The cave was dark and damp.
A strange odor permeated the air.
"Here!"
Second Uncle waved his hand.
"Put the things down."
THUD!
Wooden buckets filled with rice and steamed buns were carried out and set down one by one, the aroma of rice spreading through the air.
"Where's the meat?"
From the darkness,
a burly figure slowly walked out, its voice low and muffled.
"I smell meat."
A demon!
This world was home to numerous Demons, and the top factions and powerful families all had deep connections to the Demon Race.
For ordinary people, however, the boundary between humans and demons was distinct. It was rare to find a Demon in human territory.
If there were any,
Demon Catchers would hunt them down and kill them.
Thus, many people went their entire lives without ever seeing a Demon.
If they did, it was no blessing; it was likely in connection with various brutal murders.
What walked out of the darkness was a demon.
A Tiger Demon!
It appeared to have a human form, but its hands were tiger claws still covered in fur, and its head was that of a beast.
As it strode forward, a savage and violent Qi washed over them, so palpable it made the ordinary folk's breath catch in their throats. They instinctively bowed their heads, not daring to look.
"My lord."
Hek Yongzhang gritted his teeth, staring at Hu Wei as he stepped forward and presented a basin of stewed pork.
"Fifty pounds of meat for today, which counts for five hundred pounds of grain, plus a total of five hundred pounds of rice and steamed buns…"
THWACK!
Before he could finish speaking, he was sent flying by an unstoppable Giant Power.
"So noisy!"
The Tiger Demon scooped a piece of fatty meat from the basin and stuffed it into its mouth. With a gentle curl of its long, barbed tongue, the large chunk of meat was already down its throat.
"Delicious!"
'Life in the Human Race's society is so much more comfortable. Back when I followed the old boss in the mountains, we were always going from feast to famine.'
'The Flood Dragon Race... truly worthy of being the royal bloodline of the Demon Race. I definitely made the right choice following them.'
"My boys!"
The Tiger Demon bellowed,
"Come out and eat!"
The moment its voice fell, a series of RUSTLES filled the air as over a dozen Little Demons crawled out from the shadows.
There were snakes, martens, wolves, and even rats...
They were several times larger than ordinary beasts; the rats were the size of hounds, and the wolf cubs were as big as calves.
Moreover, they all exuded a savage Qi.
'This is the Qi,' Hek Yongzhang recalled his master mentioning, 'that only Demons who have eaten human flesh possess.'
The thousand pounds of grain were devoured in no time by the horde of demons, who licked the buckets so clean they gleamed.
Hek Yongzhang wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he had a feeling these Demons were looking at him with unkind eyes.
As if...
They were looking at a platter of food.
"Bring more tomorrow."
The Tiger Demon tossed over an empty food basin and grunted,
"Same amount of meat. Add another hundred pounds of rice and steamed buns. The little ones didn't get their fill today."
"My lord!" Second Uncle's face was deathly pale.
"We've already gone from five hundred pounds to a thousand, and now you want more?"
"The Hek Family Manor is just a small place. We're already struggling to supply this much food every day."
"If you can't bring food, bring people." The Tiger Demon licked the corners of its mouth, its eyes glowing with a scarlet light.
"Come to think of it…"
"It's been a long time since I've eaten human flesh. Especially the flesh of children—it's the most tender and delicious."
THUMP...
Second Uncle's heart pounded. He instinctively took a step back, the look of despair on his face giving way to one of grim resolve.
"You pack of Demons! You truly are greed personified! No matter how much we feed you, it's never enough!"
"Oh?"
The Tiger Demon froze, then slowly rose to its feet.
Its size wasn't apparent when sitting, but standing up, it was a full ten feet tall, forcing everyone to hold their breath.
"Old man, you're looking to die!"
"Ngh..."
The Tiger Demon raised its claw, but a sudden wave of dizziness washed over it, causing it to stagger.
'What's going on?'
"Enchanting Powder." In the crowd, a woman dressed as a housewife took off her conical hat and drew a Treasure Sword from a basket on her carrying pole.
"Prepared especially for your kind of Demon."
"You..." The Tiger Demon swayed on its feet.
"A Demon Catcher!"
"That's right." The woman nodded.
"I am Liao Ranx, an Eighth Grade Demon Catcher, and today, I will take your head!"
