Chapter 12: Extermination

Upon hearing the old Shell Demon's words, Zhang Xiao narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Very well, let us call it even." But just as the old Shell Demon began to heave a sigh of relief, a silver light instantly decapitated him. Simultaneously, Zhang Xiao waved his hand, and billowing demonic energy surged forth, enveloping the corpse before being drawn back in a sudden, sharp motion.

From within the old Shell Demon's body, Zhang Xiao extracted a demon core radiating dense demonic aura. Within his palm, the golden core released a wisp of energy that coalesced into a small figure—the old Shell Demon's primordial spirit, struggling desperately in Zhang Xiao's grasp.

Pointing at Zhang Xiao, the spirit shrieked, "You... are you insane? The Sea King Palace is not someone you can afford to provoke!" Zhang Xiao laughed coldly. "Hah! 'Call it even'? What a joke. I suspect that once I let you go, you would be wishing you had an extra mouth just to broadcast the news that a human cultivator possesses a ninth-grade dharma treasure. Hmph!"

Upon hearing this, the old Shell Demon's spirit trembled, realizing his inner thoughts had been laid bare. Understanding that his doom was inevitable, he cursed harshly, "You damned human! Kill me, and you shall await the pursuit of the Sea King Palace!"

Zhang Xiao’s fingers surged with demonic energy, forming a small serpent that lunged forward, sucking the primordial spirit directly out of the demon core. Thinking that a late-stage Nascent Soul demon core was a fine ingredient for alchemy, Zhang Xiao retrieved a jade bottle and stored it away. He then turned his gaze toward the other Shell Demons, a sharp, cold light flashing in his eyes. He swung his Tianyang Sword, releasing several silver rays that instantly executed the remaining Golden Core stage demons.

"Hmph, in for a penny, in for a pound. Since it has come to this, I shall simply exterminate your entire Shell Demon clan." Looking down at the corpses beneath his feet, a savage smile curled Zhang Xiao’s lips. His figure transformed into a streak of silver light, flying toward the island where the rest of the Shell Demons resided.

"Big Brother, do you think something has happened to the Old Ancestor? He has been gone for so long," a younger-looking Shell Demon named Bei Tianhai asked with concern from a pavilion on the island.

Bei Tianhai was a rare genius of the Shell Demon family. Though young, he had already reached the early Golden Core stage. According to the Old Ancestor—the one Zhang Xiao had just slain—Bei Tianhai was the most promising candidate to become the second member of their family to reach the Nascent Soul stage. He had always been the apple of the Old Ancestor's eye, which was why he felt such unease at the long delay.

"Heh, the Old Ancestor possesses vast supernatural powers. He was likely just delayed by some damned human using a fast escape technique," the Shell Demon addressed as "Big Brother" replied, casually sipping his wine. In his eyes, aside from his brother-in-law, the Great Crow King of the Sea King Palace, no one was more powerful than their Old Ancestor. Bei Tianhai wanted to say more, but seeing his brother's impatient expression, he remained silent.

After sitting for a while, he could no longer bear it. Standing up, he said, "Forget it, I will go out and look. Perhaps I can offer some assistance."

Without looking back, Bei Tianhai transformed into a streak of demonic light and dove into the sea. His brother sneered, "Hmph! Sycophant." At that moment, a young Shell Demon came scrambling toward them, his face pale with terror.

"Big Brother! It... it's bad! The Old Ancestor’s soul-bond tablet has shattered!" Upon hearing this, the wine cup fell from the elder brother's hand. He lunged forward, grabbing the young demon by the collar, his eyes bloodshot. "What did you say? Repeat that!"

"Big Brother, I was patrolling the family's soul-bond tablets and discovered that the Old Ancestor’s has shattered. Not just his, but the tablets of all the brothers who accompanied him have shattered as well!" The elder brother collapsed to the ground.

It was over. The Shell Demon clan was finished. The fall of a late-stage Nascent Soul Old Ancestor was one thing—they still had their powerful brother-in-law to rely on—but with all the Golden Core mainstays gone, the Shell Demon clan would lose its foothold in these waters, even with that protection.

"Big Brother, what do we do now?" Finally, hearing the subordinate's plea, the elder brother regained a semblance of his composure. "Sound the alarm! Activate the island's defensive formation! And send someone immediately to the Myriad Spirit Cave to notify our brother-in-law!"

