Chapter 88: Instantly Subduing the Demon

Just as they feared—trouble came exactly when mentioned.

A thunderous rumble echoed across the mountains, as if something enormous was barreling straight toward them. The demonic aura around them suddenly surged, writhing violently like waves, surrounding the three as if to swallow them whole.

Darkness engulfed the area—everywhere they looked, there was nothing but swirling blue-green mist.

Both Yun Jiao and Bai Yu felt their hearts sink. A secret realm of this scale could only be created by a powerful demon—one that had cultivated for at least a hundred years. Such creatures were notoriously difficult to deal with. And worse, the two of them had practically no battle experience.

“You dare intrude into my realm!”

A booming male voice erupted from the darkness, so loud it felt like thunder exploding right beside their ears.

The force of it made Yun Jiao’s and Bai Yu’s heads ring. Their stomachs clenched. Bai Yu instinctively tightened his grip on his peachwood sword, fumbling through his bag for a purple charm before thrusting it toward Yun Jiao.

“Girl—take this! This thing’s not going to be easy!”

Yun Jiao didn’t argue. She snatched the charm, eyes locked on the thickening miasma ahead. The ground trembled with a heavy thud… thud… thud, the sound of something massive approaching. A towering shadow emerged from the fog—seven or eight meters tall, narrow but sinuous, swaying left and right as it moved closer.

As the oppressive mist parted, its true form appeared—and both Yun Jiao and Bai Yu gasped.

It was a giant serpent demon—human from the waist up, but below, a long, scaled tail coiled and dragged across the earth, gouging deep furrows wherever it passed.

The creature lunged toward them, crimson eyes narrowing into vertical pupils that gleamed with killing intent. The wave of bloodlust was suffocating.

The surrounding demonic aura intensified tenfold. Bai Yu could barely breathe. His knees trembled.

So strong… it’s terrifying…

“Despicable mortals! You all deserve to die!”

The serpent’s fury twisted its once-handsome face into a grotesque mask. Scales rippled across his skin, his mouth splitting unnaturally wide until it reached his ears, exposing two gleaming fangs sharp enough to tear through bone. With a hiss, he lunged.

“Old man!” Yun Jiao called out.

That shout finally snapped Bai Yu out of his daze. He straightened up, clutching his talisman, ready to throw. Yun Jiao raised her own charm—both of them braced for a desperate battle between human and demon.

SMACK!

A sharp, almost casual sound cut through the air.

The enormous serpent demon froze—then shot backward like a ragdoll. It skidded along the ground for dozens of meters, plowing a long trench into the earth before crashing headfirst into the ground with a deafening boom.

Dust and stones flew. When the air cleared, only the tip of the serpent’s tail was visible, sticking out from the hole it had burrowed into.

There was no movement. No sound.

The demonic aura instantly dissipated, and daylight returned to the mountainside.

“Too noisy.”

The man who had been silent the entire time—Night Abyss—finally lowered his hand.

Yun Jiao: “……”

Bai Yu: “……”

(--)＿|＿|_

It felt like preparing for a grand performance for half a year—only for the curtains to fall before the opening act.

They both stood there, utterly deflated.

After a long moment—

“G-girl…” Bai Yu stammered, pulling on Yun Jiao’s sleeve. “Was it just me, or… I thought the Grandmaster was waiting to test our skills.”

“Don’t say it.” Yun Jiao groaned, a dark line forming on her forehead. She had thought the exact same thing.

They were wrong. So very wrong.

Their Grandmaster would never do something that dignified.

○|￣|_

“So… uh, what were we supposed to be doing again?” Bai Yu asked, staring blankly at the crater where the serpent demon had disappeared.

“Finding the missing people,” Yun Jiao sighed, shaking her head. “We’ll look for the children and the heavenly masters first.”

“Oh—right, right.” He nodded, rubbing his nose.

Before they could take a step, Night Abyss suddenly spoke. “It’s almost noon.”

Both froze.

“…”

“…You mean you want to eat now?” Yun Jiao asked weakly.

Her shoulders slumped. For the Nth time, she regretted joining Qingyang Sect.

Resigned, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small paper bundle, handing it over. “Here, some pastries. We’ll eat properly once we find the people.”

Night Abyss frowned at the simple snack, clearly displeased, but he still accepted it.

Bai Yu hesitated, then tried tentatively, “Grandmaster, could you maybe—”

Before he could finish, Night Abyss’s gaze snapped toward him, eyes glacial. “Get lost.”

The pressure in his tone nearly made Bai Yu drop his sword.

“I just wanted to ask if you could help us look—”

“Roll.”

“……”

He didn’t even know what he’d done wrong this time.

---

With the demonic miasma gone, searching became much easier. Before long, they found a large cave—the serpent demon’s den—still reeking faintly of demonic energy.

There was only one path inside. They followed it down until a glowing barrier blocked the way. Behind it, they could hear faint muffled voices—someone trying to speak through a gag.

“Are you the heavenly masters from the Tianshi Hall mission?” Bai Yu called.

Immediately, muffled shouts of excitement answered from the other side—three, maybe four voices in total.

“They’re in there!” Bai Yu said joyfully. “Girl, can you break the barrier?”

“Yeah, it’s simple.” Yun Jiao examined the formation. It was a basic isolation array—hardly a challenge. In less than half a minute, she dispelled it. The light flickered and faded, revealing a ten-square-meter stone chamber beyond.

Four men in heavenly master robes lay sprawled inside, pale and limp. Their mouths and bodies were tightly bound in layers of something translucent and slick. On closer inspection—it was shed snakeskin.

They rushed in to free them, but the snakeskin was incredibly tough, impervious even to knives. They eventually had to use talismans and summon spiritual fire to burn it away.

The rescued men looked half-dead—faces waxy, breathing shallow, too weak to even stand. One of them croaked hoarsely, “F-fellow… cultivators… d-do you… have anything to eat? We… we’ve been starving… for days…”

The three turned—and immediately, the weakened men’s eyes locked onto the only person still chewing happily on biscuits.

Night Abyss paused mid-bite.

Yun Jiao and Bai Yu froze for one tense second—then spoke in perfect unison.

“No.”

“No.”

Absolutely not.

Definitely not.

If we want to live, we don’t touch his food!

(End of Chapter)