Chapter 4 - The Insanity of a Demon

Yaan remained hidden within the dark forest, working as usual, for a full working day. When he finally returned to Zong Village, Yaan immediately discovered that something was different. Well, that was to be expected. Xinti was the tyrannical ruler of the village, without him around, who would take charge? What exactly would happen now?

Seeing that there was a crowd gathered around the centre of the village, Yaan ignored his pounding heart and made his way towards the loud group.

The first voice that he was able to discern from the crowd was actually Jash's.

"You all, you're truly going to rebel against the sect?!" Jash yelled out at the top of his voice, but a hint of panic was visible in his eyes.

"Shut up Jash you lapdog, now that Xinti's dead, you have no power over us!" A boy much larger than Jash yelled back, causing him to step back uncertainly.

"You all should do as we say." The other boy who followed Xinti, Hauk, stepped forwards. "Now that Lord Xinti has been murdered, it’s our duty as his subordinates to maintain order as we investigate and wait for someone from the sect to arrive!"

"What subordinates, you just followed that fatty so that you could lord over the rest of us!" The boy didn't seem to be backing down.

In fact, many people began yelling out in agreement with him. This argument had been going on all day, ever since Jash discovered Xinti's corpse in the early morning.

Of course Yaan knew exactly what was going on, he knew better than anyone why this was all happening, but he still needed to play into his ignorant role.

"What's going on? Why is everyone arguing here?" He walked forwards and spoke to a boy named Fouya, a person he was somewhat familiar with. As Yaan spoke, he feigned a curious expression.

"Hmm? Oh, Yaan! I guess you just got back from the forest so you don't know yet, but…Xinti is dead!"

"What?!" Yaan showed an exaggerated look of shock across his face, it was a performance truly deserving of an award. He had never lied like this to someone's face before, but it turned out that he might actually have a talent for acting!

Fouya was completely fooled. He didn't for a moment suspect that Yaan was the instigator of this entire situation. This easy acceptance allowed Yaan to blend into the crowd as Fouya explained everything that had transpired until now.

After Jash found the two dead bodies, he immediately panicked and sprinted out to find Hauk. This attracted some commotion, leading to a crowd gradually forming over time. Some people had left for work before Xinti's body was discovered, so not everyone was aware of the situation, though there were now only a few people missing.

The situation had not deescalated at all. No, even now, everything was still becoming more and more heated.

"Hauk, I always hated you…don't think that I've forgotten about this scar you gave me back then!" The loud boy clutched the scar on his cheek, remembering how 3 years ago, Hauk had cut him with a knife to please Xinti.

These two arrived from the same village and originally vowed to protect one another, but years of suffering ended up sending them on very different paths whilst slowly tearing them apart.

Unknowingly, Yaan found himself drawing towards the front of the crowd. Before he knew why his feet were moving, he was already standing a few feet away from this argument, staring at Hauk and the other boy whilst Jash cowered in the back.

It was only now that something came to Yaan's attention. He was alarmed to see that both boys were holding weapons. As he looked around, he saw that many others were also holding weapons of their own, from knives to scythes to axes.

In fact, Yaan was also subconsciously gripping onto his own axe tightly.

"Yaan, you…are you rebelling too?!" Seeing Yaan at the front, Jash jumped up and screamed at him accusingly.

"Wh- no, I-"

"You're taking his side?" The boy arguing with Hauk turned towards Yaan sharply and glared. The attention of the crowd was suddenly all brought onto Yaan, making him break out in a cold sweat.

"No, I'm not taking any side, I just don't think we should be fighting amongst ourselves!" Yaan managed to say this through gritted teeth.

Unfortunately, the crowd was too riled up. Nobody was really listening to one another and things were rapidly getting out of hand.

"Yaan, I bet it was Yaan that killed Xinti! He hated Xinti as much as anyone and he's definitely crazy enough to do it, he even dared to argue with Elder Sun!" Jash suddenly screamed as he pointed at Yaan with a trembling finger.

Yaan was completely stunned. He knew that Jash had gone to unforgivable lengths to ensure his own well being, but this? Why was Jash throwing him to the dogs like this with no evidence?! There was no way he truly believed his own words, it was clearly just a last ditch effort to remove the pressure from himself!

Seeing the crazed look in Jash's eyes, Yaan dazedly realised something. Fear could truly turn people into disgusting wretches, beings that wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice their friends if it meant aiding their own survival. Yaan's heart grew colder as he stared at Jash darkly.

