The Human Heart Was More Treacherous Than Demons

The Human Heart Was More Treacherous Than Demons

"Crossing the tribulation in seven days?"

Su Yun froze slightly. "The Whole Village Eats is going to turn into a Flood Dragon?"

The Great Black Snake had already returned to its reef and continued drawing in the essence of starlight and moonlight. The waters of Snake Ravine slowly receded as well, returning to normal.

Su Yun and Flower Fox jumped down from the reef, and the man and fox continued toward Huqiu Village.

"Why exactly did The Whole Village Eats stop us?" Flower Fox could not help asking.

"He is about to transform into a Flood Dragon."

Su Yun said, "But he cannot transform on his own, because he has refined his body until it is incomparably hard. He cannot shed his snakeskin. Even scraping himself against the reef will not wear it through. So he used his venomous fangs to refine a Bone Sword, intending to use it to cut open his snakeskin and make it easier for himself to transform into a Flood Dragon."

Flower Fox finally understood. "The Whole Village Eats cannot cut open his own skin, so he needs to borrow your hand."

Su Yun smiled. "He is borrowing my hand and your eyes. He is grateful that we helped him transform, so he invited us to Snake Ravine in seven days to watch him become a Flood Dragon."

Flower Fox's eyes immediately lit up. He said excitedly, "Watching a snake transform into a Flood Dragon is a rare opportunity for us. It can help us visualize!"

The more he spoke, the more excited he became. Then he suddenly realized something. "We can watch The Whole Village Eats become a Flood Dragon, but Little Yun cannot see..."

He stopped cheering and laughed. "What is there to see in a snake becoming a Flood Dragon? It might not even benefit Crocodile Dragon's Roar. The Whole Village Eats poisoned my cousin to death. I do not care to go."

"We are going. We must go!"

Su Yun said seriously, "When The Whole Village Eats turns into a Flood Dragon, his form will change. A Flood Dragon is even stronger than a Crocodile Dragon, so it will bring far greater benefits to Crocodile Dragon's Roar! Not everyone can encounter such an opportunity! Second Brother, if you want to avenge Mister Wild Fox, then you must go to the tribulation crossing seven days from now!"

Flower Fox fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

Without realizing it, the man and fox arrived at Yellow Grave Ridge. Yellow Village, the weasel village, was built here. Though it was deep into the night, fires blazed everywhere across Yellow Grave Ridge.

The weasels of Yellow Village held torches and sat in a circle. The village chief, an old weasel, stood atop a raised platform, holding his torch high as he shouted, "...That bastard has oppressed our people too cruelly! He has eaten our clansmen and poisoned our clansmen! Who knows how many brothers and sisters, how many uncles and blood kin, have been buried in his belly or beneath his venomous fangs!"

"If he transforms into a Flood Dragon, it will be the day our clan is wiped out! This time! Everyone, this time! Strike while he is sick and take his life!"

Old Village Chief of Huang Village strode across the platform as he shouted, calling to the weasels below, "When he transforms, he will be at his weakest! While he crosses his tribulation to become a Flood Dragon, wipe him out in one stroke!"

"Wipe him out!" The weasels below raised their torches and shouted with upraised arms, their voices loud and clamorous.

Old Village Chief of Huang Village shouted sternly, "Kill him, and this old man will pay to lay out a grand feast and let The Whole Village Eats!"

The weasels below surged with emotion, their fervor rising even higher. "The Whole Village Eats—"

Su Yun and Flower Fox stopped and listened for a while. They had heard something of the grudges between Yellow Village and the Great Black Snake.

Yellow Village was located at Yellow Grave Ridge, close to Snake Ravine. To the Great Black Snake, Yellow Grave Ridge also lay within his territory, so whenever he grew hungry, he would catch a few weasels for a snack to fill his stomach.

Naturally, the weasels of Yellow Village considered this a blood-deep hatred and were determined to retaliate.

—Of course, the news Su Yun heard was usually that the Great Black Snake had bitten some resident of Yellow Village to death. He had no idea that the residents of Yellow Village were not human.

In the Little Blind Person's mind, every village and hamlet within ten li of Tianmen Town was full of people and bustling with life.

But in the eyes of outsiders, let alone Tianmen Town itself, not a single living person could be seen for a hundred li around it!

Still, ever since the changes in Huqiu Village, Su Yun had begun to doubt the place where he lived. Yet since he had not seen it with his own eyes, he still believed that the surroundings of Tianmen Town were full of people, not demons and ghosts.

Seven days from now, Snake Ravine will probably be lively.

"We are almost at Huqiu!" Flower Fox quickened his pace with a smile.

Su Yun followed him. Just as they neared the village entrance, Flower Fox suddenly stopped and said warily, "There is someone else's scent!"

Su Yun immediately activated Great Furnace Transformation. The Heaven-Earth Great Furnace within his body abruptly ignited, and his vital energy surged as though boiling. Vital energy swelled within his chest, rumbling in peals of thunder!

The muscles across his back tightened one by one, his spine crackling and popping. Qi and blood flowed through his tendons and muscles, transforming into a Flood Dragon.

Dragon tattoos appeared, and his presence rose to its peak, ready to face any unforeseen danger!

At that moment, Yang Sheng's voice came from behind him. "No wonder they say foxes belong to dogs. Such keen noses. Su Yun of Tianmen Town, I should call you Junior Student. Seven months ago, I asked Mister Shuijing to teach at my private school."

