Evil, Hundred Infant Demon!
Li Kefa and his group were terrified. In the city, they rarely encountered evil spirits. They had only heard rumors of such things appearing in the countryside, but they had never seen such a strange creature!
Only a few of the officers who frequently traveled to rural areas had heard of it. It was said that the Hundred Infant Demon appeared at night, mimicking human voices, and liked to hide in the woods outside villages under the moonlight, making the sound of a crying baby.
If someone from the village went to check, they would be caught and eaten, leaving only their skin, still wearing clothes.
The Hundred Infant Demon would then control the skin, mimicking the person’s voice to lure more villagers out, eating more people.
There was once a place in New Township County called Jianyang Village where the Hundred Infant Demon appeared. By deceiving people, it lured out and ate sixty percent of the village, leaving only the old, weak, sick, and disabled.
However, the Hundred Infant Demon was extremely rare and considered a powerful monster among evil spirits. Li Kefa and his group never expected that on their first night walking in the countryside, they would encounter such a creature.
"Kill it!"
Someone shouted, and the remaining officers and Li family experts quickly cast spells. The air in front of them vibrated slightly, and the Hundred Infant Demon was struck by the invisible sword energy of the Midnight Demon Slaying Sword, breaking its scales!
The Midnight Demon Slaying Sword was invisible to the naked eye, formed by concentrating True Qi and divine power, making it impossible to defend against.
A few strikes missed, hitting the trees beside the Hundred Infant Demon, cutting down tree trunks as thick as barrels with a single slash, showing its incredible power!
But even with such powerful spells, they only managed to cut a few scales off the Hundred Infant Demon, not injuring it.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The group continued casting spells, and the massive body of the Hundred Infant Demon was repeatedly hit, sword energy slicing into its flesh, causing blood to splatter.
Some strikes hit its neck, chopping off its head, which then fell to the ground. The headless body crawled towards them rapidly, crying out.
However, as it crawled, it slowed down and eventually stopped moving, turning into a pile of rotten flesh with a foul stench.
The surrounding trees also suffered, crashing down one after another.
Unable to fight back, the Hundred Infant Demon suddenly dropped to all fours and ran away, leaving a trail of green blood as it fled deep into the forest.
The group was left shaken, each with lingering fear.
Li Kefa looked around. After this encounter, they had lost more than ten people out of over fifty.
Qu Ji whispered, "Sir, should we find a place to camp..."
Li Kefa gave him a stern look, and Qu Ji dared not continue.
"Keep moving. We must reach Yellow Slope Village tonight!" Li Kefa ordered.
The group gathered around Li Kefa and headed towards Yellow Slope Village.
The officers at the back felt uneasy, looking around nervously, suspecting other evil spirits might be lurking in the forest or something following them.
"Old He, stop being so paranoid and looking back."
One officer joked to an older officer beside him, "You're making me nervous too..."
Before he could finish, the older officer turned his head, and suddenly there was a cracking sound. His head hung limply backward!
His neck seemed to have lost its bones, his head drooping back, with the back of his head resting on his back.
The officer was terrified, screaming loudly, and as he turned around, he felt a strong grip on his neck.
"Crack!"
His neck broke, and his head hung backward on his back!
The other officers were even more frightened, each preparing spells, turning to look back.
But anyone who turned their head had their necks immediately broken, their heads hanging backward!
Evil, Neck-Snapping Demon.
"Don't look back!"
Qu Ji, covered in cold sweat, shouted, "This must be another kind of evil. If you look back, your neck will break! Don't look back, and you'll be fine!"
The group walked forward, huddled together, and indeed, nothing happened.
One person sighed in relief, "Master Qu is right..."
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, he was pulled into the sky by a great force. The group looked up, only to hear screams coming from above, quickly disappearing into the sky.
Evil, Silk-Pulling Insect.
"A third type of evil!"
Everyone was drenched in cold sweat. Even Li Kefa, a master at the Transformation Stage, secretly regretted coming.
