Guarding the Prison for 100 Years, I Emerge to Overwhelm the Demon Venerable

In mid-August, the water levels gradually rose.

During this time, Xia Imperial City wasn’t quite so hot anymore.

The light breeze that blew during the day carried a hint of refreshing coolness, and the nights were even cooler.

Back in June and July, it had been truly, lethally hot.

Nearly every day, beggars would collapse on the streets from thirst. Ignored through the night, their bodies would be stinking by the next morning.

Periodically, Court soldiers would haul them away by the cartload, taking them outside the city to be buried in some unmarked grave.

One day, a man walked into the Imperial City from outside its walls.

He was dressed in a black brocade robe, its cuffs embroidered with magnificent gold patterns.

His black hair was meticulously combed back.

His face was exceptionally handsome, his bearing leisurely and poised.

Trailing behind him were an old, white-browed servant carrying a large chest, and a beautiful concubine whose every glance was full of charm.

He looked like a man of extraordinary status from a wealthy, noble family.

Upon his arrival, he threw down a fortune to book out the most luxurious restaurant in Xia Imperial City!

The entire top floor of Yantian Sea.

According to the staff at Yantian Sea, every day they had to send up a thousand delicacies on Jade Plates and no fewer than a thousand jars of fine wine to the esteemed guest on the top floor.

The three of them never went out, and no visitors were ever seen, making their identities a complete mystery.

But every night, the sound of graceful singing and dancing would drift down from the top floor, as vibrant as a thousand flowers in bloom.

...

"The number of rampaging Water Demons has been on the rise lately!"

Today, Su Bai wasn’t on patrol. He had received a mission from his superiors and was in a secret chamber with Zhang Wei and others, dissecting a demon!

Su Bai was dissecting a Crab Spirit that had just barely gained sentience.

But the crimes it had committed were by no means small.

In an unnamed river outside the Imperial City, it had declared itself the River God and demanded the people on both banks sacrifice their young sons and daughters to it, preying on the common folk!

Because the waterways around Xia Imperial City had expanded so much this year, many of the new channels hadn’t even been named yet. As a result, there were quite a few such nameless rivers.

People had moved to the banks of every nameless river to cast their nets and fish. For the past few months, the prices of fish, shrimp, and other aquatic goods in the Imperial City had actually dropped quite a bit.

As for this Crab Spirit, after taking over one of the rivers, it had disguised its appearance and proclaimed itself the new River God.

During the day, it would demand offerings from the people on the banks—chickens, ducks, fish, and meat.

But when night fell, it would reveal its true form and devour the young boys and girls offered as sacrifices.

If the people resisted, it would stir up massive waves in the river. At best, this would capsize fishing boats and claim lives; at worst, it would flood the houses on both banks, causing mass casualties!

The people suffered terribly, of course, and reported the matter to the Government Office, which in turn reported it to the Demon-slaying Bureau.

But incidents of Water Demons causing chaos had become far too common recently.

Furthermore, investigating, pursuing, and hunting these demons all took time.

The Demon-slaying Bureau was simply overwhelmed.

By the time they finally had the manpower to capture this Crab Demon, the people from the riverbanks had long since moved away. Not a single fisherman remained.

Consequently, the workload for Su Bai and the others had also become heavier. Not only were they responsible for escorting criminals, but they now had to dissect these Water Demons as well!

"Monsters emerge from deep forests, and demons from deep waters!"

"But these are all new waterways. Where are all these Water Demons popping up from?"

In the foul-smelling secret chamber, Zhang Wei, who was dissecting a Water Demon next to Su Bai, couldn’t help but ask.

Recently, they had dissected no fewer than a hundred Water Demons in this chamber alone!

Lobster Spirits, Water Snake Spirits, Eel Spirits, Loach Spirits...

All sorts of bizarre Water Demons had started appearing!

As Su Bai used a sharp blade to slice off the Crab Demon’s two legs, he replied casually, "That’s a good question!"

"But we’re stuck in the prison all day, either escorting criminals or dissecting demons."

"Naturally, we have no way of knowing what’s really going on."

Just then, a Martial Artist from the Prison Suppression Bureau walked in, carrying a large Water Demon on his shoulder.

He set the Water Demon down and commented casually.

"If you ask me, we shouldn’t even think about it! Just keep your head down and dissect the demons. Think of it as some overtime, a way to earn a little extra cash!"

"Besides, the people from the Demon-slaying Bureau will be the ones to figure it out."

