Chapter 89

Feng Jun returned to his room and changed into a lighter, more youthful outfit.

Song Qingshi felt it was unwise to linger, so he packed his belongings and consulted Song Jincheng about taking an alternative route to the Tianwu Sect, one free of giant snakes. Song Jincheng cautiously eyed Hao Long, who sat nearby, then appeasingly peeled an egg for it before saying with a pained expression, "Let's stick to the original path. I received word that the snake... is already gone."

Because it has become your son.

Hao Long’s stern warning left Song Jincheng daring neither to flee nor to speak the truth. He didn’t want to bring terror to the Tianwu Sect, but... these places were all within the Indestructible Peak’s sphere of influence. Did it truly matter where they went?

Suddenly, several small, spectral flames emerged from Song Qingshi’s body, hovering around him in a defensive formation, signaling the presence of killing intent.

Song Qingshi immediately pushed aside Song Jincheng, who was about to question the spectral flames, just as corrosive liquid dripped onto the table, burning tiny holes.

He looked up to see a black, writhing mass crawling on the ceiling, resembling a giant sea cucumber. It raised its head in the darkness, revealing a strange and hideous face: white eyes, a mouth lined with densely packed rows of sharp teeth, and a long, lizard-like tongue reeking of blood...

Everyone in the inn screamed and fled in panic, while cultivators drew their magical artifacts, ready for a formidable foe.

Song Qingshi searched his memory but couldn’t recall ever encountering such a bizarre demonic creature. He turned to Song Jincheng, who was frantically rummaging in his Mustard Seed Bag for a sword, and asked, "What is this?"

Song Jincheng looked at him in surprise. "This is a Filth Demon. You’ve never seen one?"

Song Qingshi shook his head blankly.

In his memories, the cultivation world was fraught with peril, but these dangers primarily stemmed from conflict and human malice—beasts or fierce birds in secret realms—true demons were rarely seen.

These past few days, he had found Song Jincheng incredibly naive. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, good-looking but with little combat ability, yet he unhesitatingly rescued strangers on the roadside, wandered carelessly through towns, flaunted his wealth, spoke without reserve, and remained oblivious to human treachery—every action a path to ruin.

All lessons were learned through suffering.

He had patiently accompanied Song Jincheng, intending to teach him survival skills once he witnessed the harsh realities of the cultivation world. Yet, after waiting for so long, not a single life-threatening situation had occurred—even petty theft was rare. Every cultivator they encountered, even demonic ones, adhered to the rules, which was somewhat awkward...

What exactly was a Filth Demon?

Song Qingshi felt this world was different from his memories.

"You don’t even know about Filth Demons?" Song Jincheng stared at his bewildered expression, utterly dumbfounded. How had this guy survived so long? Could amnesia erase even basic knowledge? "They are demons formed from corrupt energy, mindless, and come in all sorts of grotesque shapes... Be careful. Filth Demons never appear alone."

The spectral flames’ warnings grew more frantic as several more strange demonic creatures of varying sizes appeared, devouring human flesh.

The cultivators skillfully coordinated, forming arrays or wielding artifacts to encircle and destroy them.

"Qing Shi, don’t be afraid," Song Jincheng said, feigning nonchalance as he stared at the Filth Demon on the ceiling. "This isn’t a powerful Filth Demon. They’re easy to deal with. My senior brothers and sisters have killed similar ones many times—we have plenty of experience." Although cultivators from Medicine King Valley weren’t skilled in combat, mostly serving as support in demon-slaying battles—treating the wounded—and occasional Filth Demons were handled by his seniors, he could manage this one...

The Filth Demon on the ceiling opened its maw, transforming its entire body into a massive curtain, enveloping the three of them.

Hao Long’s eyes turned red. It looked at the Filth Demon with annoyance, finding it unappetizing and not wanting to eat it.

Song Jincheng maintained a brave front, secretly glancing around to see other cultivators busy eradicating other Filth Demons, leaving him no assistance. He hoped Song Qingshi would flee so he could abandon his sword and bolt, but Song Qingshi stood there, frozen, rummaging through his Mustard Seed Bag with no intention of escaping. As the Filth Demon lunged, Song Jincheng, seeing its densely packed fangs, wildly swung his sword and cried out in despair, "Why did I choose to study medicine?!"

This wretched Medicine King Valley sect—learning medicine only saves others, not your own life.

