Record of a Demon's Cultivation Chapter 1223: Return My Beloved Wife

Translator: CinderTL

Qingyi City.

Song Wen remained suspended in the air, his gaze fixed upon the mountain range situated a hundred miles to the east of the city.

There, amidst the swirling clouds and mist, the distinct features of buildings—upturned eaves and ornate corners—were faintly discernible. Crimson balustrades and jade-paved terraces adorned the landscape, with pavilions and towers nestled harmoniously among the peaks.

This hallowed ground was the ancestral domain of the Li Clan in Qingyi City.

A vast expanse spanning a hundred miles of mountainous terrain, which had previously separated Qingyi City from the Li Clan’s domain, had been inexplicably flattened by an immense power. This resulted in a small, barren plain, utterly devoid of even a single blade of grass, offering an unobstructed vista.

Song Wen’s objective was to reclaim the Nether Fox and the four Gu insects. His sole lead pointed towards the Li Clan of Qingyi City.

Should the Li Clan indeed be implicated, the perpetrator would undoubtedly be a cultivator from their ranks at the Void Refinement Stage.

Prior to this, Song Wen had conducted a thorough investigation of Qingyi City, ascertaining that the Li Clan boasted six cultivators at the Void Refinement Stage—four males and two females. The clan’s most formidable member was an ancient elder residing in the mid-Body Integration Stage, the sole cultivator of that stratum within the clan. This elder, having lived for over nine thousand years, possessed mere centuries of lifespan remaining.

Song Wen understood that to extract any valuable intelligence, it was imperative to draw forth at least one Void Refinement Stage cultivator from the Li Clan. Cultivators at the Divine Transformation Stage or those of lesser cultivation levels would possess no access to information pertinent to this matter.

The crux of the challenge lay in devising a method to lure a Void Refinement Stage cultivator out of the Li Clan’s stronghold.

Barring matters of extreme urgency, cultivators at the Void Refinement Stage seldom ventured forth. Their solitary cultivation sessions could endure for periods spanning thirty to fifty years, or even extend beyond that.

Song Wen could not afford to squander precious time in passive waiting.

His gaze drifted across the desolate plain that stretched between Qingyi City and the Li Clan’s territory, observing the numerous individuals traversing back and forth.

A flicker of interest ignited in Song Wen’s eyes as he noticed a disturbance unfolding in the distance.

Just beyond the outskirts of Qingyi City, a young man, a cultivator at the Nascent Soul Stage, was brandishing a long whip, delivering brutal lashes with savage force.

Crack!

The whip’s impact landed squarely upon a middle-aged female cultivator.

The woman, possessing only a Golden Core Stage cultivation, lacked the speed to evade the attack. The blow ripped through her flesh, causing her to bleed profusely and sending her hurtling several miles before she crashed heavily to the ground, raising a cloud of dust and shattered stones.

Standing behind the young man was a male cultivator in the early Divine Transformation Stage.

This man was lean, sporting a meticulously trimmed Eight-Character Mustache.

He deliberately hunched his shoulders, his posture a clear exhibition of obsequious bowing, radiating an almost palpable aura of fawning subservience.

With a subtle flick of his spiritual power, he retrieved the grievously wounded female cultivator, drawing her back to the young man’s feet.

"Young Master, continue your retribution!"

The young man cast his gaze down upon the woman at his feet, a cold smirk contorting his lips.

"You wretched woman! How dare you defy me? Consider this your deserved punishment."

The woman lay sprawled on the ground, coughing up copious amounts of blood that stained her cheeks a vivid crimson. Yet, vestiges of her former beauty still clung to her features.

The whip had struck her chest, its force tearing through her garments and flesh, exposing her ruby-red organs as her ribs lay shattered.

"Young Master, I implore you, spare my life! I vow to do anything you command."

The young man remained utterly unmoved by her desperate pleas for mercy.

"It is far too late! In your current state, you hold no value to me."

He then raised his right foot and brought it down with brutal, crushing force.

The woman’s skull instantly disintegrated, splattering the ground with a gruesome spray of blood.

