeeds or not, it’s uncertain.”

“All we need to do is kill him every time we find him.”

“Besides...”

Luo Hou’s gaze turned toward Gui Xu. “We aren’t the only ones watching him.”

Xiang Xuanqing followed his gaze and instantly understood.

If there was one thing the Master of Demons and the Master of the Dao could agree on...

Then eliminating Hong Huang’s number one terrorist would certainly rank high.

“Then at the next Taiwei Yuan Assembly, issue a bounty!”

Xiang Xuanqing resolved firmly, setting the agenda for the next Taiwei Yuan meeting:

“Kill him before he rises.”

Though Xiang Xuanqing didn’t believe this fellow could truly disrupt Hong Huang, the fact that he was summoning the “lost spirits” from the dawn of the Opening meant he had to be eliminated.

And not just the Taiwei Yuan—other Hong Huang factions must be stirred into action too.

Xiang Xuanqing planned to spread word of Shen Ni.

We’re all deities born of Hong Huang’s heavens and earth; petty betrayals among us are fine.

That’s Hong Huang’s own business.

But summoning Chaos Demons to wreck the place—what’s that?

When Xiang Xuanqing voiced his idea to Luo Hou, Luo Hou fell silent.

Confidence in his own strength made Luo Hou prefer solving problems alone.

He had never considered mobilizing all of Hong Huang’s great deities to ambush Shen Ni.

At most, he relied on the unspoken understanding among peers: that Hong Jun and Yang Mei, his old rivals, wouldn’t stand idle.

Xiang Xuanqing told Luo Hou: “You’ve intercepted him multiple times, yet he always escapes—this proves Shen Ni has real strength.”

“Who knows what kind of chaos he’ll cause next time he appears?”

“For a lunatic like this, we can’t rely on the self-restraint of great ones—we must mobilize collective force.”

“Kill him while we still can!”

A toad won’t kill you, but it’s disgusting.

Previously, Xiang Xuanqing had regarded Shen Ni as merely a troublemaking madman—perhaps a flawed Chaos Demon at worst.

So he’d merely kept an eye on him, never considering direct confrontation.

If he spotted Shen Ni, he’d just notify the professionals.

But now that he knew Shen Ni possessed the ability to “summon souls,” the issue had to be reevaluated.

“Do as you see fit.”

In the end, Luo Hou accepted Xiang Xuanqing’s reasoning.

One could imagine the trouble Shen Ni would face once his hidden existence was dragged into the open.

(End of Chapter)