CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 85: GATHERING YUAN TREASURE BAG, GOT IT!

King Jincai stared in astonishment at Qi Xiu, who had just severed his legs.

Realizing that the other party lacked an Initiate Realm aura and was merely an ordinary mortal, King Jincai instantly flew into a rage. "A mere mortal! This King will..."

As he mustered the last of his demonic power, intending to crush this ignorant mortal, a colorful braided cord hovering around Qi Xiu’s wrist made him instantly shut his mouth.

"Will what?" Qi Xiu asked coolly, looking down at the Demon.

"Nothing," King Jincai muttered, turning his head aside.

Damn it! What kind of power is that?

The Demon’s instincts sharply warned him that this power could easily kill him.

Taking out a bundle of hemp rope, Qi Xiu tied up King Jincai like a trussed crab. Chanting an incantation, he waved his hand, summoning four water ghouls to carry him.

"Please wait!"

Seeing Qi Xiu about to take King Jincai away, Zhao Shan quickly spoke up. "Esteemed Daoist, this Demon has kidnapped our young master. I wonder if you could kindly compel this Demon to release him? We will certainly provide a generous reward."

"You captured their young master?" Qi Xiu asked, shaking King Jincai.

"I’ve captured so many, who knows which one is their young master?" Humiliated at being tied up like this, King Jincai huffed, his cheeks puffed out.

"His name is Sun Xingshan, the County Magistrate of our county!"

The County Magistrate of this county? Qi Xiu raised an eyebrow. He recalled Jia Yufei mentioning that King Jincai had captured her younger kinsman. Does that mean this Sun Xingshan is also from that mysterious prominent family? Song Tingye, Sun Xingshan... Dispatching their own kin to become county magistrates in these chaotic times. What exactly is this mysterious family planning?

Aware of the mysterious and immense power of the family backing Song Tingye and his associates, Qi Xiu preferred to avoid involvement. He kicked King Jincai. "Release him."

"Release him? How? I’ve already eaten him. Want me to crap him out for them now?" King Jincai sneered.

"Impossible! My young master is protected by a Magic Artifact bestowed by our family head. Even ten of you couldn’t harm a hair on his head," Zhao Shan immediately countered.

Placing a palm on King Jincai’s brow, the [Primordial] on Qi Xiu’s wrist stirred restlessly.

"Don’t waste my time. Any more tricks, and I’ll send you to reincarnation."

Feeling the terrifying, turbulent power above his head, King Jincai silently clenched his teeth.

You lowly beast! Just you wait until I turn the tables! I’ll skin you alive, tear out your tendons, and torture you for a hundred years!

Though deeply unwilling, faced with the threat of death, King Jincai could only open his Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag. He chanted a string of incantations and shook the bag downwards.

A crystal-clear, glowing jade cocoon immediately fell out, within which a sleeping human figure could be faintly discerned.

Seeing the jade cocoon, Zhao Shan’s face lit up with joy, and he hurriedly thanked him. "Many thanks, Daoist friend. I, Zhao Shan, will remember this kindness. If you ever need anything in the future, you can find me at the Yuelai Inn in the provincial capital at any time. I will definitely help with all my might."

"No need." He didn’t wish to get entangled with these powerful factions and invite unnecessary complications.

Leaving the jade cocoon, Qi Xiu commanded the water ghouls to hoist King Jincai and departed hastily.

Before leaving, he added, "Get far away from this county seat within fifteen minutes, or face the consequences."

With that, Qi Xiu and King Jincai quickly disappeared into the dense, misty forest.

"Take Zhao Er and Zhao San, and go quickly!" Struggling to lift the jade cocoon, Zhao Shan endured the intense pain racking his body and spoke in a low voice.

That mysterious scholar wouldn’t have said that for no reason. If we can’t get far away from this county seat within fifteen minutes, we’ll likely face a disaster.

「...」

「Traveling as fast as the wind.」

Qi Xiu brought King Jincai to a hidden mountain hollow he had scouted earlier. He cast another spell, summoning nearly ten water ghouls, who moved aside a massive rock four to five meters high.

A long, dark, and damp mountain cave was revealed.

"Alright, you’ll have to bear with staying here for a bit. I’ll be back soon."

As he spoke, Qi Xiu began taking Suppression Talismans from his satchel. One after another, he affixed them to King Jincai’s body.

Severely injured, with less than one percent of his demonic power remaining, unable to even sustain the most basic demonic miasma, King Jincai gritted his teeth, a creaking sound escaping. Yet, he could only watch helplessly as the Talisman Scripts, radiating golden light, were plastered onto him. They gradually interconnected, forming thick, solid golden chains that eventually solidified into an ancient sealing array, digging into his flesh.

Watching the suppression lock solidify, Qi Xiu paused.

He is a Dao-Entering Realm Demon, after all. It took three hundred Suppression Talismans to barely form a Talisman Sealing Skill, and I estimate it won’t last long.

Having sealed King Jincai, Qi Xiu turned and left.

「A short while later.」

Qi Xiu returned to Dongli County. In this county seat, where not a single living person could now be found, quite a few Half-Demons still lingered.

Previously, while King Jincai was locked in a deadly battle with those people, Qi Xiu had not only scavenged items in the city but had also scattered nearly a hundred [Fish-Fragrance Soft Tendon Talismans], paralyzing all the Half-Demons remaining within.

"This filthy land needs a thorough cleansing."

Standing atop the city wall, gazing at the defiled county seat that bore no resemblance to a human dwelling, Qi Xiu took out a talismanic iron plaque.

"I hope this fire can thoroughly purge the city’s filth, allowing it to be reborn."

