A Demon's Path Volume 1 Chapter 16

Cheng Yao and Zhou Heng were still more than 10 meters away from Ling Xiao. They were prepared to charge a way through when the Corpse Blood Poison broke out, causing them to pause for just a moment.

It was only for a split second, but Wang Batian just so happened to rush up to them and sent a punch flying in Zhou Heng's direction. That morning, Zhou Heng beat him up into a sorry state. Now that he met his enemy again, Wang Batian was exceptionally furious and released his resentment.

First came the bang, then came Zhou Heng's blood-curdling screech. He flew more than 10 meters back toward a pile of weapons.

Fortune was not on Zhou Heng's side as he landed right on a protruding spear buried in the ground. The spear pierced him straight through the heart. With a puff, the final breath escaped his mouth.

Wang Batian looked at his fist in shock. "When did I become so awesome?"

Cheng Yao didn't fare any better. Fortunately, he faced off against the orange-ranked Cheng Yu who couldn't compare to a cultivator at the yellow rank. Even though her sword cut him several times, Cheng Yao received no serious damage. He still had the strength to flee.

When he saw Zhou Heng drop dead, Cheng Yao wasn't in the mood to stay around any longer. After dodging Cheng Yu's sword, he dashed right out in an attempt to escape. But to his dismay, he was met by more than 100 orange-ranked disciples who greeted him from all sides.

These disciples were exceptionally agile with the boosts they received from Ling Xiao's celestial talismans. Added on to the fact they were facing off against a single cultivator with more than 100 on their side, their fighting spirits soared to new heights.

Everywhere he looked, Cheng Yao saw orange-ranked disciples launching attacks on him. The sky was filled with orange soulforce, causing his eyes to lose their luster. Even if he was a rank higher, it didn't matter. He had no confidence in escaping from so many enemies, let alone beating them.

"Shit! If you want to kill me, I'll drag all of you with me to the grave!" Cheng Yao roared as the rays of light from the dark yellow soul stones on his soul chain intensified.

Ling Xiao saw Ancestor Qi Mo self-destructing his soul chain before and immediately reacted. "This guy wants to blow his soul chain up! Quickly, get out of the way!"

Those who reacted swiftly immediately sprinted off into the distance once they heard Ling Xiao's roar. But a small portion of the group was actually frozen on the spot, at a loss as to what they should do.

What a bunch of idiots! When he recalled those who'd died when Ancestor Qi Mo self-destructed, Ling Xiao fiercely cursed them in his heart. Even so, his actions contradicted his thoughts. His feet moved toward Cheng Yao, smashing his black broom at him.

Ling Xiao actually wanted to kill Cheng Yao before he could self-destruct!

Cheng Yu who'd hidden far away would've never thought Ling Xiao was actually rushing up to Cheng Yao. "That idiot!" Even though she was scolding Ling Xiao, she couldn't hide the concern on her face. "Father spent so much gems on you. You can't just die like this!"

Just as Ling Xiao's broom came crashing down on Cheng Yao, his body exploded with the sound of glass shattering. A clump of yellow demonic soulforce blossomed out along with him!

"Am I going to die here?" Rays of dark yellow light enveloped Ling Xiao's sight, but his heart was bright as snow. "This can't be! If the heavens give me another chance, I won't be so stupid again! Huh?"

The yellow rays of light before Ling Xiao's eyes suddenly disappeared without a trace. He looked left, then right in confusion. His comrades that didn't get to flee in time were all standing unscathed where they originally were. They too were like him, with blank looks on their faces.

"Xiao'er, you're too reckless!" Cheng Qiantai's stern voice rang out from behind Ling Xiao. His heart warmed at the sound of his Master's voice and he quickly turned his head around. "Master!"

Cheng Yu harshly said, "Don't try and flaunt being a hero if you don't have the ability to do so!"

Cheng Qiantai snorted and no longer paid attention to Ling Xiao. He turned around and looked at Wang Batian with a gloomy look on his face. "Why are so many disciples from your sect in the premises of mine?"

Feeling his cheeks burn red, Wang Batian said, "We fancied a few ladies from the Floating Red Courtyard the last time we were in Northern Jade City."

Ling Xiao sneered. Is this a social to visit prostitutes? What a lame excuse. Humph!

Not only did Ling Xiao not believe him, Cheng Qiantai didn't either. Cheng Yu, on the other hand, fell for his words and spat out in anger, "Hoodlums!"

Cheng Qiantai waved his hand, indicating for Cheng Yu to shut her mouth. "Martial Nephew Wang, Li Yuanhuan should have arrived at your sect by now. Get some rest tonight. Sect Master Luo will come and pick you guys up in the morning."

"Thank you, Sect Master Cheng." Wang Batian respectfully bowed toward Cheng Qiantai, then brought his fellow disciples away with him.

"My disciples, go home and rest." Cheng Qiantai swung his sleeve and turned around to leave. "Xiao'er, follow me."

