Chapter 14: The Lamps of All Beings, the Sick Domain!

Jiang Yan was speechless; could it be that he possessed a hidden historical talent—Tang Monk's flesh?

Otherwise, how to explain... he just encountered the Corpse-Dispersal Wang Ting during the day, and now another one has come running at night?

It couldn't be the God of Misfortune's favor, could it?

That's right, the Chen Yu before him, or rather the thing inside her body, was a mutated creature.

For Jiang Yan, who had just refined the Lamp of Ashes, he saw two lamps entangled on her body through the door's peephole.

One burned with a dark red flame, already dim, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

The other was ink-green, burning fiercely; the entire lamp body looked ferocious, covered in abundant white hair, clinging to the red life-lamp like a maggot on bone.

Greedily sucking the vitality from within.

Why would such a monster appear in the present world??

Even General Lu, lacking a present-world anchor, was forcibly pushed back into the depths of history.

He had lived here for many years, and even those around him had encountered few strange events, indicating that mutated creatures were far fewer than imagined.

The only one he had seen was the Rice God Church, such a secret society.

Therefore, Jiang Yan's first reaction upon seeing this creature was...

This creature likely has an organization behind it!

And its power is not small.

Could it be... Pan'an County has become a demon nest?

Out of caution, Jiang Yan gave her one more chance, telling her not to trouble him.

But she still insisted on entering, which meant...

She had already set her sights on him!

In that case, Jiang Yan showed no mercy; he let her in directly, preparing to subdue her with full force before interrogating her for information.

He just didn't expect...

"So weak!"

Jiang Yan looked at the mutated creature he was holding by the head with some confusion; had he not held back a bit of strength, he would have crushed it on the spot.

This strength... wasn't even half as strong as the Vajra Sow Cavalry.

But thinking about it, the Vajra Sow Cavalry was no pushover; they were at least regular soldiers of the Corpse-Dispersal Wang Ting, blessed by the Vajra Sow Seal, possessing powerful physiques while also having eight severed limb-hooves, allowing them to scale walls and run on eaves, with terrifying mobility.

A modern special tactical squad of fewer than thirty people might not even be able to take one down.

As for General Lu, he was a lone guardian, impossible for ten thousand to break.

Of course, this took into account the factor that ordinary people did not understand supernatural powers and reacted inadequately.

If high-caliber firepower were used to suppress, then what he said didn't count.

But General Lu, judging by his name, was merely a mid-level cadre of the Corpse-Dispersal Wang Ting.

It was hard to imagine what mighty power the Lord of the Corpse-Dispersal Wang Ting possessed.

"This creature's white fur looks a bit like the legendary... demon?" Jiang Yan sized it up and down, reaching a conclusion.

In the folk circle, demons, ghosts, and monsters were not one thing, but divided into four major categories.

"Yao" refers to human fakes, characterized by humans transforming or animals taking human form, such as fox demons and human-ghosts.

"Jing" refers to the spiritual nature of objects, such as mountains, stones, plants, and animals not appearing in human form, like mountain spiders and Wangxiang.

"Gui" refers to souls that do not disperse, appearing as ghosts or spirits, such as Painted Skin and Chang Ghosts.

"Guai" covered a much broader range; anything unseen or incomprehensible could be called a "Guai," such as the Sky Dog and the Ba Snake recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

As for Immortals and Gods, they did not belong to these four categories.

However, after the river of history mutated, these monsters might have undergone earth-shaking changes, and one could not view them with old eyes.

One must keep pace with the times.

Jiang Yan asked, "What is the name of the organization behind you? Where is it hidden?"

He was naturally timid; once he made an enemy, he would toss and turn all night, unable to sleep.

In that case, he might as well investigate the enemy's true strength; if they were not strong, he would send them to reunite, while also breeding some new offspring.

If they were strong, he would just develop for a while, waiting to improve his strength before dealing with them.

Hearing Jiang Yan's question, Chen Yu was also completely baffled, saying painfully, "What organization? I really don't know..."

"Her bones are tough." Jiang Yan was not surprised by this; a creature able to lurk in the present world for so long must be an organized, large-scale evil group that would not make noise outside, or it would have been discovered long ago.

In that case...

Crack crack crack!

Jiang Yan coughed lightly; the zipper of the backpack in the corner opened, and a large amount of blood threads spread out, quickly condensing into a bizarre and terrifying blood coffin, emitting an ominous aura.

This scene made Chen Yu even more certain in her heart...

This creature was absolutely some kind of great demon wearing human skin.

The Burial Coffin slowly opened, and thousands of blood threads spread out, wrapping around Chen Yu; in her terrified gaze, they dragged her inside, into a dark space.

Dead silence... tranquility...

But her body was not attacked.

This made 'Chen Yu' unable to help but sigh with relief, coldly sneering in her heart; it was just imprisonment, what did that matter?

But she failed to notice...

In the darkness, the Eye of the Burial Coffin had already opened, silently gazing at it.

The aura of death gradually spread.

