Is This Really a Demon-Strange Entity? (8000)

Zhao Yin stood up from her cross-legged position, her face full of disbelief.

He's at the bottom of the river right now, far from the surface. How could he possibly get down there? Even Xu Bai couldn't possibly go down to the bottom of the river. Besides, there's no one in the entire Wind Chime Prefecture who's suited for fighting in the water.

Not long after, one of his men rushed in from outside. He tripped and fell on the ground, crawling all over the place. He finally crawled to Zhao Yin on his hands and feet.

"Something's wrong! Something's wrong!" the subordinate cried out in a panic. "Xu Bai has broken in and killed dozens of our men in the blink of an eye. We can't stop him any longer."

Zhao Yin was taken aback.

Xu Bai broke in? How is that possible!

Based on the available intelligence, he has no underwater martial arts techniques, nor any ability suitable for underwater combat.

Let alone him breaking in, even if he could dive to the bottom of the river, it wouldn't be an easy task, let alone finding them in the river. How could that be possible? "It's true, he's already broken in. For some reason, the surrounding water can't affect him, and he's extremely fierce."

His subordinate was covered in cold sweat, his face growing paler, clearly feeling fear as he recalled the scene when Xu Bai stormed in.

It was completely out of control, and even my shoulders started to tremble.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Yin frowned deeply and quickly walked forward. As for the enormous tortoise, he left it where it was, intending to go out and check the situation first.

Walk to a secluded corner, where you can see the fight outside.

When Zhao Yin saw the figure in the distance, he froze on the spot, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Not far away at the bottom of the river, a figure was constantly moving about. This figure was tall and straight, holding a long, black knife in his hand.

With a casual flick of the wrist, the Black Saber Hundred Rends would shatter into countless fragments, carrying a terrifying Saber Intent.

Moreover, each fragment can perform its own sword techniques, and even play beautiful music.

His men were no match for him; they were pierced through by the fragments in an instant.

That's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that Zhao Yin saw that the surrounding water flow seemed to have no effect on Xu Bai at all.

There was a short distance between the riverbed and Xu Bai, a distance in which no water entered and Xu could move freely. As Xu Bai moved, the surrounding water seemed to be afraid of him and avoided him.

"How... how could he possibly be good at underwater combat?" Zhao Yin was stunned.

Seeing this, his subordinates quickly said, "Think of something! If this continues, we'll all be wiped out in less than half an incense stick's time."

"Yes, yes, we need to think of a way. Don't rush, let me think about it." Zhao Yin finally calmed down, took a few deep breaths to compose himself, and turned around to look at his subordinate.

The next moment, under the expectant gaze of his subordinate, he suddenly took two steps forward, and then a sharp blade appeared in his right hand, piercing through the subordinate's chest.

Without pausing, he lightly slashed the dagger in his subordinate's chest, and the subordinate fell to the ground.

The demon standing on the subordinate's shoulder screamed and rolled on the ground. After a moment, its body stiffened and it lost its breath.

The demon master dies, and the demon cannot live; this is the wonder of the demon master.

"I'm sorry, I can only ask you to help me stop him." Zhao Yin said without any hesitation, then turned and went back to the giant tortoise.

"Quick, run! Refine it as you run. It doesn't matter if you're slow, as long as you can get away."

Upon hearing this, the turtle, which had its head and limbs tucked into its shell, resumed its original position and stopped spinning.

At this moment, Zhao Yin pushed off with his feet and climbed onto the turtle's back. The turtle's limbs moved rapidly, and it quickly rushed towards the distance of the river.

Zhao Yin had already run away.

On the other side, Xu Bai looked at the defeated soldiers in front of him and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

It can only be said that the Water Adaptation Method truly lives up to its name; the power of this skill has indeed impressed him.

Although it's only a fifth-tier skill, the feeling in the water is completely different. The surrounding water seems to be afraid of him, keeping it far away, and it can also compress the oxygen already contained in the water to replenish his lack.

He went down into the river and began searching quickly along the river.

With the Water Adaptation Method, it becomes exceptionally agile in water, and its speed is extremely fast.

