Within moments, Qin Yun arrived outside a magnate’s manor with the restrained cat demoness in tow. He had sealed her demonic powers to ensure she couldn’t escape. He hid with her in a shadow outside the manor walls.
“It’s here. My leader is living in there,” the cat demoness said in hushed tones.
Qin Yun opened his Dharma Eyes and looked beyond the walls, into the manor.
“No demons?” Qin Yun was perplexed. From his perspective, it looked like a normal magnate’s manor. He could not detect any demonic aura within.
“Are you sure that your leader is living here?” Qin Yun used the sealing spell to put a light barrier around the cat girl and himself, preventing any sound from being transmitted.
The cat girl nodded with great conviction, “Definitely! This manor might seem normal, and there is even a magnate living inside. But this manor is split into two portions, an inner sanctum and an external one. My leader and the others live in the inner sanctum. There’s even an underground palace within the inner sanctums of the manor. That is where my leader resides most of the time.”
“Underground palace?” Qin Yun was quite surprised. “A luxurious palace is definitely not something that can be completed in three to five years without being discovered by the authorities. It looks like your leader has been in Grand Dominance City for quite a while.”
“He has been here for decades,” the cat demoness said obediently.
…
Meanwhile, inside the secret palace.
A yellow-robed fat man was smiling and squinting his eyes as he sat on an extravagant throne. A pink-robed woman whose breasts nearly burst out of her robes snuggled up to the yellow-robed fatty and fed him desserts.
Sitting beneath the yellow-robed man were seven experts that lined the sides of a hall. They were of all ages and genders with extraordinary dispositions. They were enjoying nice wine and food while watching the dance before them.
Musicians were performing to the side of the hall.
Their zithers and flutes played in harmony, making the tune go from majestic and bombastic to soothing and whimsical…
The dancers danced along with the vicissitudes of the melody. At times, they would be extremely solemn, other times they would dance agilely with alacrity, and finally in a seductive and alluring manner…
“Good!” The yellow-robed fatty and the seven experts under him enjoyed the show.
“Master, try this. I made it myself.” The pink-robed woman took out a bit of dessert from one of the plates and extended her hand towards the yellow-robed man’s mouth.
However, the yellow-robed fatty was focused on a black-robed elder that had appeared within the hall.
“Do you not like what I made?” The pink-robed woman wheedled.
“It tastes great. Babe, everything you makes tastes good but your mouth is the sweetest.” The yellow-robed fatty turned his head and kissed the pink-robed woman.
The pink-robed woman laughed seductively.
“All of you are dismissed,” the yellow-robed fatty ordered.
“Yes, Master.”
The musicians and dancers stopped and left after bowing. They had already lost themselves to despair. Ever since they entered this underground palace, they were never able to leave. They could only live out their hopeless lives in silence. They didn’t even dare to complain, because the demon was simply too scary!
At that moment, the black-robed elder walked up with a wooden box in his arms. The elder bowed obsequiously as he said, “Leader Chu, the Astral Patterned Steel that you needed has finally been obtained after eight years of gathering. This batch weighs a total of 83 pounds.”
“Astral Patterned Steel?” The figure of the yellow-robed fatty that was originally sitting down suddenly turned blurry. He traversed a distance of more than a hundred feet while leaving a series of afterimages in his wake.
Thud!
He appeared before the black-robed elder.
The black-robed elder’s heart quivered. “He’s so fast. He can probably kill me in one strike. However, before he even bothered to, the other seven demons lining the sides would easily kill me as well.”
The yellow-robed fatty reached out his hand and grabbed the wooden box. He quickly opened it and caught sight of the silvery-white metallic blocks engraved with special patterns. His eyes lit up and he chuckled queerly. “This Astral Patterned Steel is banned by the government, so no civilian is allowed to be in possession of it. If one is caught with it, it’s punishable by death to the entire family.”
“It really wasn’t easy. We tried everything and spent eight years. Many people died before we managed to get our hands on these. Once I obtained them, I immediately brought them here to you,” the black-robed elder said quickly.
“Relax, I will be good to you in consideration of your loyalty to me. No one will dare challenge your standing as sect head as long as I’m here! There is no need for your sect to pay any tribute to me for the next decade,” the yellow-robed fatty said forthrightly.
The black-robed elder was overjoyed.
With the support of the demon leader, his standing as sect head was stable? Tribute was waived for ten years? That tribute would naturally end up in his pockets.
“Thank you, Leader Chu,” fawned the black-robed elder.
“Astral Patterned Steel.” However, the yellow-robed fatty was fixated upon the treasure within the wooden box. He picked up a silver-white metal piece and threw it into his mouth. The teeth in his mouth were originally quite ordinary but they suddenly turned hideous like razor-sharp saws. With crunching sounds, he pulverized the Astral Patterned Steel into smaller pieces and swallowed them. Afterwards, his teeth returned to normal.
“My strength is ranked within the top three of the sect. However, even a strike from my ax only leaves a scuff on this Astral Patterned Steel. Furthermore, the metal will automatically heal itself very quickly. Yet, he crushed it with his teeth just like that?” The black-robed elder was secretly appalled.
