Caught You!

Jiang Yuan sighed. He did not want to stir up any messy trouble, much less drag along a burden.

So he decided to stand him up. Coo coo!

It was hilarious. Someone might be secretly trying to harm him right now; perhaps they were even watching the missions he accepted.

Jiang Yuan would not stupidly rush off to do this mission.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the token in his hand.

It clearly read: "Qihe Village, one-to-three-person mission, collect Heart of the Black Wolf..."

This mission had no time limit. It was merely a material-gathering task, optional at best. There was more than one token for this mission hanging on the wall, and there would be no punishment if he did not carry it out.

Jiang Yuan casually tucked the token into his robes.

He began considering where he truly needed to go.

It was a dangerous area east of Haiyuan City, known as Soul-Losing Mountain.

Just from the name alone, one could tell how perilous the place was.

Originally, it had not been called that. It was said that, at some unknown point, all manner of supernatural incidents had begun occurring within the mountain, and Haiyuan City had swiftly designated it a forbidden area.

They named it Soul-Losing Mountain.

Yet Soul-Losing Mountain had always been remote. There were no settlements nearby, nor were there any resources to speak of.

Even Haiyuan City, the closest city to Soul-Losing Mountain, did not care about it, much less the other cities.

There was no profit to be gained, nor did it harm the interests of martial artists, so naturally no one went to Soul-Losing Mountain to investigate.

As time passed, the mountain's strange nature remained preserved.

The escort agency had only symbolically posted an exploration mission for it, with rather meager rewards.

Soul-Losing Mountain was the most suitable place Jiang Yuan had chosen for training.

And it was so remote.

If there were any strange entities there, it would be the ideal place to farm Points!

To others, Soul-Losing Mountain was a place to avoid from afar. To Jiang Yuan, it was instead a place where opportunity and danger coexisted.

Of course, for a Qi and Blood Martial Artist to seek out strange entities was no different from courting death. Qi and Blood Martial Artists had no means of dealing with them; at most, their Qi and Blood could prevent the weakest Ghosts and Ghouls from approaching.

But the power of the Great Sun Blazing Fire Bone gave Jiang Yuan confidence. Even if he could not win, he should still be able to run.

Jiang Yuan packed up his equipment, slung the blade case onto his back, registered his destination, and left the escort agency.

As for the destination he registered, it was naturally Qihe Village.

Jiang Yuan stepped out through the escort agency's gates. During the day, the city was far more prosperous than it had appeared at night.

People came and went, while countless peddlers lined the streets.

Jiang Yuan stood by the roadside, tall and elegant. His escort agency uniform made him look valiant and extraordinary, while the blade case on his back was conspicuous. His slightly handsome face made quite a few passing girls blush.

Jiang Yuan found the direction of the city gates and headed there, leaving the city before long.

Outside the city was also thriving, with wheat fields rippling like waves in the wind.

A gentle breeze blew over, leaving one refreshed and at ease.

Yet Jiang Yuan knew that beneath this prosperity lurked man-eating demons and monsters.

Jiang Yuan walked with his eyes lowered, occasionally taking out a map.

It was the route map to Qihe Village that he had obtained from the mission hall.

As Jiang Yuan continued down the road, he encountered fewer and fewer people and drew farther and farther away from Haiyuan City.

Then Jiang Yuan suddenly accelerated, swiftly leaving the official road and racing off to the side.

Strangely, Jiang Yuan's shadow suddenly began to twist, before turning pitch-black.

The surrounding light was drawn into Jiang Yuan's shadow. The shadow writhed faintly, and the movements of its humanoid outline began to tremble slightly. That trembling was not something Jiang Yuan was doing.

The shadow's trembling was incomparably eerie.

Jiang Yuan still kept his eyes lowered as he ran toward a patch of wasteland, completely unaware of the changes beneath his feet.

As he ran, Jiang Yuan's shadow suddenly stretched out a hand.

Yet Jiang Yuan was still running. His own hand merely swung unconsciously, rather than extending straight out like this.

The pitch-black hand began reaching toward the shadow's own head.

Jiang Yuan abruptly came to a halt.

"Caught you!"

A scorching blaze surged from the depths of Jiang Yuan's eyes.

A fiery glow suddenly appeared at his chest. Jiang Yuan's Qi and Blood erupted, and the fiery glow at his chest swiftly ignited all the Qi and Blood in his body.

Flames spread across his body, yet Jiang Yuan did not feel the slightest heat. Instead, he felt an intense comfort.

