This demon knows how to play dirty tricks too.
Rotten Water Village.
Originally, this place wasn’t called Rotten Water Village, it was called Beautiful Water Village, named after the scenic lake it once bordered. The village had been built along the lake’s edge, thriving for thousands of years with a population of nearly eight thousand.
About fifty years ago, the “Heavenly Punishment” suddenly descended.
The vast lake vanished overnight, leaving countless rotting fish and shrimp strewn across the dried-up lakebed. The villagers were thrown into panic, desperately searching for answers but finding none. With the lake beyond saving, they agonized for months before finally deciding to relocate the entire village.
But they failed.
No matter where they moved, within just a few days, they would always find themselves back in Beautiful Water Village.
And then things only got worse. Anyone who had ever set foot in this village even animals would have their bones scattered across the former lakebed after death, no matter where they died.
The village was remote. They knew immortals existed in the world, but they had no idea demons and monsters also roamed it. Believing this was a punishment sent down by the immortals, and with no other recourse, the ignorant villagers offered up young boys and girls as sacrifices.
The method actually worked. The very next day, the lake returned to normal.
From then on, following the “immortal’s” instructions, they were required to sacrifice a pair of young boys and girls every six months. Counting up to the present day, hundreds of innocent lives had already been fed to the lake.
But this matter wasn’t entirely airtight. At the very least, the neighboring villages learned of it and gradually distanced themselves from Beautiful Water Village.
They even gave it a fitting nickname, Rotten Water Village.
Beautiful on the outside, rotten within. Nothing could be more apt.
With the abilities of Wei Shengzhen and Senior Uncle Wu, it was easy to see what had happened in this village, and equally easy to spot the abnormality at the lake a short distance away.
Actually, it could no longer be called a lake it had been completely taken over by a massive water demon.
“And yet, these hundred lives pale in comparison to the crimes committed by ‘demons’ of the same cultivation level that we’ve previously slain… Combined with the remoteness of this area, it was never registered in our records.” Senior Uncle Wu shook his head, deep furrows etched between his brows. “But I sense the demon’s aura.”
“Mid-stage Nascent Soul, only one step away from late-stage Nascent Soul.”
Wei Shengzhen picked up the thread: “Compared to these hundred lives… its cultivation level seems somewhat too…”
“Excessive,” Senior Uncle Wu said after a moment of deliberation. “Among all the demons we’ve documented so far, this water demon’s current cultivation level far exceeds what its number of devoured lives would suggest. The lowest record for a demon of the same realm was at least five hundred lives.”
“…”
Five hundred lives was merely a statistic in the records. Senior Uncle Wu spoke of it lightly, as if mortal lives were nothing but weeds and in truth, that was exactly the case. But Wei Shengzhen curled his lips upon hearing this.
Even after nearly a hundred years here, he still carried the heart of someone from a law-governed society.
He couldn’t bring himself to treat human lives like mere weeds.
Glancing back at the juniors standing at attention behind him, he steered the conversation in a different direction: “Although it’s a bit strange. if this water demon only has the strength we can see, it should be more than enough for them to practice on… Do you juniors have confidence?”
“Yes!” came the unified response.
The jade boat was adorned with numerous magical treasures and barriers on all sides, so no matter how loudly they spoke within it, there was no fear of their words being overheard.
“Remember the key points of my team!” Weisheng Zhen shouted.
“Run if we can’t win! Life comes first!” the junior disciples shouted back.
“…”
Master Wu shot Weisheng Zhen a strange look. But he already knew that Weisheng Zhen often came out with odd and startling remarks, so he didn’t stop him. He only said, “You’ve all been on missions with Senior Disciple Weisheng before, so you should have plenty of experience. Be careful and act cautiously. Senior Disciple Weisheng and I will be right here. If anything feels off, return at once. If you’re trapped, send up a signal immediately.”
“Yes, sir!”
Master Wu gave Weisheng Zhen another look that was hard to describe, but the person in question kept his eyes fixed on the sky and the ground, refusing to meet his gaze.
The thirty-five of them set out at once.
But as they broke through the barrier, the lake rippled faintly.
Master Wu didn’t notice it, but Weisheng Zhen did.
