Recruit demons to become heroes, hunt demons to become gods

Chapter 274 Temporarily Settle Fu Shaoyun, Meet the Minotaur

Dou Eqing lunged forward and grabbed Fu Renying, then used his escape technique to disappear underground.

Seeing this, Zhou Yutong and Fu Renying did the same and disappeared from the ground as well.

The people from the Demon Hunter Sect who came were from the Shi family, including Shi Lin, who had recently returned from his travels.

In fact, Qiu Qiantian was brought back to the Demon Hunter by Shi Lin.

Otherwise, Qiu Qianxin might have had to wait until he reached the late stage of the Void Refinement realm before returning to the sect.

Within the Demon Hunter Sect, the Shi family and the Qiu family already had a close relationship.

While traveling, Shi Lin met Qiu Qiantian and discovered that he had broken through to the Void Refining Realm. So he took Qiu Qiantian with him and returned to the Demon Hunter Sect.

As for the feud between Qiu Qiantian and Luo Kui, it was a personal feud. With the support of the Shi family and Qiu Qiantian's own cultivation at the Refining Void Realm, Luo Kui naturally could not use the power of the sect to deal with Qiu Qiantian.

After the Shi and Qiu families established this relationship, some people began to have designs on Fu Shaoyun, hoping that the two families could form a marriage alliance through her.

However, Fu Renying's disapproval of the Shi family became the biggest obstacle to this marriage alliance.

However, Fu Shaoyun is also Qiu Qianyi's daughter, and in terms of status, he can make decisions for Fu Shaoyun to a certain extent.

Therefore, the Shi family valued Qiu Qiantian highly, both for his own cultivation at the Void Refining Realm and for his influence on Fu Shaoyun, and assigned a cultivator to keep a close eye on his situation.

When Qiu Qianyi's physical body was destroyed, his soul, which remained at the Demon Hunter Sect's base, immediately split apart, and the sect knew he was in danger.

That's why they sent two Void Refinement cultivators to rescue him, one of whom was Shi Lin.

Therefore, as soon as Shi Lin left Shiguan City, he shouted, hoping to scare away the enemy and save Qiu Qiantian. Little did he know that although Qiu Qiantian's soul had not been destroyed, he had no chance of survival.

Dou Eqing felt that going underground was not safe enough, after all, he was only at the Nascent Soul stage, while the people searching for the three of them were Void Refinement stage experts. Moreover, Fu Shaoyun, whom he was holding, kept resisting, and his whereabouts might be exposed.

Fortunately, Fu Shaoyun didn't seem to be good at escape techniques, and underground she didn't seem like a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage, so her resistance wasn't very strong.

Dou Eqing originally wanted to take Fu Shaoyun to hide in the Ziwei Immortal Mansion, but Fu Shaoyun was not only a Void Refinement cultivator, but also in a state of resistance, so she could not be taken into the Ziwei Immortal Mansion at all.

In desperation, he simply kissed Fu Shaoyun forcefully, which inadvertently calmed her down.

Fu Shaoyun's expression was because she genuinely felt a great deal of goodwill towards Dou Eqing.

The feeling of his first kiss made her momentarily forget Qiu Qianyi's death.

As the saying goes, a person's first time is always profound and unforgettable, which caused her to be completely captivated by this unprecedented feeling and lose herself in it.

Dou Eqing hadn't expected the forceful kiss to have such an effect; unprepared, he stopped after only half a minute.

Have you kissed her?

Fu Shaoyun's voice suddenly rang in Dou Eqing's mind.

"No?"

Dou Eqing responded in his heart.

The two communicated in a rare way, their thoughts almost simultaneously entering each other's consciousness.

At the same time, this kind of communication will not cause misunderstandings, and there are no obstacles to communication.

Therefore, although Fu Shaoyun did not specifically say that she was referring to Fu Renying, Dou Eqing knew it.

Dou Eqing also sensed the joy that Fu Shaoyun did not express openly.

