Demons.
It did not refer to a single species.
It specifically referred to all non-human monsters.
The types were countless.
Some were corpses that did not decay after death and became demons, while others were mountain spirits, plants, or stones that gained sentience. Even a wisp of ordinary people's resentment could achieve demonhood through some fortuitous encounter.
Among demons, there were the weak, who could be killed by a few strong peasants. As for the strong, even cultivators might not be their match.
Over five hundred years ago, at the very beginning of the Great Jing Dynasty's establishment, demons proliferated, and the common people lived in misery.
King Jing Wei, along with his subordinate cultivators, established Demon Slaying Divisions throughout the Great Jing Dynasty to slay all demons under heaven.
Years later, the chaos caused by demons was largely eradicated, and the people lived in peace and contentment.
Although incidents involving demons still occurred occasionally, they were generally resolved quickly by the Demon Slaying Divisions.
Li Qi had been in this world for nearly twenty years.
But speaking of demons, this was his first time seeing one today.
"Thank you, immortal, for saving my life!"
Seeing the demon easily dealt with by Li Qi, the group of refugees breathed a collective sigh of relief.
The mother from before, with tears streaming down her face, ran to Li Qi's side.
Li Qi handed the little girl he was holding back to her mother.
The mother quickly took her daughter, holding her tightly.
"Er Ya, quickly thank the immortal for saving our lives."
"Thank you, immortal big brother, for saving me!"
The little girl's eyes widened as she peeked at Li Qi and said timidly.
"So good."
Li Qi smiled and petted the little girl's head. He reached into his embrace and pulled out a sugar cube, offering it to the girl.
As for the sugar cube, it was naturally a product of one of Li Qi's "underworld" attribute points, which he had refined himself when he was bored.
Immediately after, Li Qi also clarified the entire situation.
These people were not refugees.
They were villagers from a village called Xiaohe Village, located within a hundred-mile radius.
A few days prior, several demons had suddenly appeared in Xiaohe Village and embarked on a bloody slaughter.
The village guard team, formed to defend against wild beasts, had suffered heavy casualties under the demons' onslaught.
The remaining guards had desperately held off the demons for a while, allowing these villagers to escape.
However, the demons did not intend to let them go and pursued them relentlessly, causing many of the slower villagers to die at their hands.
It was only now, after fleeing through the night to the mountainside of Feisha Sect and crying for help, that Li Qi heard them and they were rescued.
The villagers expressed their profuse gratitude and departed.
However, the original Xiaohe Village was largely destroyed, and only the surviving villagers remained here.
Fortunately, with Li Qi's permission.
These villagers settled down in a clearing near the foot of Feisha Sect's mountain, establishing a new Xiaohe Village.
...
Half a month passed quickly.
And today, outside Feisha Sect.
Two individuals with cold expressions, wearing identical black uniforms, stood at attention.
Their black uniforms were emblazoned with the pattern of a blood-stained long saber.
On the other side of the garment, a large character "斬" (Zhǎn) stood powerfully, naturally exuding an aura of killing intent that felt dazzling to onlookers.
These were people from the Demon Slaying Division.
Judging by their aura, both of them were experts at the fourth stage of Body Forging.
"Is this Feisha Sect that the villagers below mentioned, the one that saved them from the demons? Wang Xun, have you ever heard of this sect?"
One of them asked.
The other shook his head.
"Never heard of it. Although cultivators are not everywhere in our Great Jing Dynasty, there are quite a few. It's indeed normal for cultivators of moderate strength to open schools and recruit disciples in remote places."
"However, to be able to deal with three demons comparable in strength to the fourth stage of Body Forging, the sect leader must be at least an expert at the fifth stage of Body Forging."
"That's true. We must see the living, or retrieve the corpses of the dead. Our main purpose for coming this time is to retrieve the corpses of those three demons and return them to the Demon Slaying Division. Otherwise, if Lord Zuo blames us, it won't be something we two ordinary grunts can bear."
They were here for the corpses of the three demons from last time.
"Is the Sect Leader of Feisha Sect here? I am Zhang Teng of the Demon Slaying Division, here regarding the matter of the demons."
At this moment, within Feisha Sect.
Li Qi was routinely instructing his three junior disciples.
The voice from outside suddenly interrupted Li Qi's lesson.
Hearing the person outside identify themselves as from the Demon Slaying Division, a name that was known throughout the Great Jing Dynasty, Li Qi's eyelids slightly lifted as he looked at Wang Cheng.
"Wang Cheng, go and welcome our guests outside the gate."
"Understood, Senior Disciple Brother."
Wang Cheng bowed respectfully to Li Qi and then left.
Before long, Wang Cheng returned.
Behind him followed two cultivators from the Demon Slaying Division.
"Gentlemen, this is the Senior Disciple Brother of our Feisha Sect, who also acts as the sect leader."
Wang Cheng introduced them to the two Demon Slaying Division cultivators.
Wang Xun and Zhang Teng's gazes sharpened as they looked at Li Qi.
Li Qi's calm eyes also met theirs.
The next moment, the pupils of these two Demon Slaying Division cultivators involuntarily contracted.
From Li Qi, they only felt a sense of vastness, like a deep, dark abyss.
Such strength! Even within the Demon Slaying Division, he was considered an expert.
This Sect Leader of Feisha Sect was not simple!
He was definitely not the type they had spoken of earlier, who opened a sect in a remote place to recruit disciples due to their moderate cultivation.
"You are here for the corpses of those demons, aren't you?"
Li Qi, at this moment, cut directly to the chase.
Hearing this, the two composed themselves. The one named Zhang Teng nodded, his attitude no longer as casual as before. He spoke with some guilt.
"Yes. To be frank with you, our Demon Slaying Division had been tracking those three demons for a long time. We just lost them a few days ago by accident, and in that time, they managed to wreak havoc on quite a few citizens. If not for your intervention, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"If it is possible, could you please hand over the three demon corpses to us so we can return them to the Demon Slaying Division to complete our task?"
Li Qi remained noncommittal, but he did not refuse. He turned to Wang Cheng beside him.
"Wang Cheng, where did we put the corpses of those three demons last time?"
"Senior Disciple Brother, didn't you tell me and the junior disciples to bury them somewhere? I buried the corpses of those three demons in the back mountain."
Wang Cheng replied.
"It seems there was such a thing."
Li Qi nodded.
"You take these two fellow Daoists and dig out the corpses, then hand them over to them."
"Yes, Senior Disciple Brother. Two fellow Daoists, please follow me."