Chapter 114

Days of relentless storms had passed without a trace of sunlight, leaving the air damp and stifling.

Huang Abao was a farmer from Huangjia Village in the Black Pine Mountains. His fellow villagers were all mortals, eking out a living through farming and hunting, their lives exceedingly poor.

Half a month prior, his mother fell ill. Initially, faint black streak-like spots appeared on her arms, gradually darkening, spreading, and eventually covering her entire body.

In the cultivation world, rich in spiritual energy, mortals rarely fell ill, and most minor ailments healed on their own. His mother, thinking she had eaten something wrong and reluctant to spend money, only agreed to see the village physician after much persuasion from her son and daughter-in-law. Two doses of cheap local herbal remedies brought no improvement. The night before last, she got up for a drink of water and collapsed in front of the table, never to rise again. When faint black spots also appeared on his wife and daughter’s hands, Huang Abao finally realized the gravity of the situation.

The village physician declared the illness untreatable and directed them to the Medicine King’s Clinic in Tongyang City.

The Medicine King’s Clinic, a branch of Medicine King Valley, was renowned for its skilled physicians, fair fees, and occasional charitable services for the poor.

His wife, A’Cai, removed her silver bracelet and stayed behind to care for his unconscious mother, while Huang Abao, carrying their daughter and all their meager possessions, set off for Tongyang City to seek treatment.

The journey from Black Pine Mountains to Tongyang City spanned three hundred li. Huang Abao walked day and night for three days, his feet covered in layers of bloody blisters so swollen he could barely wear his shoes. Just as his strength was about to give out, he finally reached the Medicine King’s Clinic. Holding his daughter, whose condition was worsening, he knelt before a young physician.

The young physician, surnamed Cheng, had recently graduated from Medicine King Valley, brimming with ambition.

He immediately took on the pitiable patient. After a preliminary diagnosis, he concluded it was an infection from something unclean and tried various treatments like Filth-Purging Pills and Miasma-Clearing Powder—all to no avail. As the spots on the girl’s arms darkened, unable to identify the source, he decided to take the father and daughter back to Huangjia Village on a spirit-horse to investigate.

At noon, Huangjia Village was deathly silent, with even the usually noisy chickens and dogs nowhere to be seen.

Bloodstains and corpses were scattered throughout the village...

Physician Cheng felt a chill. “Are there bandits nearby?”

Even as he spoke, he knew it didn’t make sense—Huangjia Village was too poor to be worth plundering.

Huang Abao, already panicked, entrusted his daughter to Physician Cheng and rushed back to his house. Pushing open the door... he found his mother’s corpse, scissors still in hand, brutally hacked to death. Grief-stricken, he searched for his wife, only to find the family’s chickens and pigs also dead, and his normally gentle wife hiding in a dark corner, trembling, a bloodstained kitchen knife in her hand.

Black spots covered her body, her eyes slightly reddened.

Huang Abao hurriedly asked, “A’Cai, what happened?”

“Mother... suddenly went mad. She tried to kill me,” his wife’s voice trembled in the darkness, as if struggling against something. “She tried to kill me... so I...”

The relationship between Huang Abao’s mother and wife had always been good—they laughed and chatted daily, rarely even arguing. Unable to believe it, Huang Abao stepped forward to pull his wife out of the darkness and question her properly.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder—his wife, with a strange smile, slashed at him with the kitchen knife.

“A’Cai?” Huang Abao, who had grown up with his wife and never seen her like this, ignored the pain and tried to stop her next strike. “Have you gone mad?”

His wife’s eyes were devoid of emotion, her movements stiff, like a puppet being manipulated.

The petite woman now possessed terrifying strength—Huang Abao couldn’t even restrain her knife.

Suddenly, a burst of flames shot toward A’Cai—Physician Cheng had struck her with a fire talisman. Yet she felt no pain, continuing her frenzied attacks, intent on killing her beloved husband. With no choice, Physician Cheng drew his sword, severed her hand holding the knife, then hurled the blade to pin her to the wall.

Huang Abao sat stunned on the ground.

Only then did Physician Cheng notice the black spots spreading across his arms, his eyes turning vacant...

A sharp pain erupted from his shoulder—the little girl on his back had bitten down hard, tearing off a chunk of flesh. Physician Cheng cried out and dropped her, but the girl crawled toward him with abnormal movements, eager to bite again.

Realizing the danger, Physician Cheng reached for a talisman to defend himself—only to freeze in horror as faint black streaks appeared on his own hand...

...

After examining the corpses in Huangjia Village, Physician Cheng sealed himself in an empty room using a Rune Array, observing his symptoms daily and recording his findings:

This was an unknown, contagious disease. Initial symptoms were mild and easily overlooked. Later, black streak-like spots spread rapidly across the body. Patients lost consciousness, then awoke as murderous puppets, killing all living things indiscriminately before dying within three to five days. The final symptoms of death were...

Before losing his mind, he sent his records and hopes to Medicine King Valley via a Messenger Bird.

A healer’s compassion—hoping his peers could discover the cause and save the world.

A fledgling physician, brimming with ambition, now left unfulfilled.

This was his final research, his final words.

For he had nowhere left to run...

...

Indestructible Peak, night.

