“You may not know this, but the Demon Suppression Division was established back during Empress Shenlong’s reign, specifically tasked with overseeing all matters of cultivation in the mortal realm. Any demon beast or evil cultivator who committed wicked deeds was suppressed beneath the Demon Suppression Tower without exception.
“It was only later, when spiritual energy withered, the gods went into hiding, and barbarian tribes invaded straight into the Central Plains, that the Demon Suppression Division gradually fell into ruin. Even This Lord could not escape death, ending up sealing my own divine soul and leaving behind only an inheritance legacy for future generations.
“This Lord remembers that in the year I perished, I had the fortune of catching a single glimpse of that Demon Suppression Commissioner.
“She was adept at brewing wine, but even more skilled in controlling Gu. Her mount was a massive turtle-headed scorpion with a black tiger head that spewed clouds of insects. The insects were razor-sharp, capable of slicing through refined gold. Under her swarm of insects, an entire mountain of demons was reduced to nothingness, left without the slightest power to resist. Even sinful immortals from the heavens once fell before her insect tide...”
Nan Zhi grew increasingly immersed in her role, carelessly piecing together elements of Huaguzi and Wanniang’s backstories to project onto this fictitious “Demon Suppression Commissioner.” She failed to notice the yellow fox’s eyes widening in sheer terror.
Commanding swarms of insects to devour the flesh and bones of demons and monsters?
She had even slain sinful immortals from the Heavenly Court?
How could such a formidable figure have died?
Just how terrifying was that ancient great calamity of heaven and earth?
No wonder the white tiger woman flew into a thunderous rage upon hearing news of Ma Guniang—as it turned out, she feared the Demon Suppression Commissioner standing behind Ma Guniang!
Although he had never heard of any Demon Suppression Commissioner, the world was vast. Perhaps some remnant members of the Demon Suppression Division had used a dharma treasure to erase their traces and evade the great calamity, hiding away until the present day.
Hu Ban'er hesitantly voiced his theory aloud. After waiting for a long moment without receiving a response, he looked up, only to find the white tiger woman standing expressionless, her eyes slightly lowered as if deep in thought.
“What you say makes sense,” she spoke slowly. “The Demon Suppression Division housed countless treasures in the past. Demon suppressors could exchange bounty merits for cultivation pills and dharma treasures, and they were even presided over by Golden Core Masters. It is entirely plausible that the Demon Suppression Division’s vanish without a trace was a calculated scheme to escape the calamity.
“I once heard of a technique called the 'Turtle Breath Art.' When cultivated to grand completion, as long as one keeps their existence hidden from heaven and earth, they can steal lifespan and live as long as the heavens. The Demon Suppression Division likely employed a similar method.
“Since you have found traces of Ma Jiu, it means the return of the Demon Suppression Division to the mortal world is not far off—”
At this point, the white tiger woman stood up in excitement, her gaze piercing through the layers of thick white mist, seemingly peering into the far distance.
“The Demon Suppression Division has fallen into decline, but since Ma Jiu is still alive, it means there are still plenty of good items hidden within the Demon Suppression Monastery. This Lord cannot afford to wait any longer. I must find the ruins of the Demon Suppression Monastery before anyone else!”
Before her voice faded, the vines clinging to the cave’s stone walls suddenly swayed despite the lack of wind. Hu Ban'er watched helplessly as a whirlwind erupted beneath the Mountain Lord's paws. The giant white tiger leaped out of the cave like a gust of wind, and before he could react, a long tail whipped out, tightly wrapping around the old fox and hauling him into the high sky!
“This Lord needs to break through as soon as possible. You shall guide the way to the locations of the demons on this list!”
The air seemed to explode around his ears, and the piercing wind sliced across his face like sharp blades. Before Hu Ban'er even realized what had happened, he was already high up in the sky!
A spine-chilling horror merged with the suffocating breathlessness caused by the thin air, nearly causing the pitiful old fox to faint.
“Aaaagh! Cuiling! Cuixian! Go down the mountain and send word to that Lanhua girl! Tell her the Mountain Lord agreed! Awooooo!”
Even in this state, he didn't forget to scream at the top of his lungs, passing a message to his two granddaughters waiting outside the bear cave:
“If I don't make it back, you two go back and tell your grandma that nothing really happened between me and Huang Fufeng from the neighboring village! Your grandma will always be the prettiest, most beloved old woman in the world! Aaaagh...”
The rest of his words were swept away by the roaring wind. In the sky, only a tiny black dot the size of a grain of rice remained, which vanished completely in the very next second.
Outside the cave, Hu Cuiling and Hu Cuixian, the two yellow foxes, squatted on the ground, staring wide-eyed as their grandfather flew into the sky. Drool almost spilled from their mouths in sheer envy.
After their envy subsided, they looked at each other in confusion.