Before long, he found another building, which was his destination this time. As soon as he entered, he encountered so many enemies, but they were all small fry. In an instant, he had defeated them and scattered them, with only one still alive.

The only survivor was completely stunned, terrified by the scene before him. Even with all his experiences, he couldn't process what was happening for a long time.

The bottom of the water was covered in bloodstains, which floated in the water and looked extremely horrifying. In particular, there were corpses all over the ground, some of which were rolling up and down with the current. This scene was tormenting him.

"Come here," Xu Bai said calmly.

The only survivor heard the sound and instinctively looked up, but before Xu Bai could speak, he saw Xu Bai reach out and lightly flick the Black Saber Hundred Rends.

A crisp sound rang out, easily transmitted because Xu Bai had already mastered the Water Adaptation Method.

The next moment, the only living person was stunned on the spot, completely controlled by Xu Bai's music.

"Tell me everything you know," Xu Bai said slowly.

"Lord Zhao wants to refine Lin Yong and obtain the remains of the Diverting Water Altar inside Lin Yong's body. He is currently refining it inside. Some people have already gone in to look for him, but they haven't come out yet..." The only survivor spoke the truth without hesitation under Xu Bai's control.

As he spoke, Xu Bai, after hearing the words, chopped off the head of the man in front of him with a single stroke.

After beheading the man, Xu Bai didn't stop and walked directly toward the building in front of him.

The person just said something about Lin Yong being killed, so there must be other people inside who haven't come out yet. They either ran away or are waiting for him inside.

Sure enough, they hadn't walked far when they found a corpse on the ground. The chest was pierced by a sharp weapon, and the blood had already mixed with the water.

Xu Bai didn't look closely. He took a few more steps inside and found it empty. There was no one else there. Judging from the situation, they must have run away.

"Where can you run to?" Xu Bai closed his eyes, used the Water Adaptation Method to carefully sense the changes in the water flow, and after a moment, looked in one direction and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

He unleashed the Movement Break Fourth Cycle the Breakthrough technique, disappearing from his spot and heading in that direction. The surrounding water surged, not only avoiding him but also propelling him forward, making him much faster than before.

He kept chasing after him for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, when Xu Bai saw a figure running wildly ahead.

To be precise, it wasn't one person, but one person sitting on a giant tortoise.

The turtle's four legs swung around like wheels of fire, moving at a remarkable speed.

Seemingly sensing that someone was chasing him, Zhao Yin, sitting on the tortoise, turned around. When he saw Xu Bai wielding the Black Saber Hundred Rends, he was terrified, his face showing an expression of utter horror.

"He is not only skilled in underwater combat, but also extremely skilled at it."

Zhao Yin was in a panic and tried to calm herself down, but no matter what, she could not hide the fear in her heart.

He urged the tortoise on with all his might, trying to make it speed up and escape Xu Bai's clutches. However, the distance between them was closing at a subtle pace, and it was only a matter of time before the tortoise was caught up.

"Why! He clearly said he didn't have this ability, so why does he have it? If he really did, why didn't he come after us when we were on the ship?"

"There's no way he wouldn't have come after us. Did he not have this ability before?"

"But why did he learn it later? Could it be that he learned it on the spot? Impossible. If he could learn so quickly, how could he learn so many abilities? If he only learned one, he would probably already be at the first rank!"

Zhao Yin couldn't understand what was going on with Xu Bai, but he knew that if he couldn't escape today, he would die here sooner or later, so he had no choice but to run away as fast as he could.

Sometimes, your efforts are nothing compared to what others consider trivial.

Xu Bai watched the figure rushing ahead, and the smile on his lips grew wider and wider.

"Running won't help. Stop and let me kill you. I'll give you a quick death."

The sound traveled through the layers of water and reached Zhao Yin. Upon hearing this, Zhao Yin did not reply, but gritted her teeth and continued to run away.

"Happy?"

Bullshit about dying quickly! We're all going to die anyway, it's just a matter of whether it's an easy or difficult death.

Is there a difference? No, they're both dead.