After the dissection was finished, Pasture Captain wiped the sweat from his brow and called out to Su Bai, who was about to leave.

He pointed to the pile of tender white crab meat that had been extracted and said, "Take some home and cook it for yourself. This crab meat is delicious, and it’s even somewhat beneficial for one’s Martial Dao cultivation!"

Su Bai asked curiously, "Don’t the officials up top love this stuff the most?"

Pasture Captain shook his head and chuckled. "We’ve sent too much up these past few days!"

"No matter how delicious something is, you get sick of it if you eat too much!"

"Besides, this crab meat is inherently ’cold’ in nature and contains traces of Demon Power, so you can’t eat too much of it anyway."

"Alright!"

Su Bai nodded. He didn’t stand on ceremony with Pasture Captain, simply taking the crab meat and leaving.

Pasture Captain was still wiping away his sweat and hadn’t paid much attention, but when he glanced down a moment later, he started jumping in anger!

"That little brat! He’s inhuman!"

"There was only one bucket of crab meat in total, and I told you to take a little!"

"You punk, you took the whole bucket?!"

Su Bai carried the bucket of crab meat to the rest area and shared a good amount with his colleagues.

He even gave some to Elder Qing, who was patrolling the corridor, but not too much.

He was afraid he might send Elder Qing right off... to the afterlife.

This crab meat was potent, heavy with Demon Power!

Those with weak Martial Arts Cultivation couldn’t eat much of it.

When he had some free time, Su Bai extracted the Cultivation Techniques and Divine Techniques that the Crab Demon had practiced.

A moment later, Su Bai had extracted a minor Divine Technique—Water Flow Wave!

It was barely Fourth Grade!

However, Su Bai felt that this Divine Technique, Water Flow Wave, had good potential. If he could raise its grade and combine it with his Eighth-Grade Divine Technique, Soaring Snake Transformation, his combat power at sea would definitely be much stronger!

After absorbing the Crab Demon’s memories, a strange expression appeared on Su Bai’s face.

’So it’s another outsider demon after all!’

Over this period, Su Bai had acquired the memories of many Water Demons. Apart from a few that were born in the local waterways, the vast majority had migrated from other places.

It didn’t seem like they were following anyone’s orders.

Instead, it was more like they had been lured and incited by someone.

Something along the lines of: The waterways of Xia Imperial City have swelled, making them perfect for Water Demon cultivation! One year of practice here is worth ten years elsewhere! Come quick!

And so, a whole crowd of duped Water Demons had come swarming over.

’When things are this strange, there’s bound to be a ’demon’ at work!’ Su Bai thought to himself.

He had been constantly monitoring the growth of the underground waterways during this time.

As time passed, although the waterways were still growing, it was within a controllable range. There was no risk of them overwhelming the Imperial City.

Ultimately, Su Bai was no Immortal. He couldn’t predict the future, and for the moment, he couldn’t say where this "demon" truly came from.

’I should go see how that Vice Minister of the Ministry of Water is doing.’

Thinking of Chen Juzheng, the man who first discovered the changes in the waterways, Su Bai hoped he might find some inspiration from him.

But before Su Bai could even reach the cell where Chen Juzheng was being held, a sweep of his Divine Thoughts detected a commotion in Demon Suppression Zone Two of the A-Class Prison!

Curious, he quickly extended his Divine Thoughts to investigate.

A moment later, a look of utter astonishment crossed his face.

’The Black Flood Dragon in Demon Suppression Zone Two, the one held in Cell A-17... it’s dead?’

...

「In the Imperial City, on the top floor of Yantian Sea.」

A young waiter, carrying food and wine, carefully stepped into the Heaven-tier Room Number One.

’How did another person get in here?’ the waiter wondered as he set down the dishes. ’I haven’t seen anyone come in this whole time. So strange.’

But he didn’t dare say it out loud. After serving the food, he bowed respectfully and withdrew.

Inside Heaven-tier Room Number One.

The young man with a regal bearing had his arm around his beautiful concubine, sipping wine nonchalantly. He looked at the person before him and smiled faintly.

"I thought you weren’t going to come."

Sitting opposite the young man was an old man in a magnificent black robe. A decaying aura emanated from him, and his face was incredibly aged.

His entire being was like a snapped piece of rotting wood, on the verge of collapsing and withering away.

He clearly did not have much longer to live.

The old man lifted his wine cup, took a delicate sip, and spoke slowly.

"The Dragon King of the East Sea Golden Dragon Mansion has prepared a banquet. How could I, Yun, not attend?"