Chapter 338: Great Demon
The deep mountains had become a true forbidden zone.
Day or night, one could see blood-colored mists surging into the heavens — and upon the highest peak crouched that enormous crimson pig demon.
The pig demon was refining the medicinal power of the Transmutation Life-Essence Pill.
Or rather, it wasn’t so much refining as reclaiming.
That pill had been forged within its own body, only to be ripped away by force — now it was simply “returning to its rightful owner.”
The process was slow. The pig demon’s refinement of the blood energy seemed endless, but no matter how long it took, a day would come when it would be complete.
As time passed, its blood aura grew thicker and thicker, its presence more terrifying with every breath.
In all of Tōngxiān City, every cultivator’s face was dark with dread.
Even Elder Yu and the others had grown solemn.
The storm was about to break — a great calamity was coming.
Yet Mo Hua was filled with confusion.
What exactly was a “Great Demon”? Why had that pig become one? And why did the emergence of a Great Demon mean a “great calamity”?
He had never encountered such secrets of the cultivation world before.
So he went to ask Elder Yu.
Elder Yu sighed. “The so-called ‘Great Demon’ is what demon hunters call a beast of overwhelming power — something no mortal strength can contend with. Such a creature can destroy an entire city or region.”
“What level must a demon beast reach to be called a Great Demon? Second-grade or higher?” Mo Hua asked.
Elder Yu shook his head. “Great Demons aren’t judged purely by grade.”
Mo Hua thought for a moment. “Then… by the grade of the territory?”
Elder Yu nodded, explaining patiently:
“In a second-grade territory, a Great Demon would also be second-grade. In a third-grade region, it would be third-grade, and so on. Any beast whose strength nears the upper limit of the local world’s grade is called a ‘Great Demon.’”
“But why did that pig become one?” Mo Hua asked doubtfully.
That pig had only devoured the Qian Family elder — and it had even died once! How could it suddenly turn into a Great Demon?
“I don’t know either.” Elder Yu smiled bitterly. “Great Demons have always been legends. No one truly knows how they are born. The last record of one appearing near Tōngxiān City was two or three thousand years ago.”
“Was that Great Demon killed back then?”
“No.” Elder Yu shook his head. “It wasn’t killed.”
Mo Hua was stunned. “Then how did it die?”
“Starved to death.”
“Starved?” Mo Hua was shocked — that was the last kind of death he’d expected.
Elder Yu’s gaze held deep fear.
“It devoured every cultivator in Tōngxiān City… every demon beast in Black Mountain. Everything that could be eaten — it ate. After more than a hundred years, when nothing was left, its blood energy finally ran dry, and it starved to death…”
Mo Hua drew in a sharp breath. “It devoured… all the cultivators in Tōngxiān City?!”
Elder Yu nodded. “That’s right.”
“Couldn’t it be killed?”
“If it could be, an entire city wouldn’t have been eaten.” Elder Yu gave a bitter smile.
“But why couldn’t it be killed?”
Mo Hua was puzzled.
Even if it was a second-grade demon beast, surely cultivators could find a way — if Foundation Establishment cultivators weren’t enough, then Qi-Refining ones, or the Dao soldiers, could at least wear it down eventually, right?
Elder Yu pointed toward the horizon. “Do you see that blood aura?”
Mo Hua looked up. There it was — that towering column of scarlet energy rising above the mountains where the pig demon dwelled.
“Is it because… its blood energy is too thick?” Mo Hua guessed.
Elder Yu nodded. “Exactly. The most terrifying thing about a Great Demon isn’t its strength, but its blood energy.”
“A Great Demon’s blood aura is unimaginably deep — dozens of times that of a normal beast of the same grade.”
Mo Hua’s scalp tingled. “Dozens of times stronger?!”
“That’s not even the worst part,” Elder Yu continued grimly.
“The worst part is that it can replenish its blood energy by eating people. If you try to exhaust it with numbers, you’re only feeding it instead.”
“Battling a Great Demon is always a war of attrition. It’s impossible for there to be no casualties.”
“But every death strengthens the demon — each corpse becomes a blood offering. Thus, the more you fight, the stronger it grows, until all are devoured.”
“Unless no one dies, cultivators are nothing but ‘blood-replenishing pills’ to a Great Demon.”
“But tell me — in a war against a Great Demon, how could not a single person die?”
A chill crept through Mo Hua’s heart. He frowned.
“Then what should we do now?”
Elder Yu shook his head heavily.
“Our only hope is that we’re mistaken — that the pig isn’t actually a Great Demon. Then the Dao Court Division can request reinforcement — more Foundation Establishment cultivators to join the siege.”
“And if it really is a Great Demon?”
“If the Dao Court confirms it,” Elder Yu sighed, “then we’ll have no choice but to… relocate the city.”
“Relocate?” Mo Hua was dumbfounded.
“Yes,” Elder Yu said gravely.
“Every cultivator in Tōngxiān City would have to migrate elsewhere and start anew. Otherwise, once the Great Demon finishes refining its blood energy, it will begin hunting. After the beasts, it will turn to humans — and just like two or three millennia ago, it will devour every cultivator in the city…”
His tone was bitter beyond words. “This is what we call a Heaven-and-Earth Calamity, or perhaps a Calamity Without Cause. There’s simply no way to stop it.”
