Chapter Three: Refining Demons

The ravenous Liuchou moved with astonishing speed, swiftly returning to the final curve of the cave before the exit. It tilted its ear slightly, confirming that there were no further sounds near the entrance before dashing forward once more. As a demon beast, Liuchou’s only advantage over other demonkind lay in its extraordinary hearing—far surpassing that of its peers. Not only could it hear distant sounds, but with concentrated attention, it could distinguish the subtlest of noises. Whether this was innate or owed to its odd pair of extra ears, no one could say.

Upon reaching the cave’s mouth, the first sight that greeted it was the enormous head of Wolfflame the Great Ape. Its neck had been brutally twisted, as if wrenched outward by some external force. The ground outside was a bloody mire—dozens of demon beast corpses, mutilated and strewn about, fragments of flesh and severed limbs littering the clearing.

The moon had already faded, and dawn had yet to break. Under the miasmic fog that shrouded Plum Mountain, it was impossible to discern the hour—only a faint sense of early morning lingered. Liuchou pondered briefly and understood: it must have been a melee among demon beasts, drawn by the scent of Wolfflame’s blood. When the blood moon vanished, those who survived regained their senses and fled, while the other beasts still hid, not yet venturing out to hunt. By a twist of fate, this had left such a generous offering for Liuchou.

With so many demon beasts, how could there be a shortage of demon cores left behind?

Liuchou was elated, lunging toward the entrance like a hungry wolf. Halfway, it kicked aside Wolfflame’s massive head and squeezed out into the clearing. After scanning the scene, it immediately pounced on the largest bear’s carcass.

This corpse was exceptionally robust, its fur black and glossy, two broken tusks lending it a fierce air. It had at least reached the Core Formation stage—perhaps even the threshold of transformation.

Without hesitation, Liuchou tore into the carcass, ripping out a large chunk of flesh and chewing voraciously. Yet just as the meat entered its mouth, a sudden thought struck its mind—a faint voice seemed to echo within.

Perhaps it was a sound, or merely an instinctive thought—Liuchou could not tell. As it focused on this sensation, something in its mind abruptly grew larger and clearer: an ancient, six-sided gourd, wreathed in auspicious clouds, floating serenely. Great characters were inscribed upon it, as if it hailed from beyond the heavens, a thing born of nature itself. Liuchou’s spirit grew hazy for reasons it could not name.

It seemed… it could enter…

That indistinct voice echoed at the bottom of its heart, prompting Liuchou without knowing how. Compelled by this, it silently intoned in its heart:

“Enter!”

In that instant, everything became extraordinary. Thus, the story truly began, and a thread of fate in the grand design of destiny was drawn forth…

※

In the pale dawn mist outside Plum Mountain, a wooden beast dozens of meters long had already set its enormous legs in motion, striding into the fog-shrouded forests and mountains.

This wooden beast resembled a centipede; its body was made of interlocking segments, each like a small boat with four legs. Its surface was covered in scale-like iron armor, with a solid iron shell protecting the underside. The entire contraption was fashioned from tough wood, bound with bronze clasps and iron chains linking its many legs, so that its movements were coordinated. At the front, a bronze relief of a man glared fiercely, spear in hand.

There were dozens of segments, each less than ten feet long. Every third segment differed from the rest—its shell marked with a large black character: “Mo.” These “Mo” segments were perfectly round, lacking the cargo holds present in other sections. From their bellies came constant clacking and grinding, and from the chimney atop, white steam billowed. Any modern observer would recognize these as the engine compartments, powering the wooden beast and hauling the entire train forward.

The other segments were loaded heavily with provisions, utensils, weapons, and all manner of goods—each lashed with hemp ropes into towering bundles, amounting to hundreds of stones in weight.

Though its design was crude, the wooden beast moved with unshakable steadiness, gliding over mountain paths as if on level ground. Neither rock nor bush impeded its progress, and it easily bore its burdens deep into the mountains.

Accompanying the beast were more than a hundred people. Among them were barefoot laborers in coarse linen, their foreheads branded with the black “slave” mark; armored warriors with swords and shields; elegant swordsmen with long blades at their waists and billowing sleeves; and scouts carrying bows, constantly ranging ahead and behind.

Only the last two segments carried passengers.

In the very last compartment, a man with cold, steely eyes and graying hair stood, gazing intently in the direction the beast was heading. Though his hair was streaked with white, his face was still youthful—grim, yet possessed of an innate authority. He seldom spoke, but at each gesture, the whole party shifted direction as one, obeying his commands without question.

