Chapter 68: Insect Nest (Releases Tomorrow)

"What happened? And you? Will you be in danger?" Wang Wu asked.

Wang Wu had no particular reaction to Yuan's current state; she sometimes liked to use this form to scare Wang Wu, though she had never succeeded even once.

Yuan was not old; she had just turned eighteen before death, which is the ideal age for a female aristocratic sacrificial being. At eighteen she attained the True Realm, becoming a true demon; her talent in that regard was also quite formidable.

No wonder the Shang King gave his daughter such a hefty burial offering; an eighteen‑year‑old True Realm demonic cultivator was turned into a human sacrifice and cut into eight pieces. Moreover, although the Shang King had promoted another, less favored daughter, the High Priests ultimately chose Yuan.

However, this clearly involves a struggle between royal authority and divine authority, which is a fairly normal maneuver.

"I'm fine," Yuan said. "I came specifically to tell you. I'll hide in the tomb until next year."

"Hmm." Wang Wu nodded, patted himself and said, "You also must be careful; you're more dangerous in the mountains than I am."

"Someone has held a summoning demon banquet," Yuan continued. "Now the Demon Capital has awakened. The mountains, here, and even outside will become very dangerous."

"They are very hungry and will search everywhere for food. Don't let them find you, or they'll eat you. You must be careful."

"Here there is a divine stone; it's relatively safe. You must not go too far away."

After speaking, Yuan's head flew to Wang Wu's face and gently pecked his mouth. Then it quickly retreated into the darkness and vanished.

"You must be careful."

In the pitch black, Yuan's final words floated from afar.

Wang Wu stood in place for a while, his expression growing solemn, then turned toward the cave entrance, moved the massive anti‑theft door, and entered the cave.

Wang Wu's "anti‑theft door" was a stone human head he had salvaged from another Shang‑dynasty ruin, but it was not the "divine stone" Yuan mentioned. That object was a gray stone pillar covered in reliefs, common throughout the area, capable of radiating over a considerable distance.

Wang Wu had also seen this in He Dong Xian; it was called a Demon‑Suppressing Stone, cheap because people now have better Demon‑Binding Stones and Demon‑Eradicating Stones. It works on demons as well, effectively replacing the Demon‑Suppressing Stone's niche.

Wang Wu's cave has plenty of these, so this place is indeed relatively safe.

【8】 "Wu Lang!!"

Wu Lang!!

He moved the big stone at the entrance back, and three female monsters' voices rang out behind him. Wang Wu turned his head, looked toward the three tense heads peeking out from the corner at the end of the Guan Dao, and said with a smile:

"What's wrong? So scared?"

"That... that Yuan, that Yuan, left?" the lowest Shu Niang asked fearfully.

"That Yuan is outside; we don't even dare approach, let alone speak," Zhu San Niang, who was second, added.

"Yeah, yeah." The topmost Wu Er Niang nodded, "We also thought about getting close to her, but we were just too scared..."

At first the three monsters didn't think Yuan was a demon; after all, in their understanding, demons clearly cannot communicate. So although they were very afraid of Yuan, they only regarded her as a tremendously powerful vengeful spirit.

It wasn't until now that Yuan's true identity was revealed, and the three monsters finally understood why they feared her so much.

"It's fine, Yuan has already left," Wang Wu said as he took off his shoes and placed them in the hallway. After some renovations, his Gou Dong—no, tiger hole—no, now it should be called an insect nest.

His nest now truly feels like a home.

Wang Wu's race in this world belongs to insect demons, because his demonic avatar is based on an anime image from his hometown. It combines the protagonist from the manga "Strongly Armored" and the OVA "Beasts of the Void Realm."

Wang Wu has been fascinated with it since childhood; this kind of insect‑like bio‑mech he finds very cool. Everyone's demonic avatar is different; its exact appearance is entirely up to personal will.

The entrance hallway is about three meters long; the stone walls on both sides have recessed niches for shoes and other items, currently holding only shoes.

Beyond the hallway is the large hall that Wu Er Niang has widened for Wang Wu's home, covering roughly thirty square meters. It contains a table, a fireplace, a few chairs, and a beast‑skin "sofa". The table is actually a cut‑off log with hollowed sections underneath for legs, and the chairs were bought in the county town.

The fireplace's chimney runs straight to the mountaintop, built of bricks and stones, with its opening facing forward. Beside the chimney stand several divine stone pillars to ward off demons.

The cave where Wang Wu lives is hardly a mountain; it's actually a massive rock protruding from the ground, just over ten meters high and not very large in volume.

To the left of the living room is Wang Wu's bedroom, a single room also dug out by Zhu San Niang, about a dozen square meters. Wang Wu and the few female monsters sleep there at night.

Inside is a large bed made of wooden planks, covered with bedding. There are two wardrobes, three chests, and a full‑height mirror. Although there is a ventilation opening, the bedroom still has a certain smell—how to describe it… well, it's just a smell.

After all, four monsters sharing a room makes a bit of odor normal.

Exiting the bedroom to the left is a passage leading to an underground water source, where the bathroom is also located.

To the right of the bedroom is the restroom, which opens directly to the outside for easy disposal of waste. The exterior door is also blocked by a huge boulder.

Directly opposite the bedroom is the kitchen, about twenty square meters, the most furnished area, with all kinds of pots, bowls, pans, a stove, a water tank, a storage room, and a full set of amenities.

Though small like a sparrow, it has all the essentials. After some renovation, this original stone cave now resembles a home.

Four pillar lamps in the four corners of the living room illuminate the entire hall brightly.

In the living room, Wang Wu took out some of the food he had obtained today and placed it on the floor; the three female monsters' eyes lit up instantly upon seeing the bags.

"Wu Lang, what's this?" the dedicated chef Wu Er Niang walked to the bags, tore one open, and found pieces of already cured beef inside.

"I stopped a passing caravan on the Guan Dao today and bought a lot of food from them," Wang Wu said with a smile. "It was quite a lot; I originally planned to buy five thousand jin, but they gave me another five thousand jin for free."

"Is it really that good?" Zhu San Niang asked, surprised. "You didn't even charge any money, Wu Lang? Did you perhaps tamper with the food?"

(End of Chapter)