Demons and Monsters
After the time it took an incense stick to burn, the patrol drew close to the hill.
"The evil things are noticeably more concentrated here..." Lin Xu looked more than a hundred meters ahead with his Spirit Eye. A pack of wandering Human-Faced Dogs made him frown slightly.
Unlike ordinary monsters of the Spirit Realm, these evil things, conjured from the imaginings of twisted minds, were often more dangerous.
Name: Human-Faced Dog · Cyan Race: Aberration Level: 4 Strength: 12 Agility: 14 Constitution: 10 Spirit: 11 Intelligence: 8 Health: 44/44 Skills: **Bite · Cyan** (beginner): deals physical damage and inflicts spiritual corrosion **Bark · Cyan** (beginner): intimidates targets and reduces their mental resistance **Group Action · White** (beginner): for each additional member, individual attack power increases by 2%, up to 10% **Soul Mark · Cyan** (intermediate): targets injured by a Human-Faced Dog are marked and tracked, and their souls are cursed and continuously weakened Evaluation: evil things that roam the countryside, greedy predators
Among the many evil things in the Spirit Realm, aberrations were the most dangerous.
These Human-Faced Dogs were not particularly powerful in combat, but once injured, one had to fight them to the death. Otherwise, these monsters would keep tracking their marked target until they dragged them into the abyss of despair.
Lin Xu surveyed the surrounding terrain. The path up the hill lay behind the Human-Faced Dogs' lair. He wanted to go around them, but considering the large groups of evil things occupying the area around the hill, he had to abandon the idea.
He held his breath and, with a thought, sent a paper figure through the flank of the Human-Faced Dog pack.
The pack was immediately alerted and chased after the darting paper figure with low growls, leaving a narrow mountain path clear.
Lin Xu lowered his voice. "Hurry, go now!"
The group quickly advanced along the foot of the hill.
The closer they got to the hill, the more clearly they could sense the spiritual essence surging like a tide.
The flame of the Bright Light Lamp flickered gently, creating an invisible pull that slowly gathered the free-floating spiritual essence nearby and drew it into his sea of consciousness to be refined.
The spiritual essence entered his body like spring water melting snow, and faint ripples of light spread across his sea of consciousness.
Lin Xu did not slow his steps, but his mind had already sensed the pulse of the spiritual node halfway up the hill—the rhythm of the Spirit Vein's core. It released a constant stream of spiritual essence from deep within the earth, forming wave after wave of spiritual tides, as though heaven and earth were breathing.
By now, he had sent out another paper figure to scout the mountainside.
This was the back of the spiritual node. The terrain was steep and strewn with jagged rocks, and vines wound between the rock faces like snakes.
A cave entrance roughly ten feet high lay hidden among the vines. Deep within its dark depths, a faint firelight could be seen.
One glance was enough for Lin Xu to determine that the cave lay roughly behind the mountainside's spiritual node.
A squad of armed demon soldiers was patrolling along the rock face near the cave. The Ox Demon leading them had a pair of horns on its head, wielded a great axe, and wore bronze scale armor, looking every bit imposing.
Name: Ox Demon · Cyan Race: Demon Level: 5 Strength: 16 Agility: 10 Constitution: 14 Spirit: 12 Intelligence: 7 Health: 68/68 Mana: 32/32 Equipment: [Bronze Great Axe] · Cyan: its haft fills both arms when embraced, and though its edge is chipped, it still gleams with a chilling light. When swung, it raises a muffled howl of wind and can break armor and cleave metal; [Coarse Hemp Battle Skirt] · White: woven from hemp and imbued with demonic power Skills: **Sweep Away a Thousand Troops · White** (beginner): swings the great axe to deal area physical damage and knock targets back **Bronze Skin and Iron Bones · Cyan** (advanced): naturally high defense, reduces damage taken by 15% **Glowering Intimidation · Cyan** (beginner): enhances the user's imposing presence and reduces nearby enemy units' desire to attack **Brute Force Body-Tempering Art · Cyan** (beginner): consumes mana to strengthen the body and can also increase strength and constitution for a short time Evaluation: demon soldier captain, guardian of the mountain wilds
The Ox Demon's steps were steady. With each one, fine dust rose from the moss in the cracks between the rocks.