Zhao Yin continued running.

At this moment, the tortoise under Zhao Yin's feet made a sound.

To be precise, it wasn't the turtle's voice, but Lin Yong's voice.

"Sigh, I never expected him to know underwater techniques."

The voice was neither panicked nor disheveled, nor did it contain any hysterical screams; it carried a calmness that was somewhat terrifying.

Zhao Yin was taken aback, then realized. "You're alright!"

That's Lin Yong's voice! The fact that he can speak in such a calm tone proves that there's nothing seriously wrong, but what's going on here?

He clearly remembered that he had refined Lin Yong into the turtle.

The tortoise was still running wildly, but it turned its head, its eyes filled with mockery. "What do you think?"

Zhao Yin was stunned.

He suddenly realized that he had lost all connection with the tortoise he was sitting on; the tortoise was no longer a demon, but had become Lin Yong.

"You tricked me!" Zhao Yin said through gritted teeth, "This is the top-secret method of the Diverting Water Altar, the Blood Exchange Art!"

"That's right." The tortoise was still running at full speed, but answered Zhao Yin's question, "I knew you wanted to be traitors, but I couldn't do anything to you by myself. So I decided to turn the tables on you. It's a pity that Xu Bai knows underwater techniques. I didn't expect that, but that won't affect my plan."

Zhao Yin angrily said, "What exactly do you want to do? Run away first. Now is not the time to talk about your plans. As long as you run away, I will help you do whatever you want."

With another menacing figure chasing after him, Zhao Yin didn't want to be distracted at all; all he wanted was to escape as soon as possible.

"No, no, no, I have to say it. If I don't say it now, I won't have another chance to say it. To be precise, neither I, nor you, nor Xu Bai will have another chance." Lin Yong said with regret, "It's a pity that we can't summon it, but being able to take you there is still very good."

"Take... us there?" Zhao Yin seemed to have thought of something. He braced his hands on the tortoise shell, trying to jump off, but it was too late.

His entire body seemed to be sucked on, unable to move at all, and he could only remain in this position.

Have you ever heard of... Demon Master Sacrifice?

"Use the blood of the demon master to stir up changes in the surrounding area and make that place appear."

"This is the secret technique of the Five Elements Demon Altar Formation, but I only have the remains of the Diverting Water Altar, so... I can only let you in."

"I need a lot of demon master blood. Originally, I planned to take this opportunity to fuse with your turtle and then use the potential that would be unleashed after the fusion to kill all the demon masters, but Xu Bai helped me."

"Now, all that's missing is you."

Lin Yong kept rambling on and on, just as he had said earlier, if he didn't continue now, he wouldn't have another chance to speak.

Before they die, some people choose to remain silent, while others choose to vent their frustrations.

Clearly, Lin Yong belongs to the latter category.

"I originally planned to lure Xu Bai out after everything was done, but I didn't expect Xu Bai to show up, hahaha!"

"Please, let me go, I don't want to go to the Demon-Strange Entity Market." Zhao Yin began to beg for mercy. Although he couldn't move, tears and snot streamed down his face as he frantically pleaded for mercy.

"It's too late, it's all too late." Lin Yong said, "Do you know? If it were before this, I would have let you live, because I wanted to leave one more seed for the Diverting Water Altar, but now, it seems that's not necessary."

These were the last words Lin Yong spoke. As soon as he finished speaking, streaks of blood appeared on his body, from which blood mist drifted out and merged with the surrounding water. Then, a tremendous change occurred in the surroundings.

The turtle transformed into an enormous blood sphere, while Zhao Yin collapsed at the bottom of the river, seemingly struck by something, unable to move.

Xu Bai was in pursuit when he saw this scene and suddenly stopped. He sensed something extremely dangerous locking onto him.

"Not good!"

Before Xu Bai could react, the blood sphere exploded.

A blood mist filled the air, followed by streaks of blood rising from the riverbed, turning the surroundings a crimson hue.

Xu Bai frowned, raised the Black Saber Hundred Rends in his hand, and swept it outwards.

The next moment, countless fragments struck the surrounding blood, but were bounced back.

