Visitors Outside the Cave

Lu Hao came over and sat beside Xue Yong. "Aren't all these Demon Wolves already here? The alpha wolf is dead too. Could there be even stronger Demon Wolves?"

Xue Yong gave a bitter smile.

"Demon Beasts already possess intelligence, and they can communicate with one another. Although you killed this pack's alpha wolf, we don't know whether they have ties to other wolf packs, or dealings with other Demon Beasts."

He paused, then added, "But you absolutely must not chase after them. There are many high-order Demon Beasts active outside at night. Green Ox Mountain is far too dangerous after dark!"

After saying that, he took a moment to recover, gasping twice before continuing, "Tonight, the three of us will take turns keeping watch."

Lu Hao nodded. He rose to his feet, dragged the Demon Wolf corpses farther outside, and piled them together.

After finishing that, he returned and sat beside the other two.

At that moment, Cao Ling leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Lu, after you killed that demonized elder from the Golden Saber Gang, his corpse shriveled up almost immediately. What... what cultivation art do you practice? It looks rather sinister!"

Cao Ling's voice grew softer and softer, but his words were full of concern. "Don't go down the crooked path. I've heard that practicing evil arts can easily lead to qi deviation and madness. This old brother can't bear to see you like that!"

Lu Hao pondered for a moment. He felt that he could not reveal the Golden Blade Blood Fiend Art. Once he did, it would inevitably raise questions about where the technique had come from. He had no desire to expose the fact that he possessed a system before everyone. That would only bring him needless trouble, perhaps even a calamity that would cost him his life!

He looked at Cao Ling. "I don't know the reason either. My guess is that it was because he swallowed the Praying Mantis Beast's Demon Core and his body became demonized. After he was killed, the Demon Core's power within him went out of control, which was why he ended up like that."

Xue Yong listened from the side and nodded thoughtfully.

"That should be it. Demon Beast cores cannot be swallowed directly. The Blood Baleful Intent within them is extremely heavy. Once an ordinary Martial Artist swallows one, their reason will be eroded by the Blood Baleful Intent."

"You need to use the power of Blood Essence to force the Blood Baleful Intent out of the Demon Core."

"For a Demon Core from a Second-Order Demon Beast like the Praying Mantis Beast, it generally takes half a month to cleanse away all the Blood Baleful Intent."

"That Golden Saber Gang man swallowed the Demon Core directly. It is hardly surprising that his corpse shriveled after he died!"

Lu Hao nodded as well.

After the Blood Baleful Intent was absorbed from that demonized Golden Saber Gang elder, his corpse turned into a dried husk. But these Demon Wolf corpses didn't shrivel up? He guessed that Demon Beasts contained too much Blood Baleful Intent for him to absorb it all, which was why their corpses did not wither.

Cao Ling nodded too, clearly accepting Lu Hao's explanation.

Cao Ling glanced again at the pile of Demon Wolf corpses, then looked at Lu Hao.

"Who would have thought that when I first met you at the Everjoy Hall Branch a few days ago, you were only at Mid-Grade Bright Force? And now, in such a short time, not only have you advanced to Upper-Grade Bright Force, you even killed that demonized Golden Saber Gang elder who was close to Peak Bright Force."

Cao Ling looked once more toward the Demon Wolf corpses. "There are so many Demon Wolves. Though they were only at Lower Bright Force, even as a fellow Upper-Grade Bright Force practitioner, I could not kill one with a single strike. This old brother truly feels inferior!"

Xue Yong reached over and touched the wound on his chest. The heart-piercing pain struck him again.

He could not suppress the lingering fear in his heart. If Lu Hao had not possessed strength far beyond that of an Upper-Grade Bright Force Martial Artist and killed that demonized Golden Saber Gang elder, then he would not have merely been injured. He would probably have been a corpse by now.

After a moment of silence, Xue Yong also looked at Lu Hao. "Brother Lu!" As Lu Hao revealed more of his strength, his weight in Xue Yong's heart grew considerably, and even his form of address changed with it.

"A few days ago, when Qian Hao was injured, I went to visit him at his home. He mentioned you to me then, saying you were a capable man. I didn't take it seriously at the time, but now it seems I was blind as a bat!" After saying this, Xue Yong coughed lightly several times.

Lu Hao could also hear Xue Yong's intention to befriend him. He followed along and replied, "Brother Xue flatters me. I was merely lucky."

After chatting for a few more sentences, the three settled the order of their watch. Lu Hao would take the first shift, while Cao Ling and Xue Yong slept first.

Lu Hao went to the cave entrance first and poked his head out to look around. Under the sparse moonlight, the outside of the cave was pitch-black. The occasional beastly roar drifted over from afar, coming and going intermittently, but there was no other movement.