“Why is Grandpa like this?” Hu Cuiling complained. “He goes off to have fun with the Mountain Lord and doesn't even take us along.”
“Exactly,” Hu Cuixian agreed. “I wanted to go up in the sky and look around too. I say a demon ought to live like the Mountain Lord! Staying in the village every day roasting sweet potatoes and having cubs is so boring.”
“By the way, did you hear what Grandpa just shouted?” Hu Cuiling asked.
“...I think he said he fancies Huang Fufeng from the neighboring village, and that Grandma isn't a good old lady,” Hu Cuixian thought for a moment.
“Really? I felt like I heard something else too,” Hu Cuiling muttered.
“He probably told us to watch the house properly and wait for him to come back and roast sweet potatoes with us.”
At that, the two yellow foxes resumed staring longingly up at the sky, completely motionless.
...
Nan Zhi intended to go down the official list and do a roll call, target by target.
The Mountain Lord called her roster; whoever's name was called was in for terrible luck.
The officials were actually quite thoughtful, grouping all the locations neatly by region. In truth, Nan Zhi had memorized the entire list after a single glance. Had it not been for her inability to explain how a tiger could read human characters, she wouldn't have bothered kidnapping Hu Ban'er to serve as her local guide.
The closest target to Qingmeng Mountain was an evil giant salamander haunting a well in Yangshubazi Village.
“Mountain Lord, that giant salamander was originally kept by the villagers to guard the well water,” Hu Ban'er shouted over the gale. “Starting last year, cows and sheep began disappearing around the village. Whether it was chickens, ducks, geese, or guard dogs, all were devoured clean! When the authorities investigated, they found the culprit was a giant salamander living in the well!”
The wind speed was blindingly fast, leaving Hu Ban'er no choice but to desperately cling to her tail to keep from falling. He had zero desire to become the first fox spirit in history to fall to his death.
The wind in the sky was far too harsh, slapping against his face like a dull blade scraping flesh. The old fox didn't dare complain, straining his voice to guide Nan Zhi:
“That giant salamander is also called an 'infant fish'! When it cries, it sounds just like a human baby whimpering. At first, many villagers thought a child had fallen into the well and went down to search, only to end up eaten until not even bones were left!
“And the creature is devilishly clever! It dug numerous underground tunnels beneath the well water. Whenever it senses someone coming to catch it, it burrows deep underground. If it can no longer stay in one village, it migrates to another. The locals in this entire region have suffered terribly from it!”
Before his voice died away, a tiger and a fox, enveloped in white mist, landed squarely in the deserted village.
Nan Zhi dropped the old fox, narrowed her eyes, and swept her divine sense beneath the earth. When she opened her eyes again, a smile suddenly broke across her face.
Hu Ban'er felt a chill run down his spine, secretly wondering if the Mountain Lord had grown hungry from flying and was planning to swallow him whole.
In the next second, Nan Zhi leaped into the air, soaring tens of feet high, before gathering all her strength and smashing downward!!
BOOM!!!
A deafening crash echoed through the surrounding valley, making the ground quiver violently. As the dust cleared, a massive crater fifty meters in diameter had been violently smashed into the earth.
Squelch... squelch...
Nan Zhi stood with her paw resting on a slimy chunk of flesh. At the bottom of the crater all around her, a shattered giant salamander had been reduced to a layer of mush, evenly spread across the pit.
The mixture of red and white fish mush bled into the soil, giving off a nauseating stench. The giant salamander hadn't even sensed her arrival before it was sent straight to the Underworld.
【Cultivator killed Level 15 red-named monster “Infant-Cry Giant Catfish.” Rewards obtained: Upgrade EXP +100, Spiritual Energy Cluster (Small) ×1, Rejuvenation Pills ×1, Qi-Augmenting Pill ×2】
The smile on her face grew even wider as she turned to look at the old fox, her gaze resembling someone looking at a gold mine:
“Next.”
The Mountain Lord crushed that thing into paste with a single stomp?!
Didn't the report say this creature was extremely fast and slippery?!
One stomp. Just one stomp!
With this kind of power and speed, how is she any different from a human-shaped missile?!
The old fox trembled violently.
It must have eaten many humans and taken countless lives to meet the Mountain Lord's criteria for an 'evil demon,' right?
The worst thing he had done in his entire life was petty theft, or at most scamming a little extra money while fortune-telling for people.
“Let me check, let me see...”
The old fox closed his eyes, desperately reflecting on every bad deed he had ever committed in his life, terrified that Nan Zhi would get carried away killing evil demons and casually finish him off like a minion along the way.
“The next one... the next one is the man-eating yaksha at Nanyun Songhe Cemetery...”
He had been somewhat uncertain before, but now he was utterly convinced.
When the Mountain Lord called her roll, whoever was named could simply sit back and wait for death.
Rate on N.U.
