So it turns out I'm the demon!

Chapter 16 My Lord, Run!

On Longshou Mountain.

Jiang Mu and his two companions were crouching behind a pile of rocks about half a person's height, using the withered grass as cover to secretly observe a bare mountain wall not far away.

Zhang Daxiao withdrew his gaze, his brows furrowed:

"Sir, there's nothing in front of us except a bare rocky mountain. We can't even see a mouse hole."

Jiang Mu squinted her eyes:

"It's right there. There's a hidden door in that mountain wall, and that's the little weasel demon's lair. But... I'm not sure if that beast is still inside."

Hidden door?

The two brothers exchanged a puzzled look.

Zhang Daxiao said in a low voice, "My lord, since you are so certain, how about I go and investigate first?"

"Okay, be careful."

Jiang Mu nodded.

That's why I brought these two people along.

Although he had broken through to a higher realm, his practical combat experience was still inferior to that of the other two.

With one at the third realm, another at the perfect second realm, and him, a first-realm expert, this battle is a sure win no matter how you look at it.

Zhang Daxiao gave his younger brother a "protect the adults" look, then took a deep breath and suddenly shrank, as if melting into the ground beneath his feet.

A slight ridge of earth could be seen rising from the ground.

Like a nimble snake, it meandered towards that mountain wall.

"Whoa!"

A hint of envy flashed in Jiang Mu's eyes, "He can also use the technique of burrowing underground."

Zhang Xiao Kui, standing beside him, crossed his arms and explained:

"This is a supernatural power. Once you reach the third realm and attain a star position, you will be able to draw star power into your body and naturally possess supernatural powers. However..."

The sarcastic remark, "With your qualifications, you probably have no hope in this lifetime," was ultimately not uttered to his face.

The two men stared intently at the raised mound of earth.

Zhang Daxiao, transformed into an "earth dragon," circled and hovered around the mountain wall.

Jiang Mu also figured out some of the tricks of the trade.

Although Zhang Daxiao's earth-burrowing technique is amazing, it can only travel through soft soil. Once it encounters hard rocks, it's like hitting a brick wall and can't make any progress.

After about half a cup of tea's time, the mound suddenly stopped in an inconspicuous corner of the rock wall.

Zhang Daxiao's figure suddenly burst out of the ground.

Then he slapped a slightly protruding rock.

"Boom!"

With a muffled thud, gravel fell in a flurry.

The rock wall actually caved inward, rotating to open a narrow opening just wide enough for one person to bend over and pass through.

"It actually exists?!"

Zhang Xiaokui's eyes widened, and he immediately turned to look at Jiang Mu, somewhat shocked.

Could it be that what this guy is saying is true?

Is that monster hiding here?

Thinking of this, Zhang Xiaokui felt his blood boil.

It should be noted that the culprit in the Longshou Mountain case was a demon that even their former superior, Wen He, couldn't catch.

If those two brothers manage to take them down today...

Isn't this just throwing credit right in Wenhe's face?

Didn't you look down on us brothers and kick us aside like trash? Now we've solved a case you couldn't, let's see if you feel any shame now!

"Stay here and don't move."

Zhang Xiaokui forcibly suppressed his excitement, gave Jiang Mu a few instructions, and drew his sword to rush into the dark cave.

"Wait for me!"

Jiang Mu was unwilling to wait idly.

I came all this way just to charge my cheat program.

He picked up his knife and followed.

Just as they reached the cave entrance, they were stopped by Zhang Daxiao.

"Sir, please wait!"

Zhang Daxiao's expression was solemn.

"My lord, I sensed something underground just now, and there's probably more than one demon inside. Perhaps I should go in with Xiao Kui to investigate first. If there's no danger, then you can enter, my lord?"

He was ultimately unwilling to let this hall master, whose cultivation was still shallow, personally take on the danger.

If Jiang Mu dies here, even if the two brothers have made a great contribution, they will be buried with him.

"More than one?"

Jiang Mu's eyes flickered for a moment, then he nodded. "Alright. But remember, if you kill the demon, be sure to call me in immediately."

Since this is our first mission, we should play it safe for now.

"good!"

Zhang Daxiao said no more, turned around and, together with his younger brother, crouched down and crawled into the cave.

……

The cave was dark and damp.

The further you go in, the stronger the fishy and foul stench becomes.

A pale green mist still hung in the air.

It is clearly a demonic poison and miasma.

However, Zhang Daxiao and Zhang Xiaokui possessed cultivation and their qi and blood protected them, so they were not afraid of this thin layer of poisonous miasma.

After walking about ten or so feet, the passage suddenly opened up.

A natural cave, roughly two zhang square, came into view.

Torches made of animal oil were stuck into the surrounding rock walls.

Scattered on the ground were many white bones, some animal bones and some human bones.

On the stone bed at the innermost part of the cave lay a demon.

The monster had a rat-like head with protruding fangs, and its body resembled a bloated dwarf, swollen and fat, with its round belly sticking out and swaying with its snoring.

At this moment, it was fast asleep, hugging a wine jar, with murky saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth.

Several empty jars lay askew nearby.

The spilled wine was quite scarlet and smelled of blood.

Around the stone bed, six smaller but equally bared weasel demons were huddled together.

They snuggled together, fast asleep.

"A third-tier demon!?"

Sensing the aura emanating from the obese demon, Zhang Daxiao's expression changed slightly.

A third-tier demon means that a demon core has been formed within its body.

Only cultivators possessing the power of a star level can effectively inflict damage.

Zhang Xiaokui also gasped, lowering his voice:

"Judging from its unstable and fluctuating demonic aura, it seems to have only recently broken through. Those villagers who were killed before were probably its prey, hunted down in its quest to reach the third rank."

