The Demon Lord Wants a Vacation - Chapter 2: The Wicked Inner Demon

Duanmu Wuqiu could hardly be described as a particularly stable individual.

He had never received formal instruction in cultivation. The first cultivation method he ever practiced was bestowed upon him by a demonic cultivator, and it only carried him as far as the Foundation Establishment Stage.

After slaying that cultivator, Duanmu Wuqiu absorbed all the knowledge the man had amassed and managed to piece together a path to the Nascent Soul Stage—but that was the limit of what he inherited.

Though he ultimately ascended to the Mahayana Stage and became one of the most formidable powers in the cultivation world, his entire path was stitched together from pilfered techniques. He used one method to advance from Qi Refining to Foundation Establishment, another to reach Nascent Soul, then five or six different techniques to progress to Law Body, and who knew how many more to finally attain Mahayana.

Each time he acquired a new technique, he cultivated it until it failed to produce results—then discarded it for another.

Through this chaotic and patchwork approach, it wasn’t any particular cultivation method that brought Duanmu Wuqiu to the Mahayana Stage, but rather the relentless absorption of power from others. By forcibly combining the disparate energies drawn from these myriad methods, he had forged a twisted amalgamation of spiritual essence—now a chaotic swirl of multicolored energy residing in his dantian.

Lacking any kind of proper mental discipline, haunted by lingering traces of foreign souls, and unable to harmonize his spiritual essence, Duanmu Wuqiu’s mind had become deeply unstable.

He suffered frequent headaches and hallucinations. Occasionally, he would strike up conversations with nearby flowers or plants, and was quite accustomed to hearing them reply with lines like, “Let’s bask in the sun together.”

Naturally, he had inner demons. Duanmu Wuqiu had long since come to terms with them—often engaging in full conversations with his personal devils.

So, when the Destruction System first linked to his consciousness, Duanmu Wuqiu wasn’t particularly alarmed.

Voices in his head were nothing out of the ordinary.

What did pique his suspicion, however, was the nature of this new voice. The others would typically urge him to rest, to take it easy, to enjoy the pleasures of life.

But this voice wanted him to destroy the world.

Instinctively, Duanmu Wuqiu recognized that this was a particularly ill-tempered inner demon.

A good inner demon would tell him to take a nap.

He’d encountered these “bad inner demons” before—they tended to go away if he ignored them long enough.

Closing his eyes to feign sleep, he attempted to shut it out, pretending not to hear.

But this particular voice was especially persistent.

[Duanmu Wuqiu, do you not loathe this world?]

[If you do not destroy it, it will surely destroy you.]

[Unleash your true potential. Fulfilling your destiny begins with ending the world.]

[Should you hesitate, death will find you.]

[Duanmu Wu—]

“Enough!” Duanmu Wuqiu snapped.

He had never encountered anything so infuriating!

He had slain the demonic cultivator who enslaved him, eradicated the sect that had tormented him, and incinerated the subordinate who dared to tell him to rule the world. He had unified the entire demonic path and now stood as its undisputed sovereign—who had the audacity to demand more from him?

Could he not be granted a simple vacation? A few decades of peace?

Clearly, he needed a way to silence this Destruction System.

Skilled in deception and sabotage, Duanmu Wuqiu knew that defeating one’s enemy required first understanding them.

“So then,” he asked, “how do you suggest I destroy the world?”

Destruction System: [Ding! Host response acknowledged. Link confirmed. Now transmitting complete world-destruction walkthrough. Follow the steps provided and your ambitions will be realized.]

He grimaced, his temples pounding. “Let me see it.”

Destruction System: [Host lacks the necessary privilege to access the full walkthrough. Complete preliminary tasks to unlock additional content.]

Duanmu Wuqiu had never heard the word “walkthrough” before, but its meaning was self-evident.

Upon realizing this Destruction System had a series of tasks for him to complete—rather than just one—he momentarily blacked out from exasperation.

This so-called master plan sounded even more troublesome than Xiao Hongzhou’s dream of uniting the cultivation world.

Unacceptable.

He had to rid himself of this inner demon.

While he could easily toss Xiao Hongzhou into a volcano, this tormentor was intangible—an affliction of the soul. How could he fight something with no form?

He had no experience in exorcising inner demons.

But he recalled that righteous cultivators were quite adept at such things. They were always talking about slaying demons and upholding virtue, weren’t they?

But if I, a demonic cultivator, go to them for help, won’t they try to eliminate me as well? Duanmu Wuqiu hesitated.

At that moment, the Destruction System issued its first task.

*[To achieve greatness, one must first achieve invincibility. Host, your current strength is insufficient. Your body is vulnerable to covert attacks. Travel to the Skyfall Gorge and temper your flesh in the celestial winds to forge an indestructible golden body.]

This task had already been issued before, but since Duanmu Wuqiu had ignored it, the system repeated it.

This time, a translucent panel materialized in front of him, bearing the words “Skyfall Gorge” and “indestructible golden body.” There was only one selectable option: “accept.” No option to decline.

Seeing such a surreal interface, Duanmu Wuqiu assumed his inner demon had grown stronger. It no longer merely whispered to him—it now imposed hallucinations.

He understood that if a demonic cultivator failed to conquer their inner demon, it would eventually seize their body, devour their soul, and transform them into a puppet of madness—driven solely by that demon’s will, until their body eventually collapsed from the strain.