"Get him, we need to capture him and wait for a sect Elder to arrive!"

As Jash continued to rile up the crowd, he revealed a steel knife in his hand. He stepped closer towards Yaan and raised his hand threateningly.

Yaan panicked. Seeing a weapon being pointed at his throat, combined with the recent memories of slaughter still fresh in his mind, he did something unexpected.

Swoosh…Thud!

As it instantly dawned on him that he had committed a grave mistake, the crazed looked in Yaan's eyes dispersed without a trace. Jash stared at him with shock as Yaan continued to hold onto the handle of his axe tightly.

Thump!

Jash's body dropped to the floor, dead. His skull was caved in from the side with Yaan's axe, he had zero hope of surviving such a brutal wound.

"You…you killed him…" Hauk stared blankly.

The boy Hauk was previously arguing with now became silent, cautiously turning his gaze towards Yaan.

"Hey…did you actually kill Xinti?" He asked slowly.

At first, very few people truly believed in Jash's hasty words of accusation. After seeing Yaan's extreme reaction though, it was beginning to seem like they might have actually found the true perpetrator by coincidence…!

"N-No, I didn't, it wasn't me-"

"Shit, it really was you!" Hauk muttered. He was about to say something, but then someone suddenly moved.

The unexpected movement was actually from the boy who was so vocal about his opposition towards Hauk. Now though, his target had changed. Holding onto an axe, he charged at Yaan crazily!

"Ah!" Yaan stepped back in surprise, instinctively swinging his axe as he did so. He closed his eyes, but felt the tool reach its target once again. As he opened his eyes, Yaan watched in horror as he saw the cold weapon in his hands digging half way through the boy's neck.

All of the kids were malnourished, but Yaan possessed the Fiend Foundation. Compared to the others, his strength and reflexes were simply a full level higher.

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"Puh…bah…" The boy sputtered a few times, then fell forwards, nearly pulling the axe from Yaan's hands.

"I, I didn't mean to, ah, why do I keep killing?!" Yaan cried to himself sorrowfully. This was not his plan! He didn't want to kill these people, they were pitiful kids just like him, ripped from their homes and innocent of any wrong doings! This last boy…Yaan didn't even know his name!

Of the four people slain by Yaan's hands, three were accidents, pitiful mistakes caused by Yaan's fearful instinct to preserve his own life. Still, the crowd didn't see it that way.

"He killed Xinti and now he's lashing out at us!”

"He's dangerous, let's get away!”

"No, we need to take him down or he'll kill more of us!”

"…"

Yaan wanted to disagree and to explain himself, but his voice was drowned out by the explosive chatter. Not helping his case was the maddening bloodlust that was exuded from his body after absorbing the slaughter aura from Jash and the fourth boy.

He didn't have enough time to calm down his straying mind, whilst the pressure from the crowd only escalated this feeling into a state of near-psychosis. Yaan started breathing heavily and his eyes became bloodshot. Thoughts of guilt and regret dissipated into thin air, replaced only by the burning desire, no, the need, to survive this situation!

And the desire to kill!

Yaan's killing intent became too obvious, causing many of the younger children to retreat in fright. The older kids who had been living in Zong Village for years were less timid, hardened by the years of suffering and hardship.

The next to act was Hauk.

'If I can kill him…or even capture him alive, then the sect will definitely reward me! Perhaps I can even enter the inner sect this time!'

Hauk's greed overcame his fear.

In fact, he wasn't the only one to form this line of thought. Many of the older and larger children stared at Yaan viciously. They didn't care much about the deaths of the others, they were only thinking about their own future prospects. If they could capture Yaan personally and earn merit with the sect, they could finally leave this lifestyle of poverty and ascend to greatness in one step!

In Yaan's crazed state, he became acutely aware of his surroundings. Those waiting and biding their time, those retreating fearfully, and those acting right now, he was aware of them all in this single manic moment.

Swoosh! He turned rapidly, shocking Hauk into stopping. Unfortunately for this ambitious boy, that moment of hesitation cost him his life.

Thud!

"AHH!" He screamed out in agonising pain as Yaan's axe embedded itself into his rib cage. The cracking of his ribs echoed out, causing some people to falter and turn pale. The axe blade slid past his crushed ribs and punctured a lung, filling his lungs with blood and forcing him to the floor as he choked on the scarlet fluid.

Yaan pulled out the axe, then swung again, this time connecting with his head.

Thump!

