It is fundamentally impossible.

Gripping his steel trident, the King of Overturning Waters hesitated for a long moment, refraining from casting a second spell.

This surprised Li Miao. Since the fish demon was in the water, there was little chance he could launch a direct attack; he could only defend and wait for his opponent to make a move. Yet after a while, the King of Overturning Waters remained motionless.

Unable to contain himself, Li Miao called out, “Hey, handsome merman, are you going to fight or not?”

The half-man, half-fish demon gritted his teeth and replied through clenched jaws, “Of course I will! I must avenge my eldest brother!”

With that, he swung his trident, and two transparent spears shot out from the pool.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Li Miao sneered, shattering both water spears with two direct punches, reducing them to mist.

“I…” The King of Overturning Waters was at a loss. The water qilin illusion he’d conjured earlier was already his most powerful technique; using it once drained half his demonic power, and he’d never use it lightly. Even if he forced himself to cast it again, he knew he was no match for this anomaly of the Condensed Essence realm.

So he could only float helplessly in the pool, glaring.

“Little sister, our eldest brother always treated you best. Why aren’t you avenging him?” he suddenly asked, remembering the King of Turning Clouds nearby.

The King of Turning Clouds had already retreated to a safe distance dozens of yards away. The great white egret demon perched on a dead branch, her graceful neck slightly drawn in, replied, “Second brother, you know as well as I do—I have no real skills besides flying fast. If even you and eldest brother can’t best him, I—I…”

Her tone held no hatred, only fear.

The King of Overturning Waters sighed, powerless to do anything about her. Gazing at the corpse of the King of Crossing Rivers, split in two, sorrow clouded his dark green eyes. Soon, though, resolve hardened his face. Gritting his teeth fiercely, he barked, “All you lesser demons, obey my order! Attack this human cultivator with me! Whoever lands the fatal blow shall be the new grand chief!”

“Yes…” The little demons and demonic beasts hiding in the corners responded listlessly, clearly lacking the will to fight. Still, enticed by the promise of becoming “grand chief,” they stepped forward.

“All of you, attack!” The King of Overturning Waters brandished his trident, once again summoning a water qilin, and led dozens of minor demons of the Qi Refining and Condensed Essence realms in a charge.

Exhausted of demonic power himself, he could only cower in the pool, not daring to approach.

Li Miao shook his head at the sight of the five-zhang-tall, jade-green qilin beast and the horde of weak demons.

“Like eggs thrown at a rock—utter folly,” he muttered coldly, showing no mercy for demons.

With a grasping motion, his Sunblade flew back into his hand from where it was embedded in the rock. He swept it outward, sending a crimson arc of blade energy scorching through the air, heat waves distorting the surroundings.

The minor demons unleashed their water arts in a desperate attempt to block him, but it was like trying to quench a fire with a cup of water. Their efforts didn’t even slightly diminish the blade’s power.

Screams rang out one after another. When the searing blade energy passed, only charred demon corpses remained, the heat having even shrunk the mighty water qilin.

Li Miao’s strikes were ruthless and efficient; in mere moments, dozens of demons perished in the flames, and the water qilin shattered apart.

“Any other tricks?” he asked, advancing toward the pool with his blade in hand.

The minor demons were annihilated—only the last two chiefs remained.

The nest was on the brink of destruction. The King of Overturning Waters trembled all over, his eyes bloodshot as he pointed and roared, “Human, you have destroyed my nest! My kind will never forgive you! The Lady of the Night will avenge us!”

“Lady of the Night? Who is that?” Li Miao asked, puzzled.

He knew there were seventy thousand demons in Mount Pang County, nearly as many as the human cultivators. But he knew little of their hierarchy.

The King of Overturning Waters snorted, “The Lady of the Night is the grand chief of the Mount Pang demons, at the Profound Unity realm. Once she learns what you’ve done, she will hunt you to the ends of the earth!”

“Profound Unity realm…” Li Miao frowned slightly.

