Chapter 49: The Dog Demon
\nZhi Hua opened her eyes, recalling the inheritance in her mind.
\n\u201cSo totems can grow too. After the initial phase, they enter the maturity phase… My totem must have reached maturity. With such a stable foundation, it shouldn\u2019t be invaded by Heavenly Demons.\u201d
\nThe Heavenly Demons had cast a tightening spell over nearly all Immortal Cultivators. Those who once cared only for their lofty status now fixated on strengthening their realms and foundations.
\nAfter enduring their initial fear, Zhi Hua and her companions gradually adapted to the hardships faced by Immortal Cultivators. They began confronting challenges head-on and sought ways to bolster their strength.
\n\u201cSoul bones, demon cores…\u201d
\nAs Zhi Hua remembered the items required for her totem\u2019s maturity from the inheritance, her head throbbed. Purchasable materials were manageable, but the real trouble lay in obtaining things like demon cores, which required slaying fully transformed demons. Though she\u2019d grown stronger, combat remained uncertain\u2014who would kill whom in a fight against a demon?
\n\u201cMaybe I should ask Master?\u201d
\nZhi Hua thought of Jie Nian. Both she and Li Yuanyuan were novices, while Jie Nian had once belonged to a Jianghu sect. His experience far surpassed theirs.
\nAs Zhi Hua and her friends focused on cultivation and fortifying their foundations…
\nSuzhou\u2019s underground forces underwent upheaval.
\nIn a shadowy hall, Yu Ruyi stood in a black fitted dress, her left arm bleeding from a wound stretching from shoulder to collarbone\u2014a hair\u2019s breadth from her throat. She leaned heavily on a chair, breath ragged, ignoring the pain. A headless corpse lay nearby, blood still pooling.
\n\u201cSo this is an Immortal Cultivator\u2019s power? Impressive.\u201d
\nYu Ruyi spoke to Luo San behind her.
\nHalf-shrouded in darkness, Luo San stayed silent, his watchful presence unwavering.
\nChaos ruled the underworld. Yu Ruyi had survived countless assassinations, but today\u2019s attacker\u2014an Immortal Cultivator\u2014had nearly ended her.
\n\u201cWhy stay by my side with such strength?\u201d
\nYu Ruyi\u2019s breathing steadied as she sealed two acupoints to stem the bleeding.
\nYears in this dog-eat-dog world had taught her to trust no one, not even Luo San, her long-time shadow. No strong individual willingly served another.
\n\u201cYou gave me this life.\u201d
\nAfter a lengthy pause, Luo San finally replied.
\n\u201cHah…\u201d
\nYu Ruyi laughed bitterly before the sound died.
\n\u201cI want to become an Immortal Cultivator. Can you make it happen?\u201d
\n\u201cYes.\u201d
\n\u201cThrough a sect\u2019s inheritance?\u201d
\nLuo San hesitated, thinking of the loose group Li Yuanyuan and the others had formed. His techniques came from Jie Nian\u2014if their ragtag band counted as a faction, he belonged to it.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s one… The Immortal Palace.\u201d
\n\u201cThe Immortal Palace? How audacious. I\u2019ll join.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll recommend you.\u201d
\nYu Ruyi studied Luo San but asked nothing more. He offered no further words.
\n…
\nSuzhou’s West District
\n“Is the demonic aura coming from here?”
\nA sedan chair stopped before a temple deep within Qing Stone Alley. Two hundred Officials surrounded the building, sealing all exits. A man in dark blue official uniform emerged from the sedan. Around forty-five years old with a dark beard and icy demeanor, his mere speech carried oppressive weight.
\n“Yes!”
\nThe lead captain stiffened upon recognizing the man’s attire and answered respectfully.
\nThe Dragon Guards, the Great Chu Emperor’s elite force, wore dark blue uniforms. This marked him as a core Immortal master of the Dragon Guards – higher ranked than even Commander Zhou whom Governor Li had hosted in Suzhou.
\n“Move in. Capture them alive.”
\n_Shing!_
\nBlades slid from sheaths as front-line Officials drew weapons. Archers swiftly nocked arrows, bows bent like full moons.
\nKilling intent engulfed the temple.
\n_Thud! Thud! Thud!_
\nThrough the silent night, eerie wooden clappers echoed from within.
\nThe Dragon Guard Immortal at the entrance narrowed his eyes.
\n“Intense demonic aura.”
\nThough Dragon Guards once maintained order across Great Chu, after the second Law Upheaval, the empire became sieve-like – overrun by Heavenly Demons and empowered monsters. Remote towns vanished from contact, wilderness turned impassable hellscapes of demons. In mere three months, the three-century-old empire teetered on collapse. Even Suzhou now showed demonic traces. When reports of rampaging demons arrived mere half-month after Commander Zhou’s departure, the furious Emperor dispatched Dragon Guard’s third-ranked expert – Si Mo – to capture Suzhou’s troublemakers alive.
\n_Creeeak…_
\nTemple doors swung open unaided, exhaling bone-chilling demonic air.
\n“Honored guests visiting this late – come to worship Buddha?”
\nBefore the statue, a figure striking wooden clappers turned. Moonlight revealed crimson eyes glowing in the dark.
\nThe temple’s wooden-clapper wielder was a black dog standing upright.
\n“Dog Demon!”
\nNearest Officials recoiled half-step, stunned.
\n“Filthy beast! You dare defile sacred ground?”
\nSi Mo stepped forward, crossing the threshold.
\nMore?
\nUpon entering, Si Mo detected two additional demonic presences. Two more Dog Demons emerged beside the first. Each radiated Foundation Establishment-level power – astonishing for mere mutts. But Si Mo ranked third among capital’s Dragon Guard elites. Three curs meant nothing.
\n“Not here to worship? Then demons infest your hearts!”
\nThe first Dog Demon rose fully on hind legs.
\n“Demonic hearts require purification!”
\n“If we shun hell, who’ll save sinners?”
\nThe others intoned.
\n“Hmph! Mangy strays playing tough? Today I’ll drag you to capital – teach you about higher powers beyond your ken!”
\nSi Mo’s hand shot out. Surging True Essence erupted, engulfing the temple.
\nStorm-like energy coalesced into three massive claws, snatching the Dog Demons like helpless chicks.
\nGolden Core!
\nThis Dragon Guard expert had reached Golden Core stage.
\nThree months post-Upheaval, first-generation elites like Si Mo had all broken through to new heights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chapter 49: The Dog Demon Zhi Hua opened her eyes, recalling the inheritance in her mind. \u201cSo totems can grow too. After the initial phase, they enter the maturity phase… My totem must have reached maturity. With such a stable foundation, it shouldn\u2019t be invaded by Heavenly Demons.\u201d The Heavenly Demons had cast a tightening spell over nearly all Immortal Cultivators. Those who once\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-1428","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-dreaming-to-become-a-creator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=1428"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=1428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}