Chapter 18#

The Peerless Great Demon Ba Snake#

The Head of the Soul Purification Department was in a good mood. The department had a new recruit, and this recruit’s work efficiency was remarkably high. Though the perpetually busy Head didn’t have time to closely examine a newcomer’s mission execution process, based on the data feedback from the Master System, the new plane was running stably, the client’s soul purification rate was at one hundred percent, and a single bowl of elementary Meng Po soup was enough to send them to the Reincarnation Department.

At yesterday’s regular meeting, the Head of Meng Po’s Department had been so delighted that her powder had nearly failed to conceal the wrinkles on her face. She had originally assumed that for a soul of this intensity, even after purification, it would take at least advanced Meng Po soup to wash clean the memories before sending them on. to know , advanced Meng Po soup was a scarce resource—just one bowl made her heart ache for half a day. Thus, in the departmental mutual evaluation segment, the Head of Meng Po’s Department generously gave the Soul Purification Department an S rating. The Soul Purification Department hadn’t received an S from Meng Po’s Department in several hundred years.

This year’s departmental review—we might just make the top three, the Head thought happily as he took a sip of tea. However, when he saw the case closure report submitted by System Assistant No. 666, the tea in his mouth nearly choked him to death.

“The romantic plotline has collapsed! And it’s the romantic plotline between Childs of Destiny? It’s over, it’s over—this is a diplomatic incident! The Department of Destiny is going to come after us…” The Head’s teacup dropped onto the desk with a harsh clatter.

“That doesn’t make sense—if the romantic plotline between Childs of Destiny has collapsed, how could this plane still be running smoothly?” The romantic plotline between Childs of Destiny counted as one of a plane’s cornerstones. If an anomaly occurred, the entire plane could become unstable or even suffer a collapse.

The Head examined the plane’s operational data once more in detail. Indeed, it was remarkably stable—actually even more stable and smooth than before.

“Strange. Better report it upward for study.” The Head stamped a “Pending” seal on the evaluation column of the case closure report.

As for what kind of mood Lu Heng was in upon receiving the pending evaluation—that’s a story for later. The Soul Purification Department was extremely busy with affairs, and Lu Heng soon welcomed his second client.

The humble dwelling is illuminated by radiance.

When this client walked in, those were the only four words left in Lu Heng’s mind. It wasn’t until the man sat down across from him and lightly tapped the table that Lu Heng snapped back to reality.

The man was entirely accustomed to this sort of reaction. He curled the corner of his lips, and that smile left Lu Heng dazed all over again. “My name is Zheng.”

Zheng—a great demon, his original form a Ba Snake, hailing from a plane where mortals, cultivators, and demon clans lived intermingled. Zheng was the Demon King. Having lived for over ten thousand years, he had lost interest in all things in the world, with only two matters remaining in his heart: first, cultivation and ascension; second, safeguarding the demon race. Zheng was a demon who valued loyalty and bonds deeply. The demon race had sheltered him and given him room to grow during his youth, and after he became a great demon, he shouldered the responsibility of protecting the demon race entirely on his own.

Once, during a skin shedding that coincided with a thunder tribulation, Zheng was struck and left covered in wounds, barely clinging to life. A rabbit demon found him and took him in to care for him. Later, that rabbit demon passed away, entrusting her child to Zheng. Zheng raised that little rabbit for three hundred years, taught her cultivation, and provided her with every top-tier resource available. The entire demon race believed that this little rabbit was their Demon Queen. No one believed that Zheng merely viewed her as a junior to care for—least of all the little rabbit named Bai Li.

Bai Li felt that Zheng was too good to her, creating too much pressure. When she heard rumors within the demon race that Zheng intended to marry her, Bai Li—having read plenty of mortal romance stories—bravely decided to “flee the marriage” and seek out the life she wanted while Zheng was in seclusion. In truth, the entirety of the demon race’s territory lay beneath the sweep of Zheng’s divine sense, and Bai Li’s departure was no exception. Zheng hadn’t given it much thought; it was perfectly normal for a newly matured demon to venture into the mortal world for experience. Bai Li carried a great many top-tier magical artifacts, so staying alive wouldn’t be a problem.

However, the next time Zheng received news of Bai Li, it was through a message-carrying paper crane she had sent. She said she was gravely injured and recovering at a cultivator sect, requesting Zheng to come retrieve her and bring her back to demon territory. This trip, however, brought Zheng an experience worse than death. The trip was actually a trap—Zheng was captured by the cultivator sect’s ancient Demon-Sealing Formation.

He was trapped for a full hundred years. The cultivator sect treated Zheng as an inexhaustible source of materials for refining artifacts and pills, drawing his blood, harvesting his scales, flaying his skin, and pulling out his tendons. Yet none of this cruel treatment could deplete a great demon’s life force. When Zheng saw Bai Li again, she had already become a great demon herself. Bai Li wielded the Demon Race’s Sacred Artifact and forcibly broke open the Demon-Sealing Formation to rescue Zheng.

Zheng was severely weakened. Upon returning to demon territory, he entered seclusion to recover. Before his wounds had fully healed, he heard that the demon race was facing a great catastrophe, and he had no choice but to forcibly break out of seclusion. It turned out that after Zheng went into seclusion, Bai Li had declared she would avenge him, scouring everywhere for those who had participated in the incident from years past. Yet somehow, she ended up having a sinful entanglement with the holy monk of the Fanyin Temple. After several years of entanglement between the two, the holy monk attained enlightenment, piercing through the word “love,” and returned to Fanyin Temple to practice. But Bai Li couldn’t let go. She forced her way up to Fanyin Temple to see the holy monk. The holy monk had only a novice monk deliver a message to Bai Li, after which he ceased all karmic connection with her.