Her reason for joy was very simple: she was able to have intimate contact with Dou Eqing before Fu Renying.

She naively believed that since Dou Eqing had taken her first kiss, she now belonged to Dou Eqing, and Dou Eqing belonged to her as well.

To understand this further, it means that in the battle with Fu Renying for Dou Eqing, Fu Shaoyun felt that she had the upper hand.

Dou Eqing captured Fu Shaoyun's thoughts and ideas.

During the telepathic exchange, he inadvertently thought of the Minotaur and did not realize that his secret with the Minotaur was discovered by Fu Shaoyun because of the telepathic communication.

When she discovered Dou Eqing's secret, she felt a secret joy, but at the same time she was shocked by the Minotaur.

Therefore, Fu Shaoyun deliberately interrupted the telepathic communication, thus preventing Dou Eqing from discovering that she had learned of Dou Eqing's secret with the Minotaur.

Because some secrets are like leverage, used as bargaining chips.

As the two were about to talk again, Fu Renying and Zhou Yutong joined them.

"What should we do now?"

Zhou Yutong watched as Fu Renying pulled Fu Shaoyun away from Dou Eqing's arms and noticed that Fu Shaoyun looked somewhat unwilling. She subconsciously asked Dou Eqing.

"There's something good to watch!"

she thought to herself.

"Go deeper, we'll move underground. You..."

Dou Eqing gave Zhou Yutong some instructions.

If it weren't for Fu Renying and her daughter, he would have wanted Zhou Yutong to be his bodyguard. In particular, Fu Shaoyun's unusual reaction forced Dou Eqing to have Zhou Yutong monitor her.

He instructed Zhou Yutong to find a way to befriend Jiao Shaoyun so that he could keep an eye on her.

During their telepathic communication, Fu Shaoyun and her daughter were also exchanging information.

They initially discussed private matters telepathically, but perhaps due to a misunderstanding, Fu Shaoyun suddenly spoke directly:

“Mother, Young Master Dou kissed me before and took my ‘first time’. I am already his.”

Her eyes were full of smugness, and a meaningful smile played on her lips, as if she were showing off to Fu Renying.

By deliberately using the vague term "first kiss" instead of "first time," they evoked a lot of speculation.

Upon hearing this, all three of them turned their gazes to her.

Fu Shaoyun blushed instantly, her slender fingers twisting the hem of her clothes, her eyes filled with shyness.

“Fairy Fu,” Dou Eqing said solemnly, “I couldn’t think of a better way to calm you down at the time, so I had to resort to this tactic to shut you up, just to avoid revealing our whereabouts. If there was anything abrupt, please forgive me.”

He hadn't figured out how to treat Fu Shaoyun, not only because of Fu Renying, but also because Qiu Qiantian died at his hands, and he was afraid that she would seek revenge on him someday.

If you are secretly plotted against by your spouse, the danger is hard to guard against.

Of course, the simplest way would be to plant the Demon Slave Mark on Shao Yun, but Fu Renying would definitely strongly oppose it.

Although Fu Renying had mixed feelings about her daughter, she didn't want her to become too cold and heartless.

After all, Dou Eqing killed Fu Shaoyun's biological father. Instead of seeking revenge, she chose to spend her life with her enemy, which would definitely affect her temperament and cause her to deviate from the norm.

This special relationship, with its complex background, is most likely to lead to a tragic ending.

Therefore, she wanted to prevent Fu Shaoyun from falling in love with Dou Eqing and to stop them from becoming Daoist partners.

"Yun'er! Stop this nonsense!" Fu Renying flicked her wide sleeves, her eyebrows furrowed, but her voice trembled slightly. "I told you long ago, you and Young Master Dou are not suitable."

Her words abruptly stopped. She tossed her hair back, dug her fingertips into her palms, and forced herself to steady her voice: "Let's make this clear today—he and I have made a vow to grow old together!"

