The Demoness

After Lu Ping and Ma Qiquan died, Li and Hu no longer dared sell Fang Huai off lightly. They had no choice but to keep him hidden for the time being.

With the danger of being sold gone, Fang Huai devoted his time to studying the Little Corpse Meteor Insect.

Ever since the little fellow appeared, the mother insect had stopped moving, as if it were dead.

The little fellow would occasionally burrow out through Fang Huai's skin and seek out poison to eat. Once it finished, it would burrow back into his body.

To Fang Huai's surprise, the little fellow seemed to understand his commands.

With the Little Corpse Meteor Insect around, Fang Huai's days were no longer dull.

He directed the Little Corpse Meteor Insect to burrow here and there, even sneaking into Li and Hu's room to steal food and pass the time.

Other people commanded humans or beasts; Fang Huai commanded insects.

Life with plenty to eat and drink seemed pretty good. He just found himself missing the people he had left behind.

Was Zhang Zhu still as simple-minded as ever? Would Shen Yuan still fall for other people's schemes over some petty gain? Had Liu Xiange broken through to the First Layer of Qi Refining?

And what about himself? If he managed to escape one day, would the sect still recognize him as an Outer Disciple who had never reported for duty?

As he let his thoughts wander, the hall doors swung open. Li and Hu entered, fawning over a striking female cultivator.

Her face was cold, and Sha Qi spilled from her in waves. The moment she stepped inside, the temperature in the hall seemed to drop.

She held a sword in one hand and dragged a woman who looked like a corpse with the other. In a low voice, she said:

"This woman is my personal human puppet. I'm leaving her here in your care. Look after her properly. Not a single thing must go wrong."

Li and Hu hurriedly replied, "You can count on us, Senior Sister Jiang."

Fang Huai's brow furrowed as his gaze fixed on the information above the woman's head.

[Jiang Jing]

[Qi Refining Perfection Realm]

[Bloodthirsty (Red)][Corpse Sha Possession (Red)]

[Bloodthirsty (Red): Even if you don't provoke her, she'll rack her brains to take your life.]

[Corpse Sha Possession (Red): Her entire body has been permeated by dense corpse Sha.]

Jiang Jing's gaze was icy, her killing intent surging. The pressure bearing down on him was even stronger than that of the Foundation Establishment Realm centipede he had encountered last time.

After giving the two men a few more instructions, Jiang Jing turned and left.

Li San and Hu Jiu's stomachs were already churning. Only after Jiang Jing had disappeared beyond the hall doors did they force themselves to tie the woman she had left behind to the Bronze Pillar. Then they doubled over, retching violently.

Li San braced himself against the Bronze Pillar, keeping his gaze averted from the woman. "What on earth did Senior Sister Jiang do to this human puppet? She's been ruined beyond recognition!"

In their eyes, the woman before them was horribly rotten. Apart from her face, the rest of her body no longer looked remotely human.

To keep the Sha Qi and poison emanating from the woman from contaminating the other human puppets, Hu Jiu produced a yellow talisman and stuck it to the Bronze Pillar. Then he said:

"Anyone from the Sect Master's line is bound to be out of their mind. I'd guess this human puppet is her outlet.

"Don't ask questions or say too much. We do whatever Jiang Jing tells us, and that's that. We don't want to make her unhappy and have her kick our heads around like balls."

Then the two men left.

Fang Huai's brow furrowed. In his eyes, the woman looked perfectly normal.

Her shoulders were slender as if carved, her waist as delicate as silk, and her skin as luminous as jade. She was like white jade steeped in moonlight, with not a trace of decay.

As he wondered at this, another human puppet turned its head and saw the woman. It immediately let out a howl like a wailing ghost, clamoring to gouge out its own eyes.

In their eyes, the woman was still a stinking monster.

Doubt stirred in Fang Huai's mind. Why did the monster everyone else saw look like a beautiful young woman to him?

[Jiang Miao]

[Sixth Layer of Qi Refining]

[Sha Qi Infusion (White)][Sha Spirit Root (Red)]

Sixth Layer of Qi Refining?

