Chapter 186 – Demon King! Swallowing Sea!
On a desolate plain a hundred miles outside Jinling City, a large group of refugees from the city had gathered. Most of them were nobles and their retainers, with a scattering of merchants among them.
The retainers and merchants had come on foot, nearly exhausting all their strength.
Some fell behind along the way, but no one waited for them—they were simply left to die in the wilderness.
Those barely keeping up with the carriages didn't even want to rest. They just wanted to keep going, to reach a walled city before nightfall.
Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense knew how dangerous the wilds became after dark.
But the young masters and ladies in the carriages didn't understand that—especially the young court official Yan Shifan, who had never suffered such fatigue in his life. When he arrived in Jinling, it had been in a grand river vessel, with luxury and entertainment at every stop.
Now, he had to ride back in a sedan chair—not only was it slow, but the constant jostling was more than he could bear.
Even after switching to a carriage midway, Yan Shifan still felt dizzy and nauseated from the swaying. If they didn't stop, he might just be shaken to death.
He couldn't care less about the dangers of the night, though. With all the elite guards surrounding him, each one a minor celebrity in the martial world, he felt untouchable.
After resting for a short while, Yan Shifan's stomach began to growl, so he ordered his men to make a fire and cook a meal.
"Young Master Yan, please hold on—we're almost to the next city. We should just make do with some rations. Starting a fire now is not only a waste of time, it might attract trouble…"
Before the man could finish, Yan Shifan erupted in fury. "Those rations are hard and cold—how is that fit for a person to eat? I've never eaten such garbage in my life. Get someone to cook, didn't we bring a chef with us?"
The guard replied helplessly, "Young Master, the chef didn't manage to keep up…"
Yan Shifan flew into a rage, grabbing whatever was nearby and throwing it wildly. He had come to Jinling for a pleasant trip and ended up in this mess. He was already fuming, and now with everything going wrong, it only poured fuel on the fire.
The guard tried to calm him. "Young Master, we're close to the city. Eat something light and get back on the road quickly. The demon race's siege is like a locust swarm—every moment we linger is dangerous."
Yan Shifan sneered, "My father spent a fortune hiring you lot, and this is what I get? Cowards, all of you."
The guards—rough men from humble backgrounds—nearly lost their tempers, wanting to beat him senseless. But remembering that his father was Minister Yan, they swallowed their anger. Better not to stir up more trouble.
Since the young master insisted on a hot meal, there was nothing the others could do but start a fire and cook. As the flames blazed, a trace of comfort finally returned to the panicked faces around them.
The warmth of the fire drove away both the cold from their flesh and the chill in their hearts.
But some faces grew fearful. They knew how much danger came with lighting a fire at night.
"Sirs, you can't light fires out here! The beasts will see the flames and come straight for us!"
A middle-aged man, weathered and gray at the temples, walked toward Yan Shifan's carriage.
The guards stopped him in his tracks.
Still, the man pleaded, "Demons aren't the same as wild beasts. A wild beast might be scared off by a wildfire—but demons know it's people lighting the fire. They'll come straight for us."
Yan Shifan scoffed, "We're already a hundred miles from Jinling City. How could the demon race possibly catch up—unless they can all fly…"
He suddenly froze.
What if… some of them could fly?
Oh no!
Realization dawning far too late, Yan Shifan shouted at the others, "Stop cooking! Pack up and move—immediately!"
These nobles had spent their lives in the pleasure and safety of the capital, knowing nothing about the demon race. They'd never needed to.
Even the so-called expert guards didn't seem like they had real battlefield experience with demons.
But Yan Shifan, being a court official, had assisted his father, Yan Song, in handling state affairs, and had access to information others didn't. He knew a bit more than the rest.
Not caring about how bumpy the ride might be, he scrambled clumsily into the carriage—no hint of his usual grace left. The others saw his panic and felt a sudden dread.
The rich merchants, shrewd to a fault, didn't know what was happening but immediately ordered their servants to get moving. Some even abandoned part of their cargo to speed up.
The merchants who'd walked here now fled from the fires in terror, numbly joining the departing caravan.
"Faster! Hurry!"
Yan Shifan was stomping his feet inside the carriage in frustration. The guards, seeing his panic, lashed their horses harder.
The horses cried out in pain and took off at a wild gallop, as if they'd gone mad.
Seeing the carriage tear down the road at such speed, Yan Shifan finally felt he could breathe again. He collapsed into a limp heap, like a deflated balloon.
Who knew how much time passed.
Suddenly, the area around the caravan began to grow darker—the moonlight had vanished!
