Black Blood!

"What Skin-Peeling Demon? We came here tracking the Blood Demon. The Blood Demon's aura was inside this house, which was why we entered."

"I see... Then how did you determine whether it was the Blood Demon?"

"That's simple."

Chen Luo immediately took out an ancient-looking compass. He bit open his finger and dripped a drop of blood onto the compass.

The compass absorbed the blood.

"Buzz."

The compass blazed with light.

Within that light, a faint blood-red glow pointed toward the house.

Chen Luo reentered the house.

At once, a massive blood-red phantom appeared within the compass.

"Look. The Blood Demon really did come here, and it stayed in this room for quite some time."

Chen Luo pointed at the blood-red phantom as he spoke.

"Could the entire Lei household have been harmed by the Blood Demon? Young Master Ji, didn't you say the Skin-Peeling Demon was the one that harmed the entire Lei household?"

Lei Yu asked with a frown.

"Buzz."

Before Ji Qing could answer, the compass in Chen Luo's hand suddenly blazed with light again.

This time, a blurry phantom appeared beside the blood-red phantom.

Chen Luo was greatly startled at the sight.

"Huh? There's a second phantom. That means there was likely a second demon in this room. Could it be the Skin-Peeling Demon you mentioned?"

A sharp gleam flashed through Ji Qing's eyes. He said in a low voice, "Chen Luo, you're a Demon Slayer. Don't you know about the Skin-Peeling Demon?"

"My Chen Family has been Demon Slayers for generations. There isn't a demon under heaven that the Chen Family doesn't know about. However, my studies are shallow, and I don't know much about many demons. But can you be certain it's called a Skin-Peeling Demon?"

"We can."

Ji Qing's tone was as firm as a nail driven into wood.

The Demon Record had confirmed it. How could they not be certain?

"Fortunately, I brought the Demon Identification Manual. Let me look it up first."

Chen Luo immediately took a mysterious ancient book from his bundle. Four large characters were written on its cover: Demon Identification Manual.

Chen Luo opened the Demon Identification Manual and carefully searched through it page by page.

Lei Yu and Ji Qing exchanged a glance, both unable to help shaking their heads.

They could both see that Chen Luo truly had no experience in the Jianghu at all.

He was the very picture of a fledgling just out of the nest.

"Found it!"

Chen Luo suddenly looked excited and said loudly, "The Skin-Peeling Demon excels at concealing its aura. It can peel off human skin and turn it into avatars, and its nature is cunning and deceitful. Its true body rarely appears in the world."

"Even Demon Slayers can't find the Skin-Peeling Demon's true body?"

Ji Qing's heart sank.

Chen Luo rubbed the back of his head and said with a bitter smile, "Most of the demons in the Demon Identification Manual have either been eliminated or sealed by my Chen Family. Only a very small number are beyond even the Chen Family's means. The Skin-Peeling Demon is one of them."

"However, while the Skin-Peeling Demon's true body is difficult to find, its avatars are active in the world. And Skin-Peeling Demon avatars are usually not very strong, so they aren't hard to deal with if encountered."

Ji Qing fell silent.

He understood the Skin-Peeling Demon even better than Chen Luo, this Demon Slayer.

"It's not that Skin-Peeling Demon avatars are weak. Their strength depends on how strong they were before becoming avatars. The stronger they were in life, the stronger they become after turning into Skin-Peeling Demon avatars!"

Ji Qing explained.

"This hero isn't a Demon Slayer, yet you know more about the Skin-Peeling Demon. Could it be that you've dealt with one before?"

Chen Luo asked.

"Dealt with one? The entire Ji household, as well as the entire Lei household, were slaughtered by the Skin-Peeling Demon! I don't care whether this Skin-Peeling Demon is an avatar or its true body—I will make it die!"

"Chen Luo, can you find the Skin-Peeling Demon?"

Lei Yu asked, murder blazing in her voice.

"Well... I can find it. With a trace of a demon's aura, a Demon Slayer can track it. But our main purpose this time is to capture the Blood Demon. This Blood Demon is no ordinary foe; its danger level is extremely high. Ordinary Jianghu martial artists are simply no match for it. Once the Blood Demon emerges, it will truly bring calamity upon the world."

Chen Luo explained.

Lei Yu was just about to flare up.

They had finally found traces of the Skin-Peeling Demon. Whether Chen Luo wanted to or not, he had to find it!

But Ji Qing gave a slight shake of his head and said, "Brother Chen, since both the Blood Demon's and the Skin-Peeling Demon's auras appeared in the Lei residence, that means the Skin-Peeling Demon and the Blood Demon should have been together. The two demons joining hands most likely means they're plotting something. Track the Blood Demon now, and we'll come with you. Perhaps we can find the Skin-Peeling Demon as well!"

"Huh? That is a good idea... But the Blood Demon is too dangerous. You Jianghu folk may be highly skilled in martial arts, but facing the Blood Demon is still far too dangerous..."

Chen Luo meant well.

He feared that tracking down the Blood Demon would instead cost Ji Qing and Miss Lei their lives.

"Chen boy, have you forgotten who was beaten until he vomited blood all over the ground just now?"

"This..."

Chen Luo was indeed somewhat embarrassed.

He secretly glanced at Miss Lei again, his feelings a tangled mess.

Though he was a fledgling, among the younger generation of Demon Slayers, he was considered one of the best. Having secretly slipped out to track the Blood Demon this time, Chen Luo had considered both his martial arts and sorcery to be quite formidable.

Yet the first opponent he encountered had been Miss Lei, and even combining his martial arts and sorcery, he had been no match for her.

It was truly humiliating.

"Miss... Lei, Brother Ji, it's not that I look down on your strength. Among Jianghu people, you truly are very strong. But against the Blood Demon, you are absolutely no match. The Blood Demon fears no ordinary blades or weapons, possesses immense strength, can change in countless ways, and is nearly immortal. Only the sorcery of us Demon Slayers can injure it."

Chen Luo explained.

"Demon Slayer sorcery? Can you teach us some too? Even the simplest little spell—if we mastered it, we could lend you a hand!"

Ji Qing's heart stirred, and he spoke up.

"Right, right. Just teach us sorcery."

Though Lei Yu said Chen Luo's strength was nothing special, she was still very interested in the sorcery of Demon Slayers.

"Sorcery..."

Chen Luo shook his head. "Even if I taught you sorcery, you wouldn't be able to learn it. The sorcery of us Demon Slayers can only be cast using Demon Slayer blood. Every time we cast a spell, we Demon Slayers use our own blood as the medium."

"Without Demon Slayer blood, it is nearly impossible to cast any sorcery at all. However, there may occasionally be people living outside who carry Demon Slayer blood in their bodies, but the odds are extremely small."

"If you two don't believe me, please look at my sister's and my blood."

Chen Luo and Chen Lin each flicked out a drop of blood.

"This blood... carries a hint of green?"

Ji Qing and Lei Yu exchanged a glance, both deeply astonished.

"That's right. This is Demon Slayer blood! In truth, not every descendant of our Lineage can be born with Demon Slayer blood. Most people cannot produce Demon Slayer blood either."

"You two can examine your own blood as well. It doesn't have to be green—so long as it carries a trace of an unusual color, there's a high chance it is Demon Slayer blood!"

Thus, Ji Qing and Lei Yu each squeezed out a drop of blood.

Lei Yu's blood was perfectly normal—blood-red, with nothing unusual about it.

However, Ji Qing's blood seemed somewhat different.

"Your blood... Why is there a trace of black mixed into it?"

Lei Yu stared at Ji Qing's blood, her eyes gradually widening.