Uncanny Information

The Human World was always a topic of idle conversation among the yao of the Wilds.

Some yao said it was a flourishing place, where everyone had food to eat, carriages and horses accompanied them wherever they went, and even their strides stirred up a tiger's wind.

Some yao said it was a desolate backwater, with pagodas stretching a thousand miles, the starved dead littering ten thousand more, and uncanny horrors everywhere-a place utterly inferior to the Wilds Yao Stronghold.

Others said that although people there had enough to eat, warm clothes, large houses, and carriages and horses to carry them, what they ate was yao beast meat, what they lived in was houses built from yao beast bones, and what pulled their carriages was enslaved yao.

There were countless tales of this sort.

The Human World was too far from the Wilds-so far that, for hundreds upon thousands of years, the yao here could learn only a little about humans through stories passed from mouth to mouth.

In fact, if items belonging to humans had not occasionally appeared within the Yao Stronghold, even the existence of the Human World would have been in doubt.

After all, it was simply too far away.

So far that many low-ranking yao instinctively believed the Human World was nothing more than something out of a dream.

Now, however, the book in Fox Woman's hand had thoroughly piqued Su Changsheng's curiosity.

"What, neither of these two Demon Arts suits you?" Fox Woman waved the book in her hand, a hint of amusement in her eyes as she asked a question whose answer she already knew.

Su Changsheng let out a long sigh. His expression settled, and he said evenly, "Mental Sense is quite good. Although it isn't an offensive skill, it's still decent. But since you're holding a human book, Fourth Miss, wouldn't I be letting all your efforts go to waste if I didn't take a look?"

"Please!"

Fox Woman raised an eyebrow. She had not expected Su Changsheng to say such a thing and, for a moment, could find no reply. In the end, she could only purse her lips and carefully hand him the book, chiding him, "You damned snake yao, always full of little schemes! Here, be careful not to damage it!"

"There's a strange skill recorded on the last page. See whether it meets your requirements."

Fox Woman pointed at the book as she spoke.

Looks like I can only read it, not take it away.

Su Changsheng said nothing more. After taking the book, he began examining it carefully, page by page.

The book had twelve pages in total and was actually divided into two sections. The first seven were written in that extremely peculiar script resembling Oracle Bone Script, with quite a few bizarre illustrations.

Some depicted countless densely packed eyes appearing in the void; others showed inexplicable blood continually pouring into the earth. One depicted a bottomless ravine, while another showed the sun opening its mouth and chasing the moon, and so on.

The last five pages were clearly somewhat more normal, written entirely in Demon Script.

Yet at the sight of this Demon Script, Su Changsheng could not help frowning. He looked at Fox Woman and asked, "Did this book originally contain Demon Script, or were the last five pages added by some yao?"

Fox Woman shook her head, indicating that she did not know either. The book had already been like this when it came into her possession.

Unable to understand the language, Su Changsheng merely glanced over the first seven pages. He found the illustrations extremely uncanny and deeply chilling even to a yao. After only a hurried look, he turned straight to the eighth page.

This page was written in Demon Script.

Its contents were extremely disorganized and fragmented, with deletions and corrections in places. Judging by what it said, some of it appeared to be translations and explanations of the first seven pages, while other parts seemed to be the writer talking to himself.

For instance, there was this passage: I have oft heard that it is not men who diligently seek knowledge, but knowledge that diligently seeks men. Yet I know this to be false. Knowledge does not seek men; it ventures forth to hunt them. Pitiless in its cruelty, it is as hawks and hounds pursuing a hare.

The wording was so archaic and scholarly that Su Changsheng was utterly baffled. Could a yao really have written this?

Then he spotted further passages that were even stranger:

Darkness poured from the fractured earth. The sun opened its mouth, pursuing the delicious moon. Uncanny horrors prowled the void, and mist concealed the truth... Everlasting Heaven... who will save us?

I feel as though I have gone mad. I should never have pursued these secrets. But I will not die. I absolutely will not die.

To possess a heart that loathes life and death, a heart that transcends life and death, is merely to be called yao, not to be called the Dao.

Am I a yao? Yes, I am a yao!

I met a hairless monkey. He said he was a human Cultivator, and said I was a Cultivator too!

What? I'm a Cultivator? No, no, no, I'm clearly a yao!

I ate him. Mm, he tasted quite good.

These records were wildly disjointed and confused, as though their writer had been switching back and forth between two personalities.

One moment, the writing was scholarly and archaic; the next, it was crazed and twisted.

Su Changsheng skimmed over it and turned to the final page. The Demon Script there was much more normal, no longer disorganized, and even appeared exceptionally neat.

From the handwriting, it was easy to tell that these words had still been written by the same person who had penned the earlier records. He simply did not know why the writing had become so neat and clean.

A Demon Art was indeed recorded there.

Its name was Listening.

As its name suggested, after mastering the basics, one could listen to the vibrations of the earth to sense fortune and calamity, avoiding danger before it struck. At higher levels, it could even foretell the future.

It was undoubtedly an exceptionally powerful Demon Art, countless times stronger than Mental Sense.

However, its cultivation requirements were rather demanding. The beginning was not difficult: one had to continuously visualize the illustrations on the first seven pages, engraving them in one's mind until they left a profound impression. Later on, one had to draw them personally, using various materials in combination, and so forth.

There seemed to be nothing wrong with it, yet the exceptionally neat writing on this page left Su Changsheng feeling particularly uneasy.

I can't practice this thing!

Its uncanniness even surpassed that of Male Fox's two beast hides.

Alarm bells rang in his mind. He even began to feel that something was wrong with Mental Sense and Bloodthirst Art. Although he still could not put his finger on what it was, he could not take them either!

There's a trap here!

Is this little bastard Fox Woman trying to screw me over?

Su Changsheng closed the book and rubbed his head, keeping his expression neutral. "What is all this nonsense written in here? I don't even recognize a lot of the Demon Script. Never mind, this Demon Art doesn't really suit me either. Do you have anything else?"

"Neither Mental Sense nor Bloodthirst Art will do?" Fox Woman asked.

"They would, technically. Mental Sense is good, but I keep feeling it would improve my strength too slowly. Forget it, forget it. If you don't have anything else here, I'll go have another look at the Yao Market."

"Help me exchange these runes for Wraith Beast meat and rune materials."

Su Changsheng still looked rather dissatisfied. Whether there was anything wrong with them or not, he no longer wanted them.

Better to be careful!

Fox Woman nodded without saying anything and directly instructed her subordinates to make the arrangements.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Su Changsheng's eyes shifted, and he suddenly said, "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"What is it?" Fox Woman had returned to her languid demeanor.

Su Changsheng pointed at the stone pot in front of him and shamelessly asked, "Could I have another serving of meat broth?"

He had become addicted to fleecing her!

With his connection to Fox Woman, a second helping was completely free anyway!

"Get lost!"

"Right away!"

If you won't give me any, then don't. What are you getting angry for?

I've been wanting to leave for ages anyway!