The carriage jolted along the rugged mountain road, its wheels grinding over loose stones with creaks that echoed through the silent forest like ghosts gnashing their teeth.
Xiao Yan lifted the window curtain and gazed into the ink-thick darkness outside. The Soul Hall token in his hand radiated a faint warmth that crept through his fingertips, branding an ominous mark upon his heart.
When they were still ten li from Black Wind Village, the sharp clash of metal suddenly rang out ahead, mingled with the teeth-aching crunch of breaking bones.
"Stop."
Xiao Yan quietly instructed the driver. The Black Iron Heavy Sword gleamed coldly in his palm as he slipped out like a wildcat and vanished into the shadows of the trees.
Moonlight filtered through the leaves in scattered patches, illuminating a savage battle beside the mountain road-five warriors in matching regulation leather armor were fighting three grotesquely deformed creatures.
Their once-human bodies had swollen and twisted, their skin turning the blue-black of corpse stains. With nails sharp as blades, they roared and lunged at the warriors, oblivious even when their arms were severed, their eyes filled with nothing but bloodthirsty madness.
"Hey! These demon bastards can really take a beating!"
A booming voice cut through the bloody air. The burly man leading the group swept his broad saber across, its cutting wind carrying peak Da Dou Shi Dou Qi as it sent a demonized villager flying thirty feet.
Veins bulged like coiling dragons along his bare arms. Black-red blood spattered his face, yet he grinned with hearty cheer. He was Zhang Wulang, captain of the Otherworldly Demon cleanup squad.
Xiao Yan's pupils narrowed slightly. These demonized villagers moved thirty percent faster than ordinary warriors, and the faint black vapor accompanying their attacks was intensely corrosive. Even the warriors' steel armor began to rust on contact.
Zhang Wulang's squad worked together seamlessly, but they were still struggling. Two men already had arms scorched by the black vapor, their flesh peeling back to expose white bone.
"Captain! These damned things won't die!"
A young squad member cried out as he retreated. His longsword left only shallow cuts on a demonized villager, and the recoil split the webbing between his thumb and forefinger.
Zhang Wulang drove back the monster before him with a slash and bellowed:
"Cut off their heads! These corrupted bastards' hearts stopped beating long ago. Destroying their heads is the only way to kill them for good!"
His broad saber struck precisely at the monster's neck, drawing a jet of black blood.
Just then, a demonized villager slipped through their defenses. Foul-smelling saliva dripped from its mouth as it lunged toward the space behind the trees.
Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. His heavy sword flashed from its sheath, its Dou Qi-infused blade glowing dimly as it struck precisely at the junction of the demonized villager's neck.
With a soft, wet sound, the blue-black head rolled to the ground. Stinking black blood sprayed over the grass, and the body twitched twice before falling still.
"Hm?"
Zhang Wulang looked in surprise at Xiao Yan's sudden appearance, his clouded eyes instantly brightening. "Fine skills, young brother! Are you here to deal with the Otherworldly Demons in Black Wind Village too?"
Xiao Yan stood with his sword lowered, moonlight falling over his stern profile. He nodded calmly. "I was passing through. I heard the commotion and came to take a look."
"Ha ha! Good!"
Zhang Wulang laughed heartily and offered him a waterskin with a rough palm.
"I'm Zhang Wulang of Jia Lie City's Otherworldly Demon cleanup squad. What should I call you, young brother? Already a Da Dou Shi at your age-which family's prodigy are you?"
"Xiao Yan."
He accepted the waterskin but did not drink, his fingertips touching the lingering body warmth on its surface. "Just an independent cultivator."
Zhang Wulang did not mind. He clapped Xiao Yan on the shoulder with such hearty force that Xiao Yan quietly circulated his Dou Qi to disperse it.
"Having that strength as an independent cultivator is even more impressive! The Otherworldly Demon corruption in Black Wind Village is no simple matter. Fate brought us together, so why not work together?"
The sincerity in his eyes stirred something in Xiao Yan's heart.
Xiao Yan was about to refuse when the Soul Hall Steward's sinister laughter suddenly sounded in his mind.
"Heh heh heh... Perfect. Let these fools scout the way for you." Xiao Yan went with the current. "That would suit me well."
After clearing out the remaining demonized villagers, Zhang Wulang's squad members immediately took out ointment to treat their wounds.
Xiao Yan noticed that the ointment was dark green. When spread over the areas burned by black vapor, it hissed and gave off white smoke, accompanied by the men's muffled groans of pain.