His strength had grown greatly—he was confident against early Return to Origin cultivators, but if he encountered a mid-stage expert, he would be outmatched.

Let alone someone at the Profound Unity realm, a whole new level, ten times stronger than the peak of Return to Origin. If such a being hunted him, he’d have no choice but to shamelessly seek shelter from Ji Lingyu. There was no one else in all of Mount Pang County he could turn to for help.

Still, with the demon nest nearly wiped out and only two great demons left, the enmity was already set—whether he killed them or not, there was no undoing it. In fact, if he killed these last two, the Lady of the Night might not even learn who was responsible!

With that thought, Li Miao made up his mind.

He kicked off, shooting toward the pool like a cannonball, arriving at its edge in a blink.

The King of Overturning Waters retreated in panic.

“Don’t you dare!” he shouted, but with his power spent, he was helpless before Li Miao.

With a slash of the Sunblade, a crimson flash split the half-man, half-fish demon in two, blood staining the clear water red.

Only one demon left.

“S-second brother…” The King of Turning Clouds’ voice trembled from her perch on the dead branch, fear and helplessness plain.

Li Miao turned his gaze to her.

They were separated by dozens of yards—too far for him to strike suddenly. He wanted to kill her to eliminate future trouble, but the egret demon could fly, and fast; if she truly wished to escape, there was nothing he could do to stop her.

What to do?

There was no time for hesitation.

Li Miao edged closer without drawing attention, quietly gathering energy into his Sunblade, ready to unleash a Heaven-Scorching Slash if she came just a bit nearer.

To his surprise, the King of Turning Clouds didn’t flee. Instead, she pleaded in a trembling voice, “Please… don’t kill me. I don’t want to die. I beg you, spare me—I’ve never harmed a human, never done anything bad.”

Her voice was as light and clear as a young girl’s, her tone so pitiful that a soft-hearted person might have relented.

But Li Miao was not soft-hearted.

He thought to himself, Has this demon been frightened out of her wits? She could fly away with a beat of her wings, yet she begs for her life instead.

Was she too dull-witted, or was she feigning weakness with some hidden ploy?

He couldn’t be sure.

Still, he was confident in his own strength and unafraid of the King of Turning Clouds trying to trick him.

He set aside his wariness for the moment, advanced to within two yards of her, and asked, “Then why are you with them, calling them brothers?”

The King of Turning Clouds relaxed a little when she saw he wasn’t preparing a killing blow and replied timidly, “I… I had no choice.”

As she spoke, she folded her wings, a white light flashed over her, and she transformed into a half-human, half-demon form. She landed before Li Miao and knelt, fully prostrating herself in a gesture of submission.

“I was just an egret on the Cangyun River,” she explained hurriedly, “but after accidentally eating a celestial herb, I gained spiritual intelligence and became a demon. Egrets eat fish, but I didn’t know some in the water were dangerous. I offended Second Brother Overturning Waters once and almost got killed, but Eldest Brother Crossing Rivers saved me.

“Eldest Brother took pity on me and gave me shelter in this cold pool demon nest, so I lived with the water demons. They see humans as old enemies and often go out to hunt those crossing the river, but I dislike fighting. Whenever they left, I stayed home to cultivate and absorb the celestial herb’s energy.

“That herb contained much knowledge and spiritual power, so I quickly broke through to become a great demon. On the day I broke through, the Lady of the Night happened to pass by on her patrol. She made me the third chief of this cold pool demon nest, to help Eldest Brother guard the ancient tomb behind the waterfall, and keep human cultivators from discovering it.”

The egret demon was clearly terrified of Li Miao, rattling off her story in a desperate attempt to prove her innocence and escape death.

At first, Li Miao was unmoved, his killing intent unabated. But when she mentioned the Lady of the Night and the “thousand-year tomb,” his curiosity was piqued.

“So, the whole purpose of this cold pool demon nest is to guard the tomb of General Mohe?” he asked.

“Yes,” the egret replied, lowering her head.

“What’s so important in that tomb? Why is the Lady of the Night so concerned about it?” he pressed.

