Demonic Insanity

Elder Tai sat in the Grand Hall of the sect, his gaze heavy as he stared at the jade plaques spread across the table. Each plaque bore the name of a disciple, and within each, the essence of their blood flowed—an invisible thread linking their souls to the jade.

Suddenly, his eyes froze on one of the plaques, its color darkening in an instant.

His heart clenched. A darkened plaque could mean only one thing—one of their disciples had perished.

Before he had a chance to process the implications, the doors to the hall swung open with a resounding thud. Sect Leader Wang Xuanzhi strode in, flanked by several other elders.

'Terrible timing. Of all moments, why did the sect leader have to arrive now?'

But Wang Xuanzhi was already there, and the moment his eyes swept over the table and landed on the darkened plaque, his voice thundered through the hall.

"What?! A disciple has been killed?!"

A heavy silence settled over the room. Without hesitation, the sect leader ordered an immediate investigation. Moments later, the senior disciple who had secretly sent those four on a mission to find Old Zhou's hut was summoned.

The senior disciple rushed into the hall, panting, and immediately fell to his knees before the sect leader.

Wang Xuanzhi's gaze was sharp, his tone unyielding.

"Where did those four go?"

The senior disciple lowered his head. He couldn't reveal Elder Tai's involvement, so he prostrated himself at once, his voice pleading.

"Sect Leader! Today was the initiation ceremony for new members, and we were all caught up in the preparations. Those four worked the hardest, so they were rewarded with spirit stones. They said they were going to the market to buy some spirit herbs…"

But Wang Xuanzhi cut him off, his voice laced with fury.

"Idiot! Our sect distributes spirit herbs! They could've bought them right here! Tell me the truth—where did they go? And why is one of them dead?!"

The senior disciple turned pale. His lips trembled before he finally broke down.

"Sect Leader! I swear, that's all I know! They just said they wanted to shop outside the sect, explore the city a little, and—"

Wang Xuanzhi finished the sentence coldly.

"—and die quietly in some alley?"

The senior disciple, terrified, prostrated himself once more, slamming his forehead against the stone floor. Blood trickled down, staining the polished tiles.

"N-no, sir! Maybe… maybe they were planning to hunt demonic beasts in secret!!!"

Wang Xuanzhi, utterly exasperated, snapped.

"Shut up! What kind of first-layer Qi Refinement disciple goes hunting demonic beasts?! Even the most reckless fool knows to at least stabilize their second layer before attempting such a thing!"

The senior disciple lifted his head in desperation, but Wang Xuanzhi's eyes held nothing but fury. Without patience for further excuses, he issued a curt order for Elder Tai to investigate the matter immediately.

But just as Elder Tai was about to step out of the hall—

Three more plaques darkened at once.

A deadly silence descended upon the chamber.

Four cultivators had vanished within the span of mere moments.

This was no accident.

A single death could be attributed to a qi deviation, a demonic beast attack, or even internal injuries. But four? Simultaneously?

For a small sect, such an event meant only one thing—war… or something far worse.

Wang Xuanzhi took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress his rising rage. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he commanded,

"Listen carefully! Not a word of this leaks outside!"

The elders bowed their heads in silent acknowledgment.

The sect leader took a few steps forward, his gaze lingering on the darkened plaques before he made his decision.

"Spread the word that those four disciples have been sent on a voluntary mission. No one must suspect a thing. This will buy us time to uncover the truth."

With that, he moved to act personally. Reaching out, he carefully lifted the four blackened jade plaques from the table, his consciousness delving into them. His eyes glowed as his spiritual consciousness expanded, linking him to the final memories etched within—those last, fleeting moments before death.

The visions struck him like a storm.

A crimson light filled the hall. Screams. The clash of shattering swords. The air itself trembled under the sheer force of unleashed qi—then, only darkness.

"This…!"

One of the plaques slipped from his grasp, clattering against the stone floor. His entire body jerked violently. His breath came in ragged gasps. With iron will, he steadied his trembling hands, but the fear in his eyes could not be hidden.

"That… that was a demon!"

—

Ling Yun emerged from the cave, his robes drenched in blood. His expression was unreadable, his steps steady, his gaze fixed on the horizon.

He had extracted the blood essence of all three cultivators. Now, it was time for the next step—refining a Blood Pill.

Among all forbidden arts, even among the demons, few were as terrifying as the arts of blood refinement.

This path transcended mere cultivation—it dealt directly with the essence of life itself. Drawing power from blood, refining the vitality within, forging bonds that blurred the line between death and immortality.

Even demons abhorred those who practiced such techniques. To them, these cultivators were worse than mere monsters—they were known as Bloodfiends or blood demons.

Legends spoke of how these forbidden arts had originated from an extinct race—the Vampires. When their ancient tombs were unearthed, their techniques were revived. And in the thousand-year war between humans and demons, it was not only righteous cultivators who fell prey to these arts—countless demons, too, were consumed.

The terror these cultivators had unleashed upon the world was so great that all sects, regardless of alignment, placed them among the vilest of creatures. Within the righteous sects, hunting them even took precedence over the extermination of demonic cultivators.

____

It wasn't long before a group of elders from the Raging River Sect arrived at the cave, their flying swords cutting through the sky in swift arcs.

They carefully examined the corpses.

The bodies were completely drained—desiccated like mummies unearthed from an ancient tomb. Their faces were twisted in such unspeakable horror that it seemed they had endured a thousand years of nightmares in a single instant.

From a distance, Ling Yun observed their movements. Then, without the slightest trace of concern, he turned and made his way back to his hut.

Along the way, he gathered the spirit herbs he needed. Step by step, he inched closer to his goal. The pill he sought to refine would soon be complete.

Yet, he was unaware of the storm that was brewing. A storm that would change everything.

For all their hypocrisy and self-interest, the righteous cultivators held one unshakable principle—if a Bloodfiend's presence was detected, all differences were cast aside. Righteous sects and demonic cultivators, bitter enemies under normal circumstances, would unite to hunt them down before it was too late.

And this was the one factor Ling Yun had failed to account for.

But could the Heavenly Demon, with millennia of experience, truly make such a grave miscalculation?

As he walked back to his hut, he pushed aside overgrown roots and tangled underbrush with his staff. The cold twilight cast long shadows over the land, and his eyes gleamed beneath the fading light. His mind, like the gears of an immense machine, turned in calculated silence.

He was certain this was only the beginning. The cultivators who had arrived first were merely the vanguard. Soon, others would flood the area, drawn by the disturbance.

And that was exactly what he wanted—more prey.

A faint smirk played on his lips. Before they even realized what awaited them, he would have already chosen his next targets.

Ling Yun quietly assessed the cultivation levels of those who had arrived.

"If they're sending third-layer Qi Refinement cultivators on a mission like this, that means their sect isn't particularly strong. Not a single fourth or fifth-layer cultivator among them."

He frowned, adjusting his calculations.

"A minor sect? Then I won't expect much. At best, the strongest one I'll have to deal with will be at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement."

His smirk deepened.

"Hahaha… Maybe reaching the peak of Qi Refinement won't be as difficult as I thought!"

But time and time again, the world had proven—nothing ever went according to plan.