Chapter 60: Young Jiao-Demon (Three Chapters in Total—Please Read to the End)

In a dim river god temple.

The towering statue was shrouded in shadow, its kindly face taking on a faintly eerie cast.

A corpulent woman in blue robes lay sprawled across the altar, both hands gripping the edge tightly; the entire table, along with the statue, rocked violently with the heaving of her body.

She craned her neck high, veins bulging, and on her fleshy, bloated face one could still faintly make out regular features—seven parts similar to the statue.

"Hah!"

But compared with the river god's benevolence, her features were now twisted, her eyes rolled back, her breathing labored, brimming with a savage air!

Behind her, a youth whose face still looked somewhat boyish had a fierce glint in his eyes; bare-chested, mottled black scales covered his spine, and countless scabbed wounds in dark red spread across his whole body like a spider's web.

The most eye-catching feature was the horn on his forehead, as thick as a little finger.

The youth stared hard at the river god statue, split his lips apart, and revealed a row of ghastly white fangs: "Is this you?"

"It's me!"

The woman let out a long exhale, and the horned youth trembled all over; he seized her head and slammed it hard onto the table.

Then he opened his mouth and bit into her neck, as blood gushed into his mouth.

He gulped down in great mouthfuls, and the wounds on his body healed a few measures more.

The corpulent woman convulsed all over, yet the longing on her face grew ever thicker, as if being gnawed by him were some extraordinarily glorious thing.

"Pah! A whole mouthful of fishy stench."

The youth's brow twitched; he wiped at the corner of his mouth, seeming very dissatisfied: "I want great medicine!"

The body of one who practices martial arts holds the richest essence of heaven and earth—it is a worthy treasure medicine.

The river god stood up, gasping for breath as she straightened her clothes, then smoothed the wound on her neck, her devotion tinged with a hint of fear: "The treasure medicines have come—better than last time, a full five of them, two of them at the Jade Liquid Realm, young and delicious. I won't let any of them escape; I'll definitely make you satisfied."

"Same old rule—those two are mine."

The youth raised a brow: "You only need to pin down one of them for me; the remaining three at the Initial Realm are yours."

"This servant wouldn't dare." The river god hurriedly shook her head; even though the aura on her body was thicker than his, her bearing was exceedingly humble.

Hearing this, the youth reached out and twisted her face: "What I give you, you take."

"Go on." He waved his hand.

"Yes!" The river god dragged her weakened body toward the outside.

……

A bamboo-walled courtyard.

The young widow carefully ladled soup into a bowl.

After what had just happened, the madwoman's frenzy had faded quite a bit; she quietly curled up in the corner outside, sipping the fish soup in tiny mouthfuls.

Shen Yi sat in the courtyard, chewing the bland fish meat.

He swallowed very earnestly, as if intending to dissolve every last bit of nourishment in the fish meat thoroughly into his stomach.

If his judgment wasn't wrong—

From the instant they had stepped into the village, their group had already been marked by the demons.

Danger could come at any moment.

A moment's carelessness, and they would vanish without a trace just like those Captains before them, without even the chance to send their waist-plates back to Outside Qingzhou.

"Well now, no wonder I couldn't find you anywhere—so you were here sneaking a meal."

Li Mujin strolled leisurely into the courtyard.

Seeing another Demon-Suppressing Captain, and a charming, pretty Miss at that, the young widow sensibly carried her bowl out of the yard and sat with the madwoman at the doorway.

"Is it good?"

Li Mujin regarded the youth with curiosity.

Although she didn't really believe he could actually beat Fang Heng, the mere fact that he could make the man yield was enough to show Shen Yi's extraordinary nature—he certainly wasn't as simple as an ordinary Initial Realm martial artist.

Add to that the fact that on his very first mission, he was even more steady than her own younger brother.

A newborn calf unafraid of the tiger?

Regardless, even if he had never witnessed the ferocity of demons, this sort of courage was excellent.

"Remind the others—stay alert, don't scatter. There are demons in the village."

Shen Yi swallowed the last mouthful of fish meat and raised his eyes to look over.

"What?"

Li Mujin froze for a beat, then laughed: "You're even giving orders now…"

Before her words faded, under Shen Yi's earnest gaze, she unconsciously tucked away her smile: "Understood, I'll go notify them right away."

She didn't ask how he had gotten the information.

They were all seasoned Demon-Suppressing Captains; even if it were only the slightest possibility, they had to prepare for trouble before it came.

