Chapter 27: Instant Refinement

Chapter 27: Instant Refinement

As the mountain paths wound and turned, passing another canyon, Chou Nu slowed his pace and said, "Qingfeng, we are entering the Demon Realm. Be careful."

Ning Xuan nodded.

Chou Nu added, "The demonic energy in the Demon Realm is chaotic and everywhere. I cannot use it to lock onto the location of demons; everything will have to be sensed and guarded against by you."

Ning Xuan nodded again.

He could actually feel the gloominess of this place.

Though the morning light had just risen, it felt chilling whenever it touched his skin.

As the two walked forward, the chill grew thicker. Wisps of mountain miasma drifted like ghosts, dragging long tails behind them as they slowly passed; the demonic energy here was gradually intensifying.

In a place where three demon nests were crowded together, how could the demonic energy not be thick?

Suddenly, Ning Xuan stopped in his tracks and quickly turned to look toward a patch of tree shade.

Chou Nu also came to a halt instantly.

Ning Xuan raised a hand to signal caution, then suddenly lunged forward like a gust of wind toward the shade, shouting, "Demon! Reveal yourself!"

*Swish!*

A single strike, hitting nothing but air.

Only a few falling leaves drifted down.

Standing beneath the leaves, Ning Xuan tilted his head to look at his elder brother and said, "Celestial Master, my perception was wrong. There is no demon here."

Chou Nu lowered his guard and smiled, "Don't be nervous."

Ning Xuan sheathed his blade and rested the foot-long beast-slaying saber across his shoulders, his hands hanging leisurely. "Not nervous."

Seeing him act this way, Chou Nu assumed the youth was merely being competitive. Having struck out in a moment of paranoia, he felt he had lost face and was pretending to be relaxed to reclaim some dignity. He continued, "The first time I saw a demon, I was so scared I wet my pants. The urine dripped down my pant legs *drip-drip*, and my master pointed at me and laughed his head off... Qingfeng, you are much better than I was."

Looking at the brother comforting him, Ning Xuan suddenly asked, "Is it possible that my perception is wrong again?"

Chou Nu said, "Demons have potent blood essence; the stronger they are, the more potent it is. A Celestial Master cannot sense this blood essence, but a martial artist can.

This mountain holds a bull, a sheep, and a monkey. The monkey can hide its tracks, the sheep can distort visual distance, and the bull can summon gusts of Yin Wind. However, the specific details can only be known once we have fought them.

Among them, the monkey poses the greatest threat to us. You only need to sense whether any powerful blood essence is approaching. If there is, just call out to let me know."

Ning Xuan nodded. "Understood."

As the words left his lips, he took a deep breath, clearly inhaling the "human scent" of his elder brother.

His sudden outburst just now—pretending to discover a demon—was merely a test. In truth, the moment he ran toward the shade, he had already summoned the *Heavenly Demon Register*.

He was emitting demonic energy, but it was blended into the demonic energy of the realm. Thus, even though he was right beside Chou Nu, Chou Nu had not realized a demon had appeared by his side.

Of course, if Chou Nu had called him out, he would have simply claimed it was a demon hiding in the shade and then performed another maneuver to withdraw the *Heavenly Demon Register*.

*'In the Demon Realm, the Heavenly Demon Register can be summoned depending on the situation.'*

Ning Xuan silently noted this.

Then, sensing his own 4.7 Constitution and his newly comprehended "Swallow Harmony," he wondered whether the leader of the Ghost-Shadow Monkey-Horse would be able to withstand a single strike from him.

Once he had investigated the roots of the Ghost-Shadow Monkey-Horse's demonic arts, the next step would be instant refinement.

At this moment, his mood was relaxed.

He loved challenging those of a higher level most of all.

His Constitution was 4.7, while the leader of the Ghost-Shadow Monkey-Horse was 3.5. This was what it meant to challenge upward.

***

Mount Manfeng, deep in the mountains, behind a curtain of hanging vines.

Black mist hung heavy, and gusts of腥 (fishy/bloody) wind blew, with faint screams and wails echoing from within.

Several oil lamps hung along the cave passage, though it was unclear what kind of oil they burned.

As the dim light deepened, a stone-built grand hall was revealed. In the center of the hall sat an extremely luxurious throne made of beast hide inlaid with gold, pearls, and gemstones. Four smaller stone chairs were arranged on either side; one was empty, while the other three were occupied by demons.

A bull head, a sheep head, a monkey head...

On the massive table in the hall lay some gnawed remains of limbs, but they appeared to be from wild beasts rather than humans.

In front of the hall, several small demons were fighting over a leg, their mouths stained crimson from biting.

The three demon leaders were conversing while glancing at the empty central seat.

The sheep demon smacked its lips, causing saliva to bubble in its mouth, before sighing, "Every day we eat these useless wild beasts, yet those delicacies are locked in the back mountains and cannot be touched."

