The Return of the Youth, Chapter 18: Slaying the Blood Demon

Just after slaying the corpse demon, a blood demon appeared. If this were not a trap set by someone else, it would be hard to believe.

But how did they know his whereabouts? And how could they have set up this ambush in advance?

Inside the gambling den, Chief Constable Zhao’s thoughts raced as he looked up. Amidst the churning blood-red mist, the blood demon revealed its true form. Its entire body was covered in a layer of blood-colored scales, which glistened with a cold, sinister light as if they had been soaked in fresh blood. The demon’s eyes were crimson, like burning blood flames, radiating endless greed and cruelty. Sharp fangs protruded from its twisted lips, and drool slid down the corners of its mouth, corroding tiny marks into the ground wherever it touched.

"If I drink your blood, my strength will grow even further," it said, turning its head toward Zhe Linfeng. "Among those present, your strength is the greatest. I imagine your blood must be the most delicious."

It extended its tongue to lick the blood from its lips. The tongue was long, thin, and snake-like, making those who saw it shudder.

"If you want to drink my blood, you’ll have to see if you have the ability."

Zhe Linfeng knew well that a blood demon was not a common monster; it was incredibly troublesome, primarily because it was notoriously difficult to kill. Three years ago, he had encountered one and had to expend significant effort to slay it. Now, he had run into another, and this one was at least far stronger than the one he had killed before. It had likely surpassed the Tongxuan realm and entered the Canghai realm.

However, he was no longer the man he had been three years ago.

Facing this blood demon, he felt no fear, only a restless eagerness. Zhe Linfeng licked his lips; after all, a blood demon’s core was worth a fortune.

A shrill shriek, sharp as a blade, tore through the air. The onlookers were caught off guard, feeling the sound drill into their ears. Their eardrums ached, their heads buzzed, and their hands moved uncontrollably to cover their ears. In an instant, their gazes grew unfocused, their faces turned pale, and their minds were cast into a daze by the eerie sound waves.

Zhe Linfeng stomped his foot and roared, "Break!"

The shout shattered the hypnotic sound, jolting everyone back to their senses.

Seeing Zhe Linfeng break its spell, the blood demon snarled, "You're courting death!"

Before the words had faded, it lunged at Zhe Linfeng like a bolt of blood-colored lightning. Its body leaned forward, arched like a bowstring drawn tight, and its sharp, black-glowing claws reached out. Each talon was like a hidden weapon quenched in deadly poison, flashing with a chilling light in the dim environment. As the tips cut through the air, they emitted a faint hissing sound. If one were scratched by these claws, the poison would instantly invade the blood, causing the wound to bleed uncontrollably—a vicious and ruthless tactic.

At the critical moment, Zhe Linfeng tapped his toes against the ground and sidestepped, dodging as lightly as a nimble swallow. The blood demon missed, its massive body rushing forward due to momentum.

Seizing the moment while the demon was off-balance, Zhe Linfeng chanted an obscure incantation, his hands weaving seals at lightning speed. The true energy surrounding him surged like a tide.

"Fire Strike!"

In a blink, a blindingly bright golden flame condensed in his palm, burning fiercely with rolling heatwaves.

"Go!"

Zhe Linfeng let out a low shout and pushed the golden flame toward the blood demon. The flame instantly transformed into a snapping, writhing fire serpent in the air, bearing down on the demon with intense heat.

Roar!

The blood demon sensed a lethal threat and swung its claws, attempting to swat away the giant fire serpent. As the claws collided with the serpent, fire scattered in all directions, and the heatwave swept across the room, igniting chairs and tables. Although the claws tore a gap in the fire serpent, it did not dissipate; instead, it wrapped entirely around the blood demon. Within the flames, the demon struggled and roared, its flesh sizzling and a charred stench filling the air.

Zhe Linfeng sneered, "What a stupid demon. You dare to go head-to-head with my flames? Who else would I burn if not you?"

Just as everyone thought the blood demon would be burned to ashes, a thick, blood-colored mist rose up and extinguished the flames. When the blood demon reappeared, it looked withered and weak, stripped of its previous arrogance. Its scales were scorched black, like a grilled fish, in a truly wretched state.

Seeing that it was no match for Zhe Linfeng, the blood demon turned and lunged toward Chief Constable Zhao and the others, having learned to pick the low-hanging fruit.

Chief Constable Zhao stepped in front of the others and swung his blade at the demon's neck, but the scales blocked the strike, and the blade could not cut in even an inch.

"Truly overestimating yourselves."

