Chapter 70: Summoning the Demon Banquet (Part 2) – 4,000 Words Combined

"Damn, what is this!???"

Wang Wu put on his tattered clothes and rushed out of the bedroom. The living‑room light was still on, but there was nothing there. He looked toward the hallway leading to the door; it was pitch black. Looking back at the doorway, the massive stone used to block the entrance showed no sign of having been moved.

Everything seemed perfectly normal, with no sign of any mishap.

"Damn, what the hell is it?" Wang Wu felt cold sweat break out, because after circling outside, he heard a call again.

"Wang Wu..."

This time the voice was faint, as if it came from behind. Wang Wu spun around sharply, but saw nothing.

Strange.

At this moment, in Wang Wu's den, an oddness seeped from everywhere.

"Wu Lang?" The three female demons also stepped out of the bedroom, their faces showing fear.

"This, this is..."

"I don't know," Wang Wu shook his head, about to say something, when a flash of insight struck his mind. A crystal sprouted on Wang Wu's forehead.

It was the Demon Eye that appears on his forehead when he transforms into a Celestial Demon, which after the second tier unlocked an incomplete shapeshift function. Once his Ninth‑rank Celestial Demon body reaches Great Perfection, he can also adjust his transformed size.

The Demon Eye can not only be used to attack, but also to enhance Wang Wu's fire‑eye golden sight.

At this moment, under the Demon Eye, Wang Wu finally saw something different.

"There's something outside the door," Wang Wu said gravely, looking at the cave entrance blocked by the massive stone.

His gaze pierced the heavy stone, reaching the forest beyond the cave.

That thing was not close; it was at least several kilometers away from the cave where the demons were. Yet even so, it stared at the cave they lived in with its blood‑red eyes, fixedly.

It was a human, or rather, a "demon" that had transformed from a human.

Its head was twisted a full ninety degrees, the skull lying completely sideways, yet the facial features were arranged vertically.

"This is an error."

Such a thought surfaced in Wang Wu's mind, or rather, anyone who saw it would generate that thought in their heart: an "error", a mistake that should never exist in this world.

And this erroneous thing would cause every intelligent creature that sees it to feel an unspeakable, immense terror.

"That thing knows we're inside; it wants to lure us out," Wang Wu said. "But it's far away, dozens of li away."

"But, but..." Shu Niang looked fearfully toward the doorway, but she saw nothing.

Then she stepped forward and grabbed Wang Wu's hand: "But this way, it shouldn't be able to lead us out, right? Moreover, since it hasn't come over, does that mean the divine stone here is useful to it?"

"Yes," Wang Wu nodded. "So it lures us from outside; although it seems ineffective now, we can't say what would happen if it kept calling."

After speaking, Wang Wu brought his hand to his mouth and bit off his fingertip. Blood spurted from his finger, causing the three female demons to stare in shock.

"Wu Lang!" they shouted, "What are you doing? Wu Lang!! Wake up!!!"

"I'm fully awake," Wang Wu glanced at the few female demons, then stepped into the darkness‑swallowed corridor, beginning to scribble on the walls.

A Vajra Demon‑Suppressing Array made with one's own essence blood as material yields better results, and depending on the "incantation" used, it can have different functions.

The blood spilling from Wang Wu's fingertips was red, but when smeared on the wall it glimmered with golden light; the three female demons, watching the golden‑glowing characters in the darkness, instinctively felt a sense of unease.

But that discomfort vanished without a trace once the golden script sank into the wall.

The walls on both sides of the corridor, the massive stone at the entrance, even the kitchen, living room, bedroom, storage room, water‑fetching spot, and bathroom—almost every room was inscribed with incantations using Wang Wu's fingertip blood.

Although called incantations, they have little to do with actual spells; the specific characters are arbitrary. What truly determines the effect is the command in one's mind while channeling Geng‑metal Qi.

Wang Wu wrote the character "Extinguish" on the wall—the simplified Chinese character for "extinguish," chosen for its few strokes. The demons obviously couldn't identify the character, but just by looking they sensed it was extraordinary.

