The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 123 - 108: The Old Immortal in the Village, Chaotic Liuyun City

Chapter 123: Chapter 108: The Old Immortal in the Village, Chaotic Liuyun City

It was late at night, but the group had not stopped to rest once along the way.

This was the first time.

The village they were passing was a small one, probably home to no more than a few hundred households.

In the dead of night, there were no lights. Every household was pitch-black and silent, showing no signs of activity.

But Yang An could sense that the village was full of people. They were all sound asleep, their breathing calm and steady.

’How strange!’

With Demon Fiends rampaging everywhere, it stood to reason that no place should be this peaceful—not even a large town, let alone a small village.

Moreover, every household was occupied, and there was even some scattered farmland to be seen. It looked nothing like a place that had been attacked by Demon Fiends.

’In times like these, can such a peaceful place truly exist?’

’Could this be an Illusion Realm?’

As Yang An pondered this, Ji Bu spoke.

"Wait for me here."

With just that one terse statement, Ji Bu began walking into the village.

’What is he going to do?’

Yang An’s confusion mounted as he watched Ji Bu’s slow advance toward the village, the distance between them gradually increasing.

His eyes remained fixed on Ji Bu, curious to see what the man was up to.

Just then, Wen Yin, who was standing beside him, suddenly spoke.

"Fifth Senior Brother hates it when people say he walks too slowly, so it’s best not to mention anything about our pace in front of him."

She could only tell Yang An this now that Ji Bu was out of earshot.

"..."

’What a strange pet peeve.’

Yang An suddenly understood why Ji Bu had attacked him back when they were leaving Corpse Saliva Valley.

To Ji Bu, the suggestion to ride an Earth Worm must have sounded like a taunt about his slow walking speed, though Yang An had meant no such thing.

’As I suspected. Every one of these people has their own peculiar quirks and abnormal behaviors.’

’I’m starting to get it now,’ he thought. ’I’m probably the only normal person in the entire Life Crane Sect.’

"Then why does Fifth Senior Brother walk so slowly? If he hates people mentioning it, why insist on walking everywhere?"

’Isn’t he just baiting people?’ Yang An thought.

He could ride an Earth Worm or fly through the sky, yet he deliberately chose to use his own two feet, the slowest method possible. Then he attacks anyone who mentions it.

’If that’s not baiting people, what is?’

In response to Yang An’s question, Wen Yin simply shook her head.

She didn’t know either.

Seeing her reaction, Yang An didn’t bother asking again. ’I’ll just stay far away from that guy from now on,’ he decided.

By now, Ji Bu had entered the village and was walking down its main path.

As he slowly shuffled forward, strip after strip of white cloth flew from the doors and walls of the cottages, landing on his body and merging with the wrappings that already covered him.

Simultaneously, as he collected these clean strips, blood-stained ones flew from his body and took their place on the cottage doors and walls.

The sight immediately captured Yang An’s attention.

Only then did he notice that a clean strip of cloth was hanging on the door or wall of every single home in the village.

The strips were about a foot long and three fingers wide, looking identical to the ones on Ji Bu’s body.

’What is he doing?’

The more Yang An watched, the less he understood. It was as if these strips hanging on the doors and walls had been prepared specifically for Ji Bu, waiting for him to collect them and leave his own blood-stained ones in their place.

As Ji Bu ventured deeper, he eventually finished with the main path, having replaced all the cloth strips along it.

Then, he turned onto a side path and repeated the process, continuing to swap out the cloth strips on the homes there.

"I’ve heard that Fifth Senior Brother leaves the sect once every half-month. Maybe this is where he comes."

Wen Yin spoke up again from beside him.

It was also her first time seeing Ji Bu do this.

Hearing Wen Yin’s words, Yang An looked even more bewildered.

It looked as though Ji Bu was using something from his own body to protect the village, keeping its people safe from the harm of Demon Fiends.

That would explain why this village looked so different, showing no signs of having been disturbed by Demon Fiends.

’But would someone from the Life Crane Sect really be this kind?’

Yang An’s instinct was to not think the best of him; his first impression of the man was that he was anything but a good person.

’Are there any good people in the Life Crane Sect? Probably not.’

After more than a quarter of an hour, Ji Bu had finally walked every path in the village, replacing every single strip of cloth.

The collected strips merged with his wrappings, which now looked much cleaner and not so thoroughly soaked in blood.

He slowly made his way back toward Yang An and Wen Yin.

It was then that Yang An noticed something very strange.

Ji Bu’s walking speed seemed... even slower than before.

"Let’s go."

Still just those two concise words. Ji Bu didn’t pause, but continued on toward their original destination.

Yang An gave the village one last glance, then dismissed it from his mind and continued on his way.

But after they had gone a few dozen paces, still not far from the village, all three of them stopped in their tracks and stared into the surrounding darkness.

’The aura of Demon Fiends!’

