The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 75 - 72: Junior Brother... You’re Going to Die... I Saw It...

Chapter 75: Chapter 72: Junior Brother... You’re Going to Die... I Saw It...

"My apologies for the wait, Fellow Daoists. I’ve investigated the matter and confirmed that neither of you was involved. Our previous actions were rash, and I must apologize.

That worthless disciple of mine has been punished to face the wall in repentance. If you wish to leave now, I can send you to Yulan City immediately."

The moment he saw Yang An and Wen Yin, Jing Yan Daoist offered them a very courteous apology.

Can Meng Daoist and Pan Yu were somewhat confused by Jing Yan Daoist’s arrival, so Pan Shi had to explain what had just happened.

"You’re too kind, Senior. There’s no need to speak of rashness. It’s perfectly understandable that you and the others were suspicious of us. We simply had urgent business that couldn’t be delayed, which led to the unfortunate incident. I hope you won’t take it to heart."

Jing Yan Daoist was a man who knew right from wrong. He was courteous and put on no airs, which left a very good impression on Yang An.

It wasn’t just him, either. All the people Yang An had met from Sansong Mountain had given him a good impression.

When others treated him with courtesy, Yang An naturally returned it in kind.

"Since the matter has been cleared up, we can’t delay any further. We’ll have to trouble you, Senior, to send us to Yulan City."

"It’s a shame Fellow Daoist Yang has urgent business," Pan Shi said with some regret. "Otherwise, I would have insisted you stay on Sansong Mountain for a few more days so we could show you proper hospitality."

"There will be other opportunities. When I have the time, I’ll be sure to visit. We can have a proper chat then, Fellow Daoist Pan."

Two hours passed quickly. With little more idle chatter, Yang An and Wen Yin soon followed Jing Yan Daoist out of the Tree House.

At the same time, Yang An was filled with anticipation. He wanted to see what kind of Demon Fiend Sansong Mountain kept that could be even faster than an Earth Worm.

’Could it be one that flies?’

But just as he was wondering where Jing Yan Daoist would take them, Jing Yan Daoist stopped right outside the Tree House.

"This is the place. Please wait a moment!"

’Right here?’

’Oh, I get it!’

Yang An looked up at the sky. ’The flying Demon Fiend must be up there, and Jing Yan Daoist has to summon it down.’

’He felt he was pretty much spot on.’

But in the next moment, Jing Yan Daoist suddenly looked toward the massive, leafy tree and reached out.

Then, with a CHIRP!

In the blink of an eye, a fist-sized bird was in his hand.

"..."

Yang An was stunned. ’Weren’t we supposed to be summoning a Demon Fiend? Why did he catch a bird?’

A bad feeling suddenly welled up inside him.

He watched as Jing Yan Daoist, holding the bird, turned back toward the giant tree and performed a deep bow.

"Senior Brother! I must borrow your flesh and blood! Your junior brother is leaving to escort two guests."

As soon as he finished speaking, a yellowish-brown wooden lump fell from the giant tree above. Jing Yan Daoist caught it as Yang An watched.

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Jing Yan Daoist smiled, then raised his hand and stuffed both the wooden lump and the bird into his mouth, forcing them down his throat with a GULP, GULP.

"!!!"

Yang An was completely dumbstruck. ’What the hell is this?!’

Before he could even react, not a breath after Jing Yan Daoist swallowed the wooden lump and the bird, the Daoist’s entire body began to tremble violently, his flesh twisting and contorting.

"As expected of our Martial Uncle. His mastery of the Flesh Mimicry art is truly beyond our reach."

Behind them, Pan Shi and the others had come out as well. Upon seeing this, Pan Shi spoke with a tone full of awe, and even Can Meng Daoist nodded in praise.

’So... Sansong Mountain doesn’t keep any flying Demon Fiends at all. Instead, Jing Yan Daoist himself plans to turn into some kind of flying creature and personally take us to Yulan City?’

