When Sang Yu let that question out, the entire chamber, even the entire Sang Manor went quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

All those underlings of his turned their heads in unison, dozens of eyes landing unblinkingly on Wu Xingxue. At a time like this, even his "City Lord" identity couldn’t suppress their prying curiosity.

The only one who hadn’t visibly dared peep at all was Fang Chu at Wu Xingxue’s side.

"City Lord?" Sang Yu changed his posture to call him again. He was on his own turf, and was somewhat more impudent than he was outside, "It appears City Lord—"

Before he could finish, Wu Xingxue interrupted: "And what else did they tell you?”

Sang Yu was taken aback and didn’t react.

Wu Xingxue repeated: "And what else did those two little scamps explain?"

This time, he no longer spoke in a lilting tone. His voice was light as a feather, yet landed firm.

At last, Fang Chu couldn’t help but turn to look at his city lord. His lips stirred a few times, as though already getting nervous.

Sang Yu was also tense for a time, but came back around and calmed down. It was unclear whether it was a pretense, or if he indeed thought himself invulnerable after spending his calamity period glutted high on blood and qi.

"They said an awful lot." Chuckling, he said, "It appears City Lord is rather struck… Oh, no, is extremely offended over this topic– And why? Ever since I heard those two pitiful ones explaining these matters, I kept thinking, why?

"As you know, this calamity period thing is none other than the resentful souls killed by our hands amassing and, from time to time, finding a way to make life unpleasant for us." Sang Yu’s entire body was abounding with the languor that followed pleasure. "Although ordinary people aren’t very useful, they are easy to capture. And cultivation disciples, they’re a little harder to capture, but they are indeed quite useful to take against the resentful souls. As for Immortal Capital’s denizens, by rights they ought to be the finest of goods, just, there’s no way to get ahold of them whatsoever. And even were we to get ahold of one, it would be no use, for immortal energy simply cannot meld with our bodies brimming with sinister devilish energy. At the time, I thought…"

Sang Yu’s constant rambling paused, as though he’d momentarily forgotten what came next, but he then swiftly finished with a scoff: "In short, City Lord, I really had not a mote of malice; I was just thinking, what fine method might our City Lord have found?"

Sang Yu’s constant rambling paused, as though he’d momentarily forgotten what came next, but he then swiftly finished with a scoff: "In short, City Lord, I really had not a mote of malice; I was just thinking, what fine method might our City Lord have found? Raising his chin, he peered straight over from within his half-narrowed eyes: "And the Tianxiu Immortal wielding punishment no less, whom we Zhaoye City people shun for the life of us, the Tianxiu Immortal we instinctively avoid upon just hearing his name? What on earth is this fine method City Lord uses to avail himself of such a person?"

Sang Yu’s constant rambling paused, as though he’d momentarily forgotten what came next, but he then swiftly finished with a scoff: "In short, City Lord, I really had not a mote of malice; I was just thinking, what fine method might our City Lord have found? Raising his chin, he peered straight over from within his half-narrowed eyes: "And the Tianxiu Immortal wielding punishment no less, whom we Zhaoye City people shun for the life of us, the Tianxiu Immortal we instinctively avoid upon just hearing his name? What on earth is this fine method City Lord uses to avail himself of such a person?" Sizing up Wu Xingxue’s flimsy white clothing, he saw no sign of suffering under a somber chill about him, and said: "I see that City Lord must have already crossed through his calamity period. So, City Lord, as a fellow denizen of Zhaoye City, might you divulge a thing or two? Always capturing some immortal sect disciples truly gets boring; I’d like to try out a minor immortal or two."

Devils’ calamity periods get worse each time. Capturing one or two commoners might be enough to muddle through for now, but the next time it’d be three to five, and the time after that even more.

Going on like this, there would come a time when they couldn’t suppress it anymore. Commonfolk weren’t enough, so they had to find cultivation sect disciples, but what of when immortal sect disciples were no use?

Sang Yu had nearly already cultivated the corpse path to its terminus, and had no more ways to move forward—this was one of the reasons for his calamity period. In Zhaoye City, the only one he could consult with was the City Lord. That he dispatched people to spy on him was a matter of course.

