Chapter 19

The Valley of Demon Refining

When I finally fell into the world below, I realized that the one who was unkind was the Master, and the one suffering retribution was me. Heaven is truly unfair.

I found myself in a winding corridor, with sand and stones swirling in the air, the miasma surrounding me, and broken walls scattered everywhere, as if it had once been an underground palace. Since the establishment of the Shen Zun lineage, the most sensitive thing about the Zhuo family has always been intuition. Although the sand and dust surrounded me, the demonic energy that had been approaching earlier completely enveloped me now.

Looking around, I couldn’t find Yin Ze or Xuan Yue anywhere.

Not far ahead, there seemed to be ghostly shadows, and wandering demonic lights, making me too scared to move.

However, the earth was originally opposed to water, and in this dry sandy land, it didn’t take long before I began to feel difficulty in breathing, my body uncomfortable, and my eyes growing heavy.

At this moment, a voice came from above, echoing throughout the palace: “Little water demon, you managed to escape from the Water Demon City. If you had lived quietly under an alias, in this vast Six Realms, I wouldn’t have bothered you. But look at you now, knowing there’s a tiger in the mountains, yet you choose to head into the tiger’s den. The consequences you face today are all due to your own actions. If you die untimely, don’t blame anyone else.”

I was stunned. This voice was so familiar, I had heard it countless times in my nightmares over the past few months—It’s Master Ru Yue!

In that moment, the severed finger of my mother, the fallen figure of my father, and the wails of the entire Zhuo family citizens all came rushing at me like nightmarish visions.

I tensed, my body fully on alert, though my legs felt weak: “Where is this place… why did you bring me here?”

Master Ru Yue said, “Heh, how useless. You’ve been in Qinghong Mountain for three months, yet you can’t even recognize the Valley of Demon Refining?”

“Why did you bring me here?! I’m not a demon! I’m a spirit!”

“I know you’re a spirit,” Master Ru Yue’s ancient voice chuckled twice, “But when people grow old, sometimes they get confused. Sometimes, when I look at you, you don’t seem much different from a demon. To us immortals, it’s better to kill a thousand spirits than to let one demon go. And spirits, their lives have always been cheap and worthless. Enjoy your time here, living alongside the demons Li and Guo.”

“Wait! Don’t go! Let me out!”

However, no matter how much I called out, Master Ru Yue did not respond, and it seemed he had gone far away.

The Valley of Demon Refining, those three words were really quite terrifying. Although I had never been here, its infamous name and various legends were already well-known to me: the Valley of Demon Refining, as the name suggests, was a valley filled with the most demons in the world. But it wasn’t just about imprisoning demons.

It is said that among the six treasures of the Supreme Old Lord, there were originally two Purple Gold Red Gourds. He used one to build a gourd-shaped prison on Qinghong Mountain to trap the demons caught by the disciples of Qinghong Mountain. However, as the number of disciples increased, the small temple could no longer contain the growing number of demons. So, the Earth Mother moved it to a gorge outside the mountain, and it became the Valley of Demon Refining. Since then, any demon that was captured by the immortals would be thrown into this valley.

Of course, for me, the problem was not the “demons” or the “valley,” but the word “refining.” Originally, when demons were trapped inside the Purple Gold Red Gourd, they would turn to sludge in no time. But in this larger refining demon gourd, the upper layer of sand was the material that could decompose demons. The longer a demon stayed in the upper layers of the Valley of Demon Refining, the faster they would perish.

In short, the Valley of Demon Refining was the eighteen levels of hell for demons.

No demon wants to stay in the upper levels, and those forced to the top are all minor demons. However, the further down you go, the more terrifying it becomes because the Demon Refining Valley leads straight to the real hell, the Endless Hell, a place where one cannot be reborn for eternity. Those who remain there do not even know whether they are demons, ghosts, or some other horrifying entities.

Looking up at the sky, I saw it was purple, which meant there was a crimson magic net suspended in midair, probably a barrier set by the Jade Emperor himself. Any demon or spirit that touches it would be instantly incinerated... This is truly troublesome.

Where did Master Zeyu go? I clearly saw him fall with me, so why is he nowhere to be found now? Should I wait here for him, or should I leave this dangerous place?

The discomfort in my body was growing stronger, so I quickly made up my mind. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes, and ran forward...

However, the path was long and endless, and the demonic creatures that had been weathered by the wind cried out in despair, making me feel as though I would collapse and turn to ashes at any moment.

Just as I was about to give in, the ground beneath my feet suddenly softened, and I fell again. This time, I landed in a dilapidated little stone room. There was no more miasma or sandstorms here, but the place was covered in moss and felt eerily cold—wait, moss? There might be a water source nearby!

I hugged my arms and carefully moved to the door, only to find streams of water on both sides of the corridor. But at the same time, I saw far more things than I wished to.

The entire corridor was packed with various demons: old tree-root spirits with green eyes flashing from insect holes, moth spirits shedding powder on the floor, vine spirits swaying in the corners... They wriggled like maggots across the entire corridor. Just a glance made my stomach churn.

I stepped back in horror, but when I turned, I saw the moss on the wall wriggling and spraying venom at me!

