Chapter 42: Demon (IV)

"Young hero, do you think I'm foolish? I have the strength to approach the True Realm, yet I became a human's slave so easily, and from then on have no way out."

After hearing Wu Lian's story, Wang Wu was silent for a long while. Yet after entering Wang Gu Lin, Wu Lian seemed to open up, becoming much more proactive.

Seeing Wang Wu still not speak, she took the initiative to ask.

"Indeed, a bit," Wang Wu didn't deny, "but you, as a monster, weren't living in some monster city before, right? I guess in human society you hadn't been to He Dong Xian much, or perhaps never stayed long?"

"That's exactly the case." Wu Lian smiled and nodded, this time not a bitter smile. In Wang Gu Lin she seemed quite relaxed.

"When I was a child I also went to human lands. I was born with a divine ability that fears not the Monster-detecting Stone or the like; ordinary great arrays that exterminate demons have little effect on me."

"Even if I visited a few times, it was only a cursory glance; I only found human society colorful and far surpassing the mountains I lived in. Yet that knowledge was merely fleeting shadows."

"Huh, quite cultured." He sighed upon hearing Wu Lian spout a few idioms at once.

"Young hero, you flatter me." Wu Lian smiled again.

"So now, have you gained a deeper understanding of human society?" Wang Wu asked, looking at Wu Lian.

Wu Lian fell silent.

Even though Wang Wu had killed the chat, he didn't feel embarrassed, and continued to speak to himself: "You say you have no way out, but there's no need to be so pessimistic."

Even without looking at Wu Lian, Wang Wu could sense the emotional fluctuation in her gaze as she looked at him when he spoke.

"However, there may be some other issues that need to be resolved first."

Wang Wu said.

At this moment, the two had arrived at the large pit Zhu San Niang uses to discard corpses. The pit, of course, wasn't dug by her; all nearby monsters bring bodies here, but now only Zhu San Niang and a few of her kind remain in this area.

As for who originally dug the pit, who the hell knows.

The pit was soaked in blood and littered with corpses; murderous aura surged skyward, even blackening the air.

Before even entering Wang Gu Lin, this murderous aura could be smelled from a distance of one or two kilometers.

For them, the monsters, there are also other entities—ghosts, demons.

Such a scent is essentially a gamble to them, constantly tugging at their nerves, compelling them to approach involuntarily.

At this time, the pit was filled with countless figures: some bodies rotted and swollen like giants; others hunchbacked, short, and gaunt.

Some had blue faces, fangs, long faces, red eyes.

But without exception, they were all humanoid, or nearly so.

They lay in the pit, constantly gnawing and fighting over flesh unmistakably human. Some corpse fragments wore white garments, others a black robe.

Humans, you know, they smell fragrant, taste foul; monsters that have eaten humans all give that assessment. Of course, stealthy demons certainly don't care.

"I'm not talking about those evil ghosts and demons," Wang Wu said as he saw Wu Lian about to act.

"Young hero, what do you mean?" Wu Lian asked, a bit puzzled, but Wang Wu already had both feet planted, stamping the ground with a booming crack.

Boom—!!!

He shot out like a cannonball toward a giant tree outside the pit. Nothing stood there, yet as Wang Wu drew near, a startled cry sounded:

Eek!!

On the tree, no one had expected Wang Wu to find the tall, slender Taoist; now the man was bewildered.

Until Wang Wu seized his throat, Geng Metal true Qi raged into him, inflating his skin until it exploded, blood spurted, and he finally reacted.

But by then he could no longer break free, and the searing pain from his torn skin made him scream from the agony.

"Dammit, I can't beat the evil ghosts and demons, I can't even beat you??? "

Looking at the man in his grasp, Wang Wu's expression grew grim, and he leapt down from the giant tree to stand beside Wu Lian.

Before they neared the big pit, they had suffered attacks from stealthy demons, but once at the pit's edge, they were as if invisible; the creatures ripping and scrambling inside the pit didn't even spare a glance.

"Is this your doing?"

Wang Wu stared at the man he was choking, whose eyeballs were about to burst from their sockets, realizing that further squeezing could kill him.

But now he was also near death; Geng Metal Qi leans toward offensive use, and while it can aid healing, it's clearly more apt for killing.

The raging true Qi surged through Xuan Youzi's body, rattling his meridians, colliding with his own Qi, tearing each other apart, resulting in grave secondary damage.

"Immortal, Immortal Elder… Uwaa…!!"

Xuan Youzi lay on the ground, coughing up a mouthful of fresh blood. In that instant his spirit was utterly destroyed, his will to resist or flee gone, leaving only an infinite yearning for life.

"Immortal Elder, spare me! Real person, spare me, spare me!!"

"I'm just, I'm just a pawn… this matter, this matter is… all was ordered by the Song family, I was merely… merely… Pfft…!!"

Watching the Daoist's life flame flicker away, Wang Wu couldn't help but wonder.

How could he draw so many bizarre monsters, yet his power is so feeble?