"What kind of place is this countryside of New Township? Why is it full of evil?"
Just then, they heard the sound of trumpets and suonas ahead, very cheerful. They looked towards the sound and saw many foxes standing upright, playing music and dancing in a peculiar way as they approached.
Behind them, a blood-red sedan chair floated in the air, swaying with the music.
The curtain of the sedan chair was lifted by the wind, revealing a bride in a phoenix crown and a terrified scholar beside her, likely an unfortunate soul who hadn't made it to a village before dark.
When the curtain lifted again, the bride was still there, but the scholar had vanished, leaving only a skeleton.
The red sedan chair became even redder.
"It's a curse!"
The group panicked, casting various spells at the foxes and the sedan chair.
A cold wind blew, dispersing the sword energy in the air. Suddenly, the curtain lifted again, and they saw Qu Ji sitting inside the sedan chair beside the ghost bride, looking terrified.
Li Kefa snorted, activating his Divine Altar. The Divine Fetus inside grew immense, reaching out to grab the red sedan chair.
Suddenly, the music intensified, and the foxes played joyfully. Li Kefa's body trembled, his energy scattered, and the giant hand of the Divine Fetus couldn't reach down.
The group, led by Li Kefa, fled in panic. No matter where they ran, the sound of trumpets and suonas always came from ahead, with the fox troupe and the red sedan chair in front of them.
Each time the curtain lifted, someone disappeared, appearing inside the sedan chair.
Li Kefa's companions dwindled until they reached a yellow mud hill, where the piercing sound of trumpets and suonas suddenly stopped. The fox troupe and red sedan chair no longer pursued them.
It seemed they feared the village ahead.
Li Kefa, finally calming down, counted the people. Only three remained by his side!
Out of over fifty people, only four survived before reaching Yellow Slope Village!
"The hearts of the countryside people have turned bad, giving birth to such evil things!" Li Kefa remarked.
Just then, a deep voice came from nearby, "The appearance of evil has to do with the bright moon in the sky. What does it have to do with the hearts of us country folk? Don't take out your anger on us, Lord Li."
"Who's there?"
The three officers quickly activated the Divine Altar behind their heads, shining divine light towards the voice.
They saw a tall old man standing on Yellow Ridge Slope, his blue-white beard fluttering in the wind. His eyes glowed red in the moonlight, like a hungry wolf.
Li Kefa snorted, full of official authority, "Who are you? How do you know the evil is related to the moon?"
The tall old man looked at them with a strange gaze, as if speaking to them or muttering to himself, "Because I sense a strange power in the moonlight, making me crave..."
He stopped, cupping his hands, "Chen Yindu, Talisman Master of Yellow Slope Village, greets Lord Li."
"Talisman Master Chen Yindu? Are you Chen Yindu?"
A gleam flashed in Li Kefa's eyes as he stepped forward, "Did you kill my son, Li Xiaoding?"
The tall old man shook his head, "It wasn't me."
Li Kefa was slightly taken aback.
"It was my grandson who killed him."
The tall old man continued, "I was just watching outside the camp, guarding against any experts he couldn't handle. I watched him fight, and I was pleased. He finally has some ability to protect himself."
Li Kefa's eyes filled with fury.
Killing his son was being described by this old man as having the ability to protect oneself!
To him, it was an insult!
The tall old man calmly said, "You came with such force, intending to kill my grandson for revenge? Since ancient times, killing requires repayment, debts must be paid, it's only natural. If you wish to kill my grandson, it's understandable. If I kill you to protect my grandson, it's also reasonable."
Li Kefa roared, stepping forward. The Divine Altar behind him buzzed, glowing brightly, resembling a temple with the Divine Fetus sitting in the center, its divine power vast like an ocean!
However, before he could prepare his spells, a small flame the size of a fingertip flew towards him.
Li Kefa tried to block it with his energy while activating the Li family's ultimate technique, the Six Yin Jade Wheels, sending six invisible wheels spinning towards the tall old man!