"This ointment is made from demon-cleansing grass. It can temporarily suppress the erosion of Demonic Qi."
Seeing his curiosity, Zhang Wulang explained, regret showing on his dark face. "Black Wind Village lost contact three days ago. By the time we received word and arrived, it was already too late. The village entrance was crawling with these monsters."
He kicked aside a severed limb at his feet. "Such a shame. Those villagers were honest, decent people. They even gave me a jar of homemade rice wine last year."
Xiao Yan felt as though a needle had pierced his heart. He asked quietly:
"This corruption... can they be saved?"
Zhang Wulang shook his head with a sigh, his voice sinking.
"Once Otherworldly Demon energy has invaded the heart meridians for more than seven days, the soul is completely devoured. They become walking corpses that know only slaughter. All we can do is release them from their suffering and stop the Demonic Qi from spreading to Wutan City."
His words were almost identical to the Soul Hall Steward's, yet the genuine regret in them sent a bone-piercing chill through Xiao Yan.
The group continued onward. The closer they drew to Black Wind Village, the thicker the stench of blood and decay became, until it was almost tangible. The wooden palisade at the entrance had already been violently smashed apart. Several mutilated corpses lay on the ground, their blue-black blood congealed into eerie, rune-like patterns on the stone road, emanating an ominous presence.
"Stay alert!"
Zhang Wulang drew his broad saber with a grave expression, its blade gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "Something's wrong. It's too quiet here. There aren't even any insects."
Before his words had faded, a deafening roar erupted from the ancestral hall like thunder exploding out of a clear sky.
The ground trembled faintly. A hulking figure burst through the ancestral hall's wall, and amid the flying bricks and stones, a gigantic demonized villager nearly three meters tall emerged.
Black vapor swirled around it like a cloak. A malformed, throbbing blue-black heart was visible in its exposed chest, and ghostly green flames burned in its eyes. Each breath distorted the air, radiating the terrifying aura of a peak Da Dou Shi.
"It's the village chief!"
Zhang Wulang's pupils contracted sharply, his voice filled with incredulous horror. "He was a Dou Shi in his youth. How could the corruption have become this severe?"
The gigantic demonized villager roared and swung a fist the size of a millstone. The wind of its blow tore away half a nearby adobe house, sending tiles and wood splinters flying everywhere.
Zhang Wulang raised his saber to take the blow head-on. With a tremendous clang, he was driven back five steps, the webbing of his hand splitting open and bleeding freely.
"What strength! This old bastard's about to break through to Dou Ling!"
The squad members immediately formed a diamond formation and attacked from all sides. Their swords and sabers struck the monster together, yet left only faint white marks.
The gigantic demonized villager went berserk. Its fan-sized hand swept across, sending two squad members flying like kites with severed strings. One slammed hard into a stone wall, the sound of shattering bones clearly audible. He was already dead when he hit the ground.
"Damn it! I'll fight this monster to the death!"
Zhang Wulang roared and burned his Dou Qi. Crimson energy rose over his body, and his blade glowed with searing red light. "Young Brother Xiao Yan! Look for an opening from the side!" He became a red blur as he charged again, using the spine of his saber to block the monster's fist.
Xiao Yan did not move. He stared intently at the seething core of black energy inside the gigantic demonized villager.
The Soul Hall token burned fiercely in his palm, while the circulation method of the Soul Absorption Technique raced through his mind. The violent energy contained in that core made even the Dou Qi within him resonate. Although the monster's soul had been devoured, the Demonic Qi had catalyzed the formation of a special energy crystal—an ideal supplement for cultivating the Soul Absorption Technique.
"Heh heh heh... Now!"
The Soul Hall Steward's voice sounded in his mind, its excitement undisguised. "It's forcing a breakthrough. Its soul defenses are at their weakest!"
The gigantic demonized villager suddenly let out an agonized roar. The black vapor around it surged three inches outward, its bones crackled, and its body swelled again. It had truly begun to push toward the Dou Ling realm. Zhang Wulang seized the opportunity to slash its back, sending sparks flying, only for the rebounding black energy to throw him into a pillar of the ancestral hall. He coughed up blood.
At that moment, with everything hanging by a thread, Xiao Yan moved.
He poured Dou Qi into his legs and darted like a ghost through the ruined walls, avoiding flying debris as he reached the gigantic demonized villager's back in an instant.