It was like someone who had curled up for a long time suddenly stretching their body out.

Jiang Yuan suddenly flipped through the air, like a swallow returning to its nest. His body reversed in a flash of lightning, and one hand grabbed toward the ground.

More precisely, it grabbed toward his own shadow.

Strangely, the shadow still maintained the pose Jiang Yuan had held while standing moments ago.

Other than one hand reaching toward its own head, it was completely the shadow Jiang Yuan had cast when he was standing still.

Now, as if there were network lag, the shadow still maintained its previous appearance.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan's pupils had turned crimson, like the most scorching flames.

His fully erupted Qi and Blood formed a thin, translucent garment of blood over his body. Then, after the flames burning at his chest ignited that Qi and Blood, the blood garment transformed into a robe of fire. Jiang Yuan resembled a god of flame, wielding fire and looking down upon the world.

Aberrant Bone: Great Sun Blazing Fire Bone!

An aberrant bone from the Martial Emperor's simulated life, it bared its fangs in reality for the first time.

Jiang Yuan formed an eagle claw with his hand and violently plunged it into the ground, then yanked upward.

A pitch-black monkey, so skinny that only bones remained, appeared in Jiang Yuan's grasp.

Jiang Yuan's expression was blank, and there was no ripple in his eyes.

The "monkey" in his hand was completely black, without the slightest trace of any other color. Its black body reflected no light, making it impossible for others to see its exact appearance.

Jiang Yuan clenched his hand. The monkey in his grasp struggled and trembled all over, then flames ignited its body.

The strange entity burning in the flames was reflected in Jiang Yuan's eyes, the firelight dazzling.

The "monkey" turned to drifting ash and vanished between heaven and earth.

[Points +50]

Jiang Yuan snorted and swiftly left the area.

He found a hidden place, removed the conspicuous escort agency uniform, and changed into a black fitted outfit.

This sort of black fitted outfit was the most common attire for martial artists.

Jiang Yuan then took out a box of rouge he had casually bought along the way and smeared some onto his face.

Naturally, Jiang Yuan did not know any disguise techniques, but after randomly smearing rouge across his face and changing into a black fitted outfit—

An ordinary young martial artist had appeared.

Though one could still recognize Jiang Yuan upon close inspection, this was already the best concealment method he had.

Jiang Yuan recognized that black monkey.

It was recorded in the Record of Demons, Monsters, and Oddities.

Shadow Demon: thin as a monkey and completely black, it dwells within a person's shadow, constantly drawing upon the host's Essence, Qi, and Spirit until the host becomes as thin and small as the Shadow Demon. At that point, the host becomes a new Shadow Demon.

Its ability to conceal itself was powerful, making it difficult for ordinary people to discover it.

The Record of Demons, Monsters, and Oddities contained few details, but it briefly introduced many strange entities.

This Shadow Demon was one of them.

Ordinary people would be terrified upon encountering strange entities, but just as Wenzhao had said—

Fear came from the unknown, and from insufficient strength.

Jiang Yuan was strong enough now to destroy this Shadow Demon, so naturally he was not afraid.

Fortunately, he had the Jade Stone Wenzhao had bestowed upon him. After Jiang Yuan left Haiyuan City, the Jade Stone on his body had continuously emitted a faint warmth.

That was how Jiang Yuan had become alert. He had then refrained from heading directly toward Soul-Losing Mountain.

Instead, he had traveled a stretch of road in the direction of Qihe Village.

Only after noticing something wrong with the shadow behind him did Jiang Yuan seize this Shadow Demon.

"It really is brazen..."

Jiang Yuan muttered, glanced around, and kept running in one direction.

Fortunately, Jiang Yuan could already make preliminary use of the aberrant bone's power. With the aberrant bone's enhancement, this Shadow Demon—which Qi and Blood could scarcely contend against—had been forcibly destroyed by Jiang Yuan.

Before long, at the place where Jiang Yuan had destroyed the Shadow Demon.

Two figures suddenly appeared.

"It disappeared here... What do we do? Should we cancel the plan?"

"No need. He is Wenzhao's nephew, after all. It is normal for Wenzhao to give him some means of saving his life. But we did not encounter him on the way here. He may have continued toward Qihe Village. We'll wait for him in Qihe Village!"

"Heh, he is just a yellow-haired brat. He probably does not even know that Shadow Demons exist. He merely has a good uncle, that's all."