Thirty Years of Demon Slaying at the Demon-Slaying Department - Chapter 4

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhou Yi was not knowledgeable when it came to using methods, and he certainly did not know the grade of the Huang-ting scripture. 

But what he knew was that this scripture had a special feature that allowed his spirituality to undergo self-refining. There was no need for him to sit down and meditate for cultivation. And Zhou Yi was extremely satisfied with this. 

Firstly, Zhou Yi knew nothing about meridians and energy centers. He had no one to teach or guide him, so it was pointless even if he had an immortal sutra in hand. There was no way to attain successful cultivation with his own efforts alone. 

Secondly, with eight people living together in a single communal sleeping place, if Zhou Yi were to meditate all of a sudden, probably he would not live to see the morrow. 

As Zhou Yi silently recited the Huang-ting Scripture, he could feel a clear Qi circulating within his body, expanding his meridians, strengthening his bones and muscles. Finally, when this Qi reached his energy center, it turned into a wisp of magic. 

The medicinal power of the Gentle Water Pill that had remained dormant within his body was stimulated under the guidance of the Huang-ting Scripture.

With the Huang-ting Scripture, Zhou Yi was able to cultivate while handling the dead body of the old demon after executing it. He was also able to move about to carry the final remains of the dead body to the Monster Refining grotto where he simply threw in everything. 

Other than the difference in names, the Demon Refining grotto and Monster Refining grotto were similar on the inside. After the incident of getting blinded, Zhou Yi learned his lesson and no longer dared to cast the aura-observing technique at these two places again. 

Today, his handling speed was fast, so when he arrived at the canteen, it was empty. 

Zhou Yi took his time to eat as he divided his attention between his meal and the silent recitation of the Huang-ting Scripture. He did not stop, not even for a moment, and was reciting even when walking, sitting, and eating.

A moment later, the other executioners started arriving in small groups of twos or threes. 

He secretly tuned in to their conversations again and learned that the tasks assigned to all executioners that day were to kill devils and monsters. 

These devils were much more dangerous than demons. Not only were they capable of various methods of seduction, but also at their final moments before death, they often surprised their executioners by launching secret methods to attack them. This was why executioners would die even after completing their tasks. 

“It seemed that the Black Evil Demon King didn’t resist at all. This makes killing it so much easier than killing the thick-skinned and tough-fleshed monsters.”

Zhou Yi muttered to himself, “Or could it be that I was so swift with my sword?”

When he arrived back at the sleeping quarters, Zhou Yi realized that only four out of the eight people who were originally in this room had returned. 

Adding Zhou Yi to the headcount, the survival rate was five out of eight. 

Looking at the hourglass, it was already past midnight. It was highly possible that the other three would not return. 

One of the three who did not make it back was Shi Liu. He was the one with the loudest snore, and his bed was next to Zhou Yi’s.

The other people in the same sleeping quarters nodded slightly at Zhou Yi when they saw him entering.

No one felt physically drained today, nor were they interested in making small talk. 

In this prison, the demons and monsters were the ones being slain, but the executioners were made to feel more tortured than the ones they slew. 

Zhou Yi laid on his bed and began to silently recite the Huang-ting Scripture again. After treading the path of cultivation, he felt that he was always so full of energy that he did not need sleep at all. 

And this worked well for him.

Just in case a supreme demon escaped from its prison cell, Zhou Yi would be able to flee at the first tip since he was not asleep. 

“I wonder what reward I will get after slaying the demon on the morrow.”

Zhou Yi was always so filled with anticipation for the future. 

He felt fortunate to have joined the Demon Slaying Department. If he were to slay demons alone without anyone to back him up, the odds were that he would die without even a proper place of burial. 

…

Early the next morning. 

There were only 42 people left in the Class A division of executioners. 

Captain Lu Gang started the session by briefly informing the executioners that there would be recruits joining them soon, and then, he went back to his usual job of assigning tasks.

Indeed, there was no lack of newcomers in the prison torture room. With an attractive condition like the provision of food and lodging, many strong and healthy youths would be easily tempted into signing the deed to sell themselves to the Demon Slaying Department. In addition, being an executioner would mean that they were considered officials, albeit very lowly ranked ones. 

In the outside world, they probably would have starved to death within a month. But if they chose to work in the prison, they would be provided with abundant food and water. At least, they could hope to live longer without having to worry about starving to death. 

But Zhou Yi was in no position to judge the Demon Slaying Department either. Today, most of the tasks assigned were Class B prison cells. 

The monsters from the Black Lotus Sect caught yesterday were last-minute additions to the list of monsters and demons to be executed, but it seemed they have added at the top of the list right away, regardless of them being the later additions. It was a big number to be executed, equivalent to one day’s worth of demons and monsters to slay for the executioners. This got everyone wondering where on earth could there be so many demons and monsters to be found.

In prison cell number B105, there was a pureblood wolf demon covered all over with snow-white fur, and it was more than 12 feet tall.

A dozen iron chains penetrated the wolf demon’s limbs, chest, and abdomen. The moment it saw Zhou Yi entering, it immediately erupted into a ferocious outburst. Its foot-long teeth looked so sharp that they could easily tear solid gold and iron apart.

Zhou Yi first pulled away all the teeth from the wolf demon’s mouth. This was a much-required precautionary measure. Any accidental contact with the demon’s teeth could most possibly cause him to end up with broken arms and legs. 

After the wolf demon was destroyed, its profile was added to the Catalogue of Demons and Monsters. 

Zhou Yi was then rewarded with a technique that could enable him to attract the refined form of the Lunar Moonlight. 

What a pity. The torture rooms of the prison were all built underground. It had been more than half a year since Zhou Yi last caught a glimpse of the sun. 