He found himself seemingly trapped.

Zhao Yin sat down on the ground, repeating the same thing over and over, as if he had fallen into a daze.

"It's all over, it's all over..."

"What the hell is this?!" Xu Bai took two steps forward, grabbed Zhao Yin by the collar, and lifted him up.

It was very dangerous. Xu Bai's intuition told him that his current situation was extremely dangerous, unlike anything he had ever encountered before.

Zhao Yin finally snapped out of his daze. Looking at Xu Bai's expression, he didn't know what was going on, but guessed that Xu Bai was giving up. He burst into laughter.

"You're asking me what's going on?"

"Have you heard of the Demon-Strange Entity Market? After a demon dies, it transforms into a strange creature. When these strange creatures gather, they form a unique world."

"When humans transform into strange beings, the market is called the Human-Strange Entity Market; when demons transform into strange beings, the market is called the Demon-Strange Entity Market."

"A forbidden place for the living, a final resting place for the dead; no living creature that has ever lived there has ever come out."

"Hahaha, Xu Bai, you're going to die! You're finally going to die! I'm going to die too! We're all going to die!"

Zhao Yin seemed to have fallen into some kind of madness, waving her arms and legs wildly, showing no fear of Xu Bai, but rather displaying a final frenzy and chaos.

Xu Bai: "..."

The Demon-Strange Entity Market? He had never heard of it, but now, after hearing the other party's explanation and feeling the unfathomable danger, he knew what was going on.

"A forbidden place for the living, a final resting place for the dead?"

Xu Bai gripped the Black Saber Hundred Rends in his hand tightly and watched silently.

No matter where he was, he was determined to try and break through since he was already trapped. He exuded boundless fighting spirit, causing the surrounding blood to sway slightly.

"I can't die at the hands of demons and monsters, it's too terrifying, I can't die at their hands..."

Zhao Yin muttered maniacally to himself, then suddenly stretched out his right hand and slapped his forehead.

The sound of bones cracking rang out, and Zhao Yin's head lolled to the side; he had already lost all signs of life.

Xu Bai frowned, released his grip, and tossed Zhao Yin's body aside.

They were so terrified that they'd rather commit suicide than go in; clearly, the danger inside was extraordinary.

Xu Bai took a deep breath and remained on guard.

The next moment, the blood in front suddenly stopped, and then, after surging wildly, it turned into a huge whirlpool in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

A tremendous suction force emanated, Xu Bai became the sole target of this force.

The suction force was so strong that Xu Bai was no match for it. In the next moment, Xu Bai lost control of his body and was sucked in by the force.

The blood was slowly fading, and once Xu Bai had completely disappeared, the water returned to normal.

Xu Bai felt a dizzying sensation, as if he had been thrown into a washing machine and was being shaken around by the spinning drum. This feeling was extremely disgusting.

Fortunately, this feeling didn't last long; it gradually subsided after a short while.

When Xu Bai regained consciousness, he found himself standing on a black piece of land.

There was no sun in the sky, but a hazy red light shone down, turning everything around into a dark red.

Stepping on the scorched earth, a chill ran through me, a feeling amplified by the surrounding red light.

Xu Bai looked around and found himself in a street surrounded by dilapidated houses, which looked strange under the red light.

The streets were deserted, looking unusually desolate.

The streets were filled with all sorts of stalls, seemingly no different from usual, except for the red glow in the sky and the scorched earth underfoot, making it look like an ordinary small town.

Although nothing seemed amiss, a sense of danger lingered in Xu Bai's mind.

"Is this the Demon-Strange Entity Market?" Xu Bai stroked his chin, thinking to himself.

From Zhao Yin's mutterings, he had also gleaned a lot of information. The so-called demon race, when they died, became monsters. After gathering together, they would enter this world, and this world was only inhabited by monsters. Any living thing that entered could not possibly leave alive.

But what's going on with these empty streets now?

Xu Bai thought to himself.

The place was deserted. Although the sense of danger lingered, no monsters or ghosts appeared, and there was nothing unusual. Could it be that he had come to a fake Demon-Strange Entity Market?