"Understood, Master." The disciples uniformly bowed toward Cheng Qiantai, respectfully saying their goodnights. The only exceptions were Ling Xiao and Cheng Yu who left together with Cheng Qiantai, following behind him.

When the three of them arrived at the grand hall, Cheng Qiantai suddenly said, "Yu'er, your stepmother brought a few gifts back for you. Go to my room and get them."

Cheng Yu's gaze froze over and she pursed her lips. After a long while, she squeezed out one word, "Fine."

Ling Xiao had heard from Little Four and Little Five long ago that the Sect Master's present wife wasn't Cheng Yu's biological mother. A Demonic Soul Master had killed the Sect Master's first wife not long after she gave birth to Cheng Yu.

Cheng Qiantai had always treated his second wife as his prized possession, but Cheng Yu didn't think fondly of her. The relationship between the two women was sour at best.

After Cheng Yu indignantly left, Cheng Qiantai swept his surroundings with his spiritual power. Only after he was sure there wasn't anyone else did he sincerely speak to Ling Xiao. "Xiao'er, I didn't know you had that in you."

Ling Xiao feigned stupidity as he asked, "Master, what are you getting at?"

Cheng Qiantai stroked his short beard and chuckled. "You're still pretending to be confused, huh? Would you still have dashed on bravely with no thought of your own safety if it wasn't to save your comrades? You clearly knew it was dangerous."

Ling Xiao forced a mischievous laugh, but didn't say anything.

However, Cheng Qiantai's expression quickly became serious. "Xiao'er, tell me honestly, why do you have no qualms in killing people? Li Yuanhuan sent me a message. He said you swept a Demonic Soul Master's head to bits in one fell swoop. That's not normal. I've never seen a disciple who killed for the first time showcase such ruthlessness!"

The smile that hung on Ling Xiao's face turned stiff. Cheng Qiantai's question made him recall his childhood when he fought with wild dogs for food and stole offerings placed in front of graves.

There were days when he was so hungry that he even lost his head. He would dig open graves in secret and steal whatever valuable items were in the coffin, exchanging them for food.

The corpses he dug up died in various ways. Ling Xiao had gotten accustomed to seeing them and lost his fear of death in the process. From his point of view, when people lost their lives, it just meant they were no longer going to open their eyes. It didn't matter how they died, the outcome was the same; they were dead.

However, Ling Xiao had stayed in the Northern Jade Sect for close to half a year. Even though there were still people who looked down on him, quite a few were slowly starting to accept him. Over time, Ling Xiao subconsciously treated them as his family.

Ling Xiao didn't particularly care when others died, but he wouldn't just watch on as his family got killed.

Ling Xiao told Cheng Qiantai a little of his childhood. When he got to the emotional part, he even forced a teardrop or two.

After listening to Ling Xiao's story, Cheng Qiantai felt sorry for the kid. "You poor child. Come here, you don't have to feel alone anymore. You have us now!"

Grateful, Ling Xiao said, "No one has treated me so well since I was a child. Master is the best."

Cheng Qiantai nodded. Although he was disgusted by this beggar turned disciple at first, he felt that Ling Xiao's current appearance and temperament had changed for the better. On top of that, he'd invested a lot of time and money in Ling Xiao who happened to be a sensible boy. Unbeknownst to Cheng Qiantai, he already regarded Ling Xiao the way he did Li Yuanhuan.

"Alright. You should go back and rest," Cheng Qiantai said.

"Yes, Master." Ling Xiao bowed and was about to leave when Cheng Qiantai seemed to recall something. "Xiao'er, how did you know those two Demonic Soul Masters would come to the Northern Jade Sect?"

Ling Xiao's heart sank. Sure enough, Master realised it!

He couldn't tell the truth. After all, he'd used the power of the Heroic Soul Stone from the Demonic Seven Souls Chain to summon a demonic spirit. With it, he had taken control of the corpse of a Demonic Soul Master and snuck to where the two yellow-ranked enemies were hiding, then eavesdropped on their conversation!

However, Ling Xiao kept a calm look on his face and replied, "Master, my mental strength is very strong. I sensed them roving around outside with ill intentions."

Since Ling Xiao summed everything up to his perverse mental strength, Cheng Qiantai didn't feel it right to pursue the matter any longer. He had no choice but to let Ling Xiao leave.

A cold gust of wind blew by from who knows where. Cheng Qiantai was alone in the grand hall, muttering to himself, "The Demonic Soul Masters actually know the ward's Spring of Energy is right here in the Northern Jade Sect. This is a coveted item, even to Celestial Soul Masters. The peaceful days seem to have come to an end…"

Cheng Qiantai walked out of the grand hall and looked up at the dark sky as he breathed out deeply. "Ancestors of the Northern Jade Sect, I, Cheng Qiantai, don't have the ability. Why, oh why did you leave me with such a heavy burden?"

Another cold gust of wind blew past.

The night was still, very still.

Chapter end