Mo Hua sat there, dazed.
He had never imagined things could grow this dire.
He’d thought a “Great Demon” was merely a powerful beast — something that could be killed with enough effort. But now he realized that “Great Demon” truly meant “Great Calamity” — a threat so vast that an entire city would have to flee.
And deep down, he knew — “relocating” was just another word for “running away.”
“Where would we move to?” Mo Hua asked. “There aren’t many places nearby suitable for cultivators to live.”
And even if Tōngxiān City fled, the surrounding smaller immortal cities would have to move too.
That meant more refugees — and even fewer places to go.
“We would move south,” Elder Yu replied with a sigh. “Toward the borders of the Great Wilderness — mostly undeveloped land, full of beasts and barbarian tribes.”
He exhaled deeply. “Life there would be… very harsh.”
Long journeys, eating and sleeping in the wild, countless unknown dangers along the road — and hardship waiting even at the end.
Mo Hua’s heart sank.
He could only hope that the pig demon wasn’t truly a Great Demon…
But deep down, he already knew — that was wishful thinking.
He had seen the creature with his own eyes, wounded it with formations, and felt its eerie regenerative power — an unnatural vitality that bordered on the Dao itself. That was no ordinary demon.
Three days later, the Dao Court Division received an official decree:
“In the Year 20,024 of the Dao Calendar, within the Second-Grade Black Mountain Prefecture, a pig demon has caused chaos.
Verified by the Fate Pavilion’s supervision — this is a Great Demon, ancient name Feng Xi.
The local Dao Court Division shall determine strategy as appropriate to maintain regional stability.
If unable to withstand calamity, relocation may be considered.”
Mo Hua learned of this from Zhang Lan.
After receiving the decree, Zhang Lan — helpless and frustrated — went drinking, where he told Mo Hua about it.
“Isn’t there anything the Dao Court can do?” Mo Hua asked.
“If there were,” Zhang Lan said wryly, “Great Demons wouldn’t be listed among the Great Calamities.”
Mo Hua frowned. “Can’t the Dao Court send Golden Core cultivators to slay the pig?”
“It’s Feng Xi,” Zhang Lan corrected. “Every Great Demon is recorded in cultivation history with a proper name. Pig-type Great Demons are generally called Feng Xi.”
He took a drink and sighed. “Golden Core cultivators can’t come.”
“They’re… afraid of dying?”
Zhang Lan shook his head. “No. Against a second-grade Great Demon, a Golden Core might not win, but they could at least escape alive.”
“What they fear,” he said, pointing toward the sky, “is the Heavenly Dao’s Law.”
“The Heavenly Dao’s Law? What does that have to do with this?” Mo Hua asked, confused.
Zhang Lan replied with a question. “Which prefecture are we in right now?”
“Black Mountain Prefecture.”
“And the full designation?”
Mo Hua had studied geography in the Tōngxiān Sect and still remembered well:
“The cultivation world is divided into nine provinces, each with several prefectures, each containing immortal cities.
Tōngxiān City belongs to the Black Mountain Prefecture of Li Province — abbreviated as the Black Mountain Prefecture.”
Zhang Lan nodded. “And what grade is this prefecture?”
Mo Hua paused. “Second-grade.”
“Why second-grade?”
“Because the strongest cultivators here are Foundation Establishment…”
Mo Hua thought it was an obvious question — but knowing Zhang Lan, he considered it carefully and said slowly:
“Golden Core cultivators are third-grade, which exceeds a second-grade prefecture’s limit. So they can’t enter?”
“Not exactly,” Zhang Lan explained. “They can enter — but they can’t use power beyond the prefecture’s grade.”
He added, “A Golden Core cultivator who can’t use Golden Core power — what good would that do?”
“What if they force it?” Mo Hua asked.
“Then they die,” Zhang Lan said flatly.
“Die?!” Mo Hua was stunned.
“Die,” Zhang Lan confirmed with a nod. He thought for a moment, then added, “So yes — when you say they’re afraid of dying, you’re not wrong.”
“Why would that happen?” Mo Hua pressed.
Zhang Lan sighed.
“That’s the Law of Heaven and Earth. When the Dao Court was founded, it designated this region as second-grade. That means every cultivator within may use at most Foundation Establishment power.”
“If anyone exceeds that limit — they’ll be annihilated by the Heavenly Dao itself.”
“No exceptions?” Mo Hua asked.
“None,” Zhang Lan said firmly.
“And what about above Golden Core?”
“Even Ascension-stage cultivators must obey this law unless they’ve already become immortals,” Zhang Lan said solemnly. “Whoever defies it — no matter how powerful — will be erased by the Dao itself, body and soul destroyed.”
“Even the Dao Lords who rule the Nine Provinces under the Dao Court are no exception.”
“That… is the Law of Heaven.”
Zhang Lan’s tone grew grave, his gaze distant.
“The Heavenly Dao stands above all things — and above all living cultivators.”
(End of Chapter)