Zhang Daxiao quickly scanned the cave and whispered to his younger brother:

"I'll deal with that third-tier one. Of the remaining six lesser demons, only one has the aura of a second-tier demon, while the rest are all first-tier. With your abilities, you're more than capable of handling them."

"Don't worry, bro, I'll handle these bastards!"

Zhang Xiaokui licked his dry lips, his eyes filled with bloodthirsty excitement.

Before, when I followed that guy Wenhe, it was all hard and tiring work. I've never encountered such a lucrative job with so much experience.

Today is the day for these brothers to make a contribution!

Zhang Daxiao lowered his body and used his earth-burrowing technique again to disappear underground, sneaking towards the weasel leader on the stone bed.

Although the leader was indulging in a life of debauchery, he was, after all, a third-tier great demon with keen perception.

Just as Zhang Daxiao crept beneath the stone bed, preparing to launch a sudden attack, the fat rat demon abruptly opened its tiny, beady eyes, which flashed with ferocity.

"It smells like a living person!"

It reacted extremely quickly, grabbing the blood wine jar beside it and slamming it hard against the raised ground.

Boom!

The wine jar exploded, shards and blood wine splattering everywhere.

Almost simultaneously, Zhang Daxiao burst from the ground, his long sword wreathed in earth-yellow starlight, and slashed straight at the demon's neck.

"Enemy attack!"

The leader let out a sharp, piercing scream, and pulled out a serrated bone-blooded knife from beneath him, which he used to block Zhang Da Xiao's attack with a clang.

The immense recoil caused both of them to stagger backward.

"Those bastards from the Demon Slayer Division! Kids, skin them alive and eat them with your wine!"

Upon seeing the newcomer's attire, the leader was both shocked and enraged, and charged forward, brandishing his blood-red blade.

The six weasel demons around them were awakened by the roars and fighting, and they bared their teeth and howled as they pounced.

"Hey, your grandpa's here too!"

Zhang Xiao Kui had been waiting for this moment. With a loud shout, he swung his sword and charged into the group of lesser demons.

He wielded his long sword with wide, sweeping movements.

puff!puff!

The moment they met, he cleaved two first-tier demons in half at the waist, their blood gushing out.

Upon seeing this, the largest second-tier weasel bared its sharp teeth and pounced on Zhang Xiaokui.

Demons are born with powerful physiques and are often more troublesome than human cultivators at the same cultivation level.

However, this second-tier yellow demon clearly underestimated Zhang Xiaokui.

Zhang Xiaokui had one foot in the third realm, his cultivation was solid, and his swordsmanship was ruthless. After a few exchanges, he gradually gained the upper hand and forced Zhang Xiaokui to retreat repeatedly.

"Die!"

The blade swept across, leaving a spray of blood.

The second-tier weasel let out a miserable howl as a deep, bone-revealing gash was slashed across its chest. It staggered back several steps, crashed into the cave wall, and slipped to the ground.

Her limbs twitched a few times, then she stopped moving.

"That's all there is to it."

Zhang Xiaokui spat, not even glancing at it, and turned to continue slaying the remaining first-tier demons.

However, as he was chopping, Zhang Xiaokui suddenly felt a chill down his back.

Instinctively, I sensed something was wrong.

He turned around abruptly.

The second-tier weasel that he had just "killed" had vanished!

look up.

Then a yellow shadow was seen darting along the edge of the cave ceiling towards the exit passage.

"Damn it! This beast is faking his death!"

Zhang Xiaokui was both shocked and furious, and hurriedly chased after him.

The monster was on all fours and ran extremely fast. In addition, the low and winding cave passage severely limited Zhang Xiaokui's pursuit speed, and he could not catch up with it for a while.

Just then.

Zhang Xiaokui suddenly saw a tall figure standing at the entrance of the cave ahead, peeking inside.

It was Jiang Mu.

Zhang Xiaokui was overjoyed and was about to shout for help to stop them, but then he suddenly remembered that his master was only at the first level of cultivation, and his face turned pale instantly.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way now!"

Zhang Xiaokui roared, "That's a second-tier demon!"

The fleeing Yellow Demon was startled to see someone blocking the cave entrance.

But it heard the shouts of the pursuers behind it and quickly sensed the presence of the person in front of it.

A realm?

Ants!

A hint of joy flashed in Huang Yao's eyes.

It roared, channeling all its demonic power into its claws, and leaped into the air, transforming into a streak of yellow light that hurtled straight at the figure blocking its way at the cave entrance.

Kill this weakling blocking our way, and freedom awaits us!

"It's over!"

Seeing this scene, Zhang Xiaokui felt a chill run through his body.

Just as the demonic claws were about to touch Jiang Mu's clothes—

Swish!

The blade flashed like a snow-white ribbon, illuminating half of the dimly lit passageway.

puff!

Warm blood splattered out, splashing onto the rock walls on both sides.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

Then, the weasel successfully pounced and flew out of the cave.

The warm sunshine shone on its body, and it smelled the long-lost scent of the mountains and forests and the taste of freedom.

"Hey, this weakling really can't stop me..."

It thought to itself with smug satisfaction, and tried to land and run wildly.

But after landing, it suddenly realized that its vision was a little low and that its body felt much lighter.

I subconsciously looked down.

All I could see was my lower body... gone?

pat.

I heard the sound of something heavy falling to the ground behind me.

That was its lower half, still twitching on the ground.

"squeak……?"

Huang Yao opened his mouth, but then collapsed into the weeds and fell silent.

Jiang Mu sheathed his sword.

Looking at Zhang Xiaokui, whose face was blank inside the cave, he uttered a sentence indifferently:

"Second-tier, nothing special."