For ten thousand ages, the conflict between humans and demons has raged, the Line of Life and Death a grim shadow stretching across the long years.

The kingdoms of Jing and Mu, having resisted the demonic hordes for a millennium, have long since established a pragmatic system for hunting demons. Be it solitary warriors, small teams, or grand armies, each employs different strategies. Against the demons’ magical tools, potent drugs, intricate array patterns, and military formations, humanity has developed myriad countermeasures. The beast-faced plays within the Mu Kingdom are rife with tales of adventure, their protagonists invariably demon hunters.

Jiang Wang did not rely solely on his solitary sword for this scattered demon hunting.

Yu Wen Duo had provided him with remarkably comprehensive maps and intelligence. They detailed where Yin demons were most prevalent, and where safe havens could be found. The path extending a thousand *li* north from the Line of Life and Death was relatively well-defined. Beyond a thousand *li*, however, the demonic creatures surged in unpredictable waves, their territories lacking any fixed boundaries, even to the demon race themselves.

Jiang Wang did not adhere strictly to the map, drawing his own straight line, forging his own path, and advancing as he willed.

For his five-day demon-hunting sojourn, he had set aside half a day for his return journey. In the remaining four and a half days, he intended to test how far he could penetrate the wilderness by his own might.

It was well known that for every thousand *li* one ventured deeper into the border wilderness, the peril doubled. Beyond three thousand *li*, each hundred *li* marked a formidable threshold. The kingdoms of Jing and Mu regarded this distance as the “Life Forbidden Zone,” and in principle, advised against any individual entering it alone.

For countless years, the armies of both kingdoms had mostly confined their demon-hunting sweeps to within three thousand *li*.

It was in stark contrast to this that Zhongshan Yan Wen, during a military exercise that year, had plunged eight thousand *li* deep into the border wilderness with lightning speed, slaughtering demons, beheading a Border True Demon, and returning, thus achieving world-shaking renown. The record he set for the farthest distance a contemporary True Person had ever penetrated the border wilderness alone became an epic of heroism.

On the third day of his foray into the boundless wilderness, Jiang Wang still awaited the rain.

Instead, he was met with the largest-scale encirclement of Yin demons he had yet encountered.

He advanced relentlessly, slaughtering as he went, but the Yin demons converged in ever greater numbers, some floating in the high heavens, others slithering across the ground – creatures with fish fins and bovine horns, bird bodies and wicked countenances…

Truly the manifestation of evil ghosts in a world of turbidity.

For the first time, the black camel halted, as there was no path left to tread.

The greatest peril of the border wilderness had once again declared its terror upon outsiders.

In this boundless wilderness where spiritual awareness was intensely suppressed, being surrounded by demonic creatures was the most ordinary occurrence.

This is why the border wilderness was not recommended for powerful individuals traveling alone. Instead, it called for clearly defined demon-hunting teams – scouts, trap-layers, main attackers, main defenders… a complete complement was required before daring to penetrate.

Even large armies were often mobilized for patrols, scattering scouts based on their reports. In this region, humanity’s acquisition of information relied solely on primitive means.

Solitary travelers faced danger upon danger here.

But it was precisely because of this that many strong individuals regarded it as a challenge. Generation after generation of the powerful, time after time, shattered the record for venturing alone into the border wilderness. The one who set the record claimed unparalleled glory.

Unbeknownst to himself, he was once again surrounded. Jiang Wang was not overly surprised. As he formed Dao seals with one hand, his eyes surveyed his surroundings.

The first iron law of the border wilderness was: “When Yin demons number over a thousand, a General Demon is certain to appear.”

Yin demons possessed only instinct, while General Demons possessed rudimentary intelligence and held absolute dominion over Yin demons, capable of commanding them in battle.

Of course, due to their incomplete wisdom, this “command” was likely limited to the levels of “all attack together” and “all scatter.”

The strength fluctuations among General Demons were vast. The weakest might not be much stronger than Yin demons, while the strongest could even rival cultivators of the Divine Arrival realm.

In the demon hierarchy, above Yin demons were General Demons. Further up from General Demons were True Demons, creatures only contemporary True Persons could hope to contend with.

Above True Demons were Heavenly Demons. The appearance of a Heavenly Demon could only be contained by cultivators of the Derived Dao True Monarch realm.

The surging Yin demons here, by a rough sweep, numbered well over three thousand. Conversely, the General Demons hidden among them were surely not to be underestimated in strength.

The gray, hazy sky saw a patch of thick clouds gather.

This was, of course, not the rain of the border wilderness, but Jiang Wang’s technique.

Wind rose and clouds surged, stirring up tempestuous waves of Dao techniques!

Kang Jin Dragon, Jiao Mu Jiao, Ji Shui Leopard, Wei Fire Tiger, Shi Tu Diao, Fang Ri Rabbit, Xin Yue Fox!

The Dao techniques simulated the spirits of the Seven Constellations, vivid and lifelike, their majesty naturally arising. In an instant, they unfurled across this square of heaven and earth, radiating divine glory and precious light, adding heavy strokes to the thick ink of this dark world. They formed a circle at the outermost edge, in turn encircling these several thousand demonic creatures!

These Seven Constellations represented metal, wood, water, fire, earth, the sun, and the moon.

Jiang Wang simply clenched his five fingers!