“If I were to roughly rate how valuable the rewards are, the ones from Class A prison are the best while those of Class C prison is the worst.”

“But what I need most at the moment are elixirs and pills. So, the Technique of Lunar Refinement of Form is not as valuable as the Gentle Water Pill.”

“Forget it. Anyway, there are endless demons and monsters to kill in the Demon Slaying Department. Waiting an extra day or two won’t make much of a difference.”

Zhou Yi’s life in the torture room was extremely routine. He would sleep, go for the morning roll call, slay demons, eat his meals, then sleep, go for the morning roll call…

“This… Is this any different from being 007 in my previous life?”

Zhou Yi realized that even if he was reborn and traversed the world through the system, there was still no way he could evade karma.

The Huang-ting Scripture was always in operation, and its magic power was perpetually increasing. As to how strong it would eventually be, Zhou Yi himself was not too sure. 

After the Black Evil Demon King, the demons that Zhou Yi was tasked to kill were mostly from Class C prison. With the pills that he received as rewards, he refined them into magic power without a second thought. On the other hand, he only dared to secretly cultivate the spells he received.

The Black Evil Demon King was a presence that had roamed freely around the world for more than three hundred years, but the Demon Slaying Department could still capture him and throw his remains into the Monster Refining grotto. It was so powerful that Zhou Yi did not dare to reveal that he had also involved himself in self-cultivation. 

As the number of demons and monsters he slew increased, Zhou Yi’s skills were also improving by leaps and bounds. The way he dismembered the organs of demons won him many praises, even people from the logistics department attested to his skills with a simple summary as follows: neither a tad too much to cause wastage nor a tad too little to cause a shortage. 

After Zhou Yi showed that he had such a consummate skill of using knives, the captain began to assign him more monsters to slay while the tasks of dealing with dangerous demons were left to the other executioners. 

And Zhou Yi made sure that he was not doing a slipshod job because how good or bad the materials obtained from dismembering the dead monsters had a direct impact on the reward that the captain would get.

In the blink of an eye, another six months passed.

The group of seven other men sharing the same sleeping quarters as Zhou Yi had changed twice.

From his conversations with the other men, Zhou Yi learned that most of them came from other northwestern states. At these places, millions of people lost their homes because of the collusions between the Xirong clan and demonic sects. The people were forced to face turbulent times.

“The woes of people and how difficult it is to maintain a livelihood.”

Zhou Yi could only sigh to express his empathy. From the previous batch, there was an entire family who suffered an even worse fate. They were the Qian family. 

It was said that the Qis used to be a wealthy family who ran their own business. Unfortunately, they were implicated in a case that involved big shots from the six ministries of Luodu and hence was forced to face false allegations made against them.

As the crime was not severe enough to warrant death, they were thrown into the prison torture rooms instead. They spent three months in prison where they were continuously subjected to the erosion of evil air. Until one fine day, they could no longer be roused from sleep. 

By now, the captain in charge of the morning roll call was no longer Lu Gang but a newcomer, Shi Yongyan. With his handsome face and upright posture, he looked just like a scholar. 

But Captain Shi did not arrive alone. By his side, there was someone else, a young monk. 

This monk was handsome with a gentle and elegant disposition. Dressed in a purely white robe, he stood out against the dark and gloomy background of the prison. 

Captain Shi introduced, “This is Master Fahai of Golden Light Temple. He is the one who you all usually address as the Immortal Master of Demon Slaying Department.”

Immortal Master!           

Zhou Yi had often heard of his name, but it was the first time he saw him in person.

The other executioners had all begun to discuss among themselves. Their eyes were full of hope as they looked toward Fahai. 

“Amitabha.”

Fahai’s gaze swept across the executioners of the Class-A Prison. His eyes were filled with compassion and his whole body shone with a golden Buha light.

His gaze swept by, and then his golden Buha light fell upon the bodies of the executioners. Their bodies, which had been exposed to the erosive evil air over a prolonged period, suddenly felt much lighter.

“Thank you, Immortal Master!”

“Immortal Master, your great kindness and virtue will never be forgotten!”

“Immortal Master, may you live an everlasting life like the supreme-rulers in heavens and always be blessed!”

The executioners were all paying their respect and gratitude to Master Fahai while Zhou Yi simply mingled among the crowd. He was secretly casting his aura-observing technique to observe the auras of the executioners.

Unfortunately, they were still surrounded by the deadly aura of the prison. 

Master Fahai’s Buhadharma was apparently still not enough to completely eradicate the erosive evil aura.

“All right, all right. Since we have received a great gift from Master Fahai, then we must our job well.”

Captain Shi said, “Zhou Yi, you will go with Master Fahai to prison cell C72. If Master has any requests, you must do your best to assist him.”

“Yes, sir. Master, please follow me.”

Zhou Yi led the way in front until they arrived at prison cell C72.

In the prison cell, there was an ox demon. From the looks of it, this should be a domestically reared cattle, which was commonly seen in the Demon Slaying Department. 

Domestic livestock reared by humans were nurtured with the human aura; thus, it was easy for them to develop intelligence. There was an old saying that one should never rear a chicken for more than five years and a dog, not more than eight years. The underlying message was that once an animal exceeded the number of years that it should live, it would become a demon.

Zhou Yi previously killed a big rooster demon. It was raised in a farmhouse for an overwhelming ten years; thus it had quietly transformed into a demon. 

The family of farmers was unaware of the change. One fine day, as they had guests visiting them, they decided to kill the rooster to host their guests.

In the end, the whole family, including all their guests, ended up having their heads pecked off their necks by this big rooster demon.