"Wu, Wu Lang?" Back in the living room, after writing the final "Extinguish," a hint of fatigue appeared on Wang Wu's face—not from excessive blood loss, but mainly from a large true‑qi consumption.

Seeing his condition, the three female demons hurried forward, their faces full of worry as they looked at him.

The Vajra Demon‑Suppressing Array's consumption can be very low or very high, depending on how many effects you activate and their intensity when setting the formation.

As for duration, if you replenish Geng‑metal Qi daily, it can be maintained indefinitely, unless you voluntarily disperse it.

Wang Wu, fearing mishaps, maxed out the Demon‑Suppressing Array. Even though his current strength might render its annihilation capability ineffective, its protection, concealment, and isolation functions are absolutely reliable.

And the metal‑based cultivation method truly lives up to its specialization against evil demons; after the final "Extinguish" was written and the formation activated, all the demons lingering in the cave instantly sensed a change in their dwelling's environment.

They couldn't articulate what had happened, but they vaguely felt that something had left.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Wang Wu waved his hand, plopped down on the floor, "Does it feel different now?"

"Yes, indeed!" The three women nodded in succession.

"I can't explain it, but I definitely feel something left," Shu Niang said, her face still very worried as she looked at Wang Wu: "Wu Lang, are you okay?"

"Wu Lang, are you really okay?" Wu Er Niang also sat on the floor, letting Wang Wu lean against her, her two hands gently embracing him, asking with concern.

"Of course I'm fine," Wang Wu said with a smile, waving his hand, leaning back a bit, "It's just that the consumption was heavy; a bite of food will fix it."

Zhu San Niang also sat down at this point, saying to the nearby Wu Er Niang, "Then Er Niang, go make a meal for Wu Lang; I'll let him lean on me."

"Alright," Wu Er Niang nodded, then got up and headed to the kitchen.

"I'll help you!" Shu Niang shouted, also scrambling up from the floor and running into the kitchen.

That night, none of the demons slept. Wu Er Niang used the fresh beef Wang Wu had obtained today to make a wild‑vegetable beef stew; there are several wild vegetables in Wang Gu Lin that are quite tasty, even needing no seasoning—just blanched in hot water they are very fresh and delicious.

Now, with various seasonings and Wu Er Niang's cooking skill, its deliciousness needs no further comment.

The demons have huge appetites, so the cookware is also large. The pot for the beef stew was about half a meter in diameter, capable of cooking a substantial amount at once.

The stew required a long cooking time, so while waiting, Shu Niang brought Wang Wu some refined rations, which were actually the main source of replenishing Wang Wu's energy.

Refined rations are far more suitable for demon physiology than ordinary food, capable of rapidly and massively replenishing the energy needed by super‑normal beings.

In fact, a few ration pills are enough for Wang Wu's body to absorb, accelerating blood production to replace lost blood, and his true qi also recovers faster thanks to the energy replenishment.

As for the beef stew, it was merely a garnish, but Wang Wu really wanted to eat it.

They didn't have much refined rations, so they had to ration them, eating ordinary food daily and saving the refined rations for when needed.

Anyway, refined rations are long‑term storage food, and there's no need to finish them quickly.

After resting for about three to four hours, at five o'clock the next morning, the demons also drank the beef broth Wu Er Niang had simmered.

In total there are thirty‑two jin of beef, at eight jin per monster. It's soft, tender, and flavorful. Wu Er Niang's cooking truly keeps getting better.

"Wu Lang, how are you now?"

At ten in the morning, the sun finally rose, and when the first ray of light fell into the forest, the voice of Zhu San Niang sounded beside Wang Wu, who had been meditating.

"I'm fine, what's the matter?" Wang Wu opened his eyes and looked at the female demon who had been watching him.

"I'm recovering quite well; don't act as if I've paid some huge price," Wang Wu said with a smile, seeing the worried expressions on their faces.

He then rose from the floor, went to the dent on the living‑room wall where a toothbrush cup was placed, mixed some tooth powder, fetched a cup of water from the kitchen, and prepared to go out and brush his teeth.

"Wu Lang! You can't go out!!"

