It took Yue Xing the rest of the day to track down the demonic cultivators. By the time he caught up with them, they had already settled down for the night.

The demonic cultivators camped at the edge of a small forest. They set up a ring of leather tents around a campfire. A wooden cart sat just outside the ring of tents.

To avoid being seen, Yue Xing observed the demonic cultivators from a distance. There were about a half a dozen or so of them, all men, dressed in matching outfits. They must’ve all belonged to the same sect or group.

As for the prisoners, Yue Xing couldn’t tell for sure. He saw some movement in the cage, but the darkness and the distance made it impossible for him to see how many people were in it.

His senses were sharper than most, since he was a body cultivator, but that didn’t mean he could see in the dark. Not yet at least. Later, when he reached higher realms.

Yue Xing guessed that the demonic cultivators were all in early or mid Qi Refining, though it was impossible to tell for sure. One of the downsides of being just a body cultivator was the inability to use soul sense, the soul’s ability to perceive and affect the world. This would’ve allowed Yue Xing to know the demonic cultivators’ exact realms, assuming none of them used techniques or spells to conceal themselves.

For the first time since leaving his childhood home, Yue Xing regretted not practicing the Soul Nourishing Sutra. Even the first layer would’ve proved useful in this situation.

Oh well. Despite this, Yue Xing felt confident in his ability to handle this band of demonic cultivators. Thanks to the seed of the Divine Vitality Lotus and the Verdant Spring Art, he was stronger than the average mid Qi Refining cultivator.

He was also proficient with the Way of the Blade. While he lost his previous cultivation, he hadn’t lost his skills. Altogether, he felt confident in facing even late Qi Refining cultivators. However, peak Qi Refining cultivators still remained beyond him. He could only flee from them, nothing more.

However, Yue Xing was worried about the prisoners. If he charged into the camp and started killing the demonic cultivators, he feared that one of them would take the prisoners hostage. He wanted to avoid that if possible.

So, Yue Xing chose to wait before making his move. He observed as the demonic cultivators celebrated their “victory”, eating and drinking with abandon. Raucous laughter echoed across the area. Yue Xing clenched his fists in anger, but remained in place.

The demonic cultivators must’ve felt confident after destroying the small village. They hadn’t bothered setting up a defensive formation or even some kind of watch rotation.

Yue Xing snorted. Fools. Well, at least this made things easier for him.

Hours passed as Yue Xing observed the camp. His enchanted robes kept him warm and comfortable. As the night deepened, the demonic cultivators crawled into their tents one by one. As cultivators, they needed less sleep than mortals, but they still needed to sleep.

However, even after the last demonic put out the campfire and went to bed, Yue Xing remained in place. He waited until it was the dead of night, when the entire world seemed to sleep, before he made his move. Even then, he inched forward little by little, to avoid making noise. He kept his footsteps light, to keep the snow from crunching beneath his feet.

Aside from the small forest, the area around the demonic cultivators’ camp was flat. If any of them exited their tents and looked, they might be able to see him. However, he had one advantage working in his favor. The moon was only showing a sliver of her face, so there wasn’t much ambient light.

It took Yue Xing about an hour to reach the first tent. Faint snoring came from inside. He drew his blade, before slicing a slit in the tent’s side. The tent was made from mundane leather, so his sword had no difficulty cutting through.

Inside, he found the demonic cultivator curled up in a sleeping roll. This close, the man reeked of demonic energy. With a cold expression on his face, Yue Xing crept forward and sliced the demonic cultivator’s throat.

The man woke up just as the blade touched his neck, but Yue Xing was prepared for this. He clamped a hand over the demonic cultivator’s throat and pinned his body to the ground. The demonic cultivator struggled, to no avail. Soon, his struggles weakened and he fell still.

One down, five more to go.

Yue Xing continued his grim work, succeeding two more times. Was this fair and honorable? No, of course not. When it came to protecting innocents from villains, Yue Xing discarded any notion of fairness. Saving lives took priority.

Besides, few cared about fighting fair against demonic cultivators. There were times when underhanded means were necessary. There were lines that Yue Xing wouldn’t cross, but other than those, everything was on the table.

However, things took a turn for the worst when Yue Xing reached the fourth tent. Maybe this particular demonic cultivator hadn’t gone to sleep, maybe he had heard his companions dying struggles, or maybe he was just paranoid.

Regardless of the reason, as soon as Yue Xing started cutting into the tent, he sensed movement from inside. He dodged to the side without hesitation. A moment later, a spear emerged from the tent, stabbing the air where he had been. If he hadn’t dodged it, it would’ve pierced his chest.

“Intruder!” the demonic cultivator shouted from within the tent.

His voice rang out and Yue Xing heard the man’s companions stirring. With stealth no longer an option, he grabbed the spear’s shaft and pulled. The demonic cultivator yelped and tried to fight back, but his strength was no match for Yue Xing’s.

Yue Xing dragged the other man forward, before stabbing his blade into the tent. The blade’s tip pierced through the tent’s leather and met flesh. Harsh gurgling reached Yue Xing’s ears. He stabbed forward two more times, to ensure the demonic cultivator’s death, before he turned to face the remaining two.

They managed to exit their tents. One of them, upon realizing that none of the others had stirred, ran towards the cart with a panicked expression on his face. The other one started forming hand seals in order to cast a spell.

Yue Xing took the spear and hefted it, before throwing it at the demonic cultivator running towards the cart. The other demonic cultivator shouted a warning, but it was too late. The spear flew through the air, embedding itself in the demonic cultivator’s side and knocking him to the ground. His body twitched for a moment, before falling still.

However, this delay allowed the final demonic cultivator to finish casting his spell. Blood red demonic energy coalesced in the air to form a pair of wicked looking claws. They raced towards Yue Xing, ready to tear him to pieces.

Rather than avoid the claws, he charged forward, right towards the final demonic cultivator. The blood-red claws tore through his robes and left deep gashes in his flesh. However, Yue Xing felt his wounds start to close right away thanks to the Verdant Spring Art.

At first the final demonic cultivator wore a confident expression when he saw Yue Xing charge towards him. However, panic replaced the confidence when the blood-red claws barely slowed Yue Xing down.

The final demonic cultivator formed hand seals to cast a new spell, but he never got the chance to finish it. Yue Xing swung his blade, cutting off the demonic cultivator’s head. The body collapsed to the ground, blood spurting from its stump of a neck, while the head tumbled off into the distance.

All this took place within the span of a few moments. Silence fell over the campsite. The smell of blood hung thick in the air. Nothing moved or made a sound, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Yue Xing broke the silence by walking up to the other corpse, the one impaled by the spear, before cutting off its head. While it was likely unnecessary, he didn’t see the point in taking chances. By the time he finished, all of his wounds had already healed.

Afterwards, Yue Xing cleaned his sword and sheathed it, before he turned his attention towards the cart. It was time to deal with the prisoners.