He also thought of a problem: whether human or demon, after they die they become monsters without any consciousness.

So, under these circumstances, even if they gathered in this world, they would definitely fight each other. How come it looks like the world of ordinary people? Thinking about this, Xu Bai had more and more doubts, but he couldn't resolve them now because he hadn't seen anything more.

Just then, he suddenly heard a sound coming from afar—the sound of a gong.

"Clang!"

The melodious sound of gongs echoed throughout the street, and moments later, the street suddenly became lively.

The shops on both sides of the street opened their doors, and one by one, strange figures emerged from them. Some had animal heads on their heads, some had animal claws on their hands, and some had furry tails. After appearing, they set up their stalls.

Demon.

No, they're demons! These things that appear to be demons all carry an aura of death, neither the aura of a living person nor the aura of a living creature.

This is an aura that only inanimate objects possess, an aura that instills despair in the living.

Xu Bai, standing in the middle of this street, seemed to be the only anomaly on the street, and this anomaly shone brightly, attracting the attention of all the demons and monsters.

If you're a man and you're thrown into a group of women, you'll stand out immediately, which is exactly what Xu Bai is doing now.

When all the demons and monsters turned their gazes to him, he did not feel uncomfortable, but rather surprised.

Those eerie eyes... they have emotions!

As mentioned earlier, all strange beings, whether transformed from humans or demons, lack consciousness and therefore cannot possess emotions.

But now, in Xu Bai's eyes, all these things in front of him are filled with emotions, as if they have consciousness.

No, it's not just a feeling, Xu Bai knew that this was definitely intentional.

"How could this be? Why are these monsters sentient?"

Xu Bai was greatly shocked. Feeling the gazes around him, he gripped the Black Saber Hundred Rends Blade even tighter.

These gazes were filled with curiosity, but beneath that curiosity lay a greater calmness, as if they had seen it many times before.

At this moment, something even more surprising happened to Xu Bai: these monsters actually made sounds.

"How long has it been since any living creature has entered?"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it? I don't really remember, but I guess it'll be gone soon."

"Indeed, the guy who came in last time quickly turned into an idiot and started fighting like crazy in here."

"Wasn't he killed by the city lord? Well, what can you do? He turned into an idiot."

Turn into... an idiot? Xu Bai was stunned, and then he realized that his head was throbbing.

Pain surged from all directions, flooding his mind. He couldn't help but clutch his head and slowly squat down on the ground.

This pain is extremely stimulating, more direct than physical pain, and it affects his soul. He can feel that his soul is being gradually devoured by something.

It hurts! It hurts so much! It's even more painful than losing a loved one and seeing only ruins around me.

This pain lasted for a long time, but Xu Bai couldn't endure it; he fell into a coma under the influence of this pain.

While he was in a coma, something unusual suddenly happened.

Golden rays of light flashed in his mind. Then, Xu Bai, who was lying on the ground, opened his eyes, and two golden rays shot straight into the sky from his eyes.

Xu Bai was still unconscious and unaware of his current situation.

After the golden light appeared, the surrounding crimson color seemed to solidify, and the demons and monsters who had set up stalls around the area trembled involuntarily, as if they had seen the most terrifying thing.

"What is this thing? Why do I feel a deep-seated terror?"

"This child is so young, yet so terrifying. Is he resisting the annihilation of his soul?"

"Resist? Can anyone resist?"

"Impossible. I remember in the distant past, there was a powerful master who mistakenly entered the Demon-Strange Entity Market. In an instant, he became an idiot and made a random move here, only to be killed by the city lord."

The surrounding sounds gradually grew louder, turning into a cacophony.

At this moment, the golden light in Xu Bai was gradually fading until it slowly disappeared.

Xu Bai instantly returned to normal, his consciousness returned, and he got up from the ground in a daze, looking around at the situation.

"I'm alright?"

What's going on? He couldn't understand it.

The pain I felt earlier has completely disappeared, and everything is back to normal now. But why has it returned to normal?

"Oh my god! He's really okay, did you see him? He's really okay!"

