When Destiny Brings the Demon

To the south, beyond the undulating Red Duyan Mountains and across the murky green waters of the Zhiqi River, lies the territory of the Demon Realm.

Although the righteous Cultivation Sects and various spiritual mountains often express disdain for the Demon Realm, treating it as some "remote backwater," in reality, apart from being smaller in size, having fewer spiritual mountains and blessed lands, and lacking abundant resources, the Demon Realm isn't much different from the outside world.

The Demon Realm isn't solely populated by deranged demon cultivators who murder and burn. Many ordinary people also live here. While the population isn't as large as outside, the proportion of cultivators is exceptionally high—almost everyone practices cultivation, matching the number of cultivators in the vast World of Cultivation and mortal realms combined.

It's said that the Demon Realm originally drifted in from another unknown continent, abruptly merging with this world. Those who cultivate here are born with reversed spiritual power flows, differing from the outside world. Their methods are also more ruthless and unscrupulous. In the past, they waged great wars against the righteous cultivation sects, and thus the name "Demon Realm" was born, branded as a den of evil that everyone sought to eradicate.

The people of the Demon Realm certainly lived up to this reputation—committing arson, murder, and plunder, indulging in every imaginable vice. Many demon cultivators delighted in practices like the Dual Cultivation of young boys and girls, refining mother-child gu, or using souls as medicinal ingredients—horrifying tales that sent chills down the spine.

Outsiders trembled at the mere mention of the Demon Realm, but those who lived here long enough knew it was simply a place with more chaotic governance, greater openness, and occasional dangers—an ordinary city with a rougher edge.

Within the Demon Realm, territories and cities were divided among powerful demon cultivators, resembling the mortal cities of the outside world.

Shi Yan had lived in the Demon Realm for nearly ten years. The first two years were spent on the outskirts with her ailing father and older brother before moving to Crane Immortal City, where she had resided for the past eight years.

Crane Immortal City sounded ethereal and refined, more like a place belonging to righteous cultivators than the Demon Realm. But the name was merely a facade—in reality, it was no different from any other city here.

The city was vast and chaotic, with countless murders and robberies occurring daily. Sanitation was abysmal, and the streets were often littered with unsightly sights. Pools of blood were one thing, but dismembered limbs were another. There were no sanitation workers here, and such remains could rot for weeks, filling the air with a putrid stench.

"Which idiot left this here? Don't they know how to clean up after killing someone? Tossing this right in front of someone's door—do they think people don't need to leave their houses?" Shi Yan muttered in exasperation as she stepped out of her courtyard gate and spotted a bloody head and splattered entrails not far away.

She formed a hand seal to incinerate the head, then used water to wash away the bloodstains. After tidying up, she reflected on how much tougher she'd become since first arriving in this world. Back then, the sight of corpses would have made her vomit. Now, she merely grumbled as if complaining about littering.

Leaving the relatively tidy residential area, she entered the main street—where true chaos reigned.

People rushed about recklessly, and conflicts erupted constantly. Most inhabitants of the Demon Realm had short tempers, which Shi Yan suspected was due to the climate—dry and scorching, making dehydration and irritability inevitable without proper care.People practicing corpse refinement on the streets were as common as breakfast stalls selling soy milk back in her old neighborhood—the furnaces and cauldrons for refining corpses were practically set up in the middle of the road. The stench from these inconsiderate demon cultivators' stalls was downright toxic, and Shi Yan instinctively covered her nose every time she passed by.

The most annoying were the demon cultivators involved in shady businesses—thieves and robbers were so numerous they could form their own faction. There used to be a shadow-controlling demon cultivator on this street who’d pickpocket people in the blink of an eye.

Shi Yan had once fallen victim, losing a pouch of demon stones right after payday. Furious, she tracked down the shadow demon cultivator, beat him to a pulp, knocked him down a cultivation stage, and even smashed one of his eyes.

The guy was left bloodied, wailing and begging for mercy before scrambling away with his tail between his legs. But as soon as he left, others took his place. As long as they didn’t target her, Shi Yan didn’t have the time to deal with them one by one.

Here, the strong ruled over the weak—life and death were at the mercy of those with higher cultivation, with no rules beyond brute force.

Shi Yan was doing alright, as her Transformation Stage cultivation placed her among the stronger ones in the area. According to her old man, she would’ve been at the Void Refining Stage if not for an old injury, but Transformation Stage was good enough.

Turning off the main street, Shi Yan arrived at Rouge Pavilion, Crane Immortal City’s largest entertainment hub. A den of vice—gambling, drugs, and prostitution—it was a perfectly legal business in the Demon Realm. Then again, nothing was illegal here; as long as someone dared to open a shop, there’d always be customers.

Rouge Pavilion mostly operated at night, when it blazed with lights and revelry, its countless corridors adorned with red lanterns, transforming the place into a dazzling paradise. By day, however, it was much quieter. Shi Yan worked the morning shift, so she only ever saw the pavilion slowly settling into slumber under the rising sun.

