Chapter 224: For the Sake of Righteousness
Qin Mu focused without distraction, summoning the demon on his own. Suddenly, a burst of blood light erupted, illuminating the snow-covered valley as if it were dyed in blood.
The blood light soared a hundred zhang high, crackling with electric sparks that coiled into twisting thunderbolts, snapping and cracking as they burst outward in all directions. The thunder struck the cliffs surrounding the valley, melting the heavy snow and even fusing the stone, causing magma to flow down the cliffs.
The thunder formed a net of lightning around the blood light, crackling and shifting as it moved. A terrifying demonic force crashed in from another world, slamming into the statue on the altar amidst the blood light.
The wooden statue immediately cracked, expanded, and grew taller, its aura becoming increasingly terrifying!
From the Taotie pouch at Qin Mu’s waist came the voice of the Dutian Demon King, both angry and anxious, roaring, “You little brat, you held back last time when you summoned the Gaha River Demon God, didn’t you? This time, the Plague Demon God you’re summoning is far more powerful than before!”
He was wronging Qin Mu.
When Qin Mu summoned the Gaha River Demon God at the Imperial Academy, he knew a lot of demon language but hadn’t fully mastered it. Over the following days, he digested the demon language he had learned when making the Earth Bo Pact with the Dutian Demon King, mastering more and more demonic words. Thus, the demon god he summoned was stronger—it wasn’t that he had deliberately held back last time.
Seeing this terrifying scene, the old Taoist lost his earlier composure. His face changed slightly as he extended his horsetail whisk forward: “Go!”
The whisk grew with the wind, and in an instant, each strand transformed into silk swords dozens of zhang long, spreading out in midair. From a distance, it looked like a constantly spinning white umbrella, but it was countless times larger.
Moreover, the whisk was extremely dangerous. Each strand was a silk sword, and the finer they were, the harder they were to guard against!
The whisk moved at incredible speed, slicing through countless lightning bolts. The next moment, it arrived above the valley, cutting off the terrifying demonic force crashing in from the other world!
Qin Mu immediately sensed the summoning about to be interrupted and quickly shouted. The Dragon Qilin soared into the air, letting out a roar that surged toward the whisk, scattering its strands. The severed demonic force then flowed through unimpeded, continuing to pour in.
Seeing this Dragon Qilin, the old Taoist was delighted and sneered, “You beast, you don’t even realize you’re aiding the wicked, and you’ll hardly escape disaster. I see you’re extraordinarily divine and handsome. If you’re willing to submit to me and serve as my mount for a hundred years, you can wash away your sins. Otherwise, your entire cultivation will be reduced to nothing!”
“Beast?”
The Dragon Qilin flew into a rage, roaring furiously as flames brewed in its mouth. A blazing pillar of fire shot toward the old Taoist!
The old Taoist’s body trembled, and his primal energy exploded, forming a divine figure with a tortoise shell behind him, over ten zhang tall. In its hand, the horsetail whisk became a massive white snake, while the other hand reached out, blocking the Dragon Qilin’s flames with a thunderous crash.
The flames surged around that giant hand, sending waves of fire spreading out, scorching the surrounding cliffs red.
“Heavenly Being?” Qin Mu’s heart sank.
The Dragon Qilin’s hooves churned, and fire clouds formed beneath them as it charged straight at the old Taoist. Suddenly, the whisk in midair reversed, its countless strands wrapping around the Dragon Qilin’s four hooves, binding it tightly.
The old Taoist was delighted and laughed, “Little beast, you still won’t submit? Do you want to be annihilated, body and soul?”
At that moment, Qin Mu patted the Taotie pouch. The pouch’s opening widened, and a demon god mechanism with eight arms and four faces leaped out. In its eight arms, it held eight treasures: a zither, a pearl, a bow, arrows, a relic, a broken sword, a demon-subduing pestle, and a thousand-tassel pagoda—all treasures Qin Mu had stolen from the Loulan Golden Palace.
Qin Mu had placed this Dutian Demon King in the Taotie pouch. The Dutian Demon King had been frustrated by the lack of suitable weapons, so he grabbed these treasures. When Qin Mu released him, he understood Qin Mu’s intent: to help in the fight.
The Dutian Demon King also knew the stakes. As long as he stayed by Qin Mu’s side, Qin Mu might spare his life. But if Qin Mu were killed, falling into the old Taoist’s hands would mean certain death.
For the sake of the Dutian race’s migration plan, he had to fight this old Taoist with all his might.
