CHAPTER 83: CHAPTER 83: WHO EATS WHOM? (SEEKING FIRST SUBSCRIPTION)

The vast Dongli County was a place where corpses and bones were hidden everywhere.

Having traversed much of the county town, Qi Xiu’s frown deepened.

Dongli County was a third larger in area than Baoho County. But along the way he traveled, nine out of ten homes were empty.

Not a single young adult, elderly person, or child could be seen, as if all had been captured by Demons and sacrificed to the Five Viscera Temple.

The only survivors were the elderly at death’s door, each missing an arm or a leg, covered in pus-filled sores, living a fate worse than death.

Seeing that Qi Xiu’s appearance wasn’t so fierce, several elders crawled and rolled to the doorstep, clasping their hands together, begging for a swift end.

His chest felt as though it was stuffed with an iron lump, icy and heavy.

Looking at those dull, gray eyes yearning for release, Qi Xiu let out a long sigh and whispered softly,

My sins...

Strands of healing energy dissipated with the words.

The intense numbing effect granted those who had long suffered the pain of lost loved ones and physical torment a smile of relief.

Finally, they could join their children.

As if sensing that all of this was effected by the grim scholar before them, the elders pressed their hands together in prayer, using their last bit of energy to bless him.

After seeing off these miserable elders, Qi Xiu continued to walk aimlessly through this hellish county town.

Yet, every so often, he would crouch down, digging up the ground where something seemed subtly buried. Then he would restore the ground as if nothing had happened.

「...」

"My king, the guests you invited have almost all arrived."

The once county government’s courtyard had now become a pond of muck, mixing copious amounts of blood and flesh, with mountains of bones piled up, and countless flies and maggots swarming around, emitting a foul stench.

In the center of this putrid, thick mire, a vast, bloated figure with layers of fat piled around their body was fondling two similarly plump figures, having the time of their life.

Hearing the subordinate’s report, King Jincai turned his head, rising from his muddied, bloodied puddle to come over.

On his face, filled with pustules and bumps, his eyes, like copper coins, shone with an evil glint.

"Have they all come?"

"Reporting to the king, a total of three hundred seventy-six have arrived; only twenty-four are missing," replied the Half-Demon, bowing and speaking.

"Hmm, if they won’t come, so be it.

"Inform the kitchen to cook all those warriors and magicians for me.

"Tomorrow at the birthday feast, I want to eat to my fill.

"Also, make sure there’s plenty of Blood Slobber Drunk, and if it’s not enough, I’ll supplement it with you.

"Now, go and do it."

Licking his lips with his blood-red tongue, King Jincai quickly waved his hand to dismiss the Half-Demon after speaking and then smirked. He rubbed his hands together and wiggled his bottom as he walked towards the two mountain-like voluptuous figures.

「...」

「The next day.」

BOOM—

The dull, piercing sound of the bell resounded continuously.

The silence of Dongli County that had lasted a night burst into a tumultuous uproar.

Big and small, all kinds of Demonic Evil Cultivators laughed heartily, walking out of their dwellings unrestrained.

The streets and alleys reeked. Demon Qi and Demon Fog twisted and intertwined, soaring into the sky.

A nest of Demons and a Demon Cave!

This was the true calamity of Demons.

Hundreds of Demonic Evil Cultivators stepped onto the streets, their greedy and cruel eyes filled with hunger.

The morning feast yesterday had indeed whetted their appetites amply.

Barely making it through the night, now that it was time for the day’s grand feast, many Demons were salivating as they walked, imagining indulging themselves at the banquet, eating to their heart’s content.

Amid the noisy and chaotic throng, they made their way to the South Market of Dongli County.

There used to be a large market square here. But now it had been completely demolished, using white bones, rotten mud, wooden stakes, and bricks to construct an eerie, terrifying hall.

At the entrance of the great hall, a group of Half-Demons had already been waiting at the door.

A list of seats was distributed to the Demonic Evil Cultivators.

"What is this? Why is there all this fuss about precedence at a banquet?"

Clutching a listing towards the back, a Demonic Cultivator with rotting cheeks, who practiced ghostly laws but had been bitten back by Fierce Ghosts, complained.

"Please forgive us, great lords, the order of the seats was arranged according to the birthday gifts brought by each of you. The heavier the gift, naturally, the closer you sit to the front; such is the rule set by our king. We hope the great lords understand," explained a mother toad with a painted face, grinning from ear to ear.

"Bah, looking down on others!" he muttered discontentedly, and finding himself not powerful enough, the rotting Demonic Cultivator no longer spoke.

Standing in a spot towards the back, Qi Xiu looked down at his own seating number.

Number fifteen in row D.

Well, that position is almost outside the door, isn’t it?

Qi Xiu laughed and shook his head.

But sitting in a remote spot is actually just fine; sitting in front of that King Jincai would make it difficult to act.

After a while of clamor and discussion in the crowd, the mother toad raised her voice and shouted,

"Please, take your seats, great lords~"

The eager Demonic Evil Cultivators crowded and bustled into the bone great hall.

As they entered this hall, scents of meat, wine, Demon stink, and an odd fishy smell all mixed together.

Subtly, they stirred up a strange hunger, making the stomach rumble.

One could hardly resist biting off a chunk from their own thigh to satisfy the craving.

Qi Xiu found his assigned seat.

The dirt-smeared desk was set with some rather exquisite dishes and roast meats, and an opened wine jar wafted a mellow fragrance.

To his left, a half-human, half-sheep Half-Demon was eagerly chewing on the roast meat on the table. While eating, he was also gulping down the wine, as red as blood, from the jar.

"Delicious, delicious! Damn delicious!"

