Chapter 195: Strange World, Demons Wreaking Havoc

Stench, a stench so disgusting it made one want to vomit.

As the surrounding foul odor continuously surged into his nasal cavity, Chen Mo felt a wave of nausea rise in his throat.

He was all too familiar with this scent; it was the smell of rotting corpses.

Chen Mo surveyed everything before him: the sky in the distance was the color of blood, and before him lay corpse after corpse, gaunt and withered, most already rotted and stinking, some even infested with maggots and flies.

This avatar of his was, at present, extremely frail, though the power he had projected over was indeed substantial.

However, a portion was lost along the way, and another portion was used to construct the avatar to adapt to this world—primarily to adapt to the Heavenly Law of this world.

This world was not the Cangxuan World or the Xuantian World; although those two worlds had been eroded by the Mirage Sea, the situation was far less severe than in this world.

Moreover, the process of erosion there was from the outside in; the internal Heaven and Earth of those worlds remained stable, and one did not have to face the Mirage Sea directly.

But in this world, the power of the Mirage Sea was already mixed in from the inside out; one could even say it coexisted with the Mirage Sea.

Under these circumstances, the Mirage Sea Law had become one of the most fundamental laws of this world.

He had to adapt to this law himself in order to survive in this world.

Otherwise, he would be like an invasive virus, instinctively rejected by the world, and might even be discovered by the creatures of the Mirage Sea.

Due to various expenditures, the body constructed was extremely frail, even slightly weaker than an ordinary young adult.

This could still be considered quite good; his own strength was formidable, so more power had been projected over.

The strength of the Master of the Blood Sea and the others was inferior to his own, so the avatars they had constructed at this moment were likely even frailer.

It was just that they had not descended in the same place as him, but were scattered across the world.

In this third trial, they were indeed competitors to one another, but they could also cooperate and become teammates.

However, the prerequisite for everything was that he must survive; whether he was discovered by Mirage Sea creatures midway, killed by the strange entities of this world, or slain by other powerhouses, it would all count as failure.

Even if he ultimately failed to find the World Core or the Spirit of Heaven and Earth, as long as he could safely survive until the end and return, the power controlled by this avatar would likewise merge with his true body.

Furthermore, this process would have no loss, because the avatar he had condensed now was not an avatar at all, but a part of himself; the Blood Qi originated from the same source, and his consciousness was also here.

Chen Mo attempted to mobilize his own power to condense Blood Qi, but this body was simply too frail; the amount of Blood Qi he could mobilize was far too little, and he had to find a way to seek out other things to supplement it.

He tightened his clothes and searched his surroundings with his gaze.

These clothes were evolved from the Heaven and Earth Profound Gate; they could protect him from the invasion of the Mirage Sea and could also safely send his consciousness back at a critical moment.

"Hey, how is there still one here who isn't dead!" A voice filled with slight surprise rang out, and Chen Mo looked toward the sound.

He saw a humanoid dog demon with yellowish-gray fur, over six feet tall, drooling, and emitting a bloody stench, staring at him viciously.

The most critical point was that this dog demon was not strong; if it were in the Xuantian World, a demon beast would need at least Xiantian cultivation to speak human language.

Yet this dog demon before him, no matter how one looked at it, could not possibly possess such strength.

Although Chen Mo's strength was gone, his consciousness was here, and the control and observational skills belonging to a Heaven-Human Martial Artist remained.

It was just that this world was severely eroded by the Mirage Sea, so his divine sense must absolutely not be released.

"If you're not dead, hurry up and get up here, damn it!" The dog demon roared with a thunderous voice, and the whip in its hand lashed out fiercely, emitting a crisp sound.

"Master Huang, please calm your anger. It's not easy for this person to have come back to life. If you whip him to death again, our work will be even harder to finish." An old man with a gaunt figure and a flushed face hurriedly reached out to stop it upon seeing this.

The old man pleaded as he spoke, and after finally managing to persuade the dog demon to leave, he walked to the edge of the pit, threw down a rope, and called out, "Young man, hurry up and come up. Don't stay down there; be careful of catching a disease."

Chen Mo grabbed the rope and, with agile movements, escaped the pit, which was several meters deep, in just two or three steps.

Inside the pit lay a jumble of corpses, so numerous that there were at least several hundred.

Outside the pit, several shacks were set up haphazardly, where many gaunt men were hiding to rest.

