Chapter 2: The Righteous Path Has Attacked, Let’s Surrender!

“I have not treated you poorly. You ungrateful disciple, do you really not remember even a little of our old bond?”

The Ashbone Daoist did not want to die. With great difficulty he had managed to join the number one force of the demonic path, the Great Cool Demon Cavern, and become an honored Protector. As long as he stayed alive and offered up these rebellious disciples under his command, he would have all kinds of cultivation methods and treasures within his grasp.

In the future, it was even possible for him to become a Radiant Realm cultivator!

How could he resign himself to death?

“Master, the human world is a purgatory. To go west now and enjoy peace, is that not good? Why struggle?”

Before Xu Gu had even finished speaking, the nine oxen and two tigers lunged to kill, whipping up a massive bloody wind. These were not ordinary oxen and tigers, but demon breeds tainted with fierce baleful aura, each one unimaginably strong.

If the nine oxen and two tigers landed their attacks again, then the Ashbone Daoist, already heavily injured, would be completely annihilated.

“Damn it!” The Ashbone Daoist’s pupils shrank sharply. Panic flashed across his face as both hands suddenly plunged into his own heart.

He pulled out a blood talisman.

The moment this blood talisman appeared, a bone-piercing cold spread out in an instant.

The talisman quivered slightly, and then blood light shot into the heavens, as if some peerless ghost had manifested. An invisible shockwave struck straight at Xu Gu’s face.

Xu Gu’s robes fluttered without wind, yet he stood where he was, motionless.

Seeing this, the Ashbone Daoist spat out a mouthful of black blood and laughed loudly. “The older the ginger, the spicier! Who told you I only had one backup?”

Even as he spoke, hatred surfaced on his face. His expression turned gloomy, rage soaring to the sky—he wished he could swallow Xu Gu alive.

This talisman had been rewarded to him by an elder in the Great Cool Demon Cavern when he had joined.

It could only be used once.

Once used, it would vanish completely.

Staring at the motionless Xu Gu, who looked like he had been scared dumb, he roared, “You rebellious disciple, in a moment I’ll skin you alive and rip out your tendons!”

“Boom!”

The blood talisman turned into a ray of blood light, like a primordial vicious beast, smashing toward Xu Gu.

Urged with foundation establishment cultivation, even a second-grade talisman could crack mountains and shatter stone. Let alone a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator—even a third-level foundation establishment cultivator would lose half his life if struck.

But—

Xu Gu still stood there calmly.

The blood talisman merely drifted down and finally landed in Xu Gu’s hand, not unleashing any killing power at all.

“What?” The Ashbone Daoist’s heart nearly stopped beating. His blood seemed to freeze as he stared in disbelief at the scene before him.

Then he looked down at his own hands in shock and agony.

His old, withered palms were rapidly melting into a pool of filthy blood, and it was spreading toward his entire body.

“Th-this… poison! You poisoned me? How is that possible? Where did you poison me?”

The Ashbone Daoist’s eyes widened in fury. He screamed hysterically, nearly going mad.

He was poisoned.

But he couldn’t figure out when he had been poisoned!

He had always been extremely wary of these disciples, never giving them a chance to poison him.

Xu Gu glanced at the still-warm corpses of the two senior sisters on the ground.

“Oh!” The Ashbone Daoist suddenly understood. All expressions on his face vanished, leaving only shock and acceptance.

“Master, rest easy. To have taught such an outstanding disciple of the demonic path like me, even if you go down to Hell, I think you will die with a smile.”

Xu Gu spoke with utmost sincerity, and the ring-hilted blade in his hand finally pierced into the Ashbone Daoist’s body.

He knew well that, in order to survive, every demonic cultivator was a schemer with countless backup plans.

So, to be able to send his benevolent master on his way, he had also prepared thoroughly.

He had poured a great deal of poison into the bodies of several senior sisters. This poison was colorless and tasteless, capable of devouring spiritual power and melting flesh and blood. It had cost him several second-grade spirit stones.

