7: Chapter 7: Kindred in the Dark 7: Chapter 7: Kindred in the Dark The continuous drizzle and the thin layer of clouds.
Luckily, the clouds were thin enough to allow the faint moonlight to penetrate.
Strangely, once they left the area of the Demon Cave, the moonlight was no longer blood-red but was instead cold and clear, mingling with the soundless rain, sprinkling down to the earth.
The corpse demon’s vision was very adapted to darkness; with just the faint moonlight, Baili An quickly surveyed the area.
Creating wind underfoot, he soon carried the small deer into a cave that provided shelter from the wind and rain.
After setting the deer down, he noticed its short, wet fur clinging pitifully to its body, which made Baili An frown.
He looked around the cave and fortunately, there were plenty of dry leaves and branches, likely blown in by strong winds.
He quickly made a fire and called the small deer over.
The deer obediently ca at his call, curling up beside the fire to rest.
Baili An’s heart also turned peaceful at that mont.
The presence of the deer allowed him to feel the vibrancy of life, making him montarily believe that he too existed in this world.
He didn’t dislike this peaceful feeling.
Although he was dead, he could still witness the lives of mortals.
The deer closed its eyes, slowly drifting into a dream…
But Baili An, being a corpse demon, did not have fixed sleeping periods, and he wouldn’t fall into a deep sleep like ordinary people, even at midnight his mind was frighteningly alert.
Unable to sleep, he could only ditate.
Sitting cross-legged, his hands skillfully ford a Taoist spell, as if he had perford the motion thousands of tis in his mory.
Now, all he had left was the na Baili An and the cultivation techniques deeply etched into his mory, so much so that he couldn’t understand how his mory was lost but these details remained vividly clear.
It probably had to do with the ancient voice that lingered in his ears during the long ti he lay in the Purple Gold Coffin.
That voice clearly told him about the paths of cultivation for Immortals, dividing the realms into three major realms: Mortal Realm, Tribulation Realm, and Sanctum Ascension.
Each major realm consisted of several minor realms.
The Mortal Realm had four: Seeking Tao Realm, Opening Source Realm, Sea Expansion Realm, and Chengling Realm.
The Tribulation Realm had five: Soul Awakening Realm, God Union Realm, Integration Realm, Thousand Tribulation Realm, and Tongming Realm.
The Sanctum Ascension had four: Refining Void Realm, Ancient Tribulation Realm, Undying Realm, and Saint Realm.
Currently, his body was about sixteen years old, yet his cultivation was only at the beginner’s second grade of the Seeking Tao Realm.
Judging by the funerary objects in his coffin, his resources in life must have been ample, surely belonging to a Cultivation Family, making his modest capabilities quite diocre in his forr life.
Li Jiujiu was only in her twenties, already at the first grade of the Opening Source in cultivation, making him feel utterly embarrassed by comparison.
His unremarkable talents, and now death, might make his cultivation path even more challenging.
Putting these thoughts aside, Baili An pushed away the complex thoughts and tried to focus, but suddenly he heard a rustling sound not produced by natural surroundings.
The sound was very subtle; hearing it instinctively gave a chilling feeling—it was rhythmic and dense, as if caused by soone’s clothing rubbing against the ground.
Baili An’s eyes, which had not yet fully closed, suddenly snapped open, and he vigilantly looked toward the source of the sound.
It was coming from deeper within the cave.
The pitch-black darkness seed like a lurking beast, the rustling getting more frequent and closer.
Even the deer, fast asleep, suddenly woke up with a start, lying on the ground and whinnying in fear, its natural sense of danger kicking in.
Baili An knew what was approaching them was no re beast.
But a presence far more dangerous than any beast!
Step… step… step…
The sound beca clearer, the rustling gradually overshadowed by footsteps over ti.
But these footsteps were too eerie for humans; they were dull, not the usual pace of walking back and forth.
It was as if one step was taken, followed by a brief pause, then another step of the sa intensity.
Be it the short interval or the muted intensity, they were consistently precise.
Almost as if a person was walking with two legs at the sa ti.
Baili An hadn’t yet seen the figure erge from the darkness, but he faintly guessed what it might be.
He figured he had encountered another of his kind.
Outside the cave, the sound of wind and rain intensified, like the ghastly wails of ghosts and howls of wolves.
Despite the roaring wind and rain, it couldn’t mask the eerie footsteps emanating from within the cave.
The fire danced uneasily as the footsteps suddenly accelerated, quickly as if an expert was playing a fast rhythm on clappers.
The sound of clappers was usually pleasant to the ears, but this fast-paced footstep rhythm was utterly unnerving.
Baili An’s feet shivered, not having ti to comfort the restless deer.
Because he saw… a greenish face bursting through the dark shadows of the cave like lightning, leaving a straight shadow as it rapidly approached!
A pair of ghastly white hands, veined green, snapped together like blades – their tips sharp as hooks, aiming straight for Baili An’s throat!
Baili An instinctively reached for the Autumnwater Sword that Miss Jiujiu had given him.
But the speed of the green-faced corpse demon was astonishing; in the blink of an eye, before he could even take a good look, it appeared right before him.
Its arms stretched stiff, and its nails sharp as hooks ca even closer.
Baili An couldn’t even track the trajectory of the claws with his eyes, only hearing the sound of sharp blades slicing through the air, knowing just how lethal those claws were.
Yet the Autumnwater Sword was only partially drawn, nowhere near enough to block or parry.
He felt a cold sensation in his throat.
Despair surged in Baili An’s heart, fearing that his throat might be punctured with many holes by this fierce creature.
Knowing he couldn’t draw his sword in ti and that he couldn’t escape death, he worried for the honest deer he had just befriended.
“Run!!!”
Baili An’s eyes widened, and he let out a trendous roar.
The next mont, that roar abruptly ceased, stifled at his throat.
Sharp as blades, those fingers punctured a deep indent in his throat.
The deer’s large frightened eyes reflected the bizarrely indented throat clearly.
The world before Baili An turned dark; he couldn’t see anything.
Pain erupted from his throat, preventing him from staying still as the trendous force sent him flying backwards!
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