Did it attack him with the power of its soul?
What kind of technique was this?
Didn't one have to be at least at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm to transform their divine soul?
"Is the demon race's innate ability?" Zhang Li gritted his teeth and turned to look past the skinny old man in black robes.
That moment earlier had truly left him with lingering fear.
If he had not prepared a protective talisman in advance, he would have fallen into their trap.
A talisman in Zhang Li's hand turned into a long golden whip, and he slashed the skinny old man in the head.
"Exalted Immortal, please spare my life. I'm just a little demon—"
Pa!
The long whip shattered the surrounding illusion and revealed a chained black wolf. Zhang Li proceeded to brutally hit it.
"Roar!"
The black wolf screamed.
Zhang Li's golden whip was formed from a talisman that could injure a Level 4 Spirit Refinement cultivator. It contained power that broke the black wolf's ribs right away.
"Exalted Immortal, please spare my life. I was wrong... "
The black wolf cried out and begged for mercy in a panic.
Zhang Li ignored him and kept swinging the long whip in his hand. He whipped the black wolf again and again through the fence.
The black wolf's miserable howls echoed throughout the prison, and the other bound demons dared not look at it.
Zhang Li was not satisfied just by swinging the whip. Once the power of the talisman was exhausted, he took out a Lightning Pearl hidden in his sleeve and crushed it. In an instant, it turned into a lightning spear.
"Spare me!" The black wolf looked at the spear in fear, and the other demons started panicking too.
To demons, this power of lightning was truly fatal.
The Lightning Spear could really kill the black wolf!
"Exalted Immortal, the rules of the Demon Subduing Pavilion forbid us from being tortured to death," the village woman who had been washing clothes by the water's edge spoke in a low voice. Her face was pale.
"Chao Ji's Shadow Technique can't really hurt your soul," the woman who had been spinning straw added.
However, Zhang Li did not stop.
What a joke. The Lightning Pearl had already been activated. How could he waste it?
He did not have many Lightning Pearls on hand, only about 3,000 of them. Every time he used one, he would lose one. His heart ached.
He raised his hand and stabbed the lightning spear into the black wolf's leg.
"Sh*t!"
The black wolf trembled, and the chains around him collided continuously as a result. More and more of his vitality was drawn out.
This time, Zhang Li had a rough understanding of the system.
The entire Demon Subduing Pavilion relied on the extraction of the demons' vitality to suppress them.
The lightning tore through the darkness, and Zhang Li saw a bluestone gate before him.
"Is that the passageway to the second underground floor of the Demon Subduing Pavilion?" he asked.
"Yes…" the demons in the stone cells responded with some cowardice.
Zhang Li's methods had completely exceeded their understanding and imagination.
He was too strong!
He slowly walked to the stone door and sized it up.
'Yuanhe mentioned that he had never been to the second underground level of the Demon Subduing Pavilion, and he could not open it.
I wonder what kind of demons are imprisoned there?
There were patterns on the stone door, and Zhang Li's expression changed as he took out the jade medallion that Ming Yu had given him.
The patterns were completely overlapping!
Was this jade medallion the key to the second floor?
Hesitating for a moment, Zhang Li took out the Demon Mirror and pressed it against the stone door.
As his True Essence entered it, his face turned pale.
His eyes were also turning red!
The strength required far exceeded his current Level 5 Spirit Refinement Realm.
In the mortal world, wasn't the strength of the Innate Realm considered the peak?
He was already at Level 5 of the Spirit Refinement Realm. He should be invincible.
Putting away the Demon Mirror, Zhang Li turned around and left.
His curiosity could kill him.
He decided that unless the light from the Demon Mirror turned green, he would never explore the second underground floor of the Demon Subduing Pavilion.
He was only there to see the demons, not to explore.
Zhang Li had a hint of understanding in his heart as he stood before the stone door.
His cultivation had increased recently, so he had become a little impatient.
The Spirit Refinement Realm was the lowest level in the cultivation world, but after he arrived in the mortal world, he allowed his power to get to his head.
What gave him the courage to even explore the second underground level of the Demon Subduing Pavilion?
Turning his head, he looked at the demons who were staring at him in fear.