Flower Fox hurriedly cried out. Hu Buping, Qingqiu Yue, and Li Xiaofan were startled awake and immediately ran out from Huqiu Village. They stared at Yang Sheng as though facing a great enemy.

Yang Sheng did not care in the least. He smiled. "Junior Student, killing Tong Fan caused me considerable trouble. But a crisis is both danger and opportunity. Once you killed Tong Fan, I knew a great opportunity had come to me. So long as I hand you over to the Tong Family, not only will I never have to worry about food and clothes again, I may even soar to great heights and become a man above other men!"

Su Yun turned around. "Senior Student, did the teachers at the official academy and Mister Shuijing never teach you the principles of being human?"

Yang Sheng blanked for a moment, then laughed. "A wild stray taught by a wild fox thinks he is worthy of discussing the principles of being human with me?"

Su Yun said solemnly, "I have heard that after a person dies, their spirit does not perish. If it falls upon a beast, it becomes a demon. Therefore, a demon may once have been human. I have also heard that after a demon dies, its spirit does not perish and may fall upon a human. Therefore, one wearing human skin may not necessarily be human."

Mockery appeared on Yang Sheng's face. Great Furnace Transformation began circulating within him as he said leisurely, "Junior Student, you grew up among demons and ghosts, living a life of eating raw flesh and drinking blood, yet you dare teach me how to be human? What a joke!"

In an instant, his Great Furnace Transformation rose to its utmost limit, directly reaching the sixth level!

He visualized a Crocodile Dragon, and the vital energy in his body erupted with Crocodile Dragon Thunderclap, deafening to the ears!

His presence grew stronger and stronger, his qi and blood increasingly dense. Vital energy and rushing blood formed Crocodile Dragon tattoos across the surface of his skin. Then the tattoos actually left his body, forming behind him the phantom of a Crocodile Dragon over sixteen or seventeen feet long!

The Crocodile Dragon shook its head and lashed its tail, lifelike and vivid!

Flower Fox and the other three little foxes' eyes twitched wildly, at a loss for what to do.

Yang Sheng was too powerful. His Crocodile Dragon's Roar had reached its third attainment: Qi-Blood Manifestation.

The Crocodile Dragon behind him was qi and blood released outward, the Crocodile Dragon manifesting!

When he attacked, the Crocodile Dragon behind him would attack alongside him!

The manifested Crocodile Dragon of qi and blood could even merge with him, doubling the power of every move he made!

Yang Sheng was no longer someone they could handle.

Su Yun slowly closed his eyes and asked, "Senior Student, I have a question. How did you know about Huqiu Village? The last time you followed Mister Shuijing, that should have been your first visit, right? It was nighttime then. You could not possibly have seen the geography around the school clearly."

Flower Fox froze slightly and looked at Su Yun in confusion.

Su Yun continued, "Mister Shuijing told you to return to Northern Frontier. You could not possibly have known there was a Huqiu Village here. It is nighttime now, yet you found this place immediately. That means when Mister Shuijing told you to return to Northern Frontier, you did not leave."

Yang Sheng smiled.

"Junior Student truly is clever. Mister Shuijing told us to return first, but I met an acquaintance at the Ghost Market: Tong Fan. My family was neither prominent nor prestigious, so ordinarily, it would have been difficult for me to meet a young master from one of those Great Aristocratic Families. Such an opportunity was rare. How could I possibly let it slip away?"

Yang Sheng glanced at Huqiu Village behind Su Yun and smiled. "And there were other young masters and young ladies from aristocratic families traveling with Tong Fan, so I stayed."

Su Yun asked, "What happened afterward?"

Yang Sheng said flatly, "The young masters and ladies of the Great Aristocratic Families have broad experience. What good things have they not seen? What amusements have they not enjoyed? My little abilities could hardly catch their eye. I merely accompanied them for amusement."

He smiled faintly. "Tianshiyuan was filled everywhere with demons and ghosts. The young masters and ladies of aristocratic families all enjoyed hunting, and they could cloak it in the righteous cause of subduing demons and eliminating evil. So we searched the surrounding area and found this place."

Flower Fox whimpered, tears immediately streaming down his face.

Su Yun said, "Senior Student, you met Mister Wild Fox. You also knew that Mister Shuijing held Mister Wild Fox in great respect. When you came to Huqiu Village and saw Mister Wild Fox, you should have stopped them."

"I did not."

Yang Sheng shook his head. "I did recognize that old fox, but the young masters and ladies were in high spirits. If I had spoken up to stop them, would that not have spoiled their fun? I had not even finished currying favor with them. Why would I do something so dampening? Only if the young masters and ladies enjoyed themselves would they be willing to support me."

Flower Fox and the three little foxes clenched their teeth, staring at him with all their might as their bodies tightened further and further.

"So not only could I not spoil their fun, I had to make sure they enjoyed themselves to the fullest."

Yang Sheng's gaze turned cold as it slowly swept over Su Yun and the little foxes. "How could they enjoy themselves to the fullest? Naturally, by sharing their pleasure and subduing demons and eliminating evil together. So I too killed several Fox Demons."

He said calmly, "Junior Student, after you killed Tong Fan, you left the Ghost Market with a fox. When I saw that fox, I knew you would come here. You, Junior Student, will also become a gift for me to claim merit and seek reward from the Tong Family!"

Before his words had faded, thunder roared violently within his chest, deafening to the ears!

Yang Sheng took one step forward. His qi and blood blazed, like a Crocodile Dragon leaping from a great marsh, fierce and savage as he pounced at Su Yun!