"……"

Li Mujin had just turned around when a flicker of doubt crossed her eyes.

Immediately after, a foul, stinking black wind sprang up out of thin air; in an instant it swept across the long sky and shot straight out of the village!

The two people who had just been sitting at the doorway—where had they vanished to now?

"Don't wander off—go notify Li Xinhan!"

Li Mujin reacted at once; the laziness faded from her eyes, and without a shred of hesitation she drew her short sword and gave chase.

To dare snatch people right under the Zhen Mo Si's nose—the provocation was a bit too blatant!

Her figure suddenly darted down the muddy path, and within a breath she had covered several dozen zhang.

Just then, a glance from the corner of Li Mujin's eye made her expression shift slightly.

She saw black robes billowing, hair strands lightly swaying—Shen Yi, face expressionless, gripping his black saber, was actually running three parts faster than her as he went!

"What are you coming up here for! You run pretty fast, though."

Li Mujin held her breath, watching helplessly as that black wind burrowed into the low woods along the river.

With the augmentation of her Jade Liquid Realm cultivation, the vast aura over her body grew increasingly restless.

"I told you to go notify them. The other side is clearly a great demon of the Jade Liquid Realm—no matter how anxious you are, it won't help."

Before the words faded, Li Mujin suddenly sensed an ill omen and turned to look.

She saw that beyond the fishing village, the Yangchun River let out roars upon roars, raising up waves ten zhang high.

At the crest of the waves, a woman in blue stood barefoot.

Like the legendary River Immortal, a single flip of her hand could drown the entire village.

"Damn it!"

Looking at that familiar figure.

Though she didn't understand why the other party had suddenly abandoned four hundred years of peaceful days.

The last shred of侥幸 in Li Mujin's heart was also rapidly fading.

Shen Yi had guessed right—there were not only demons, but demons that had come prepared.

She looked again toward that low woods, only to find that whether it was the black wind or Shen Yi, both had vanished without a trace in the instant she'd been dazed.

"……"

"It's over."

She clenched her shell-like teeth, her breathing rapid. She had handled so many affairs for Zhen Mo Si—how could she still make such a mistake of looking ahead and behind?

And that kid—he'd run far too fast!

Where did he get such nerve?

……

"Hah."

Shen Yi adjusted his breathing, the perfected Bai Yuan戏蟒 unleashed with full force.

Panshan was like flat ground to him, even a few fractions faster than before.

He noticed Li Mujin falling behind, and also saw the terrifying signs on the Yangchun River.

His thoughts stirred slightly, but quickly steadied.

This was an ambush against a Captain of Zhen Mo Si—likely meant to separate the Li siblings, then take them out one by one.

Shen Yi was no impulsive sort.

On the contrary, his thinking at this moment was无比 clear.

If the River God was truly a demon of the late Jade Liquid Realm, the Li siblings联手 might not necessarily gain the upper hand, let alone the fact that the black wind before him was also a Jade Liquid Realm demon.

In this situation, even if all five gathered it would mean nothing—someone had to face this beast alone.

The two beasts had long planned everything; the extra move was probably just to minimize the chance of injury.

And he himself was the only variable.

Shen Yi wouldn't bother with the village's common folk, nor did he care whether the Li siblings could defeat the River God—in a life-and-death crisis like this, the slightest hesitation meant a death with no burial ground.

He forced himself to focus on what was before him.

Only by cutting off the demon's head could he seize the sole chance of survival.

Since that was the case—

The jet-black blade slid from its sheath, gripped tight by five slender fingers; the mountain wind howled madly, tugging at the ink-black long shirt.

Shen Yi, gripping the black blade, slowly came to a halt.

He watched the black wind disperse, revealing a figure covered in black scales.

"……"

Upon clearly seeing Shen Yi's face, Jiao Feng tossed aside the two unconscious people in his hands, his expression growing increasingly violent: "Why is it you who followed? You're fit to come?!"

It had not expected that the first to catch up would be a martial artist of the initial realm.

This meant the River God's side would have to deal with two Jade Liquid Realm Captains at once.

Yet there was not the slightest worry in Jiao Feng's eyes—only a trace of urgency and dissatisfaction…the urgency being that he couldn't immediately torture and kill that young woman, savoring her tender flesh brimming with aura.

And the reason for his dissatisfaction was very simple.

The Captain before him was far too weak—compared to those two spiritual herbs, the other party was so feeble it couldn't even rouse his appetite.

As a flood dragon, not just anything was worthy of being gnawed by him.

(End of chapter)