The Divine Lord offered lavish rewards, permitting Tiangong Pavilion to use any materials regardless of cost in crafting precious artifacts. The pavilion master, intrigued by the well-funded research project, led his disciples in working tirelessly until their hair turned white, finally producing the artifact Medicine King Immortal had requested—a completely sealed cage made of ghost whale bone, with a small observation window of meteorite crystal on the door, allowing a clear view inside.

Song Qingshi inspected it with great satisfaction, racking his brain for compliments to lavish upon the Tiangong Pavilion master.

Then, he placed the prepared Filth Demon inside and injected it with poison.

The Filth Demon died without difficulty.

Song Qingshi and the physicians of Medicine King Valley set up camp outside the cage, watching the corpse day and night. After about fifteen days, the Filth Demon’s remains slowly dissipated into black mist, then reformed in a corner of the cage as a new Filth Demon, clawing and slamming against the bars.

The physicians were stunned, scribbling notes and debating this incredible phenomenon.

After much thought, Song Qingshi cautiously proposed: “The Law of Conservation of Energy.”

Energy could neither be created nor destroyed—only transformed or transferred, its total amount remaining constant.

Filth Demons were composed of demonic energy, a form of energy.

Thus, when a Filth Demon was destroyed, its energy would regenerate elsewhere, forming a new one—hence their endless persistence.

This was a suspicion he had long held, now finally proven.

But where had the first Filth Demon come from?

With Yue Wuhuan’s help, Song Qingshi researched the historical records of the Dark Ages and the origins of Filth Demons.

Yue Wuhuan asked, “After Indestructible Peak started the war, Filth Demons appeared. Could it be resentment?”

Song Qingshi shook his head. “Resentment is emotional, not subject to energy conservation. The cultivation world has demons born of hatred, like vengeful ghosts or remnant spirits—once destroyed, they don’t return. Filth Demons are different.”

Yue Wuhuan hesitated. “Could Filth Demons... be humans?”

Song Qingshi fell silent...

It was an answer neither wished to face, yet the closest to the truth.

“During Mo Yuan’s era, in the Demon-Subjugation War, we saw many humans turn into demons. Back then... everyone believed they had demonic blood,” Yue Wuhuan said with difficulty. “Perhaps the war never ended. Demons still exist, lying dormant within humans, fueling their darkest desires. That’s why the cultivation world is full of cruel, ruthless, shameless... trash.”

Indestructible Peak’s massacre of countless such “trash” left demonic energy without hosts, manifesting as the inexhaustible Filth Demons.

Hadn’t An Long, driven by insatiable desires, been possessed by demonic energy, transformed beyond recognition until there was no escape?

Yue Wuhuan whispered, “Is it my fault?” Song Qingshi stated firmly, “No.”

Rain lashed through the window, and Yue Wuhuan grew increasingly agitated. He walked over to close the window, only to see countless flashes of lightning amidst the dark clouds. Distant thunder rumbled, and thousands of soul-lanterns swayed wildly in the downpour, making a chaotic racket that inexplicably unsettled him. Unable to suppress his frustration, he muttered, "I hate this filthy world... The whole damn thing should just burn."

Song Qingshi comforted him, "Hang in there. Things might turn around."

Yue Wuhuan sneered coldly, "I couldn't care less."

Song Qingshi hesitated before saying, "You're the Divine Lord who rules Indestructible Peak. Perhaps... you could save this world."

"It's not worth saving," Yue Wuhuan replied without hesitation. "This world has never shown me an ounce of mercy—only abuse, torment, pain, and hatred. Why should I pity it? If I ever find the mastermind behind this fate, I will cut them to pieces and torment them for eternity."

After what felt like forever, Song Qingshi cautiously asked, "Why did it choose to torment you instead of simply killing you?"

Yue Wuhuan closed his eyes in agony, unwilling to answer.

Song Qingshi whispered, "You know already, don't you? Though we don't know what the mastermind is or why it chose you... what it wants is your hatred. Hatred keeps you trapped, unable to break free or ascend..."

Yue Wuhuan let out a bitter laugh. "What good does knowing do?"

Over and over, he had been defiled, tortured, stripped of everything he loved, driven to madness, and forced to endure agonizing deaths... A thousand lifetimes, yet never a peaceful end.

Even if he understood the mastermind's goal, he couldn't control his own heart.

Who wouldn't hate after such suffering?

His hatred ran so deep it kept him awake at night...

...

Suddenly, countless bolts of lightning hammered the same spot wildly. The ground shook violently, and the mountain peaks swayed.

The talismans on the cliffs of the Endless Abyss peeled away amid the quake. The chaotic lightning strikes finally shattered the formation, loosening the chains that bound the monstrous creature... Its crimson vertical pupils snapped open as it extended razor-sharp claws, struggling with all its might to break free from its prison.

Realizing the danger, Yue Wuhuan dispatched an avatar to reinforce the barrier while his true form rushed toward the Endless Abyss.

But it was too late...

The earth quaked even more violently as the lightning grew wilder. Rocks crumbled away, and as the chains weakened, the monster tore them apart with brute force. With mindless, bloodshot eyes, it lunged at Yue Wuhuan's avatar...

The avatar shattered, exploding into a shower of red sparks before vanishing.

At last, the monster broke free from its cage and soared into the pitch-black sky, its mind filled with nothing but murder—only two words echoing within:

"Qing Shi..."