Rise of The Demon General

Amon first walked out of the cave. The outside was an irregular landscape with valleys and hills. The red sky above was clear. The garden he saw from inside was only a tiny fraction of the whole. The flowers and trees in the garden were well-maintained and beautifully arranged, covering most of the hills and valleys. The environment was serene.

Far in the distance was a wall of mists. The mists hung there without moving closer or further, just like the wall before he entered the misty border.

He looked around. The mist wall formed a circle around this place. Something was holding those mists back.

He turned to Di Ying, who followed beside him, and asked, ”Are there other places in the misty border like this one? I mean, ones that are clear of mists.”

Di Ying shook her head. ”I don’t know. As I said, I have lived here since I was born. I never go anywhere outside where those mists are. My uncle forbids it.”

”How long until this uncle of yours returns?” Amon asked.

Di Ying shrugged. ”Can be a week, a month, or probably tomorrow. He never tells me. He comes and goes as he pleases. He did mention that you should be out for two weeks and told me to stay away from you until his return. He was wrong. You woke up earlier than he predicted.”

Hearing that, Amon assumed he had six days before Di Ying’s uncle returned. From her story, her uncle would surely want to be by her side when he awoke.

Amon surveyed the surroundings. This place possessed a high concentration of both infernal and normal aether. It was an ideal place for cultivation. It was also rich with various elements from the divine and infernal paths, though not as rich as the elements found in a ley node. He would make good progress by staying here and cultivating.

He gauged his body. He still felt weak, and it hurt every time he moved. The burn marks in his skin stung when the winds touched them. He took out a recovery pill from his black space ring and consumed it.

”Is that one of the human medicines I read a lot about in books?” Di Ying asked.

”Yes. You can have one,” Amon offered a pill for her. ”Though I doubt it will do anything for you since you are not human.”

”Thank you! I will treasure it.” Di Ying accepted the gift. She acted like a little girl who had just received a new toy.

”Don’t mention it. It’s the least I can do to repay you for taking care of me when I’m unconscious.”

”So... Will you be leaving soon?” Di Ying asked.

Amon thought for a second before answering, ”Not for now.”

”In that case, do you want to continue the tour to the inside of my home?”

”I am allowed to?”

”Certainly!”

Amon chuckled. She was more excited about this than he was. ”Show the way,” he said.

They returned inside the cave and entered the opening on the other side, where he saw she had come out of earlier. They entered a tunnel that became bigger the deeper they went. At the end of the tunnel was a large cavern filled with another garden, even prettier than the one outside. The ceiling above had multiple holes that let light come in.

”What do you think? My uncle said this was my mother’s personal garden,” Di Ying asked Amon. Her voice was filled with pride.

”... Didn’t you mention you only live here with your uncle? What about your mother?”

”She... She is away.”

”When will she be coming back?”

Di Ying’s expression turned sad. ”To be honest, I have never met her. She was no longer around when I was born, but I know she is still alive. I can feel her... I believe she will return to me one day.”

”Doesn’t your uncle know where she is?”

Di Ying shook her head. ”He did ask me several times about it. While I can feel my mother, I can’t truly tell where she is. I can gauge her general direction, but that’s it. I can’t tell how far she is... Enough about my mother. I don’t wish to speak about her anymore. It makes me sad.”

”I’m sorry to make you feel that way. Very well, I won’t ask again.”

Di Ying smiled, which prompted Amon to ask, ”What’s so funny?”

”My uncle told me to beware of humans, that humans are evil and greedy. You don’t seem that way to me.”

Amon smiled. ”Not all humans are like that. It is just like those stories you enjoy. There are good guys and bad guys, aren’t they?”

”You heard the stories I told you when you were asleep?” Di Ying asked. She slightly blushed.

”Yes. They help me cling to life. I believe your stories are what helped me recover,” Amon lied. ”You have saved my life. I can’t thank you enough.”

”It’s my pleasure. I’m glad that you like them... Say, do you want to check out my mother’s treasure vault?”

Amon raised his eyebrows upon hearing it. He pretended to be hesitating. ”Will that be appropriate? Won’t your mother be angry if she finds out a human intrudes on her vault?”

”Nah. I’m sure she will be fine. The treasures meant nothing to her. I can tell because I felt nothing when I looked at them. She simply likes to collect them.”

”I see. That means the treasures are not that valuable.”

Di Ying shrugged. ”I don’t really understand the value of stuff. A lot of shiny things, though.”

”Let’s go check it out then.”

Di Ying happily led him. They entered one of the many tunnels around the cavern. After several turns, they came inside another large cavern. Aer stones and other shiny jewels filled the place to the brim.

’No barrier to block the entrance?’ Amon thought in his mind. Then again, spirit beasts didn’t really practice engravings, even intelligent ones that could turn into humans like Lin Li.

Amon looked at the mound of aer stones. The riches here were enough to fund a large country for several years. He was not lacking in wealth, but the sight still tempted him to raid this place. However, he restrained himself. It was not yet the time to show his true colors. Furthermore, aer stones were not something he prioritized for now.

”Impressive,” Amon remarked.

”You don’t look impressed,” Di Ying said with a disappointed expression.

”My face rarely shows my emotions. It is how I am. Believe me, I’m impressed.”

”If you say so,” Di Ying said. Her face was pouting.

Amon chuckled. He walked and looked around the place. While the aer stones were plentiful, they were a mess. They were scattered everywhere like rubbish. Amon spotted other treasures like weapons, armor, talismans, and various tools that emitted strong auras. Di Ying’s mother seemed to be quite a collector, but one who collected things for collection’s sake. She never truly intended to put these treasures to actual use.

”Mm...” Strangely enough, he felt drawn in a direction. He didn’t sense any particularly strong aura from there, but he just got this feeling that he was compelled toward it.

He stopped and saw a huge chunk of translucent rock among the pile of aer stones. The rock exuded a strong aura.

”Can I touch this?” He pointed at the rock.

”Okay.” Di Ying shrugged.

When Amon touched the rock, he could sense emptiness inside despite its strong aura. He also felt a pull from the rock, as if it were trying to absorb his aether.

’As I thought, this is an elemental crystal,’ Amon thought. He had only ever read about this crystal in a book. He had heard some high-ranking officers in the faction possessed such a crystal. They were very rare. They were used to store elemental energies, but the ones he had heard about were only the size of a pebble. This one was half the size of an adult human.

”Di Ying, you like human stories, don’t you?” Amon asked.

”I do! I adore them,” she answered.

”How about we make a trade. I tell you a story, and you give me this rock?”

”Mm... How about you tell me three stories and write them down so I can read them again after you leave?”

Amon chuckled. ”It’s a deal.” He touched the rock again. This time was to transfer it into his black space ring.

’Hm... This rock is not what draws me,’ he thought. The strange pull he felt earlier didn’t vanish after storing the rock. He continued toward where the strange feeling urged him.

After some time, he stopped. Di Ying was confused. Amon had moved back and forth in a small spot several times, like he was searching for something, but there was nothing around there except for aer stones.

Amon crouched and began to push the aer stones to left and right, as if he were digging.

”What are you looking for?” Di Ying approached him and asked.

”... I’m not so sure myself,” Amon answered. He sensed no aura at this spot. Yet, this gnawing feeling inside convinced him there was something under this pile of aer stones.

After some time, he laid eyes on something that looked like a black wooden stake. While the material looked wooden, it was smooth and hard to the touch.

”Oh, I see you found the Godslayer,” Di Ying said.

”The Godslayer?” Amon asked.