And not far from the shacks was a river channel currently being excavated.

"Young man, that you could die and come back to life—this is a sign of good fortune for a lucky person." The old man chuckled, appearing very enthusiastic.

Yet Chen Mo could tell that he would not live much longer.

His current flushed face, which seemed extremely healthy, was actually just a final burst of energy before death; if nothing unexpected happened, the old man would not live past tonight.

The old man was very talkative, pulling Chen Mo into the shack and talking incessantly; perhaps he vaguely sensed his own condition and wanted to finish saying everything tonight.

Chen Mo remained almost entirely silent, only occasionally nodding in agreement.

The other laborers nearby heard that Chen Mo had actually come back from the dead, and a trace of astonishment flashed in their eyes, but that was all.

They had long since been drained of all their strength by day after day of heavy labor, and they no longer had the heart to care about other things.

They did not even care that they had not seen Chen Mo before, because no matter what, there was only one possibility for laborers who came here, and that was death.

It was just that the method of death might differ.

Listening to the old man's rambling and narration, Chen Mo gained some understanding of the current situation.

All the laborers were either captured or tricked here by the County Magistrate of Changsheng County and sold to that Black Wind Demon King.

And these laborers were to dig a water canal for the Black Wind Demon King on Xiaonan Mountain, thirty miles away, to divert river water into the lake on Xiaonan Mountain.

Running away was impossible; there were two dog demons guarding the laborers, and dog noses were far sharper than human noses—even if one secretly jumped into the river to escape, they would be caught.

And those laborers who were caught would be swallowed alive by those two dog demons.

Therefore, these two dog demons did not strictly guard the laborers, precisely to let them try to escape so they could have an extra mouthful of fresh meat.

Chen Mo listened very carefully; through the old man's narrative and by asking questions on the side, he could conclude one thing: demons were very common in this world.

They might not be everywhere, but demons were sure to remain in every mountain, wreaking havoc on the Human Race.

That there were so many demons in this world was likely because the Heavenly Law had changed.

Otherwise, the dog demon from just now, with at most a thousand catties of Blood Qi, could never have spoken human language, let alone possess intelligence.

Once a demon was born, its strength was far greater than that of an ordinary human, and because they were uneducated, their desires were more direct and naked.

Directly devouring living beings for food was a common occurrence, and the Imperial Court had no ability to control this; many officials even colluded with demons.

After all, it was the common people the demons harmed, not the officials of the Imperial Court.

These officials could even gain benefits from colluding with demons; to them, this was no different from colluding with powerful clans.

"Time to eat!" A shout rang out, and someone struck a ladle.

The laborers, who had been lying or sitting, all suddenly perked up.

The old man likewise pulled Chen Mo along to join the queue, waiting to receive food.

Each person received a coarse porcelain bowl containing thin rice gruel and two fist-sized black lumps of unidentifiable matter.

After a hard day of digging irrigation ditches, this was all the food the laborers received.

Looking at this food, Chen Mo could already guess the fate of most of the laborers.

Either they didn't work and were soon beaten to death, or they worked hard and were slowly worked to death.

He took a bite of the black lump; the texture was sticky and complex, containing vegetable stalks, bitter salt, coarse flour, and pebbles.

The taste was quite complex, and after one bite, Chen Mo felt a longing for his wife.

But his body was too hungry to care about such things; he swallowed the two black vegetable lumps and tilted his head back to drink the rice gruel in one gulp.

His internal organs began to digest the food, and wisps of Qi and Blood power gathered within his body.

"Young man, didn't get your fill?" The old man circled back over; his own bowl of rice gruel was finished, but the two black vegetable lumps remained.

Chen Mo smiled and nodded slightly; in reality, not just him, but the vast majority of the laborers were not full.

"Eat them, but if you eat them, you must do me a favor." The old man smiled and pushed the bowl over, not reaching for it immediately.

"May I ask, old sir, what exactly is the matter?" Chen Mo asked, slightly puzzled.

"I just saw that you still have some strength; later, help me get buried—bury me in that pit." The old man's expression was calm and composed; it seemed he also knew he would not last the night.

"The old saying goes that when a person dies, they should at least be laid to rest in the earth; I don't want to rot out here. I don't have anything valuable on me, just these two vegetable lumps, and I want to ask you to help me out."

The old man continued, his tone remaining very kind.

