Humanoid Creature

Earth and stone clattered to the ground, piling into a small mound on the passage floor.

In the dim space, a bloody stench mixed with the scent of strange vegetation drifted out and rushed into Zhao Zhi's nostrils.

Zhao Zhi frowned slightly and looked toward the darkness.

This smell?

Human Elixir.

Zhao Zhi had seen the place where Human Elixirs were refined at Iron Horse Manor. It carried precisely this bloody scent mingled with vegetation.

Flying Cloud Stronghold was refining Human Elixirs as well.

Iron Horse Manor.

Flying Cloud Stronghold.

Both forces were refining Human Elixirs. He did not know whether the alchemist behind them was the same person.

Suddenly.

A name flashed through Zhao Zhi's mind.

County Magistrate Lu Guangyi.

Whether it was Iron Horse Manor or Flying Cloud Stronghold, both had ties to County Magistrate Lu Guangyi. And now, both forces were refining Human Elixirs.

If Lu Guangyi had no hand in this, Zhao Zhi would never believe it.

Whether the alchemist refining Human Elixirs was Lu Guangyi himself, whether someone had made a deal with Lu Guangyi, or even whether Lu Guangyi was refining Human Elixirs within Qingfeng County—Zhao Zhi needed to investigate all of it thoroughly.

Suddenly.

A chill swept over him without warning, as though a block of ice had brushed across the back of Zhao Zhi's neck.

Zhao Zhi immediately turned around, his gaze sharp as lightning and gleaming brightly.

His right hand fell onto the saber hilt and swiftly clenched it. As inner qi circulated, a strange sound seemed to surge through his body.

Shing.

His saber left its sheath, flashing with cold light as it cut through the air. Within this dim space, it resembled a bolt of lightning splitting open.

Yet the blade struck nothing.

Zhao Zhi carefully surveyed his surroundings once more.

This feeling was quite familiar.

It was just like the cellar at Iron Horse Manor. Something seemed to be lurking in the darkness.

Compared to the aura in Iron Horse Manor, the cold, sinister aura in Flying Cloud Stronghold's cave was even stronger, nearly condensing into substance. After the wall had been broken open, the bloody scent mixed with vegetation drifted out, followed by a thin mist spreading through the air.

The thing lurking in the dim space.

It was slowly taking shape.

Tap. Tap.

Zhao Zhi's ears twitched slightly. In the darkness came exceedingly faint footsteps, like insects crawling across the ground.

Had Zhao Zhi not reached Innate Perfection, had he not focused his mind and calmed his breath, he would have been unable to notice the sound.

Shing.

Another saber strike cleaved down as swiftly as thunder.

This strike did not miss. Dark-red blood splashed out, spraying the walls and scattering across the ground like tiny dark-red plum blossoms.

The overwhelming force sent the strange being in the dim space flying. It slammed heavily into the wall with a dull crash, making the entire mountainside tremble slightly.

Zhao Zhi immediately looked in the direction of the sound. When he saw the creature that had struck the wall, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The creature peeling away from the wall looked extremely similar to a human, except its skin was pitch-black, like graphite.

The humanoid creature lay sprawled on the ground, its slightly twisted limbs bulging as they supported its body.

It abruptly raised its head. It had a nose, eyes, ears, and a mouth—everything a human face should have. Yet when those features were assembled on that face, they seemed so bizarre, strange, and mismatched.

Gurgle, gurgle.

Strange sounds came from its mouth.

Then it let out a deep roar. Its mouth split open into an exaggerated, horrifying arc, revealing a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth.

Rustle, rustle.

It moved again, its limbs propelling it forward in an uncoordinated, grotesque posture, yet it burst forth with astonishing speed.

Even ordinary martial artists at Innate Perfection might not be able to reach such a level.

Zhao Zhi tightened his grip on the constable's saber, his eyelids lowering slightly as he watched every movement of the humanoid creature.

The instant it was about to reach him, he unleashed the Wild Wind Saber Technique. Saber stroke after saber stroke came as fast as a gale, engulfing the humanoid creature.

Light gathered in the humanoid creature's scarlet eyes. Its limbs bent and folded into postures no human could achieve, narrowly evading the saber light that fell like a violent storm. Its twisted body appeared above Zhao Zhi in an eerie instant, its slightly bent limbs clinging to the cave ceiling like a spider as it hung its head and stared at Zhao Zhi again and again.

Zhao Zhi looked up and met the humanoid creature's bizarre features.

A deep chill gradually emerged in his eyes.

He understood now.

Why did the humanoid creature look so strange? Why did it possess human features, yet evoke such intense discord and incongruity?

The answer was simple.

Its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose did not come from the same person. They came from different people. Even its body and limbs came from different people.

Different origins had created this monstrosity.

The humanoid creature opened its gaping maw, and its limbs abruptly sprang out as it pounced down at Zhao Zhi from above.

Zhao Zhi remained expressionless, his gaze icy, but a blaze of fury burned fiercely in his heart, like a volcano about to erupt beneath a frozen lake.

Two streams of inner qi surged through his body. Disregarding the conflict they might produce between themselves, they transformed into terrifying waves of energy that flooded his limbs and bones.

The perfected Innate martial art, Wild Wind Saber Technique.

Flooded with inner qi, the constable's saber hummed. Cold gleams gathered along its blade, sharp beyond measure.

He slashed out in an instant. The terrifying saber light was like the single ray that tore apart eternal night, chopping toward the humanoid creature.

Light flickered in the humanoid creature's eyes. Its body, assembled from the limbs of different people, twisted forcibly in midair. At the cost of one hand and one foot, it drew near Zhao Zhi.

Its gaping maw opened wide, blasting out a foul bloody stench as its sharp teeth bit toward Zhao Zhi's head.

But.

It did not succeed.

The moment it opened its gaping maw, a palm radiating faint golden light rapidly enlarged in its vision before crashing down upon it.

Bang.

The Giant Gate Palm carried irresistible, surging force, sending the humanoid creature flying. The upper half of its face nearly caved in, leaving it savage and horrifying.

The humanoid creature flew backward and smashed onto the ground. Great quantities of dark-red blood gushed out, dyeing a large swath of the cave red as a bizarrely foul stench rapidly spread.

Tap. Tap.

Zhao Zhi carried the constable's saber and approached the humanoid creature step by step, his expression cold.

The humanoid creature looked up at the approaching Zhao Zhi. Humanlike terror surfaced in its pitch-black pupils, and it dragged its mutilated body toward another tunnel in an attempt to flee.

Zhao Zhi gave a faint glance in the direction of its escape, then pushed the Moon-Treading Step to its limit. His figure became a streak of light beneath the moon as he pursued the humanoid creature at astonishing speed.

The humanoid creature had originally been extremely fast, but after one hand and one foot had been severed, its speed had greatly fallen. How could it possibly compare to Zhao Zhi?

After only a few breaths.

Zhao Zhi caught up to it, raised his hand, and violently hurled the constable's saber.

Empowered by inner qi and bolstered by terrifying strength, the constable's saber tore through the air. Like a rushing bolt of thunder, it caught up with the humanoid creature, pierced its head, and nailed it to the wall.