Attaining Immortality, Starting From Slaying Demons

In the quiet courtyard.

Shen Yi drew water from the well, wrung out the cloth, and walked over to the brutish man with his head drooping.

He looked at the other's anxious and baffled expression, as well as the comical ink on his face.

"Well, say what you will, it's quite convincing."

His lips slightly upturned, a mischievous glint passed through his clear eyes. After teasing the other person, he reached out to remove the pig's nose and ears from Zhang the Butcher's face and handed over the cloth, his voice gentle but reassuringly steady, "Clean yourself first."

"I..."

Zhang the Butcher, with the Pig Demon decor removed, clenched the cloth, his rough face trembling.

Then, as if venting, he rubbed his face vigorously with the cloth, as if to scrub off a layer of skin.

Seeing this, Shen Yi turned and entered the house, "Now, start from the beginning and tell me everything, word by word."

He glanced sideways, his gaze returning to calm, "Don't be melodramatic, and don't worry about me; just explain clearly, leave the rest to me."

Upon these words.

Zhang the Butcher, who had been stubbornly holding himself up, finally crouched down helplessly, his large and robust body trembling like a child as he cried, "I didn't break the precepts! I didn't break the precepts! I didn't covet her body, they did it on purpose! They forced her to smash her head on the doorway and die."

Though his words were jumbled and his emotions collapsed.

Shen Yi listened quietly, removing his outer garment, "Does Vajra Gate have precepts?"

"There weren't any before, and there aren't any now, only for direct disciples. I am a direct disciple... but I didn't break any precepts! The child isn't mine!"

Zhang the Butcher raised his head in hatred, his murky eyes filled with despair.

Shen Yi draped a brand-new Yin Yang Fish robe over his body and suddenly remembered what the other had mentioned before. He had been a genius when he first joined, taken as a direct disciple, only later offended someone, and thus had been denied access to the Jade Liquid Boundary martial arts for years, pressed down so hard he had to research and develop half of the Golden Yang Eight Treasures Mystical Body himself.

"Yuan Gang and his brother joined Vajra Gate together, his elder brother died near Qingzhou City outskirts, and he suspected me because I was nearby at the time, but had no evidence. I've always been on good terms with Yuan Zhi, neither grudges nor conflicts of interest... It was only he who kept deluding his master, secretly targeting me."

Zhang the Butcher, as if lost in memories, unsteadily stood up from the ground.

"So they framed you?"

Shen Yi adjusted the Yin Yang Fish robe and took out the Fierce Wolf Devouring Moon Cloak.

"No, I killed Yuan Zhi," Zhang the Butcher said numbly, his large hands suddenly clenched into fists, "At first, I wasn't interested in any sutras; I was just drunk and bored, and when I heard Yuan Zhi was leading a group of virtuous men for self-cultivation, I followed them to mock him."

"I saw... he was keeping more than a dozen people, tied up like pigs, all filthy and devoid of divine soul, extracting the essence of men and the foul blood of women to bathe in... he was practicing a forbidden Body Refining Method behind the back of Vajra Gate!"

"When I discovered this, he chased after me... I panicked. I never thought someone I lived and worked with could show such cold and fierce expressions. Anger welled up inside of me, and in a heated moment, I killed him and almost died there myself."

"Most of those kept had lost their senses due to the drugs, only one woman, pregnant and therefore not used for blood extraction, was locked up for Yuan Zhi's pleasure and was still coherent. I quietly took her away, settling her in a remote village some distance from Qingzhou City."

As he finished, two large teardrops fell from the corners of Zhang the Butcher's eyes, sliding down the creases, his entire being devoid of spirit.

Because he tried to find a teacher for the child to learn to read and write, he had accidentally exposed this matter.

"Yuan Gang had made progress in his martial arts and happened to be coming out of seclusion. They knew I had come back, followed me stealthily, saw me inquiring about remuneration for teachings, and traced it to that village, planning to kill me under the pretense of breaking the precepts."

"She refused to betray me and wouldn't tarnish my reputation. She just slammed her head and died..."

"By the time I got there, she was already breathless."

"The child is still in their hands."