The blood demon let out a mocking laugh and swiped its claws at the Chief, but Sergeant Xu Ping blocked the strike with his sword. Even so, the sheer force of the blow sent both men flying a yard away. Like a ghost, the demon darted among the remaining constables and soldiers, its claws flailing as screams rang out one after another.

"Help!"
"Don't eat me!"
"I'll fight you to the death!"

Some feared not death, while others scrambled to escape; the scene was in utter chaos. All of this occurred in an incredibly short span of time, and by the time Zhe Linfeng tried to save them, it was already too late.

The blood demon caught a man who failed to escape in time, its fangs instantly piercing his neck as it frantically drank his blood. As the fresh blood entered its body, the demon’s aura surged. Its previously scorched scales became even more dazzling and lustrous, and its eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty light. It cast aside the shriveled corpse and lunged at the remaining men. In the blink of an eye, it devoured the blood of several more, its power exploding to new heights. It whipped around and tore through the fire serpent Zhe Linfeng had cast.

"Now it’s your turn!"

The blood demon swung its claws and lunged at Zhe Linfeng again, moving several times faster and with far more violent force. Seeing this, Zhe Linfeng hurriedly formed seals with his hands, sweat rolling down his forehead as he exerted his full power in the Daoist arts.

With a single point of his finger, light converged in the air, and a massive golden beam of light crashed down.

"Break for me!"

The blood demon did not dodge; it met the beam head-on, tore it apart, and leaped down, driving a claw straight toward Zhe Linfeng’s chest.

Bang!

Zhe Linfeng flew backward like a kite with a broken string, slamming into the ground and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"You Cangwu cultivators are nothing special. I’m going to eat you today."

The blood demon stalked closer, its eyes filled with cruelty and mockery. The term "Cangwu cultivator" was a moniker for those who practiced immortality. In the demon race’s view, these so-called immortals were merely people draped in an empty title, unworthy of the honorific "immortal." In their eyes, even the most powerful practitioners in the world were nothing more than "food."

Although the paths of cultivation in the world were complex and diverse, giving rise to many schools—Cangwu cultivators, demonic cultivators, demon practitioners, and martial artists—they had to admit that in this vast world of cultivation, the Cangwu cultivators held the absolute dominant position. They were obsessed with studying unfathomable Daoist methods, and with a wave of their hands, they could use exquisite techniques to drive magical treasures, unleashing destructive power that left countless practitioners in awe and far behind.

Meanwhile, Zhe Linfeng performed a kip-up, springing quickly from the ground. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and snarled, "If the tiger doesn't show its teeth, you really think I’m a sick cat!"

He slapped the storage pouch hanging at his waist. Instantly, with a "hum," a jade brick hovered in the air, emitting a dazzling light that illuminated the surroundings like high noon.

"A magical treasure!"

The blood demon was terrified, realizing it might capsize in the gutter this time and meet a disastrous end. It knew that a Cangwu cultivator with a magical treasure compared to one without was like the blazing sun to a firefly—one shone with intense, far-reaching light, while the other was a flickering, fleeting spark.

Just as the blood demon prepared to slip away, a mocking voice came from the entrance of the gambling den.

"Hmph, you had to pull out a magical treasure to deal with a tiny blood demon? Crazy, it’s been three years, and you really have surprised me!"

Before anyone could react, an arrow flew like lightning toward the blood demon’s right eye.

"Insolent!"

The blood demon let out a thunderous roar, swinging its claws to swat at the arrow. With a "clack," the arrow was snapped in two. The demon sneered in disdain, "You think you can ambush me with this junk? What a delusion!"

"Is that so?"

The mocking voice rang out again, though it now carried a hint of seriousness. Before the sound had even finished echoing in the air, three more arrows flew in a triangle formation like shooting stars, aiming for the demon’s eyes and throat.

"Idiot, trying the same trick again."

The blood demon looked ferocious, swinging its claws once more like a pair of sharp shears, snapping all three arrows with ease. However, it never expected that behind one of the arrows, a fourth one was hidden. With a "puff," the arrow struck the blood demon’s eye socket with precision.

"Awoo!"

The blood demon let out a shrill, miserable howl. Meanwhile, upon hearing that mocking voice, Zhe Linfeng’s shoulders trembled slightly, his fists clenched, and he stood frozen in place.

Just as the blood demon was struck, a black shadow darted in from the doorway. Moving with lightning speed, the figure backhanded the long blade on his shoulder and thrust it toward the demon’s neck.

The blood demon sensed a lethal threat and roared, lunging at the black shadow with incredible speed. As it moved, a thick demonic aura erupted, whipping up a nauseating, foul-smelling wind.