Wu Er Niang, seeing Wang Wu's action, hurried to his front and stopped him, "You said yesterday that we should stay indoors all winter!!"

"Hey, don't worry," Wang Wu smiled, "I've already set up a Demon‑Suppressing Array in the house we live in, so the monsters outside can't get in at all and can't affect us."

Saying that, Wang Wu planted a kiss on Wu Er Niang's cheek; because she is nearly two meters tall, he had to stand on tiptoes, but that was unimportant.

"Today I plan to take the array outside and expand it a bit, linking it with the surrounding land, so our area of activity will also expand a little."

After speaking, Wang Wu kept moving forward, entered the corridor, and prepared to push open the main door.

"B‑but Wu Lang, you just used so much blood yesterday, and today you still want to use…" Shu Niang stepped forward then, speaking from behind Wang Wu, "How about waiting until tomorrow?"

Wang Wu stopped again, turned around, lowered his head, and kissed Shu Niang as well.

"Don't worry," he said, then turned to the doorway and kicked the huge stone outward.

The two female demons looked at Zhu San Niang, who hadn't spoken up, and she shook her head, saying softly, "Don't worry, we must trust Wu Lang. Since Wu Lang says it's fine, it must be fine."

"But if…"

The two female demons still seemed uneasy, but by then Wang Wu had already pushed the stone aside and walked out.

"It's fine," Zhu San Niang smiled, "We can die together with Wu Lang, that's not bad, right?"

The two female demons instantly had no objection and nodded.

"Yes, sister is right; if we can die together, that's not bad at all."

Outside the door, Wang Wu quickly finished brushing his teeth and prepared to start work.

Before stepping out, he had already used his Heavenly Demon Eye to survey the outside, and he wouldn't rashly go out until the situation was confirmed.

In fact, there were many things outside, just beyond the influence range of the relic's divine stones.

There were quite a few of them; after he left the cave, those creatures instantly noticed him and turned their gaze toward him.

Moreover, Wang Wu noticed that at the edge of the relic area, the divine stones used to block monsters had faded considerably in color compared to yesterday.

As time passes, the color of these stones—i. e., the Demon‑Suppressing Stones—will likely keep fading until they finally lose all effect.

The hawk clearly doesn't intend to harm me; after all, the divine stones do provide good protection against monsters.

If the strange human‑demon outside last night hadn't had the divine stone, Wang Wu and the others would probably have died in the cave.

That thing's power is terrifying; it has likely far surpassed the true realm.

Even though Wang Wu's Heavenly Demon Body moves faster than ordinary true‑realm masters, against such a being he would probably still be instantly killed.

And the horror of that thing goes far beyond that.

Its ability—to transmit sound to the ears of several demons even under the protection of the divine stones and affect their powers—is what truly leaves Wang Wu uneasy.

When he went out during the day, the monster was already gone, its whereabouts unknown.

Thinking of that, Wang Wu couldn't help but feel a bit worried. Not him and the three female demons in the cave, who have the Vajra Demon‑Suppressing Array; their safety is essentially assured.

Moreover, the food stored in the cave is more than enough for them to comfortably get through an entire winter.

What Wang Wu truly worries about is the human settlement outside Wang Gu Lin.

He isn't worried about the county town, which clearly has a powerful formation; he's actually concerned about the human villages outside the town.

Mainly the farmlands and pastures. This time the disturbance at Si Hun Shan is clearly unusual, and the villages where humans live may also be affected.

If the cultivated land gets polluted and livestock die in large numbers, next year could very well bring famine, which will inevitably affect his quality of life next year.

But for now, given Wang Wu's strength, there's little he can do.

Thus, although he worries, he is powerless.

He broke off a branch from a tree outside, and Wang Wu began to demarcate a plot outside the cave, not large—about a hundred square meters.

That's enough; a larger area would consume too much true Qi for maintenance, making it not worth it.

In the distance, pair after pair of eyes stared unblinkingly here, restless, their large mouths lined with serrated teeth gaping exaggeratedly, drooling.

Their skin seemed to cling only to the bones, with no flesh in between; the white eyeballs were veined with blood, and the pupils were a vivid crimson.

(End of Chapter)