Lu Hao returned to sit inside the cave.

With his back against the cave wall, he took the banknotes from his chest and counted them. There were sixteen notes in total, but it was too dark to make out their denominations.

He then took out five small porcelain bottles. When he removed their stoppers, the medicinal fragrance of Blood Essence Pills drifted out. He shook them and found that each bottle contained only one pill, for a total of five Blood Essence Pills. Lu Hao equipped the Blood Essence Pills in the fixed Equipment Slot.

Lu Hao put away the banknotes and looked at the system panel again.

[Skill: Blood-Baleful Blood-Essence Art (Green · Minor Mastery)]

[Progress: +10]

[Progress: +10]

...

[Current Progress: 260/500]

[Skill: Blood Baleful Blade Method (Green · Minor Mastery)]

[Progress: +10]

[Progress: +10]

...

[Current Progress: 260/500]

[Blood Baleful Intent within body: 28/60]

Lu Hao looked at the numbers on the panel. This battle had increased the proficiency of both the Blood-Baleful Blood-Essence Art and the Blood Baleful Blade Method quite a bit.

Each time he used the Blood Baleful Blade Method, he had to channel Blood Baleful Intent into his hand blade.

Thus, the proficiency of these two martial techniques had risen together.

Moreover, when fighting for his life against others, every attack granted ten points of proficiency. After two bloody battles, they had risen directly from Beginner to Minor Mastery.

As for the Blood Baleful Intent within Lu Hao's body, its original limit had been fifty units. After the Blood-Baleful Blood-Essence Art advanced to Minor Mastery, the limit had increased to sixty units.

Lu Hao went over to the Demon Wolf corpses and cut them open, but he only found a Demon Core inside the alpha wolf's body.

[Equippable item detected: First-Order Demon Wolf Demon Core]

[Effect: Consume directly to use Blood Baleful Intent within the body without limit for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. After that, enter a frenzied state and lose reason for one double-hour.]

[Equipment Effect: Use Blood Baleful Intent within the body without limit for the time it takes one incense stick to burn. Will not enter a frenzied state afterward.]

[Equip?]

[Equippable item detected: Demon Wolf meat]

[Equipment Effect: Completely absorb the Blood Essence and Blood Baleful Intent within Demon Wolf meat. Recovery speed increased by 100% for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.]

[Equip?]

Lu Hao looked at the Equipment Slots. Unfortunately, both slots were equipped with cultivation arts. Otherwise, if he equipped some Demon Wolf meat, he could replenish Blood Essence and Blood Baleful Intent without end, and his progress in practicing the Golden Blade Blood Fiend Art would surely soar by leaps and bounds. Moreover, that Demon Core was practically a great killing weapon in life-and-death combat, able to provide him with an endless supply of Blood Baleful Intent.

Xue Yong said that Green Ox Mountain was dangerous, but Lu Hao felt that this place was clearly a blessed land, with treasures everywhere. Yet for now, he could only stare at those treasures and drool.

He needed to raise both cultivation arts to Perfect Mastery as quickly as possible. That way, he could free up the Equipment Slots, and perhaps even unlock a new one.

Even so, the gains from this trip were already quite substantial. He just wondered whether, during the day tomorrow, he could find more Demon Beasts with Bright Force strength and practice the Golden Blade Blood Fiend Art while killing them.

Lu Hao had just finished taking stock of his gains when he heard Xue Yong grunt in his sleep, as though he had disturbed his wound. Immediately afterward, Xue Yong began coughing violently, and the coughing woke Cao Ling as well.

After Cao Ling awoke, he told Lu Hao to rest while he leaned against the cave wall and kept watch for the latter half of the night.

Lu Hao lay on the ground and slept in his clothes.

In his sleep, he felt someone gently shaking him.

"Brother Lu, wake up! Someone is coming! Aside from one of them, the others are all dressed unlike people from the Jin Kingdom."

Lu Hao opened his eyes and saw that dawn was just breaking. Cao Ling was anxiously shaking his shoulder, while Xue Yong was looking at him as well.

Cao Ling asked, "Brother Lu, what should we do now?"

After resting for the night, Xue Yong had recovered some Qi-Blood. He had also taken a Blood Essence Pill, and his complexion was much better now.

Although Xue Yong was the deputy gang leader, Cao Ling had served as an elder in the gang longer than Lu Hao, and both of them were at the same martial realm as Lu Hao—Upper-Grade Bright Force.

Yet Lu Hao's combat ability was plain for all to see. When faced with such a situation, they could not help hoping that Lu Hao, the stronger man, would make the decision.