The Cunning Treasure Hunter

Chapter 83 The Rise of the Beast

The leader of the Black Eagle Guard, the Fiery Blade clan's private military force, was stabbed to death by a servant he had married within the clan.

The head of Golden Hall, who managed the clan's wealth, was beheaded by his own son.

And the gatekeeper, tasked with guarding the clan's nameplate?

His heart was ripped out by his daughter's hands.

When had it started?

How had so many members of the Eastern Mountain Fiery Blade clan fallen to the Demonic Sect?

How long had even the Fiery Blade clan's bloodline been ensnared by their temptations?

Regis, the leader of the Eastern Mountain Fiery Blade clan, could not find an answer.

Ten years ago, he had slain countless remnants of the Demonic Sect with a single spear in Eastern Mountain, earning the nickname Black Sun Spear.

He had believed, without question, that his clan was free of the Demonic Sect's influence.

But he had been wrong.

The deeper he crushed the insects, the further they burrowed.

If such persistence could be expected of mere pests, then what of a sect that had once upended the world with their fanatical zeal?

As he stood lost in thought, someone burst through the door to the inner chambers.

It was his eldest daughter—traitor to the clan, servant of the Demonic Sect, and the murderer of her own mother—Vanessa.

"So here you are, Father. And my dear brother and little Clara are here too?"

Her laughter was manic, stretching her mouth far wider than seemed natural.

A chill ran down Regis's spine.

He had heard stories of the Heavenly Demon, tales he once dismissed as rumors or exaggerations.

But there were things he had seen as a boy that made him doubt.

At fifty-two years old, he had grown up witnessing the scars left by the Demonic Sect's reign.

The Demonic Sect had been crushed fifty years ago—when he was just two years old.

But he had seen the aftermath:

Warriors who lost their minds battling the sect, wasting away until they died of starvation.

Martial artists, betrayed by their own kin corrupted by Demonic energy, slain without a chance to draw their swords.

But never had he imagined that such tragedy would befall his own family.

"Vanessa, it's not too late. You can still turn back," Regis pleaded.

"That's the problem with you, Father. Always so naive," she sneered, her voice dripping with mockery.

At twenty-seven years old, Vanessa stood tall, with a strong and well-built frame.

She was already at the peak of her realm, one step from surpassing Supreme Martial Mastery.

If the clan's leadership had not been restricted to males, she might have become the next leader.

Instead, the title of Young Lord had gone to her brother, who had reached mid-stage Supreme Martial Mastery by the age of thirty.

Was it jealousy that drove her? Or was it something else entirely?

The leader sifted through his memories, searching for answers.

"You act like what I did to Mother can be undone," she spat.

Her eyes glinted with madness and murderous intent.

Suddenly, she unleashed a move from the Fiery Blade clan Spear Arts, the very techniques he had taught her.

It was the First Strike: Shattering Spear Strike.

A thrust designed to break through a mass of enemies in a single motion.

"Everyone, get behind me!" roared Regis, steeling himself.

The girl before him was no longer his daughter.

She was no longer his daughter!

With a bellow, he unleashed the same technique:

Shattering Spear Strike.

The two spear tips collided.

The result was inevitable.

A Monster Unleashed

Vanessa watched as her right arm was torn apart, sent flying through the air.

And then she began to laugh.

"See? You've always been like this, Father! It didn't matter if I got hurt, or Mother, or Clara!"

"That's not true!"

"It's always been about Brother!"

Her voice was filled with rage, the sound echoing in the chamber like a cursed chant.

Her eyes glowed with a blood-red light.

Black Demonic energy oozed from her severed shoulder, twisting and writhing like living shadows.

Her bones cracked with eerie noises as her body began to contort unnaturally.

"I'll kill you… I'll kill you all…"

Regis had heard of this before.

Those who absorbed more Demonic energy than their bodies could handle…

Most martial artists accepted only as much Demonic energy as their core could withstand.

But those who broke that limit became consumed by the energy, losing both their sanity and humanity.

Such beings were no longer called Demonic Humans but rather Demonic Beasts.

And now, he was witnessing it.

His daughter was becoming a Demonic Beast.

Once someone turned into a beast, there was no going back.

Even those who retained their humanity while tainted by Demonic energy had to choose to remain human.

The loss of that choice was irreversible.