Bai Li’s obsessive attachment drove her nearly into demonic corruption. She destroyed half of Fanyin Temple at the cost of shattering the Demon Race’s Sacred Artifact, only to receive news that the holy monk had already become a Buddha. Fanyin Temple was the sacred ground of cultivators, and Bai Li’s actions enraged all human cultivator sects. Thus, the human cultivator sects united, intent on wiping out the demon race.

The demon race had lost its Sacred Artifact, and the Demon King was severely weakened, possessing less than one-tenth of his former peak strength, leaving them unable to resist the cultivators’ assault. Zheng could only go all in—giving his demon core to Bai Li, then the strongest member of the demon race, hoping to aid her in breaking through so she could protect their people.

What he hadn’t expected was that after receiving the demon core, Bai Li actually awakened the Jade Rabbit bloodline within her body, stepping straight into the realm of ascension. Between ascending to the higher realm and staying behind to guard the demon race, Bai Li chose to ascend in order to search for the holy monk—and the entire demon race was nearly annihilated at the hands of the human cultivators.

Thousands of years later, after cultivating into a Great Luo Golden Immortal, Bai Li returned to the lower realm, rebuilt the demon race, and bestowed upon them powerful protection. The demons who knew the truth of what had happened were mostly no longer in the world, and the demon race that grew up under Bai Li’s protection naturally regarded her as their savior. Bai Li thus became the demon race’s greatest Holy Demon. As for Zheng—he became recorded in the demon race’s annals as the chief culprit behind the catastrophe of near-extinction.

“I am Lu Heng, No. 666, of the Soul Purification Department, Department of the Underworld, at your service. Now confirming your request: to protect the demon race so that they do not suffer that catastrophic disaster, and for yourself not to become the chief culprit of near-extinction as recorded in history. Is that correct?”

Zheng nodded. His expression suddenly darkened again. “That Bai Li…”

“I apologize. According to data analysis, Bai Li is this plane’s Child of Destiny. We executors cannot touch her, or it would cause the plane to collapse.” Lu Heng immediately understood what he meant.

Zheng was silent for a moment. In the end, he waved his hand and reached an agreement with Lu Heng.

…

To the south of that continent lay a mountain range called Que Mountain, and the foremost peak of these mountains was Zhao Yao Mountain. The mountain was lush and verdant, densely covered with Zhu Yu grass and Mi Gu trees. Zhu Yu grass and Mi Gu trees—both were rare and precious spiritual herbs. Consuming Zhu Yu grass could cleanse the marrow and scour the channels; the fruits of the Mi Gu tree could sharpen one’s hearing and vision, rendering one immune to all illusions. Yet no one dared to trespass in these mountains, despite treasures filling every hill and vale, for this was the place where the Demon King Ba Snake cultivated.

At that moment, a horse-shaped demonic beast with tiger stripes was seen galloping at full speed toward Zhao Yao Mountain. It barely managed to stop at the mountain’s base, rolled on the ground, and transformed into a young man with delicate, clean features.

The young man frantically fished a paper-folded bird out from his robes, shouting at it: “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! I have an urgent report!”

The moment the paper bird left the young man’s hands, it transformed into a magnificent bird with splendid plumage and dove straight into Zhao Yao Mountain. Soon, the illusionary barrier at the mountain’s foot slowly faded, and a deep, slightly hoarse voice drifted down from midair: “Come up and speak.”

The young man took a step, and the scenery around him shifted instantly. By the time he came back to his senses, he saw a man in a black robe standing before him. The young man felt that all the mountain’s beauty had lost its color in that single moment.

The man wore a black brocade robe, embroidered with intricate and magnificent patterns in gold thread. Yet even this resplendent garment could not steal a single ounce of his splendor. His hair was very black, and upon closer inspection, that black carried a faint ink-blue luster. His skin was extraordinarily pale, his lips a vivid red, his long brows reaching his temples with blade-sharp tails, lending him an intensely fierce air; yet his eyes were faintly tipsy and brimming with feeling, their corners turned up ever so slightly, always carrying an air of languid unconcern when gazing at others.

The young man before him had been dazed for quite some time. Lu Heng didn’t find it strange at all. When he had first arrived in this body, even Lu Heng himself had stared blankly for a long while as he examined it. Just like last time, these features were still Lu Heng’s features, only now blended with certain characteristics of the client Zheng—such as that excessively pale skin, and the small mole at the left corner of his eye. After this blending, for reasons unknown, Lu Heng’s entire appearance had been enhanced by several times over. To call him peerlessly handsome would not be an exaggeration.

“You’re a new member of the Lu Shu clan?” Lu Heng had been in seclusion for over a hundred years, so this young one must be a small demon who had taken human form within the past century.

“A-Answering Your Majesty, y-yes, this little demon’s name is Lu Youyou.” The young man snapped back to his senses, suddenly realizing he had been staring blankly at the illustrious Demon King. He blushed furiously with embarrassment.

Lu Heng had always been lenient with newly born demons. He curled the corner of his lips. “Speak. What is it?”

“Ah, Your Majesty, it’s like this.” Seeing Lu Heng’s gentle expression, Lu Youyou relaxed. “This year, my clan has been assigned to handle external communications. While sorting through outgoing and incoming messages from the outside world today, I found this royal paper crane.”

Lu Youyou pulled a black-and-gold paper crane from his robes—none other than Lu Heng’s exclusive communication paper crane. Besides Lu Heng, only Bai Li, currently traveling abroad, possessed one. It seemed the time had arrived when Bai Li would claim she was rescued by that cultivator sect and lure Lu Heng outside.