"Now!"
Following her sharp command, the porters who had delivered the food sprang into action, drawing hidden Weapons and charging the crowd of Demons.
Having eaten the food laced with the Secret Medicine, the demons' Tendons and Bones went soft as the drug took effect, leaving them with no strength to resist.
They were cut down by the flurry of blades, dying on the spot.
ROAR!
The Tiger Demon was, after all, a Seventh Grade 'Great Demon'. Its Physical Body was formidable, and even after eating an extra portion of the laced meat, it still had some resistance.
However…
Besieged by the crowd, and especially facing Liao Ranx's sharp Demon-Slaying Sword Technique, it finally collapsed.
"Senior Sister."
Hek Yongzhang wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled.
"That was pretty simple, wasn't it?"
"Hmph!" Liao Ranx snorted.
"Most Demons are fools. They fell for our Secret Medicine. Otherwise, we might not have been able to take down even this single Tiger Demon."
"And even if we had..."
She glanced around the scene, her heart sinking slightly.
"We would have lost over half our people!"
'This operation seemed to go smoothly, but it was actually extremely dangerous. The slightest mistake would have meant all our efforts were for nothing.'
"Senior Sister." Hek Yongzhang nodded, picking up the corpse of a Rat Demon from the ground. He asked curiously,
"Are there really that many Demons?"
"Of course." Liao Ranx looked up, a complex expression in her eyes.
"The annual Emperor's Liquid gives birth to countless Demons. Fortunately, they love to kill each other, so very few ever truly learn Cultivation or achieve Transformation. Otherwise, the human world would have long ago fallen into chaos."
"Even so…"
"The situation hasn't gotten any better."
"A Tiger Demon like this one knew to gather and cultivate these fledgling Demons. In a few years, they would have become a true horde."
"As for today, none of you are to mention you were involved. Pin everything on the Demon Catchers. Otherwise, there will certainly be retaliation."
"Huh?"
Her hands froze, and her expression suddenly changed.
"Something's wrong!"
"Hurry, let's go! There's another Great Demon here!"
"What?" Hek Yongzhang was stunned. He watched as Liao Ranx let out a low snarl, frantically urging everyone to leave at once.
She didn't even care about the Demon corpses anymore.
*
*
*
THUD!
THUD!
...
The ground trembled.
Carrying a large chest, Zhu Ju walked step by step into the cave.
'The Demon Catcher from South City, Liao Ranx?'
'And Hek Yongzhang is calling her Senior Sister? Which Seventh Grade Demon Catcher did he take as a master?'
Shaking his head, he spoke no further and tapped the chest lightly with one hand.
CRACK!
The wooden chest burst apart, revealing a suit of armor inside.
The armor's design was simple, divided into seven parts including a helmet, breastplate, vambraces, greaves, and gauntlets.
The seven parts were interconnected, allowing for free joint movement while completely encasing the wearer.
By the standards of smithing alone, this suit of armor could be called extraordinary.
However,
it was ultimately just a suit of Mortal Armor.
The Spiritual Patterns and Talismans upon it had yet to be activated, and it could not be nurtured within a cultivator's Dantian.
'Demon-Devouring Iron grows stronger when it encounters demons, its Spirituality awakening. This should be far more effective than me tempering it bit by bit.'
Muttering this, Zhu Ju picked up a Demon corpse and swung it forcefully. His Strength tore the corpse to shreds, and Demon blood instantly showered the armor.
Suddenly,
VMMMM...
A dim, dark light appeared on the armor's surface, and a faint, tenuous connection formed in Zhu Ju's senses.
'It's working!'
It wasn't just working; it was miraculously effective.
His three months of anointing and nourishing the armor with his own blood Essence had been less stimulating for it than a single Little Demon.
Overjoyed,
Zhu Ju hurried over to the Tiger Demon's corpse, leaned the body against the armor, and then sat cross-legged before it himself.
"Heaven and Earth, resplendent and bright..."
He chanted a Spell as his hands formed a Seal Technique, using his Divine Soul Power to guide his Qi Blood onto the armor.
At the same time,
the Tiger Demon's corpse began to dissolve at a visible rate, as if it were being devoured.
Demon-Devouring Iron!
It truly lived up to its name.