The reason he asked Chen Mo to help him was that he had seen earlier that Chen Mo still had the strength to help bury him.

As for the other laborers, having worked all day, they no longer had the strength.

But if they waited until tomorrow, that dog demon would have people throw him into the pit, so he had to be buried tonight.

The reason he had dared to persuade the dog demon away earlier was that he knew he would die sooner or later and wanted to do some good deeds before he died.

And later, saving Chen Mo and keeping him talking, aside from truly having things he wanted to confide in someone, was because he wanted to find an opportunity to ask Chen Mo to help bury him.

"Alright." Regarding this request, Chen Mo did not hesitate and agreed immediately.

Only then did the old man smile and hand the black vegetable lumps to Chen Mo.

He himself hurriedly stood up and straightened his slightly tattered clothes, which had hardened from absorbing too much sweat and mud.

After doing this, he lay down early in the pit he had dug earlier, trying to find a comfortable position for himself.

"Young man, if you can make it out alive, if it's on your way, help me go to Liu Ergou, my son in the Great Willow Village west of the county town, and tell him his father died here, and tell him not to forget to burn paper for his father during the holidays."

The old man lay in the deep pit, his mouth still unable to stop rambling.

Suddenly, his body began to twitch rapidly, and the muscles and bones all over his body no longer obeyed him. His internal organs and physical Blood Qi erupted with all their might, wanting to live for a few more moments, but in the end, there was no way to save him.

The light in his eyes dimmed at a rapid speed, and his black-and-white eyes eventually turned into a cloudy, grayish-white.

Chen Mo sighed softly and picked up the shovel nearby to fill the pit with soil.

It was better to be dead; in this world, for common folk, being dead was sometimes better than suffering while alive.

After burying the corpse, Chen Mo sat on the ground and channeled his own Qi and Blood power.

His own body was severely depleted and needed to find other things to replenish it.

Chen Mo's goal was very clear, his eyes fixed on the two dog demons not far away.

This body was weak, but the control of a Martial Artist remained; killing two dog demons would not be strenuous.

Killing them and consuming the Qi and Blood within their bodies could replenish his own strength.

This avatar was condensed by Chen Mo with his own Blood Qi, and its essential power was extremely high.

Although the world's rules were different and none of his own techniques could be used, he could not even absorb the Heaven and Earth Power.

But as long as there was enough Qi and Blood power to replenish it, this avatar of Chen Mo would be enough to reach the Xiantian Yuansheng level.

Time flowed second by second; Chen Mo had been nourishing the wisp of Qi and Blood power he had accumulated earlier, waiting only for the right moment to erupt and consume it.

The sun set and the moon rose; all things in heaven and earth grew quiet. The laborers hiding in the sheds huddled on the haystacks, trying to make themselves as comfortable as possible.

The two dog demons were resting on either side of the sheds, and beside them were many bones and leftover scraps of meat.

Chen Mo carefully polished the hoe in his hand; the wooden handle of this hoe had been removed by him, and now, held in his hand, it could serve as a weapon.

Not until the deep of night, at the hour of Zi, confirming that both dog demons were fast asleep, did Chen Mo move his feet quietly.

Strangely enough, in this world, when people gathered at night, the Mirage Sea would not descend.

For a world not yet fully turned into its food, the Mirage Sea would exhaust all means to invade, and the creatures of the Mirage Sea would do everything possible to infiltrate it.

But for this "food on the plate," it paid little attention, because if nothing unexpected happened, it would be devoured sooner or later.

Chen Mo and the others were trying to snatch food from the mouths of the Mirage Sea and its creatures, to pull a world on the verge of being completely devoured out of the Mirage Sea.

The hoe was polished until it shone brightly, and Chen Mo stepped toward the dog demons.

The dog demon was sleeping soundly, breathing heavily, its whole body emitting a unique dog-stench and foul odor.

Chen Mo focused his mind, unified his waist and stance; the formidable control of a Martial Artist allowed him to master every detail of his body.

Over two hundred catties of Qi and Blood power converged at one point and erupted suddenly.

With a "Zheng" sound, a snow-white silver light like a streak of silk slashed across the dog demon's throat.

It woke up in pain, its pair of pitch-black dog eyes glaring in anger, wanting to make a sound, but its throat was like a broken bellows, making a wheezing sound and only able to emit a whimper.

