bookpub Chapter 144 Slaying the Demon
Chapter 144 Slaying the Demon
Night fell.
The entire village was plunged into darkness, devoid of light and sound.
Luo Qingchen led her horse and looked around.
The surroundings were deathly silent, and a nauseating smell hung in the air.
"Please come in, both guests."
The old man poked his head out of the door again, a kind smile on his face.
But that smile was somewhat eerie.
Luo Qingchen walked to the door and asked, "Is there anything to eat?"
The old man smiled and said, "Yes, there is meat and bones in the kitchen. The two guests can eat as much as they like."
Luo Qingchen glanced at the petite figure on horseback.
Ye Fu dismounted and stood behind him.
"Please come in, guests."
The old man, his body hunched over, led the way.
Luo Qingchen glanced at his lower body and noticed that his legs were short, and his upper and lower body were obviously asymmetrical, as if they had been forcibly sewn together, despite his wearing a skirt.
"Honey, we have guests. Hurry up and prepare some food in the kitchen."
The old man called out into the yard.
An old woman's head, with gray hair, emerged from the well in the yard.
She spread her arms, as if trying to climb out of the well, but she was too weak and gasped, "Help...help me, I'm going to fall in..."
The old man quickly bent over, ran over, grabbed her arms with both hands, and pulled her up forcefully.
However, he didn't seem to have the strength.
He had no choice but to turn to Luo Qingchen and the other person and say, "Guests, please come and help! My wife has fallen into the well."
Luo Qingchen walked over, and with a flash of light, chopped off his head.
The old man's head flew off, rolling to the ground with a "thud," then stared wide-eyed at him, mouth agape, and said, "Guest, what are you doing? Why did you cut off my head?"
The old woman, who was lying by the well, cried out, "You wicked man, why did you cut off my husband's head?"
As she spoke, she strained with all her might and finally climbed out of the well.
She had no lower body; beneath her skirt was a thin, long, serpentine, yellowish-brown tail.
"Aww!"
She suddenly roared, raised her head, grinned, revealing two rows of sharp fangs, and her whole body was enveloped in billowing black mist, rapidly expanding and growing larger, her eyes turning scarlet!
With a "poof," two black, sharp claws emerged from the old man's headless corpse's chest!
In an instant, the entire courtyard was filled with thunderous roars and billowing demonic energy!
The old man lunged at Luo Qingchen.
The old woman lunged at Ye Fu.
Luo Qingchen took a step back, swung his sword and slashed, creating a gust of wind.
The old man dodged the first blow and was about to pounce when Luo Qingchen suddenly spun his sword and cleaved him in two from behind. The old man's two halves fell to the ground, billowing black mist, and were about to rejoin each other when Luo Qingchen plunged another blade into his heart!
the other side.
Ye Fu drew her short sword, and in a flash, she disappeared from the spot.
In the blink of an eye, the old woman's enlarged body suddenly broke in two and fell to the ground.
Green blood spurted out.
As the old woman was writhing on the ground, Ye Fu stepped on her back and crushed her heart with a "smack".
At this moment, she turned her head and saw that the old man who had been the demon next to her had turned into a dried-up corpse.
Immediately, the dried corpse turned into a cloud of black mist and disappeared.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, two thick green blood pillars suddenly flew out from the old woman's corpse at her feet, then merged into one, quickly flowing into his palm and disappearing.
In the blink of an eye, the monster she killed also turned into a dried corpse, and then turned into black mist and disappeared.
Even the green blood on the ground was completely sucked away.
Luo Qingchen contentedly withdrew her hand and looked inside her body.
Inside his body, the amount of gilded blood had skyrocketed from 2/1000 to 95/1000!
Monsters are definitely more effective!
However, it seems that these two monsters are not very strong.
The effect would be even better if it were a stronger monster.
He then looked at the cultivation process within his body.
The cultivation progress also jumped from 700/5000 to 850/5000 in an instant!
Indeed, combat is the only way to accelerate cultivation!
At that moment, he noticed that his junior sister Ye was staring intently at his palm.
He said, "You have vampire bats, I have vampire claws."
Now that he already knows her secret, he is naturally not afraid that she will know his secret.
After saying that, he gripped the knife and went into the kitchen.
Three corpses lay in the kitchen.
The bodies were mutilated, revealing bare bones, and were already decomposed; clearly, they belonged to a family of three.
After leaving the kitchen, he went back into the house but did not find any other bodies.
"Let's go, next place."
He gripped the knife and eagerly headed for the door.
He now likes monsters.
But suddenly, he felt something was wrong.
Why is it that every time he sees a monster, he feels an involuntary surge of killing intent, and at that moment, a strong bloodlust urges him to slay the monster?
Only when the monster before him fell did he feel a sense of relief.
"Is it because of the impact of my sister being killed by a monster in front of me while trying to save me?"
He secretly guessed what was going on in his mind.
He and the demons were, of course, sworn enemies.
