Whoosh—
Before Nie 41’s blood-red maw could snap shut, a wooden tablet wrapped in blood-vein silk thread suddenly flew out from Shitou’s chest, hovering in mid-air and emitting a faint, glowing white light.
In an instant, a cold wind gusted. Black death qi overflowed from the wooden tablet like ink bleeding into water, snaking across the ground. Everywhere it passed, the very air seemed to freeze into ice.
Nie 41’s pupils shrank violently. It instinctively felt a lethal danger, yet it still maintained its arrogant front.
“Humph!”
“Where did this rat come from, playing at being a ghost? I’ll swallow you right now!”
The snake demon opened its giant mouth to its limit, its foul breath swirling with a gale as it lunged at Shitou. But just as it neared the range of the tablet’s faint light, the gale was forcibly shattered by the death qi.
Shitou felt his entire body lighten. The demonic pressure that had been suffocating him just moments ago had retreated by more than half!
“This is the token bestowed by the god!”
His expression was pious, his eyes filled with fanaticism.
The moment the death qi hit the ground, a skeletal frame gradually stepped out from the glow.
Despite appearing as if it were about to fall apart at any moment, its body was thick with dense, murky yin energy. The entire Shideng Village seemed to have been put on pause.
The snake demon’s roar stopped, the villagers’ screams ceased, and even the sunlight seemed afraid to show its face, leaving only a gray, dim sky.
Nie 41 screamed internally.
‘An evil spirit!’
‘How could an evil spirit appear in Shideng Village?!’
It was terrified.
Its father had once said that evil spirits were the most unique existences in the world, definitely not something normal creatures could contend with.
They were born powerful, immortal, emotionless, and indifferent to everything.
They could infect, assimilate, and even enslave all living things.
If one were unfortunate enough to encounter one, the only way to survive was to run—run as far as possible!
In the past, Nie 41 hadn't taken those words to heart. Among those who cultivated into demons, who among them wasn't naturally strong and a leader of their race?
It was only now, when truly facing the aura of an evil spirit, that it understood the meaning behind the terrified look in its father’s eyes back then.
It was an awe carved into the bones of all living things, a despair so deep that the thought of resistance couldn't even form.
An evil spirit...
An evil spirit...
The surrounding small snake demons, whose cultivation was below the first-stage, were immediately corroded by the death qi, their bodies twisting as they died abruptly.
The slightly stronger ones either collapsed unconscious or fell into an illusion where they began killing each other.
Nie 41 had long since lost its arrogant appearance. It coiled itself into a ball, its massive snake body shrinking like a sphere as it shivered, desperately trying to reduce its presence.
The size it was once proud of had now become its greatest burden, causing it to loathe its own body.
Why did it have to grow so large?
If it were like an earthworm, wouldn't it be inconspicuous? Perhaps then the evil spirit wouldn't notice it.
Li Dazhu and the black-faced man watched the skeleton appear from a distance, their faces already filled with joy and excitement.
The two of them shouted as they bowed to the divine messenger, kneeling on the ground.
The villagers of Shideng Village were profoundly shocked.
This was the god they spoke of?
Just by appearing, just by standing there, just by manifesting its divine might, it had instantly deterred dozens of demons?
Was the power of a god truly this terrifying?
Most of the villagers quickly followed suit and knelt. Whatever Li Dazhu chanted, they chanted after him.
Hong Ling’s eyes shone brightly. She saw it!
Behind the skeleton, a hazy, majestic figure faintly appeared, clad in white robes and surrounded by what seemed like divine light.
Though she couldn't see the face, it inspired an inexplicable sense of awe, making her afraid to even look directly at it.
And that skeleton, brimming with sinister qi, stood beside that figure as submissive as an attendant, clearly obeying its commands.
“Is that... the god?”
Hong Ling murmured to herself, her conviction strengthening.
The moment Chen Zhou appeared, he quickly scanned the surroundings and understood the current situation.
The blood-vein wood tablet he had given to Shitou was made from the third-stage material, Blood-Vein Wood.
Its function was to seal a single spell within it, acting much like a scroll in a video game.
What Chen Zhou had sealed was exactly the Bone Summoning technique!
He had maxed out the summoning materials, using 500 units of common bone material.
The casting unit had changed from the Bone Altar to the blood-vein wood tablet, allowing the Bone Ghost Servant to break free from the restriction of only being able to move within one li of the Bone Altar.
The moment the tablet’s spell was triggered, Chen Zhou felt it and shared the vision of the Bone Ghost Servant.
‘It seems the kid did a pretty good job.’
Chen Zhou nodded in satisfaction. Controlling the skeleton, he helped the slightly disheveled Shitou up from the ground, patted the dust off him, and patted his head.
When Shitou was patted on the head by the skeleton, he was so moved that his hands trembled, and he could barely hold his bone blade steady.
His eyes were filled with filial devotion and immense respect.
As if traveling through time, he had returned to that night.
The god had descended from the heavens once more, saving him from the maw of a demon!
He was only a boy of fourteen or fifteen; to be able to face the pressure of a demon directly, his temperament had already greatly exceeded Chen Zhou’s expectations.
Chen Zhou had originally only intended for Shitou and the others to lead the way and serve as transport for the wooden tablet.
But he hadn't expected Shitou to kill a snake demon on his own. This was a significant surprise.
‘I’ll have to focus on training this kid in the future. His talent and mindset are both good; he’s a fine prospect for a worker.’
Chen Zhou was in a good mood.
Nie 41 saw that the terrifying skeleton wasn't focusing its attention on it at all, and it was overjoyed!
‘It seems evil spirits also prefer the flesh and blood of the human race. That’s good news!’
Thinking this, it shrank itself even tighter.
It only hoped that while the evil spirit was slaughtering the humans, it could make its escape.
To hell with its subordinates, to hell with its brothers—once it got back to Lakeglow Ridge, it would never come out again!
But Nie 41’s beautiful wish did not come true. It watched as the evil spirit, for some reason, did not kill the humans in front of it, but instead walked toward it step by step.
Chen Zhou looked down at the snake demons on the ground from a high vantage point.
“So weak.”
He sighed again. The flesh and blood energy of the snake demons scattered around fluctuated in the dozens, with the largest one not even reaching 200.
Compared to a Bone Ghost Servant summoned with 500 units of common bone material, they were far inferior, let alone compared to his main body.
But Chen Zhou wasn't picky. Collecting them all would still be a decent amount of materials!
The skeleton slowly raised its arm. Nie 41 felt death qi gathering in the skeleton’s bony palm.
It was terrified, pleading for mercy with a hint of a sob in its voice.
“Great one, spare my life!”
“This little demon is young and didn't know this was your territory! I didn't mean to offend you!”
“Great one! Great one!”
“Spare this little demon’s life, and I am willing to serve you with total devotion, to follow and attend to you!”
Chen Zhou did not stop, turning a deaf ear to the snake demon’s pleas.
Nie 41 panicked even more.
“Great one, my father is Nie Hailong of Lakeglow Ridge! He has already reached the second-stage peak!”
“If you let me go, I am willing to lead you to Lakeglow Ridge. My father’s flesh will surely help your cultivation reach even greater heights!”
‘A truly filial son, isn't he?’
Chen Zhou’s expression turned peculiar.
Immediately after, the skeleton’s arm swung. The bony palm pierced through the snake demon’s skull. Death qi instantly infected it, and the terrified look in Nie 41’s eyes slowly faded until it completely lost all signs of life.
Rate on N.U.