The Six Yin Jade Wheels were also invisible, only faintly visible as wheel-like shapes in the air, but not clearly seen.
His Divine Fetus's arms moved rapidly, fingers dancing, controlling the Six Yin Jade Wheels with even greater power!
However, the seemingly weak flame hit Li Kefa's protective True Qi and exploded with a roar, instantly turning into a massive fireball covering an area of several acres. The powerful shockwave blasted a deep pit three to four feet deep into the ground, melting the surface!
The other three didn't even have time to groan before they were torn apart, their flesh vaporized in the fire.
Li Kefa's Supreme Eight Trigrams Protection Talisman, Supreme River Map Life-Saving Talisman, and Supreme Longevity Life-Saving Talisman all activated.
These talismans were engraved on iron scrolls by the elders of the Li family, using their Nascent Souls, as life-saving treasures for important family members.
Each talisman could withstand a strike from a Nascent Soul expert.
All three talismans activated at once, but they only held for a moment in the fire before shattering!
In the blazing flames, Li Kefa let out a scream, turning to ashes in an instant, his Divine Altar and Divine Fetus melted away without a trace!
His Six Yin Jade Wheels, without anyone to control them, dissipated on their own.
"So hungry. I must destroy the bodies to stop my growing hunger for human flesh!"
The tall old man looked up at the moon with dread, then suddenly disappeared from under the tree.
"This moon is getting stranger and stranger..."
In the desolate mountain temple, Chen Shi stood in the courtyard, knees slightly bent, shoulders relaxed, body upright, gently breathing in and out.
Around him, starlight, sunlight, and moonlight fell like fireflies, circling him and gradually merging into his body, strengthening him.
After the Moon Festival, whenever he had free time, Chen Shi would come to the desolate mountain temple to cultivate. Practicing the Three Lights True Qi Technique here allowed him to attract the light of the sun and moon, making rapid progress.
Suddenly, Chen Shi seemed to cross a mysterious threshold, and the light pouring from the sky increased significantly!
Starlight and the light of the sun and moon gathered around him, forming seven stars in the shape of a ladle!
"Is this the Big Dipper mentioned in the Three Lights True Qi Technique?"
Chen Shi was greatly surprised, examining the seven stars.
He had never seen the Big Dipper before. In fact, he had never seen stars in the sky!
Since he could remember, the night sky had only the moon, nothing else!
He had read ancient texts with Scholar Zhu, pondering phrases like "drunk, unaware of the sky in the water, full boat of clear dreams pressing the star river," wondering what the star river was.
Or "these stars are not last night's, for whom do the wind and dew stand at midnight," staring blankly at the sky, not knowing what stars were.
Reading the Thousand Character Classic, he didn't know how to interpret "constellations arranged" either.
But now, the Big Dipper appeared clearly around him!
These weren't real stars but star energy, yet it was enough to excite Chen Shi!
"So the books didn't lie to me. There really are stars beyond the sky, and there really is the Big Dipper!"
Suppressing his excitement, he moved his feet slightly, and the positions of the Big Dipper stars shifted with him!
As the stars moved, Chen Shi felt streams of warm, cool, hot, and cold air flowing over his body, refining every part of his flesh.
"Whoosh—"
Chen Shi exhaled a breath of foul air, like a bellows blowing to refine steel, creating a gust of wind that sent dry leaves flying.
Inhaling deeply, he was like a bellows drawing in air, forming a small vortex around him.
With each breath, he expelled impurities from his flesh and bones, purifying them!
"Hmm, what's this..."
Chen Shi felt his body entering a new realm. With each breath, a mass of energy and blood moved with his thoughts. When he focused, the energy and blood concentrated.
He moved his thoughts, guiding the energy and blood to his arm. His right arm visibly swelled, muscles bulging, veins hidden beneath thick skin, which grew tougher and thicker, harder than iron.
He swung his arm, striking a thousand-pound stone blocking the door with a bang, breaking off a corner.
Chen Shi was startled. With one strike, he could split stone!