Chapter 30: The Moonlight Manor

“At last, I finally understand why the cultivators of the Surging Moon Sect harbor such attitudes toward the Howling Moon Wolf Clan…” After spending a night cultivating, having exhausted the demonic core obtained from the wolf demon, this host body of Hongyun had already reached the late stage of the Treasured Body realm. The effects surpassed even the enlightening bestowals from his elders of the same lineage; it was more than mere enmity. Perhaps there were secrets here that could not be spoken aloud.

He stretched his limbs, his body crackling and popping, then glanced at Chai Xiaoyue, who was curled up and sleeping soundly. A trace of helplessness flickered in Hongyun’s eyes as he restrained his presence and stilled the noise. This little demoness had many virtues, but she had yet to develop the habit of cultivating demonic energy at night; for now, she only practiced during the day when awake. Nevertheless, her cultivation was rising at an astonishing pace. Perhaps, in just a few short years, this young girl would become the youngest to reach the Treasured Body, the youngest to achieve Nirvana, and even rival the metamorphosis of the most exalted elders.

So Hongyun mused inwardly, already beginning to quietly calculate the matters yet to come. However, after another round of divination, he frowned slightly at the result: the methods of cultivation in this world were far too singular—one could only nourish the body or soul with demonic energy, and there was no sign of the mysteries and clues that divination should reveal.

He calculated for a long while, and only vaguely discerned one thing: this was not a place to linger. Yet he could not divine which direction would bring fortune or avert disaster.

After pondering for a time, he slung the wooden chest over his back and set out across the vast wasteland. Sensing that Chai Xiaoyue had been roused by his earlier commotion, he was seized by a sudden impulse and asked, without quite knowing why, “Xiaoyue, which way do you think we should go?”

“Huh?”

Still drowsy, Xiaoyue was momentarily stunned by the question. She rubbed her eyes gently, then pointed ahead. “Uncle Yun, why don’t we head north? Father once said that above the Far Northern Demon Plains lies a land where all half-demons yearn to go.”

Hongyun nodded at her words and, agreeing, changed their direction, using his movement technique to stride away from that place.

The Far Northern Demon Plains… The Half-Demon Kingdom. A fine place indeed, but the direction your finger just pointed to was south.

…

Half a day later, in Cangxi Town.

Though the air was still thick with the scent of gunpowder, after a night of chaos and terror, the Town Lord’s residence had begun to regain a semblance of calm. The treasured-body wolf lord of the Howling Moon Clan had been slain by Hongyun, but there were still several demon cultivators at the Condensed Demonic Energy realm holding the town together, and the situation had not yet devolved into anarchy.

As the gathered demon cultivators conferred in a ruined annex of the Town Lord’s residence over the town’s future, a sudden moonbeam outshone the daylight. In an instant, a full moon plummeted from the sky, crashing down onto the central dais in a thunderous roar. Nearly the whole of Cangxi Town felt the tremor—houses shook thrice with the impact.

When the dust settled, an old wolf demon in a snow-white robe appeared. Raising a hand, he summoned forth a surge of demonic energy and drew out the corpse of Youmo. At the sight of the lifeless body, its fur and core stripped away, the old wolf’s eyes instantly turned red. He threw his head back and howled in grief and rage.

“Awooo…”

Moonlight lingered, refusing to dissipate; a subtle sense of anomaly hung in the air, bearing the mark of the Surging Moon Sect’s vile handiwork.

Ignoring the lesser demon cultivators at the outskirts, the old wolf followed the lingering trace of Youmo’s demonic energy in a chosen direction. The distance of a dozen miles was nothing to him—less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

He arrived at the ruined shrine where Hongyun had lingered, and immediately sensed that the demonic core’s aura had vanished. With a bitter snarl, he smashed the little shrine with a swipe of his claws and came to rest on the ground.

After a lengthy silence, he gritted his teeth and extended a claw, piercing the crescent mark on his brow. A phantom blood moon appeared above him. At the sight, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the blood moon’s light fell upon Youmo’s corpse, gradually dissolving it and revealing the faint figures of Hongyun and Chai Xiaoyue.

The image lasted barely two breaths, showing the pair as indistinct silhouettes—Chai Xiaoyue reaching out her hand, pointing to the south—then the moonlight faded into nothingness.

Heading south… Was it the Roc King’s lands, the Elephant Commander’s domain, or the Phoenix King’s territory?

With a pale face, the old wolf recalled the blood moon, pondered for a moment, then roughly estimated their pace. Gathering demonic energy beneath his feet until it formed clouds, he sped south in pursuit.

Those despicable Surging Moon Sect insects—daring to intrude upon demon lands! They must be tired of living.

…

In these borderlands, settlements were scarce; demons rarely congregated. Hongyun pressed on for over a month before reaching the first great city he’d seen—Moonlight Prefecture.

Surveying the surging demonic energy that soared skywards, Hongyun suppressed his own aura as much as possible, disguising himself as a newly advanced half-demon at the Condensed Demonic Energy realm, and entered the city with caution.

Within, he sensed the presence of no less than three demon cultivators at the Treasured Body realm, which left him tense and wary. This was highly irregular. Even without knowing the layout of demonkind, he could easily deduce that in a city like Moonlight Prefecture—comparable in size to a provincial capital of the human realms—such a density of higher-realm demon cultivators was almost unheard of. No doubt, something significant was about to occur here.

With this in mind, he proceeded ever more carefully, found a guide, and lodged at an unremarkable inn.

Along the way, he questioned the guide, but the man was little more than a fledgling at the earliest stage of cultivation and knew almost nothing. Having gained little from his inquiries, Hongyun decided to simply play things by ear.

Unexpectedly, at the inn’s entrance, he caught sight of a city lord’s proclamation.

Glancing over it, his eyes narrowed. After paying with a silver leaf and ordering his meal, he nonchalantly gestured toward the notice at the inn’s entrance.

“I’ve been here before, but never noticed that posting. Why is it up today? Is there some kind of reward being offered?”

The innkeeper, a weasel demon with a gaunt face and prominent cheekbones, fiddled with his abacus, glanced at Hongyun’s attire—pausing briefly at the knife at his waist—and lowered his voice a few notches.

“It’s not that I don’t want to tell you, guest—it’s that there’s really no opportunity for outsiders. The old lord of Moonlight Prefecture is nearing the end of his years, and the demon kings don’t want him to break through to the Demon King realm. Our Lady Bai Rongrong is willing to open the clan’s sacred vault, allowing the honored Treasured Body masters a chance to enter and seek out a life-extending demonic elixir for the old lord…”