Hauk hit the floor lifelessly, never to move again. The axe shattered his skull, sending fragments flying inwards and piercing his brain. This was something that no mortal could hope to survive.

Invisible to everyone present, a strand of slaughter aura slipped into Yaan's body yet again. He killed Hauk so viciously and now, any trace of hesitation had disappeared from his actions. At this point, Yaan had already fallen into a demonic trance, only able to think of slaughter and nothing else.

He saw two more people moving towards him from either side and acted right away.

Yaan slid to the side, swinging with the axe at the same time. The girl blocked with her scythe hastily, but unexpectedly found herself thrown back from the force of impact.

She was a girl, but towered over Yaan by almost a foot. She was extremely shocked, how was he so strong?!

Unfortunately, her question would never be answered. The girl could only stare as Yaan removed the axe from her chest, then ignored her entirely in her final few seconds of life.

The killing intent within Yaan's eyes increased to a whole new level. His entire body felt invigorated as the obsession with slaughter took over his mind. His original vow to only kill those evil doers was forgotten. His desire to only kill those that threatened him was also forgotten.

As the insanity caused by absorbing too much slaughter aura in too short a period of time reached its peak, the only thought on Yaan's mind was killing.

A warped smile that did not seem like his own spread across his face as he turned towards the next assailant.

Swoosh!

The boy's throat was completely torn out by the axe blade, sending chunks of flesh splattering across the faces of various stumped onlookers. Some people who were previously hesitating, now backed away in terror.

"Wait, we can't back down now!" Someone yelled out. "We need to band together to defeat him! Look at him, he's clearly gone crazy, he won't let anyone off!"

"Yaan, you-" Fouya stepped forwards uncertainly as he tried to reason with him. However, sensing someone entering his close proximity led to Yaan lashing out wildly, bringing down the full weight of the axe onto the boy's face.

This bloody scene left everyone frozen in shock, but Yaan didn't stop there.

He was totally indiscriminate in his killing now. Old or young, male or female, friend or enemy, it didn't matter. Any living person within range became his target, his prey. Without fail, anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves facing Yaan dropped dead to the floor after exchanging at most three strikes.

Yaan's killing intent rose further, to the point that a faint bloody aura could be visibly seen gathering around his body. Some weaker individuals found themselves frozen on the spot, petrified by the unbelievable demonic scene that entered their eyes. They were filled with despair inducing levels of fear right now, overwhelmed by the feeling that they were being targeted by a crazed demon.

In a way, they were right. As someone with the Fiend Foundation, Yaan could be considered a half-fiend and hence a half-demon.

Those people didn't run away and nor did they attack, but they were shown not an ounce of mercy. Not moving simply made them easier targets, and thus their lives were forfeit quickly.

As time passed by, the bodies accumulated and blood flowed across the hard dirt floor like a newly formed river. Yaan himself was not uninjured either, having received multiple cuts, blows and even a stab wound to his shoulder.

He didn't even acknowledge any of this, as if he couldn't even feel the pain. Yaan had completely lost his mind, lost in a sea of killing and unable to see anything other than a maddening ocean of blood and death.

Meanwhile, within the core of the Heavenly Path Sect…

This area situated on the upper few miles of the mountain was home to the most valued genius students and the highest ranking Elders.

Earlier today, the sect detected that the life signal from one of their inner sect disciples in charge of supervising an outer sect village had disappeared. This was certainly a problem, but it also wasn't a big matter requiring the attention of the sect's upper echelon. Someone would be assigned to investigate and to make arrangements for the replacement.

Before this assignment could even begin though, the sect's Great Elders were alerted to a much more concerning situation.

Currently, half of the Great Elders were gathered in the meeting hall before the Sect Lord.

"Sect Lord, what is the reason for this emergency meeting?" An old woman asked with a wrinkled frown. She was busy today and only bothered showing up because the Sect Lord happened to bump into her personally.

"Great Elder Dae Hou, I called this meeting due to the strong aura of slaughter and death that I sensed earlier from the outer sect."

"A strong aura of slaughter and death? Is it an attack from the demonic beasts?" She raised an eyebrow, showing a little interest now.

"It's hard to say exactly. It was also reported that the inner sect disciple overlooking that village died this morning, and that there was a gap between that incident and the current situation, so perhaps…"

"Murder? Hmm. I suppose we should send someone to investigate." The woman nodded.

"I volunteer." A man stood up and spoke firmly.

"Great Elder Wan, you don't need to bother yourself with this matter!”