[Martial Talisman—Purple Gold Gourd!]

BOOM—

The falling talismanic iron plaque transformed into a crack-covered, purple-gold gourd that slammed into the ground and instantly detonated.

Purple-red flames shot into the sky, raging fiercely amidst billowing black smoke.

However, this was merely the beginning.

As the first Martial Talisman thrown by Qi Xiu activated, the thirty-six Martial Talismans he had buried throughout the county seat immediately sensed the sympathetic vibration of power and began to erupt in unison.

In an instant!

Thirty-six pillars of fire, tearing through the ground, shot skyward.

The supremely yang and unyielding purple fire, like a massive, raging torrent, swept through and scoured the entirety of Dongli County.

The sea of fire boiled, surging with matchless power.

The Half-Demons scattered throughout the county seat were instantly engulfed in purple flames. Yet, the potent effects of the Fish Fragrance Muscle-Relaxing Powder ensured that even if they awoke, they could only watch helplessly as their bodies were burned to cinders, inch by inch.

Such torment was fitting retribution for their crime of devouring humans alive.

The Half-Demons shrieked as they turned to ash. The entire area within the city walls was reduced to scorched earth.

Standing on the city wall, observing everything, Qi Xiu could distinctly feel that although the entire county seat had been obliterated, a horrific sight to behold, the lingering, ominous, and impure filth had also been incinerated and cleansed by the flames. This was precisely why he had started this great fire.

Dongli County had been occupied by Demons for far too long. The filth they carried had permeated the entire city. If it weren’t cleansed, even if the Demons were dead and the county seat returned to the living, the residual defilement would render it a land of death. Forcing people to live here could even lead to them being infected by the filth, grotesquely mutating into half-human, half-demon monsters.

The firelight flickered across his cheeks. Having fulfilled the promise he made upon entering the city—to leave none behind—Qi Xiu clenched his fists and turned to depart.

「...」

「...」

"You really won’t talk?"

"Kill me! I still won’t speak!"

In the dark, cramped, and gloomy mountain cave, King Jincai, facing Qi Xiu’s interrogation, stubbornly refused to reveal the control incantation for the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag.

"Heh, I didn’t realize you were such a stubborn piece of work," Qi Xiu remarked with a slight chuckle, looking at the defiant King Jincai.

"So what? If you have the guts, kill This King! It’s just death. My life was practically forfeit anyway; living this long is already a bonus. Come on, kill me! Kill me! If This King so much as frowns, I’ll take your surname!"

He’s after the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag, King Jincai thought with arrogance. Without the control incantation, the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag is just two pieces of useless cloth. Therefore, he’s certain Qi Xiu won’t kill him.

"Good, very spirited." Hearing King Jincai’s arrogant and defiant tone, Qi Xiu smiled. "Don’t worry, I won’t kill you."

"Pah! A gutless beast!"

His guess was confirmed! King Jincai grew even more insolent.

"But I will torture you," Qi Xiu added.

King Jincai’s defiant expression flickered slightly. Qi Xiu bent down and took an ink brush from his satchel.

"I’ve studied a wide range of subjects, and I’m particularly accomplished in the art of torment and abuse. It’s fine; we have plenty of time. If you don’t speak, I won’t force you, nor will I kill you. Such an excellent live specimen for experimentation—how could I let you die so easily? The Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag is merely icing on the cake for me. If you don’t hand it over, so be it. But you devoured the people of my city, and for that, I must settle this account with you thoroughly."

Slowly approaching King Jincai, Qi Xiu raised the ink brush. Amidst King Jincai’s shouts—angry, despairing, terrified, and then pleading—he began to inscribe one Talisman Script after another onto him.

「...」

「The first ten days.」

After enduring torments like roasting by fire, dismemberment, corrosion, and drowning in quagmires, King Jincai still clenched his teeth and persevered.

He was waiting. Waiting for his demonic power to recover. As long as he could conjure his demonic miasma, he could turn the tables and kill this beast of a human.

「The second ten days.」

Qi Xiu, having figured out how to combine various poison talismans to catalyze an insidiously potent toxin a hundred times stronger, gave King Jincai his first taste of being "poisoned" while simultaneously feeling that "living was worse than death."

Yet, King Jincai was still holding on. His demonic power had partially recovered. Just a little more, and he could conjure his demonic miasma and launch a desperate counterattack.

「The third ten days.」

King Jincai successfully gathered his demonic power and conjured his demonic miasma. This power was equivalent to the protective Gang Qi of Human Race’s Initiate Realm cultivators—unbreakable by anyone not in the Initiate Realm and potent enough to crush any existence below that level.

But just as King Jincai believed he was about to turn the tables, to repay Qi Xiu a hundredfold, a thousandfold for the torture he had endured...

A hand, swirling with colorful light, slammed down.

CRACK—

The demonic miasma exploded, dissipating into countless wisps of black smoke.

Along with it, King Jincai’s spirit shattered.

「The thirty-first day.」

"This is the control scripture for the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag. Just... give me a swift end." With a scroll unfurling from his tongue, King Jincai’s face was ashen; his resistance had vanished.

The prolonged, agonizing torment was too much even for a Demon to bear. After all, most Demons relished inflicting pain, not suffering it. More critically, it was Qi Xiu’s expressionless palm strike that had shattered his demonic miasma. That blow hadn’t just destroyed his demonic miasma; it had utterly extinguished any hope he had left. Persisting was now meaningless. Rather than continue enduring this excruciating torture, it was better to ask for a quick death.

Staring at the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag and its control scripture before him, Qi Xiu’s lips curled into a smile as he let out a long, turbid breath.

"Finally, it’s mine."

...