Something’s wrong. Something feels very wrong.
He thought to himself.
He quickly asked in the group chat if any brothers or sisters could come help keep watch. If not, he’d have to drag the senior senior sister over here.
He vaguely remembered that the senior senior sister had taken a sect mission about ten days ago, near Guangci City not far away. If he contacted her, she should be able to arrive quickly.
But that mouth of hers.
Weisheng Zhen helplessly pressed his hand to his forehead.
If possible, better not to call her.
The immortal disc.
Similar to a modern phone, no matter how far apart even billions of miles as long as there was spiritual power, signals could be transmitted.
Weisheng Zhen had “borrowed” the inspiration from the modern world, with Liuliu Pavilion providing the technology. Once launched, it was a huge hit in the cultivation world, raking in countless spirit stones.
At this moment, his fingers flew.
[Group Chat: Hundred-Year-Old Demons]
[It’s Really Me: Urgent help needed! Who’s near Guangci City right now? Coordinates: Xiu Shui Village, five hundred li northwest of Anming Town, a thousand li west of Guangci City. There’s a water demon acting very strange. @I’m Crazy About It, come quick and sketch it for the registry.]
[I’m Crazy About It: Too far… I’m not even on your continent. Can’t make it… But how is it strange? Record it with your memory orb and send it to me.]
[I’m Crazy About It: Who changed the group name? It sounds terrible! This immortal lady is young and beautiful, one in a hundred thousand! With a name like that, I suddenly look like some old monster! No, no, we have to change it!]
[Don’t Put Money in My Rice Bowl: Amitabha. It’s obvious that Benefactor Weisheng changed it.]
[Group Chat: Fanfic Lovers Big Crossover Group]
[I’m Crazy About It: Huh? The little monk is actually online today? Come here, let auntie pinch your cheeks!]
[Don’t Put Money in My Rice Bowl: @It’s Really Me, my apologies. This humble monk is currently suppressing a demon and can’t get away. @I’m Crazy About It, Benefactor Immortal, you can’t pinch cheeks online. Also, you’re five years younger than this humble monk, so you can’t call yourself auntie.]
[Young Master Hua Fan of Baihua Isle’s Baihua Tower: @It’s Really Me, I can come right now. I’ll arrive in about half a month.]
[Hua Fan: @It’s Really Me, can you hold out until then?]
[Hua Fan: Who changed my name? It’s so ugly!]
[Little Rice Bowl: Amitabha. It’s obvious that Benefactor Weisheng changed it.]
[Little Rice Bowl: Benefactor Weisheng, stop messing around.]
[Hua Fan: Withdrew a message.]
[Hua Fan: Never mind, it’s actually not bad. It sounds fine.]
[Weisheng Zhen: The flower names you all picked are too long, making my eyes blurry. Let’s shorten them uniformly @Baihua Tower Flower Fan @Little Rice Bowl @I’m Crazy Shipping @Flame Star @Sword Cold]
[Group Chat: Little Zhen and His Five Centenarian Brothers and Sisters]
[Flame Star: This group name, I’m speechless. It’s sarcastic to the extreme.]
[Group Chat: Six Major Sects Besiege Bright Summit]
[Weisheng Zhen: Forget it, Let’s just leave it as is.]
[Little Rice Bowl: I understand the Six Major Sects, but what does Besiege Bright Summit mean?]
[Weisheng Zhen: It means we’re all going to reach the summit :)]
Clearly, Little Rice Bowl believed Weisheng Zhen’s nonsense, praised it as excellent, and then went silent probably off to suppress demons.
The remaining few also followed up with a “not bad.”
The group name was temporarily settled.
Wait, this isn’t the time to be thinking about changing the group name.
Weisheng Zhen decided to wait another five minutes. If no one really showed up, he’d call the senior senior sister over to check the situation.
Though it was a bit embarrassing, what did that matter? Ensuring the junior brothers and sisters’ safety was the most important thing.
The next second, a message popped up in the group.
[Sword Cold: I’ll be there in a quarter of an hour.]
**
More than half of these thirty-five people had already fought demons together before, so they had some tacit understanding. The rest were all exceptionally sharp-minded. At this moment, no words were needed against this water demon with such an enormous area, they could only rely on formation techniques.
