A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

In the following days, Xu Yuan's life became extremely regular.

During the day, he cultivates the "Mysterious Demon Suppressing Prison Technique" and the "Netherworld Soul Refining Technique," while at night, he operates in the city as Blood Hand, constantly familiarizing himself with the operation of the Outer Tower of the Shadow Pavilion and secretly gathering intelligence.

As expected, Lei Zhen kept his word and quickly delivered the first batch of cultivation resources to the villa—fifty low-grade spirit stones, ten Spirit-Nourishing Pills, and a complete cultivation technique, the Condensation Aperture Chapter, of the Mysterious Fiend Prison-Suppressing Force.

With these resources, coupled with the characteristics of the [Eternal Hunger Body], Xu Yuan's current cultivation speed is terrifying.

In just five days, he completed the condensation of the fourth aperture, "Jade Pillow," and officially entered the realm of condensing four apertures.

"At this rate, condensing the eight apertures in a month shouldn't be a problem," Xu Yuan secretly estimated.

Little did he know that what he considered an extremely ordinary breakthrough speed would be considered astonishing by others if they knew about it.

However, the strongest opponents in the Demon Slaying Tournament may have already condensed nine or ten apertures, so Xu Yuan still did not intend to let his guard down and instead made the most of every minute and second.

On this day, Xu Yuan was cultivating in the courtyard when he suddenly sensed a familiar aura approaching.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door.

Xu Yuan got up and opened the door, only to find Meng Hu standing outside.

"Brother Xu!" Meng Hu exclaimed excitedly, "Great news! Commander Lei wants to see you; he says he has a mission for you!"

"Task?"

"Yes, a top-tier (Grade C) one! The reward is fifty spirit stones! I just got a low-tier (Grade C) one, everyone's so envious!"

Xu Yuan's heart stirred, and he followed Meng Hu toward the Demon Suppression Division.

On the way, Meng Hu went on and on: "Brother Xu, do you know why Commander Lei values ​​you so much? I heard it's because the other three battalions heard you were going to represent the Northern Battalion in the Demon-Slaying Conference, and they were all laughing at us for having no one else to fill in. Commander Lei is holding his breath, wanting you to show off your skills and slap them in the face!"

Xu Yuan smiled but didn't reply.

He's always been quite good at slapping people in the face.

………………

The main hall of the Northern Camp of the Demon Suppression Division.

Lei Zhen sat at the head of the table and nodded slightly when Xu Yuan entered.

"You're here, have a seat."

Xu Yuan sat down as instructed.

Lei Zhen cut to the chase: "There's a mission, a top-tier C-grade one, with a reward of fifty spirit stones. It was originally supposed to be given to Zhou Yuankai and the others, but after some consideration, I think it's more suitable for you to do it."

"What mission?"

"Thirty miles east of the city, there is a place called 'Sleeping Ox Town,' where villagers have recently gone missing one after another. The county government has been investigating for half a month without any clues, so they have reported it to the Demon Suppression Bureau."

Lei Zhen handed over a scroll. "Based on preliminary assessment, there might be evil spirits at work. You're quite capable, you can go and take a look."

Xu Yuan took the scroll, opened it, and examined it closely.

Woniu Town has more than 300 households, who live off the mountains.

Seven people went missing within half a month, neither alive nor dead. All the missing were young adults, and the disappearances all occurred at night.

"Any concrete clues?"

"No." Lei Zhen slowly shook his head. "That's why I sent you. Remember, if you find anything amiss, report it immediately. Don't be reckless."

Xu Yuan nodded: "When do we depart?"

"The sooner the better, I'll send you two helpers—"

"No need," Xu Yuan stood up. "I am enough on my own."

Lei Zhen looked at him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes: "Alright, then so be it. Set off early tomorrow morning, and if there are no results within three days, remember to return promptly."

"Yes."

………………

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xu Yuan had already left the city.

He did not ride a horse on this trip, but chose to walk.

The [Mountain and Forest Traversal] feature is most effective in the wild, but is inconvenient when riding a horse.

Thirty miles is no more than half an hour for Xu Yuan now.

When he stood outside Woniu Town, it was just getting light.

The town is small, with a main street running north to south, lined with low earthen houses on both sides.

It was morning cooking time, and smoke was billowing from the chimneys of every household, making it look no different from an ordinary mountain village.

However, Xu Yuan detected something unusual through his [Yin Qi Perception].

It's faint and subtle, yet it truly exists.

He followed the wisp of yin energy and arrived at a dilapidated house at the east end of the town.

The dilapidated house had its doors and windows tightly shut, and the yard was overgrown with weeds, suggesting it had been abandoned for a long time.

Xu Yuan pushed open the door and entered.

The room was simply furnished, with tables and chairs covered in dust. He looked around and finally focused his gaze on a slightly raised mud brick in the corner.

He crouched down, reached out and brushed away the loose soil to reveal a wooden plank.

Lifting the wooden board revealed a dark, gaping hole underneath.

A chilling aura emanated from the cave, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible, smell of blood.

Xu Yuan did not hesitate and jumped down.

The tunnel stretched downwards at an angle, and after walking about thirty feet, the view suddenly opened up ahead.

It was a naturally formed underground cave with a ceiling about three zhang high, and stalactites hanging upside down like swords.

On both sides of the cave wall, dozens of mummified corpses were neatly stacked!

These mummified corpses had bluish-black faces and shriveled skin, and their deaths were exactly the same as the seven corpses in Willow Leaf Alley—all of them had their life essence drained, leaving only skin and bones.

Deep inside the cave, faint chewing sounds could be heard.

Xu Yuan held his breath and approached silently.

At the end of the cave, a huge figure was gnawing on something.

The creature resembled a human, but was over ten feet tall, covered in black fur, with a huge head and a gaping maw tearing at the half-corpse in its hand.

The strangest thing is that it also has a pair of fleshy wings that are not yet fully formed on its back!

The information transmitted through the [Yin Qi Perception] made Xu Yuan frown slightly.

【Yaksha (Early Stage Demon General - In Evolution)】

【Characteristics: Immense strength, thick hide, bloodthirsty and ferocious】

[Weaknesses: Lightning magic, soul attacks]

"Early stage of demon general... evolving..." Xu Yuan quickly calculated in his mind.

With his current strength of having condensed four apertures, the outcome of a battle against an early-stage demon general should be about 50/50.

But this thing is evolving, and if it can be interrupted, the latter's strength will be reduced by at least 30%.

Xu Yuan did not rush to make a move, but quietly retreated, took out three explosive arrows from his storage bag, and nocked them onto the Ghost Cry Bow.

The Three Arts of Archery — Three Stars in a Row!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Three arrows were fired simultaneously, aimed straight at the Yaksha's back!

The yaksha only became aware of the approaching arrows, but it was too late to dodge.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three loud explosions rang out, and three bloody holes blew open on the back of the Yaksha, with black blood gushing out!

"roar---!"

The Yaksha let out a deafening roar, dropped the mangled corpse in his hand, and turned to pounce on Xu Yuan.

Although it was huge, it was incredibly fast, covering a distance of several meters in the blink of an eye, and then slammed down with its giant, fan-like paws!

Xu Yuan did not take the blow head-on. Instead, he activated [Mountain Forest Traverse] at full power, twisting his body in a strange way to barely avoid the palm strike.

The giant hand slammed into the ground, sending rocks flying and leaving a deep crater.

Such incredible power!