I have the face of a great demon.

Butler Zhao carefully spread the paper on the smooth tabletop, and then meticulously ground the ink until it was as dark as night.

Just as he was about to hand the pen to the otherworldly immortal, Senior Brother Zhou smiled slightly and uttered two words: "No need."

Before he finished speaking, he had already leisurely stood up.

With a slight movement of his fingertips, Senior Brother Zhou formed a mysterious hand seal, and the ink in the inkstone seemed to come alive, slowly rising and transforming into streams of ink that gracefully weaved through the air before gently sprinkling onto the pristine white paper.

These ink dots seem to have their own will; they cleverly arrange and combine to gradually outline a lifelike portrait.

Chen Minghui stepped forward to look at the portrait. In it, a man in black robes stood proudly, his eyes as cold as ice, which made people shiver.

His robes fluttered without wind, exuding an aura of unassailable majesty and mystery that inspired awe and made people不敢直视 (dare not look directly at him).

"This...this is the legendary great demon?" Chen Minghui's voice trembled slightly.

"That's right, this is the great demon Liu Zhantian."

Although Senior Brother Zhou's voice was soft, it carried an undeniable firmness.

"Remember what he looks like; he might save your life in a critical moment someday."

Upon hearing this, not only Chen Minghui, but also Chen Youcai and Steward Zhao, who were standing to the side, exchanged glances and muttered to themselves.

It turns out that even immortals have people they fear.

Taking this opportunity, they secretly glanced at the portrait, wanting to imprint the image of the great demon deeply into their minds.

Upon seeing this, Butler Zhao exclaimed in shock, "It's him?"

"What? You've seen this person before?" Upon hearing this, Senior Brother Zhou was startled and quickly asked.

"That's right, I happened to run into him in town the day before yesterday."

Upon hearing this, the entire room seemed to be enveloped by an invisible chill.

Senior Brother Zhou's face turned ashen instantly, and his hands and feet began to tremble uncontrollably.

How could I be so unlucky? In this vast world, how could sending a junior brother to such a place with sparse spiritual energy lead to him encountering the greatest demon in the world?

Is it truly a year of bad luck that even a Foundation Establishment stage expert like myself from the Heavenly River Sect is destined to perish here?

Seeing this, Chen Minghui was extremely anxious and quickly tugged at Butler Zhao's sleeve, pressing him for answers:

"Butler Zhao, tell me quickly, how exactly did you encounter this great demon?"

Butler Zhao recalled the scene from that day and said:

“That day, there was a ship of goods at the manor that needed to be unloaded, so I recruited laborers at the dock to move the goods.”

"That person appeared in front of me somehow. He was dressed in a black robe, with a cold and stern face. He looked exactly like the person in the portrait, without the slightest difference!"

Senior Brother Zhou stared at Steward Zhao and pressed, "What does he want with you?"

"He said he wanted to be a laborer."

"doing what?"

Senior Brother Zhou picked at his ears. After cultivating immortality for so many years, he had always had sharp hearing and eyesight, but today was the first time he doubted that he could hear clearly.

"He said he wanted to work as a laborer here and help me move goods to earn money."

This unexpected answer left Senior Brother Zhou speechless, the young master dumbfounded, and Master Chen Youcai still grinning foolishly.

"Such a powerful person coming to my house to do hard labor, my family's ancestral graves are emitting a lot of auspicious smoke."

After a long pause, Senior Brother Zhou finally came to his senses. With a flick of his sleeve, he created a gust of wind and delivered a solid blow to Steward Zhao's face, swelling it up.

"Absurd! Utterly ridiculous! A dignified immortal, making a mortal like you a laborer? What madness are you spouting!"

No wonder Senior Brother Zhou was so angry. Doing manual labor for others is something that even the top figures in the martial arts world, let alone immortals, would not do.

Butler Zhao's words are an insult to all cultivators.

He deserved that slap.

Butler Zhao covered his mouth, still vaguely trying to explain: "It's true, he said he wanted to experience the life of a laborer."

Chen Minghui kicked him over.

"You still dare to talk! What immortal would want to experience the life of a laborer? This is the most terrifying demon. You're lucky he didn't kill you. You actually expect him to be your laborer and move goods for you?"

Then he turned to Senior Brother Zhou and said, "Senior Brother, I think the steward probably mistook someone for someone else. It was just a false alarm."

Senior Brother Zhou forced a smile, trying to regain the composure of a cultivator: "Hmm, I suppose so."

"I think so too. After all, they are mortals, and their eyesight is not good, unlike us cultivators who have good memories. Once we remember something, we can recognize it at a glance."

"I knew it! How could such a powerful villain possibly come to such a remote and impoverished place?"

Having confirmed it was just a false alarm, he took a sip of wine, seemingly regaining his detached, otherworldly demeanor.

During the meal, I asked him again if he hadn't spread the news that he was an immortal, and only after receiving a positive answer did I feel relieved.

Although the possibility of a great demon coming to such a remote and impoverished place is extremely small, one can never be too careful. If this family were to spread the news of the immortal's arrival, he would be restless and uneasy.

It's too conspicuous for him and his junior brother to be the only cultivators in such a large area. If the great demon were in this area, there's a high chance he would target them.

It's easy if they don't publicize it. As long as they keep a low profile and don't show themselves in front of others, they won't attract attention.

Returning directly to the sect is too risky; we might encounter a powerful demon on the way. It's much safer to stay in this remote and impoverished area.

Therefore, he repeatedly warned his junior brother to keep a low profile during this period and not to run around. If he accidentally ran into a great demon, there would be no way to escape.

At this moment, the instigator who had caused so much unease to the two cultivators and chaos throughout Lingshui Town was completely unaware of what was happening. He had already leisurely embarked on his journey to Lingzhou City.

Lingshui Town is more than 300 li away from Lingzhou, and it would take four days to travel there by horse-drawn carriage.

Before getting on the carriage, Liu Xingchen and Tiezhu bought some dry food for the journey. They traveled in the carriage during the day and found a clean open space to rest at night.

When hungry, they would nibble on a couple of bites of fragrant dry rations; when thirsty, they would take out their water pouch and drink to their heart's content—it was so refreshing!

As their carriage approached a steep hillside, a series of urgent and terrified cries for help shattered the tranquility, interspersed with several heart-wrenching screams.

Upon hearing this, the driver's face turned pale instantly, and he said in a trembling voice:

"Hey, gentlemen, things don't look safe ahead. We've probably run into highway robbers. Let's turn the carriage around and get out of here!"

Upon hearing this, Tie Zhu's brows furrowed, and a flash of anger appeared in his eyes.

"Hmph! In broad daylight, under the open sky, how dare bandits commit such atrocities? It would have been fine if I hadn't encountered them, but now that I have, how can I just sit idly by?"