These words struck like a thunderclap, causing the candlelight in the hall to tremble.

The struggle between the mother and daughter over Dou Eqing was now as blatant as the clash of swords on a theatrical stage, shining brightly before everyone's eyes.

Although Fu Renying tried to remain calm, the rouge couldn't hide the paleness on her face.

Dou Eqing stood there, about to say something, but no sound came out when he opened his mouth, making him look extremely embarrassed.

Zhou Yutong watched from the outside of the three of them, a half-smile playing on her lips, her slender fingers unconsciously caressing the jade pendant at her waist.

Fu Shaoyun's reaction was the most surprising.

The handkerchief she was clutching suddenly tore, her knuckles turning white as snow.

A strange fire ignited in her eyes, like a young leopard whose prey had been stolen—but who knew how much genuine emotion and how much spirit was hidden within this pent-up resentment?
She herself couldn't figure out what kind of feelings she had for Dou Eqing.

So, in a moment of impulse, she blurted out the absurd statement: "Then let him have it, let's go together!"

Upon hearing this, Fu Renying felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and all the color drained from her face.

Her slender fingers trembled slightly, her lips parted and closed, a thousand words choked in her throat, but in the end they turned into a sigh.

Her bright, clear eyes first flashed with astonishment, then ignited with shame and anger—she never expected that her daughter would utter such absurd words in front of everyone.

Although they cultivate demonic arts, they are still relatively normal women. No matter how free-spirited they are, there are always some ethical taboos that they cannot cross.

"This must not be done!"

Fu Renying spoke resolutely to the railway, her voice tinged with a hint of sorrow.

"I understand your intentions; you simply want to prevent me from being with him. If you two were truly in love, I would gladly grant your wish. But right now, you're clearly deliberately causing trouble. Why make things so difficult for me?"

Fu Shaoyun then used a feigned retreat as a means of advancement, continuing to devise ways to carry out her torture plan.

"Then how can you make me believe it?"

"I will only give up once I'm sure there's real affection between you two; otherwise, you can't fool me."

"How do you expect me to prove it? Do you want us to shamelessly do those private things in front of you to prove it?"

Fu Renying was also provoked into speaking recklessly.

"There's nothing wrong with it. Even if it's the last time my mother teaches me personally, I'll learn to be a real woman."

Fu Shaoyun completely disregarded the consequences and spoke without thinking.
……

The verbal provocations between the two eventually escalated into Fu Renying throwing herself into Dou Eqing's arms and demanding a kiss to prove their intimacy.

Such a dramatic event is enough to prove that the word "love" is difficult to fathom.

"In a few years, I'll have a child for Dou Lang, and that will make you give up on me!"

Fu Renying made such a guarantee to Fu Shaoyun, which finally made the other party back down.

Fu Shao suddenly pointed to the sky, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and solemnly swore, "I swear by the Great Dao, if I reveal even a fraction of the cause of Qiu Qian's death, may I be struck down by heaven and earth!"

Each word was as sharp as iron, causing the rocks on the cave walls to shatter.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, wondering why she was so resolute, when they saw her turn away, her black hair fluttering in the cold wind: "The Demon Hunter Sect has urgent business to attend to, so I must excuse us."

When his eyes glanced at Dou Eqing and Fu Renying out of the corner of his eye, a barely perceptible cold smile flickered across his lips.

She had already made such a vow, so it was naturally not good to force her to stay, otherwise it would be a mistake she would later regret.

Dou Eqing pondered for a moment, then finally waved his sleeve and made a hand seal.

Four streaks of light, like dragons plunging into the earth, enveloped the group and pierced through the thousand-foot-high rock layers, instantly arriving at the underground outside Shiguan City. The four then emerged from the thousand-meter-deep underground and escorted Fu Renying back to Shiguan City.

Just before parting, Dou Eqing suddenly called out to Fu Shaoyun.

"Please wait, Fairy Fu."

