Baiyun County.

"Hang his entire family's heads on the flagpole and spread the word.

If he doesn't return, I'll slaughter one household per day. Since he fancies himself a righteous hero, I'll grant him his wish!"

At the county shrine, a deep-yellow-furred dog demon tossed Elder Zhang's head aside.

The heads of Elder Zhang's entire family soon rolled across the shrine floor.

The villagers of Baiyun County trembled in fear.

Though one dog demon had died in this shrine,

thirteen more had arrived in its place.

Their patriarch was a three-hundred-year-old demonic entity.

It lurked outside the city walls, leaving the city lord powerless—

or perhaps unwilling—to intervene.

The truth was simpler: they were in cahoots.

The city lord turned a blind eye to the demons' atrocities.

Even if he wanted to act,

managing both internal and external factions exceeded his capabilities.

The old yellow dog gnawed on a chicken leg, perched atop the shrine.

"Elder, will that man really return?" a junior asked.

"Didn't he claim to be a disciple of Mount Shushan? If he's truly from Shushan, he'll come."

The old dog snorted coldly.

"That Shushan remnant's head will fetch us many treasures!"

Two days passed swiftly.

More heads adorned the flagpole.

Two additional households had been exterminated.

The two thousand residents of Baiyun County shivered, dreading they might be next.

They could only pray the culprit who slew that dog demon days ago would reappear soon.

Yet the man seemed to have vanished entirely—

or perhaps refused to take the bait.

Fifteen days slipped by.

The flagpole grew heavier with severed heads.

Still, no trace of the man appeared.

Even the old yellow dog grew perplexed.

Had the target left Baiyun County?

Or was he simply too cowardly to show himself?

The old dog pondered—slaughtering the entire county seemed excessive.

After two more days,

the furious patriarch left a junior behind to replace the deceased dog demon's post in Baiyun County,

while he led the remaining pack back to their mountain lair.

On their final night before departure,

the junior dog demon lounged contentedly in the shrine.

"Fifth Brother... Fifth Brother, now I understand why you looked so well. Guarding this place is pure luxury. Your death was truly fortunate."

At that moment, the shrine doors burst open.

A figure strode through wind and rain.

The dog demon sprang up. "Who goes there!?"

Two sword qi streaks shot forth.

Before the demon could react, its arm bore a bloody hole from the piercing energy.

Li Xuanxiao's strength had clearly grown.

Merely days ago, he'd been forced into retreat by a dog demon of similar power.

Now, his opening move wounded this one.

Li Xuanxiao advanced, suddenly before the demon.

His fingers splayed, crushing the dog's skull against the altar with a thunderous BANG!

The demon howled beneath the immense pressure.

It kicked upward, sending Li Xuanxiao flying backward.

Gathering its vital energy, the dog demon glared murderously, a guttural growl escaping its throat.

"You seek death!"

Li Xuanxiao deliberately withheld the Myriad Soul Banner, instead assuming a combat stance.

"Come!" he challenged softly, his quiet tone radiating undeniable authority.

The demon lunged without hesitation.

Its fist tore through air with lethal intent.

Li Xuanxiao met the strike head-on.

Their collision birthed a shockwave that rattled the shrine's foundations,

wooden beams groaning under the concussive force.

......

Much later,

the shrine lay half-destroyed.

Neither combatant fared well—

both bore swollen, bloodied faces.

Yet Li Xuanxiao held the advantage.

Gathering his breath, he delivered a skull-shattering punch.

The demon collapsed, utterly defeated.

Wiping blood from his face, Li Xuanxiao spat.

He seemed to relish this brutal combat.

Finally, he unfurled the Myriad Soul Banner he'd clutched throughout.

The tattered fabric snapped like vengeful spirits wailing.

As the dog demon vanished, the banner gradually stilled.

Li Xuanxiao exhaled deeply, as though releasing long-pent tension.

With that breath, he felt power surging within—

the banner's dark gift.

Fist clenching, he sat cross-legged to assimilate this energy.

The banner digested the demon's essence, then fed it back to its master.

Yet with each absorption, the artifact eroded his mind slightly further.

......

News of another junior's death enraged the old yellow dog.

It stormed back to Baiyun County with its pack,

only to find the killer already gone.

Furious, the patriarch slaughtered indiscriminately,

vowing to exterminate the entire county unless the culprit surrendered.

But this massacre failed to draw out Li Xuanxiao.

Instead, a surviving junior brought horrific tidings:

their mountain lair had been annihilated—

every elder and pup slaughtered.

Only this messenger had been spared to deliver the news.

The old dog's fury knew no bounds.

"You massacre my kin? Then Baiyun County shall drown in blood!!!"

Within days, terror gripped the county.

Death's stench permeated every alley.

Where the dog demons trod, only mangled corpses remained.

The overreach proved fatal.

Even the county magistrate's family fell victim.

This finally drew the attention of the nearby Confucian Xiangshan Academy.

"......"

"Senior Sister, that dog demon was always relatively restrained. Why this sudden rampage?"

"Demonic beings are inherently capricious. Such behavior isn't uncommon."

Leading the response was Xiangshan Academy's top disciple, Bai Jing.

With three centuries of cultivation and Golden Core peak-stage power,

this ancient dog demon required her direct intervention.

No other disciple stood a chance.

"Senior Sister, look below..."