Chapter 75

(The midday update was delayed due to a friend's visit, I spent a long time with them, please bear with me. Yes, I'm asking for recommendation votes and favorites.)

Go!

These two, seasoned veterans of the world, sensing something amiss, immediately abandoned all distractions and made a desperate attempt to escape.

They split up, tearing through layers of demonic auras, their speed like galloping horses, covering several dozen feet in a single breath.

However, in an instant, it was as if a rising sun appeared behind them. The two felt a jolt and lost control of their bodies.

Puff!

A soft sound, the two stopped like stone statues, two blood holes through their foreheads, red and white matter trickling out.

Two lives were thus buried in the Moya Mountains, and Su Qinian felt no pity. He upheld the will of the "Resting Fate Saber," following the natural order and promoting good while suppressing evil. After killing these two, he felt a surge of clarity in his ancestral spirit court, his thoughts becoming more coherent, and his understanding of the "Resting Fate Saber" deepened.

Hm?

Suddenly, Su Qinian frowned. A piece of parchment fell from the chests of the fallen men. The parchment was old and tattered, with mold spots.

Reaching out to grasp it, Su Qinian saw an ancient map, seemingly depicting the geography and landscape of the Moya Mountains. There were some annotations, the ink of the vermilion pen indicating they were recently added.

A hidden cave, several hundred miles from the heart of the Moya Mountains, in a very remote area. Su Qinian frowned, hesitating. However, the Moya Mountains were vast, and finding Qingyu's trail was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Night fell.

The demonic aura in the Moya Mountains grew even more intense, constantly trying to seep into the ancestral spirit court, assimilating and enslaving the soul and spirit.

Exhaling could form ice, not fog. In such harsh weather, compared to outside the Moya Mountains, it was like two different worlds.

Even someone as strong as Su Qinian felt some discomfort. If the cold demonic aura were any denser, his movements would be affected, making it difficult to maintain peak performance.

It was hard to imagine how powerful a generation of demon emperors must have been. Even after their fall, the demonic aura remained, stretching for thousands of miles, forming this demonic mountain range.

The moon was high in the sky.

At the foot of a mountain that looked somewhat sinister, a thick demonic aura enveloped the area, as dark as ink, like an ancient great demon crouching on the earth.

Su Qinian stopped, gazing up at the ancient mountain. The Moya Mountains were always shrouded in demonic aura, with trees twisted and withered, few leaves, as if demons were baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.

At the foot of the mountain, there were strange rocks, and a chilling, sinister coldness hit him.

"A human youth, probably not enough to fill the gaps between our teeth."

As Su Qinian stood still, two towering figures appeared in front of him, like two demonic mountains.

Demons!

Su Qinian's gaze turned cold. The voices were not human but belonged to two human-like beings with wolf heads and leopard heads.

Demon laborers!

Su Qinian's heart stirred. In the "Demon Classic," it was recorded that the lowest-ranking demons in the demon race were these demon laborers, who had not fully transformed into human form and still retained obvious demonic features.

Above demon laborers were demon soldiers, who had completely transformed into human form. Unless they intentionally released demonic aura, ordinary humans could hardly distinguish them, often hiding among the populace and causing great slaughter.

Further up were demon generals, and beyond them were great demons. Each great demon was no weaker than a top-tier human Immortal Realm expert, and some were even stronger. In the demon race, there were even demon lords.

Not to mention demon kings, each demon king was renowned throughout the world, on par with the top human spirit beings, roaming the seas, invisible and intangible, and with the demon race's powers, they were a major threat to human nations.

But even the two demon laborers before him, who had not fully evolved, had much stronger innate physiques than ordinary demon beasts. Combined with the demon race's foundation-building techniques, even a human who had completed the foundation-building stage would find it difficult to contend with them.

What pure demonic aura!

Su Qinian was on guard. Unlike ordinary demon beasts, the demonic aura of true demons was not highly corrosive or violent but gentle like a drizzle, which made it even more terrifying, silently corrupting the soul and spirit, leading one to fall into the path of demons.

"No wonder in the early years in Chang'an City, hundreds of martial artists were captured by the Six-Fan Gate each year, their bodies exuding a strong demonic aura, and they were quickly beheaded and burned to ashes. They were corrupted by such demonic aura, losing their sense of self."

Su Qinian also knew that the demonic aura of true demons, unlike that of demon beasts, was the source of all demonic auras, extremely pure and more dangerous. In the "Demon Classic," it was directly referred to as demonic aura.

"Demon Lord Moksha is truly a master of strategy, calculating the greed of these martial artists. The spirit world of that old man Hong Qi is enough to attract tens of thousands of martial artists to risk their lives and enter the Moya Mountains. By scattering these parchment maps, luring them into traps, and striking one by one, even this hidden cave has already imprisoned dozens, nearly a hundred people."

"Human greed, we demons merely bring out their inner desires. What guilt do we have? Especially those human scholars and sages, who speak eloquently about divine punishment and demon extermination, all of it is just nonsense!"

The two demon laborers, upon appearing, conversed freely, not taking Su Qinian seriously, even revealing some secrets, clearly treating him as meat on a chopping board, not fearing he could escape.

Demon Lord Moksha! Parchment maps!

Su Qinian's heart sank upon hearing this. His premonition came true; there were demons in the Moya Mountains deliberately misleading and setting traps, aiming to capture all the martial artists seeking legacies.

A demon lord, viewed by more humans as a great demon, with such high cultivation, was certainly a top-tier figure in the martial world. With their innate powers, ordinary top-tier human figures often found it difficult to deal with them, or were even no match.

His mind raced, and Su Qinian had some thoughts. His mental energy flowed, and the Soul Subduing Technique was silently activated.

"Ha, look at this kid's cowardly appearance. He's already trembling before we even start!"

"Forget it, let's imprison him first. Demon Lord Moksha is very strict. We must suppress our nature while working under him. Perhaps when we achieve our goals, we will be rewarded with a few human martial artists to feast on. If we have good fortune, we might even use this opportunity to complete our foundation-building and advance to demon soldiers."

"That's right. Human scholars also say, 'A small lack of patience can ruin great plans.' Some of their words are worth reading. It's said that Demon Lord Moksha, when he was still a demon soldier, boldly infiltrated the imperial academy of the Great Han Dynasty, studied the teachings of sages for a few years, and then rapidly advanced, becoming a great demon and a demon lord in less than twenty years."

The two demon laborers looked envious, speaking freely, making Su Qinian feel as if he were facing not demons but scholars who had studied for a few years.

Demons studying?

It seemed like a fairy tale, but Su Qinian had heard folk tales of fox spirits transforming into human women, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, discussing literature with scholars late into the night, and then spending the night with them, draining their yang energy, causing the scholars to die within a year or two.

Now, Su Qinian realized that it was probably not just a legend. The so-called yang energy, according to martial arts principles, was the essence of a person's blood and vitality, known as essence and qi in Daoism, and life force in medicine. When yang energy was drained, it meant the essence and vitality were depleted, and ordinary people would become weak and severely damaged. If yang energy was completely drained, it would directly destroy the foundation of one's lifespan, and they would not live long.

Demons were learning to read, understand principles, and deal with superiors, adapting to situations. This made Su Qinian think of a saying.

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

This was the ultimate principle of military strategy, from "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Su Qinian felt a deep sense of unease. (The midday update was delayed due to a friend's visit, I spent a long time with them, please bear with me. Yes, I'm asking for recommendation votes and favorites.)