Chapter 535 - Daemon.

Yang Dao and the rest advanced to the second test after they cleared the first segment. They came to the location of the second test and found other prime disciples standing together. Yang Dao recognized them and asked, "Senior Brother Cal. Why are you all gathered here?" 

The bulky strong boy at the back turned around and with a smile that did not match the gentleness of his muscles, said, "Oh, Dao, the elder inspecting this test said, if we took a step on this path, we might get seriously injured. So everyone is discussing what to do." 

Yang Dao shook his head and said, "What is this about? We are cultivators, we defy the heavens and face tribulations to get stronger and excel, why do you all think so much about injuries. If you get hurt, you can rest and recover." 

He spoke in a matter-of-factly tone, attracting the attention of all the other disciples. Their age group had twenty disciples, who qualified the rules and the limits. Yang Dao was the youngest among them but they all were aware that his talent was far higher than theirs and even more. He was a monster. 

Shakti was standing in the crowd as well, she said, "Dao, it is not that we are afraid, and we agree that a cultivator shall advance forward, but charging with a torch is better than a blind charge." 

Yang Dao was surprised and nodded, he pinched his chin and said, "I see, being with senior brother Amil, your vocabulary and intellect has increased. Senior Brother Amil, you did well." 

The rest of the people chuckled while Shakti picked up her sword to rush at him. The youngster raised his hand, "Okay, that was a compliment. Also, I agree to be the torch." 

Then he did not wait for the others to react and walked straight to the elder in front. He said, "Elder, I have decided. I want to go in." 

The elder was an old man with long white hair and a long white beard. He closed his eyes and said, "Kid, you sure?" 

"Yes, elder." said the boy. 

Elder gave him a medallion, and said, "This is the perk you get for being the first to steel your heart. This medallion will protect you from a grave danger once, however, it will not help you in coming out of the valley. Whether you advance or retreat, it is all up to you"

Yang Dao nodded and took the medallion and he said, "Can I pass this medallion to someone, elder?" 

The elder was surprised and now only did he open his eyes completely. He took a glance at Yang Dao's calm visage and said, "Yes." 

Yang Dao flicked his hand and the Medallion landed in Athena's hand. He winked at her and skipped his way inside the barrier at the front of the valley. The others were all stumped on what to do. Athena sighed and said, "The elders must be here soon, let us all go too." 

Soon, they all began to pour inside the valley. Yang Dao stood in a valley surrounded by black smoke. He sighed and said, "Elder Jing played a big part in this. No wonder we were asked so many times." 

He made a few seals with his hands and condensed the spirit energy to leave two words in the void. Then he ran forward, the pressure inside the valley did not seem to be holding him back. He vanished in the smoke, but soon other disciples appeared in the spot where he was. Shakti said, "What do these words mean?" 

Athena raised her head and said, "They mean trouble. We are nineteen, but I have ten minor detox pills. They can keep corpse miasma at bay. The rest of you stay here and wait for senior sister Yue Jing to come. She will have more such pills to help you all."

Shakti asked, "What do you mean, corpse miasma?" 

Athena sighed and said, "Corpse Maisma is a poison produced in rotten corpses, however, that poison is a sinful practice, this one must be composed by my Master by mixing rotten herbs, this one will not corrode our bodies but it will give us severe hallucination or other minor symptoms, when they all stack up, we will be in a situation worse than death." 

As she finished the explanation, the people all divided themselves into groups and Athena distributed pills to the people after taking one herself, the group moved forward. Daina and Daniel stood behind with the rest and the former asked, "Do you think Dao, ate a pill too?" 

Daniels and the rest of the people exchanged a glance and they all said, "Nay." 

Daina chuckled and waited for Yue Jing to arrive. While this was happening on one end. Yang Dao was running across the valley at a calm pace. It was like a jog at the bank of the lake. His sword was tied to his back and the boy said, "Plume, do you also sense it?" 

The sword trembled and suddenly, Yang Dao raised his hand to take a hold of the sword hilt and attacked to his right. The slash was performed with his complete skill. It was not held back in the slightest. The intensity of the attack was so high that the smoke split like a curtain. What came forward was a creature, that could not be classified as either human or a beast. This creature had blood-red eyes, black horns protruding from the forehead. 

The upper body of the creature resembled that of a human, the lower body was like that of a goat. This creature also had a long spiky tail protruding from its back. 

Yang Dao clicked his tongue and mumbled, "What sort of illusion did Elder Chime use this time, why can he not make it like butterflies for a change?" 

The sword in his hands trembled and he unleashed a sequence of slash attacks on the creature, but to his surprise, the creature only growled from his attacks while it kept advancing toward him. The distance between the two shrank and just when the creature was a few meters away from Yang Dao. 

"Spirit Wind Slash." said the boy in a low voice. The next moment his sword turned into a golden flicker and the creature roared.

Yang Dao was shocked to see that one of his strongest skills could not take this beast down. However, the dao child did not panic and jumped a few meters back. The sword in his hand was still trembling and he said, "I know, plume, this thing is not an illusion. But what troubles me is that it can even take on my sword intent." 

The sword trembled again as if it was answering the boy. Yang Dao squinted his gaze and found a shallow cut on the nape of the creature. He raised his eyebrows and blinked. With this blink his eyes turned golden, the color indicated his invocation of the make-shift version of the dao pupil. 

As he stared at the raging creature his expression became solemn. He mumbled, "This place is indeed a valley of death. This creature gives me a strong repulsion." 

Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching from the side, and he quickly moved in that direction. The creature noticed his movements and with its arms open wide. It let out a loud roar. Then a game of tag began inside the clouds of smoke. 

…

Athena and Shakti were moving forward with the whole group, dealing with the variety of monsters hidden inside the black miasma. Shakti abruptly came to a stop and said, "I sensed Dao's sword intent. Shall we check?" 

Amil behind her said, "Do you even have to ask? That kid might be able to handle it by himself, but he is still a ten-year-old. Let's go." 

The group advanced towards the direction Shakti pointed at. She was a sword user and was very sensitive to the intent of weapons. Yang Dao, helped her realize her own intent of weapon and thus she had developed a keen sense of familiarity toward his attacks and intent. 

While they were moving to find Yang Dao, the boy was also moving towards them. Unlike them, he did not rely on noises or weapon intents. He could see them with his Dao Pupil. His instincts suddenly went off like a siren in his head, and he slashed his sword in front of him. This time a loud clang echoed in the surroundings. 

Yang Dao took five steps back and saw that the creature chasing him had somehow caught up and was in front of him. He clicked his tongue and said, "Spring Sword, Cherry Blossom." 

His hand shook and his sword left after images, thousands of stab attacks landed on the creature's body. The creature was physically tough but the battle prowess was nothing to be mentioned.  As Yang Dao was confronting the creature the first group of disciples arrived. However, when they saw the scene playing in front of them Shakti and Amil spoke simultaneously, "Daemon." 

Athena turned around and said, "This should not be a part of the trial. We must alert the elders, a daemon has infiltrated the sect grounds.. Make haste."