"Come on, tell me how did you cultivate to become demons? And what did you do to be captured here?"
His words stunned the demons.
He had just beaten Chao Ji into a pulp. His bones were broken, and his tendons were disconnected. Yet, this man could immediately turn around and chuckle.
This person before them was a little temperamental…
"Exalted Immortal, listen to me..."
...
Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Li slowly climbed up the stairs.
"Exalted Immortal, I, Zhao Hu, have truly been wronged. Exalted Immortal, please understand." The old man with white hair bowed before Zhang Li repeatedly with a sincere expression.
"Don't worry, Exalted Immortal. If you can get me out of this cage, I'll sell my life to you!" The ax-wielding woodcutter waved his arms and shouted.
The others were also either pleading or swearing an oath sincerely.
Meanwhile, the woman who had been spinning straw and weaving watched Zhang Li leave with a conflicted expression. She did not say a word.
Once the stairs disappeared, the place instantly turned cold. The sound of clanking chains and the roars of all kinds of demons could be heard throughout the prison.
"Grandmaster, did you see the demons?"
Yuanhe looked at Zhang Li, who had stepped off the stairs with a calm expression.
"Yes." Zhang Li nodded and looked at him. "Why is Zhao Hu being held here?"
Zhao Hu?
Yuanhe was stunned for a moment. He hurried to a long table at the side, picked up a book, and handed it to Zhang Li.
Zhang Li opened the book and saw the recorded actions of various demons.
[Chao Ji: Five hundred years after he became a demon, he went on a rampage through Yongtai Prefecture in the 38th year of Xinghe the Great's rule. He slaughtered over 300 people. The great grandmasters, Daoist Bai Ji and Zhang Yulin worked together to capture him and lock him up forever under the Demon Subduing Pavilion.
[Zhao Hu became a demon 630 years ago. In the 12th year of Yuanzhi the Great's reign, he slaughtered the people of Fangming County. Two grandmasters were killed in the process. Later, the Demon Suppression Department of the Qin state captured him and escorted him to the Demon Subduing Pavilion.]
...
His evil deeds were numerous.
Aside from Yu Honggu, who was imprisoned in the Demon Subduing Pavilion 100 years ago because he accidentally flooded hundreds of fishermen's villages and became homeless, everyone else had earned their life imprisonment.
As expected, a demon was not to be trusted.
Those guys had just vowed to never lie to him. Each and every one of them said that they never killed and were all vegetarian.
Zhang Li was a little furious.
Before he left the first level of the Demon Subduing Pavilion, he had considered letting one or two of the demons out.
Fortunately, he did not do so.
"Why not kill them?"
Zhang Li closed the book and spoke in a deep voice.
"If you kill them, demonic energy will fill the air, and it can infect plants and vegetation. It can even stimulate the growth of demonic energy.
"Also, demons are cunning by nature. Those who are stained with demon blood might be constantly harassed," Yuanhe said softly.
Were they unable to kill them or too afraid to kill them?
"Aren't you afraid of being harassed by the demon races if you guard this place?" Zhang Li was somewhat puzzled.
Whether it was the Demon Subduing Pavillion, the Demon Suppression Department, or the other places that were tasked to defeat demons, were they really not afraid of the demons in this world?
Such places invited trouble, did they not?
"The few demon suppression grounds in this mortal world have been passed down for a long time. Martial arts grandmasters oversee them, and their sect-guarding treasures are extremely powerful."
Yuanhe then lowered his head in disappointment.
"If it weren't for the fact that our great grandmaster hasn't returned, none of the demons in Jing Yang Temple would dare to disturb us."
Even demons were afraid of the strong.
Zhang Li felt that Yuanhe had not told him everything, but this was probably everything Yuanhe knew.
"You mentioned that the disciples of Jing Yang Temple were attacked by demons?" Zhang Li caught the clue in Yuanhe's words and frowned.
Yuanhe nodded. "The disciples of the Jing Yang Temple have been investigating the murder of the guardian disciples and the attack on Mr. Zhu. We've lost three people in the past few days.
"Two of them were obviously killed by demons."
Killing intent surged in Yuanhe's eyes.
Even the disciples of Jing Yang Temple were killed by demons?