Chapter 2: Capture
At dusk, Qin Yun's brother, Qin An, reluctantly left the manor. Together with his wife and children, he headed south of the city on a horse-drawn carriage.
The night descended.
Qin Yun changed into black clothes and tracked his brother to his manor. There, he stood hidden in the shadows.
"According to the mark that I left on brother, this is it." Qin Yun looked at the manor. "This is actually the first time that I've been to brother's manor. I would have never imagined that demons would be the reason why."
With a step, he flew more than a hundred feet into the manor's interior, where he landed on the roof of a pavilion. Silently, he half-crouched as he surveyed the entire manor.
The manor was a couple of acres big and there were quite a few servants on patrol. In certain dark recesses, there were even expert guards that stood vigilant.
"Dharma Eyes, behold!"
Dharmic patterns condensed deep within Qin Yun's eyes and he once again opened his Dharma Eyes.
Under the Dharma Eyes' gaze, the vital auras of the two hidden expert guards and the six servants that were openly patrolling could be clearly seen. Qin Yun also saw the vital auras of his brother, Qin An, as well as his brother's wife and children. They were all fast asleep. As long as an aura was within his Dharma Eyes' range, even if there were buildings that blocked his gaze, it could not hide from him.
"Found it." Qin Yun quickly found the thick green demonic aura. It originated from one of the rooms that the maids resided in.
Sou!
A blurry figure silently traveled more than a hundred feet to the room's door and gave it a light push. The lock on the door easily opened.
...
Inside the room.
A small girl dressed in thin, skin-tight clothes was sitting on her bed with her brows furrowed.
"Hmph! It'll take another three months before the demonic aura merges with his three souls and seven spirits. Only then can I consider it a success." A terrifying bloodlust aura surfaced in her eyes, "Counting the six months that I've already spent here, I will have been the maid of a lowly merchant for nine months? Once the leader's grand plans are complete, I'll eat all of those that have cursed at me or bullied me!"
A bloodthirsty, powerful demoness had to work as a maid, being hollered at for half a year. How could she not be angry?
All she could do was endure and wait for her work to bear fruit.
"When it's past midnight, I can absorb Qin An's Yang aura again once he is completely asleep." The young girl closed her eyes and started to wait patiently and silently.
Suddenly—
The door was pushed opened silently.
Despite the door not producing any sound, the girl could sense it and her eyes snapped open. Immediately, she saw that a black-dressed youth had pushed the door open. The black-dressed youth casually walked in and, while he did so, he emitted an invisible wave.
"Seal!"
As Qin Yun entered, he cast a Dharmic spell. A barrier of light flashed into existence, enveloping both Qin Yun and the girl within the room. Obviously, the light barrier was invisible to the naked eye.
The 'Sealing Spell' could seal the surrounding area and trap enemies! It could also isolate the space within the barrier from the outside world. Others couldn't hear was happening inside. Finally, it could even seal the enemy's strength. This was an extremely impressive Dharmic spell.
Qin Yun closed the door nonchalantly.
"Dharmic spell?" The girl's heart palpitated.
Dharmic spells were techniques founded by accomplished Daoists or Buddhists after they gained enlightenment over the natural forces of the heaven and earth. Dharmic spells were not taught to just anyone, and the conditions to cast them were extremely, extremely difficult. The barriers to entry were incredibly high. Just his being able to cast a Dharmic spell showed how terrifying the black-dressed youth was.
"So it's only a cat demoness," Qin Yun softly said as he looked at the young girl. Thanks to the Dharma Eyes, he could see the girl's true form.
The girl was still wearing skin-tight clothing as she got off the bed in trepidation. Standing there with her bare feet, she said weakly, "Senior, please spare me. Spare me! Although I have been in the Qin family premises, I have not done any harm."
"Have not done any harm? Then, why is this family's master, Qin An, full of your demonic aura? It has even sunken deep into his organs?" Qin Yun wasn't in a hurry to act. He found many aspects of the situation to be curious. "If this continues, the master of this house, Qin An, will probably be bedridden in the near future. Medical help would likely prove fruitless and his only outcome would be death."
"What," the girl was alarmed and tears started to well in her eyes. "I didn't. I never wanted to hurt Mister Qin."
"No?" Qin Yun looked at her coldly. "But you are harming him."
"No, I didn't. I didn't want to hurt him, I didn't know!" The girl was quick to blame herself, "Senior, I will not lie to you. Qin An and I truly love each other, so why would I dare hurt him? It's just that I'm a demoness and couldn't bear to tell him. Perhaps my demonic aura has seeped into his body during intercourse?"
"Intercourse?" Qin Yun sneered. "His Yang aura is so weak that it couldn't have just been intercourse. You have probably been deliberately absorbing his Yang aura, haven't you? You could have absorbed all of his Yang aura in one go, yet, you have been absorbing tiny amounts every time. What are your intentions?"
The young demoness was very inwardly alarmed. "This young man appears to be very young, so I thought that he would be lacking in experience. Now my hopes of deceiving him and finding an opportunity to sneak away are gone. He actually managed to deduce that I've been absorbing Yang aura."
"I didn't hurt him, really!" the young girl cried out. "Senior, you must trust me!"
"Humans and demons have been lovers before. How can mere intercourse result in the weakening of Yang aura to such an extent?" Qin Yun sneered. "At this point, it's better to speak the truth and stop getting caught in lies."
"I, I don't know…" The young girl's tears fell as she grimaced in sorrow.
