Chapter 553: Xing Lan, Are You Really a Medical Cultivator?
In the dead of night, the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List shifted without a sound.
The glowing names, from top to bottom, suddenly began to cascade downward like a waterfall.
The dozing List Guardian, seemingly disturbed by the shifting light, lurched forward and awoke with a start from his hazy dream.
After opening his eyes, his first reaction was to step out of the pavilion, stand on his tiptoes, and gaze up at the towering Jade Stele.
“My… my… my good heavens!”
With a THUD, the sight caused the List Guardian to stumble and fall to the ground.
In the deep of the night, countless messages sent via Demon Techniques flew across the thousands of miles between the Nine Provinces Mortal World and the Nine Celestial Demon Countries.
The reason was simple: in the top tier of the Ten Thousand Spirits Celestial Pride List, nine of the top ten brilliant names were now occupied by the Human Race, leaving only Tushan Jing, a demon, in first place.
Though Tushan Jing remained at the apex, what must it feel like for him to look back and see nothing but a sea of human figures behind him?
On the list—
First Place: Tushan Jing, Fox Race Saint Heir, Body of Ten Thousand Transformations, Celestial Demon Bloodline;
Second Place: Yun Liuguang, Human Race, Profound Heart Sect Daoist, Pure Yang Sword Body, Emotionless Dao;
Third Place: Song Zhao, Human Race, Primordial Spirit Dao Body, Path of Space-Time;
Fourth Place: Lu Bell, Human Race, Fourth Realm Opening the Universe Body Refining Cultivator, Martial Cultivation Innate Third Transformation, capable of controlling the myriad phenomena of thunder;
Fifth Place: Su Shun, Human Race, third-place scholar of the Immortal Dynasty, a Scholar of the Vast Realm;
…
Down to tenth place, all were from the Human Race.
The previous tenth-place holder, Ao Feng of the Dragon Race, had been knocked out of the top ten.
The hearts of the Human Race surged with excitement upon seeing this list, while the Demon Race felt both shock and pain.
But Song Ciwan, standing under the slanted moon as she activated her Void Illusion Demon Sword, knew none of this.
Using the Void Illusion Demon Sword as a medium, the Heart Demon Tree Seedling in her Sea of Consciousness swayed and fluttered, continuously siphoning demonic thoughts and killing intent from Yu Wenxu.
Yu Wenxu was originally from the countryside, a young village boy from a hamlet under the jurisdiction of a certain city, in a certain county of Liangzhou.
Liangzhou was plagued by a demon scourge. Seventy years ago, a troop of Snake Demons, who had somehow crossed the border, arrived in Wushan County. They avoided large cities, targeting the countryside instead. Rather than directly attacking and eating people, they secretly coerced and bribed the influential figures in the villages, ordering them to covertly purchase young boys and girls to be supplied to the Snake Demons as blood food.
This went on for over ten years. Trafficking was not uncommon among poor families, and the Snake Demons were measured in their demands, never draining the pond to catch all the fish. As a result, the snake demon disaster went undiscovered for a very long time.
It was not until later, when the Snake Demon population grew, that the purchased blood food could no longer keep up with their demands.
The human traitors under the Snake Demons’ control gradually began to employ all sorts of vile methods, harming their own kind to nurture the demons for personal gain!
Yu Wenxu had a distant older cousin whose family was well-off. He was clearly a Scholar, intending to pursue a career through the imperial examinations, yet he secretly colluded with a Snake Demon, planning to lure the then five-year-old Yu Wenxu into the snake’s nest.
That past event left a deep scar on Yu Wenxu’s heart. Even after decades, the terrifying and perilous scenes from that time were still firmly etched into his memory.
Whenever his mind was disturbed, the past would inevitably resurface.
The long, deep snake caves, the gloomy cavern walls, the tiny skeletons, the thick stench of blood.
And the nauseating, self-righteous expressions on those people’s faces…
Through the fragmented images, Song Ciwan felt as if she had followed Yu Wenxu back to his childhood, becoming a small child herself, crying out in a daze of endless terror and panic, “Let me go! Let me go back! Cousin, let me go back!”