I quickly controlled the flowing water in the corridor, turning it into ice spears to pierce the moss. Green liquid splashed on the walls, and after twisting on the ground a couple of times, it stopped moving. I quickly retreated into the room, not daring to go out, fearing that other demons might notice.

I had never fought demons before, and because I was so scared, I stayed alone in the small room for a long time. After about an hour, I gradually felt my strength waning, so I quietly approached the door.

At that moment, an old tree-root spirit happened to pass by the door. I nearly used my Water Control technique out of reflex, but soon realized it only glanced at me before lazily moving on. I cautiously stepped out of the room, walking lightly and discovering that the demons on this floor were all sluggish, with no murderous intent.

I found the stairs and moved to the next level. Here, the demons were in the same state, most of them being small plant or insect-based demons.

I continued downward to the third level.

Just as I was about to move forward, a flying fish demon appeared, its mouth wide open, revealing rows of sharp white teeth. It lunged at me!

I leaped upward using my Water Control to dodge its attack and shot an ice arrow at it, but it was not so easy to deal with. It swerved and attacked again.

I condensed water into a sword in my hand and held it in front of me. The demon flew straight into it, impaled by the sword!

Wow, I can’t believe this technique worked! I kept repeating the same move, and found it quite interesting. As I concentrated, preparing to defend against more attacks, the surrounding demons, seeing the corpse of the flying fish demon on the ground, all fled in fear.

Even so, I did not let my guard down. I moved from the fourth to the fifth level, where I eliminated another four or five minor demons along the way.

Finally, I reached the sixth level. Here, the walls were covered in fresh blood, and white bones were scattered on the floor, gnawed clean. A chill ran down my spine. As expected, the further down you go, the more terrifying the demons become. The green moss demon from the upper levels likely attacked me because it considered me to be intruding on its territory. But as I went deeper, the demons became more vicious, attacking without reason, just trying to kill me.

I recalled the time when the Panlong demon took me away, intending to use me as medicine to aid in pregnancy. Master Zeyu once mentioned that the bloodline of the Suzhou clan was nourishing. This was likely the same for demons. But in the upper levels, I had investigated thoroughly, and there was only water, no food or exits.

If I don’t continue downward, I’ll starve to death here. But if I go further, I might become food for the demons...

In the midst of this dilemma, I saw dozens of human legs appear in front of a door in the northwest. At first, I thought I was seeing things, but when I looked again, I realized they belonged to a centipede demon with dozens of human legs!

I felt a surge of terror, stepping back in fear. However, just then, I felt a sharp, searing pain in my shoulder! I screamed in agony, turned around, and was nearly suffocated by what I saw behind me—a massive, blood-red python the size of a tree trunk had latched onto me! It had a human face with disheveled hair, bulging eyes, and a mouth wide enough to reach its ears, with jagged, saw-like teeth.

I remembered reading about this demon, called “Xieyu,” which dwells on Mount Shaoxian and feeds on humans. But eating its flesh would cause instant poisoning and death.

I used Water Control to form ice arrows and aimed them at its head. But it swiftly grabbed me and dragged me forward at an incredible speed! It moved so fast that I couldn’t even make out the other demons around me, as I was being dragged through half a floor. My blood dripped onto its head, and it hissed in excitement.

Finally, in a corner, it coiled its body around me, pulled out its sharp fangs, and opened its mouth wide, as if trying to pierce my skull. Just then, I conjured dozens of ice spikes and launched them at its face! A few of them struck its eyes!

It roared, and its body loosened. I quickly leaped away, desperate to escape in the opposite direction.

After enduring such hunger for so long, I was already physically exhausted. I huddled in a corner of a ruined room, pressing my hand against the wound and gasping for breath. When I removed my blood-soaked hand, the bleeding wouldn’t stop, so I had to press it back again, tearing my clothes to try and bandage it.

How long would it take for this wound to heal? If I kept waiting like this, sooner or later, I’d be eaten...

No, I can’t think like that. When I was taking Taoist studies, my master said that no matter if your opponent is human or demon, you must never lack fighting spirit. Otherwise, the other party will quickly sense it, and you’ll become the loser. I should be grateful. I am Luo Wei, the little princess with the best grades. If it had been Han Mo, he would have been eaten by the monster long ago! Now all I need to do is hide here and rest my injuries...”

Just as I was thinking this, a terrifying face hanging upside down suddenly cast a shadow over me, making my heart skip a beat.

It was another giant, grotesque serpent, peering in through the window behind me!

I slid down and lay on the ground, avoiding its snapping jaws. It bit through the wall and quickly retracted its head out of the window, disappearing in an instant, only to reappear at the door to the small room! I glanced up at the window. It was only as big as a washbasin, too small to escape from. I tried to summon ice arrows from outside to attack it, but due to my injury, my movements were slower, and it blocked all of them.

The giant opened its mouth full of sharp teeth, stretched its body, and lunged towards me! I was terrified to the extreme and could only cover my head and scream!

It was over. The next second, I would be torn to pieces and swallowed whole...

But after waiting for a long time, I didn’t feel any pain. Instead, I felt warm liquid dripping on me. I looked up and saw a sword sticking out of the window, piercing the giant’s head.

“Come out.” A cold but familiar voice sounded behind me.

I was stunned and my eyes welled up with tears. I quickly wiped the giant’s blood off my hand and ran out of the room.