After the yellow-robed fatty finished a block of Astral Patterned Steel, he walked back to his seat and sat down. However, there were silver lines circulating faintly over his skin.
“Congratulations leader!”
“With this Astral Patterned Steel, leader’s strength will definitely enhance immensely!”
The seven underlings who were sitting by the side stood up to offer their congratulations.
Some precious materials could only be used by immortals, buddhas, gods or demons. For example, the demon leader’s cultivation could be directly enhanced by consuming Astral Patterned Steel.
“Hahaha…..” The yellow-robed fatty laughed and the sound of his laughter made the whole hall tremble.
Suddenly, a black-robed youth walked into the hall through a side door, with a frail girl in his grasp. He walked in so casually, it was as if it were his back garden.
The new arrival was none other than Qin Yun, who had the cat demoness in his custody.
“Huh?” Everyone in the hall fell silent as they looked at the uninvited guest.
The yellow-robed fatty’s expression changed slightly, but he immediately sat back down on his throne in a calm manner. He hugged the pink-robed woman as he gave a meaningless smile and said, “My palace has seven guardian corps and many hidden traps. However, this young man grabbed one of my subordinates and arrived here, silently, without any warning. I, Chu Yong, am impressed. Might I ask, where do you hail from, my friend? Why are you here?”
Qin Yun glanced at the yellow-robed fatty. Through his Dharma Eyes, he could clearly tell that the yellow-robed fatty was a wild boar demon. His aura was extremely oppressive and he seemed peerless. The seven that sat on the sides were all demons as well.
“Is he your leader?” Qin Yun ignored the demon leader and instead looked at the cat demoness, “Was it on his order that you harmed Qin An?”
“Yes.” The cat girl lowered her head in shame.
“Friend, are you here for Qin An?” The yellow-robed fatty sat there as he spoke with a deep baritone voice.
“Yes, Qin An.” Qin Yun turned his head towards the yellow-robed fatty and asked, “Why did you order your subordinate to ambush Qin An, with the intent to control him?”
“Haha, Qin An’s father is Qin Liehu. He’s one of the three silver-badge constables of Grand Dominance City. You know, a single silver-badge constable is nothing to me. However, the government has a lot of men with powerful weapons. His particular group of constables has been a headache for me. Thus, I decided to use his son’s life in order to have a good talk with him. It resulted in such a vulgar scheme.” The yellow-robed fatty laughed. “Friend, since you have intervened, I can drop the matter on your account. However, might I ask where you come from? There is no expert like you in Grand Dominance City.”
“Oh? You believe that I’m not from the Grand Dominance City?” Qin Yun asked.
“Haha, I’ve been in Grand Dominance city for sixty-eight years now,” the yellow-robed fatty said confidently. “Whether it’s a human or a demon, I know everyone that possesses strength.”
“Everyone?”
Qin Yun nodded.
Phew.
Qin Yun then threw the cat demoness in his grasp to the ground. The cat demoness quickly got up as she pleaded in a soft voice, “Senior, I have brought you here. I hope that you can honor our agreement, removing your Dharmic spell and sparing me.”
“Since I brought this cultivator here, the leader will definitely not spare me. I need to escape while this cultivator fights him,” The cat demoness thought.
“Pu!” The cat demoness suddenly trembled. The Quintessential Essence energy sealing her demonic powers instantly minced her heart.
“You, you didn’t live up to…” the cat demoness’s eyes were filled with indignation and anger as she collapsed limply to the ground. Her body distorted and her corpse revealed her true form of a large black cat.
Qin Yun looked at her, “Towards some people, promises must be kept, even if it means death. However, to others, abiding by promises is stupid and pedantic! It’s the same for demons! If I were that stupid, I would have died at the hands of demons countless times.”
When his voice fell, everyone in the hall had drastic changes in their expressions.
“Would have died at the hands of demons countless times?” The yellow-robed fatty muttered to himself as his eyes suddenly narrowed, “Demons are quite rare, but it appears as if he has faced many demons before…”
“Friend, can we put the matter of me going after Qin An to an end, considering you have also killed one of my subordinates?” The yellow-robed fatty stood up and stared at Qin An. However, the pink-dressed woman by his side became slightly nervous. As for the seven other demons that were originally seated, they also stood up and stared at Qin Yun. As for the black-robed elder, he was so nervous that he was shaking. Although he controlled a whole sect that had thousands of members, he was in a panic at that very moment.
“No.” Qin Yun shook his head.
A fierce glint flashed in the yellow-robed fatty’s eyes. He bellowed suddenly, “Kill him!”
His voice rumbled like a thunderclap that reverberated through the hall. Even the ceiling trembled as most of the cutlery on the table shattered.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
The seven experts of different ages and genders, but shared extraordinary dispositions, immediately moved. Five charged at Qin Yun, while one of them turned into a ball of mist and another vanished.
“Invisibility?” Qin Yun was slightly shocked.