That sharp-eyed golden dragon, the vibrant wood *jiao*, the water-controlling leopard, the fire-wielding tiger, the earth-stirring *tu diao*, the high-hanging sun rabbit, the heart-illuminating moon fox… in an instant, they intertwined with intense light, stirring up a chaotic flow of vital energy.

The intense light displayed the five colors of gold, cyan, black, red, and yellow, like a colossal light cloud exploding open, piercing through the entire gray, hazy sky.

The five elements reversed, the sun and moon shifted positions.

The Cang Long Seven Changes, Seven Constellations Absolute Kill!

Such a supreme-grade Dao technique, recently researched by the Qi State Technique Academy, had almost reached the limit of what a supreme-grade Yellow Tier Dao technique could achieve. In the border wilderness, it displayed its full might for the first time!

After the intense light dissipated and the vital energy subsided, all that remained were dense and numerous demon heads scattered across the ground!

The black camel moved its hooves, avoiding a rolling demon skull.

A short, temporary silence fell between heaven and earth, only the wind blowing sand.

Rolling, rolling.

A pile of demon skulls was knocked aside, and one General Demon swayed to its feet. Aside from its bizarre body, not much different from other Yin demons, it gradually manifested a black armor condensed from demon qi.

And then it ignited.

Amidst the roaring flames, it burned without being able to emit a single sound.

And in the sand ground several dozen *zhang* away, a tall General Demon with a bear’s body and a dog’s head suddenly burrowed out. Its four feet scrabbled at the ground, fleeing in panic towards the distance!

It was obviously cleverer than ordinary General Demons. At least, in its flight, it knew to first burrow in the sand for a while to create distance.

But this cleverness was also very limited.

Jiang Wang simply lifted his hand, and a black chain burrowed out of the void, entwining its bear waist.

The Prisoner Body Chain, long unable to match his current battle level, bound the General Demon at one end and was gripped in Jiang Wang’s hand at the other. With a light tap of his boot, the black camel shook its bell and ran forward.

Jiang Wang used the Prisoner Body Chain partly to test the effects of the Legalist secret technique on General Demons and gather more information, and partly to have this clumsy giant lead the way towards areas with a denser concentration of demonic creatures.

A ground of demon skulls was collected into his storage box.

This place was only one thousand eight hundred *li* from the Line of Life and Death.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The bear-bodied General Demon ran with a rumbling sound.

A mere General Demon with strength equivalent to an Outer Building cultivator could naturally not break free from Jiang Wang’s grasp.

It was so stupid that it didn’t even notice the Prisoner Body Chain around its waist. It struggled a bit, couldn’t break free, and then let it hang. It then took large strides, running straight towards the depths of the wilderness.

The black camel’s endurance was excellent, easily keeping pace with this tall General Demon whose speed was being suppressed.

The sound of the bell shook, ringing towards the deeper regions of the border wilderness.

The black Prisoner Body Chain, growing longer as it was pulled, was a moving vertical line in the dim wilderness.

Yue Leng, who had originally passed on the Prisoner Body Chain to him, had been quietly released in the past few months without any conclusion reached, roughly considered cleared. But they intentionally avoided each other, and although both were in Linzi, they had not met again.

Lin You Xie had now gone to the Three Punishments Palace. Thinking she could learn the true transmission version of the Prisoner Body Chain, he wondered what kind of might that would possess.

His Divine Seal Law still couldn’t establish contact with the Blood Puppet True Demon. He didn’t know her current situation. At the same time, he also couldn’t sense Du Gu Xiao. Here, separated from the grassland by only a Line of Life and Death, it seemed as if he was already in another world.

Jiang Wang silently looked at the black chain in front of him, some unfounded thoughts spreading through his mind.

In this place so rarely touched by human presence, where heaven and earth seemed to repel him, one inevitably felt a sense of panic and loneliness.

And memories were companions to loneliness.

Ding ling ling, ding ling ling

The sound of the camel bell had shaken here for ten thousand years.

Jiang Wang retracted his thoughts. It was good that he had at least killed several Divine Arrival-level General Demons. This trip was not in vain.

At this moment, his right hand gripped the chain, like holding reins, trailing behind that General Demon. His left hand was spread flat, extended towards the sky. At his fingertips were five-colored light clusters, quietly rotating.

His recent direction in Dao technique cultivation was to shorten the peak burst time of the Cang Long Seven Changes. There were no other methods, only enduring through hard work.

The sky seemed to grow darker.

But this gloom felt as if it had never changed.

It was said that many people in the border wilderness would produce a doubt – was this truly the present world?

“Roar!”

A surge of violent aura suddenly erupted.

The chaotic breath rolled like a tide, a world unto itself at the Divine Arrival level!

As the sound fell, a tall figure the color of blood had already torn through space, appearing before Jiang Wang!

Humans within this boundless wilderness were suppressed in all aspects, yet demons here were remarkably free.

Thus, this Divine Arrival-level General Demon was the first to discover Jiang Wang and was the first to charge over. Jiang Wang, conversely, had to wait for it to approach before he could detect it.

This was a tall cow demon clad in blood-colored demon armor. Below was a cow body with four hooves, above was a human body with two arms, and its head was a cow skull. It held a mottled iron wolf-tooth club in its large hand, its surface covered in traces of time.