Chen Mo pressed down with his body, pinning the dog demon's two front paws, and opened his mouth to continuously swallow the scalding fresh blood gushing from its throat.

The dog blood was fishy and sweet, and even carried a slight stench, but to Chen Mo, it was like sweet nectar.

The dog demon's two hind legs kicked violently in the air, but it was all in vain.

After only a few breaths, it no longer had the strength to resist.

Chen Mo's lips were crimson, like a bloodthirsty demon that had crawled out of hell.

The Demon Blood was scalding, and he continuously converted it into his own strength.

The hoe in his hand swung once more; Chen Mo skillfully sliced open the dog's belly and forcibly tore out the dog heart from within.

The dog heart was not small, two or three times larger than an adult's fist, and it was still twitching gently.

This was where the essence blood of the demon beast resided.

Chen Mo could not care about anything else and began to gnaw on it raw, tearing into the fishy, sweet, and warm heart with large bites, swallowing it into his belly before he could even chew it thoroughly.

His physical body was famished, digesting the blood-food swallowed into his belly at an extremely rapid speed.

His own Blood Qi strength was also climbing rapidly, reaching the six-hundred-catty mark from the original two hundred-plus catties.

"Woof!" A howl mixed with anger rang out.

Chen Mo was not surprised at all; he had long since considered this point.

How sensitive was that beast's sense of smell? It would surely be able to catch the scent of blood drifting in the air.

Seeing its companion killed and the scent of blood drifting in the air inciting its ferocity, the beast did not flee, but instead charged toward Chen Mo!

The sudden roar startled many of the laborers who were still fast asleep.

They looked on in astonishment as the dog demon lunged at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo twisted his waist, dodged the pounce at an extremely strange angle, and stepped forward to kick the dog's waist with all his might.

As the saying goes, wolves have copper heads, iron bones, and tofu waists; this dog was naturally the same.

With over five hundred catties of force erupting, only a "Crack!" was heard, and the waist bone was crushed directly by Chen Mo's stomp.

"Awoo!" The dog demon let out a painful whimper, its body instantly curling into a ball.

Chen Mo turned and swiftly struck with another blow; its throat was slashed open, its ferocity dissipated rapidly, and even its gaze became clear.

As the gurgling Demon Blood surged, Chen Mo lay on the dog demon, swallowing it in large gulps.

Many laborers saw this situation and could not help but be stunned into silence where they stood.

In their eyes, the dog demon—which was invincible, moved like the Wind, and could slaughter them at will—had been easily killed by Chen Mo; this truly exceeded their expectations.

But then, they watched as Chen Mo lay on the dog demon, swallowing dog blood in large gulps, and finally even forcibly tore out that dog heart to eat it.

This scene was indeed too horrifying to the mind; some of the more timid ones were already scared stiff, standing rooted to the spot, not daring to make any move.

As for those who were more quick-witted and bolder, they were already contemplating how to slip away quietly.

Chen Mo could not care about these things; the Demon Blood entering his body caused his strength to increase further.

This incarnation's strength finally reached the power of Thousand Catty Blood Qi; although it was still very weak compared to his original strength, it could at least be considered to have a modicum of self-preservation.

As long as he could return safely, the power contained within this incarnation would all be merged with his true self.

It must be said that he had indeed come to the right place this time; this world had too many demons.

They were born from the gestation of Heaven and Earth, and their own Qi and Blood contained the power of laws.

If he killed them all, the power obtained would absolutely be enough to fully charge the Transformation Pearl.

Even if he could not find a World Core or Spirit of Heaven and Earth, as long as he could return safely, his true self would absolutely be able to undergo the next Mortal Transformation and take this opportunity to impact the Myriad Phenomena Realm.

Following the slaughter of the two dog demons, Chen Mo only felt tiny specks of golden light flowing into his body.

His mind sank into his body; within his dantian was a Purple Jade Hu Tablet, which he had obtained when he killed a Demonic Path Celestial who invaded the Cangxuan World.

Chen Mo did not understand its function, but he had always kept it on his person.

He had not expected that this Purple Jade Hu Tablet would actually come to this world along with him.

Reward Good and Punish Evil Order.

Chen Mo finally understood the meaning on this Hu Tablet; this was a treasure crafted by the Ancient Heavenly Court and distributed to experts of the Human Race.

