Chapter 46

How many demon chiefs are there in the world?

If someone were to ask this question, they would certainly be mocked.

Because the number of demon chiefs in the world is simply countless.

Even if you counted every demon chief under the command of the Myriad Demons Sect, the leading force of the Demonic Tao, including those of Eighth and Ninth Grade, the number would still fall short of ten thousand.

And what about the demon chiefs causing chaos in places all around the world? Aren’t they more than a hundred thousand, a million?

Because becoming a demon chief is just too easy.

And the benefits are too great.

Ordinary people who want to step into the Ninth Grade and become cultivators—

Not to mention enduring training in the three nines of winter and the three ten-days of summer heat, must devote countless efforts and time.

And in the end, they may not even succeed.

But if you simply cultivate a single demonic technique, and then consume the essence and blood of several dozen ordinary people,

You can smoothly step into the Ninth Grade Realm.

Although it’s true that demonic techniques are easy to begin but much more difficult to master into higher levels, or even to achieve the upper three grades, compared to righteous techniques,

Many people wouldn’t even be able to reach the lower three grades without demonic techniques, let alone the upper three grades being an outlandish idea.

Moreover, demon chiefs act unscrupulously, not bound by various rules, killing as easily as eating and drinking.

And thus, they are pursued and revered by many.

Especially in the last few decades, as the Myriad Demons Sect has risen, occupying much of the righteous path’s efforts.

This has allowed the demon chiefs all around to run even more rampant.

Previously, strong cultivators of the righteous path would often leave their cloisters to purge demons and protect the Dao.

Now, these righteous path strong cultivators are all battling with the Myriad Demons Sect.

The demon chiefs that squat around have lost their shackles, their methods becoming even more vicious.

However, now.

The demon chiefs of the world have met their doomsday.

Because Zhang, the Heavenly Master from Dragon Tiger Mountain, has descended to purge the demons.

The headquarters of the Myriad Demons Sect.

After the battle at Dragon Tiger Mountain, the Sect Master of the Myriad Demons Sect met his death,

Eight of the nine Celestial Phenomena Realm Vice Sect Leaders perished,

The only one who escaped alive did so because he had tasks to perform at a distance from Dragon Tiger Mountain.

And with his expertise in preserving his own life, he barely managed to escape.

Even so,

The Vice Sect Leader was still terribly shaken. Although he was fully focused on escaping, a casual glimpse revealed the Myriad Demons Sect turned into mountains of corpses and seas of blood, a sight so horrifying that it almost shattered the demon heart of such a demon chief.

“Vice Sect Leader, what do we do now?”

“The Sect Leader is dead, and the other Vice Sect Leaders are dead too.”

“Do we, do we stay here now?”

A demon chief who was left behind asked with a trembling voice.

“If we don’t stay here, where can we flee to?”

“This is the headquarters, full of complex mechanisms. Hiding here is the safest option,”

The Vice Sect Leader composed himself and issued the order calmly.

At the beginning of the rise of the Myriad Demons Sect, they had already considered that if they were to lose the decisive battle against the righteous path, the headquarters would be their last refuge.

The headquarters of the Myriad Demons Sect, prepared by dozens of master mechanicists, would not be a place where a group at the Celestial Phenomena Realm would dare to barge into without risking severe injury from the traps.

It was precisely because of this,

The Vice Sect Leader finally chose to flee back to the headquarters.

At the same time, he ordered the demon chiefs who stayed behind to activate all mechanisms.

Suddenly.

Just at this moment,

Screams of agony could be heard from the outside…

At the same time, a terrifying tremor was almost transmitted throughout the entire headquarters.

“No!!”

“Who are you?”

“Why are you killing us?”

The desperate howls of demon chiefs within the headquarters came over, and in the blink of an eye, silence fell.

A figure dressed in a Daoist robe walked in step by step.

It was Lin Yuan.

“Heavenly Master…”

The Vice Sect Leader gave a wretched smile.

He had anticipated that the headquarters’ mechanisms wouldn’t stop the Heavenly Master from Dragon Tiger Mountain.

But he didn’t expect it to be so fast; the many mechanisms that the Myriad Demons Sect once regarded as a means of retreat were unable to hold on for even a fraction of an incense stick’s time in the hands of the Heavenly Master.

“Heavenly Master, if I choose to submit to you, to submit to the Celestial Master Mansion, can I still live?”

The Vice Sect Leader didn’t give up and asked softly.

No matter what, he was a Celestial Phenomena Realm figure, so surely he must be of some use, right?

“There’s no need.”

Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.

He then turned and left.

The Vice Sect Leader who sat in the chief position suddenly had a red line appear at the center of his forehead.

The demon chief beside him was no exception, his eyes quickly stiffened, and he collapsed.

The Great Yu Dynasty.

The Capital.

A man dressed in a blood-colored robe, full of terror, fled to the outer gates of the Imperial Palace.

“My name is Ouyang Ye, the Direct Disciple of the Myriad Demons Sect Master; I know the secret method to swiftly cultivate Celestial Phenomena Realm powerhouses—the Myriad Demons Sect’s nine Celestial Phenomena Realms came into being through this method.”

The man in the blood-colored robe, Ouyang Ye, looked towards the Imperial Palace in front of him, activated his true qi, and projected his voice inside.

The Great Yu Dynasty was the unifying and powerful dynasty of the world today, and also the only survival path for him, Ouyang Ye.

“I can reveal this method to the Great Yu Dynasty. My only request is that you protect me and stop that Zhang, the Heavenly Master.”

Ouyang Ye continued, his expression almost begging.