In the other compartment, a tea table was laid out. Two men sat cross-legged beside it, eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the world. One, aged over fifty, had a square face, large ears, red brows, and kindly eyes. His robe was loose, revealing a stout chest, and he smiled as he idly polished a piece of ancient wood that gleamed with a calming aura. The other, in his early thirties, wore a tight brown robe with a long sword on his back, his handsome features as sharp as a painting—truly a celestial figure.

The procession drew steadily closer, entering the domain of Plum Mountain.

※

In a blur, Liuchou felt as if it had passed through warm water, every part of its body suffused with heat and moisture—a rare sensation in the chill of Plum Mountain. Astonished, it opened its eyes, and its surprise only deepened at what it saw.

Before it lay a courtyard, with Liuchou standing at its very center. Each wall featured a circular archway, beyond which stretched black mist, faintly revealing the outlines of buildings—how vast or deep it was, Liuchou could not tell.

Beneath its feet were slabs of green stone. At its side stood a bizarre, radiant cauldron—an ancient vessel, and nothing else in sight.

Curiosity burning, Liuchou stepped back to examine the cauldron. Circling halfway around, it suddenly realized the object matched the one from its consciousness—an ancient six-sided gourd, nearly identical in outline. A faint aura swirled around the cauldron, drifting like streamers, curling upward from the base in a ceaseless flow, returning finally to the mouth.

Everything felt dreamlike, an illusion that left Liuchou utterly bewildered. Was it awake or dreaming? Where was it? Only the cauldron’s gentle warmth—its origin unknown—brought comfort and calm, staving off panic.

Only its mother had ever given it such a feeling before—a sense of blood kinship. Almost unconsciously, Liuchou reached out and touched the cauldron’s enchanted body…

All at once, the swirling aura around the cauldron converged, forming three immense ancient characters, their strokes leaping like dragons and snakes, carved as if by axe and blade, blazing before Liuchou’s eyes:

“Realm Within the Gourd!”

What was this? The thought flickered through Liuchou’s mind but was instantly replaced by old memories—scenes from countless stories and tales it had read in the past. In a flash, everything became clear.

The aura on the cauldron ebbed and flowed, the characters breaking apart and re-forming into new words, one after another:

“Demon-Refining Gourd—reflect and examine oneself, know clarity and act without error…”

“Demon-Refining Gourd severely damaged; spirit lost; spiritual essence insufficient; urgently requires replenishment; only the Alchemical Cauldron Domain may be unfolded; to unlock the next domain requires 1,600 units of spiritual essence…”

“Demon-Refining Gourd severely damaged, spiritual essence insufficient, self-reflection…”

“Jiazi Gourd… sealed… cannot awaken…

Jiaxu Gourd… sealed… unusable…

Jiashen Gourd… sealed… unusable…

Jiawu Gourd… sealed… unusable…

Jiachen Gourd… sealed… unusable…

Yin Gourd… Samadhi Jia—body-forging elixir—vacant and available…”

“To unseal Jiachen requires forty-nine units of spiritual essence…”

“Detected: Yin Gourd has absorbed the demon core of the bear; can be refined to replenish the gourd’s realm, to unseal Jiachen, or to produce a body-forging elixir… Please specify command.”

At this, the cauldron—now properly called the Demon-Refining Gourd—ceased shifting, its inscriptions fixed. Three options glimmered faintly, as if awaiting instruction:

Replenish the gourd’s realm… Unseal Jiachen… Refine a body-forging elixir…

Liuchou withdrew its paw, the words vanished instantly; when it touched the cauldron again, they reappeared. After several tries, it realized this was no ordinary artifact—it had stumbled upon something truly extraordinary!

The flickering script offered choices. At first, Liuchou considered replenishing or unsealing as prompted, but a sudden urge made it choose to refine the body-forging elixir. Without even touching the cauldron, the words shifted again:

“As you command.”

“Samadhi Jia refining time: one quarter of an hour required…”

The text faded, and all the gourd’s light withdrew inside. Multicolored brilliance surged within, as if some chemical reaction had begun. Only now did Liuchou notice the cauldron bore engraved patterns—six mirrored panels, each inscribed with a character: Zi, Xu, Shen, Wu, Chen, Yin.

With the “Jia” prefix, they became Jiazi, Jiaxu, Jiashen, Jiawu, Jiachen, and Jiayin—the famed Six Jia of later legend.

What the Six Jia truly signified, Liuchou did not know, but he sensed they were no ordinary things. He made a note to ask a scholar about them once he could enter the human world.