A guard sitting on the driver's seat felt something was wrong. He looked up.
His pupils shrank.
A massive shadow covered the heavens, blotting out the moonlight completely!
"Young Master! Look at the sky!" he shouted, trembling.
Yan Shifan shuddered and poked his head out of the carriage. One glance at the sky and he cried out in shock, "What a huge bird!"
The guard gave a bitter smile. "That's a Roc! Its wings span at least five hundred to a thousand zhang. With a form that terrifying… it's no ordinary demon."
Yan Shifan felt his vision go black, his legs giving out as he nearly fell from the carriage. "If it's not a demon… then what is it?"
"A Demon King," the guard said, face ashen, eyes closed as if awaiting death. "The Golden-Winged Roc King—one of the twelve Demon Kings of the Ten Thousand Demons Nation."
Demon King?
Yan Shifan stared in disbelief. "Aren't Demon Kings just legends? There's no way… and I happened to run into one?!"
The others, still unaware of the truth, might still think of escape. But Yan Shifan had completely given up—he collapsed in despair.
The black shadow in the sky slowly descended.
Moments later—
The entire caravan vanished into the darkness. Screams rang out and were abruptly silenced. Carriages and goods were gone as if they had never existed.
Ironically, the stragglers left behind earlier had narrowly escaped.
The survivors stared in shock at the terrifying shadow fading into the distance. Despair and helplessness spread in their hearts.
Can humanity really defeat monsters like that?
---
Meanwhile—
A hundred zhang in front of Jinling City, the field was packed with demon beasts.
Behind the demon beasts stood spirit demons, and behind them were great demons. At the rear, high in the air, floated a throne.
The rigid ranks revealed the strict hierarchy of the demon race.
A figure sat upon the throne, gazing down at the city walls.
"One person?"
Chu Yang looked back up at him.
"That's enough."
The Demon King was surprised. There was clearly only one man on the city wall, but he felt a strange sense of dread.
It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in years.
The last time… he had not yet been a Demon King, merely a great demon. He had encountered a middle-aged man named Zhuge Zhengwo.
Wearing plain scholar's robes, looking like nothing more than a humble teacher, he had turned out to be terrifyingly ruthless. The Roc King had merely eaten the people of a single city to fill his belly—and nearly died for it.
Touching his own neck in remembrance, the Demon King murmured, "You humans truly are gifted. The world has only begun to awaken in the last few decades, and yet you've already advanced so far in cultivation."
"The Demon Kings and great demons of the Ten Thousand Demons Nation—how many of them wandered like beasts for over a thousand years before achieving their current power? Compared to your kind, we're worlds apart."
"But at least the heavens are fair. Every time we eat human flesh and blood, our power grows—especially from martial arts masters, True Daoist, and Buddhist Arhats."
"In just these few decades, some demons have devoured their way into ten thousand years' worth of cultivation."
"Guess how many humans had to die for that?"
The Demon King wasn't talking for no reason. In human cultivation, heart demons were inevitable. Shaking the opponent's resolve before battle gave him an edge.
Especially for someone like Chu Yang, who was clearly here to protect the city's people. The Demon King knew exactly what he valued most.
Sure enough—
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Yang's expression changed.
His eyes turned icy cold.
The Demon King, seeing that his goal was achieved, laughed and clapped his hands. "Siege the city!"
With that single command—
The entire demon horde charged!
The demon race had used the same siege tactics for decades: first, send in the demon beasts to deplete arrows, stones, and other defenses. Only after defenders were exhausted would the spirit demons and great demons scale the walls.
The Qi Family Army's anti-demon heavy crossbows were no joke. Plenty of great demons had died under those bolts. Unless the defense was worn down, the stronger demons wouldn't dare approach.
Once the wall became the main battlefield, it would be up to the Divine Marquis' Office and the masters of Daoism and Buddhism to engage the great demons. The outcome would be decided then and there.
Looking at the deserted city walls, the Demon King hesitated. Was this a trap? Or was the enemy simply overconfident?
Either way, sending in the demon beasts first was the right move. In his eyes, his own kin were mere expendables.
If they could break the wall, they'd die a worthy death.
He stared at Chu Yang, eager to see what cards the man had up his sleeve—how could one man defend a city?
Just as the beast tide surged toward the gate—
A sudden flood burst forth from the base of the city wall.
An unexpected moat erupted from the ground, sweeping across the battlefield and drowning the vast army of demon beasts.
"What a marvelous water-control technique!"
"You—are you a True Daoist? Or a Heavenly Lord?"