The aura of a Demon Fiend was easy to distinguish, as it shared the same origin as that of a Cultivator.

However, telling whether an aura belonged to a Cultivator or a Demon Fiend was often difficult, unless the Demon Fiend’s aura possessed certain distinct characteristics.

For instance, upon sensing the approaching presences in the dark, Yang An and the others had immediately identified them as Demon Fiends, not Cultivators.

This was because the auras constantly emanated a palpable malice, along with a sickening stench of blood.

These were the classic tells.

’To think we’d run into Demon Fiends right after leaving the village... This doesn’t seem like a coincidence.’

As Yang An watched his surroundings warily, he glanced over at Ji Bu. The man was slowly turning to look back toward the village.

Seeing that no Demon Fiends had appeared in the village, his chest seemed to heave slightly, as if in relief.

The next second, the auras of the surrounding Demon Fiends drew closer, about to breach a ten-meter radius around the trio.

At that moment, Ji Bu’s figure suddenly swelled like a rapidly inflating balloon before just as quickly deflating. A torrent of cloth strips shot out like sharp arrows, transforming into countless white phantoms in the pitch-black night.

The strips on his body seemed endless, an inexhaustible supply.

In the span of a single breath, the agonized, Evil Spirit-like shrieks of Demon Fiends echoed through the night, only to be cut off just as quickly.

A few breaths later, the cloth strips flew back and settled onto Ji Bu’s body once more, completely unstained by blood or filth.

At the same time, the auras of the surrounding Demon Fiends vanished completely, leaving behind nothing but the thick stench of blood carried on the wind.

"Let’s go."

Still just those two simple words. As if he had done nothing more than a trivial chore, Ji Bu resumed his slow shuffle forward.

Yang An stood in place for a moment, then, after some thought, stepped off into the darkness.

’I can’t let the flesh and blood of so many Demon Fiends go to waste. Until I reach the Visceral Stone Realm, this stuff is life-saving.’

’Besides, we’re about to head to Liuyun City, and something big might go down. I need to stock up on as much flesh essence as I can.’

By the time Yang An had collected a sufficient amount of flesh essence, Ji Bu and Wen Yin were already hundreds of meters ahead. Yang An quickly caught up to them.

The trio’s figures slowly vanished into the night, and the village returned to its silence once more.

An unknown amount of time passed. Inside an earthen-walled house in the village, with its doors and windows shut tight, a little girl’s soft voice broke the silence as the other villagers slept soundly.

"Mommy, that sound is back again. I’m scared..."

A woman, seemingly woken by the little girl’s voice, gently patted her daughter’s back, coaxing her back to sleep.

"Don’t be afraid. We have an old Immortal here in Ji Family Village. The Immortal will always protect us."

...

Several more days passed. After traveling day and night, Yang An and the others finally arrived at Liuyun City.

But Liuyun City was already in a state of chaos.

The sun was already high in the sky, but Liuyun City’s gates were shut tight.

Ji Bu easily smashed open the heavy city gates, and only after entering did the trio see the scene within.

Severed limbs were strewn everywhere amidst a sea of crimson. The streets were filled with countless panicked figures, creating a deafening clamor.

Armed groups of people moved in waves, brandishing weapons as they searched for something.

The rest of the civilians were in a panic, scrambling to find places to hide. Some were frozen in place, too terrified to move.

Thick smoke billowed from some areas, and houses lay in collapsed ruins. It looked like the city was in the midst of a violent uprising.

Seeing the scene inside the city, Yang An immediately guessed what had happened. ’This place must have just been attacked by Demon Fiends.’

’If this were just a man-made riot, the civilians wouldn’t be this terrified. It’s as if they saw something truly horrifying.’

’It seems Second Senior Brother was right. This is probably related to Demon Fiends. We’re too late... Something terrible has already happened in the city.’

Just then, a loud explosion erupted from the east.

RUMBLE!

As thick smoke billowed into the air, several more houses collapsed, drawing the attention of Yang An’s group.

Several figures appeared within the city, flying rapidly in that direction. A moment later, the sounds of several more explosions echoed out, followed by the screams of many people.

"Let’s go."

Ji Bu said slowly, then resumed his sluggish pace, heading toward the source of the commotion.

Yang An and Wen Yin could only follow resignedly behind him, walking at the same slow pace.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the trio finally arrived at the scene of the commotion.

But when they arrived, all they saw was the ground littered with corpses, all of whom had died gruesome deaths. A few survivors stood nearby, their faces tense and their legs trembling.

"Run!"

Just then, the panicked shouts of several people came from up ahead.

Hearing the cries, many people immediately broke into a sprint, brushing past Yang An’s group as they fled in the opposite direction.

But as he watched them flee, a puzzled expression appeared on Yang An’s face.

’From the moment I entered the city until now... I haven’t sensed the aura of a single Demon Fiend or Cultivator.’