45 Inner Core

Chixinzi raised an eyebrow and said, "You... don't tell me you sent those death-sworn agents you've infiltrated into every sect to poison the people climbing the mountain?"

"Poison?"

He Ping smiled faintly and shook his head at him.

"Besides, how could ordinary poison take down a One-Horned Mountain Demon? The mountain demon is a bona fide monster; I never intended to poison it. What I used was actually 'Soul-Luring Incense,' just with an increased dosage."

"Increased dosage?"

Chixinzi was shocked upon hearing this.

"Wouldn't that mean..."

"Correct."

He Ping nodded with a light smile.

"To a monster, Soul-Luring Incense is a strangely alluring fragrance, especially for a creature like the mountain demon. Its scent is enough to make it lose its wits. If the dosage is increased, the incense becomes like strong liquor, causing the mountain demon to become manic, excited, and muddled in consciousness, falling into a state of intoxication."

"You had everyone entering the mountain ingest the Soul-Luring Incense."

Chixinzi realized.

"Exactly, though the Soul-Luring Incense isn't a poison to humans."

He Ping did not deny it.

"My 'Dark Stakes' merely added the Soul-Luring Incense to their food and water. Furthermore, when everyone entered the mountain, I gave them an agent that masks the scent of the incense on their bodies. The mountain demon cannot smell it on them; it only falls into this drunken state after consuming their flesh and blood."

"So, even if the mountain demon doesn't eat people, once it starts a massive slaughter of those who entered the mountain or devours human flesh, it falls into your trap, becoming as hopelessly drunk as if it had overindulged in wine."

Chixinzi began to laugh as well.

"Those disciples from the various sects and gangs who entered the mountain were no exception; they all became pawns in your scheme against the mountain demon. Junior brother, you really are thorough."

"Except for Chi Ling Daoist of the Flying Fish Sect, Master Zhao of the Iron Heart Martial Hall, and a few others, most of those who entered the mountain were driven by greed, coveting nothing more than the ten-thousand-tael bounty. As for the mountain demon eating people, if it were only for sustenance, it might not have accidentally consumed an excessive dose of the Soul-Luring Incense, let alone fallen into my trap. But once greed arises and desire burns hot, they cannot escape this calamity."

He Ping gave a cold smile.

"Let's go. Shall we see what that mountain demon looks like now?"

Qi Huiying felt fortunate to be alive, and she believed she ought to continue living. Even if the Thirteen Flying Cloud Riders were erased from the world, she felt she had to fulfill her duty.

The word "duty" was heavier than Mount Tai; it was a commandment instilled in her bit by bit when she was selected for the Wu Yue Pavilion to undergo the most grueling training for the Daoist sect's slave soldiers.

"I must live on and expose the true face of the conspirator..."

Clinging to this conviction, she survived the slaughter wrought by the mountain demon, hiding in a valley overgrown with weeds and strewn with jagged rocks. Despite her hidden position, she could smell the sharp, fresh scent of blood.

"Help, help me!!!"

A scream rang out not far away, followed by a terrifying bestial roar, and then the sickening "crunch-crunch" sound of flesh being chewed and bones being shattered.

"That monster is still eating people! Just how big is its appetite!?"

Qi Huiying was hiding in the canopy of a large tree. Through the foliage, she could see the black shadow with its "single horn," "fleshy wings on its ribs," and "form like a flying ape."

The figure, far larger than a mountain bear, was chasing several people. The mountain demon's right hand was gripping the head of the Heavy Axe Gang leader; half of the man's face was already gone, and brains were constantly oozing out.

That ape-like face looked as if it were drunk; saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth, and where the drool landed on the grass below, the leaves instantly corroded.

"How on earth are we supposed to deal with this monster?!"

Qi Baiyi, the newly appointed leader of the Hu Ma Gang who had arrived to provide reinforcements, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Though his expression remained relatively calm, his right hand, gripping his sword, trembled slightly.

He had entered the mountain from the west route alongside Master Zhao of the Iron Heart Martial Hall. After receiving the signal flare and consulting with Master Zhao, he had led a small group to arrive ahead of time, only to be swept into a horrific slaughter where blood splashed and limbs flew...

During the first clash with the One-Horned Mountain Demon, Chi Ling Daoist of the Flying Fish Sect had been severely wounded and carried away by his disciples. With no one to lead them, the survivors couldn't even organize a counterattack. Instead, after the mountain demon devoured several people, its movements became sluggish and strange.

The group did not know that He Ping had secretly spiked the mountain demon; they only assumed it was due to the monster's manic nature. After Qi Baiyi arrived, he gathered the fleeing crowd while forcibly taking charge, using himself and the Hu Ma Gang members as bait to lure the mountain demon into the valley.

Yet the current situation was dire. Because the mountain demon had swallowed a large amount of flesh and blood containing the "Soul-Luring Incense," its gait had become unsteady, as if it had lost its soul, and its movements were very slow. However, the monster remained immensely powerful, and with the protective Baleful Intent on its body, the weapons in the crowd's hands could not break through its defenses.

"This monster is impervious to blades; how are we supposed to keep fighting it?"

The Bamboo Flower Society hall master beside Qi Baiyi gave a bitter smile.

"Half of the many brothers who came with us have fallen at the hands of this monster. To this day, the beast remains unscathed. Dozens of us have fought with all our might and still cannot defeat it. Human strength has its limits; how are we to deal with this mountain demon!"

"Now is not the time to consider that. We must think about how to escape this place alive!"

Qi Baiyi gritted his teeth and wrapped a strip of cloth around the long sword in his hand, deciding to make a desperate final stand.