Yang An finally understood, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

All he could say was that Jing Yan Daoist’s technique was something else. He didn’t understand it, but he was profoundly shocked.

In just a few breaths, Jing Yan Daoist’s body had completely contorted into a giant bird. Innumerable black feathers sprouted from his skin, and he fully assumed the shape of an enormous avian.

If he hadn’t still been sporting a human head, no one would have guessed this creature had once been a man.

FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP—

Jing Yan Daoist flapped his two enormous wings, instantly whipping up a fierce gale that swirled dust into the air.

"Please, climb on, Fellow Daoists. I shall now take you to Yulan City."

Seeing that Jing Yan Daoist was ready, Yang An wasted no more time. He and Senior Sister Wen Yin immediately leaped onto Jing Yan Daoist’s... bird-back.

Following Jing Yan Daoist’s instructions, they sat down and gripped his feathers tightly.

"Hold on tight!"

"Takeoff!"

The next moment, carrying the two of them, Jing Yan Daoist shot into the air like an arrow, soaring straight into the clouds. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished from the sight of Pan Shi and the others.

Pan Shi stood watching the sky, his face full of envy.

Just then, he heard his junior sister beside him suddenly cry out. She slapped her thigh with the hand that had just mostly healed.

"Oh no! That staff... I forgot to give it back to Fellow Daoist Yang!"

Nearby, Can Meng Daoist’s eyes curved into smiling crescents. With a faint, doting smile, she gently patted Pan Yu’s head.

When she looked up again, her gaze fell on the empty sky where they had vanished. She then glanced at the giant tree above, and a shadow crossed her eyes as her smile slowly faded.

’Senior Brother, we didn’t give anything away, did we?’

’With my flesh and blood, your illusion will hold even after leaving the Sansong Mountain Illusion Realm. It will last until you return. Don’t worry.’

The wind rustled the leaves. The sky grew increasingly overcast and dim, and a faint sound seemed to whisper on the edge of hearing.

"It’s about to rain. Let’s go back."

...

"Did I forget something?"

「Two hours later, the sky had completely darkened.」

Yang An and Wen Yin dismounted from the fly... flying bird. As he looked at the gates of Yulan City, Yang An scratched his head, as if trying to remember something.

After bringing them to their destination, Jing Yan Daoist exchanged a few pleasantries and departed. He had seemed exhausted, his flesh looking as if it were about to melt like wax.

They had finally reached their destination. Though somewhat delayed, they had arrived.

’Flying really is faster than burrowing through the earth!’

Senior Sister Wen Yin was a woman of few words. She took the lead and strode toward the gates of Yulan City.

"Junior Brother, let’s go!"

Yang An hurriedly followed.

But less than half an hour after they entered, the two of them emerged from the city gates once more, galloping away on a pair of swift horses.

CLIP-CLOP... CLIP-CLOP...

The rhythmic clip-clop of hooves echoed from below. It was his first time on a horse, and the ride was killing his crotch, but Yang An’s emotions were on a rollercoaster.

Who would have thought? After all the trouble they went through to reach Yulan City, the matter was resolved in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea after meeting the City Guardian.

’Well... Senior Sister Wen Yin ’resolved’ the City Guardian...’

When they entered the City Government Office, the man complained they were too late. So, Senior Sister Wen Yin, without a shred of courtesy, solved the problem at its root.

’If you can’t be bothered to solve the problem, then solve the person who’s causing it.’

So now they were galloping nonstop back toward Corpse Saliva Valley, leaving Yulan City in chaos.

"Senior Sister, does this count as completing the mission our Master assigned?" Yang An asked worriedly.

’He couldn’t understand it. They were thousands of miles away, so why on earth would these people ask the Life Crane Sect for help with anything?’

’He hadn’t even figured out what the job was, and Senior Sister Wen Yin had already killed the City Guardian. The dynasty might have collapsed, but that didn’t mean this city didn’t have a powerful backer.’