The bull head patted the stone armrest and said in a hollow voice, "Once that Great One arrives, the banquet can begin. If that Great One eats happily, perhaps he will recite some scriptures for us to hear, or even pass down a scripture for us to comprehend. Then, we might attain enlightenment and take another step forward."

As it spoke, it turned to the monkey demon beside it. "Was that clan of Mountain-Crashing Bear demons truly slaughtered to extinction?"

The monkey demon replied, "My most trusted subordinate went personally and saw it clearly. That fellow cut down the Great King and the Second King of the bears. He must have been a tough nut to crack."

The bull head said, "I had heard of the Mountain-Crashing Bears of Black Wind Mountain before, but I didn't expect them to be such cowards. It's better they were slaughtered; it saves the banquet food."

As the three demons chatted, the wall lamps on both sides of the passage suddenly began to sway.

A small monkey demon came sprinting in from outside, shouting, "Great King! Great King! A... a powerful demonic aura is coming from afar!"

The bull demon froze and asked, "How strong?"

The small monkey demon replied, "Stronger... stronger than all the Great Kings!"

In the Demon Realm, a demon's sense of smell is incredibly acute, especially within a clan that can cast an "aura net." They can detect any invading demon immediately.

The bull demon leader said, "Brothers, please sit. I will go take a look."

With that, it gave a "hmpf," raised its hand, and a swirl of incense smoke gathered in its left hand, quickly condensing into a grey banner. It looked at the banner and said, "If it is willing to join us, fine. If not, my Yin Wind Banner is no pushover."

Immediately, it hoisted a ghost-headed great saber. With one hand gripping the blade and the other holding the banner, it stepped outward.

Reaching the cave entrance, it stood on a high vantage point and looked into the distance.

Though it could not see them yet, it could already feel the approach of that powerful demonic aura.

However, what puzzled it was that alongside this demonic aura, there was also a human scent.

Just as it was wondering, it finally saw two figures walking through the canyon.

A Taoist in purple robes with a ghost mask, and a martial artist in tight clothing with a ghost mask, carrying a saber on his shoulder.

The moment it saw the two, the two seemed to notice it as well.

In the next instant, the two vanished abruptly.

The bull demon leader was stunned, but it reacted quickly. It hurriedly slammed the Yin Wind Banner into the ground and looked left and right, attempting to locate the opponents so it could utilize the treasure's power.

At that exact moment, it suddenly felt a demonic aura appear abruptly behind it.

It swung its hand.

Instantly, gusts of Yin Wind surged, acting like countless tiny blades sweeping toward its back.

The Yin Wind Banner billowed violently. With this surge, the Yin Wind unleashed by the bull demon intensified tremendously; sand and gravel flew into the air instantly, and even boulders the size of human heads were lifted.

Yin Wind, which shreds flesh with a thousand cuts, is extremely lethal to Taoists. Once deployed, Taoists find it nearly impossible to move forward.

If used in an open space, Taoists can only hope their acolytes can provide some defense; otherwise, they might perish before they can even execute their skills.

Combined with the Yin Wind Banner, it became even more deadly.

The bull demon leader spun around.

Indeed, the two were behind it.

The ghost-masked martial artist stood in front of the Taoist.

The Taoist had his eyes closed and his hand raised.

A golden great seal had appeared in mid-air at some unknown moment, held in his hand.

With a *clatter*, the great seal was violently hurled forward.

The bull demon leader tried to dodge, but found itself as if caught in a nightmare. Though it wanted to run, it could not; its limbs were completely unresponsive. It was struck squarely by the golden seal.

It felt a dizzying sensation and let out a cry of pain, collapsing on the spot.

With this strike, the nightmare sensation intensified.

It could see everything clearly, yet it felt as if its soul had left its body—it could see, but it could not act.

The Yin Wind Banner lost control and abruptly stopped.

The ghost-masked martial artist covered the distance in three strides, appearing instantly before the fallen bull head. He drew his blade and decapitated it.

*Thud!*

The bull demon leader was dead!

Ning Xuan raised his hand and dipped it into the bull's blood.

【Yin Wind Bull】 【Heavenly Demon Register: Ox Category, Ordinary Grade, Yin Wind Breed (Constitution): 3.5】 【Heavenly Demon Register: Detect the arrival of the Heavenly Demon, follow its essence and blood, observe the root of its life, and forcibly refine the Register. Failure to refine results in death; successful refinement allows it to be used as one's own.】 【Refine the Register?】

Ning Xuan recalled the bull demon's performance just now.

It raised the Yin Wind, then used the grey banner to amplify it.

And in the nightmare, treasures could not be brought in.

The demonic arts were clear, and he knew from his two previous experiences that while refining the Register in a nightmare, time in the outside world remained frozen. The first time he had been confused, but the second time had confirmed it.

In that case...

*'Refine.'*

Ning Xuan closed his eyes.

He spun within the dream.

Then...

He opened them again.

A new Register had been added to his 【Heavenly Demon Register】.

The Yin Wind Bull demon had been instantly refined.

(End of Chapter)