Unable to break free from He Tao's grip, the succubus counterattacked by smashing her zither directly at her.
This zither was a weapon, and being struck by it could genuinely kill someone.
Naturally, when the Demon race started a fight, they showed not the slightest regard for the human race.
With a wave of He Tao's hand, the woodchopping knife in the bamboo basket sprang to life, blocking the zither head-on.
"You really are terrifying." He Tao let go of the hand pinching the succubus's mouth and climbed out through the window.
If this succubus hadn't woken her up, she wouldn't have wanted to meddle in this business either.
Being somewhat selfish, He Tao was the type to watch from the sidelines as long as her own interests weren't involved.
Grandma also thought this trait of hers was quite good, as she always put herself first in everything.
After Grandma passed away, she wouldn't have to worry about herself suffering hardships in life.
Clearly, He Tao felt Grandma was entirely right.
She certainly never let herself suffer any grievances in life.
Even when she was doing hard labor in the sect, she hadn't really taken any losses.
Otherwise, how could she have managed to save a thousand silver taels after purchasing all the supplies needed for her daily cultivation?
After all, cultivation was an expensive business.
Seeing her attack easily deflected, the succubus realized she had run into a tough opponent.
However, with the entire town's populace held hostage in her hands, she naturally felt a certain degree of confidence.
These cultivators were all people who cared only for others and not themselves.
As long as she used the townspeople to threaten this cultivator, she would be able to make a clean getaway.
Humans were countless across the entire Cultivation World.
If she couldn't stay in this town, she could simply move somewhere else.
With the current crop of half-baked cultivators, absolutely no one would detect her presence.
Back in the day, Lord Demon King had heavily relied on her; when it came to concealing her aura and appearance, she was the absolute ancestor.
The most crucial thing was that, for some inexplicable reason, her illusion spell had been picked up by that little girl, who had even managed to slay Lord Demon King.
Had she not run away quickly, she probably wouldn't have been spared either.
Even now, three years later, she still had no idea how her spellcrafting had been exposed.
Her responsibility had been to clean up the traces left behind by the Demon King; she never appeared in front of the other demons, let alone confronted the human race.
Her last clash with humans had been a millennium ago.
This was the second time.
Even the person hailed by humanity as the savior had never crossed paths with her.
Yet both encounters with the human race had caught her red-handed on the spot, filling her with a furious embarrassment.
She was extremely cautious, always waiting until humans had grown completely accustomed to her presence before making her move.
What she wanted to do right now was to refine all the people in this town into her puppets.
In just another three months, she would be able to refine her first batch of puppets to do her bidding.
Whatever she wanted accomplished, she could control humans to do it for her without having to take any risks.
Besides, since this was Tianhao Sect territory, she naturally couldn't afford to act rashly.
It was precisely because this was Tianhao Sect territory that she was able to live in peace without being hunted down by cultivators.
After all, nobody would ever suspect that a member of the Demon race would run off to live near the sect where the savior had once resided.
She remained here also because she was among the cleverest of the Demon race.
Otherwise, with only average combat power, she never would have gained the appreciation of the Demon King.
"Do you truly care nothing for the lives of the people in this town?" Exchanging a few blows with He Tao, the succubus discovered that she was completely no match for this Qi Condensation Stage cultivator.
Most importantly, her combat style was just like slaughtering pigs; every single strike of her blade aimed straight for the neck.
The moves were simple, relying entirely on raw instinct.
Yet the simpler the moves, the harder they were to guard against.
"As long as I kill you, they'll be fine. If you were capable of killing these people, you would have done it long ago and wouldn't have waited until now." He Tao wasn't buying the succubus's act.
If she cared about the lives of these townspeople, she would simply be manipulated by this succubus.
Crucially, she hadn't stepped in for the sake of these strangers—it was entirely because this succubus had provoked her.
She had even been prepared to chat with the succubus and then leave.
Who would have thought this succubus would try to take a bite out of her the moment they met?
She had already told her to shut up, yet the creature had picked up a zither and started smashing things, acting completely unreasonable.
The more He Tao thought about it, the angrier she grew.
Her attacks became increasingly ferocious.
Failing to dodge in time, the succubus suffered a gash instantly sliced across her neck.
A flash of shock crossed her face; as an immortal demon who had lived for over a thousand years, this was the first time she had ever been injured.
This also infuriated the succubus, who instantly unleashed a spell to knock the woodchopping knife out of He Tao's hand. Just as she prepared to counterattack, she took a heavy blow to the face.
In a fraction of a second, she felt as though the right side of her face had shattered, her brain was rattling, and she was sent flying through the air.
Watching the succubus transform into a shooting star and fly off into the distance, He Tao shook her left hand.
"My apologies, but compared to using a chopping knife, I'm actually much better at using my fists." He Tao vaulted onto the roof, shielding her eyes with her hand as she looked in the direction the succubus had been sent flying.
Though He Tao truly didn't care about the lives of the people in this town, the ordinary, peaceful lives of these mortals were probably what Lu Qing had wished to protect.
Whether in her original world or this one, there were always people stepping forward one after another, sacrificing themselves for the happiness of total strangers.
He Tao stood up and gave chase. Since she had already struck, she might as well eradicate the root of the problem.
She knew all about the necessity of delivering a finishing blow.
When watching television, anime, and reading novels, many people suffered losses precisely because they failed to deliver the final strike.
—
At this moment, the succubus was somewhat out of her wits, lying on the ground with a feeling that all four of her limbs were broken.
She could hear nothing, and she could see nothing.
Was that person really a Qi Condensation Stage cultivator? The power of that punch just now had nearly beaten her to death.
As she struggled to get back up from the ground, another fist slammed into her head, instantly knocking her unconscious.
Seeing the motionless succubus on the ground, He Tao walked over and delivered a few more punches.
The moment she came over and saw this succubus struggling to crawl back up, she knew her previous punch hadn't actually killed her.
If she really let her escape, it would truly spell trouble.
Before this succubus had revealed herself, she genuinely hadn't sensed a demon hiding in this town.
Clearly, this succubus possessed extremely powerful concealment spells.
If she were allowed to escape, finding her again in the future would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Not feeling entirely reassured even after watching the succubus dissolve into a wisp of foul-smelling demonic qi, He Tao gathered the demonic qi directly and stuffed it into her spatial storage.
She then laid down several seals on the ground to ensure absolute safety before heading back to the small town.
Yet the town was exceptionally quiet at this moment, devoid even of the sound of barking dogs.
Despite the brilliant lights, the merchants and pedestrians on the streets had all collapsed to the ground.
Walking over and squatting down to inspect them, He Tao discovered that these people were merely fast asleep and completely unharmed.
She looked up at the sky, which showed no signs of rain, and decided to leave them be.
They would wake up when they slept enough.
She crept back into her room and lay down with peace of mind.
Surely nobody would disturb her sleep now.
On the eastern side of the town, two disciples of the Tianhao Sect were rushing toward this location.
They had just sensed the aura of the Demon race erupting in this direction.
"This is Tianhao Sect territory. How could there be the aura of a demon?" a young woman asked in confusion.
Those demons had retreated to the Northern Territory, hiding themselves within the rampant demonic qi to recuperate and build up their strength.
Therefore, it was utterly impossible for those demons to appear outside the Northern Territory, save for mindless demonic beasts wandering about.
What kind of demon dared to run amok on Tianhao Sect territory?