Setting aside what he could not understand, Liuchou calmed his excitement and began to deduce what he could, drawing on memories from his previous life:

“It stands to reason this is a vessel that can refine demon beasts. The bear I just touched was absorbed, and through it, I can make the elixirs I need—or restore the gourd’s powers… But, no, both flesh and core can be refined, yet it seems only the core replenishes the gourd’s essence.”

“Yes, that must be it. If so, the disappearance of Wolfflame’s core is explained—it was absorbed by the gourd when I touched it, which is why it awakened within me. Thus, it only absorbs the cores of the dead, not the living…”

“This Samadhi Jia in the Yin Gourd seems to make body-forging elixirs. I wonder what the others do… And ‘spiritual essence units’ must be the measure for absorbing demon cores—forty-nine units needed to unseal Jiachen. When I find more cores, I’ll experiment. If I can unseal another gourd, who knows what wonders await…”

“One thing—I still don’t know how this artifact came to be inside me, nor when or where I first saw it. Could it be innate? Wait… why does it seem so familiar?”

“It’s as if… I’ve seen it somewhere…”

Suddenly, a vivid image surfaced: an auction hall with various vessels displayed. When he had leaped at his enemy and triggered the explosion, these artifacts had been at his side, swept into the fire as one. Among them was an object nearly identical to this Demon-Refining Gourd.

The only difference was its size—then, it had been scarcely larger than a wine bottle, ancient and corroded, mottled with rust, nothing like the vast and pristine vessel before him. No wonder he hadn’t recognized it at first.

So, this was the cause of his transmigration? Through the explosion, it merged with him, sending him to this world?

Lost in wild speculation, the quarter hour passed in a flash. A crisp ringing sounded, and from the gourd’s spout poured thick white mist. Within, a pill the size of a fingertip tumbled and dropped to the ground. At the same time, the streamers beneath the Yin panel glowed and a new inscription appeared:

“Foundation Pill, First Grade.”

Liuchou picked up the pill and examined it: its color creamy as jade, fragrant and inviting, with no sign of danger. He sniffed it, then tossed it into his mouth.

The moment it touched his tongue, before he could even chew, the pill dissolved into a pool of liquid that slid down his throat. Before he could savor the taste, a wave of warmth surged from his belly, flooding his chest and then racing into his limbs and meridians.

Liuchou sensed this heat was incredibly strong. After circulating through his body once, it suddenly turned, as if a hungry beast had found prey, and rushed straight to his severed leg. In an instant, a great fire seemed to envelop his limb, burning fiercely.

Agony shot from the stump of his leg. In his mind’s eye, Liuchou could see his whole body—grey-white and translucent, riddled with impurities that clouded him throughout, with the severed leg blackened. The surging heat was burning away these impurities, driving them toward the surface bit by bit.

Body refinement?

The thought flashed through Liuchou’s mind. Without hesitation, he sat down, focused his energy, and began to absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth as the inherited memories of demonkind instructed, working in concert with the fiery current.

He had no idea how much time passed. At last, with a thunderous boom, Liuchou awoke from his trance. He could see that his body was now pure—still a milky hue, but clear and unblemished, all impurities gone, crystalline as a newborn jade carving.

When he saw that his crippled leg had been restored, the usually stoic Liuchou broke down in tears, weeping freely. Then, dropping to all fours, he raised his head to the sky and howled, unable to contain the wild joy of having regained his chance at life in such a miraculous way.

This feeling far surpassed the thrill of winning five million in a lottery—perhaps only someone who, prepared to die of illness, hears the doctor say, “It was a misdiagnosis,” could understand even a fraction of it!

When the excitement waned, Liuchou could feel the power coursing through his body; the days of weakness were gone. Though still odd-eyed, double-eared, short and ugly, his bones and sinews were now robust, his whole form bursting with explosive strength and agility. He could shatter boulders with a punch and run as swiftly as the wind—his fighting spirit soared.

At last, he possessed true power—a foundation for survival!

“Immortals! Demons! Here I come—this world, I am coming…”

“I, a demon, am coming…”

Liuchou burst into wild laughter, unleashing all his pent-up fury and emotion in this world within the gourd, shrieking like a mad spirit.

“Green Jade Ode—Turning the Heavens”

Beneath the red moon’s song of sorrow, the road of life and death,
The past is dust, drifting away.
In this life, base and low as earth,
Amid blood-soaked nights and the wails of fate,
At destiny’s bitter end,
A golden-scaled dragon whirls anew.
In the dusk of the Grand Motion,
Gods and Buddhas suppress the mortal world.
Survival, the heavens will not permit.
Before the Bodhi seat, a little demon three feet tall,
Raises his staff and glares in wrath.