A God of Slaughter Is Born

An hour later, at the edge of the area shrouded in black mist.

A crimson wildcat darted through the mountain forest, her steps so light and agile that they far surpassed those of an ordinary creature.

Beside the wildcat, the Sword Pill, now reduced to the size of an ordinary sword, flew back and forth. A dainty little Spirit Rhinoceros Horn was tied to its hilt.

"Still angry?"

As Xiluo leaped through the forest, she didn't forget to look back at the Sword Pill, which had been silent for quite a while.

Ever since they left Li Household Village, the Sword Pill had fallen silent.

Only its occasional responses let Xiluo know that the Sword Pill could still communicate with her through the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn.

[I'm not angry. I'm just being efficient.]

[Using the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn consumes a great deal of Yuan Qi. Now that I'm separated from my main body, every bit of Yuan Qi is precious.]

[When it isn't necessary, pointless conversation only reduces how long I can keep going.]

The Sword Pill's voice was somewhat cold, utterly unlike the emotion in his voice when his main body held the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn.

This was a characteristic of the Sword Pill, and also one of its strengths.

No matter what danger it faced, the rational, ruthless Sword Pill could make the best decision in the shortest possible time.

"How can you call that pointless conversation?"

Xiluo, who didn't like Li Boyang in this state, continued to argue.

"We're comrades who are going to fight side by side. Talking and communicating with each other is the most basic requirement!"

"Otherwise, what if the two of us make different judgments? Whose judgment should we follow?"

At her words, the golden Sword Pill suddenly shot into the black mist nearby.

"Awoo!"

A beastly roar rang out.

The decaying beast hidden within the black mist vanished in an instant.

Only when the Sword Pill returned to Xiluo's side did his cold voice once again reach the depths of her mind through the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn.

[Mine, of course!]

There was no fluctuation of emotion in the Sword Pill's voice, only cold killing intent and confidence.

"..."

Xiluo gazed wordlessly at the flying sword, saying nothing for a long time.

A thought had suddenly risen in the depths of her heart-should she not have let Li Boyang take part in this battle?

Ever since she and Li Boyang had laid their cards on the table that day,

the two of them had agreed to deal with the evil ghost hidden in Black Cloud Marsh together.

But judging by the current situation, Li Boyang's main body and the Sword Pill seemed to be two completely different forms.

Xiluo wasn't sure whether this was good or bad for Li Boyang.

The only thing she could be sure of was that she didn't like Li Boyang in this state.

"You know what?"

"The state you're in now is a lot like Ruifu, whom you killed not long ago."

Xiluo had never been one to keep her thoughts to herself, so she soon spoke up again.

"The same coldness, the same thirst for slaughter, even the same arrogance..."

"I'm starting to regret saving you."

"Maybe what I saved was never an auspicious omen sent from heaven, but a born god of slaughter."

As she said this, Xiluo once again recalled the strange old man fighting the golden Sword Pill.

Whether it was the strange old man or the golden Sword Pill...

To Xiluo, who lived in the mountain forest, there was no difference between them. At most, they were just entertainment.

It wasn't until Li Boyang stopped absorbing his mother's Innate Qi,

and even took the initiative to trigger his Body-Protecting Sword Qi when Chen Yun was in danger,

that Xiluo grew curious about this fellow who lacked even the slightest common sense, and took the initiative to help him be born.

"You know what?"

"I've never been very smart, and I'm terribly lazy too."

"So even after I became a mountain god, I rarely made choices that could change other people's fates..."

"If my sister hadn't kept teaching me that a mountain god had to protect the land and its people, I'd probably still be sleeping my days away in the mountains!"

Xiluo paused briefly, and a rare seriousness flashed in her eyes.

"Little one, there's something I have to tell you now..."

"If one day you really do fall into the Dao of Slaughter and become an Ominous Deity, I'll be the first mountain god to stand in your way."

Hearing Xiluo say this, the golden Sword Pill couldn't help pausing for a moment.

The cold killing intent that had shrouded the blade also seemed to dissipate somewhat.

[Don't worry. That day will never come.]

Through the Spirit Rhinoceros Horn, Li Boyang's firm resolve reached the depths of Xiluo's heart along with those words.

[For me, killing will always be a last resort.]

[I won't let that day come. I promise you.]

Quietly opening the vertical eye between his brows, Li Boyang fell silent for a while, his expression indifferent.

Come to think of it, Li Boyang had already killed a Tulu before he was even born.

Not long after his birth, he had killed an Ominous Deity.

And now, he was going with Xiluo to slay the corrupted creatures trying to hasten the spread of the black mist.

Most importantly, under the golden Sword Pill's influence, Li Boyang had felt no real sense that he was killing at all.

In a sense, Li Boyang was even more outrageous than those transmigrator predecessors who killed decisively-he couldn't even manage the most basic empathy.

His soul had clearly come from the twenty-first century, from a country with an ancient civilization and universal morals.

Yet now, Li Boyang seemed capable of killing without the slightest guilt, lacking even the most basic reverence for life.

In particular, whenever he devoted most of his attention to the Sword Pill, even the emotions of Li Boyang's main body grew indifferent.

[If this era had psychologists...]

[In this state, I'd surely be diagnosed as a natural-born sociopath, wouldn't I?]

At that thought, Li Boyang couldn't help glancing toward the sleeping couple, Li Yu and Chen Yun.

Thinking of everything they had done for him stirred ripples once more in Li Boyang's heart, which had already grown calm.

An adult's outlook and way of thinking allowed Li Boyang to understand clearly what kindness and enmity meant.

He couldn't say for certain whether wielding the Sword Pill for long periods would make his emotions grow even more detached.

But Li Boyang knew that he could use the thoughts and morals of his previous life to restrain his present self, who was gradually spiraling out of control.

[I won't kill needlessly, and I'll never raise my sword against the family and friends at my side...]

[No matter what I become in the future, I won't cross the line I've drawn now.]

As the conviction in his heart grew clearer, the Sha Qi pouring ceaselessly into Li Boyang's body also seemed to undergo some unknown change.

Beneath the moonlit night, the invisible Sha Qi quietly gathered, faintly forming a twisting, shifting shadow.