Aren’t sheep supposed to be vegetarians?

Looking at the sheep-Demon with his mouth greasy and his eyes bloodshot, Qi Xiu frowned and shifted to the side.

"Aren’t you eating, fellow Daoist?"

A voice came from the right. Qi Xiu turned his head to see a man clothed in rags, with black teeth, skinny as wood, but with a belly as swollen as a pregnant woman’s, leaning in, reaching for the meat on the table.

With a flick of his finger, a cold streak of Mana struck the black-toothed man, eliciting a cry of pain.

Qi Xiu’s face remained expressionless, his voice deep,

"None of your fucking business, piss off."

Demonic Evil Cultivators are mentally twisted and perverse. The more irritable and violent you are, the more normal they think you are. If you behave gently and humbly, that’s when you arouse suspicion.

Sensing the chilly, bone-piercing aura emanating from Qi Xiu, the black-toothed man shrank his head, knowing this was not a good soul, and dared not speak further.

As a group of Demonic Evil Cultivators settled in their seats, the continuous sounds of chewing and gnawing filled the hall, creating an eerily unsettling atmosphere.

At the foremost position of the great hall’s main seat, King Jincai, draped in a coat sewn from human skin and holding a skull wine cup, looked down with satisfaction at the Demonic Evil Cultivators feasting below.

"Today, I am very pleased that you all could attend my birthday banquet.

"Eat as much as you wish, drink as much as you want.

"Someone!

"Bring more wine!"

At King Jincai’s shout, squads of toad Half-Demons entered the hall, carrying wine jars as tall as a man.

The bright red wine spilled over the rim of the jars.

The rich, full-bodied fragrance of the wine radiated an eerie allure.

This made the Demonic Evil Cultivators, lost in their indulgence of meat, all lift their heads, shouting for another wine jar for themselves.

The gluttonous feasting and binge drinking continued for several hours.

Discreetly pouring all the meat and wine into the Flood Dragon Pool, Qi Xiu looked sideways at the sheep-Demon whose stomach had swollen several times over, and whose mouth corners were torn, still chewing greedily.

His brow furrowed slightly as he observed the other Demons in the hall.

All of them seemed possessed.

Frenziedly stuffing the flesh and wine from the tables into their mouths. Even though their bellies were swollen to the point of bursting, they kept eating while vomiting blood, yet this behavior didn’t stop.

With a tightening in his chest, Qi Xiu covertly glanced at the main seat at the front of the hall, where King Jincai, continuously swirling his wine cup in silence, watched the scene below.

He understood. This is a deadly banquet, a trap!

He grasped the little scheme of the Initiate Realm Great Demon.

Qi Xiu, silent, quietly stood up and leaped out of the window next to the hall’s entrance.

Just as Qi Xiu left, with the meat and wine almost entirely packed into the Demonic Evil Cultivators, King Jincai, who had been watching all of this, let out a series of chuckles,

"Hahaha, everyone, how do you like the food?"

However, at this moment, all the Demonic Evil Cultivators inside the hall were as stupefied as wooden chickens.

Only a few Demons with slightly deeper prowess struggled to break free, staggering as they cursed at King Jincai.

"Jincai! You treacherous creature.

"You actually drugged us!

"We’re all Demons, why would you do this!"

"Hahaha! As you’ve said, we’re all Demons, the law of the jungle prevails, the fittest survive, this is the Heavenly Dao.

"Blame yourselves for being foolish.

"To actually believe I would just offer you meat without any strings attached.

"Alright, alright, calm down.

"What’s the point of you minor Demons and devils living such a mediocre life? Sooner or later you’d die anyway.

"Since you’re going to die sooner or later, you might as well die by my hand.

"At least I fed you a full meal before you died, am I right?

"Hahaha."

Laughing wildly, King Jincai flipped his palm over, and a palm-sized, dark green bag that faintly radiated gleaming light appeared.

"You’ve had your fill of meat, and now it’s my turn to ’eat’ you.

"Don’t worry, the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag here is quite spacious."

Murmuring a string of incantations softly, King Jincai tossed the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag high into the air and with a loud laugh, he commanded,

"Capture!"

The hovering Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag glowed brilliantly as an enormous suction force suddenly erupted from within.

A fierce wind swept across the entire hall.

The Demonic Evil Cultivators, paralyzed by the Blood Slobber Drunk, wore faces of unwilling resentment but were nonetheless scooped up into the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag like tumbling gourds.

"Hahaha, with so many Demonic Evil Cultivators, I’ll be able to refine quite a number of Gathering Yuan Pills.

"Once this is over, I’ll move to a further county, and repeat this play.

"Reaching the Osseous Realm will be just a matter of time!"

King Jincai watched as all the Demons in the hall were completely absorbed by the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag. His laughter continued, as if he had already envisioned his majestic form as the supreme ruler of a Great Demon realm.

Just as he gleefully retracted the Gathering Yuan Treasure Bag, intending to go back and refine the Gathering Yuan Pills to increase his Cultivation level, a sharp reprimand pierced his ears like a needle.

"Old toad! Your granny is back, come out and face your death!"

"Hmph! Insolent woman, since you are so eager to die, I shall grant you your wish today!" Annoyed by Jia Yufei’s provocation, King Jincai snorted angrily. He then leaped up and rode upon a Demon wind, enveloped in a dense, foul-smelling poisonous fog, and shot into the sky.

Outside the hall, watching King Jincai ride away on the Demon wind, Qi Xiu, with his sleeves gathered, revealed a sinister smile.

Leaving so swiftly?

Well then, if that’s the case, Qi Someone will not be so polite.