Wu Xingxue hadn’t interrupted throughout, just kept listening to him. The more he talked, naturally, the more likely he was to let out how much he really knew.

After listening, he said: "There is actually one thing I still don’t understand."

Sang Yu: "What’s that?"

Wu Xingxue said: "Why do you think that if you ask me, I would just tell you?"

Sang Yu began to smile: "Of course I know it wouldn’t be so easy to get an answer, otherwise how could City Lord have left us all in the dust to become our City Lord? Moreover, having just deeply offended City Lord like this, presumably he wouldn’t let others know about this method so rashly. But City Lord… of Zhaoye City people’s various temperaments, You ought to understand more than anyone. We don’t deign to form friendships, just look at these dogs I’ve raised—"

He swept over those underlings outside the door: "Which one isn’t looking for an opening to take a bite out of me? With so many people like this, it’s hard to sleep at night— If those who want to bite me are merely this lot, then, those who want to bite City Lord, I can only imagine.

"Given that, mightn’t there be others who’d also be aware of this secret method City Lord is pursuing?"

Wu Xingxue seemed utterly unperturbed. He just slightly nodded his head to say: "It appears those two little scamps of yours were indeed loose-lipped. So, in your opinion, how many people would they have had to talk to, to take effect on me?"

The bones of Sang Yu’s facial profile stirred, as though his jaw had momentarily tightened. But, he still continued to say: "In my opinion…"

It wasn’t that he was truly without fear; rather, he didn’t see an issue with talking. Zhaoye City’s people didn’t deign to form friendships, but they were even less likely to provoke one another—because, once the foul devils at their side all turned to hungry wolves, to tigers stalking prey, their masters truly wouldn’t be able to sleep well.Sang Yu wasn’t unafraid of Wu Xingxue; rather, he still estimated that in comparison, the means for a smoothly passing calamity period versus luring a pack of testy wolves to circle him… however he worked it out, the former was the lesser risk.

"Cui Yin? Chang Gu? Old Daoist Hong Guang?" Sang Yu called out the names. All were figures few people in Zhaoye City would dare cross.

He reported a few, then suddenly paused, because he discovered that Wu Xingxue was listening intently.

This was the first time he started listening carefully since he entered.

Sang Yu’s face changed color.

"That’s seven. Anyone else?" Wu Xingxue said.

This time Sang Yu really frowned: ‘What is City Lord planning?"

Wu Xingxue replied: "Speak, that’s only seven, are there more? You all want my secret method, you must gather a stronger power than that, am I wrong?"

Sang Yu snatched a robe from the bedside, but his gaze didn’t dare stray from Wu Xingxue’s body. His complexion was getting worse by the moment.

Wu Xingxue abruptly lifted a foot to cross the threshold, hurriedly followed by Fang Chu.

At that moment, Sang Yu’s fingers that were gripping his clothes twitched, and almost immediately reported three more names.

"Ten, any more?" Wu Xingxue kept asking.

Sang Yu let out a scoff, his fingers already crooked. The fresh blood and qi he’d taken in gushed within his veins, his meridians faintly visible through his neck and face as he said: "Well that’s the Tianxiu Immortal, such a bizarre incident, you can imagine—"

The instant the last syllable landed, those pale figures stirred like ghastly creatures.

A blast of cold air whipped over from before him in just the blink of an eye. Upon coming back to himself, he saw that the Devil Lord was still standing in place, only his robe slightly swaying, while a longsword had appeared in his hand.

Sang Yu: "YOU!!!"

Wu Xingxue cocked his head to say: "Yes?"

The next moment, those underlings surrounding outside the door all let out a piercing scream.

The scream was rather unusual, cutting off halfway.

Afterward, a blood stench even thicker than that in the room emanated out. The sound of dozens of heavy objects hitting the floor, too, issued a stifled clunk—those underlings were already beheaded, their heads rolling over the floor.

They died too fast, their bodies still standing as their sliced necks spurted out blood.

Similarly, due to the swiftness, Wu Xingxue’s sword was only stained with a few droplets of the blood now spurting out.

With a light flick of his sword, those blood droplets disappeared without a trace, while hoary frost spread down along the hilt.

Rumor had it that Wu Xingxue never held a sword in his hands.