But the feeling just now didn't seem to be driven by hatred; rather, it was a vague sense of being out of control that made him feel uneasy.
That petite figure silently followed behind him.
The horses outside the door had vanished, probably scared away by the roars of the two demons.
"Squeak..."
He pushed open the door of another house.
Several pools of dark blood remained on the ground in the courtyard.
There were no corpses, no living people, and no monsters either.
He went inside and searched carefully, but found nothing.
He then went to the next house.
This time, as soon as he pushed open the courtyard gate, he saw the lights on inside the house.
Inside the hall, three figures sat at the table, chopsticks in their hands, seemingly a family of three having dinner.
"Who's here?"
Just then, a woman's voice rang out from inside the house.
Luo Qingchen didn't answer. Carrying the knife, she walked through the courtyard, stepped over the threshold, and entered the hall.
At the table, a woman's head, connected to the body of a black dog, sat upright.
On either side of the woman sat a man with a human head and a sheep's body, and a boy with a human head and a chicken's body.
All three "people" were holding chopsticks.
On the table lay a mangled corpse with exposed ribs.
The corpse was a woman's body with a man's head, pieced together.
"What are you doing here? Why are you trespassing in our home?"
The woman glared at the two people in front of her, her face full of anger.
Luo Qingchen had read in books that many monsters, after killing someone, like to imitate the victim's lifestyle, language, actions, family, and so on.
Sometimes, while acting, they even forget that they are monsters.
Of course, low-level monsters don't act very convincingly.
Language and actions may sometimes be the same, but their behavior is always difficult to escape the habits of monsters.
"Would you two like to sit down and have a meal together?"
The man with the human head and sheep body was very hospitable.
The woman glared and snapped, "Shut up! We don't even have enough food for ourselves, where would we get any for them!"
The boy with a human head and a chicken's body flapped his two clawed wings and cried, "Mother, I want to eat meat!"
Luo Qingchen turned her head to look at the corner on the right, where three mutilated corpses lay, already rotting, emitting a pungent stench.
"Whoosh!"
A flash of light.
He slashed at the nearest man with a human head and a sheep's body.
The man grabbed the hilt of the knife and roared, "What are you doing? I invited you to dinner, and you still want to kill me?" As he spoke, black mist suddenly billowed around his body, his mouth split open, his body suddenly grew larger, two sharp horns sprouted from his forehead, and his eyes instantly turned scarlet.
Luo Qingchen exerted a sudden force, causing a powerful gust of wind to swirl around the blade, and immense power suddenly filled the sharp edge.
Before the horned monster could fully transform, one of its claws was severed by his blade.
"roar"
It immediately flew into a rage, opened its blood-red maw full of fangs, and pounced on him.
The other two monsters were instantly unleashed with their berserk demonic nature, transforming themselves and lunging at the two with ferocious expressions.
In an instant, blades flashed and figures shifted.
The monster roared and swung its claws.
The already dilapidated house collapsed quickly.
When all three monsters developed wounds, Luo Qingchen immediately activated her life-steal skill.
Before long, the three monsters that had been so ferocious just moments before collapsed to the ground, instantly turning into three hideous, dried-up corpses.
Then, it turned into three wisps of black mist and disappeared.
Did you notice?
After Luo Qingchen finished drinking the blood of the three demons, she turned her head and looked at the petite figure beside her.
"Every time we face these monsters, we feel an urge within us, an urge to kill them. Do you feel that way?"
He felt something was very wrong.
Ye Fu seemed to think for a moment, then nodded.
"So you have it too."
Seeing that she wasn't overthinking things, Luo Qingchen's face showed a thoughtful and solemn expression.
"Could it be because of the cultivation techniques we practice? Our techniques are all designed to counteract demonic creatures, but could they also have a backlash, stirring up the demonic nature within us?"
He seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps asking her a question.
"The demonic nature within us?"
She doesn't seem to understand.
Luo Qingchen said, "Everyone has a demonic nature within them, but we can control it and prevent it from taking over our minds. Some demons take advantage of this demonic nature in humans to possess their souls and control their bodies."
She blinked her dark eyes, looking somewhat confused.
Luo Qingchen felt that sometimes she was too smart, and sometimes talking to her was like talking to a brick wall.
For example, right now.
"Okay, let's go to the next one."
He stopped talking, picked up his knife, and continued his search for the monster.
Within his body, the cultivation progress has increased from 850/5000 to 1000/5000.
The gilded blood has also increased from 95/1000 to 230/1000.
If more monsters came, he felt that he might actually be able to upgrade his blood again.
The next level of gilded blood is black gold blood.
If the blood is upgraded to Xuanjin blood, the effects of the medicinal bath may double again.
It seems that gilded blood can also upgrade the quality of magical artifacts.
Then the effects of Xuanjin blood should be even better.
Once he breaks through to the Tongqiao Realm, opens his Danhai, and possesses Xuan Power, he will be able to use magical artifacts.
At that time, the blood in his second health bar will likely be of great use!