Without hesitation, he pressed his left palm against its vein-covered back, directly behind its heart, and unleashed the Soul Absorption Technique at full power! Pitch-black soul patterns spread from his palm like ravenous parasitic vines, swiftly burrowing into its body.
"Aaaaargh-"
The gigantic demonized villager released a shrill, inhuman scream. The black energy within it fought back wildly, coursing beneath its skin in hideous patterns, but the soul markings locked it down and forcibly drew it out.
Xiao Yan could clearly feel energy as savage as a tsunami pouring into his body through his arm. Countless shattered soul fragments were mixed into it, stabbing at his sea of consciousness like needles. His head felt ready to split, and he nearly fainted.
"Absorb it, quickly! Use its Demonic Qi to break through your Dou Ling bottleneck!"
The Soul Hall Steward's voice brimmed with urgent excitement. "This is a rare opportunity!"
Xiao Yan clenched his teeth and bit his tongue until it bled. The sharp pain kept him conscious.
As he built a barrier of Dou Qi to keep the Demonic Qi from eroding his heart meridians, he guided the violent power toward his own bottleneck.
The gigantic demonized villager shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye, its swollen muscles rapidly withering. Meanwhile, Xiao Yan's aura climbed steadily. Peak Da Dou Shi... Breakthrough! Waves of early-stage Dou Ling Dou Qi rippled outward, sending broken twigs and dead leaves whirling around him.
"Young Brother Xiao Yan!"
Zhang Wulang struggled to his feet and stared at the bizarre scene in shock. The black-and-white Dou Qi swirling around Xiao Yan filled him with alarm.
Just as Xiao Yan was about to finish absorbing the energy, the gigantic demonized villager's shriveled head suddenly twisted a full hundred and eighty degrees. Its one remaining clouded eye fixed on him, its venomous hatred almost tangible. The remaining black energy abruptly formed a sharp claw and struck at his head with a shriek that tore through the air.
Xiao Yan reacted instantly, twisting aside, but the claw still raked his shoulder, tearing away flesh and leaving a wound deep enough to expose bone.
Pain flooded over him like a tide, nearly scattering his spiritual energy.
Xiao Yan's gaze hardened, and he acted without hesitation. The heavy sword in his right hand pierced the gigantic demonized villager's skull like lightning. At the same time, he exerted a fierce pull with his left hand, dragging the final strand of core energy into his body.
The monster crashed to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust. Xiao Yan staggered back three steps, his face pale as paper and his lips drained of blood. Yet deep in his eyes, an unnatural light flickered, black and white intertwined.
Zhang Wulang hurried forward to support him, his rough palm touching Xiao Yan's icy skin. Looking at the bone-deep wound in his shoulder and the devastation around them, he spoke with lingering fear. "Are you all right? What cultivation art was that? It's far too dangerous! If you'd been even a fraction slower..."
Xiao Yan shook his head and circulated his Dou Qi to contain the injury. Under the power of a Dou Ling, the muscles around the wound began to writhe slowly and knit together.
"An ancestral secret art. It absorbs Otherworldly Demon energy and converts it for my own use."
He tilted his head to listen, looking into the pitch-black depths of the ancestral hall. "There's still a faint heartbeat inside."
Only then did Zhang Wulang remember their task. Suppressing the pain of his injuries, he called to the surviving squad members:
"Search the entire village! Don't overlook a single corner! Keep an eye out for survivors!"
His gaze held greater respect for Xiao Yan now, along with concern. "Young brother, we owe you a great deal this time. But that cultivation art of yours... you'd best use it sparingly."
Xiao Yan gazed at the dark entrance of the ancestral hall, feeling the denser Dou Ling Dou Qi within him and the strand of pure Demonic Qi, tamed by the Soul Seed, circulating through his meridians. Yet he felt no joy whatsoever at his breakthrough.
The power offered by the Soul Absorption Technique was so alluring, yet so dark. The countless fragments of suffering souls he had sensed while absorbing the energy were branded into his sea of consciousness. He lowered his gaze to the soul patterns lingering on his palm. In the end, these hands were still drenched in the blood of innocents.
Black Wind Village lay silent in the night. Only the wind wailed through its ruined houses, like countless wronged souls weeping softly, recounting the tragedy of being devoured by Otherworldly Demons.
Xiao Yan tightened his grip on the heavy sword at his waist. The black blood staining its tassel had already dried. He knew this was only the beginning. As he stepped into the shadows of the Soul Hall, more blood-soaked "missions" like this would be waiting for him in the darkness.
Before you continue