A slight smile played on his lips as he took something from his robes. "I know you are skilled in swordsmanship, and this is perfect for self-defense."

With a flick of his wrist, the hidden sword case landed steadily in Fu Shaoyun's hand.

The sword case was entirely black, faintly gleaming with a cold light, and felt cool to the touch.

Dou Eqing seemed completely unconcerned about presenting such a valuable gift, instead lowering his voice to say, "This should have belonged to you anyway; it's what's truly important."

As he spoke, he took out a jade slip from his sleeve, which was covered with multiple restrictions.

This jade slip originally had multiple divine soul restrictions, but Dou Eqing has broken through them all.

"This is a secret agreement between Qiu Qiantian and Shi Lin of the Shi family. I hope the fairy will take a look."

He watched Fu Shaoyun's reaction intently, a half-smile playing on his lips.

Originally, the Shi family wanted their genius Shi Jian to become a Daoist couple with Fu Shaoyun, but unfortunately, the two were not destined to be together.

Finally, Shi Lin decided to use Fu Shaoyun as his dual cultivation vessel to break through to the late stage of the Void Refinement realm.

This was facilitated by Chiu Chien-tung, who also assumed responsibility for it.

This responsibility puts Qiu Qian in charge of dealing with Ren Ying's anger.

This led to the creation of this secret agreement.

This secret was originally discovered by Fu Renying.

If she were to tell her daughter about this, Fu Shaoyun would at most sever all ties with her biological father.

But Qiu Qianyun is already dead, so he won't bring any other changes to Fu Shaoyun.

Dou Eqing's revelation of Qiu Qianyun's beastly behavior of selling his daughter could alleviate her hatred for Dou Eqing.

Otherwise, even though Fu Shaoyun's father-daughter relationship with Qiu Qianyi has faded, the hatred for her father's murder will still remain in her heart.

Although Fu Shaoyun still told Dou Eqing that she hated him after reading the contents of the secret contract, the fact that she said it proved that her hatred had faded.

The hatred she spoke of was largely related to emotions, similar to hatred born from love.

After the three saw Fu Shaoyun off, Dou Eqing originally intended to act alone, but Fu Shaoyun and Fu Renying's confrontation made it inconvenient for Dou Eqing to let Fu Renying leave now.

Otherwise, it would cause Fu Renying to overthink things and make her feel disheartened.

Dou Eqing simply made the two women his bodyguards and went with them to meet the Minotaur.

The three of them wandered through the Ten Thousand Tomb Mountains for more than half a year before finally meeting the Minotaur.

Because this Minotaur was repeatedly hunted down by human cultivators, his whereabouts were uncertain, and he could never find an opportunity to meet with Dou Eqing.

Seeing this, Dou Eqing came up with a plan and ordered his deputy general to impersonate the Minotaur to lure away the pursuers.

He, Zhou Yutong, and the other two played a trick on the Minotaur, meeting him at the most dangerous spot.

As soon as the two sides met, Dou Eqing, without saying a word, took the Minotaur and disappeared underground, hiding thousands of feet deep.

Even though the pursuers racked their brains, they never expected that the Minotaur would hide underground.

Firstly, the Minotaur is not skilled in this art, and secondly, this race has always been arrogant, preferring to flee thousands of miles rather than cower and hide.

Although Dou Eqing used his escape technique, he couldn't carry the minotaur too deep underground. It turned out that he happened to have a fifth-tier earth escape talisman, which came in handy at this moment.

He made a hand seal and chanted an incantation, and the talisman ignited without wind. The two of them swayed and disappeared two thousand feet underground.

Dou Eqing channeled his true energy and carved out a cave in the rock strata.

Only then did he have time to examine the Minotaur.

Aside from a pair of strange bull horns, the Minotaur is quite handsome; if the horns were covered, he would be no different from a human cultivator.

The Minotaur leaned against the cave wall, its thick horns gleaming with a dark gold luster under the light emitted by the luminous pearl, with a few strands of dark red runes wrapped around the tips, as if containing ancient power.

