The female cultivators were more willing to trust Chen Jinshu, who had just saved them. After all, who would go to the trouble of rescuing people only to kill them afterward?
"Junior Sister, how did you discover it? There wasn't a single trace of demonic cultivation on her!" Dai Yuzhu still felt a lingering fear. She hadn't expected a demon cultivator to be hiding among them the entire time, completely undetected.
Had Chen Jinshu not discovered it in time, the consequences would've been unthinkable.
"I found it strange from the moment we entered the stone cave—why were all the demon cultivators male? There are certainly plenty of female demon cultivators out there."
Chen Jinshu had seen her fair share of cultivation world rumors and stories involving demon cultivators—there was no shortage of women among them. But for this group, among so many Foundation Establishment demon cultivators, there wasn't a single female. That was just too odd.
Moreover, this one woman had the most unnatural expression of the group. The others had faces full of hope, but she alone showed flashes of calculation and shadowy intent. Her gaze shifted quickly, but Chen Jinshu still caught it.
"Wasn't that a bit of a leap to make based on just that?" Dai Yuzhu asked.
Indeed, such a judgment might seem hasty. But Chen Jinshu had smelled the scent of demonic bones—like those from the rice fields—on this woman. At first, she thought it came from the blood pool in the cave. But even after leaving it, the same scent still clung to her.
And when that woman approached her earlier, Xiao Yin grew very alert—the scent became even stronger. Xiao Yin would never lie to her, and she trusted her own instincts.
"Smell her. That unpleasant stench on her body is demonic qi. Then smell yourselves—do you have such a heavy demonic scent?"
"She reeks! But we stayed in that cave for so long and didn't pick anything like that up."
"After cultivators reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining, their bodies are no longer like mortals'. They wouldn't absorb such things so easily," Dai Yuzhu explained softly.
If Chen Jinshu hadn't pointed it out, she wouldn't have noticed either. But yes, the demonic scent on the woman was overwhelming.
Though demonic qi is typically colorless and odorless like spiritual energy, demon cultivators use brutal, bloody methods that cause the energy to carry a disgusting, bloody stench.
"Don't move her corpse yet. We'll wait for Master to arrive before dealing with it."
"Got it!"
Not long after, Shui Huanmeng and several senior disciples appeared in the cave. They carried a faint, heavy air around them, which only lifted upon seeing Chen Jinshu and the others safe.
"How are the female cultivators? Any injuries?" Shui Huanmeng, still in the form of a stunning female cultivator, drew admiring gazes from the rescued women. Awe and gratitude filled their eyes.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving us!" the women thanked her in uneven chorus.
"No need for thanks. It's fate that allowed us to save you. These storage pouches—please reclaim your own. The spiritual herbs and stones are also here."
With a wave of her hand, several storage pouches floated in front of them. The rescued cultivators eagerly checked their belongings.
In the cultivation world, what's most important? Without a doubt—storage bag, spirit stones, and spiritual treasures. Without them, one would have to start over from scratch—a daunting task for most.
Soon, most of the items were claimed, though a good amount still remained. Seeing this, Shui Huanmeng understood and collected the remaining items without protest.
"What happened with this woman?"
"She was a demon cultivator in disguise, hiding among us. This immortal discovered her," one woman mustered the courage to speak, throwing a grateful look toward Chen Jinshu.
"Sigh, these demon cultivators have been running rampant again in recent years. Who knows how many young men and women have suffered because of them," Shui Huanmeng said with a soft sigh, sweeping her gaze across the crowd.
"The matter of the demon cultivator is resolved. I'll have my eldest disciple escort you to the market town. From here, we part ways. Be very cautious in the future. If you seek a safer haven, consider a higher-tier market city."
With that, she ordered Zheng Shaosi to escort them to Qingping Market. Only after the group left did Shui Huanmeng activate the cave's formation array and share the full account of what happened inside the demon cave with the others.
Chen Jinshu gained deeper insight into the horrifying deeds of demon cultivators. She hadn't expected that the demons had been capturing so many female cultivators and planting demonic energy objects all around—just to raise and nurture a "Demon Lord" through sacrificial rituals and gain more demonic energy to enhance their power.
The Demon Lord they worshipped was not of this cultivation world—it was a foreign being, feeding on the flesh and blood of all creatures. Its released demonic qi could cause living beings to mutate and cultivators to fall to demonic paths.
No one knew when it had first entered the cultivation world. In ancient times, it had slaughtered many cultivators before being wiped out by a coalition of great sects. But even a fragment of its flesh could regenerate and consume blood to regain strength.
This time, the Demon Lord in the stone cave had already reached the mid-to-late phase. If they had arrived any later, it might have been fully birthed, bringing disaster near the Xuanming Sect.
Thankfully, Shui Huanmeng had personally slain the Demon Lord and incinerated its body with true fire until only ashes remained.
"There are likely more demonic beasts bought and placed by demon cultivators near Guhe City. You two continue the investigation and eliminate them."
"Yes, Master!"
Three days later, Xiao Yin flew back to the market and landed beside Chen Jinshu. It carried a glowing feather in its beak.
"Finally decided to come back?" Chen Jinshu smiled faintly at it.
Three days ago, while she was clearing another demonic nest, she had let the sparrow loose—and it promptly disappeared. But she could still sense its strong life force, so she hadn't worried. The bird loved to roam. Once, it vanished for seven or eight days.
"Master! I found a feather that stirred my bloodline!"
That made Chen Jinshu finally look at the blue-green feather in its beak. It pulsed with power—not something ordinary.
"Where did you find this?"
"In a mountain range! I even heard cries for help from others like me."
"Cries for help? More spirit birds?"
Xiao Yin nodded. Chen Jinshu sensed something unusual. But with only a feather, she couldn't be sure.
"Take me there."
She wondered if it was another demonic hideout.
"Okay!"
Under Xiao Yin's guidance, Chen Jinshu soon arrived at a mountain shrouded in white mist. The fog carried faint spiritual energy.
"There must be a hidden underground spirit vein here."
As she made her judgment, the feather in her hand floated toward a direction on its own. She tried to grab it, but it nimbly evaded her hand each time.
"Master! I hear the cries again!"
Now Chen Jinshu heard them too—bird calls.
"Let's go! Follow it!"
Soon, the feather led her to a secluded valley surrounded by cliffs, locked by a restriction barrier. The ground was littered with blue-green feathers—but only one pulsed with immense spiritual energy.