A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

The night wind swept through the abandoned house, swirling up a few withered leaves.

Blood Hand's collarbone was held by Xu Yuan with one hand, and the true energy in his body was suppressed as if by a mountain. No matter how much he tried to push it, he could not break free.

Cold sweat began to bead on his forehead, and his eyes were filled with fear and disbelief.

Even if there are differences between people at the early stage of Qi Condensation, they couldn't possibly be this great!

Unless—the young man before us is not an ordinary early-stage Qi Condensation cultivator at all!

"What...what exactly do you want?" Bloodhand's voice trembled, yet he still managed to maintain a semblance of toughness. "The Shadow Tower's influence extends throughout the Northern Territory. Even if you kill me, you won't escape!"

Xu Yuan did not answer, but turned his head to look at Huamei.

Hua Mei understood, stepped forward, and placed her slender fingers on Xue Shou's temple.

A chilling aura slowly seeped in, and Blood Hand immediately stiffened, his pupils becoming unfocused.

"Sucking essence and blood?" Blood Hand cried out in terror, "No...no...I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

Xu Yuan raised his hand, and Hua Mei stopped moving, but did not retract her fingers.

"Name?"

"Bloody Hand... I no longer use my real name..."

"What is your position in the Shadow Tower?"

"The outer tower's Cangzhou branch's accounting office is responsible for... collecting the blood offerings from each stronghold every month and submitting them to the inner tower elders."

"How many outposts are there? Where are they located?"

Large beads of sweat rolled down Bloodhand's forehead: "This... I really can't say, saying it will surely mean my death..."

Xu Yuan nodded, and Hua Mei's fingers tightened their grip again.

"Ah—!" Bloodhand screamed in agony, blood seeping from his seven orifices. "I'll talk! I'll talk! There are three outposts in Cangzhou City: the coffin shop in the east, the pawnshop in the south, and the gambling den in the north! Each outpost has one Qi Condensation stage cultivator in charge, and ten to twenty Blood Refining stage cultivators!"

"What about the inner building?"

"The inner building... the inner building is located at the Drywood Cliff, thirty miles outside the city. I don't know the exact location. Every time I go there, my eyes are covered, my five senses are shut down, and an elder personally leads me in..."

Xu Yuan's eyes flickered slightly. Withered Tree Cliff?

"Who is your OP? What's their strength?"

"The Lord of the Tower... the Lord of the Tower never shows himself, only issuing orders through the elders. All I know is that his surname is Shan, and he's known as 'Mr. Shan,' and is said to have already reached the half-step Divine Power Realm..."

Half-step into divine power!

Xu Yuan silently memorized this information.

"Do you have any dealings with the Xiongnu?"

Upon hearing this, Bloodhand trembled, his eyes flashing: "This..."

The fingers that were drawing eyebrows exerted force again.

"Yes! Yes!" Bloodhand cried out, "Half a month ago, the Right Wise King of the Xiongnu sent a secret envoy who spoke with the Lord of the Tower all night. I don't know the specifics of their conversation, but afterwards the elder ordered an increase in the scale of blood offerings, as if... as if they were preparing some kind of grand formation..."

Xu Yuan frowned slightly.

The fact that Youyinglou was also colluding with the Xiongnu reminded him of the blood sacrifice orchestrated by the Guza shaman...

"Was that blood sacrifice technique taught by the Shadow Pavilion?"

Bloodhand's face turned deathly pale: "Yes...yes, the shaman Guza came to the building seeking instruction, and the elder personally guided him for several days..."

In this way, everything makes sense.

The blood sacrifice technique of the Guza shaman was indeed orchestrated by someone behind the scenes.

This Shadow Pavilion is clearly plotting something much bigger.

Xu Yuan asked for more details, and only released his grip after confirming that Blood Hand had revealed all the information he knew.

Bloodhand collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his eyes filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.

However, the next moment, Xu Yuan's palm was already on his head.

"You...you said you wouldn't kill me!"

"My second option for you is 'tell me everything you know,'" Xu Yuan said calmly. "Now you've finished."

[A martial artist's remnant soul matching the criteria has been detected...]

[Should I refine him into a servant?]

"Refine it."

The screams abruptly stopped.

Bloodhand's body convulsed violently, and wisps of black gas emerged from his seven orifices. His eyes gradually became empty and lifeless.

Three breaths later, he slowly stood up and stood beside Xu Yuan with his head bowed.

"My lord."

Hua Mei watched this scene, a complex look flashing in her deep purple eyes, but she said nothing and obediently stepped aside.

