Sacrificial Vessel

He Zhao spat blood and made muffled whimpering sounds. In truth, the Sixth Sense from his title had warned him the instant A'er made a move. Unfortunately, he had not had time to dodge at all.

At this moment, it was neither night nor combat. With no bonuses to his physical attributes, he was merely a District 1 teenager; his Agility could not keep up with his reaction.

"Lesser Mystic, your blood smells so good!" A seductive look appeared on A'er's resolute face, just like Gan Ping, who had been so nauseating in the Campaigning Simulation Scenario.

He Zhao endured the pain and stared at the other party in confusion. He truly could not understand it. With A'er's strength, he should not have been silently killed and devoured by the Demon Eater.

"Can't believe it?" A'er withdrew his arm and licked the Heart Blood from his right hand. "Men are all lechers. This concubine merely used a little trick, and I succeeded."

It was an utterly convincing answer. If he had not been blinded by lust, how could A'er, whose aura was even fiercer than Instructor Wu's, have been dealt with without a sound?

During the last Simulation Scenario, the Demon Eater had suffered a huge loss precisely because Someone surnamed He had exposed her identity in one breath. Otherwise, two hundred Profound Armor Elites would not have been enough for her to toy with alone.

"Lesser Mystic, let us become one!" As the words fell, the large, strong hand that had always seemed so powerful covered He Zhao's crown of the head.

With a crack, his skull shattered.

Then, the sounds of eating came from within the room.

[Congratulations, you survived for 3 hours. In the past, players delivered themselves to Pig Woman as an appetizer. Today, a player gifted his own brain to the Demon Eater.]

[Score: 0.]

[Reward: None.]

[My Wallet: 334 Simulation Coins]

[Would you like to replay your simulated life?]

"Last time, I got myself killed by Pig Woman. This time, I behaved myself, yet I still died at the Demon Eater's hands." Thinking of this, He Zhao sucked in a breath through his teeth.

Why were my past lives getting worse and worse? Either half my body got chewed up by an Aberration, or my brain got eaten raw.

What a pitfall for future generations. Why was the difficulty so damn high?

[Campaigning] BOSS—Xiahe Village's mutated Corpse Demon.

[Qinghe Town: Demon Subjugation Chapter] BOSS—Gao Family Demon Eater.

Would the next map bring out some world-shaking great demon?

Damn it!!

The Burning Rage Method began circulating on its own, once again providing him with a trace of Spirit Power.

"No. I can't swallow this grievance."

[Life After Life, Endless Joy!]

[.]

[Have a pleasant game!]

"Zhao'er? Wake up!"

Well then, Cheap Master had started calling his soul again.

He Zhao awoke from the darkness, and immense Spirit Power swiftly flooded his entire body.

Under the talent of Death Resistance, the fever and illness retreated step by step. When Master instructed A'er to brew medicine and turned to take his pulse, he suddenly discovered that his disciple had recovered without medicine.

"???"

"Master, listen to me." He Zhao stopped pretending and prepared to lay his cards on the table. His mind was now filled with thoughts of killing the Demon Eater; as for whether that goal could be achieved, that was another matter!

"A Demon Eater is lurking in Qinghe Town. It's dangerous for A'er to brew medicine alone!"

Cheap Master's expression abruptly changed upon hearing this.

A Demon Eater?

Those things were extremely troublesome and exceptionally skilled at disguising themselves. After devouring a human, they acquired everything that person had—memories, movements, habits, even birthmarks and the like. They became no different from the original.

If one encountered one alone without preparation, death was certain.

He did not ask why He Zhao knew these things. The urgent matter was to go to the kitchen and warn A'er.

"Let's go!"

The old man said in a low voice, his face somewhat grim. Then he took out a fist-sized, blood-colored Skull from his sleeve. In an instant, the room darkened.

"Wuwu. Wuwuwu. Wu. Wuwu."

Intermittent sobbing sounded by their ears, while a faint burnt stench drifted beneath their noses.

"Gulp!"

He Zhao swallowed. He always felt that the Skull in Cheap Master's hand was somewhat sinister. Moreover, a gaze seemed to be watching him from within its pitch-black eye sockets. It was as though the thing were still alive, making his scalp tingle.

"Master, this is..."