From her severed shoulder, a new arm began to grow.

The skin bubbled and boiled as if simmering in a cauldron.

The flesh reformed, grotesque and twisted, into a massive, deformed limb.

The skin had already turned pitch black.

A martial master, who had once reached the pinnacle of Supreme Martial Mastery, had now become a Demonic Beast.

That skin—it could no longer be cut by anything but Sword energy.

"Vanessa…" Regis groaned in despair.

Though he had never granted her the position of Young Lord, she was the child he had pinned his hopes on.

At twenty-seven, she had neared the very peak of her realm.

He had believed that she would reach Transcendent Martial Mastery before she turned thirty.

But now his strength left him, slipping from his hands as hopelessness gripped him.

At that moment, the ceiling shattered, and someone descended into the chamber.

"...Are you the leader, Regis?"

Her hair flowed like black silk in the heat of the inferno.

Her small frame, barely five feet tall, seemed fragile enough to be cradled in one arm.

Yet her presence was unshakable, her gaze cold and empty—black pupils devoid of light.

Even within the blazing flames, her figure remained unmoved.

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"And who are you…?"

"I greet you. I am Vera, third-generation disciple of the Suncrest Sect."

Drawing her sword, she pointed its tip toward the Demonic Beast, which had once been his eldest daughter.

Vanessa growled, unable to speak, having abandoned her humanity for the instincts of a beast.

"Why is someone from the Suncrest Sect here?!" Regis exclaimed.

"I've come to return the Demon-Cleaving Spear to you."

Before she could say more, the Demonic Beast lunged at her.

By instinct, Regis stumbled back.

Was it because the beast was stronger than him?

No.

It was the horror of seeing something so grotesque for the first time—a creature that moved like a four-legged animal, its limbs twisted unnaturally, its blackened skin gleaming in the firelight.

And worst of all, it bore the face of his daughter.

"So, you've become a beast…" Vera muttered under her breath.

She swung her Falling Blossom Sword, slicing through the heat and flames.

As the blade shimmered, light began to ripple along its edge like a mirage, forming pure Sword energy.

Swoosh!

The blade, infused with Sword energy, tore through the air.

The beast—once Vanessa—sensed the danger and leapt away instinctively.

But Vera, her movements precise and calculated, followed in pursuit, stepping effortlessly with the Hidden Fragrance Step technique.

Though incomplete, her Sword energy was superior to ordinary blade light.

With such a weapon, she could cut through Darksteel, Blacksteel, or even Coldsteel.

Her blade caught the beast's ankle.

Slice.

The sickening sound of flesh tearing echoed as the beast rolled across the burning floor.

"Kyahhhhhh!!! Kraaahhh!!!"

Its roar, infused with sinister Demonic energy, was deafening—a sound designed to shatter the mind.

But Vera, shielded by the Black dragon of her Soul Harmony Realm Arts, was unaffected.

Slice.

Her sword, still glowing with Sword energy, severed the beast's throat, silencing its screams.

The beast's severed ankle was already regenerating, its flesh bubbling and writhing to form a new foot.

"It's true… creatures corrupted by Demonic energy don't die easily," Vera murmured, watching the grotesque display.

But the loss of mobility had already sealed its fate.

With her sword blazing with Sword energy, she decapitated the beast.

The severed head rolled across the floor, but before it could come to a stop, something unthinkable happened.

The beast grabbed its own head and reattached it to its neck.

"...What?"

Even Vera, who had seen her share of horrors, was stunned.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the beast, now fully regenerated, lunged at her.

The Finishing Blow

"Duck!"

The shout came from Regis, snapping her back to focus.

She immediately lowered her body.

Whoosh!

A powerful spear strike roared over her head, the sheer force of it displacing the air around her.

The spear pierced through the beast's chest and embedded itself into the wall.

The beast, now pinned, flailed in agony.

Black blood dripped down the wall, mixing with the flames consuming the room.

"Keghh… Kraaahhh…!"

The wall, already burning from the Demonic energy, consumed the beast.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air, a stench that struck Vera like a dagger to the mind.

It was a scent she had smelled before.

A memory that she could never forget—a scent that had lingered over the ruins of Bloomspire Sect, where her life had been torn apart.

"...It's a disgusting smell," she muttered, her voice cold and detached.

She swung her sword once more, breaking through the opposite wall to create an escape route.