"Move." Song Qingshi pushed him aside, then flicked two pills into the Filth Demon’s mouth.

The Filth Demon instantly retracted its maw, remained motionless for a moment, then writhed in agony on the ground, emitting hissing wails.

"Purification Pills and Forgetfulness Pills—both are medicines to dispel demonic energy and inner demons. I felt this creature was composed of corrupt matter, so I experimented. I didn't expect it to actually work," Song Qingshi said, his face alight with research interest as he watched the strange demon writhing on the ground. He rolled up his sleeves, couldn’t find gloves, and asked, "Who can help me hold it down? I’ve never seen this thing before; I want to collect some samples for study."

Song Jincheng felt like a complete idiot...

Hao Long, unafraid of the mess, used its immense serpentine strength to pin down the Filth Demon and obediently dragged it to Song Qingshi. "Dad, here you go."

"Good boy," Song Qingshi said, smiling at Hao Long. He then took out several small porcelain bottles for samples from his Mustard Seed Bag, collected the acidic fluid from the Filth Demon’s mouth, and took some skin tissue and flesh, storing them separately. Then he lectured Song Jincheng, "The most important thing in medicine is to stay calm. How can you panic over such a small matter? You should first observe the enemy’s weakness, then use poison or medicine to solve it."

You’re clearly not a sword cultivator, don’t know sword techniques, yet you’re holding a broken sword for courage?

Song Jincheng said sheepishly, "I just reached Foundation Establishment not long ago, so I panicked..."

Song Qingshi looked at him with disappointment. "I’m also at Foundation Establishment now. Fighting is about brains, not cultivation level."

He used spectral flames to burn away the remaining flesh, then curiously observed the other Filth Demons. Each was slightly different: some were corrosive, some were fast, some were strong... all slaughtering humans. The innkeeper’s wife, under the attack of a Filth Demon, lost a leg and lay in a pool of blood, screaming for her husband and children to flee. The innkeeper, a mortal, arranged for his eldest daughter to take the younger siblings into the cellar for shelter, then grabbed a cleaver to save his wife.

Song Qingshi quickly connected thunder and fire spells to golden needles, creating a chain lightning effect, then thrust the electrified golden needles into the mouth of the Filth Demon. The localized explosion forced it to release the human leg it was eating. Song Qingshi tossed the leg to Song Jincheng, instructing, "Go stop the bleeding for the innkeeper’s wife, then use Five Immortal Spirit Liquid to nourish the severed limb and keep it viable. I’ll try to reattach it later."

He intended to slay this man-eating demon.

Suddenly, flames erupted from the wounded Filth Demon, instantly turning it to black ash.

A beautiful youth in red robes slowly descended the stairs. Wherever his divine sense reached, all filth was incinerated. He walked up to Song Qingshi and checked his body. "Didn’t get dirty, did you?"

The cultivators, inexplicably saved, suspected a powerful expert had intervened from afar and quickly bowed in gratitude towards the sky before cleaning up the battlefield and tending to the wounded. Song Qingshi joined the rescue efforts. He reattached the innkeeper’s wife’s leg, but the injury was too severe, damaging many meridians. Without better spiritual medicine, she would walk with a limp.

This outcome was already an unexpected blessing for the innkeeper and his wife. They expressed their profound gratitude and offered spirit stones to pay for the treatment.

Song Qingshi thought for a moment, accepted the payment for the Five Immortal Spirit Liquid, handed it to Song Jincheng, and then asked, "Do these demons appear often?"

"Our town is relatively peaceful; it’s troubled about once every twenty or thirty years," the innkeeper answered candidly. "Mostly just a few scattered Filth Demons. Thanks to the Immortal Masters, they are quickly dealt with. But a large-scale infiltration like this, where so many people were eaten... that happened two hundred years ago. Corpses littered the fields, a truly horrific sight. The cultivators from Taiyi Academy arrived just in time to save the entire town."

Song Qingshi pressed further, "How are these demons born?"

The innkeeper fell silent, hesitating to speak.

"Besides the good deeds of that one from Indestructible Peak, what else?" A drunkard, having consumed two pots of strong wine after the battle, was overcome with resentment and spoke recklessly. "Originally, the cultivation world was fine everywhere. But ever since that so-called ‘Divine Lord’ was born three thousand years ago, Filth Demons have gradually increased... Everyone says his sins are too great, gathering the world’s resentment, which then rebounds upon him."