The young man cast a disdainful glance at her mangled corpse, then directed his attention to his right foot, now coated in thick blood and gore.

"A whore remains a whore. Even in death, she manages to sully my footwear."

"Young Master Ming!" Eight-Character Mustache, who had been observing from behind, suddenly crouched down, placing his hand beneath the young man’s right foot. "Permit me to cleanse this for you, Young Master."

As he spoke, wisps of faint spiritual power emanated from his hand, gradually erasing the bloodstains from Young Master Ming’s shoe.

Nearby cultivators, witnessing this horrific spectacle, hastily retreated, their hearts filled with apprehension lest they become entangled in this grim affair.

Just then, a thunderous roar echoed through the air:

"You vile wretch! You dared to extinguish the life of my beloved wife! Prepare to forfeit your own life in recompense!"

Young Master Ming and Eight-Character Mustache, still crouched on the ground, snapped their heads up, their eyes widening in sheer astonishment.

Who would dare to launch an assault upon Young Master Ming in the vicinity of Qingyi City? Could this fool be courting death itself?

Yet, in the very next instant, a dawning realization of panic flickered across their faces.

The aggressor was none other than a cultivator at the Divine Transformation Stage, wielding a flying sword that hurtled towards them with the speed of lightning.

The iridescent sword, undeniably a lesser spirit treasure, streaked through the air with fearsome velocity, narrowing the gap to mere meters.

"Intercept it!" Young Master Ming shrieked, stumbling backward in a frenzy.

Eight-Character Mustache barely had an instant to react before a defensive barrier was manifested.

Yet, before the shield could be fully empowered, the celestial sword was already upon them.

Clang!

The barrier met the onrushing blade.

In the very next moment, the shield was violently flung skyward.

Unyielding, the flying sword continued its relentless charge towards Young Master Ming.

Pfft!

The sword plunged into Young Master Ming, who had only just ascended a few yards off the ground. It buried itself within his chest, not piercing through, but instead embedding itself and dragging him into the distance.

"Argh... help me..."

Young Master Ming's desperate pleas reverberated through the atmosphere.

A ripple of alarm surfaced in Eight-Character Mustache’s gaze. Should Young Master Ming perish, his own chances of survival would be exceedingly slim.

He quickly activated his shield, causing jagged protrusions to erupt from its perimeter. The shield morphed into a whirling disc, rotating at a breakneck pace as it was hurled towards the cultivator who had reached the divine transformation stage.

This cultivator was none other than Song Wen, armed with a spear stretching ten feet long. With a nonchalant flourish, he batted the spinning shield aside.

Without a backward glance, he accelerated away into the horizon.

Young Master Ming, still impaled by the sword, dangled a mere few feet behind Song Wen's swift retreat.

Abruptly, a barrage of mystic treasures launched from Qingyi City: ethereal swords, sharp daggers, long sabers... and more.

All the mystic artifacts converged upon Song Wen, but he parried each one with precise strikes of his spear, emerging utterly unharmed. Even his escape velocity remained largely unimpeded.

Several individuals ascended from Qingyi City, seemingly poised to give chase, but they swiftly discerned that his speed was on par with that of a cultivator at the Void Refinement Stage. Even burdened with a passenger, he was far beyond the pursuit capabilities of mere Divine Transformation Stage cultivators.

"Hurry, summon the elders of the Void Refinement Stage!" someone bellowed. Eight-Character Mustache finally jolted from his stupor and hastened towards the Li Clan's estate.

As for the figures who had emerged from Qingyi City, none ventured to pursue Song Wen, nor did any return to the clan to relay the unfolding events.

They understood the futility of catching Song Wen; furthermore, their combined assaults had been effortlessly deflected. Even if they managed to close the distance, they would likely become the fallen, not the victors.

Returning to the clan might not curry favor with Young Master Ming's father, Li Rui. In truth, it could position them as targets for his fury, inviting unwarranted calamity.

They had already made an attempt to rescue the young master, and their failure was not something for which they could be faulted.