Chapter 168: Undying Demon

Lu Yan’s gaze fell upon the dark cloud that had previously obscured the full moon.

The shadow creatures could not survive under moonlight—so long as they were bathed in its glow, they could not touch Lu Yan.

Yet, at the very moment Lu Yan was digesting the influx of knowledge, that very cloud had just so happened to block the moonlight, creating a brief window for the shadow creatures to attack.

But Lu Yan understood clearly—what appeared to be a mere coincidence was nothing of the sort. It was a deliberate probe, using the shadow creatures to test him.

As his words fell, the mist in the sky dispersed.

A strange and twisted demon revealed itself before Lu Yan.

Its grotesque body was stitched together with an array of disfigured limbs—bear paws, tiger claws, deer legs, eagle beaks—like some child’s macabre attempt to assemble a toy from mismatched pieces.

Yet even in the face of this grotesque figure, Lu Yan actually felt a faint sense of danger.

And that was no trivial matter.

Even without his Soul Banner, Lu Yan’s current spellcasting alone was sufficient to contend with the peak of Foundation Establishment. But this creature’s aura barely reached mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

For such a low-level being to cause Lu Yan to feel threatened… something wasn’t right.

“Could it be related to the comprehension of the true laws?”

The stitched-together demon locked its eyes on Lu Yan—over a dozen of them, all filled with naked greed.

“Delicious… truly delicious…”

“To think that after a failed cultivation and fleeing into these vast mountains to preserve my life, I would stumble across such a treasure.”

Its hoarse voice rasped in the air, and Lu Yan immediately understood—

This so-called stitched demon was originally human. It had transformed into this horrific state after practicing some true law that threw its being out of balance.

The creature swallowed a mouthful of saliva, then lowered its voice into a tempting whisper:

“You’re the one who obtained those true laws, aren’t you?”

“The Great Dao can only be comprehended through one. No matter how many you have, you won’t be able to use them all.”

“Why not make a trade with me? Just give me one of those true laws, and I’ll leave without another word.”

Lu Yan tilted his head curiously.

“Those true laws have already merged into my soul. Can they even be passed on?”

He had noticed it earlier—once the laws were absorbed into his Sea of Consciousness, the books that had contained them turned into blank pages.

That meant they couldn’t be stored by conventional means. It was also why Lu Yan had managed to take in all seventeen.

He truly wondered—how could one even begin to extract them?

After all, the true laws weren’t of much use to Lu Yan. If there was a way to peel them off, it might help remove some hidden risks.

“It’s simple!”

The demon’s eyes gleamed as it tried to restrain its drooling hunger.

“Just split your soul. Transfer the part of your soul that holds the true law to me.”

“Once I have it, I promise to walk away immediately.”

“Split my soul?” Lu Yan’s expression cooled.

That price was far too steep.

Splitting one’s soul wasn’t something done lightly. The risk to Lu Yan’s foundation was too great—it simply wasn’t worth it.

Then he glanced back at the grotesque demon in front of him. Perhaps due to its patchwork form, the demon made no effort to hide the greed and malice in its heart.

Splitting his soul would leave Lu Yan in a weakened state, and the demon clearly intended to take advantage of that moment to strike.

“So then, what exactly is the purpose of the Celestial True Law Rankings?”

Upon hearing Lu Yan’s continued questioning, the demon grew impatient.

“The Celestial True Law Rankings are simply a manifestation of the Great Dao. Any law qualified to touch upon the Dao appears upon it.”

“I’ve answered your question. Now hand over the law!”

But Lu Yan ignored him, pressing on:

“And the number of practitioners—what does that represent?”

The demon’s eyes darkened, voice turning icy.

“Are you playing games with me?”

“Enough! If you won’t hand it over… I’ll take it myself!”

With that, the stitched demon began to move.

Its massive five-meter-tall body surged forward. Twisted limbs fell from its body, and in their place grew terrifying, blood-drenched beasts that charged straight toward Lu Yan.

Ferocious tigers howled. Raging bears roared. Each of these monsters bore an aura no weaker than the twelfth level of Qi Refining, and the wild, distorted blood energy around them even made Lu Yan pause with slight concern.

But then Lu Yan formed a hand seal. Streams of light surged around him.

Second-Grade High-Grade Spell: Earth Dragon’s Rise!

The earth trembled. The entire mountain ridge split open with massive cracks, landslides of stone crashing outward.

The beasts were swallowed whole, dragged into the depths of the ground by the very power of the mountain itself.

High in the sky, over a dozen flying beasts dove at Lu Yan—only to see him flick his finger.

Tiny lights scattered across the heavens like stars.

Second-Grade Mid-Grade Spell: Firefly Flow!

The next moment, each of those glowing lights exploded into ghostly blue flames, forming a firestorm that incinerated every last beast—even the stitched demon.

Trapped inside the inferno, they howled and thrashed, but none could break free.

Despite the ease with which the beasts were obliterated, the demon’s bloated face twisted into a delighted grin.

“Excellent!”

With a boom, its five-meter-tall body charged straight through the blue flames, hurling itself at Lu Yan like a falling meteor.

Under the cold moonlight, Lu Yan’s fire magic condensed into brilliant sigils in the air.

At his fingertip danced a blazing lotus of flame, radiating searing heat that banished the surrounding darkness.

Tongues of flame whipped through the air, forming a torrent of crimson fire that swept toward the deformed monster.

But as the flames swallowed the creature, it let out a low, eerie laugh.

Beneath its charred skin, rotting flesh squirmed and regenerated, as though the flames were nothing but a spring breeze.

“Flesh regeneration?”

A rare trace of solemnity flickered across Lu Yan’s face. He formed another seal.

Ripples of ghostly blue energy spread out through the air.

Second-Grade High-Grade Spell: Soul-Cleaving Blade!

He traced a profound pattern in the void—like a spiritual sword, cutting straight for the demon’s soul.

But at the very instant the spell struck its target, the shattered soul fragments glimmered like stars, then began to reassemble in the darkness.

“Soul reconstruction!”

Now Lu Yan was truly shocked.

This was only a mid-Foundation Establishment demon—yet even soul attacks couldn’t finish it. Even when shredded to pieces, its soul simply came back together.

The creature’s massive body swelled once more.

The demon’s abilities had already begun to transcend life and death. With each regeneration, it only grew stronger.

(End of Chapter)