With cultivation like that, and the same surname as Jiang Jing, Fang Huai couldn't help but speculate.

The Hundred Sha Technique contained many Sha Arts. One of them was called Bewildering Sha. It could be cultivated at the Qi Refining stage, and once mastered, it could use Sha Qi to create illusions in the minds of nearby living beings.

Jiang Miao must have used this method to deceive Li and the others.

As for why he wasn't affected by Bewildering Sha, it was probably thanks to the Corpse Meteor Insect.

The Corpse Meteor Insect could "devour poison and suppress Sha," and Bewildering Sha relied on Sha Qi to work. The insect was perfectly suited to break it.

Still, Fang Huai couldn't understand why Jiang Miao, with such high cultivation, would pretend to be a human puppet and suffer here.

As he watched her, the woman slowly came to. Fear showed on her face, and her body trembled.

As she moved, her outer robe slipped off one shoulder, revealing her close-fitting undergarment. Her alluring curves were suddenly on full display.

Fang Huai had grown used to the women in the Human Puppet Room, their bodies grotesquely deformed. Faced so unexpectedly with such a charming, vivid figure, he was at a loss for a moment.

But this was no time to study her. It was a matter of survival. If Jiang Miao realized he had seen through her Bewildering Sha, she would immediately fly into a rage and kill him.

As the thought flashed through his mind, Fang Huai shut his eyes and deliberately slowed his breathing, pretending not to care about Jiang Miao.

While Fang Huai kept his eyes closed, Jiang Miao spoke up on her own. "Hey, I know you're awake. I'm so scared. Keep me company and talk to me."

Whether Fang Huai answered or not, she went on. "My name is Jiang Miao. I'm a poor, unfortunate soul..."

A gambling-addicted father, a sick mother, a younger brother preparing for the imperial examinations, and she herself, sold to a demonic sect.

If Fang Huai hadn't heard too many similar stories in his previous life, he might have found himself moved to tears.

As she spoke, Jiang Miao cried until she looked like a pear blossom drenched in rain. "That Jiang Jing is a beast! She tortured me like livestock and turned me into this!"

You couldn't trust a single word a woman said.

Fang Huai's gaze swept over Jiang Miao from head to toe. Forget any signs of torture—she didn't have even the smallest wound.

"Hey, what are you looking at?"

Jiang Miao's eyes flickered. She was extremely confident in her Sha Arts, but there seemed to be something knowing in Fang Huai's gaze. She silently recited a spell, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

A wave of drowsiness suddenly came over Fang Huai. In a daze, he heard someone calling to him.

"Senior Brother, wake up."

His vision blurred. He seemed to be back in his lodgings in Servant Valley, lying comfortably in bed. His chest felt tight, as if someone were sitting on it.

He looked up and saw a woman leaning over him. Her features were indistinct, and her index finger traced his lips.

Fang Huai was entranced. He gazed at her, his eyes unfocused.

"Senior Brother, has your Dao heart been at ease lately?"

He couldn't see her face, but the only person who would say that to him was probably Liu Xiange.

Fang Huai was about to answer when the woman's voice suddenly changed. "Hey, take a good look. Who am I?"

His vision gradually cleared. The woman before him was Jiang Miao!

Jiang Miao laughed wildly. Her face split apart, her mouth stretching back to her ears as countless fleshy tendrils emerged from deep in her throat.

"Fang Huai, you really can see through me! I'm going to kill you!"

"Demoness!"

Fang Huai roared and jerked his eyes open. His forehead was beaded with sweat. Thank goodness—it had only been a dream.

"Hehehe~" A few coquettish laughs rang out.

He looked up and saw Jiang Miao smiling sweetly at him. "What were you dreaming about? One moment you were grinning dreamily, the next you were frowning. Don't tell me you were dreaming about the young lady you fancy?"

Fang Huai's heart lurched. Before his eyes, the Human Puppet Hall was wreathed in blood-red mist.

The vital blood of every human puppet, including him, was being steadily drawn from their bodies and poured into Jiang Miao.