One of the demons grabbed another demon beside it, shaking it excitedly and babbling incoherently.

The other demon he was swaying was also particularly excited.

"What is that thing? How could it... Ah!"

Before it could finish speaking, the demon suddenly let out a miserable scream and vanished into nothingness.

This scene happened so fast that all the demons and monsters around were stunned, and then they shut their mouths.

This is not open for discussion.

Or rather... it's not appropriate to discuss this in front of the person in front of you.

Otherwise, it will lead to a terrible disaster.

The surroundings fell silent for a moment, and Xu Bai also realized what was happening, frowning.

"Little Gold Bull."

He wasn't stupid; given the situation before him, he had already figured out the secret.

The fact that nothing seems amiss in such an extremely bizarre environment can only be attributed to the progress bar.

However, Xu Bai didn't dwell on it. Instead, he slowly lifted his foot and walked towards one of the monsters.

When the demon saw Xu Bai approaching, it took a step back in fear, trembling.

Clearly, his companion's situation had filled him with fear.

This action made Xu Bai even more convinced that something was very wrong here.

It was the first time he had ever seen something so eerie and frightening, and it could even talk and converse. Was this really something eerie?

Everything here seemed strange, Xu Bai really wanted to try and see if he could communicate with them.

"You... are demons?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The demon nodded vigorously, speaking in extremely convoluted grammar.

Xu Bai frowned slightly.

He knew this grammar, after all, he had absorbed the original owner's memories.

This is a very ancient grammar, which has been abandoned since the time of the Great Feng Kingdom, let alone the Great Chu Kingdom.

How to describe it...

It's like the difference between vernacular Chinese and semi-classical Chinese. You can understand some semi-classical Chinese, but it's very difficult to understand.

"You... are conscious?" Xu Bai asked again.

The demon, with its bull's head, said in surprise, "Of course we're conscious. Even though we're dead, we're still awake."

Xu Bai: "..."

He was even more confused. The demon knew he was dead, and it also knew he was conscious. What was going on? Xu Bai could sense that he had discovered a major secret, a secret that everyone wanted to know.

At this stage, whether it is the Great Chu Kingdom or other places, they all know that the strange beings are mindless, cannot communicate, and cannot even be prevented from causing trouble.

But now he discovers that the strangeness of this place is not only conscious, but also seems to have no hostility towards the living.

Hmm... at least for now, they don't seem to have any hostility towards him, and they even seem quite afraid of him.

"Could you... could you stand a little further away? I'm scared." The Minotaur Demon trembled slightly as he tentatively asked.

One of his companions just vanished right before his eyes; it would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid.

Xu Bai's lips twitched slightly, and he took a step back, saying, "Is this alright?"

The bull-headed demon nodded, but one could still see the aggrieved look on his face.

Of course it felt extremely wronged. Of all the others, no one asked it anything, but they specifically asked it. Besides feeling wronged, it felt fear.

Xu Bai stroked his chin, organized his thoughts, and prepared to continue asking questions.

This is a perfect opportunity—to communicate without hostility. How could he possibly be satisfied without taking advantage of this chance to gather as much information as possible? If he could get something meaningful out of the conversation or discover some clues about this world, he would be more than happy to oblige.

But before he could ask the question, he heard footsteps all around him.

As the footsteps sounded, all the monsters made the same move.

The demons present looked in the direction of the footsteps.

Seeing this, Xu Bai also looked over.

Squads of armored demons, marching in formation, approached from afar, carrying gleaming weapons and exuding an aura of death.

They walked slowly in two rows.

In the very center, a male demon wearing armor and with a single horn on its head, carrying a long sword on its back, is flanked by two groups of people, indicating its unique identity.

They came from the direction Xu Bai was coming from.

Xu Bai narrowed his eyes, watching the group with great interest.

Especially the one-horned demon in the very center carrying a long sword.

Very strong.

I was getting a nucleic acid test today, and there was someone in front of me reading my book. Unfortunately, it was pirated software, so I didn't dare reveal my identity for fear of being arrested and taken to a dark room.