Something's wrong with this demon.

Chapter 3 Sister

"Brother! Run!"

The burning flames illuminated half the night sky, and screams from all around surged in like a tide.

The brother and sister, who were running, tripped over the corpse on the ground.

When a hideous black shadow lunged at Luo Qingchen, his younger sister shielded him, only to have her body pierced by the shadow's claws.

He lunged at the dark figure without hesitation.

Meanwhile, the other claw of the opponent stabbed at him like a sharp blade.

At that moment, he felt no fear, only anger.

As he threw himself at the dark figure with a death wish, the figure's twisted and ugly body suddenly split in two, fell to the ground with a sizzling sound, and then turned into a pool of pus.

Ahead, a tall, thin figure dressed in a black robe with a full head of white hair stood there, carrying a sword.

The night wind ruffled his white hair and black robe.

On the chest of the black robe were embroidered three skulls stacked together, which looked lifelike, ferocious and terrifying in the firelight.

"Sorry, I'm a step too late."

He had a young and handsome face, and the sword in his hand was still dripping with the green blood of the monster he had just encountered. His tone carried a hint of regret.

Luo Qingchen hugged her sister, who was covered in blood.

"Brother, run...run!"

After saying her last words, my sister closed her eyes forever.

Luo Qingchen cried bitterly.

The white-haired youth sighed softly, then picked up his sword and prepared to leave.

Luo Qingchen suddenly knelt on the ground, her face streaked with tears, pleading, "Senior, please save my sister!"

The white-haired youth stopped and looked at him, saying, "She's already dead. I'm not a god, how can I save her? The demons haven't been completely eliminated yet, you'd better leave quickly."

After saying that, he walked towards the town center.

"Please! Save my sister! Save my sister!"

Luo Qingchen kowtowed repeatedly on the ground, crying and pleading as she did so. Her face was covered in tears and her forehead was covered in blood; she was helpless and desperate.

The white-haired youth ignored him, picked up his sword, and continued walking forward.

The sounds of kowtowing and weeping behind them continued, a grief so profound it seemed as if they had fallen into an endless abyss.

The white-haired youth shook his head helplessly and was about to quicken his pace to leave when he suddenly saw a small flag, about the size of a palm, lying on the ground beside him.

As Luo Qingchen was filled with grief and despair, the voice of the white-haired youth returned: "I can't bring her back to life, but her soul hasn't left yet. I can temporarily store it in this Ten Soul Banner. Keep it with you, so you'll have something to remember her by."

Luo Qingchen looked at him with tears streaming down her face, her mind blank, not understanding what he meant.

The white-haired youth held the tattered flag in one hand and made a hand seal with the other. He pointed at the girl's corpse in his arms, his fingers seemingly pulling at something, slowly pointing to the flag in his hand.

"Whoosh!"

The small flag flashed briefly before falling silent again.

"alright."

The white-haired youth handed the small flag in his hand to him, reminding him, "Your sister's soul is already inside this flag, but the Ten Soul Banner is severely damaged and can probably only last for another month at most. Also, you need to drip two drops of your essence blood every day to temporarily maintain the space inside; otherwise, it probably won't even last a month."

"A month is enough time for you to say goodbye to her."

He shoved the small flag into his hand.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back to look at the girl's corpse in his arms. He hesitated for a moment and then warned, "Your sister is quite pretty. You'd better destroy her body. Otherwise, someone might take her away and turn her into a corpse slave."

After saying that, he picked up his sword and strode away.

The surrounding houses were engulfed in even larger flames, and terrified screams and frantic running echoed through the streets and alleys, as if it were the end of the world.

When another elderly man with disheveled hair, dressed in a black robe with a skull, searched through the corpses on the ground one by one, he found this spot and saw a boy with tears streaming down his face raising his axe high and chopping down on the corpse of a girl on the ground.

The firelight illuminated the boy's tear-streaked, contorted face.

The boy used all his strength to strike down.

The disheveled old man paused for a moment, then came up to him.

Upon seeing the girl's body and face on the ground, his expression changed drastically, and he roared, "What are you doing? Why did you cut off her head?"

Luo Qingchen gripped the axe tightly, her face and body covered in her sister's blood, her body trembling uncontrollably.

He didn't speak, his eyes red as he stared at the disheveled old man in front of him.

The flames burning all around him made him look like a hideous demon who had just crawled out of a blood-soaked hell.

His eyes looked like they were bleeding.

"What a fine corpse slave! You ruined it, brat!"

Seeing that he didn't speak, and glancing at the girl on the ground, the disheveled old man was instantly enraged and raised his hand to kill him.

At that moment, several other figures dressed in black robes with skull designs rushed in from outside the town.

"Uncle-Master Wang, how did it go? Have all the demons been slain?"

Upon seeing the disheveled old man, the group quickly asked him a question.

The old man with disheveled hair glanced coldly at the blood-soaked youth before him, seemingly hesitant. He then turned and left, saying in a cold voice, "Follow me."

The young figures dressed in black robes quickly followed him into the town.

Only when the figures of the group completely disappeared into the distant firelight did Luo Qingchen finally collapse to the ground, her body limp.

He still gripped the axe tightly in his hand.