“Smile at your damn dog’s grave! You… I have an early class at eight tomorrow!”

The Ashbone Daoist, who had already come to terms with death, upon hearing Xu Gu’s words, broke down again. Using the last of his strength, he screamed curses at him.

His curses did not last long before he completely turned into a puddle of blood.

Xu Gu watched this scene for a long time, his expression deeply moved, unable to suppress his emotions.

To ordinary people, this was just a common story of killing one’s master.

But to Xu Gu, it meant that on this resplendent road of demonic cultivation, he had taken a small yet tremendously significant step!

“I’ve finally graduated!”

Xu Gu’s gaze burned hot, extremely pure, even tinged with faith.

He had fully graduated.

This also declared that he had officially become a genuine demonic cultivator.

A broader sky was waving to him.

…

“Bang!”

In the Great Cool Demon Cavern, several disciples in charge of watching the soul lamps changed expressions.

“The Ashbone Daoist is dead?”

“Could it be that the righteous path has attacked?”

“Should we hurry and flee?”

Panic spread. The few boys and girls present were all startled.

Although the righteous path’s campaign to eradicate demons was extremely intense, and the death rate for demonic cultivators had always been high, by rights, the death of a single Protector wasn’t anything big.

However, the Little Cool Mountain where the Ashbone Daoist resided stood directly in front of the Great Cool Demon Cavern, essentially like a gate.

If the righteous path had really attacked, wouldn’t they soon be in deep trouble?

“Let’s surrender!”

“I’ve said it for a long time, being a demonic cultivator has no future.”

“It’d be better to go to the Great Shang Dynasty and be eunuchs.”

Once the news spread, it almost instantly set off a wave of surrender, and the story grew more exaggerated as it circulated.

“What? The righteous path has attacked?”

“No way?! The ten great immortal sects of the righteous path, leading a hundred thousand cultivators, have attacked?! People as far as the eye can see?!”

“Heavens! The righteous path has sent ten immortals and a million cultivators for this!”

Countless surrender factions wept and wailed, kneeling at the entrance of the Demon Cavern, begging the Demon Lord, who was in seclusion, to come out and surrender to the righteous path.

Some demonic cultivators had even prepared a letter of surrender.

“Has the fate of the demonic path truly come to an end?”

The senior brother of the Cavern let out a long sigh, his face filled with sorrow and deep unwillingness. In such circumstances, though he wished to strengthen the demonic path, he was powerless. At this point, he could only surrender to win a sliver of hope for the lower-ranked demonic disciples.

“Enough. Since all of you are determined, for the sake of the lives of the demonic path, I am willing to sign this letter of surrender in place of Master Demon Lord.”

Senior brother Han Changsheng’s face was ashen, grief-stricken and despairing. His steps seemed as heavy as Mount Tai as he walked before the gathered demonic cultivators and announced in utter hopelessness.

“Senior brother is wise!” All the demonic cultivators breathed a collective sigh of relief, as if a million-jin burden had been lifted from their shoulders.

“Whoosh!”

Just then, a soft sound rang from afar.

A figure, treading on demonic clouds and dragging a thick plume of black smoke, descended in a panic.

“Swish!”

The demonic cultivators below instantly dropped to their knees in unison, trembling all over and desperately selling their misery.

“Immortal, we cultivate demons only because we had no choice. Please spare our dog lives…”

“We have elderly above us and children below us.”

“If you can spare me, I don’t mind being a beast of burden!”

The pleas poured out endlessly.

“Ah?”

The figure descending from the sky looked rather panicked and hesitant. “I’m not an immortal, I’m just a messenger. One of the Ashbone Daoist’s disciples killed him.”

“Ah?”

All the demonic cultivators were stunned.

In an instant, the very same demons who had just been kneeling and begging for mercy with pitiful faces and miserable appearances, utterly lacking in backbone, all sprang up in a carp jump, standing straight and tall, casually admiring the scenery at the side.

As if nothing had just happened.

(End of this chapter)