As black mist billowed out, the two mountain chickens, which had been plump a moment ago, suddenly became nothing but skin and bones, as if they had been air-dried.
Jiang Chen expertly carried the two corpses outside. Behind him, the whole courtyard looked incredibly eerie.
Not a blade of grass grew in the courtyard. The earth was so parched that countless cracks split across it, and not a trace of life could be seen. It stood in stark contrast to the rest of Holy Soul Village.
The deaths of the two mountain chickens and the courtyard's strange state had both been caused by him.
Few things could withstand the aura he unconsciously gave off. Weaker things died outright, while stronger ones fell seriously ill. He had even cracked the earth.
That was how he'd earned the names Plague God and Jinx...
Though he'd lost two chickens, Jiang Chen was naturally optimistic and quickly let go of his frustration. He carried them outside the village and buried them, so they could rest in peace.
Afterward, he didn't go straight home. Instead, he dashed toward the river not far outside the village. Since the two mountain chickens he'd caught yesterday were gone, he'd catch a few fish to bring back.
He was at an age when his body was still growing. He wasn't going to be like that fool Tang San, who only buried himself in cultivation and neglected his health.
Unlike Tang San's frail frame, Jiang Chen was muscular and sturdy.
He was already thoroughly used to wading into the river to catch fish. Half an hour later, he came back carrying three big fish.
They were huge and fat. He'd threaded straw through their gills and carried them, holding them up to his chest with both hands so their tails wouldn't drag on the ground.
As he passed the hill where Tang San practiced, he stopped. As luck would have it, Tang San was coming down after finishing his cultivation.
"Hey, Tang San!"
Tang San had spotted Jiang Chen from a distance, too. When he heard Jiang Chen call out, he forced a smile.
"Jiang Chen, you're up early too!"
Jiang Chen walked over, drawing closer to Tang San. But Tang San's little face twitched, and he hurriedly backed away several steps.
"Don't—don't come any closer." Tang San waved both hands repeatedly, a hint of fear in his eyes.
It wasn't just the adults and children in the village who'd suffered at Jiang Chen's hands. Even the livestock had been affected. And even Tang San, protected by the orthodox Daoist Mysterious Heaven Skill, had nearly come to grief.
He'd once felt the cold, gloomy aura suddenly emanate from Jiang Chen and burrow straight into his body. If he hadn't had the Mysterious Heaven Skill to protect him, he probably would have fallen seriously ill.
Worst of all, one morning he'd been heading up the hill to practice when he caught Jiang Chen sneaking down from it.
When he reached the top, Tang San had nearly been furious enough to burst a blood vessel. The hill was barely a hundred meters tall, yet after Jiang Chen came down, all the plants and trees on the peak and the next twenty or thirty meters down had withered and turned yellow, as if someone had drained the life from them.
For a while, the spiritual energy Tang San gained while cultivating on the peak was noticeably weaker than before. It took several months for the mountaintop to recover.
Jiang Chen pursed his lips. He knew Tang San had remembered what happened on the mountaintop again.
He swore he really hadn't done it on purpose. He'd only wanted to see what was so special about the place where Tang San secretly practiced. He'd tried cultivating there, and the aura inside him had accidentally spilled out, causing that disaster.
He did feel a little guilty about ruining someone else's cultivation spot for no reason.
"Here, I caught a few fish. You can have one." He didn't go any closer to Tang San. He simply tossed him a fish.
Tang San swiftly reached out with his right hand and caught the straw, quick and precise. He caught the fish, which weighed nearly ten pounds, as steadily as if it were nothing.
"Thanks," Tang San said.
The two were now only five meters apart. Jiang Chen's eyes, black as gems, suddenly lit up. He fixed an intensely predatory gaze on Tang San's healthy-colored neck, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hungrily.
Before you continue