The treasures Qin Mu had stolen from the Loulan Golden Palace were all at the level of sect-guarding artifacts, immensely powerful. As the greatest sacred land beyond the Great Wall, the treasures collected by the Loulan Golden Palace were naturally extraordinary, but Qin Mu had no time to use them for cultivation.
Armed with these treasures, the Dutian Demon King’s killing intent surged. His four faces all showed ferocious expressions, and he thought, “If I take out this kid now, I’ll be free! But then again, this steel body is filled with his mechanisms. If I kill him and the mechanisms lock up, I’ll be trapped in this demon god statue, unable to move… I’ll deal with this little Taoist first!”
He plucked the zither, and its sound erupted into waves of demonic music. The old Taoist’s soul was shaken, and demonic thoughts stirred within his heart. He quickly shouted and formed a Purification Seal to suppress the inner demons.
The divine figure with the tortoise shell behind him raised its hand, and the white snake whisk lifted, suddenly unleashing a massive wave that crashed down toward the Dutian Demon King.
The Dutian Demon King’s four faces twisted in a furious roar as the power of the eight treasures in his hands exploded, striking back at the overwhelming wave. With a deafening crash, the Dutian Demon King was sent flying, slamming deep into the cliff wall.
The white snake whisk opened its massive mouth and struck him directly, driving the Dutian Demon King into the mountain.
“Little Taoist, you have no idea how terrifying the ruler of Dutian is! You’ve angered me!”
The cliff exploded as the Dutian Demon King flew out of the shattered mountain, shaking the thousand-tassel pagoda. The tassels danced, forming a thousand-zhang pagoda that pressed down toward the old Taoist.
The old Taoist sneered, and the divine figure behind him raised a hand, stamping down. The Dutian Demon King, along with the pagoda, was smashed to the ground, unable to move.
At that moment, the intense blood light and the surging demonic force in midair suddenly vanished. On a bone altar, the bear-headed demon god statue transformed into a hundred-zhang-tall demon god, letting out a earth-shaking roar: “Insects of this lowly world, prepare to welcome the wrath of the Dutian Bear-Boar Great Demon God… Huh! Dutian, you old fool!”
The Bear-Boar Great Demon God saw the Dutian Demon King lying at his feet and burst into laughter: “Dutian, you old fool! The supreme ruler of Dutian, reduced to such a state! It’s because of incompetent leaders like you that Dutian has fallen to its current state! A waste like you should have vacated the demon king’s throne long ago!”
The Dutian Demon King, humiliated and furious, tried to rise, but the Bear-Boar Great Demon God looked down and stepped on him, chuckling, “Tyrant, look at you now. Summoner, what do you plan to sacrifice to me?”
“Him!”
Qin Mu pointed at the old Taoist. The Bear-Boar Great Demon God punched toward him. The old Taoist’s divine figure raised a hand to block, and a dull collision echoed. Qin Mu was dazed by the shockwave, while the old Taoist was sent flying, embedded in the opposite cliff.
The Bear-Boar Great Demon God leaped up and punched the old Taoist again, grinning savagely, “Delicious insect… Huh?”
A sword light flew from behind, piercing his back and emerging from his chest. The old Taoist had used the sword on his back, striking successfully.
“Not bad. But this body isn’t what you think!”
The Bear-Boar Great Demon God grinned savagely, raising his fists to pound into the cliff, his face twisted: “This body is just a demon god statue! Even if you cut off my head, you can’t harm me in the slightest!”
“Is that so?”
A voice suddenly rang out. The Bear-Boar Great Demon God quickly turned his head, but a sword light circled his neck three times, and his massive head fell from his shoulders.
“Brother Withered Leaf, I’m late.”
The sword light flew up and landed on the cliff top, where a Confucian scholar stood in a blue robe, his gaze shifting from the Bear-Boar Great Demon God’s headless body to Qin Mu. He saluted solemnly, “Lu Wenshu, disciple of Qiong Fuzi of the Qiongli Sect, greetings to the Demon Lord of the Demon Sect! Demon Lord, you are a senior, so it’s not improper for me, a junior, to strike at you, is it?”
The Bear-Boar Great Demon God’s head flew back and reattached to his neck, laughing, “Another stray cat or dog has arrived.”
Qin Mu’s expression remained calm as he shook his head, “Qiong Fuzi and I are of the same generation. Sending only you is already an insult to me.”
Lu Wenshu said leisurely, “My master didn’t want to come personally to meet the Demon Lord, as he has other important matters—saving the common people of the world.”