"Great Elder, please allow me to go in your steed.”

"Great Elder-"

"Enough." Great Elder Wan spoke abruptly, causing the hall to go quiet.

This Great Elder Wan was extremely respected in the sect, owing to his status as the strongest Elder aside from the Sect Lord. In fact, he had another title: Vice Sect Lord! It was natural that some of these other Elders would try to butter him up by offering to take on this tedious task.

However, he had plans of his own.

'This aura I'm sensing, it feels quite similar to that one time…I must investigate this myself!'

The Sect Lord glanced at Great Elder Wan suspiciously. He was apprehensive of Great Elder Wan, since their cultivation realms were actually at the exact same level. He was only able to obtain the position of Sect Lord due to his slightly superior battle power, so he was always worried that this ambitious Elder might surpass him.

In the end he had no good reason to disagree, so Great Elder Wan was sent alone to settle things.

Back in Zong Village, Yaan's slaughter raged on throughout the Elders' discussion. He killed everyone hesitant enough to remain behind in the immediate vicinity, and was now left wondering through the village in a confused dazed.

His mind had descended into a psychotic state, whilst his five senses were all soaked in a sea of blood which exuded a thick aura of slaughter from all directions. The bodies of those too slow to escape were scattered throughout the village, though more than half of them were piled up in the centre, just outside of Xinti's home. The aura of death released by the recently deceased did nothing to help Yaan's state of mind. As he was right now, it was impossible for him to recover with his own efforts alone.

The entire village was filled with the metallic stench of blood, pervading into everything it touched.

Suddenly, Yaan rapidly turned around, only to see an old man wearing an elegant robe staring at him with a blazing gaze. If he were in his right mind, the unrestrained aura released by this old man would have terrified him to the point of knocking him unconscious.

"Haha, it really is the Fiend Transformation! I never thought that I would see such a crazed practice again, but it seems that the heavens really do favour me, to send me such a glorious opportunity!"

Seeing the elegantly robed man laughing happily, Yaan ignored everything he said and charged at him without a thought.

"So he lost his sanity, I suppose this is to be expected though. It's good that he hasn't quite yet reached 100, it's not too late to fix this." The man muttered to himself, then held up one finger and pointed towards Yaan.

He muttered five strange words in an unknown language, then a green light flashed from his finger tip and penetrated Yaan's forehead.

Yaan's eyes rolled back in his head as his body lost all tension. By the time he hit the ground, he was completely unconscious and slid forwards for a few feet through the mixture of dust and blood that coated the ground.

The man in question was of course Great Elder Wan. After knocking Yaan unconscious, he slowly exhaled green mist and closed his eyes. A second later, he reopened his eyes and smiled happily.

He walked over to Yaan, then stared down at his body for a moment as he pondered over something. After a few minutes, the Elder began to form various hand seals, drawing in a pure white energy from somewhere within his body. Each hand seal accumulated more energy, sending it into an ominous looking grey circular symbol, which was slowly falling towards Yaan.

"Hah!" With a final shout, a bullet of white slammed into the symbol, fusing together and catapulting into Yaan's body. The symbol phased through his tattered clothing, then disappeared past his skin as it entered his flesh.

"Success." Great Elder Wan now looked even more overjoyed. "With this, my chances of success have risen ten fold! To think that I would be so lucky as to run into a half-demon, and a fiend at that! Now that my preparations are complete, I just need to raise it into a Demon Core realm creature, then I can refine it into a puppet and use the process to gain enlightenment and ascend to the illusive Origin Soul realm! Well, reaching that realm could be difficult, but this is still the best hope I've found in a long time!"

"Firstly though, I'd best clean up these witnesses." He looked around slowly, sighing regretfully and shaking his head.

"Killing children is not something I like to do, but for my cultivation, for the sect, I have no other choice."

After quickly locking onto the life signals of those children who were either hiding or escaping from the scene. It didn't take Great Elder Wan long to kill the remaining 27 individuals instantly and painlessly using his refined methods. He didn't look happy about committing such an atrocity, even closing his eyes and muttering an apology for his actions. After slowly opening his eyes and turning back towards Yaan, the pity vanished from his gaze and a pleasant smile returned to his aged face.

The man laughed with joy as he picked up Yaan's limp body and stepped onto a flying sword. He showed no further emotion towards bloody wasteland left in his wake, choosing to ignore the carnage left behind by Yaan as he flew up the mountain, towards the core sect.