“I… I don’t really know,” she said, “only that someone the Lady of the Night hates is buried there, and she doesn’t want him to rest in peace.”

“Oh?” A flash of insight crossed Li Miao’s mind. “Is this Lady of the Night a bat demon, by any chance?”

This was a crucial question. Li Miao knew only a few of General Mohe’s enemies, and the title “Lady of the Night” almost certainly referred to the bat demon. No wonder he’d only seen the resurrected giant crab demon, but not the earlier-awakened bat demon or white rhinoceros—the bat must have become the leader of Mount Pang’s demons.

As for the white rhinoceros, that was the first demon corpse to revive, at least at the peak of the Profound Unity realm, perhaps even at the Transformation realm—a true king among demons. With such power, it would have little interest in a small place like Mount Pang and likely departed for broader horizons, perhaps returning to the Darkwing Eagle King’s side.

The egret bowed her head and replied, “Yes, immortal, that’s correct.”

With this knowledge, the situation became clearer to Li Miao. The Lady of the Night, also revived from General Mohe’s tomb, had favored the King of Crossing Rivers. Now that Li Miao had killed both him and nearly all the cold pool demons, if word got out, she might indeed hunt him to the ends of the earth.

But what was done was done—it was too late for regrets. His only option was to silence witnesses and prevent news from spreading.

Li Miao tightened his grip on his blade, gazing coldly at the prostrate egret demon, murderous intent flaring once more.

The searing heat returned.

Sensing his intent, the egret panicked, kowtowing rapidly and begging, “Please don’t kill me! Spare me, immortal! As long as you let me live, I’ll serve you as my master for the rest of my life!”

This demoness feared death so much she’d cast aside all pride, caring only to survive.

Li Miao said flatly, “I can’t trust you; the safest course is to kill you.”

In desperation, the egret cried, “If you don’t trust me, I’ll give you my soul core! If I ever betray you, you can destroy me with a thought!”

Her soul core?

Li Miao was surprised. That was the essence of the soul—giving it up was tantamount to handing over one’s life, becoming a slave with no freedom. Most cultivators and demons would rather die than submit so utterly. He hadn’t expected this egret to be so terrified that she’d rather serve her enemy than face death.

His brief hesitation was all the egret needed; she seized on it hopefully. “Immortal, I may not have much skill, but I’m very fast and can serve as your mount. The celestial herb I ate also gave me special talent for identifying spiritual items—perhaps that could be useful to you.”

Li Miao’s eyes lit up. Those were precisely the two abilities he needed most right now.

Weighing his options, he quickly reached a decision.

He suppressed his killing intent and nodded. “If you’re so sincere, hand over your soul core and I’ll spare you.”

“Truly?!” The egret was overjoyed, as if granted a royal pardon.

She gathered her demonic power, forced out a strand of her white soul core, and handed it to Li Miao. As it left her body, she coughed a bit of blood and grew visibly paler.

Li Miao accepted the soul core, swallowing it. In his spiritual sea, an image of a tiny egret appeared. With a single thought, he could destroy the core and end her life instantly.

With that safeguard, he no longer worried she’d betray him and bring disaster down upon him.

“Rise,” Li Miao said coolly.

“Yes, master,” the egret replied softly, immediately addressing herself as his servant.

As she stood, Li Miao finally saw her true form. Demons could begin to take human shape upon reaching the Return to Origin realm, but only those at Profound Unity could fully transform. At her current level, the egret was almost entirely human-looking, except for the long feathers covering her arms, resembling wings.

She appeared about sixteen or seventeen, youthful and delicate, with refined, pretty features and striking amber eyes. Her figure was slender, with only a slight swell at her chest—still not fully grown. Yet her legs were extraordinarily long; though much shorter than Li Miao, her legs were almost as long as his, likely due to her egret heritage.

“What is your name?” Li Miao asked.

She replied, “Master, I used to be called Little White, but after breaking through, everyone called me the King of Turning Clouds…”