"You have been in the sect for less than half a year, so it is only natural that you do not know. What is the foundation of us Unusual Scholars? Aside from constantly refining Spirit Power, we must also possess Sacrificial Vessels!

"Sacrificial Vessels are strange and have countless uses. Of course, using any Sacrificial Vessel requires paying a certain price. Once that price accumulates to a certain extent, the Sacrificial Vessel will awaken and backlash against its user!"

The old man spoke as he walked. He Zhao and A'da, following behind him, pricked up their ears and listened intently.

"For example, this Wailing Bone in my hand can, after devouring Spirit Power, Immobilize humans, aberrations, and ghosts."

Cheap Master only stated the Skull's name and effect. He did not mention the price to be paid or certain flaws.

The Inn's kitchen was not far from the second-floor guest rooms. The three of them reached their destination in a moment.

A simple, honest man's voice came from inside.

"Xiao Xiang, don't worry. My master has considerable influence in Wancheng. Forget that your father is merely the shopkeeper—even if you were the town chief's daughter, so what?"

Standing outside the door, A'da thought to himself that his younger brother had been blinded by lust!

As for He Zhao, he curled his lips. This fellow did not mean what he said.

From his memories, he knew that Secret Blood Warriors were highly sought after in Wancheng. Some gentry could not wait to marry off their daughters to them.

Do not be fooled by the honest appearance of these two brothers. Their true personalities were slippery as eels. He dared guarantee that A'er would abandon the shopkeeper's daughter once he got what he wanted.

What could a mere Inn shopkeeper bring to a Secret Blood Warrior?

Free lodging?

Ridiculous.

Under normal circumstances, a disgusting drama of seduction followed by abandonment might truly have played out.

However, A'er had good luck and even greater nerve, because he was preparing to freeload off a Demon Eater.

Freeloading was already a dangerous affair. Let alone freeloading off a ferocious Aberration. In the previous two Simulation Scenarios, this bastard had been devoured miserably, forever remaining together with her.

Sigh.

This showed that being a scumbag was dangerous no matter where one was.

"Hey!"

Cheap Master shoved open the door and roared. The two people in the kitchen both turned their gazes toward him.

The stove fire burning in the room suddenly shrank by a great deal. Its bright yellow flames abruptly turned a ghastly green.

A will brimming with malice descended. The shopkeeper's daughter stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning, unable to move.

With a boom, A'da crushed the floor beneath his feet. His entire body leaped through the air, his right palm like a millstone as it viciously smashed toward the woman's crown of the head.

"Eldest Brother?"

A'er, standing beside the woman, wore a completely bewildered expression.

He could not understand why his Eldest Brother wanted to kill someone the moment they met.

"Bang!!"

Distracted for an instant, A'er's palm struck the shopkeeper's daughter squarely on the forehead with a dull thud.

He Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, A'er had not stopped him halfway.

Now, it was certain!

"Crack—"

Xiao Xiang, the shopkeeper's daughter, had her forehead explode. Blood mixed with shattered bone fragments flew everywhere.

"You idiot! Do you know a Demon Eater is hiding in Qinghe Town? Even if she were a shopkeeper's daughter, how could she possibly fancy the likes of you!"

Even some nobles knew nothing about Secret Blood Warriors, much less the residents of a remote little town.

So here was the question: no looks, no status, no money.

Why would Xiao Xiang fall for you!

Unless there had been something wrong with her from the start.

Of course, even if there had been no problem, there was nothing to fear. She was merely a commoner; killing her was no great matter. At worst, they could report that her identity had been suspicious, and that they had killed her for safety's sake.

Unless they caused a tragedy in which the entire town was wiped out, those above would not punish them too severely.

"Eldest Brother, I think you killed the wrong person."

Facing A'da's rebuke, A'er pointed at Xiao Xiang, who lay on the ground with her face utterly mangled.

"My Xiao Xiang!"

He suddenly embraced the shopkeeper's daughter's corpse and wailed with tears and snot streaming down his face.

He Zhao clearly saw a flash of cunning in A'er's eyes.

This bastard was really giving it his all just to avoid being scolded!

Wait, that was not right.

The flesh and bone fragments on the corpse's head were weaving together, healing at terrifying speed!

"A'er..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Xiang, who had clearly been dead, abruptly opened her eyes.