Great Demon 01

Fang Zhiyi was a snake demon. When Old Taoist Jia picked him up, he casually gave him a name. It wasn’t meant to carry any profound meaning—just that the old man, who fancied himself cultured, always had to come up with something different from the ordinary.

Take Fang Zhiyi’s two junior brothers, for example. Both were picked up by Old Taoist Jia, just like him. One was named Chu Bufan, the other Shen Weixun. The only difference was that Shen Weixun was human. The day Old Taoist Jia brought him back, his clothes were stained with blood. Fang Zhiyi didn’t ask about it. He knew his master must have taken a great risk.

For demons who had just descended into human cities, dangers lurked everywhere. Some demons, who fed on others to enhance their cultivation, often lurked around major thoroughfares, luring naive little demons away under the pretense of guiding them—only to devour them.

There were demons who ate demons, and naturally, there were also demons who ate humans—though not for cultivation, but simply for a quick meal.

Old Taoist Jia’s true form was that of an old fox. Exactly how long he had lived, Fang Zhiyi didn’t know.

And so, the four of them—one human and three demons—lived their lives. After taking in three disciples, Old Taoist Jia had it much easier. He would take on jobs outside and leave them to his apprentices while he stayed home basking in the sun.

Fang Zhiyi was kind-hearted, Shen Weixun was carefree, and the youngest, Chu Bufan—a roe deer who had attained sentience—was a bit slow-witted but honest.

When moving around the city, they usually had to avoid their own kind, as well as demon hunters and Taoist priests. Their master had warned them that these were all dangerous elements.

But even so, things spiraled out of control.

One day, after finishing a job, Fang Zhiyi bought a roast duck for his master and was heading home with his junior brothers when chaos erupted on the streets. A wild boar demon, having reverted to its true form, rampaged through the crowd, pursued by several men in black. One of them wore a golden cape that glinted blindingly in the light.

The boar demon was slain right there in the street. Humans fled in terror. Fang Zhiyi noticed the fear in the eyes of the demons around him.

Sure enough, that evening, he saw the golden-caped man again on the news.

He introduced himself as Mo Ran and announced to the world a crucial revelation—the existence of demons. The public was in an uproar. To prove his words, Mo Ran dragged a deer demon before the cameras. In its terror, the deer demon shed its human form, reverting to its original shape. Mo Ran stabbed it to death, then licked the blood from his blade.

"I, Mo Ran, swear here and now—I will never coexist with demons."

From that day on, the world changed.

Panic spread through the streets. Humans eyed each other with suspicion, while demons moved cautiously. Some even packed their belongings, preparing to flee the city.

Old Taoist Jia had his sources. After just one trip outside, he pieced together the general picture.

This Mo Ran had once had a childhood sweetheart. Just before graduation, her entire family was murdered. Officially, it was labeled a home invasion, but Mo Ran found inconsistencies. During his investigation, he encountered a savage demon.

Relying on his innate talent, he fought the demon for a long time until demon hunters arrived and guided him to kill it.

From then on, Mo Ran’s world changed. Hatred for demons consumed him.

According to their master, this was likely the doing of the so-called Demon Kings. Those kings were always scheming to dominate the human world. But "Demon King" was just a title—anyone who reached that level of cultivation could claim it. Most demons minded their own business, so while the kings had ambition, they lacked the means to act on it.

No one knew what had possessed them this time to openly attack humans.

Rumor had it that the Demon Extermination Bureau took the matter very seriously and had classified demons into tiers: SSS, SS, S, A, B, C, and D.

As Mo Ran’s team took action, incidents erupted across the city. Some powerful demons resisted, but their struggles were futile—most were slaughtered.

Mo Ran grew stronger with each battle, his influence expanding.

This was bad news for Fang Zhiyi and his group. Even their usually unshakable master grew restless.

He tried to lead his disciples to escape, but they were too late. Spurred by Mo Ran’s bounties, freelance demon hunters had also taken to the streets. For money, their methods were even crueler than the Bureau’s.

Human inventions were formidable—one of the very things that had drawn so many demons to their cities. This time, they had created a demonic aura detector.

The demons dared not leave their home, so only Shen Weixun, the sole human among them, went out to buy supplies.

But he never returned.

Shen Weixun had been captured. Because he carried traces of demonic aura, they accused him of harboring demons and tortured him.

Though the Bureau later arrived and dispersed the bounty hunters, Shen Weixun was already dead—his final gesture a defiant middle finger.

The news came from a rat demon living next door.

The next day, the rat demon fled too.

Old Taoist Jia finally made up his mind—they had to escape. But he only arranged for Fang Zhiyi and Chu Bufan to flee, turning back himself to charge in the opposite direction.

A long while later, an overwhelming surge of demonic aura nearly knocked Fang Zhiyi off his feet.

He knew—his master had staked his life. Without looking back, he grabbed his junior brother and ran, but the road out of the city was guarded.

Fang Zhiyi had no choice but to fight, covering Chu Bufan’s escape.

He saw the man in the golden cape. Mo Ran merely glanced down at him, his gaze icy, as if Fang Zhiyi weren’t even a demon—just an insect.

And that was the truth. Chu Bufan was cleaved in two almost instantly.

Fang Zhiyi didn’t escape either.

At this point, the narrative shifted, revealing Mo Ran’s story.

In short, it was a tale of a hero leveling up by slaying monsters. After the death of his childhood sweetheart, he became a demon hunter, forged bonds with comrades, grew stronger with every injury, and so on. Fang Zhiyi and his group were nothing more than a passing mention—nameless in the protagonist’s world.

The irony came later. After untold hardships, Mo Ran slew the Seven Demon Kings and finally confronted the Great Demon—only to find his beloved Qing Ning, who had faked her death and been taken by the demon. The two embraced, weeping.

For the sake of his love, his comrades rallied behind him. In the end, the Great Demon fell—but out of respect for his status as Qing Ning’s father, Mo Ran spared his life. Thus, peace was restored between demons and humans, and the hero and heroine lived happily ever after.

"So, in short, all those demons and hunters died for nothing?" Fang Zhiyi remarked dryly.

"Pretty much," Xiao Hei nodded.