“Now that is a difficult question,” Axel coughed, his expression one of bloodied teeth and a vicious grin. “I have been called by many names, most I care not to remember. But Demon suits me well, no?”
“Don’t give me that nonsense,” the Eldarin snapped. “That skill you used just now, where did you get it?”
“Hmm… A dark place. Somewhere between life and death?”...
2025-07-06 11:03:06 +0000 UTC View PostFire claimed the valley.
It was a heat that was ravenous in its intensity. The shockwave alone would have shattered bones and boulders, but the cascade of fiery explosions incinerated anything mundane within the epicentre. Stone melted instantly. Sand turned to glass.
For the trolls, whose flesh was unyielding and their regeneration vaulted in legend, their deaths took agonising sec...
2025-07-06 11:02:38 +0000 UTC View PostUnlike before, Axel didn’t just blindly charge into the fray.
For one, the sheer mass of the troll stampede would just crush him anyway, so standing in front of the foe with no plan wasn’t bravery or madness, it just was suicide by stupidity.
And Axel had already established with his Reaper that he would not accept such a pointless death. On the day he returned to her embrace, h...
2025-07-06 11:02:07 +0000 UTC View PostAxel didn’t wait to see if the alchemist understood. He turned back, rushing to help Lune.
One of the assisting maidens was already dead, trapped in the Troll King’s grip, her fists feebly beating against the beast’s arms. She let loose a final scream as the King crushed her spine in his hands, before swallowing her entire body whole.
Lune was badly wounded. One of her arms lo...
2025-07-06 11:01:30 +0000 UTC View PostAn hour before Axel and the alchemists set out…
“How do these rune things work anyway?” Axel asked, crouched before one of the distilleries.
Around him, the Venombrew Maidens were hard at work preparing the soporific brews and the vast quantities of drugged meat. Their leader, Lune, stopped overseeing their tasks for a moment to scowl at him.
...
2025-07-06 11:00:48 +0000 UTC View PostAll around the camp, fighting began in earnest.
Lune’s pack of Venombrew Maidens had emerged from their shelter behind the blasted boulder. They dashed across the field with incredible speed, their masks torn free and female faces exposed. Empty potion vials shattered against the ground as the seven Eldarin women tossed them away after ingesting their empowering contents.
It was a...
2025-07-06 10:59:03 +0000 UTC View PostAxel watched from a rocky perch up high as the group of eight alchemists, Leader included, made their way down the ravine, their carts laden with yet more barrels of drinks and stores of meat.
Lune had made the preparations, but more than that, she was bringing her entire force with her, too. Those seven other assistants trailing behind her were all Level 15 and above. A commendable force...
2025-07-06 10:42:17 +0000 UTC View PostShe was not human.
Axel did not let the shock of her familiar features override his analytical gaze. From the moment he had ripped off her mask, he had been studying the woman’s every detail.
It was undoubtedly similar to a person’s, though perhaps too perfect in every facet. As if sculpted to life with an artisan’s touch, rather than one of nature’s make.
Axel's secon...
2025-07-06 10:40:45 +0000 UTC View Post~~~
They moved away from the estate, their pace light and easy.
The night sky shone with its usual auroral hues, though the jade colours were less oppressive that night, for the mountain was lit bright in lanterns, songs, and festive cheer.
The celebration of the Beheaded Phoenix Sect was in full swing, for the arrival of the Split-Headed Carnivore Sect had prompted even great...
2025-06-22 08:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post~~~
After Dai was done panicking, and Patriarch Shang was informed of the debacle involving Feng and Matriarch Chen Zijing, the Young Master returned to his estate, going once more over his preparation for the night ahead..
In the midst of his work, his mind went over the conversation he had with Lianshi and why she chose him.
Superior in the only way that mattered… That was...
2025-06-21 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post“The term, Feng (封), was once used to describe a certain, fantastical creature of legend. It is, in essence, an edible lump of meat with no discernible features. It has no head, limbs, or bones to speak of. Neither was it sentient, aggressive, or beholden to any defensive principles.
“It did, however, possess an absurdly powerful regen...
2025-06-20 08:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post~~~
“Alright, how many fingers am I holding up?”
Feng stared at Lianshi, a touch confused and a little insulted. “This feels… extremely basic.”
The two of them were alone back in his estate. Lianshi had both hands behind her back, obstructing them from Feng.
“Feng, if you can’t even get this right, then there’s no point continuing,” she stated bluntly. ...
2025-06-15 11:00:14 +0000 UTC View Post“You once stood by my side as we faced an entire mountain of Spirit Beasts,” Lianshi bitterly laughed. “You were ready to give your life for me then, even if it was for a cause you did not fully understand. You merely saw how desperate I was and decided you would die to see my ambitions fulfilled. And now you tell me you are too cowardly to confess a truth I already know?”
Feng gr...
2025-06-14 11:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post~~~
“Women… Quite frankly, I think you would be better without them, Boss. Most of them’re definitely gonna try and kill you one day.”
— The words spoken by a drunk alchemist to a certain Master, many centuries ago
----------------
Lianshi’s aura was suffocating.
Even if her wrath was not directed at him, it was impossible not to...
2025-06-13 12:00:16 +0000 UTC View Post“I take it… We won somehow?” Feng whispered. “Though I think… I’m missing most of my parts…”
His body was split into two. Lianshi had chewed his belly and midsection in twain, completely severing the top half of his torso from his legs and waist. His guts and spine were all over the wall and the floor.
His ribs were shattered like an egg, his chest ripped apart as he...