Orders were issued, and the island descended into chaos. Unfortunately, before they could activate the defensive array, Zhang Xiao’s figure descended from the sky like a sharp blade. His Tianyang Sword transformed into a silver dragon, plunging into the island like a tiger into a flock of sheep. The Shell Demons were torn to shreds before they could even attempt to flee.

Zhang Xiao threw Hei Zi from his pocket. "Go! If you don't kill them all, I'm taking you back to be pickled in rice wine!" Startled, Hei Zi revealed his massive form, his giant scorpion claws wreaking havoc on everything in sight. "It's you!" one of the Shell Demons shrieked—it was none other than the elder brother.

Driven by bitter hatred, he spat out a flying sword and charged at Zhang Xiao. "Heh, a late-stage Golden Core appetizer. I like it," Zhang Xiao chuckled as a giant scorpion claw suddenly reached out from the sky, pinning the demon down. "A Soul-Refining stage demon!" The Shell Demon’s face turned green upon seeing Hei Zi, but before he could speak, Hei Zi swallowed him whole, crunching loudly as he chewed.

Thanks to Hei Zi, it wasn't long before the nearly three hundred Shell Demons on the island were wiped out. Aside from those shredded by the Tianyang Sword, most were devoured by Hei Zi.

After meticulously scanning the island with his divine sense to ensure nothing remained, Zhang Xiao felt at ease. He took Hei Zi and rode the Tianyang Sword, vanishing into the horizon as a streak of silver light. However, Zhang Xiao never expected that one Shell Demon had escaped this calamity—the old saying about a thousand precautions still leaving room for error held true.

Bei Tianhai, having been outside the island, had witnessed Zhang Xiao’s departure with bloodshot eyes. He rushed back to the island only to find dismembered limbs everywhere; most bodies were mangled beyond recognition, while others were entirely consumed.

"Humans!" Bei Tianhai fell to his knees, weeping uncontrollably. But after a moment, a thought struck him, and he transformed into a streak of light, diving deep into the ocean.

For several days, Zhang Xiao traveled, eventually finding an uninhabited small island. It would suffice; though the spiritual energy was thin, it served as a place to rest. He dug a cave into the hillside, set up some formations, and began to meditate.

So much had happened recently that he had rarely found time to cultivate in peace. As he sat cross-legged, his five vital centers aligned, pure Yang energy surging from his body and swirling around him. Yet, a trace of exceptionally pure demonic energy emanated from his exterior, and a black halo appeared behind his head, radiating an aura of total destruction. The surrounding air was filled with ghostly wails; a weaker mind would have been shattered, turning the victim into a hollow shell.

At the same time, a golden light emerged from between Zhang Xiao's brows. The sound of Buddhist chants enveloped him, making him appear as if he were cast in gold. Half of his strength came from the *Brahma Zen Sutra*, and the other half from the *Seven Transformations of the Mysterious Heaven*. Originally, the Buddhist and Daoist paths complemented each other, but now, a three-way standoff between Buddhism, Daoism, and Demonic arts had emerged. Zhang Xiao was distressed, fearing he might fall into a demonic trance. He had never heard of anyone practicing such a chaotic mix.

He wanted to use this opportunity to reorganize his cultivation, but he didn't know where to start. Suddenly, he recalled a line from the *Taiyin Xuanhua Sutra*: "The Way of man lies in Essence, Qi, and Spirit. Essence is the fleshly vessel crossing the heavens; Qi is the oar, the strength of the vessel; Spirit is the rudder, the soul of the vessel."

He hadn't understood it before, but now, the clouds parted. He used Buddhist practice to cultivate his Spirit, Demonic arts to forge his body, and Daoism to nourish his Qi. They seemed contradictory, but were they not actually complementary? Zhang Xiao’s heart brightened.

He began to forcibly alter the flow of the *Seven Transformations of the Mysterious Heaven*, driving the demonic energy into his body while his projection wove strings of the *Brahma Zen Sutra* through his sea of consciousness to protect his origin.

For three days, he labored to rewrite his own cultivation path. Any master seeing this would be astonished; mixing cultivation methods was a great taboo, and Zhang Xiao was forcibly merging three conflicting ones—it was practically suicide.

In truth, Zhang Xiao began to regret his rashness. His body was in total disarray. "Pop!" A muffled sound erupted from his body as a thumb-sized hole of blood burst open. Then, a series of pops followed, as if strings of firecrackers were going off within him, and blood-holes began to erupt all over his body. Clenching his teeth, Zhang Xiao resolved, "Success or failure, it all depends on this one attempt!"