Among them, the youngest junior brother, Wen Yujun, was the most outstanding in talisman cultivation.
With Wen Yujun as the formation’s core, the remaining thirty-four formed an encirclement, surrounding the water demon and landing around it to begin inscribing talismans.
Earth overcomes water, what they were drawing now was an Earth-attribute Xuan-grade formation. This formation possessed unending attacks and heavy defense, combining offense and defense.
If one wanted to defeat a stronger foe with a weaker force and kill above one’s level, then this formation, which could wear the demon down to exhaustion with its relentless assault, was truly the first choice.
Time passed minute by minute. So far, everything was going smoothly. The water demon didn’t seem to have noticed anything unusual; the entire lake was calm. Yet Weisheng Zhen’s heart was beating slightly faster. Less than half of the quarter-hour Sword Cold had mentioned had passed, but Weisheng Zhen’s mind was haunted by a persistent feeling: if he didn’t act, something extremely bad would happen soon.
At the Golden Core realm, one begins to have a vague connection with heaven and earth let alone Weisheng Zhen, who had already reached the Nascent Soul stage and had walked his own path for ten years.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Weisheng Zhen struck.
His sword left its sheath, splitting one into two, two into four, layer upon layer multiplying. Thousands of sword afterimages flew past Wen Yujun and the others, stabbing straight into the ground just one meter from the lake’s surface, sealing the lake airtight.
“Fall back!” Weisheng Zhen shouted. Uncle Wu swept his horsetail whisk, pulling all thirty-five disciples back onto the jade boat.
The very next second after his action, the lake water suddenly exploded with violent turbulence. The surrounding earth cracked inch by inch, and nearby large trees were uprooted, dragged into the lake and vanishing.
The thousands of sword afterimages nailed into the ground were also shaken loose.
Suddenly, a waterspout appeared at the center of the lake, swelling as it caught the wind, quickly exceeding ten zhang in diameter, and slammed fiercely toward the jade boat.
“Ten Thousand Swords Return!” Wei Shengzhen held his sword horizontally before the jade boat, his expression turning serious. “Uncle Wu, take them back to Anming Town first and ask Senior… Senior Sister to come take a look. She should be nearby, not far from here.”
Senior Sister’s cultivation was higher than Wei Shengzhen’s she had already reached the mid-stage of the Void Refinement realm and could kill enemies above her level. If even Senior Sister couldn’t handle it, then it would be time to call the Master.
Uncle Wu nodded and quickly piloted the jade boat away.
The water tornado tested an attack on the jade boat, but when Wei Shengzhen blocked it, it grew even more enraged. With another twist of its body, its diameter directly exceeded fifteen zhang.
Wei Shengzhen didn’t wait for it to continue gathering power. Sword in hand, he lightly stepped through the void, then, identifying his bearings, wrapped his entire body in spiritual power and, like a moth diving into flame, thrust his blade fiercely toward the very center of the water tornado.
Under normal circumstances, the demon core or demon heart of a demonic creature was located where its demonic energy was most intense, and this never changed from beginning to end.
This time, however, Wei Shengzhen’s strike met nothing but empty air.
The earth split apart, and beneath the surface, demonic energy over ten times stronger than that of the lake was exposed. In a single breath, all the villagers of Xiushui Village vanished, returning to the body of the water demon.
No wonder Wei Shengzhen and Uncle Wu hadn’t detected it earlier the water demon had long since refined the entire village’s people, but had dispersed part of its demonic power to maintain the “living activities” of these people who should have long been dead.
In other words, the water demon had shaped several thousand villagers to play house with it!
And when it withdrew its dispersed demonic power, the demon’s overall energy rose inch by inch, quickly breaking through the Spirit Transformation and Soul Projection stages, reaching the Void Refinement realm.
Yet its aura continued to climb, only stopping when it reached the late stage of Void Refinement.
And the place where its demonic energy was strongest was finally exposed.
It hadn’t just refined all the people of Xiushui Village it had even refined parts of the land itself!
Wei Shengzhen cursed inwardly.
Damn it all, a remote backwater breeds twisted demons! This water demon was even a perverse freak!