The somewhat heartbreaking and hopeless words lingered faintly, yet persisted.

"Are you clean yet? Come with me."

Shen Yi stepped out of the house, heading toward the gate.

Compared to Zhang the Butcher, who was ostracized to Baiyun County, he knew perhaps a bit more.

The unexplained rise after the sect's decline, a martial arts sect yet abruptly erecting Buddha statues and building pagodas, seemed to others like a move to please the newly appointed governor, but now it appeared there was more to it.

Zhang the Butcher stared blankly ahead.

The young man's silhouette was upright, his shadow adorned with a golden, hollowed-out wolf-patterned crown binding his hair; the Yin Yang Fish notably striking, his waist girded with Precious Jade, sporting a gold-patterned, black sheath at his side, a Fierce Wolf Cloak billowing furiously in the wind!

Shen Yi tugged at his collar, his handsome face holding an indelible chill.

"Where to?"

"To finish the tasks that those who truly deserve to die didn't manage to complete."

The youth's palm casually rested on the hilt of his blade. His steps were even, and his figure gradually merged with the endless night.

...

Vajra Gate.

Faced with thousands of Demon-suppression Bureau Colonels with indifferent expressions, they almost blocked the area completely, causing many disciples to subconsciously throw their weapons to the ground.

"We are not in collusion with demonic beasts!"

"Your Excellency, please discern the truth!"

In the midst of the crowd, watching these diversely dressed martial artists from the jianghu, Hong Lei slightly furrowed his brow—this didn't seem like they were here to cause trouble?

It was those fake monks inside the Pagoda, none of whom had shown their faces thus far.

What were they feeling guilty about?

"Your Excellency, please discern the truth!"

The multitude of disciples was panic-stricken, many of the more frightened ones had already collapsed to the ground, their faces smeared with tears and snot.

The most accomplished among them were merely at the Initial Realm; the majority were ordinary martial artists in the mortal stage. They had joined Vajra Gate to learn martial arts, hoping to one day be noticed by the monks, be ordained, and receive the transmission of the profound Body Refining Methods. They had never seen such a grand scene.

Just then, a figure was suddenly kicked over.

With a thud, he hit the vermilion nailed door; his wide white clothes were stained with blood, every bone in his body was shattered, and he lay listlessly on the ground.

Upon recognizing his face, many Vajra Gate disciples choked back their cries and collectively held their breath.

Master... Master Yuan Gang?!

Before they could react, they saw a figure in a large cloak slowly step out from the midst of the Colonels.

The night breeze was desolate; the cloak fluttered.

The image of the Golden Fierce Wolf Devouring Moon swept past the eyes of many Colonels, capturing everyone's gaze.

They clenched the Demon-Suppressing Chains in their palms even tighter, imprinting the young man's visage into their mind as they stood even taller.

Some things really did spread fast. For instance, when a few Golden Eagle Commandants, hearts still pounding after a drink, spoke of how he cut down the Crocodile Dragon with a flick of his hand, and with a flip, struck down Elder Nu Jian.

Moreover, the glory of rising three ranks while riding through Qingzhou City lent much credence to these inebriated tales.

Butcher Zhang carefully walked among these important figures, not even daring to lift his head. After a moment, however, he realized that these people seemed just as nervous as he was.

"If someday, I too could..."

Li Xinhan stared intently at that somewhat slender figure, feeling inexplicably moved.

He then turned to look at his sister, seeking encouragement, but found the bewitching girl staring ahead in a daze, her lips parted slightly, her breath a bit hurried.

...

Shen Yi walked up to the door with composure, grabbed Yuan Gang's clothes, and dragged him, step by step, up the long steps.

Dark red bloodstains followed his steps, soaking the stone staircase.

About a dozen or twenty steps later.

He dropped Yuan Gang and straddled the steps, resting his forearm casually on his knee, his sleeves billowing.

Shen Yi, with his back to the tightly shut Pagoda, extended his other hand and raised his slender index finger.

There wasn't the slightest hint of threat on his fair face, and his voice was as calm as his expression.

"One incense stick's time."

"If I don't see the people I'm looking for, Vajra Gate will cease to exist in Qingzhou."