Chapter 25: The Void Mirror Demon

Zhuoguang Mountain, Demon-Devouring Hall.

A grand black basalt hall stood among jagged rocks, encircled by ancient towering trees. A moss-covered stone path wound its way through the shadowy woods.

On this day, a man and woman walked along the stone path, passing through the dim forest until they reached the Demon-Devouring Hall.

The man wore a gray Daoist robe; though young, his face held traces of hardship. Tall and handsome, he exuded the air of a learned scholar.

The woman was statuesque, clad in a silver gown with dark patterns. Her long, shapely legs, smooth as jade, flashed beneath the hem, her exquisite figure outlined perfectly. Her slender brows hinted at a latent fierceness, yet she conversed cheerfully with the man at her side, their journey filled with easy laughter.

They were none other than Pang Yue and Ran Junxin.

Nine months meant little to cultivators—barely the blink of an eye. Now, with the Demon-Devouring Hall open, the two had come together.

Within the Hall, one could temper their magical arts and hone their combat skills. More importantly, by hunting celestial demons, one could obtain Celestial Demon Relics to exchange for sect merit!

Indeed, the Demon-Devouring Hall was one of the most efficient places in the Demon Talisman Sect for acquiring merit.

In his eleven years as an inner disciple, Pang Yue had managed to master only one divine art from the Hall of Fiery Demons. The remaining six arts required vast amounts of merit to obtain.

As the two approached the Hall, they saw an old woman in plain robes sitting cross-legged upon a lotus pedestal, motionless as if sculpted from clay.

The great black doors of the Hall stood wide open, the darkness within like a yawning void, swallowing all light.

Pang Yue produced his Demon-Devouring Hall talisman and bowed respectfully to the old woman.

Everyone knew that the Hall’s guardian elder was always a formidable cultivator of the Golden Core stage. The depth of power in this old woman was unfathomable.

She sat with eyes half-closed, unmoving, but behind her sprang a snow-white fox, its large, bright eyes studying the pair with curiosity.

“Greetings, fellow Daoists. May I ask your names?” The fox spoke in a boy’s voice.

“Xu Liming of the Hall of Fiery Demons and Ran Junxin of the Hall of Primal Demons, come for the Demon-Devouring trial,” Pang Yue replied in a steady voice.

The fox nodded, remarking, “A few went in earlier, all true disciples from the various halls. You two are inner disciples at the mid-foundation stage—aren’t you wasting a talisman?”

Pang Yue could only smile awkwardly.

Ran Junxin replied coolly, “I don’t recall any sect law forbidding inner disciples from entering, do you?”

The fox grinned, baring its teeth. “True enough, I’m meddling… A single talisman allows two to enter, but protects only one. If you meet danger, don’t stray more than ten feet apart, or else… heh!”

The implication was clear: the fox held little hope for them.

But Pang Yue, unwilling to argue with the spiritual pet of a Golden Core master, simply saluted the fox and stepped into the Hall.

Instantly, boundless darkness engulfed them.

After a few breaths, points of light flickered in the gloom. Pang Yue was about to look closer when he felt the firm ground beneath his feet.

In the next moment, the darkness receded.

A scene both strange and magnificent spread before their eyes.

Under a sky black as velvet, the stars shone cold and silent. Countless broken floating lands, like islands, hung suspended in the air, above, below, and to every side—a chaotic, disordered realm.

Beneath these floating islands stretched a vast, pale-blue membrane of sky, extending in all directions. Compared to it, the floating lands were mere motes of dust drifting atop the blue curtain.

“This is the Outer Void!” Pang Yue exclaimed.

They stood upon one such floating land, surrounded by barren gullies and gravel. In the distance, more floating islands drifted slowly across the horizon.

A smile lit Ran Junxin’s cool face as she pointed into the distance. “There, a pack of Wolf-Centipede Demons—shall we take a look?”

Her excitement caused Pang Yue to glance at her in surprise.

If that day at the Joyous Gathering was a formal meeting, then today was, in all seriousness, a true date—though the setting was far removed from anything romantic.

With a graceful motion, Ran Junxin’s slender figure became a streak of silver light, darting away. Pang Yue followed at a leisurely pace.

Ahead, a swarm of monsters gathered into a heaving, writhing ball, enough to make one’s scalp crawl. Upon closer inspection, each beast was a celestial demon with a wolf’s head and a centipede’s body—a Wolf-Centipede.

Each one stretched nearly thirty feet, capable of traversing the void, adept at tearing and devouring flesh.

Pang Yue recalled what he’d read about these demons.

There were at least ten thousand in this wriggling mass, and among them, several at the foundation stage radiated fierce demonic power.

As the cultivators approached, the ball dissolved, and countless Wolf-Centipedes surged through the air towards them.

“Brother Xu, let’s see who can kill more demons!” Ran Junxin called out, raising a slender hand. Instantly, a hundred blades of dark-gold light flashed forth, slicing through the horde.

These blades were impossibly sharp, burning with eerie golden fire, and wherever they passed, the Wolf-Centipede Demons were cut down.

Demonfire Golden Blades—one of the divine arts of the Hall of Primal Demons.

