The pale-faced man, after devouring Lu Wei's heart, no longer concealed his presence, revealing his monstrous form. His body rapidly began to transform.
At this moment, the demon's true appearance was revealed: tall and stout, with a gaping maw filled with rows of jagged, interlocking teeth.
The aura it exuded was that of a Nascent Soul stage demon.
"Protect Divine Doctor Xiao! If Divine Doctor Xiao dies, we all die!"
Lu Wei uttered this with his last breath before falling stiffly to the ground.
The others present were all hosts to demon seeds; Xiao Fei was their only hope for survival.
With no retreat, they all drew their weapons and charged at the demon, believing only in a fight to the death.
However, to the Nascent Soul stage demon, these cultivators were no different from ants. It swung its sharp claws repeatedly.
In an instant, it held a large pile of still-beating hearts.
When the charging individuals came to their senses, they discovered their hearts had already been ripped out.
Of course, their sacrifice was not in vain; at least it bought Xiao Fei a small amount of time.
Xiao Fei flashed behind the group, communicating with the Soul Stabilizing Rune nurtured within his body. A talisman materialized before him.
"Stabilize!"
With a loud shout, the Soul Stabilizing Rune wavered and landed on the demon's chest.
The demon, moments ago so arrogant, now stood with a vacant expression, unable to move.
A large hammer appeared in Xiao Fei's hand. Just as he was about to charge forward and shatter the creature, a sword light, carrying immense pressure, flew in from outside the cave dwelling and sliced across the demon's neck.
Before the head could even roll off, the flying sword made several more swift cuts, dismembering the demon and its Nascent Soul within.
Xiao Fei looked towards the cave entrance and saw a figure of exquisite beauty walking in.
"Young Master! Are you alright?"
"You've arrived just in time! I'm fine."
Xiao Fei subtly retracted the Soul Stabilizing Rune.
Huang Feifei had been stabilized by this rune many times and naturally knew its power.
"If I hadn't come, I imagine Young Master would have soon slain this demon!"
Xiao Fei drew the rune back into his body and shook his head.
"Do not let this matter leak. This demon was killed by your own hand; it has nothing to do with me."
He did not want everyone to know about this method of his; it was better to keep it hidden and spring it on them at a crucial moment.
Huang Feifei understood, nodded, and stepped forward to examine the bodies on the ground.
Lu Wei and the patients were all dead.
The demon's corpse had been hacked into pieces by her, and its Nascent Soul, after being slain, was dissipating into wisps of pure demonic energy.
Whether human, demon, or beast, a Nascent Soul was composed of pure energy. Upon death, it would dissipate into energy.
Huang Feifei took out a jade bottle and collected and sealed the remnants of the Nascent Soul along with the pure demonic energy it had transformed into.
Besides the Nascent Soul, the demon also possessed a Demon Crystal within its body, which was also highly valuable. Many cultivators who practiced demonic arts could directly absorb the demonic energy from it.
Alternatively, it could be used in alchemy or artifact crafting.
As demons were not numerous in the cultivation world, the price of Demon Crystals naturally soared.
Huang Feifei scanned with her divine sense, extended her fair hand, and retrieved a dark, black Demon Crystal from a pile of bloodstains, presenting it to Xiao Fei.
"Young Master, please take these spoils of war!"
Xiao Fei quickly waved his hand.
"No need. You were the one who killed it. You keep these two items, and just give me the demon's corpse."
He was not lacking in spirit stone resources. Although Huang Feifei was beautiful, she had always been rather poor with few avenues for wealth.
He was contemplating arranging a position for Huang Feifei at the Treasure Pavilion, where he could legitimately pay her a salary each month.
Based on Xiao Fei's life experience, to help others, especially to give them money, one needed a proper reason.
Even if one was rolling in wealth, one couldn't frequently give money without cause, not even to relatives. One always needed to find a suitable reason or excuse.
Huang Feifei collected the Demon Crystal and the Nascent Soul remnants as instructed, taking out a fragrant handkerchief to wipe the bloodstains from her hands.
Just then, the four Nascent Soul experts from the Lu Sect also arrived, having heard the news.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, are you unharmed?"
"Alas! We were a step too late. Fortunately, Fellow Daoist Huang intervened in time."
The four Nascent Soul experts sighed as they looked at the demon's corpse on the ground.
"Fellow Daoist Huang managed to slay a Nascent Soul stage demon in such a short time!"
"Impressive! Truly impressive!"
"Fellow Daoist Huang possessing such strength is truly a blessing to the Lu Sect!"
The four praised Huang Feifei in unison.
They too had fought against demons.
Demons not only grew faster but also possessed greater strength than human cultivators of the same level.
To not be at a disadvantage in a one-on-one fight with a demon was already remarkable, and Huang Feifei had slain one in such a short period.
This level of strength was clearly above theirs.
The four began to look at Huang Feifei with newfound respect, their words carrying a hint of seeking to befriend her.
The former four great sects of the Lu Kingdom had dwindled to only three halls of the Lu Sect, their strength greatly diminished.
The Lu Kingdom once had over ten Nascent Soul cultivators; now, only four remained, and with the newly promoted Huang Feifei, there were only five.
Even Old Ancestor Peng of the Danxin Sect, whom Xiao Fei had met several times, had perished while covering the retreat of the Lu Kingdom's cultivators.
Huang Feifei did not seem particularly attentive to the compliments and praise from everyone. She remained by Xiao Fei's side, acting as a young maid.
Seeing this, the Nascent Soul experts felt a surge of envy and jealousy!
This young man, Xiao Fei, looked unremarkable, certainly not as impressive as Zhu Yu, and his strength was also quite ordinary.
Yet, he possessed a Nascent Soul stage subordinate, and she was also exceptionally beautiful.
This was the dream of all male cultivators.
They wondered what skills this young man possessed to make a Nascent Soul expert so devoted.
Huang Feifei tidied up the corpses in the cave dwelling. Xiao Fei chatted with the four Nascent Soul cultivators for a while longer, and they all took their leave.
"Feifei! I've entrusted Senior Brother Fei Xin to help me train a guard team. If you have time, could you occasionally go and check on them for me?"
"No problem! But what about the safety of your place, Young Master?"
Huang Feifei always followed Xiao Fei's instructions, but she was still a little worried about Xiao Fei's safety when she was away.
"You don't need to go there often. Once every month or two will suffice!"
"Alright, no problem!"
Huang Feifei readily agreed.
"Good! In that case, this guard team will be under your management from now on.
And I can't have you working for free. I'll give you one Nascent Soul Nurturing Pill each month as your salary!"
Xiao Fei had been looking for an opportunity to give Huang Feifei some benefits. Huang Feifei's increased strength was also beneficial to him.
"That's too much! I don't need that much! One pill a year is enough for me."
Huang Feifei quickly refused. The Nascent Soul Nurturing Pill was a precious elixir refined with thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, used by Nascent Soul stage cultivators to enhance their cultivation.
Many Nascent Soul experts might not even get to consume one in several years.
"This is what you deserve, so take it!"
As Xiao Fei spoke, he took out a bottle of Nascent Soul Nurturing Pills and pressed it into Huang Feifei's arms.
"Thank you, Young Master!"