2025-06-08 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post~~~
Lianshi gasped, her consciousness snapped back to her body. Howls and roars clawed at her eardrums.
She was back in the cave. The horde was upon her.
On instinct, she tried raising her arms. Numb and broken, she could only make a half-decent guard before a Glacial Hound smashed into her, toppling her back.
The Spirit Beasts descended upon her, chilling fa...
2025-06-07 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostLianshi opened her eyes.
The cave was gone. Instead, a wide valley with blue skies greeted her.
Blue skies, she thought with a shock. Where was the green? Where were the auroral Jade Clouds?
She looked away and observed the rest of her baffling environment. The air was fragrant and sweet, heavy with the intoxicating scent of ripe meat. Lianshi saw the shapes of ‘pea...
2025-06-06 08:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostHis best friend had officially lost it.
Feng watched as Lianshi wrestled yet another bear to the ground, screaming incoherently as she stabbed it to death with a multitude of mutated limbs. A Glacial Hound tried attacking her from behind, but her winged arms snapped back and lanced itself upon the lunging ice wolf, killing it instantly.
“She’s insane!”
“She’s des...
2025-06-01 08:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Sorry… I should have let you win, huh?”
Lianshi glared at the boy — Feng — who came to sit beside her. She was outside the meeting hall, sitting upon the snowy steps with a handful of ice pressed against her bruised right eye and swelling jaw.
The other Elders and Sect Leaders were still inside. After losing the spar, the Matriarch had coldly asked her to exit the h...
2025-05-31 08:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post~~~
10 years ago…
“You will come back safe, right, Mom?”
Elder Chen Ziyu looked down at her daughter and smiled.
“My dearest Lianshi, no harm will come to me,” the woman whispered as she stroked her daughter’s hair. “I am simply attending a funeral. There’s no need to fret.”
“It’s grandma’s funeral,” Lianshi poute...
2025-05-30 10:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostThe Matriarch dropped him. Feng gasped for breath as he collapsed to the ground, eyes wide with horror.
“Monster… What…” he staggered back. “You are—”
“Do not act so repulsed,” the Matriarch tutted, the veil covering her face once more. “After all, this is what awaits you in your wife should you persist in this marriage. Lianshi is my daughter. She takes af...
2025-05-29 12:20:01 +0000 UTC View PostAuthor’s note:
Really long note ahead, so I apologise in advance. Only the first part is of practical significance, so I would advise just reading that and moving on.
‘To Devour the Crawling Gods’ has finally made it to the end of its First Act on RR, and will be reaching Chapter 100 on Patreon. It is my first proper story on both Royalroad and Patreon, and I ...
2025-05-29 12:03:05 +0000 UTC View Post“Thank you, Disciple Jin. You may return to my youngest daughter and guide her back to the monastery. I shall be with the Young Master for some time.”
Matriarch Chen’s voice was melodic, but each word carried a razor chill to them. Feng felt the hair on his neck stand — as if some giant, fanged beast was breathing down his neck.
One wrong move, one mere act that may indicate...
2025-05-28 10:40:18 +0000 UTC View PostThe meadow they were in turned silent. Feng felt at ease. To have finally confessed his failings and given voice to his new convictions was an indescribable relief.
He had initially wanted Lianshi to be the first to hear his confessions, but her continued absence had prevented such a thing. Left with few recourses, he instead sought for someone else to hear the resolution of his guilt bef...
2025-05-27 12:03:19 +0000 UTC View Post“Cultivators must court death. Defying impossible odds is the hallmark of all great masters of their destiny. The important thing, however, is to do it in moderation. No more than once a decade, if possible.
“Any more than that… Well, better pray for good luck.”
— Sage advice of an Immortal who tried (and failed) to court death in moderation
<... 2025-05-26 11:02:35 +0000 UTC View PostThe medical disciples checked on Jun and Shao with professional ease. Neither of their injuries was serious enough to warrant immediate surgery. Additionally, both had their spiritual shortages refilled by their recent meal of the Inner Province Young Master. Their conditions were thus stable.
A miracle, considering the battle they just went through. Moreover, the reward of their tribulat...
2025-05-25 12:36:17 +0000 UTC View PostPatriarch Shang was going to kill him.
Honestly, Dai would have let the man do it, for the senior disciple had failed at his job of protecting the Young Master utterly.
When he first heard that his lord was facing down another Young Masterfrom the Inner Province Sects, Dai had prepared himself for his death, even as he rushed to the arena stadium as fast as he could.
...
2025-05-24 12:46:30 +0000 UTC View PostIt had been a dangerous gamble on Feng’s part.
The second Divine Art of his Sect — [Severed Heads Apostles] — was a technique that had few unique variants created throughout its entire history. The technique’s direct nature of summoning previously decapitated beasts meant its purpose had fewer deviations to improve upon.
Faster summoning. Qi efficiency. Independent action am...
2025-05-23 10:54:06 +0000 UTC View PostIt could not be said to be a duel.
True, there were only two effective combatants fighting, and the grounds they fought on were indeed those of an arena. There was even an Elder on site who could serve as the necessary arbiter. By those accounts, the battle could technically be defined as a duel.
Yet, only a deranged idiot would call it such.
Faced with the collision of such t...
2025-05-22 20:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post~~~
“Humanity severed, Hunger unshaken.
“Bury your Heart under tar, and carve your name on Heaven’s breast.”
— Creed of the Howling Meadows
----------------------
Shao did not hold much hope for a victory.
Oh, sure, she agreed with the Young Master’s secret ‘plan’ and forced Jun to commit to his defence, but the disc...
2025-05-22 08:22:43 +0000 UTC View Post