The Demon King's expression grew solemn. He slowly stood from his throne.
Chu Yang smirked. "A little higher than that. Feel free to guess."
The Demon King's brow furrowed.
The demon race had clear tiers: demon beasts, spirit demons, great demons, Demon Kings.
It was said that aside from the twelve Demon Kings, the Ten Thousand Demons Nation had three Demon Emperors—and a supreme Demon Lord that no one had ever seen.
Human martial cultivation followed a similar pattern. The so-called third-rate, second-rate, and first-rate martial artists were all part of the Internal Refinement Realm.
This stage involved tempering the body, refining the organs, and rejuvenating the blood and marrow—nine refinements in all.
Power levels varied wildly. A warrior with one refinement struggled against demon beasts, while one with nine could slaughter spirit demons with ease.
After nine refinements, the qi sea and dantian would form, and inner force would flow endlessly—this was the Ascension Realm, also called a Grandmaster.
Beyond that, when the flesh and qi merged completely and every acupoint became a dantian, one's every move held the power of a demigod. This was the Heavenly Realm—a Great Grandmaster.
These two were the martial peak. In Daoism, their equivalents were True Daoist and Heavenly Lords. In Buddhism, Vajras and Arhats.
Of the leaders of the Two Marquises and One House, Two Bureaus and One Guard, only the famed Divine Marquis Zhuge Zhengwo was known to be a Great Grandmaster at the Heavenly level. The others were Grandmasters nearing that peak.
True Daoist and Buddhist cultivators were already rare to begin with, and Heaven Lords were even more seldom seen. Not just among the demon race—even the human side had barely seen any.
Every time they launched an assault on a human city, the demon race would first investigate the movements of the Daoist and Buddhist cultivators, then strike at the place where reinforcements would be hardest to arrive.
Before attacking Jinling City, the demon race had made thorough preparations. Not only had they trapped the Qi Family Army with a stratagem, but they had also gathered intelligence on the whereabouts of all Daoist cultivators.
Several demon kings even led large groups of demon beasts in a feigned assault on a major stronghold in the north to draw the Daoist cultivators' attention away—just to ensure that Jinling City would be left completely isolated and unsupported.
No one expected a Daoist cultivator to be stationed here!
A vast wave surged forth, carrying countless demon beasts and crashing down upon the demon army. The demon king no longer had time to question why Chu Yang was here—he leapt down from his throne in haste, and in the blink of an eye, his form transformed as part of his true body emerged.
From a towering, burly man just over two meters tall, he became a ten-meter-tall half-man, half-beast!
With dragon horns on his head, an elephant's trunk on his face, and a mane of golden fur like a lion, it was impossible to tell what kind of demon king he actually was.
"I am the Swallowing Sea Demon King. A mere stream is beneath my notice!"
His crimson eyes gleamed with excitement as his elephant trunk extended and expanded. With a powerful inhale directed at the flood before him, all the water summoned by Chu Yang was sucked straight into his nose.
The surging waves vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but a scene of devastation. Over half the charging demon beasts had already been killed or wounded. One more assault would likely be futile.
Though they had failed to lure out the Anti-Demon Heavy Crossbows, they had instead drawn out a Daoist cultivator. In the Swallowing Sea Demon King's view, that wasn't a bad trade.
After all, the other side was alone. With his cultivation level, how hard could it be to kill one man?
Even if this was a cultivator on the verge of becoming a Heaven Lord, he was still only a Daoist cultivator.
"Daoist, do you dare face me in battle?!"
The Swallowing Sea Demon King raised his head and let out an enraged roar. His voice boomed like a war drum, causing ears to ache and blood to surge in reverse.
Even the citizens within Jinling City heard the sound.
Naturally, so did the people on another section of the city wall!
Lu Xiaofeng, Hua Manlou, Li Xunhuan, Li Gexiao, and Tie Chuanjia, who had been brought over by two of them.
Duan Tianya had already departed for Wanglong City to investigate the Qi Family Army, while Guihai Yidao had gone to the nearest human army to seek reinforcements.
Besides them, there was a row of Anti-Demon Heavy Crossbows on the city wall and several thousand yamen officers standing in formation. Near the city gates stood even more people—commoners who had come to help defend the city.
Among them were also visible the figures of Yan Nantian and Jiang Feng.
They had all heard the voice of the demon king, but they couldn't spare any attention for what was happening on Chu Yang's side.
Lu Xiaofeng looked up at the massive black shadow in the sky and couldn't help but shiver.
What they were facing… was none other than the Golden-Winged Roc King that had just devoured Yan Shifan and his group.