Master: This Villainous Disciple Is Not The Holy Child

At the foot of Yin Demon Mountain…

…after the battle…

Chen Mofan and his four companions sat on the ground, gasping for breath.

Around them lay the corpses of thirty demons.

Chu Xiu grabbed a pig-faced demon by its bristly hair, lifting it like a piglet.

The demon, realizing its ruse had failed, struggled violently.

“Let me go, human! Or I’ll eat you!”

Slap!

Chu Xiu backhanded the demon across its face. His Archaic Saint Body granted him immense strength.

The pig demon, stunned by the blow, its already swollen face turning even redder, fell silent, its eyes fixated on Chu Xiu’s cold, emotionless gaze.

“Why did you and the other demons attack us?”

The pig demon’s eyes darted around, desperately trying to concoct a lie.

Rip!

Chu Xiu tore off one of its ears, blood spraying from the wound.

“Aaaaagh!” The pig demon shrieked in pain.

Chen Mofan and the others winced, their faces twitching at the gruesome sight.

“Lie to me again, and you’ll lose another limb,” Chu Xiu said with a gentle smile, his tone at odds with the brutal threat.

The pig demon shuddered. “Even if I tell you… you won’t let me live…”

“True,” Chu Xiu agreed. “But… tell me the truth, and I’ll make your death… quick. And relatively painless.”

“Senior Brother Chu Xiu… we can search his Divine Bridge…” Qin Min suggested hesitantly.

Chu Xiu frowned, ignoring her suggestion. He knew they could search the demon’s memories. They were all at the Divine Bridge realm, after all. But he didn’t trust them. It was safer to get the information himself.

Chen Mofan tugged on Qin Min’s sleeve, shaking his head, silently warning her to stay quiet. They had witnessed Chu Xiu’s power firsthand. He slaughtered Divine Bridge realm demons like they were chickens. They were in no position to challenge him.

The pig demon, its gaze fixed on Chu Xiu’s chilling eyes, shuddered and began to speak, its voice trembling.

Chu Xiu watched it carefully, ready to tear off its other ear at the slightest hint of deception.

As the pig demon’s story unfolded, their faces hardened with shock.

For centuries, the Huāngyāo Secret Realm had been suppressed by the Tai Su Emperor’s Dao.

But recently… something had changed.

A demon cultivator at the Other Shore Realm had appeared, uniting all the demons within the secret realm under his banner, his overwhelming power silencing any dissent.

For hundreds of years, the demons had been biding their time, avoiding conflict with the human cultivators who entered the secret realm during its periodic openings.

Their goal: to escape. To break free from the Tai Su Emperor’s suppression and return to the outside world.

They were hunting down human cultivators not only for sustenance but also to eliminate any potential threats and to gather their blood for a ritual sacrifice. They planned to use the blood to activate a grand formation at the initial teleportation plaza, harnessing the energy of the Tai Su Holy Land’s teleportation gate to escape the secret realm.

“The secret realm is suppressed by the Emperor’s Dao. No one should be able to cultivate beyond the peak of the Divine Bridge realm. How did your leader reach the Other Shore realm?” Chu Xiu asked, his voice sharp, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. ‘Something’s not right… there’s more to this than meets the eye…’

The pig demon shrugged, its face contorted in a grimace. “I’m just a grunt… I don’t know anything about that…”

Thud.

Without a word, Chu Xiu ripped off the demon’s head, its blood splattering across his face, a few crimson droplets staining his pale skin, making him look even more sinister.

He tossed the headless corpse aside and stood, gazing at the setting sun.

‘I need to accelerate the ripening of the Infant Soul Demon Fruit…’

‘If I don’t break through to the Divine Bridge realm… I won’t stand a chance against that Other Shore realm demon…’

“Senior Brother Chu… about that antidote…”

Chu Xiu turned, his gaze cold and indifferent. “Not yet. Take these corpses to the summit.”