His sword-like eyebrows slanted upwards towards his temples, making his amber eyes appear even deeper. When the corners of his eyes turned slightly upwards, they revealed a wild and sharp edge, as keen as a cheetah.

His nose was high and straight, as if carved by a knife, and his jawline was clean and sharp. Only the black mane that was faintly visible behind his ears revealed his inhuman bloodline, hinting at his mysterious and powerful demon bloodline.

His muscular body was wrapped in a dark, tight-fitting outfit. The bronze wine gourd hanging at his waist swayed slightly as he tilted his head back, and the muscles in his neck taut out a sharp arc as his Adam's apple bobbed.

The moment his slender fingers brushed over the old scars on the corner, the distant sound of bells startled the roosting crows. The way he squinted his eyes was just like a black panther drinking water from a mountain stream, danger mixed with an indescribable elegance.

Seeing Dou Eqing looking at him, the minotaur stepped off the cave wall and stood still, gruffly shouting, "What a bold brat! You actually dare to come and see this Demon King! I've killed no fewer than ten human cultivators at the Void Refinement Realm. Your little body isn't even enough for my demon rats to share!"

The sound was like muffled thunder, causing rubble to fall from the cave walls.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yutong's eyebrows furrowed, and she pointed with her slender finger:
"Insolence! Although your cultivation is slightly superior, now that you are Dou Lang's demon slave, you should behave yourself!"

Her almond-shaped eyes were wide open, and there seemed to be firelight flickering in them.

Upon hearing this, the bull-headed, human-bodied demon glanced at her sideways and exhaled two puffs of white breath from its nostrils.

Dou Eqing smiled and waved his hand, "It's alright. From now on, we're all family, so there's no need to stand on ceremony."

A meaningful smile played on his lips as his gaze shifted back and forth between the two men.

The minotaur suddenly burst into maniacal laughter, which shook the cave.
"Hahaha! Old Niu admires your courage! However..."

The laughter abruptly stopped, and a fierce glint suddenly shot from the bull's eyes, which were like copper bells:
"A mere Nascent Soul cultivator dares to dream of becoming my master, the Bull Demon King? Wishful thinking!"

It deliberately emphasized the word "master," its fangs gleaming coldly in the darkness.

The Minotaur said this intentionally, only to set his own conditions, that is, to sell himself for a good price, rather than actually becoming Dou Eqing's puppet.

His red, bell-like eyes darted around, and two puffs of white breath escaped from his nostrils. His horns gleamed coldly in the secret cave.

Its large, thick feet stomped heavily on the ground, causing the surrounding gravel to rustle. He thought to himself:
"Although this scoundrel has locked my soul with the Demon Slave Seal, if pushed too far, I'll risk my soul being scattered to bite off three pounds of his flesh!"

The Minotaur felt he had leverage in negotiating terms.

Although he did not continue to mention Tianjiao, Dou Eqing saw through his plan at a glance and gave him his conditions after a moment's thought.

Dou Eqing stood with his hands behind his back, his black robes fluttering even without wind.

He glanced at the dark red curse mark that appeared and disappeared between the minotaur's brows, and suddenly chuckled.

"What a blockhead."

He ran his fingertips along the jade pendant at his waist, speaking slowly and deliberately, "When I become an immortal, I will return your freedom to you."

Before he finished speaking, the minotaur trembled.

Upon hearing the words "becoming an immortal," the Minotaur snorted two puffs of black smoke from his nostrils, thinking to himself, "This fellow's empty promises are even better than those of a storyteller! Becoming an immortal isn't something that can be achieved just by talking about it!"

"If Dou Lang becomes an immortal, you'll be close to becoming a demon god by following him. This is a great opportunity that others would kill for. It's your great fortune to become Dou Lang's demon slave, so don't be ungrateful!"

Zhou Yutong interrupted.

