The brutal deaths of two Inner Sect disciples in quick succession enraged the Pristine Way Sect leadership. Not only did the elder in charge of the Enforcement Hall personally join the investigation, but the sect also dispatched a Core Disciple to assist.
The Core Disciple was named Skyler Sikong, thirty-five years old, already at late Grandmaster realm, and considered likely to break through to Great Grandmaster before forty.
The sect’s seriousness over the case helped the panicked Inner Sect disciples breathe a little easier—otherwise, they’d be worried they might be the next victim.
Inside the Inner Sect morgue.
Skyler Sikong was examining the two corpses, scrutinizing every detail. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed—he’d spotted an extremely tiny wound at the top of each victim’s head. Because their blood and flesh had been drained, the scalp clung tightly to the skull, and the hair covered the area, making the small wound hard to notice.
"Skyler, have you found anything?"
Elder Warren Lin of the Enforcement Hall strode into the morgue.
"Found a little something," Skyler replied.
Skyler pointed to the tiny wounds atop the two corpses’ heads.
After a careful look, Elder Warren Lin’s expression grew grave. He gave his judgment: "Looks like a sword wound."
"Mm!" Skyler Sikong nodded. "That’s what I think too. But there are just too many disciples in the sect who use swords—it’s nearly impossible to pin down the killer. Plus, one victim was Qi‑Refining eight, the other nine, and from the scene, there was no sign of a fight. So the killer took them both out in a single blow."
"You mean...?"
Elder Warren Lin’s old eyes lit up slightly.
Skyler Sikong shook his head. "Can’t say for sure. It’s also possible the killer left that clue on purpose—to mislead us."
"So how do you plan to investigate?" Warren Lin pressed.
A sharp gleam flashed in Skyler Sikong’s eyes. "Two ways. First, we could leak word that we’ve found a clue—maybe that’ll rattle the killer. Second, start a systematic inspection of Inner Sect disciples. Whoever could drain two victims’ blood and flesh so quickly must be using an extraordinary weapon—almost certainly a magic weapon!"
Hearing the words ‘magic weapon,’ Warren Lin couldn’t help but start. Magic weapons are said to come from the Devil Race, and some rare ones are rumored to absorb a person’s qi, blood, and even soul.
"Good. I’ll arrange for the disciples to inspect all Inner Sect weapons right away!"
Once Warren Lin left, Skyler Sikong’s eyes narrowed. Instead of staying in the morgue, he quickly flew off toward the sect’s inner chambers.
A quarter-hour later, Skyler Sikong met with the Pristine Way Sect master, Easton Dongfang.
"Skyler, you’re here to see me—does that mean you’ve found something about the case?" Easton Dongfang was well over a hundred years old, but looked like a woman in her early forties.
"I have a theory," Skyler replied.
"Go on." Easton Dongfang watched him, waiting for his theory.
Skyler Sikong’s expression turned serious. "I suspect the successor of the Devouring Demon Lord, who vanished two hundred years ago, has appeared!"
"Devouring Demon Lord!"
Easton Dongfang’s usually calm face suddenly changed, her expression turning cold. The Devouring Demon Lord was an absolute legend from two centuries ago.
Originally, the Devouring Demon Lord was just an ordinary youth from a small border town. One day, the Devil Race attacked the Human Race—his entire family was killed, and he was captured and taken as a slave to Devil territory.
The Devil Race are cruel and bloodthirsty, and even enjoy eating human flesh. They raise captured humans like livestock, forcing them to breed so their offspring can be used as food.
But the Devouring Demon Lord was tough-minded. After being captured, he endured for three years, then planned an escape. He used other fleeing human slaves as cover, while he himself ran deeper into Devil territory...
By doing the unexpected, he really did evade the Devil soldiers’ pursuit.
But for a human to survive in Devil territory was nearly impossible.
After months of hiding, he was eventually discovered by the Devil Race and hunted down.
With no other choice, he fled into the Devil forbidden ground—the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils.
The Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils was one of the Devil Race’s ten great forbidden grounds—even Devils didn’t dare enter. So when the Devouring Demon Lord ran inside, the Devils gave up pursuit, convinced he was doomed.
But what happened next was beyond anything the Devil Race could have imagined.
Not only did the Devouring Demon Lord survive inside the Abyss of Ten Thousand Evils, he even mastered a terrifying devouring art.
This devouring art was incredibly evil—it could swallow the flesh, blood, and souls of all living beings to strengthen the user.
Three years later, the Devouring Demon Lord emerged from the Abyss, slaughtered every living being in the nearby Devil villages, and drained them all dry.
This infuriated the Devil Race, who sent wave after wave of hunters after him.
For three years, he ran and fought, growing stronger and stronger, until he finally broke into the Great Grandmaster realm.
Finally, after wiping out a Devil tribe of over ten thousand, he escaped back to human territory.
This act completely infuriated the Devil Race.
One of the ten great Devil Kings, the Horned Spirit Devil King, personally led an army of one hundred thousand Devils to the border.
In just ten days, they broke through six cities and killed nearly ten million humans.
The Human Race was shocked and quickly assembled their armies to resist the Horned Spirit Devil King. Two Martial Saints accompanied the troops.
With the combined strength of the two Martial Saints, the Horned Spirit Devil King was seriously injured and barely escaped with his life.
But this enraged all the Devils. The other nine Devil Kings mobilized their legions, leading a million-strong army against the Human Race.
When the Human Race got word, they quickly assembled soldiers and sent out many Martial Saints to fight the Devil Race. One of those Saints came from the Pristine Way Sect.
That battle shook the heavens and earth—mountains shattered, rivers broke, and corpses littered the land.
In the end, both sides suffered terrible losses. Several Martial Saints died, including the one from the Pristine Way Sect.
The Devil Race also lost two Devil Kings.
Because a third power—the Demon Race—remained neutral, both sides calmed down after their huge losses and began peace talks.
During negotiations, the Devil Race demanded the surrender of the Devouring Demon Lord.
The Devil Race was so forceful that the Human leaders agreed to their demand and sent people to capture the Devouring Demon Lord.
But the Devouring Demon Lord wasn’t the sort to sacrifice himself. He killed those sent to arrest him, devoured their flesh and souls, and made clear his contempt for the Human leaders.
He even killed several Great Grandmasters from the Human Race.
With no other choice, a Martial Saint had to go personally. But the Devouring Demon Lord had years of experience escaping in Devil territory, and even after a month, the Saint couldn’t catch him.
The Devil Race only gave the Humans two months, so three Martial Saints had to team up to hunt the Devouring Demon Lord.
In the end, he was cornered by three Human Martial Saints in a remote mountain, but refused to surrender and committed suicide.
When they recovered his corpse, the three Martial Saints discovered that his sword and storage ring were missing.