The distant cousin was bowing and scraping, kowtowing to the snake. With a fawning expression, he said, “Snake Immortal, this child is clever and sturdy, full of Vitality. This humble one has brought him to you. About that precious medicine…?”
With a WHIP of its tail, the Snake Demon tossed several bright red fruits to the cousin.
The cousin cupped the Snake Spirit Fruits in his hands and left, overjoyed.
From that moment on, the young Yu Wenxu knew that it wasn’t just demons who ate people in this world—it was also other people!
His cousin didn’t eat people directly, but he consumed the fruits obtained by trading a person. What was the difference between him and a man-eating demon?
No, he was even more terrifying, even more hateful than a man-eating demon!
Yu Wenxu was dragged into the snake cave by the Snake Demon and placed among a group of maimed children.
These disabled children were the fresh food kept by the Snake Demon. The demon didn’t devour a person all at once, but rather ate only a single part at a time.
Sometimes a hand, sometimes a leg, sometimes just skin and flesh. No matter what it ate, it always made sure to keep its blood food alive and fresh.
Only when it was no longer possible to keep them alive would it devour the remaining flesh and blood, and then move on to another target.
Thrown in among these children, Yu Wenxu viscerally experienced the taste of terror while waiting to be torn apart and eaten by a Demon.
Later, just as he was about to be eaten, Yu Wenxu was fortunate enough to be rescued by a West Wind Army Captain who had entered the pass to eliminate demons. He had narrowly escaped death, but upon being sent back to his village, he discovered that his parents had died in the village after spending the nights crossing mountains to search for him—
Just like that, a family was shattered. Yu Wenxu became an orphan.
He was panicked, terrified, lost, resentful, and in agony…
He had no one to rely on, nowhere to go.
In the end, the captain who saved him brought him back to the army.
Within the hundred-thousand-strong West Wind Army, there was the Howling Wind Camp. This camp specialized in adopting orphans, raising and training them from childhood. All who passed the training were integrated into the Xun Wind Camp, starting as the lowest-ranking soldiers, first hunting demons in small squads, then climbing the ranks step by step.
Through Yu Wenxu’s fragmented memories, Song Ciwan learned that the West Wind Army was divided into ten camps.
The Gale Camp was stationed at the army’s core, and all military orders from the Grand Governor’s Mansion were issued through it.
The Howling Wind Camp was the logistics camp, responsible for training new recruits and raising orphans. These tasks were basically all handled by the Howling Wind Camp.
The Xun Wind Camp was equivalent to the vanguard, a special “tip of the spear” unit. The most talented and bravest soldiers in the West Wind Army were essentially all tempered through the Xun Wind Camp.
The other seven camps each had their own names, with each camp having one stationed Grand General and five or six Red Cavalry Generals.
Yu Wenxu was now a Red Cavalry General in the Xun Wind Camp. The “Grand General” he always mentioned reporting to was the Xun Wind Camp’s Grand General, Guo Wanjun.
Guo Wanjun was a top-tier Martial Arts Grandmaster at the True Self Realm of Innate Fifth Transformation.
As for the commander of the entire West Wind Army, the Grand Governor of Demon Suppression Pass, he was said to be a Martial Saint!
Although Yu Wenxu was a Red Cavalry General, a reputable figure in Demon Suppression Pass, he actually had no way of coming into contact with the Martial Saint.
Through the various scattered images transmitted by the Heart Demon Seed, Song Ciwan could deeply feel Yu Wenxu’s strong sense of belonging to Demon Suppression Pass and the West Wind Army, as well as his extreme hatred for Demon Fiends.
There were also times, in his midnight dreams, when he would see the moon slanting westward and the dark shadows of the deep forest, and his terror would return.
The dignified Red Cavalry General, an Innate Fourth Transformation Martial Arts master, would seem to revert to the helpless child he once was.
He would roar in anger, “Foul beast, get back! Don’t come any closer! I will kill you, demon!”