However, without warning, she rushed to a window to her side. Her speed was so fast that she left afterimages. Her right hand also immediately became covered in fur, with sharp claws extending out. Her right claw swiped down violently, in an attempt to rip through the sealing light barrier.
It was too fast!
But Qin Yun, who was standing by the side of the door, was even quicker. He appeared next to the girl nearly instantaneously and stretched out his left hand to grab at her.
The young girl attempted to dodge in panic. However, despite it being a seemingly ordinary left hand, she was unable to dodge it at all. The five fingers easily gripped onto her neck.
At this point, the young girl had changed drastically. Her entire body was covered in long fur. There was even fur on her head. Her ears had become cat ears while her eyes had turned green. Her pupils transformed into vertical slits. Her mouth was also full of razor-sharp teeth and she attempted to struggle. However, large amounts of Quintessential Essence came surging out of Qin Yun's left hand before they went into the cat demoness's body. Then, he cast a sealing spell in her body, immediately putting an end to any resistance.
"Peng!" With a nonchalant toss, he threw the cat demoness to the ground.
"Speak. Lying there in front of me is useless. Unless you say something that convinces me, I can be satisfied by kill you," Qin Yun looked at the girl.
He had to understand why his brother was being harmed so viciously.
Absorbing Yang aura was very common. Most demons would absorb lunar Yin aura for cultivation. But lone Yin did not lead to birth and solitary Yang did not foster growth, so there was a need to balance the two.
The power of solar Yang was formidable. And the Yang aura of humans was the most effective. Absorbing it from humans greatly aided the cultivation of the demons. Thus, it was quite common for demons to absorb Yang aura. However, this demoness had spent half a year, only to absorb a minuscule amount each time? And while doing so, the demoness also pretended to be a maid? That was a huge waste of time. With that much time, the demoness could have absorbed the Yang aura from hundreds of people. Even if a portion of each person's Yang aura was absorbed, the cumulative effects would still be much better.
"Speak." Qin Yun looked at the cat girl as an invisible bloodlust aura shrouded her.
The cat demoness's heart pounded. She could tell that the person in front of her had no lack of demon blood on his hand. He definitely wasn't a greenhorn cultivator. With her life on the line, she thought, "Hiding it from him would only earn death. But if I just foolishly reveal it, I'll probably still be killed! There's no time to think right now. I can only seek a way out of this peril."
"Senior, you really do have a discerning eye. My puny tricks can't deceive you," the cat demoness said quickly. "The reason why I went through the great trouble to be a maid and only absorb a small amount of Yang aura each time is so that my demonic aura will gradually permeate him. Now, it has seeped into his organs and, in another two or three months, it would've probably gotten into his soul."
Qin Yun's eyelids twitched.
"When the demonic aura seeps into the three souls and seven spirits, even an accomplished cultivator would be powerless to help him. At that time he would either be severely ill, or dead. Only I, the owner of the demonic aura, would be able to save him." The cat demoness continued, "From then on, his future would be in my hands."
"A demonic slave?" Qin Yun's voice was ice cold.
Once the demonic aura seeped into the souls, there really was no cure. One could only survive if the demonic aura's owner willed it so.
With one's life or death in the hands of a demon, they had no choice but to be a faithful servant to that demon.
"It can't be counted as a demonic slave. If I wanted to, as the owner of the demonic aura, I could always extract and remove the demonic aura and return him to normal," the cat demoness said immediately.
"Extract and remove the demonic aura? It has already seeped into his soul. Even if you were to extract the demonic aura strand by strand, that would still take several years, wouldn't it? Qin An is just a mere merchant, and definitely not worth going through so much effort." Qin Yun coldly said, "Is it because of his father?"
Qin An's father was Qin Liehu, who was one of the three silver-badge constables. He had a sizable influence in Grand Dominance City.
"I am only carrying out orders from my leader," the cat demoness quickly said. "I don't know the reasons why."
"Where is your leader?"
"He's within Grand Dominance City." In hopes of living, the cat demoness answered honestly.
"Bring me there." Qin Yun glared at the cat demoness.
"Senior, I am willing to lead the way but I hope that you will spare my life. I am only a small demoness that was forced to do this." The cat demoness looked at Qin Yun.
"Cut the crap. Lead the way." Qin Yun grabbed the cat demoness's shoulder, she could not put up any form of resistance.
"Senior, if you won't spare me, then I'd rather die here." The cat demoness said as she gnashed her teeth.
Qin Yun fell silent.
The cat girl was making a huge gamble. She believed that the person before her wanted to save Qin An, and to do so he needed to know who the figure behind all of this was.
Time slowly passed and the cat demoness closed her eyes and forcefully held her ground.
"Alright, I consent to your request. As long as I am able to find the one behind this and confirm that he did indeed instruct you to do so, I can spare you," said Qin Yun.
The cat demoness was delighted. She knew that the higher the cultivation of human cultivators, the more arrogant they were. Because of this, they valued their promises! A promise was worth its weight in gold. They would not renege on it easily.
"Senior, thank you for showing mercy and letting me live. I will lead the way now," the cat demoness quickly said.
Sou!
Grabbing onto the cat girl's shoulder, Qin Yun left his brother's manor silently. The servants were still patrolling around the manor but they noticed nothing, let alone the fact that a cat demoness that had been among them for half a year, and was now being taken away.
Chapter 3: Monster Leader, Chu Yong
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.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
12 Power
stone 
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