“Assassinating the emperor?”
Qin Mu said, “The National Master gave face to the Old Tathagata, allowing him to rescue Qiong Fuzi and the others. The Old Tathagata promised that Qiong Fuzi would enter the monastic life and stop meddling in worldly affairs. Why go back on your word?”
Lu Wenshu’s face stiffened, and suddenly another voice laughed, “For the sake of the world’s people, why can’t we go back on our word?”
Qin Mu turned to see a Daoist nun on another mountain peak, dressed in a white robe with a plum blossom embroidered on her chest.
“Qingyu Sanren of the Lingxiu Palace, greetings to the Demon Lord.” The Daoist nun saluted.
Qin Mu smiled, “Why do you bother with formalities?”
The Daoist nun said solemnly, “Though we are enemies, propriety cannot be lost. This time, dealing with the young Demon Lord of the Demon Sect, we may seem to bully the weak, but you are, after all, the lord of the foremost demonic sacred land, higher in seniority. So it’s not entirely bullying.”
Qin Mu smiled slightly, “Well said, well said. Who else wants to kill me?”
“I will kill you.”
Auspicious clouds drifted in midair, and an arhat landed on a mountain peak, holding a string of prayer beads, each the size of a human head. He pressed his palms together, “Demon Lord, your status is extremely high. I, Puan, a humble monk, have come specifically to subdue the demon. Please enlighten me.”
“As the lord of the foremost demonic sacred land, you shouldn’t mind one more of me, should you?”
Another person arrived on another peak, his clothes tattered and patched, but his spirit high. He laughed heartily, “I am Luo Sanpo, hall master of the Lotus Hall under the beggar sect leader Qi Dayou, greetings to the Demon Lord. I’ve come to take a life—yours. By the way, Demon Lord, you seem to have a little fox spirit who once offended Sect Leader Qi. He said she must be dealt with.”
Fox Ling’er quickly hid behind Qin Mu, peeking out and spitting, “Your sect leader is so petty, utterly despicable!”
Luo Sanpo pointed at her, laughing, “That’s the little fox! Fellow Daoists, it’s a great honor and joy to join the righteous path in besieging the Demon Lord and slaying the demon here! This battle should be called the Demon-Slaying Righteousness Assembly!”
“Demon-Slaying Righteousness Assembly? Good name.”
From the mountain, Withered Leaf Taoist struggled to crawl out, spat blood, and sat on the cliff to adjust his breath, saying, “If we can wipe out the Demon Lord and bring peace to the world, our efforts will be worth it. Gentlemen, for the sake of righteousness!”
On the surrounding peaks, the great experts at the Heavenly Being realm stood solemn, their hearts surging with passion, and they shouted in unison, “For the righteous path of this mortal world!”
“Kill——”
The five experts, full of spirit, erupted with primal energy, and divine figures appeared behind them as they unleashed their strongest techniques, striking down into the valley!
At that moment, the Bear-Boar Great Demon God roared, unleashing all the energy within his body!
“Demon Lord Infinite!”
Qin Mu quickly pulled Fox Ling’er behind the Dragon Qilin. A terrifying tremor shook the valley, causing rocks to crumble and fall, then shatter into dust. Even with the Dragon Qilin blocking, Qin Mu and Fox Ling’er felt an unimaginable pressure, their bones creaking under the strain.
The Heavenly Being realm experts spat blood and were sent flying backward, their fates unknown.
Qin Mu peeked out from behind the Dragon Qilin and saw the Bear-Boar Great Demon God standing majestically. Fox Ling’er was both shocked and delighted, praising, “Bear-Boar is so powerful!”
Suddenly, the Bear-Boar Great Demon God’s body began to collapse, breaking apart piece by piece. The great demon god muttered, “Energy’s depleted. Pity I couldn’t harvest these sacrifices, but at least I saw the Dutian Demon King in such a sorry state… Summoner, I’m off!” With a bang, his body exploded, and his consciousness rolled back to the other world.
Fox Ling’er was stunned for a moment, then heard coughing from outside the valley—Luo Sanpo and the others hadn’t been killed by the Bear-Boar Great Demon God.
“Young master…” Fox Ling’er turned to look at Qin Mu.
“It’s fine.”
Qin Mu stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, pulled the Dutian Demon King out from under the ground, and tossed him onto the Dragon Qilin’s back. The young man’s eyes sparkled as he activated the Taotie pouch, storing the other three altars inside, and shouted, “Fat Dragon, run!”