Chapter 3: Cutting Grass

Deng Baiyi felt an unprecedented chill as a cold and biting wind swept by, slicing through every gap in her bones.

In the midst of the night, a cluster of crows started up, their cries thundering across the sky and whitening the barren ridges.

A few dozen feet away, several tall, dark figures stood like mountains, as if they had always been there.

Holding an oil-paper umbrella, Xie Xuanyi looked around indifferently and said calmly, "Including the one we just killed, how many demons have there been in Yuzhu Town?"

"Three, four?"

Deng Baiyi mumbled a response based on her recollection, her tone uncertain.

But at this moment, certainty was no longer necessary.

Because the Great Demons surrounding the two of them already exceeded that number.

Xie Xuanyi glanced around and quickly counted.

There were already five Great Demons present, and more demonic auras were approaching from the distant mountains, clearly indicating that the number of demons within the borders of Yuzhu Town was greater than Deng Baiyi had guessed.

"So many Great Demons? Can you manage them?"

Deng Baiyi became nervous without reason and reached out a hand, carefully tugging at Xie Xuanyi's sleeve.

"Great Demons?"

Xie Xuanyi scoffed and shook his head.

He put away his umbrella, poking the muddy ground with the tip of it. After closing the umbrella, his clothes remained dry; the rain that filled the sky fell before reaching his head, parting around him like thousands of streaming willow leaves.

This scene caused the encircled "Great Demons" to halt their steps.

"Transformed demons, merely possessing a sliver of Spirit Wisdom, can't fully shed their fur yet dare to claim themselves as Great Demons?"

Xie Xuanyi placed his hands over each other on the umbrella's handle, his face expressionless as he looked at the massive figures before him and said, "Within the boundaries of Da Chu, the Demon Race shall not step foot, although I don't know…what has happened over these years. But one thing is beyond doubt; even if the Northern Border Guardian were all dismissed, this iron-clad rule would never change!"

North of the Northern Border lies the Demon Country. If this iron rule were no more, then Yuzhu Town would certainly not be inhabited by humans today and would have long been trampled by alien cavalry.

"So… you few abominations can only be culturing your Dao within the boundaries of Da Chu."

"Across the four regions, only the Evil Cultivators of Yin Mountain forge the Spirit Control Technique, tame beasts, and awaken their consciousness."

Xie Xuanyi spun his umbrella around and, smiling, asked, "What was the name that beast reported before it died?"

Deng Baiyi suddenly realized.

The identity of the Great Demons that "ascended" upon Yuzhu Town and their numbers were not important!

What mattered was where these Great Demons came from!

"Heavy Fog... Yin Mountain Heavy Fog…"

Deng Baiyi muttered, reciting the title Tu Fei had reported.

Thus, the true manipulator of Yuzhu Town was not these demons but that Evil Cultivator from Yin Mountain.

"Yin Mountain Evil Cultivators refine souls with Spirit Control Technique, these abominations although they have awakened Spirit Wisdom, are ultimately all contained within his grasp."

Xie Xuanyi said mockingly, "However, this 'Heavy Fog' Daoist's skill in Spirit Control Technique doesn't seem very good. As far as I know, the 'Great Cultivators' from Yin Mountain can divide their Divine Sense into hundreds or thousands of threads, manipulating different spirit demons separately. And whenever a spirit demon dies, the master can unravel and retrieve the memories from just before death."

A thousand separations of Divine Sense controlling spirit demons, could there truly be such a terrifying presence in this world?

Just hearing Xie Xuanyi's words...

this feat seemed merely "nothing special."

Deng Baiyi's scalp tingled as she mumbled, "Then what about your level?"

Xie Xuanyi smiled and shook his head, not answering her question.

But Deng Baiyi vaguely knew the answer in her heart.

If Heavy Fog had advanced to that point capable of glimpsing Tu Fei's memories just before his death, he certainly would not have sent his minions to try to block and execute them.

His best course of action was to abandon all his possessions and flee as fast as he could, to escape Yuzhu Town and Beihuang County and, ideally, to cross the borders of Da Chu. That way, he might have grasped a sliver of chance for survival.

The next moment, the smile on Xie Xuanyi's face completely vanished.

He looked at the "enormous beings" in front of him as if they were mere ants.

Those mountain-like figures were very tall.

But there was only one mountain here.

"Repeat that—"

Xie Xuanyi casually lifted the oil-paper umbrella with one hand, its tip aimed at the figure before him, and gently tapped.

"The thing I hate the most in my life is Yin Mountain."

The tangible killing intent in the air completely erupted!

With a 'puff' sound!

The leading Great Demon lunged forward, then its body suddenly exploded.

Xie Xuanyi merely tapped with the tip of the umbrella, maintaining a distance of several dozen feet.

It was like puncturing a burning lantern—

A bloody mist mixed with mud burst forth!

The scene was so impactful, even more direct and brutal than when he had killed Tu Fei at the mansion; Deng Baiyi was completely shocked. When one witnesses a scene that shatters their baseline of fear, not even a scream of instinct can escape; she just sat there stupefied in the mud, entrusting all her possessions and life to the white-clothed young man she had only just met.

Bloody mist splattered everywhere, yet not a drop landed on the two of them. An invisible wave of air rolled in front of Xie Xuanyi, as if the filth was thrown against an impregnable wall of bronze and iron.

The next moment, the remaining four Great Demons encircling the wilderness launched their attacks!

The world before Deng Baiyi's eyes suddenly darkened.

But the next moment, it brightened again.

In an instant, the whole mountain range was filled with thousands of silver threads, resplendent with thunderous might, ending everything before it even began. The bodies of all four Great Demons were blasted to pieces. Time-wise, the deaths of these five monstrous creatures were not far apart, only about a breath or two. With a smack, at the far end of Deng Baiyi's sight, a narrow object was slung diagonally and stuck into the mud, almost without a base.

It was indeed the paper umbrella originally folded and held by Xie Xuanyi.

Now, the umbrella's surface was shattered and full of holes.

The thousands of silver threads that had covered the mountain range had all been chopped out by an ordinary paper umbrella.

This was not a cultivator's Lifebound Artifact, nor did it possess any special powers... It simply couldn't withstand the force of Xie Xuanyi's sword slash.

It was merely used forcefully once and had already reached its limit, completely ruined.

"To unsheathe my sword is to kill; to cut down the grass is to remove its roots."

Xie Xuanyi watched the bones falling noisily from the sky, his expression unchanged. He silently reached out one hand, and Deng Baiyi, still in a daze, somehow handed over the paper umbrella in her hand to him.

"Even if I had no grudge against Yin Mountain, in such cases, I would leave no survivors."

Xie Xuanyi took the paper umbrella, weighed it lightly, and twirled it like a sword flower.

He looked up at the dim sky and said calmly, "Go back to the mansion. After I finish killing, I will return, and then you can give me your answer."

"I..."

Deng Baiyi was just about to say something.

Thunder erupted again on the mountain ridge, and the figure in white in front of her disappeared like a ghost, leaving no trace behind.

...

...

(The status of signing the contract has finally been corrected. Thanks to "Love Love Their Home's Big Cutie Sisi" for the alliance reward, kiss! The update schedule for the new book period is temporarily set for two releases a day, updated at noon! Let's go!)