Unlike the other four halls, disciples here cultivated a foundation of Primal Demon True Qi, refining and strengthening it for endless transformations, even tempering the flesh. Among the Five Halls, the Hall of Primal Demons was famed for its unpredictable arts.

Seeing the swarm, Ran Junxin’s bloodlust was roused. Her hundred Demonfire Golden Blades moved in a lethal dance, harvesting demons with ruthless efficiency.

A few Wolf-Centipedes lunged at Pang Yue, but before they could reach him, they inexplicably split in two, their bodies falling neatly apart.

Ran Junxin’s heart skipped a beat as she glanced over.

“Manifested Sword Intent?”

Pang Yue stood calmly in the void, hands clasped behind his back, letting the demons charge. But within ten feet of him, an eerie vacuum had formed. Any Wolf-Centipede that crossed the boundary was sliced in two by his razor-sharp sword intent.

Suddenly, a monstrous Wolf-Centipede, over three hundred feet long, burst from the ground. With a maw like a blood-soaked abyss, it lunged upward to swallow Pang Yue whole, exuding a torrent of demonic power.

This was a demon on par with a late-stage foundation cultivator.

Pang Yue’s expression grew solemn. He flicked his fingers, sending forth two crimson-gold talisman swords, each trailing a hundred-foot blade of light, cleaving downward.

The Wolf-Centipede howled, sending invisible shockwaves through the air.

The talisman swords wheeled and darted like fish, twisting with draconic grace, flashing through the void to strike the demon’s body.

A deafening explosion of red fire and black light erupted. Sword flashes cut a thousand times in an instant, shredding the demon’s black aura and slicing its body into countless pieces, scattered across the void.

A flawless, diamond-like relic was caught by the crimson-gold sword and returned to Pang Yue’s hand.

A Celestial Demon Relic.

The moment Pang Yue grasped it, he felt a surge of pure demonic energy pouring into him. His Infernal Demon magic absorbed it greedily, the two forces merging in a mysterious chemical reaction, further refining his power.

Though his magic had not grown in volume, its quality had been greatly improved.

Only now did Pang Yue understand the true value of a Celestial Demon Relic. For demon cultivators, it was as precious as any elixir.

Only foundation-stage celestial demons could form such relics.

While Pang Yue stood momentarily stunned, Ran Junxin had already finished off the remaining Wolf-Centipedes, collecting several ordinary foundation-stage relics herself.

The statuesque beauty now radiated killing intent, her body encircled by a hundred Demonfire Golden Blades, their aura sharp and vibrant.

“The Infernal Talisman Sword Scripture is indeed extraordinary,” Ran Junxin remarked, her eyes alight with battle spirit, eager to test Pang Yue’s abilities.

“The Demonfire Golden Blades are impressive as well,” Pang Yue replied, his gaze deep as he scanned their surroundings with his unnamed eye technique.

He pointed with a finger, and his two talisman swords merged, forming a single blazing arc of crimson-gold light that slashed through the air.

A ripple shivered through the void.

Then, a strange, mirror-like celestial demon appeared—ten yards across, nearly circular, its edges bristling with countless facets, its entire body gleaming with a glassy, transparent sheen. From the side, it was as thin as paper.

“Careful, it’s a Void Mirror Demon!” Ran Junxin cried, her Demonfire Golden Blades surging like a tidal wave to engulf it.

The demon spun and vanished in a blink, the blades striking empty air with a shrill wail.

Abruptly, the space behind Ran Junxin warped as the Mirror Demon spun to slice at her slender waist.

Unruffled, she raised a snow-pale hand and struck, her fist landing squarely on the demon’s body.

The Mirror Demon quivered, vanished, and instantly reappeared behind her, spinning down with deadly intent.

Ran Junxin spun like a top, scattering a hundred fist-shadows in an instant.

The demon flickered in and out of sight, now in front, now behind, endlessly circling, seeking an opening to strike.

Pang Yue was about to help when he felt a surge of hostile energy. Using his unnamed eye technique, he saw seven or eight more Mirror Demons lurking, preparing to attack. All were foundation-stage demons.

These Mirror Demons excelled at seamless concealment, their bodies lethally sharp. Without magical-level defenses, a single cut would be fatal.

Pang Yue let out a long cry, crimson-gold light flashing around him as nine talisman swords materialized, each transforming into a thirty-foot arc of sword intent, all perfectly attuned to his will.

Nine months of seclusion had allowed him to refine eight more talisman swords.

Each one quivered, splitting into countless rays of sword light.

In an instant, dazzling sword rays filled the surrounding void, radiating outward in rippling waves.

Wherever the sword light passed, the air itself cracked with an eerie sound.

Moments later, the light faded.

Pang Yue gathered eight Celestial Demon Relics into his hand.

Unlike Ran Junxin’s defensive battle, Pang Yue, aided by his mystical sight, instantly saw through the Mirror Demons’ weaknesses and, with agile talisman swords, dispatched them in a flash.

Elsewhere, as Ran Junxin finished scattering a hundred fist-shadows, she flicked her pale hand, sending a small, pitch-black flying knife streaking through the air.

With a sharp crack, the knife struck dead center, shattering the Mirror Demon like glass.