Zhe Linfeng looked up at the black silhouette, gritting his teeth. "Yi Heng, you bastard, you steal my prey the moment you show up!"

With that, he quickly formed seals, driving the jade brick in the air to crash down upon the demon with the force of a thunderbolt. The blood demon reacted quickly, leaping aside to dodge the brick’s attack and turning toward the window to flee.

Run! It had to run to survive!

In the blood demon’s mind, this newcomer was even more terrifying than the Cangwu cultivator wielding the jade brick. But the figure blocked the demon's path. Although a harmless smile adorned his face, his dark pupils were filled with killing intent.

Behind him, the jade brick was driven forward again. Faced with powerful enemies, the blood demon roared, thinking: *I’ll risk it all.*

It channeled its essential blood, its body swelling to a height of ten feet, and swung its massive claws at the harmless-looking youth. The blow contained such immense power that it instantly tore the air apart. However, to the demon’s shock, its full-force attack only shredded a phantom image.

The blood demon panicked, trying to hold back its momentum, but it was too late. A cold light flashed, and a long blade tore through its navel like a knife through tofu. The navel—the part that seemed the toughest—was actually the blood demon’s most vulnerable weak point.

Yi Heng and the blood demon brushed past each other. In that split second, Yi Heng flicked his blade, and a demon crystal the size of a jujube seed, radiating an eerie glow, was pried out. The crystal traced a graceful arc in the air; Yi Heng landed steadily, opened his palm, and caught it. Behind him, the blood demon collapsed with a boom, crushing the brick wall, and perished completely.

Yi Heng turned to Zhe Linfeng and said earnestly, "Many thanks. If you hadn't helped me exhaust most of this demon’s power, I would have had to put in quite a bit of effort!"

After three years apart, Yi Heng’s words were truly a lethal blow to the ego.

Zhe Linfeng flew into a rage. "Yi Heng, you turtle-egg bastard, I’m going to flatten you!"

Hearing the insults, Yi Heng maintained his warm smile and said unhurriedly, "Crazy, your temper is still as hot as ever. Later, I’ll brew you a bowl of mung bean soup to cool you down."

"Cool your grandfather's mung beans!"

Zhe Linfeng grabbed the returning jade brick and leaped into the air, aiming it at Yi Heng’s head. The terrifying momentum suggested he would kill gods or demons if they stood in his way—even if you were the King of Heaven, he was going to cripple you.

Yi Heng leaped away, narrowly dodging the strike. Looking back, he saw Zhe Linfeng’s brick smash into the paving stones, creating a massive crater and cracking the surrounding bricks for a yard around. Amidst the clouds of dust, Zhe Linfeng turned, his eyes blood-red and killing intent spilling out, the jade brick in his hand erupting with dazzling light once more.

Chief Constable Zhao, Xu Ping, and the others were so terrified by this sudden turn of events that they turned pale, scrambling out through the windows of the gambling den in a panic, fearing that if they were even half a step late, the enraged Zhe Linfeng would smash them into pulp.

Almost the moment they escaped, the entire gambling den erupted with an even louder roar. Beams collapsed, and a raging fire engulfed the building, tongues of flame licking the rafters and walls, while thick smoke billowed into the sky.

This!

The two men stood trembling, staring from afar at the raging inferno and the continuous rumbling from within the building. They looked at each other, their eyes filled with horror and shock. Only now did they truly realize how terrifying an enraged Zhe Linfeng was; ten blood demons would likely be smashed into paste by him.

However, before they could catch their breath, a loud "crash" echoed as a room collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust. Deep within the flames, two figures were still fighting.

"Are they enemies or friends?" Xu Ping asked the Chief Constable.

Chief Constable Zhao swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he replied, "Perhaps... friends?"

"Are you sure they aren't sworn enemies with an unavenged father's blood between them?"

"That... well..."

Just then, a white-robed, elegant-looking young master walked over, leading an ugly-looking man. The man’s hands were bound in chains, his face bruised and swollen with two black eyes—clearly beaten soundly—and he held a broken jade flute, his expression dejected.

The young master in white looked up at the collapsed gambling den, brows slightly furrowed, and asked, "What is going on here? What kind of evil spirit is so powerful that it could collapse the building?"

Xu Ping smiled bitterly, shaking his head helplessly. "Young Master, it’s not an evil spirit. It’s two people—two practitioners!"

As he spoke, he pointed toward the ruins of the gambling den, where Yi Heng and Zhe Linfeng, both covered in ash and soot, emerged one after the other.