Chapter Nine: Mid-Stage of the First Heaven of Demonic Aura

Because Wang's concubine’s young daughter had escaped unscathed, the others were not so fortunate. Taking advantage of the night, Xiao Wenzi tore through the window paper and visited each room in turn, leaving behind countless itchy welts upon their bodies.

Let us set aside the noble ladies, some scratching to relieve their itchiness, others calling for their maids to light lamps in alarm.

Xiao Wenzi arrived at the final room, tore open the window lattice, and entered. Upon the bed lay Master Wang and a woman of mature years—there was no need to ask; she was Wang’s principal wife, also Wang Sheng’s mother, a woman of great authority in the household.

“It itches—so itchy, what’s happening? My face! Could it be the mosquito demon our son spoke of?”

In the darkness, the woman suddenly sat up, scratching herself desperately.

Master Wang, half-asleep, lifted his hand and slapped his own face heavily, for it was covered in swollen, itching lumps—a sensation only those who have suffered it can truly understand.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wenzi, having swiftly withdrawn his proboscis and dodged their flailing hands, flew toward the edge of the mosquito net, where he had earlier torn a small hole, making for an easy escape.

“A mosquito demon! There really is a mosquito demon—someone, come quickly!”

Awakened in fright from sleep, his face burning and itching, Master Wang felt the welts on his wrist, cheeks, and neck, crying out in terror.

Since the news had spread by day and Wang Sheng had not concealed his ordeal, Master Wang and his wife were already aware of the so-called mosquito demon’s attack.

To be cautious, Master Wang had ordered medicinal powders scattered and incense burned, and had thoroughly inspected the mosquito net inside and out before bed. Yet, still they had been bitten so badly—how could they not suspect the demon was at work again?

“Master, Madam, what’s happened? Is something wrong?”

Hearing the master’s shouts, the maids and servants, forgetting their own discomfort, hurriedly dressed and rushed in with lanterns.

“What is all this commotion—could it be...?”

Wang Sheng, having applied Manager Liu’s ointment and burned anti-mosquito herbs that night, had slept comfortably. But he was startled awake by the noise and hurried to his parents’ courtyard. There, aside from the eighth concubine and her daughter, his mother, father, and the second, third, and fourth concubines, as well as his second sister, fourth and fifth sisters—all had swollen faces, resembling pigs’ heads, just as he himself had suffered the previous night.

Xiao Wenzi cared nothing for the chaos in the Wang household. At this moment, he was dodging spider webs and frogs on his way to the top of the rockery, to his makeshift “cave dwelling.” Tonight had been most fruitful: he had bitten all the servants, maids, and the tender-skinned ladies and masters of the Wang family, earning over three hundred system coins in total.

Including the two coins left from the previous night, not only could he now restore his heart and regain his nine lives at peak condition, but he had enough to exchange for Rock Spirit Elixir for long-term cultivation—a delightful prospect indeed.

Manager Liu’s ointment worked wonders. After a day and night, Wang Sheng’s appearance had almost fully recovered. At this rate, he would likely regain his former glory by the time he set out for Green Mountain Sect the day after tomorrow.

After much commotion for more than an hour, dawn began to break. Wang Sheng finally identified the root of the problem; pointing to the mosquito net and the window, he said,

“Father, do you see? Both the mosquito net and the window have small tears—no ordinary mosquito could manage that. It must be that damned mosquito demon. Last night, it couldn’t even tear through the net to escape. Clearly, it’s growing stronger by feeding on blood—we mustn’t let it keep growing.”

“Sheng’er, what do you suggest? The enemy is a cunning demon—ordinary incense and powders won’t work...”

After applying the ointment, Master Wang’s face was still swollen, but at least the itching was less unbearable. Hearing his son’s words, his anxiety grew.

“Father, the mosquito demon’s growth spells disaster for us. But for cultivators, it could be a rare and precious spirit pet. If we inform the elders and seniors at Green Mountain Sect, they will surely take action.”

Having joined Green Mountain Sect, Wang Sheng was far more knowledgeable than his father. After a moment’s thought, he offered this advice.

“Truly? Very well, Sheng’er, let us prepare a carriage for Green Mountain Sect at once.”

His son had the solution! Master Wang relaxed and ordered the servants to ready the carriage. Even without the mosquito demon trouble, Wang Sheng was to depart the next day regardless.

“Hmm? Why can’t I exchange system coins for a heart? What’s going on?”

Back in his cave beneath the rockery, Xiao Wenzi immediately tried to exchange nine system coins for a heart to restore his vitality, but nothing happened when he clicked the icon.

Yet, exchanging for Rock Spirit Elixir, a drop of blue-red liquid appeared out of nowhere.

Suddenly, Xiao Wenzi remembered—last night, in his haste to escape, he had overlooked the rule for restoring vitality with a heart. Now, with his newfound cultivation, he likely needed to drink the blood of a cultivator at the first stage of demonic energy.

Sure enough, as he willed it, the icon to turn to the next page opened easily, revealing a new list of exchanges.

Not wishing to waste the elixir, and with no time to regret his earlier carelessness or study the newly unlocked treasures, Xiao Wenzi quickly swallowed the drop of Rock Spirit Elixir and began refining it with his Blood Spirit Technique.

Rock Spirit Elixir was the lowest-grade auxiliary spirit liquid, with rather modest effects. Having just broken through to the initial stage of the demonic energy realm, refining it did increase Xiao Wenzi’s power, but he was still far from reaching the mid-stage—unless he consumed several drops at once.

Since no one would disturb him, Xiao Wenzi decided to wait until his breakthrough to carefully study the new exchange list. With a thought, he summoned two or three more drops of the blue-red liquid and swallowed them one by one.

Time passed; sunrise yielded to sunset, and night once again blanketed the land—a full day and night slipped by.

Buzzz—

When the fifteenth drop of Rock Spirit Elixir was refined and absorbed, Xiao Wenzi’s body trembled; a mass of impurities and filth was expelled, and he finally broke through to the mid-stage of the first level of demonic energy.

With his cultivation advanced, Xiao Wenzi’s senses, hearing, and body were all greatly enhanced. He now realized that dusk had already fallen.

Having tasted such rapid progress, he could not help but set his sights once more upon the Wang family.

Just then, the whispered conversation of several maids drifted into his ears.

“Sister Tao, wasn’t that mosquito demon terrifying? Last night it bit everyone—the master, madam, all the ladies, the servants, even us. My wrist still itches terribly!”

“Yes, we got off lightly—only our wrists were bitten. Xiu’er, you didn’t see how swollen Qiaoyu and Lingxiang’s faces were. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.”

“Exactly. But tell me, we have nearly a hundred people in the household. Even if each lost ten drops of blood, that’s a thousand drops. Is the demon a glutton? How could it possibly consume so much?”

“That’s true. But young master said it’s a demon, so it must have some special means. I wonder when the young master and master will return with a cultivator. I do hope they’ll rid us of this pest soon.”

“Don’t worry, Xiu’er. At most four or five days; the immortal master will surely arrive. I heard madam say that young master’s Green Mountain Sect is only three days’ journey from here. And the immortal masters of legend can fly and traverse the land in the blink of an eye. Once they hear, they’ll arrive in a day or two at most...”

The three or four maids, carrying baskets of lotus flowers, drifted farther away, never imagining that their entire conversation had been overheard by Xiao Wenzi, word for word.