If he failed to suppress this inner demon, would it possess him and complete this so-called “walkthrough” using his body?

Even in death, he would be made to labor?

Absolutely not!

If he died, he at least wanted a peaceful burial in a scenic, remote location.

Being forced to work even after death? That was intolerable.

Faced with such an existential horror, Duanmu Wuqiu cast aside his hesitation. He would seek out a righteous cultivator.

But he had cultivated in isolation for eighty years, spending that time slashing his way through the demonic world. He had little knowledge of the righteous sects.

When Xiao Hongzhou had once mentioned Frostflower Palace, it had been Duanmu Wuqiu’s first time hearing of it.

Which sect was most suited to exorcise inner demons?

He had no idea.

Fortunately, he was cunning by nature. He reasoned that the enemy of his enemy was a friend. Instead of finding someone himself, he would provoke the Destruction System and see which righteous sect it most feared.

Ignoring the flashing task box, Duanmu Wuqiu asked, “You claim I’ll fall to underhanded attacks? I possess razor-sharp senses and unparalleled spiritual awareness. What could possibly threaten me?”

[Your mental state is unstable, and your spiritual perception lacks clarity. The Beichen Sect practices a cultivation technique in harmony with the heavens. When a Mahayana cultivator of this path chooses to mask their presence, you would perceive them only as a breeze, a leaf, or a blade of grass. Even standing behind you, they would remain undetected.]

[Currently, you are incapable of seeing through their methods. Please cultivate a golden body as soon as possible.]

The Beichen Sect, Duanmu Wuqiu noted mentally.

As for the dreaded Skyfall Gorge, he continued to act as if the system had never mentioned it.

Skyfall Gorge was a notoriously lethal location that had appeared two centuries ago. Though he had not yet been born at the time, he had heard plenty from other demonic cultivators.

It was said that two centuries ago, the heavens had ruptured, casting the land into apocalyptic chaos. Thankfully, the rupture vanished within the hour, and balance was restored.

Skyfall Gorge had emerged from that disaster.

Celestial winds—usually found in the uppermost heavens—had descended into a mountain ravine. People claimed that a fragment of the firmament had fallen there, hence the name “Skyfall Gorge.”

Some even believed that immortal treasures lay hidden within, and that whoever retrieved them could instantly ascend to the immortal realm.

Many cultivators had ventured into the gorge chasing those rumors—and met grisly ends.

Duanmu Wuqiu had been there too.

Not by choice—he had been defeated by an old Blood Hell Elder and thrown in as a test subject.

That Elder, facing the end of his life and the dreaded five declines, had pinned all hope on finding an immortal treasure within the gorge. He captured Nascent Soul cultivators and cursed them with Soul Puppeting spells, sending them in to scour the ravine.

At the time, Duanmu Wuqiu was Nascent Soul himself. Alongside a dozen others, he had been hurled into the gorge.

The celestial winds there were excruciating. Each gust sliced like the blade of a master sword cultivator. Within moments, Duanmu Wuqiu was riddled with wounds. One gust even shattered the violet palace of his dantian, scarring his spirit.

The others were similarly mangled.

If they tried to escape, the Blood Hell Elder would extract their blood and souls. But remaining meant being slowly shredded by the winds. They had but one way to survive: devour another’s Nascent Soul.

They were all demonic cultivators—conscience had no place among them.

Wounded, Duanmu Wuqiu became a target. Two others tried to kill him.

Prepared for betrayal, he killed them first.

In this way, he endured over a year in Skyfall Gorge, cannibalizing his fellow captives’ cultivation and advancing from Nascent Soul to Law Body Stage.

The celestial winds also broke the Elder’s Soul Puppeting Curse.

Freed and empowered, Duanmu Wuqiu sought revenge.

Though still weaker, fortune smiled on him: the Blood Hell Elder succumbed to the five declines during their battle, allowing Duanmu Wuqiu to kill him.

His cultivation soared—but the agony of Skyfall Gorge had left an indelible scar.

Now the Destruction System wanted him to return there—for ten years—to forge a golden body?

Truly a devilish scheme meant to drive him mad!

He dismissed the task outright, refusing to acknowledge its existence.

Continuing his interrogation, he asked, “Who is the strongest in the Beichen Sect?”

[The Beichen Sect is your sworn enemy. In the future, Luo Xianyun will lead the righteous path in annihilating you. One of your preliminary objectives is: Kill Luo Xianyun.]

“Oh?” Duanmu Wuqiu’s eyes lit up.

Clearly, this system greatly feared Luo Xianyun.

[Currently recovering from injuries, Luo Xianyun is at his weakest. This is a prime opportunity to strike. However, he is hidden within the Beichen Sect, and penetrating their defensive array will prove difficult.]

[He is unlikely to recover for several decades. It is advised you first complete the Skyfall Gorge task, then eliminate him.]

“This Lord is a man of action,” Duanmu Wuqiu declared. “Let us seek out Luo Xianyun immediately.”

[Acknowledged.]

The task panel changed to display “Kill Luo Xianyun”—again, with only the option to accept.

Duanmu Wuqiu pretended not to see it.

He had no intention of killing Luo Xianyun—he intended to make a deal with him.

He would offer to heal Luo Xianyun’s injuries—and in exchange, Luo Xianyun would help him defeat this inner demon.

Perfect.

Truly, Duanmu Wuqiu mused to himself, this Lord is as brilliant as ever.