In Room 401, after Jiang Yan finished his shower and came out, the Coffin Spirit told him that 'Chen Yu' had submitted and was willing to confess everything.

He was not the slightest bit surprised by this.

Because the strongest ability of the Burial Coffin was never the blood threads or the white bone, but rather…

Burial!

Once suppressed inside the coffin, one would be enveloped by the Coffin Spirit's Eye, losing all sense of time, experiencing endless darkness… eternal silence…

And experiencing death!

One could feel one's body slowly dissolving, rotting, and finally turning to dust.

For the dead, it is peace, the cycle of life, but for any being with intelligence and emotion, it is the ultimate torment.

Crack! Crack!

The coffin lid opened, and 'Chen Yu' stumbled out, her gaze vacant. She froze for a moment upon seeing Jiang Yan, then a look of terror surfaced, her body trembling uncontrollably.

She didn't know how long she had been locked away—years… or decades—but no matter what, she never wanted to experience that feeling again.

A fate truly worse than death!

Jiang Yan looked down at her from above, further pressuring her psychological defenses, and said indifferently:

"Speak. Why did you target me?"

He remembered what the woman Rice God had taught him once said—that his spiritual nature was abundant. Could it be that he was emitting an aura that lured these diseased beings?

Or was it that extraordinary beings shared a special perception, drawing each other together?

If that were truly the case, then he needed to find some skills to conceal his aura, or it would be troublesome to be targeted by high-level diseased creatures.

As he was pondering, Chen Yu answered:

"Because… you're handsome."

Jiang Yan slowly typed out a "?".

Is there something wrong with you, or something wrong with me?

Being handsome is a crime now?

If that's really the case, then he truly bore a grave sin, shouldering the sins of this world!

However… Jiang Yan narrowed his eyes, suspecting this fellow was taking him for a ride.

But after detailed interrogation, he discovered,

This fellow really wasn't lying!

First, this diseased creature had no backing, and Pan'an County hadn't become a demon nest, but its origins were no small matter.

Because it had escaped from a diseased domain ruled by a powerful being!

This was also its first time in the present world. Before this, it could never have imagined that such a prosperous and beautiful place existed in the world.

After arriving in the present world, it had initially thought about going straight, living a low-profile life within human society.

But human flesh and blood was simply too tempting,

My friend, you smell so good!

Hiding among them, it smelled that scent every day but couldn't eat. This extreme hunger drove it nearly mad.

Moreover, these demons came from the past. Without enough flesh and blood to anchor themselves, they could very likely be dragged back by the River of History.

It didn't want to return to that nightmare-like place.

So it made up its mind to hunt. After all, the human population in this era was enormous; a few missing wouldn't be noticed.

To be safe, after each feeding it would relocate to a new place, and to avoid the all-encompassing surveillance cameras, it avoided roads entirely, sticking only to mountain paths.

Real-life version—crossing mountains and ridges just to eat you!

As for why it chose young men, it wasn't because their blood and qi were abundant; it was simply that it…

Was lecherous.

It liked handsome men, to satisfy its own desires.

It had only just arrived at the mountain-ringed Pan'an County today; the surrounding peaks provided natural cover.

It hadn't expected that shortly after entering the city, it would see Jiang Yan—the most handsome individual it had ever seen in its life.

Because the Dragon Banner and General Lu's hand both contained extraordinary auras, to avoid startling passersby, he used the Demon God Embryo to quietly suppress his aura, making them look like mere decorations.

This also caused the monster before him to sense no danger, and along the way, desire overcame reason, and it followed him all the way to the hotel.

Jiang Yan listened, his brows tightly furrowed.

He didn't know much about the extraordinary, but from the little information the River of History gave, he could tell that diseased domains and borderlands were different.

Borderlands refer to places where the River of History, due to various reasons, surged violently, causing a tributary to overlap with the present world—essentially erecting a temporary bridge between two lands separated by the river.

Through rituals, the bridge could be reinforced and successfully anchored to the present world for long-term use.

Or it could be scattered by the river's fluctuations and swept back into the depths of history.

As for diseased domains, they form because the disease within the River of History keeps deepening, like cancer cells multiplying in a patient's body, disrupting time and forming special little worlds—namely, "tumors."

The bad part is that large numbers of demons gather together, sinking into the depths of the River of History, forming a massive demon nest. The good part is that the target is too large, so descending into reality is definitely harder than for a lone diseased being.

But these diseased domains greedily drain the power of the River of History, continuously worsening. If not dealt with, they will gradually grow stronger, clogging historical tributaries and even the main channel.

The River of History's condition will also worsen further, becoming increasingly distorted, affecting the present world.

And in the end… the River of History itself might even be replaced by these "tumors."

What would happen then?

Jiang Yan didn't know, and didn't want to see such a scenario.

The monster before him claimed it had escaped from a diseased domain and had only crossed a few mountains to wander into the nearby county.

Doesn't this prove…

That there is a diseased domain not far from Pan'an County, currently—or already—connecting with the present world?

3k big chapter, continue asking for monthly tickets! Asking for follow-up reads! Asking for recommendation tickets!

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(End of this chapter)