"Squeak..."
He pushed open the wooden door of another house.
Unfortunately, there was nothing in the house, not even a body.
He then moved on to the next place to look.
I searched from one end of the village to the other.
Apart from some broken and rotting corpses, the two found no other monsters or living people.
The entire village was deserted.
"The villagers are all dead or have already escaped, so why haven't those monsters left?"
He secretly wondered.
At this point, both of them were exhausted, so they randomly found an empty house without any corpses and rested inside.
They started a fire and roasted some dried meat.
He handed the first piece of charred jerky to the corner next to him.
She was sitting there, leaning against the wall behind her, her petite body blending into the darkness, motionless, and not even breathing, seemingly asleep.
Just as he was about to take the jerky back, she suddenly reached out and took it away.
I'm tired.
She spoke.
Luo Qingchen, roasting a second piece of jerky, said, "Then you go to sleep first. Don't worry, I'll keep watch over you."
"Would you secretly leave alone?"
She suddenly asked.
Luo Qingchen took a bite of the dried meat and said, "No."
"Because you still need me to help you kill monsters, right?"
She watched him in the darkness.
Luo Qingchen chewed on the dry, hard jerky and said frankly, "Yes."
"I'm glad I'm still useful to you."
She finished speaking calmly and then lowered her head to eat.
After taking a few bites, she said, "It's so hard, I can't swallow it."
Luo Qingchen said, "You can drink some water first."
He was a little confused; he had assumed she wouldn't eat the food he offered her.
A qualified disciple of the Demonic Sect would never eat food from another disciple, especially considering how harshly she had treated him before. Wasn't she afraid he would take the opportunity to poison her?
"Rat meat still tastes better."
She swallowed the jerky with force, then got up from the corner, looking as if she was about to catch a mouse.
Luo Qingchen reminded her, "Don't go too far."
Instead of leaving, she came to him and said, "Can I sleep leaning against you like I did during the day when I was riding a horse?"
Luo Qingchen was taken aback upon hearing this.
"The wall is so hard, it's uncomfortable."
She said something, and before he could answer, she reached out and pried open his arms and legs, then lifted her foot between his legs, sat down with her back to him, and leaned into his arms.
Her petite body was completely enveloped in his embrace.
She closed her eyes and said, "This feels more comfortable."
Then he added, "I'll help you kill monsters, and you can hold me while you sleep. We'll be even."
As Luo Qingchen felt her petite and soft body, she thought to herself: Actually, I'm the one who benefits from both of these things.
Of course, she didn't seem to treat her as a girl, or rather, as a normal girl.
Luo Qingchen didn't say anything and continued eating the dried meat.
"Why are you hard?"
She suddenly opened her eyes, turned her head and asked in confusion, touching the ground as she spoke.
Luo Qingchen said, "One is on horseback, and the other is on the ground. Why do you think that is?"
"oh."
She said "Oh," nestled back into his arms, and closed her eyes.
She soon drifted off to sleep.
"It seems she's not worried at all about me taking the opportunity to kill her."
Luo Qingchen was starting to have trouble understanding her current thoughts and actions.
After finishing the dried meat, he drank some water, then leaned against the wall behind him and closed his eyes.
I'm so tired.
He was about to take a short nap.
But this sleep seemed to last until dawn.
When he suddenly awoke and opened his eyes, he found everything peaceful; no monsters or other dangers appeared. Outside the window, a long-awaited ray of sunlight shone.
It was early morning.
The orange-yellow dawn, seemingly the most beautiful color in the world, illuminated his eyes, which appeared to have long been accustomed to darkness.
The sun is so beautiful.
He thought to himself, a hint of dazedness creeping across his face.
At that moment, the petite body in her arms stirred.
He looked down and found that she seemed to still be sleeping soundly, and that his arms had somehow ended up embracing her.
The tiny girl was held tightly in his big arms.
He paused for a moment, then quickly and quietly loosened his grip.
But he suddenly realized that she was too close, sitting in a place she shouldn't have, and getting into trouble she shouldn't have gotten into.
This is how it is every morning.
He thought to himself and quickly retreated quietly.
"You're pressing against me and it hurts so much."
She suddenly turned her head, her dark and cold eyes staring at him.
It turned out she had been awake for a while.
Luo Qingchen suddenly stood up and said, "Let's go, let's continue searching for the monsters."
He was the first to leave the house.
When he entered the courtyard, the moment the sunlight fell on him, he felt his whole body enveloped in warmth, a comforting and pleasant sensation. She, however, stood in the shadows inside the doorway, watching him, and did not immediately come out.
"Maybe you should come out and give it a try."
He stood in the sunlight, his gaze fixed on her.
She shook her head.
"Let's go."
Luo Qingchen didn't say anything more and prepared to leave.
But suddenly, he stopped and looked toward the woodshed on his left.
There was a hole in the bottom of the wooden door to the woodshed.
A skeletal hand, trembling, slowly crawled out of the cave.