Chen Mofan’s heart sank. He exchanged glances with his companions.

They knew… Chu Xiu had no intention of letting them live.

“Chu Xiu! You swore a Heavenly Dao Oath! Do you want your master’s cultivation to stagnate forever?!” Qin Min shrieked, her face contorted with rage and fear.

“Hehe… Jie Jie…” Chu Xiu’s laughter was strange, unsettling. He licked the blood from his lips, a predatory glint in his eyes. He didn’t care about his master’s cultivation. And he was done playing nice.

“You’re all smart people,” he said, his voice laced with a chilling amusement, as he began to walk towards them. “Such a shame… you could have lived a little longer…”

“Chu Xiu, you’ll die a dog’s death!” Qin Min screamed.

Chu Xiu, drawing his Azure Blood Sword, activated the Xing Secret Technique, his movements a blur as he lunged.

“You monster!”

“Agh!”

Sword light flashed, cold and merciless.

“You’ll rot in hell!”

“You’ll be struck by lightning!”

“Don’t blame me,” Chu Xiu said, his voice a calm whisper amidst the screams. “You simply… knew too much.”

“Mercy! Senior Brother Chu Xiu! Mercy!” Chen Mofan, his face pale with terror, dropped to his knees, begging for his life. “I’ll be your servant! Just… please… don’t kill me!”

Thud.

A swift stroke of the Azure Blood Sword, a crimson flash in the dim light.

A thin line of blood appeared on Chen Mofan’s neck.

His eyes glazed over, his body slumping to the ground, lifeless.

Chu Xiu stood amidst the corpses, wiping the blood from his sword. He shook his head, a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He had expected a fight, a struggle, some resistance. But these so-called Holy Land disciples… they hadn’t even tried to defend themselves.

“How… disappointing.”

He began to gather the corpses, dragging them towards the summit of Yin Demon Mountain, their blood a gruesome offering to nourish the ripening Infant Soul Demon Fruit.

He watched as the demonic fruit tree greedily absorbed the blood, its branches twisting and writhing, its aura growing stronger.

After a while, he turned and descended the mountain, beginning his hunt.

…

Two days later.

The Infant Soul Demon Fruit was almost ripe.

…

“Finally…”

Chu Xiu sat on a black rock in a hidden valley, a rhombus-shaped crystal floating before him, displaying a live image of the Infant Soul Demon Fruit at the summit of Yin Demon Mountain.

The fruit glowed with an otherworldly light, its fragrance intoxicating, promising untold power and enlightenment. It resembled the legendary Ginseng Fruit from Journey to the West, radiating a holy aura, all traces of its demonic nature gone, its transformation complete.

He stood, preparing to return to the mountain and claim his prize, when a faint sound reached his ears.

He vanished, concealing himself behind a nearby rock.

A moment later, a familiar figure, his sword gleaming in the sunlight, descended from the sky, landing on the rock where Chu Xiu had been sitting.

Ye Fan, a map clutched in his hand, his face flushed with excitement, his body trembling, couldn’t contain his joy any longer. He burst out laughing.

“I found it! I finally found it!”

“The Quasi-Demon Emperor’s treasure!”

A year ago, he had discovered a hidden treasure map in an unremarkable Qi Cultivation Technique manual in the lowest level of the Holy Land’s scripture library. The map, its origins unknown, supposedly marked the location of the Crow Quasi-Demon Emperor’s hidden treasure.

He hadn’t believed it at first, dismissing it as a fanciful tale. But after entering the Huāngyāo Secret Realm, the map had begun to glow, emitting a faint light that pointed towards a specific location.

He had followed the light, his curiosity piqued, his heart filled with a growing sense of anticipation.

The Huāngyāo Secret Realm was vast, its mountains countless, yet he had found this place in just ten days.

‘As expected of… a protagonist…’ Chu Xiu mused, watching Ye Fan from his hiding place, a predatory smile spreading across his lips. ‘Their luck… it truly defies the heavens…’