He would also suddenly stand stunned, his eyes welling up with tears as he looked up. “Father, Mother… why? Why didn’t you just wait for me a little longer?”
Even with the hundred-thousand-strong West Wind Army stationed here, they couldn’t kill all the demons before Demon Suppression Pass.
The seventy-something-year-old Red Cavalry General, despite doing his utmost to overcome it, would sometimes be unwilling to see the moon, even fear it.
He was afraid of dreaming once more of the moonlight from his childhood, of seeing how cold the world of mortals was beneath its glow.
Song Ciwan withdrew the hand she had gently placed on Yu Wenxu’s brow. Suddenly, she felt that the previously one-dimensional image of General Yu had instantly become vivid and three-dimensional in her mind.
He wasn’t a stereotype, and neither were any of the tens of thousands of soldiers in Demon Suppression Pass.
Every single person had their own loves and hatreds, their own worries and attachments.
The people of Liangzhou were known to be fierce, to revere Martial Arts, and to enjoy slaying demons, but it wasn’t because they were born belligerent.
It was simply that they had often experienced more demon scourges than the inner lands of the Nine Provinces and had witnessed more tragedy and desolation.
Therefore, they understood better than anyone that when you stand before the Demon Pass, if you don’t give your all, if you don’t use your own flesh and blood to deter the Demon Fiends, what will the Nine Provinces Human Race have to endure if Demon Suppression Pass falls?
On that day, they would truly have no home left.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to retreat or live in peace; it was that they didn’t dare to, they could not!
Two streams of clear tears rolled down the face of the now-calm General Yu. He opened his eyes and stared blankly at Song Ciwan.
Just then, dark clouds drifted by, and the moonlight completely dimmed, plunging the entire world into what seemed like the deepest darkness.
The campfires had all been extinguished, and the swirling white mist had also dissipated.
Only the night wind whimpered, echoing across the vast desert.
Song Ciwan tucked her hands into her sleeves. With a flick of a finger hidden by her cuff, she released the Forbidden Character Lock Chain binding Yu Wenxu.
After absorbing those demonic thoughts, the Heart Demon Tree Seedling in Song Ciwan’s Sea of Consciousness had grown a new tender leaf. This was quite a good harvest.
The Heart Demon Tree Seedling was not easy to grow. With every bit of strength it gained, the power of Song Ciwan’s Void Illusion Demon Sword would increase by a corresponding amount.
At the same time, the backlash she would suffer from using the Void Illusion Demon Sword in the future would be proportionally reduced.
The Heaven and Earth Scale appeared, having received another mass of essence from Yu Wenxu: [Human Desires. The emotions, shame, and bewilderment of a Celestial Pride Level, Innate Fourth Transformation Acupoint Fusion Realm Martial Artist. Two catties and three taels. Can be traded.]
General Yu stood where he was, looking somewhat awkward.
Song Ciwan had pried into the secret affliction in his heart. Although her intention was to save him, some things were better done than said. So, she cupped her hands in a salute to Yu Wenxu and prepared to turn and leave.
Just then, Yu Wenxu’s dejected voice finally sounded out. His first words were: “Cai An… died in the line of duty.”
His tone was low, laced with hidden grief.
Then, he added, “Xing Lan, thank you for your help this time. That Demon Scholar… did you drive him away?”
Although Yu Wenxu had fallen prey to a sneak attack and succumbed to his inner demons, upon waking, he immediately understood that the one who had ambushed him was the Demon Scholar Night Traveling Lamp!
He dealt with Demon Fiends year-round. Even if he had never personally encountered the top-tier Demon Fiends on the Celestial Pride List, he was familiar with their characteristics.
However, Yu Wenxu didn’t know that Song Ciwan had already killed the Demon Scholar once. Song Ciwan replied, “Yes. The demonic insect used a death-feigning escape.”
A death-feigning escape. The term was precise.
Yu Wenxu looked at Song Ciwan, his gaze complex and filled with emotion, containing many meanings that she found difficult to understand.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “Xing Lan, are you really a Medical Cultivator?”