Those who held this item and killed demons or evil beings that harmed the Human Race could obtain Good Merit from the Heavenly Court, and through this Hu Tablet, exchange for various cultivation resources, weapons, magic treasures, and cultivation manuals from the Heavenly Court.

Previously, this Hu Tablet had not been activated, but Chen Mo had indeed refined it, even if it was only a passive refinement.

It was not until Chen Mo entered the Heavenly Court Secret Realm and descended into this world that it came along with him, which then activated its full utility.

Chen Mo's mind sank into it, and he immediately saw a great deal of information flowing.

"Good Merit: 687."

This was what he had obtained from just killing the two dog demons.

In addition, there were many things that could be exchanged with Good Merit, including various cultivation resources, Derivative Divine Weapons, and cultivation manuals.

It could be said that through Good Merit, one could exchange for the vast majority of the Heavenly Court's accumulations, with only a small portion being unobtainable.

However, the price was not cheap; the cheapest first-tier pill, named Vajra Treasure Pill, which a Martial Artist could swallow to increase their strength by one tiger's power, required a full three thousand points of Good Merit.

And even a low-grade Derivative Divine Weapon for a Pulse-Opening Martial Artist required a full fifteen thousand points of Good Merit.

Chen Mo would have to kill another forty or fifty dog demons to gather that much Good Merit.

But the things that could be exchanged through this Reward Good and Punish Evil Order were simply too numerous and too tempting.

Moreover, even if he used it up, it would not be a waste; it would ultimately return to his own true body.

His mind withdrew from the Reward Good and Punish Evil Order, and Chen Mo swept his gaze over the many laborers present; a portion of them were still standing there foolishly.

"Hurry up and run; staying here is a dead end!" Chen Mo said, looking toward the many laborers.

Some of the bold and quick-witted ones had already run away long ago; those remaining were actually the minority.

Now, reminded by him, even the laborers who hadn't reacted yet began to flee with all their might.

Although it was hard to say how many of them could survive safely in their current state, they also understood that staying here was definitely a dead end.

Chen Mo searched the two dog demons and truly found two pouches; inside were some scattered silver coins, adding up to about four or five taels.

These dog demons had human-like intelligence, and many of their habits were becoming increasingly similar to humans; they not only loved eating cooked meat but also had a preference for gold and silver.

Behind the two dog demons were even more powerful demon kings; they belonged to a faction.

If this faction discovered that these two dog demons had been killed, they might come to investigate the matter.

If there were other dog demons, they would be able to smell the scent of their kind's blood on him.

He had to hurry and leave; he absolutely could not stay where he was and wait for death.

Chen Mo moved extremely quickly, grabbing a pair of tattered straw sandals of unknown origin, and strode off into the distance.

He had no map, nor had he ever been to this world before, so he was completely ignorant of the surrounding environment.

But by following the official road, he would surely find a place inhabited by people.

After walking for several hours, until the morning sun rose and shone upon the earth, Chen Mo saw a thatched wine shop in the distance.

This shop stood lonely by the side of the official road, with few travelers passing by.

As the saying goes, those who run carts, boats, inns, or act as porters or middlemen are guilty even if they have committed no crime.

If a shop like this, located in such a place, encountered acquaintances, government runners, or someone with significant strength, they would naturally conduct business honestly.

But if they encountered a stranger, it would likely turn into a den of thieves.

Chen Mo was not worried; while the power of Thousand Catty Blood Qi was not particularly overbearing, ordinary people were certainly no match for him.

Furthermore, having traveled for several hours, he was not only incredibly hungry and thirsty, but his strength was also nearly drained, so it was time to find a place to rest properly.

"Innkeeper, is there any food left in the shop?" Chen Mo stepped into the wine shop and called out loudly.

The thatched shop was extremely crude, with a few aged, weathered wooden tables and chairs placed haphazardly; a short, stout middle-aged man dressed in coarse cloth was sitting inside resting, and seeing someone walk in, he hurriedly perked up.

But after looking Chen Mo up and down, he sat back down.

"I have money." Seeing this, Chen Mo took out a piece of broken silver.

The short, stout man immediately became spirited, wiped the table and chair several times with his oil-stained sleeve, and said with a happy laugh, "Take a seat, honored guest, I will get you something to eat right away."

After saying this, he hurriedly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Little Dog, brew some tea, we have an honored guest!"

(End of this chapter)