Xu Yuan searched Xue Shou's body and found a storage bag containing twenty sealed portions of essence blood, ten demon cores the size of pigeon eggs, and a token from the outer building of Youying Tower.

"The essence blood and demon core offered this month." Xu Yuan put away the storage bag, then looked at Blood Hand, "Where do you need to report after the rendezvous on the tenth of each month?"

Bloodhand Machinery replied, "On the eleventh of each month, the offerings must be sent to the pawnshop in the south of the city, where the pawnshop manager will then hand them over to the people coming from the inner building."

The pawnshop in the south of the city.

Xu Yuan nodded, then looked at Blood Hand's sinister face.

A moment later, a thought occurred to him, and subtle changes began to occur in the muscles and bones of his face.

The facial features gradually elongated, the cheekbones became slightly prominent, and a hideous scar appeared on the left side of the face.

In less than three breaths, Xu Yuan had transformed into a face identical to Blood Hand.

The [Thousand Illusions] ability allows one to alter their appearance, physique, and aura, making them undetectable even to those within the same realm.

The thrush stared in disbelief: "Master, what are you doing...?"

"From this day forward," Xu Yuan said, his voice identical to Bloodhand's, "I am Bloodhand."

He looked at the real Blood Hand Demon, and with a thought, the latter transformed into a wisp of black smoke and instantly disappeared into his sleeve.

"Huamei, you shall return to the other courtyard and await further orders. Do not leave without my summons."

"Yes, Master." Hua Mei obediently replied, but couldn't help asking, "Master, are you planning to... infiltrate the Shadow Tower?"

Xu Yuan did not answer, but a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Hua Mei shuddered inexplicably as she looked at the smile on that face, which was identical to that of Blood Hand.

As a ghost, she suddenly felt a little sorry for "Mr. Shan" from the Shadow Pavilion.

...............

The following day at noon, south of the city.

The signboard of "Yongchang Pawnshop" swayed slightly in the wind. The shop was small and deserted.

A middle-aged man in a gray robe walked into the pawnshop and slammed a token on the counter.

"Shopkeeper, please pick up the goods."

The old man behind the counter raised his cloudy eyes, saw the token, and nodded slightly: "Please come to the backyard."

The middle-aged man—Xu Yuan, disguised as Blood Hand—followed the old man through the shop and into a secret room in the backyard.

There was already someone waiting inside the secret room.

It was a gaunt old man dressed in a black robe, with a faint aura of a mid-stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivator emanating from him.

He sat cross-legged on the futon, not getting up, with an oil lamp in front of him. The lamplight was a dim green, making his face look sinister and terrifying.

"Bloody Hand, what about this month's offerings?"

Xu Yuan took out the storage bag and presented it with both hands.

The old man took it, opened it, examined it for a moment, and nodded slightly: "The number is correct. As for Ah Qi's matter, I understand."

"Thank you for your consideration, Elder." Xu Yuan bowed his head.

"How did Ah Qi die?"

"He was caught in the act by the Demon Suppression Division and killed on the spot." Xu Yuan repeated Hua Mei's account. "My subordinates have investigated and found that the one who killed him was a young man named Xu Yuan who had just joined the Northern Camp and was at the early stage of the Qi Condensation Realm."

"Xu Yuan..." the old man murmured the name repeatedly, "The one who guarded Qingyang City?"

"Does the elder know this person?"

"Hmph, in the battle of Qingyang, this brat killed the ancient shaman Guza, almost ruining the Lord's grand plan." A cold glint flashed in the old man's eyes. "Now that he has joined the Demon Suppression Division, he will surely become a scourge to my Youying Tower in the future."

Xu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but his face remained impassive: "What does the elder mean?"

"Keep an eye on him and find an opportunity to eliminate him," the old man said coldly. "However, although this person is young, his strength is quite remarkable. We should not act rashly. We will make a decision after the Master emerges from seclusion."

"Yes."

The old man waved his hand: "Go down. We'll collect the goods as usual on the tenth of next month."

Xu Yuan bowed and withdrew. After leaving the pawnshop, he circled the alley a few times to make sure no one was following him before quietly changing back into his original form and returning to the villa.

His mind was racing with thoughts as he traveled.

The master of Youying Tower is indeed in seclusion.

However, the other party has already noticed him, which is both a threat and an opportunity.

"I need to speed things up," Xu Yuan thought to himself.

He must seize the opportunity of the Demon-Slaying Tournament a month from now and improve his strength as soon as possible.

Otherwise, once the Lord of Youying Tower emerges from seclusion, he will likely be the first person he wants to kill.