She worked here as one of Rouge Pavilion’s many hired enforcers—or in terms of her past life’s job titles, a security guard. She had her original body’s combat prowess to thank for landing this gig.

Having worked here long enough, she was familiar with the receptionists and the cleanup crew who handled the corpses. Entering through the back, she saw the janitors gathering the bodies swept from the floors, readying them for disposal—or rather, recycling. Indeed, the most common trash after a night of revelry at Rouge Pavilion was corpses. Such was the charm of the Demon Realm.

After exchanging nods with the perpetually grim-faced corpse-handling uncle, Shi Yan checked in and did her patrol rounds. Then came the best part: loafing around. At this hour, Rouge Pavilion was usually quiet, and if she wasn’t slacking off, she’d just be sitting on the roof, staring at the sky.

She hadn’t eaten breakfast yet and was planning to sneak out for a bite. In this regard, the Demon Realm was better than the outside world—righteous cultivators didn’t bother with three meals a day, but demon cultivators? Most indulged in earthly pleasures.

"Hey, Shi Yan! Come on, my shift’s over—let’s grab something to eat!" A stunning woman in red emerged from the brothel, calling out to her with familiarity. Shi Yan happily agreed.When working outside, Shi Yan went by the name Lü Yan because her eccentric, seemingly deranged father claimed their Shi family had a powerful enemy still hunting them, so they couldn't use the Shi surname. Shi Yan didn't care—whether she was called Shi or Lü made no difference to her. Only she knew her true name was Zou Yan.

"Fuck me, I'm exhausted. Had I known cultivating the Path of Desire would be this draining—not even getting proper sleep—I'd have chosen corpse refinement over this damn path," grumbled the red-clad girl, rubbing her sore arms as she walked out with Shi Yan to the morning market beyond the Rouge Terrace. They settled at their usual eatery to order breakfast.

The girl in red was called Hongluo—a stage name; her real one remained unknown. She worked at the Rouge Terrace selling flesh, though that wasn't her main occupation. Her primary pursuit was cultivating the Path of Desire, a demonic practice that siphoned yang energy from partners for cultivation. Practitioners either became seasoned rapists or licensed courtesans in pleasure houses.

Most chose the latter—not only did it facilitate cultivation, but it also paid. Life was hard, whether in daily living or cultivation; without money, one couldn't move an inch. Such was the brutal truth.

Shi Yan and Hongluo were close, often sharing meals here while venting about idiotic clients and workplace frustrations. Though in different departments, they were colleagues in a sense.

While Shi Yan ate breakfast, Hongluo had her supper before heading back to rest. As usual, Hongluo complained about last night's client.

"You wouldn't believe it—the bastard couldn't get it up no matter what I tried! If word got out, my seniors and juniors would laugh me to death. Had to use my innate Peach Blossom Gu to finally get the job done... Damn it, if you're sick, see a physician! Why visit a brothel? I'm here to drain yang energy, not cure impotence! Ridiculous!"

Shi Yan slurped a noodle and burst out laughing.

Hongluo took an aggressive bite of braised meat, still ranting: "My cultivation's hit a wall lately—fucking bottleneck—and I keep getting lousy partners. A whole night's work, and it's like I slept for nothing. Why can't I land a demon general or a Demon Lord? One night with that caliber, and I'd have breezed past this bottleneck! Instead, I'm stuck grinding with useless deadweight men!"

The Demon Lord referred to the ruler of a major city in the Demon Realm—no ordinary figure, with cultivation at least at the Great Ascension stage. Demon generals, their elite subordinates, typically governed smaller cities with cultivation no lower than the Unity stage.

For Path of Desire practitioners, coupling with such high-level cultivators was like swallowing a potent elixir.

Shi Yan wiped her mouth. "Our city has demon generals too. You could try your luck—if the mountain won't come to you, go to the mountain. Might work."

Hongluo spat in disgust. "Crane Immortal City's Demon Lord and generals are all old coots! I can't stomach that. At least give me someone who looks young!" She then gave Shi Yan a wistful look, pounding the table in frustration. "Why aren't you a man?! If you were, do you think I'd be in this state? I'd have ridden you a thousand times over by now!"Shi Yan was used to her friend's temperament and soothed her, "If I were a man, I'd definitely let you have your fun. But I'm a girl, and what's more, my face is ruined."

Hongluo glared at the special burn mark the size of a copper coin on her left cheek and continued bitterly, "If your face wasn’t ruined, you could’ve been my sister! Then we could’ve formed a duo—who’d be afraid of not snagging high-level cultivators? Even if we ran into good ones outside, we’d have a much better chance of taking them by force together!"

Shi Yan shrugged. The Demon Realm was full of such unruly scoundrels, and Hongluo was actually one of the better ones—at least she didn’t kill or eat people indiscriminately.

As the two of them chatted while eating, it often reminded her of her past life, when she’d occasionally go out for meals with coworkers after work. It gave her a strangely nostalgic feeling.