Suddenly, just then, the mountain demon stopped moving. It let out a "hiccup," its vision blurred, and its head swayed.

"What is this monster doing now?!"

Qi Baiyi frowned slightly, a sudden sense of unease rising in his heart.

The One-Horned Mountain Demon opened its mouth slightly, its fangs gleaming. A faint red light emerged from its pitch-black oral cavity, and then it let out another "hiccup," spitting out a glowing, blood-colored flower.

"A red flower?"

This sight left many present stunned.

Following this, more blood-red flowers flew from the One-Horned Mountain Demon's gaping, blood-filled maw. As they drifted through the air, they swayed slightly, releasing a stench like rotting pus mingled with the scent of blood, accompanied by a faint, bloody mist.

Within the pale mist, a crystalline red glow was surrounded by dozens of layers of complex, rotating petals. At its center was a skull the color of a blood crystal.

"What is that?"

In the moment the group stood bewildered, Qi Huiying, hiding in the tree canopy, felt a chill run through her heart.

"An Inner Core!"

Qi Huiying saw it clearly; the skull was, in essence, an Inner Core. She did not know how it had come to take such a form, turning into a crystalline skull. The red, gem-like shell was covered in a fine pattern of red flowers, and it was roughly the size of a young child's fist.

The moment this bizarre Inner Core appeared, alarm bells rang in her mind, yet she dared not make a sound to warn the others.

The One-Horned Mountain Demon's eyes flashed with a bloody light. It exhaled a Baleful Breath of the Inner Core, and as the blood-colored skull's jaw clicked open and shut, it shot out with a thunderous boom.

A turbid, blood-red torrent surged toward the earth, striking in the direction of the survivors. Everything was swallowed by the crimson light. Before the red glow even arrived, Qi Baiyi felt his blood surging and instinctively performed a "Lazy Donkey Roll" to escape the disaster.

When he turned his head back, his companions were gone, leaving behind only mangled limbs, feet remaining on the ground, or piles of pulverized bone and flesh splattered everywhere.

Several trees behind them were pierced through, leaving semi-circular gaps with wisps of charred smoke. The giant trees snapped, and the ground was torn into a deep, jagged ravine.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

The few who survived let out insane shrieks as they stared at what had been their companions only moments ago, now reduced to semi-melted corpses.

Their facial features had vanished, and melted fat oozed from ruptured wounds. Blood plasma bubbled and churned, the stench of cooked flesh and bone enough to make one retch.

On the other side, Qi Huiying, hiding in the canopy, watched the scene of total destruction. A trembling sensation spread from her back throughout her entire body. She gripped the bronze long-case tightly, weighing whether to seize this opportunity to fire the Viper Spirit Nine Arrows hidden within.

(After exhaling that breath, the demon must be depleted. Its protective baleful energy will be significantly reduced. Striking now might—)

No, she had no luxury to save others.

Her hands hesitated on the bronze case for a long time before she finally let go.

"Time to go."

Qi Huiying took a deep breath. Without hesitation, she turned and leaped toward the nearest tree canopy. The moment her feet landed, a large hand descended from the air, pressing lightly against the crown of her head.

In a split second, before she could even react, a cold chill seeped from her crown into her brain, like needles piercing her mind, before sinking into her bone marrow like mercury dropped into water.

In that instant, Qi Huiying felt an unnatural cold, followed by a heavy, overwhelming weariness. Then, as if she had simply fallen asleep, she ceased to breathe.

"The thirteenth..."

He Ping's gaze held a hint of satisfaction. With a flick of his robe, Qi Huiying's corpse tumbled from the tree.

"Junior Brother is truly tender-hearted. You turned your soul-thought power into needles and pierced her skull. She died silently and without a shred of pain, just as if she had passed in her sleep—a peaceful end, truly an easy death..."

Chixinzi, draped in green robes, drifted over from behind, his tone laced with mockery. He Ping knew clearly that this Senior Brother was testing him, analyzing his character, habits, weaknesses, and flaws through his every word and action.

A man like Chixinzi, who spoke of cooperation, only did so because he saw value in him. He Ping believed that once the man had squeezed him dry, he would turn on him in an instant.

Coincidentally, He Ping harbored the exact same thoughts. "Cooperation" was merely an excuse for both sides to avoid a direct confrontation while they remained at a stalemate. He did not lower his guard, instead observing Chixinzi in secret, hoping to gather more intelligence on this "Senior Brother" so he could hold the advantage when the inevitable betrayal came.

Now, facing Chixinzi's interrogation, he replied nonchalantly: "Tender-hearted? What kind of talk is that? I simply have no hobby for cruel slaughter, nor do I take pleasure in controlling the life and death of others. My way of doing things is like a merchant's—I value 'calculating every penny.' I pursue what is profitable and avoid what is not. As long as it does not hinder me, I will not kill at will... Of course, if someone blocks my path, I have no choice but to strike them down."

"The world is a bustle of activity, all for the sake of profit; the world is a rush of movement, all for the sake of gain."

Chixinzi let out a dry laugh.

"Junior Brother is a straightforward man."

"I hope Senior Brother Chixinzi does not mind my mercenary nature."

As He Ping spoke, his eyes remained fixed on the valley floor. He noticed the mountain demon take a deep breath, and the strange, crystal-like skull Inner Core was sucked back into its belly.

"Since that is the case, let me make another deal with you, Junior Brother."

Chixinzi's raspy voice sounded like metal grinding against stone. He chuckled and proposed: "Could you share this One-Horned Mountain Demon's Inner Core with me? I am willing to trade the fragmented inheritance of the Seed Demon Technique for it."