He believed the method to swiftly cultivate Celestial Phenomena Realm powerhouses was something the Great Yu Dynasty couldn’t refuse, for these were Celestial Phenomena Realm beings. No matter how great the cost, for a dynasty, it was an invaluable treasure.

After a long wait,

The massive gates of the Imperial Palace were pushed open.

A hunched old man walked out.

This hunched old man exuded a profound aura, evidently a Celestial Phenomena Realm powerhouse.

“You may go.”

“Zhang, the Heavenly Master, is unmatched in the world. Those he wishes to kill, the demons he wishes to purge, we cannot help with.”

The hunched old man shook his head slightly.

Then, as if sensing something, he quickly turned and went back through the door.

The next moment, the great doors of the Imperial Palace were shut tightly.

“Can’t help?”

“You’d forsake even the methods of cultivating warriors of the Celestial Phenomena Realm?”

The man in the blood-colored robe, Ouyang Ye, fell silent.

“Could it be, there is really no one in the world who can save me?”

Ouyang Ye was utterly disheartened.

Soon after, a streak of sword light flashed from behind.

Ouyang Ye fell to the ground, lifeless.

“How sensible of him to fall.”

Lin Yuan looked up at the Great Yu Imperial Palace for a moment, then turned and left.

The Extreme Northern Ice Field.

In front of a palace built of crystalline ice.

A figure clad in black robes knelt there.

“My Primordial Demon Gate lineage once stood with yours from the Northern Plains, side by side, six thousand years ago.”

“I am willing to reveal many of the Primordial Demon Gate’s secrets, if only to survive.”

The figure in black robes spoke softly, knowing that the lord inside the ice palace of the Northern Plains could hear him.

Under all the heavens, it was only this Northern Plains lord who could somewhat restrain that Heavenly Master Zhang.

“You want to live?”

Deep within the ice palace sat an imposing man with golden glinting eyes.

His expression was grave, betraying no emotion.

“I, too, wish to live…”

The imposing man sighed.

“Northern Plains lord, are you really just going to watch as my Primordial Demon Gate lineage faces extinction once again?”

With no response coming, the figure in the black robe raised his head in despair.

Meanwhile.

The figure in the black robe collapsed with a thud.

Lin Yuan’s voice emerged beside him.

“Northern Plains lord?”

Lin Yuan looked at the palace before him with slight surprise.

From the records of the Celestial Master Mansion, he knew that the Northern Plains lineage had a history as ancient as the Celestial Masters.

However, this lineage had always kept their distance from the Central Plains’ power, dwelling in the Extreme Northern Ice Field, hence the world knew very little about them.

“Heavenly Master Zhang, this demon has nothing to do with my Northern Plains. He came to us of his own accord.”

The imposing man in the depths of the ice palace immediately spoke up nervously, sensing Lin Yuan’s gaze.

“I know.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

He vanished without a sound.

Only after Lin Yuan had completely left

Did the Northern Plains lord heave a sigh of relief.

“The pressure this generation’s Heavenly Master puts on me is too great, apparently much stronger than any of his predecessors?”

The imposing man thought to himself.

The Northern Plains lineage understood the Celestial Masters better than other righteous forces.

And for this reason, the pressure the imposing man felt from Lin Yuan was almost unbearable.

In a desolate desert.

Dozens of figures frantically fled.

“Heavenly Master Zhang, although we brothers call ourselves demons, we have nothing to do with the Myriad Demons Sect…”

“When the Myriad Demons Sect attacked Dragon Tiger Mountain, we brothers were not privy to it, nor did we take part…”

The leader, with a hoarse voice full of fear, looked back at the figure approaching step by step.

“All demons must be killed.”

Lin Yuan raised his right hand and gently pressed down, the dozens of people running ahead of him fell simultaneously.

On a bustling street.

A fortune-telling Taoist called out to passersby.

At that moment, a man with ordinary features approached.

“Tell me, how long can I live…”

The man with ordinary features had red-rimmed eyes, obviously in a state of extreme tension.

“Considering your young age…”

The fortune-telling Taoist took one look and his expression changed slightly.

He quickly packed up his abacus and without a second thought, turned and left.

“Sir, are you that afraid of him? You didn’t even dare to give him a reading?”

A child ran after the fleeing man.

“What do you know?”

The fortune-teller glared at him.

“The man from just now, his life won’t last long. If we get too close, we might get involved.”

The fortune-telling Taoist spoke quickly.

“Ah?”

“Get involved?”

The child blinked, knowing that his master was one of the strongest under the heavens, wondering how he could be afraid of getting involved.

“Because that man is a demon.”

The fortune-telling Taoist stated bluntly.

“A demon?”

Upon hearing this, the child shrunk his head back.

Who didn’t know, nowadays, that the demons of the world were facing a great calamity.

The Heavenly Master Zhang, who came down from Dragon Tiger Mountain, was hunting demons all over.

Any demon would hardly escape death, and no one could stop it.

“Heavenly Master Zhang…”

The fortune-telling Taoist suddenly stopped.

His heart began to tremble.

For a young man wearing a Daoist robe came facing him,

walking towards the spot where the man with ordinary features had been.

“Heavenly Master Zhang has arrived.”

The fortune-telling Taoist murmured to himself.

Later generations recorded that the thirty-seventh generation Heavenly Master Zhang Shanfeng descended the mountain to purge a myriad of demons.

In the sixty years that followed, the Demonic Tao forces vanished into obscurity, and peace reigned in the world, with no one daring to call themselves a demon.

This period was subsequently known as

The Demon Purge Cycle.