Heyang County was where Xiao Chen had last led a team to raid the Xuan Family, unexpectedly acquiring the Wuji Spirit Soil.
After that, the sect dispatched two Outer Disciples to act as hidden lookouts for easier surveillance.
But just half a month ago, these two lookouts failed to send back their latest reports on schedule.
So, an Inner Sect Disciple was sent to investigate the situation.
But strangely, a week passed after the Inner Sect Disciple left, and he too vanished without a trace.
Considering the Xuan Family’s previous dealings with demon cultivators, i Yong naturally suspected that Demon Cultivators were active there once more.
According to the Demon Extermination Hall’s structure, Xiao Chen and Huang Haoran, as managers, could have mobilized other disciples from the hall to go with them.
i Yong also said he could help arrange for a Spiritual Boat.
However, after so thought, Xiao Chen chose to fly there on his sword and operate alone.
With the Vertical Earth Golden Light and the Divine Protection Veil, he was practically invincible, even in a direct confrontation with a Demon Cultivator.
Bringing a few Qi Refining Cultivators along would just be a liability.
By the next afternoon, he had crossed three hundred miles and arrived outside Heyang County.
Compared to his last visit, the place was much more deserted.
In the surrounding fields, almost no one could be seen working, and many weeds had sprouted.
Xiao Chen descended on his Sword Light and entered the town on foot.
Strangely, there wasn’t a single soul on the streets.
He extended his Divine Sense, only to find that within a radius of several hundred yards, not only were there no people, but even livestock and birds had vanished without a trace.
Judging from the open storefronts and half-shuttered windows, it seed the residents had all left in a sudden rush, without even having ti to secure their hos.
Xiao Chen walked along the street and found half-dried laundry, burnt flatbread on a stove, and dye that had already solidified.
Their owners had left in such a hurry that they didn’t even have ti to tidy up a little.
’The people are gone, but why are the ants gone too?’
Xiao Chen’s Divine Sense swept across the corners of the walls and over the ground, but he couldn’t find so much as a single insect.
’How could they have possibly done this?’
He truly could not figure it out.
After mulling it over, he decided to go to the Xuan Family estate to see if he could find any clues.
Just as Xiao Chen was completely baffled, two cultivators, one tall and one short, were hiding far away on the tallest bell tower in the town, watching him.
The short one hunched his shoulders. "Boss, he used Sword Flight. That’s definitely a Foundation Establishnt Cultivator. We should get out of here, fast."
"Shut up. What are you panicking for?"
The tall cultivator glared at him in displeasure. "With the Enchanting Soul Fragrance, sooner or later he’ll be drawn in by the scent and gradually beco a mindless puppet."
The shorter man was still afraid. "Boss, that cultivator from a few days ago was wearing a Li Huo Sect Magic Robe. I bet this one is a Foundation Establishnt Cultivator from the Li Huo Sect too."
"The Li Huo Sect has many masters. What if he has a way to counter the Enchanting Soul Fragrance?"
"You don’t know shit!"
The tall cultivator took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "So what if he’s at Foundation Establishnt? Is that supposed to be so amazing?"
"Er Dan, I’ll tell you the truth: I’m about to reach Foundation Establishnt myself."
"After I reach Foundation Establishnt, I can refine that Divine Soldier. When that ti cos, killing him will be as easy as killing a chicken."
He pointed below. "Besides, just look for yourself."
Er Dan curiously peeked over and saw Xiao Chen walking toward the old Xuan Family residence.
He imdiately grew excited. "Boss, he’s going for it! He fell for it too!"
"Of course."
The tall man stared at Xiao Chen’s back and whispered fanatically, "No one can resist the temptation of the Enchanting Soul Fragrance, not even a Foundation Establishnt Cultivator."
"They will all beco fodder for my cultivation."
...
Xiao Chen walked into the Xuan Family estate. Standing outside the already dilapidated main gate, he could see the broken threshold.
Several shoes, a few straw hats, and so ssy ribbons were scattered on the ground.
A nauseating stench of decay wafted over the courtyard wall, making him wrinkle his nose in disgust.
Holding his breath for the mont, he walked into the courtyard.
Following the scattered tracks, he ca to the rear courtyard.
Xiao Chen discovered that a large number of footprints all pointed toward a cellar used for storing grain.
He rembered glancing into this cellar before. It had been filled to the brim with wheat, beans, and other foodstuffs.
’Could these be tracks left by mortals from the town, here to loot the grain?’
He followed the stone steps down and around and imdiately saw a cultivator wearing the Magic Robe of a Li Huo Sect Inner Sect Disciple, sprawled on the ground, eating and drinking ravenously.
Hearing the footsteps, the man turned his head to look.
He was imdiately shocked. "Junior Martial Master Xiao! What are you doing here?"
Then, as if he had suddenly rembered sothing, he quickly put on a smile. "As soon as I entered the town, I slled a wonderful, wonderful aroma, so I ca over here to check it out first."
"I didn’t expect the things here to be so delicious. I really couldn’t resist and had a few extra bites."
"Junior Martial Master, you should try so too. These are all top-grade Spirit Fruits."
"And this Spirit Wine, it’s practically an Immortal Brew. I’ve never had anything so delicious in my life."
He lowered his head and carefully selected several items.
"This one... this one... and this one, they’re really, really tasty. Junior Martial Master, you should try them."
"You’ll understand what I’m saying as soon as you have a taste."
He spoke with utmost sincerity, absolutely from the heart, his face even overflowing with a blissful smile.
If one ignored the ants and maggots crawling all over his face, it would have been quite a radiant smile.
Xiao Chen glanced over and saw that the man was holding an eyeball. In his other hand was so kind of container filled with a slurry of yellow, red, and brown pus.
He then looked at the man’s stomach, which had burst open from him having eaten so much.
"I’m glad you’re so thoughtful. But I don’t like these things."
"So, you may rest in peace."
Xiao Chen waved his hand, summoning a wisp of Fla Radiance to give his unfortunate sect brother a burial by fire.
Looking around, he could see this place had devolved into a demon’s den.
The surrounding walls were painted with several thousand highly irregular black and red lines.
There were also all sorts of bizarre words and ssy graffiti.
All the vanished townsfolk, birds, beasts, and insects from the entire town were here, twisted and mixed together, completely indistinguishable.
As he observed, an even more intense stench of decay assaulted him, threatening to perate even his Divine Sense.
In truth, the Enchanting Soul Fragrance couldn’t be blocked by sothing as simple as holding one’s breath.
It could pass through a cultivator’s skin and Divine Sense to create lifelike illusions.
Fortunately, Xiao Chen had the Divine Protection Veil, which completely blocked this contamination.
He silently took out the Fire-Storage Treasure Gourd, released the Profound Fire, and burned everything here to ash.
He patiently cleansed the cellar from its entrance to its deepest corners, leaving no remains behind.
He even used the Fireball Technique to completely destroy the patterns on the walls.
In the deepest part of the cellar, he discovered another passage.
Just like the underground hall where the Xuan Family had once entertained a Demon Cultivator, this cellar also had two exits.
After ticulously finishing the cleanup, Xiao Chen followed the passage for about a mile.
’Living people!’
Near the exit, his Divine Sense captured two figures ahead of him—one tall and one short.
User Comments
0 comments from readers