"It's merely a blood sacrifice to summon forest evils, not any high‑level technique," Wu Lian, apparently noticing Wang Wu's doubt, said:

"Using human victims as offerings summons forest evils, a common practice among evil cultivators. As for why he hasn't left, judging by the pit's arrangement, he may be trying to forge a treasure using the pit's formation."

"Only, now there's no chance left."

Wu Lian stared at the man on the ground writhing uselessly, and said coldly:

"Do you want to live?" Wang Wu, looking down from his height at the Taoist twitching from a pain that reached his soul, asked.

"I want, I want! Immortal Elder! Real person! Please spare me, spare me!! I will be your ox and horse, I will give everything!!!"

"Which comrades do you still have, where are they now, how do you contact them? And that Song family, which Song family is it?"

"I have two companions, a Dao Qin and a Yuan Feng, Pfft— both are cultivators registered in He Dong Xian! One man, one woman, one plump, one thin! The man dons a teal‑blue Taoist robe, the woman… ahem, the woman wears a light green Taoist robe, middle‑aged appearance…"

"Those two are now at Xi Mang Village, north of He Xi Xian direction, waiting for me!! The location is the village's northern inn!"

"That Song family is the He Xi Song family, a trading house. Its head is Song Shanlin…"

"Immortal Elder, ahem, Immortal Elder save me, save me!!! Immortal Elder!!" With his body growing heavier, Xuan Youzi stretched a hand toward Wang Wu, begging:

"Immortal Elder… please, please you…"

"Fine." Wang Wu nodded, then smiled, "I will give you a release, send you to heaven…"

Having finished speaking, Wang Wu drew his long sword and cut down with a single slash.

Sheathing his blade, he looked at the ragged corpse on the ground, split in two, and Wang Wu noticed that something was flickering at its lower abdomen.

That must be the "Human Pill" Zhu San Niang mentioned.

"That should be the Human Pill, right?" Wang Wu used his sword to cut open the evil cultivator's belly, extracted a thumb‑sized, pearl‑like, milky white sphere, held it in his hand, and asked.

To be honest, just a few days ago Wang Wu was only a kind monster who wouldn't even dare kill a human, though that was just a polite remark. Yet now he is quite proficient at doing this.

After all, dissecting a person is no different from dissecting a wild boar.

Out in the wild there are no conditions, so he couldn't process the pig's entrails, and thus had to do it himself and discard them. Honestly, it's a pity, because Wang Wu quite enjoys eating pork offal.

"Yes." Wu Lian nodded.

"I have nothing to repay you, Miss, so I can only give you this Human Pill," Wang Wu handed the Human Pill over.

"Although it's of no use to me now, thank you, Young Hero," Wu Lian said respectfully. Then she looked at Wang Wu, eyes hopeful: "What you said earlier about not needing to be so pessimistic referred to…"

"I'll tell you about that later," Wang Wu said, "First, let's deal with what's in this pit; I need to retrieve the silver the Wang Clan left here."

"Alright." Wu Lian nodded, then began to summon demonic energy, and gusts of demonic wind immediately appeared in the forest.

The demonic aura, like a sharp blade, rolled the skulking evil spirits in the pit, sliced them, and twisted them to dust. Immediately, stones and bones from the pit also flew up.

Wang Wu saw several boxes among them, as well as silver coins scattered from the opened boxes.

"Those are the boxes," Wang Wu said.

Thus the boxes and silver coins flew and fell before Wang Wu, while the other things in the pit continued to be sliced and shredded. Inside, Wang Wu saw some dark‑yellow talisman papers and some strange stones.

As those talisman papers and stones were shredded, the malevolent aura that had been drifting in this space was instantly weakened by more than half.

Although it still remains, strong and dense, one can feel it gradually fading; with time it is expected to vanish completely.

Of course, the most important thing is that its attraction is no longer so strong.

The major disturbance in the pit has been dealt with, and over here Wang Wu has already placed all the silver into the box, closed it again, and stored it back into the ring.

"Young Hero, is it settled?" Wu Lian asked.

"All set." Wang Wu nodded, then looked at her, "Extend your hand, I'll take a look for you."

"Perhaps I do have a method, but I can't guarantee it," Wang Wu said as he grasped Wu Lian's hand and slowly infused Geng Metal Qi into her meridians.

"You saved my life; I will remember this favor. I will find a way to get you out of this."

"It's a pity, if you had never had any contact with that Sun Clan, it might have been easier."

While speaking, Wang Wu's Geng Metal Qi roamed within Wu Lian's body, giving him a glimpse of the detailed internal structure of his own kind, though he didn't know how it works in humans.

Deep in her dantian, Wang Wu also saw that thing.

That must be the "Seal" she mentioned, pressed tightly against the demon pill in her dantian, binding it firmly.

"Done." Wang Wu released his grip, looking at Wu Lian; her golden eyes were still very calm, yet Wang Wu could see a hint of hope and tension within them.

"I do have a way, but it will take time."

Wang Wu said.

(End of Chapter)