’He was worried that the faction backing the city would come after them.’

Wen Yin fell silent for a moment at his words, then slowly began to speak.

"Whether we completed the mission isn’t important. But we definitely didn’t meet Master’s expectations."

"Master’s expectations?"

’What expectations could that old geezer have? Isn’t finishing the mission enough?’ Yang An wondered.

"If Master had come himself, at least half the people in this city would be dead. I’m not even a shadow of what he is."

"Don’t be scared. They won’t be able to react this quickly. We just need to hurry back to the sect."

"..."

Yang An, jolting on horseback, slowly took a deep breath.

"Makes sense!"

...

「Three days passed in a flash.」

The journey was smooth. They only got lost twice, adding a detour of over a hundred miles, and Senior Sister Wen Yin killed a few Demon Fiends along the way to vent her frustrations.

After riding nonstop, Yang An finally returned to Corpse Saliva Valley.

The moment he entered the valley, he was greeted by the sight of his Sixth Senior Brother’s coffin... standing upright on the ground. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

’Sixth Senior Brother’s coffin was tossed at the entrance to the valley!’

’He must have done something to piss off the old geezer again, no doubt about it.’

Yang An dismounted. The horse, panting with exhaustion and looking ready to collapse, fled the place with terror in its eyes.

’It probably didn’t want to die here and hoped to find a cleaner place.’

Yang An hesitated before walking over to the coffin and pausing to look at it.

Senior Sister Wen Yin, however, paid it no mind and brushed past him into the valley, her figure quickly disappearing into the thick, bloody mist.

BANG!

The coffin lid suddenly flew open, crashing heavily to the ground.

Yang An subconsciously took a few steps back and looked inside the coffin. A man with a sickly pale face, covered in blood and scars, was looking at him with a strange grin.

More than ten withered-yellow tubes extended from his body, connecting him to the coffin as if they were one and the same.

"Sixth Senior Brother..."

Yang An watched him warily.

’This was the guy who messed with me in my dreams on my very first day. I never imagined he actually looked so ghoulish.’

"Hehehehe... hehe..."

This blood-soaked Sixth Senior Brother let out a strange laugh. With each gasping breath, the rise and fall of his chest revealed several long wounds, deep enough that one could see his Heart beating inside.

He suddenly raised a listless hand and pointed at Yang An.

"Junior Brother... you’re going to die soon... I saw it... hehehe..."

"..."

’Given his bad impression of Sixth Senior Brother, Yang An had no desire to engage with him. ’This guy is probably just trying to mess with me again. Better to just ignore him.’’

With that thought, Yang An ignored him, took two steps back, and turned to walk deeper into the valley.

Sixth Senior Brother’s voice followed him, faint and broken, sounding as if he were on the verge of death.

"Junior Brother! You are a Flesh Mushroom... worthless... You have no value!"

"A plaything... will die!"

Yang An suddenly stopped and turned back, looking at his Sixth Senior Brother with curiosity.

"What’s a Flesh Mushroom?"

"Hahaha... hahaha... hahaha..."

But his Sixth Senior Brother didn’t answer. Instead, he broke into a maniacal laugh as fresh blood gushed from the glaring wounds on his body, his face immediately contorting in pain.

BANG!

The upright coffin crashed down, sealing Jin Tong inside. Only his laughter continued to reverberate from within.

"..."

’Madman!’

Yang An cursed inwardly and turned to walk into the blood mist, his expression growing grim.

He had been in a great mood after acquiring so many good things on his trip. He’d even felt as if the sky over Corpse Saliva Valley had brightened.

But now, his good mood was completely ruined.

His Sixth Senior Brother seemed like a raving lunatic, spouting wild nonsense that made it impossible to tell truth from lies.

And yet, Yang An couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of alarm.

His pace quickened. He had to get back to his own dwelling and cultivate!