Five or six demon soldiers carrying rusty blades followed behind the Ox Demon with carefree swagger, occasionally striking the vines with the backs of their blades and making them rustle.
"Where did this bunch of demons come from? They're so strong..."
Lin Xu's heart grew heavy. Level 5 was already the level of an intermediate-rank professional. Adventurers at that level had already developed their fighting styles and were far beyond comparison with level 1 or level 2 newcomers fresh out of the gate.
He scanned the attributes of the lesser demons, his expression growing slightly grave. These demon soldiers were all around level 2 or 3, and their attributes were far higher than those of the militia he had brought.
If they clashed head-on, his side would have little chance of victory.
After some thought, Lin Xu directed the paper figure around the mountainside, quietly circling toward the battlefield at the front.
At the entrance to the spiritual node halfway up the front of the hill, a fierce battle was still underway.
By the light of the flames, dozens of figures fought before the spiritual node, the clash of blades and axes ringing out without pause.
Every so often, a ball of flame exploded, scattering showers of sparks across the battlefield.
Once Lin Xu got a clear look at the two sides, his expression turned slightly strange.
As expected, one side consisted of the demon soldiers of this demon mountain. Their leader was a Wolf Demon standing at the cave entrance with a long blade in hand, sweeping a fierce gaze over the fighting ahead.
Name: Wolf Demon (Elite) · Blue Race: Demon Level: 8 Strength: 18 Agility: 19 Constitution: 13 Spirit: 14 Intelligence: 11 Health: 1160/1160 Mana: 1620/1620 Equipment: [Silver Moon Scimitar] · Blue: its blade shimmers with cold moonlight, traces of frost appearing along its edge, and frost spills forth when it is swung [Gray Wolf Leather Armor] · Blue: tanned from the hide of a century-old wolf king, light and tough, enhancing agility and stealth Skills: **Wind-Rending Slash · Cyan** (advanced): slashes at high speed to deal tearing damage, with a chance to interrupt spellcasting **Yin Wind Howl · Blue** (advanced): summons Yin Wind to form a sonic blast, dealing mental and physical damage in a fan-shaped area ahead, with a 30% chance of briefly confusing targets **Swift Shadow Step · Blue** (beginner): increases movement speed for a short time, suitable for pursuit or evasion **Black Wind Howling Moon Art · Blue** (expert): an uncanny demonic art that surrounds the user with black Qi when activated, greatly enhancing nighttime combat ability and allowing the user to draw on moonlight to heal injuries Evaluation: demon stronghold leader, commander of demons
A level 8 elite demon... Lin Xu's heart sank, and he was already thinking of retreating.
A demon leader of that level could wipe out his entire team in a single encounter.
The other side consisted of bizarrely shaped... monsters. Although it was somewhat inappropriate to call them monsters when demons were already present, after seeing three enormous eyeballs with twisted tentacles floating in midair, Lin Xu still instinctively used the word.
Name: Evil Eye · Cyan Race: Monster Level: 3 Strength: 8 Agility: 11 Constitution: 8 Spirit: 16 Intelligence: 9 Health: 64/64 Magic: 67/160 Skills: **Mind Blast · Cyan** (intermediate): releases a mental shockwave, dealing area mental damage and briefly stunning targets **Paralyzing Gaze · Cyan** (intermediate): locks onto a single target, slowing or even immobilizing it **Group Sense · Cyan** (advanced): multiple Evil Eyes fight in coordination, sharing vision and some resistances Evaluation: dungeon watchers, skilled in mental manipulation, often appearing in groups in dark places
Lin Xu's pupils abruptly contracted, his gaze fixed on the word "dungeon." His intuition told him that this might be the key to the whole trip.
For Xuanwei Monastery, the miniature Spirit Vein in this little hill has limited value. These demons are a tough bone to chew, and they guard this spiritual node every day. There's no need to fight a battle over this enclave. But this dungeon...
Through the paper figure's eyes, he looked toward the dungeon forces.
More than a dozen goblins in leather armor were locked in fierce combat with the lesser demons, brandishing crude short blades. Over twenty skeleton soldiers wielding damaged blades and swords charged the demon soldiers' line without emotion, blue flames dancing in their empty eye sockets.