Sang Yu had heard of it, but because he was also a devil, they hadn’t crossed paths, so he’d never witnessed it for himself. Until now…

He rapidly shot a glance at Fang Chu, seeing that the sheath at Fang Chu’s waist was empty.

BANG—!!

The door behind Wu Xingxue slammed heavily shut, not even leaving a crack.

The lofty inner chamber’s lanterns and candles abruptly went out. All of a sudden, the room descended into pitch-blackness.It wasn’t until that moment that Sang Yu realized he seemed to have miscalculated something. He no longer dragged out with courtesy speaking and instead just yelled, "I JUST WANTED A SECRET METHOD—"

Just a secret method?! What nerve had he struck, that it had come to this?

He had no time to think it over, and ignited ten golden talismans on the spot.

At once, hundreds of black coffins throughout Sang Manor suddenly rose. With the talismans’ simultaneous mobilization, the coffin lids burst open. Coffin nails sprang everywhere as yin corpses roared out, making straight for their master’s chamber.

But it was for naught.

He’d once thought that he was only a step away from Zhaoye City’s lord, and only a finger-width away from Wu Xingxue. So long as he picked the right day, that finger-width would not be enough for him to be completely overpowered.

Today had come to this, because he really thought it was a pretty good day.

Because those two underlings who’d lost their lives had already reported to him, Wu Xingxue didn’t seem to be at his prime today.

From the devil’s perspective, an even better guess would be—none other than the result of the collision of immortal energy with devilish energy.

But would Zhaoye City’s lord do anything he wasn’t confident in?

Of course not.

Since the Tianxiu Immortal had gone to his No Sparrow’s Landing, the method of melding immortal and devil was certainly something he held. Just, complete melding would take time, and before complete integration, he wouldn’t be at full power.

Looking at it like this, the small difference separating them would be rendered null.

Of this, Sang Yu was assured.

But it wasn’t until he was held against the ice-cold wall and held by his neck by Wu Xingxue, the entire chamber suffused with the unspeakable smell of yin corpses that had exploded post-mortem, that he realized, he’d again miscalculated a bit.

His eyes bulged out, he said with great difficulty: "How could it be… why is there not the slightest trace of immortal energy on your body?"

Since he’d passed his calamity period, regardless of how he’d melded the energies, Wu Xingxue’s body must have been stained with the Tianxiu Immortal’s immortal energy. Previously, the musty air in this chamber had been too heavy, he hadn’t been able to probe. Now that they were this dose, he discovered that he truly couldn’t smell a whiff of Tianxiu’s immortal energy.

"You…" Sang Yu’s eyes bled under the pressure.

But Wu Xingxue, however, would not answer his words, just said lightly: "Apart from those ten, who else was there?"

Mouth foaming blood, Sang Yu gritted out: "One tells ten… ten tell a hundred… how can City Lord suppress it? Wait till it spreads around Zhaoye City, spreads to the mortal realm… and, then spreads to Immortal Capital… how’ll City Lord stop it then?"

Wu Xingxue cocked his head, his fingers clenching through the air.

Those coffin nails wedged inside the yin corpses’ flesh all fell into his hands.

Each coffin nail bore incantations and was stained in bloody tissues, several inches long.

Looking at him, Wu Xingxue said: "Can’t spread it if they’re dead."

Sang Yu’s pupils instantly contracted. As a devil, this was the first time he felt a full-body shiver such as this. It was not furious killing intent, but rather like the calamity period’s chill, a fear that spurted out bit by bit from the cracks in his bones and flowed throughout his body.

"How… will City Lord… go and kill them… one by one?" Sang Yu said.

"Can’t I kill them?" Wu Xingxue asked in a lilting tone as though he were seriously asking, yet his face was entirely wooden.

Sang Yu at last realized, he really did appear to have crossed Wu Xingxue’s bottom line. The funny thing was, before this, he hadn’t even thought Wu Xingxue had a bottom line. He was even less able to understand which statement had actually set him off.

Wu Xingxue silently watched Sang Yu. For a moment, he revealed a slight pallor, but quite rapidly let out a chuckle.

Without replying to Sang Yu’s words, he just said: "Then just watch me."

—

Translator’s note: This is a long chapter, part 2 coming out tomorrow!