"Say less, trouble comes from the mouth," another cultivator quickly advised him. "Who knows if there are eyes watching you..."

The drunkard raged, "Let him kill me! I’m not afraid! Indestructible Peak isn’t divine—it’s demonic! He will destroy this world!"

Song Qingshi recalled his system’s mission and asked curiously, "What does this ‘Divine Lord’ look like?"

"Hiding his face—he must be hideous!" The drunkard, still ranting under the influence of alcohol, suddenly found his throat and tongue stiffening. He couldn’t speak a word. He looked around in terror, finding no suspicious figures, yet suspicion permeated everywhere... Rumor had it that the Divine Lord’s avatars were myriad and omnipresent. Sobered by fear, he remembered the blasphemous words he had uttered and fled in a panic.

Feng Jun didn’t even glance at him, walking over to Song Qingshi with a smile. "Do you need to collect more samples of different types?"

Song Qingshi nodded.

"I don’t know where Filth Demons come from either, and it has nothing to do with Indestructible Peak," Feng Jun said softly, putting his gloves back on and instructing Hao Long to drag over the burnt remnants. He skillfully collected samples, explaining, "I’ve always tried my best to eradicate these filthy things, using various methods, but no matter how many I kill, they never stop appearing..."

After he unleashed the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, these Filth Demons were born, increasing in number. He initially thought they were formed from wicked souls, so he turned many heinous criminals into soul lamps, tormenting them on Indestructible Peak. Yet the number of Filth Demons did not decrease... An Long’s half-demon blood mutated with the appearance of the Filth Demons, often spiraling out of control. They researched for a long time but found no solution. Finally, while still lucid, An Long asked Feng Jun to seal his body in the Endless Abyss with multiple shackles and seals, lest he bring calamity to the world.

Yet the Filth Demons persisted, making the world reek.

Feng Jun burned batch after batch, but each time he destroyed the old, new Filth Demons would be born elsewhere.

It was as if... an undying, indestructible malice.

Because he had destroyed all the filth and corrupted hearts, attempting to change the world’s rules, even filthier demons appeared in the world.

Was this his sin?

...

At Ascending Heaven Peak, Moonwave Lake, the barrier of the demon-sealing land shattered, releasing hundreds of sealed Filth Demons to rampage.

A biting cold wind swept through as countless ice shards erupted from the ground, piercing through all the demonic creatures, pinning them to the rock face, then freezing them into fragments. Bai Zihao stood atop an ice-blue longsword in mid-air, his demeanor as serene as the moon and clear breeze, a faint smile gracing his lips. His robes fluttered gracefully, radiating effortless tenderness, yet wherever he passed, a blizzard surged forth, mercilessly destroying all demonic creatures.

The frost-covered longsword descended, revealing a sealed cavern hidden by sealing arrays.

Inside the cave lay a wounded Nascent Soul cultivator, who exclaimed joyfully, "Thank you, Immortal Lord, for saving my life!"

"You must be Sect Leader Huang of the Wavecrest Sect, correct? Someone entrusted me to find you," Bai Zihao discreetly glanced at the notes in his sleeve before asking with a smile, "Where are your wives and concubines?"

"Don’t even mention them! That treacherous snake, my newly wed seventh concubine—" Sect Leader Huang spat in fury, his face twisted with rage. "On our wedding night, she shattered the barrier of the demon-sealing land, offering her flesh and blood as a sacrifice to unleash the demons upon our sect. I fought desperately but was overwhelmed, and countless lives were lost... As for my other wives and concubines, they scattered like willow catkins in the wind. Who knows where they’ve gone? Once I find them—"

Before he could finish, a short blade made of ice pierced through his mouth and out the back of his neck.

"I didn’t ask for so many details," Bai Zihao said coldly. "You murdered the unaffiliated cultivator Daoist Luo of Turtle Age Island and forcibly took his daughter as a concubine. The Divine Lord has ordered me to bring you back to Indestructible Peak for punishment."

With practiced ease, he extracted the man’s soul and sealed it into a soul-lantern, then entrusted it to a Messenger Bird to deliver to Indestructible Peak.

Bai Zihao retrieved a lengthy list from his sleeve, crossed off a name, then counted the remaining entries and sighed.

"The Divine Lord’s tasks... there are still so many left. No matter how many I complete, it never seems to end..."