Looking at his sister's blood-soaked corpse, his eyes were vacant and his expression blank, as if he were just an empty shell.

Everything around him seemed to have nothing to do with him anymore.

He was awakened by screams coming from not far away.

"My sister's spirit is still here!"

He suddenly remembered something and, with trembling hands, pulled the tattered little flag from his pocket.

"The Demon-Suppressing Sect is so powerful, they can even collect a person's soul. Do they also have a way to help my sister rebuild her physical body?"

When he thought of these things, hope was immediately rekindled in his despairing heart.

So when the Demon-Slaying Sect disciple named Tian Feng came out of the town center, he took the initiative to step forward and begged the other party to accept him as a disciple.

Tian Feng happened to need a medicine man, so he took him back to the cave.

After several days of indirect inquiries, he didn't get the answer he wanted, but he did gain a lot of hope.

The damaged Ten Soul Banner can be repaired.

If the Ten Soul Banner is properly repaired and maintained, the souls inside can exist for a very long time.

Furthermore, the Ten Soul Banner can be upgraded.

If you upgrade to the Hundred Soul Banner, Thousand Soul Banner, or Ten Thousand Soul Banner, the souls inside will exist for a longer time, or even permanently.

Moreover, it is said that souls and magical artifacts, like cultivators, can also be upgraded.

"That way, even if my sister can't be brought back to life for now, she'll always be by my side..."

"Since the soul can be upgraded, then there is hope of reshaping the physical body..."

"Only by joining the Demon-Slaying Sect can you obtain these answers!"

The mountain wind howled, pulling him back to reality from his memories.

Looking at the tattered flag in his hand, and recalling the scene of his sister's death that night and his own choice, the grief that welled up in his heart quickly transformed into unwavering motivation.

"I must shed my identity as a drug user as soon as possible and become a disciple of the Demon-Slaying Sect!"

"The Ten Soul Banner only has one month left. Only by entering the sect as soon as possible can it be repaired!"

The sun was already setting in the west.

Wild animals may roam the mountains and forests at night, making it very dangerous.

He dared not stop and continued walking briskly.

"Whoosh—"

Just then, a red figure suddenly darted out from the bushes beside him and pounced on his right foot, which had just landed!

Luo Qingchen was startled and jumped up to dodge the opponent's lightning strike.

As soon as he landed, he hurriedly jumped forward a few steps.

Seeing that the other party did not chase after him, he turned his head and looked closely. The thing that had attacked him was actually a poisonous snake!

The venomous snake was over a meter long, with bright red scales all over its body. Its head was triangular, and it was coiled up there, flicking its tongue at him and making a hissing sound.

Luo Qingchen immediately went to find a wooden stick nearby and was about to hit it.

The venomous snake was quite clever; seeing him return with the stick, it immediately lowered its head and quickly crawled away into the bushes on the other side.

Seeing that the bushes were dense and the venomous snake had quickly disappeared, Luo Qingchen was afraid that it might be hiding inside and launching a sneak attack, so she didn't dare to chase after it.

Just as he was about to leave with the stick, he suddenly noticed several brightly colored mushrooms growing in the patch of grass where the venomous snake had just emerged.

By this time, the sun was almost setting.

When Luo Qingchen climbed up the hillside where the cave was located, night had already fallen silently.

The entire mountain forest suddenly darkened.

As Luo Qingchen was cautiously walking towards the cave, she suddenly heard voices coming from behind the rocks on her right.

"That kid isn't really not coming back, is he?"

"No, he's seen Master's methods these past few days, I doubt he'd dare."

Luo Qingchen held her breath and hid behind a large tree.

The conversation between the eldest brother Zhang Dashan and the second brother Yang Ming could be heard again.

"Senior Brother, you've been quite kind to that kid, giving him meat to eat and even giving him your only dagger. Are you afraid he'll die young and you'll suffer instead?"

"Hmph, if he dies so soon, you won't be any better off. Master is currently at a critical stage of his cultivation and needs fresh blood every few days. If we don't take good care of him, neither of us might be able to leave this cave."

"Indeed, but I doubt he can recover for much longer. Judging from that kid's health, he probably won't be able to hold on for more than a few more times. After all, there aren't any blood-replenishing pills for him here, and then..."

"It should be within the next few days. Master said this morning that we still need a fresh corpse to brew the medicine..."

"Oh?"

Yang Ming's voice suddenly became alert.

Neither of them spoke again.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Dashan emerged from behind the rock and said, "I'll go get him, lest he get eaten by wild animals."

Yang Ming followed him out, his eyes darting around as he stared at him.

At this moment, Luo Qingchen, who had already quietly retreated a distance, deliberately stepped on a dead branch on the ground, making a sound, and then walked over pantingly.

"Junior Brother Luo, you're back!"

Zhang Dashan immediately greeted him with a broad smile, his tone full of concern: "I thought something had happened to you on the way. I was just about to go down the mountain to look for you."

Yang Ming glanced at the two men with a gloomy look, then turned and walked towards the cave.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I'm fine."

Luo Qingchen wiped the sweat from her forehead, her expression calm.

"Croak—"

Night fell over the entire forest, and a crow flew overhead.

The two talked as they entered the cave together.