Her words indeed gave the Minotaur pause for thought, interrupting his consideration of other conditions.

"If you encounter any opportunities that the Bull Demon King needs while you are following me, I can help you obtain them. In return, the Bull Demon King is obligated to assist other members of my faction who encounter great opportunities or receive help from others."

Dou Eqing offered other bargaining chips to the Minotaur.

However, this bargaining chip, which is euphemistically called "benefiting the Minotaur," is actually just an exchange.

The easygoing bull-headed demon didn't have as much scheming as the cultivators, and failed to discern the true nature of the situation, making his experience of becoming Dou Eqing's demon slave a little easier.

Since the Minotaur gradually explained that he had become Dou Eqing's demon slave, Dou Eqing continued to deceive him and prepared to activate the demon slave seal in the Minotaur's soul so that the demon slave seal would have the desired effect.

This requires Dou Eqing to use the Slave Control Technique, which will make the Minotaur feel that his life and death are controlled by others.

Fortunately, he didn't know the situation was like this before he experienced it, otherwise Dou Eqing would have had a hard time persuading the Minotaur to let him activate the Demon Slave Seal.

The first time the Demon Slave Seal is activated, Dou Eqing needs to make a hand seal and then place his index finger on the Minotaur Demon's forehead.

Without activation, the Demon Slave Seal needs time to ferment before it can take effect, allowing it to spontaneously influence the Minotaur's soul.

Dou Eqing was eager to cooperate with the Minotaur to prevent him from changing his mind, and the sooner he activated the Demon Slave Seal, the better.

When the Demon Slave Seal in the Minotaur's soul was activated, Dou Eqing felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart.

On the other hand, the Minotaur felt like he had been deceived.

The Minotaur was just straightforward, not stupid. Feeling he had been wronged, he immediately came up with a plan to get justice.

"Well... kid, because of your concern, I was caught up by a human cultivator at the Fusion Stage, and I can't return to my Demon Cloud Cave for the time being. Without my Bull Demon Legion, I might not be able to be of much help in the war between humans and demons."

The only way for me to return to the Demon Cloud Cave and lead the army is to help me raise my strength to the peak of the Void Refinement stage. What do you think we should do?

The minotaur learned to express his purpose tactfully, just like the human monks.

"Speak your mind directly, and help if you can. If it's too difficult, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Dou Eqing knew perfectly well that if he wanted this bull-headed demon to be wholeheartedly devoted to the Hezong sect, he had to give him some real benefits.

After hesitating for a long time, the minotaur finally revealed the opportunity he had kept hidden in his heart for a long time.

Within the Cave of Ten Thousand Demons, demonic energy permeates the air, and demons roam freely. It is shrouded in a blood-red demonic mist year-round, inspiring awe and fear in all who behold it.

If the demons discover this, they will inevitably be besieged and attacked, and it would be an exaggeration to say that they have a slim chance of survival.

Deep within the Ten Thousand Demon Cave lies an ancient demon crystal, said to contain boundless demonic power that can cause demon cultivators to experience a surge in strength.

However, to obtain this item, one must pay a heavy price; some demons have lost their lives for it.

The opportunity that the Minotaur coveted was precisely this ancient magic crystal.

Unfortunately, this magic crystal had long been restricted by powerful human beings, and demons could not even dream of getting their hands on it.

Only a proper human cultivator can break the seal and obtain this item.

Upon hearing this, Dou Eqing's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He thought to himself that he possessed the Ziwei Immortal Mansion, a supreme treasure, and was most adept at concealing his whereabouts.

He immediately boasted, "Since this is the first time the Bull Demon King has spoken since joining my sect, even if it's a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, I will go through it for you!"

His words were spoken with great pride, and the bull-headed demon was immediately overjoyed, his copper-bell-like eyes gleaming with excitement.

However, the key now is how to evade the Minotaur's pursuers and safely return to the Demon Cave.

(End of this chapter)