Chapter 175 - 131: Refusing to Die

Chapter 175: Chapter 131: Refusing to Die

In the nearby woods, startled birds took flight, shaking the accumulated snow from the trees.

Meanwhile, the real village where Lu Changyuan had lived was now deserted. The houses were in ruins, and a giant palm print was impressed upon the ground. From within the print, the faint sound of the Buddha’s Voice could occasionally be heard.

It was nothing like the peaceful, unscathed village the Painting Demon had created. The battle between the Leg-Eating Monk and Xue Yanluo had, as expected, destroyed the real one.

Qiu Yuehan said lightly, "Aren’t you a little too much like the Demon Dao?"

’Am I? I don’t think so.’

Lu Changyuan thought.

In just a few moments, the Painting Demon’s Dao was completely devoured, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.

Tossing the husk aside, Lu Changyuan summoned the nearby coffin. He carefully arranged the bones inside before closing the lid and reburying it.

Lu Changyuan wiped the dust from the headstone and stood respectfully before the grave mound. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief and begin to wonder what to do with the bowl of blood.

In the entire world, the only one who could truly accept this bowl of blood was its master, Lu Changyuan himself. Yet, he had no intention of letting it merge back with him. This was because the intent of the Killing Dao within the blood was too potent; it would interfere with his current Dao. Besides, he felt the Killing Dao wasn’t all that great to begin with.

Mediocre, at best.

Lu Changyuan felt the time he spent cultivating the Killing Dao was... well, it was all part of a rather unpleasant past.

Qiu Yuehan gazed at Lu Changyuan’s profile, wondering if she should remind him that the Elder Physician might not be dead. ’After all,’ she thought, ’a dead man can’t very well place a bowl of blood on his own grave... especially not one that comes with its own bowl.’

But the Moon Fairy just frowned and asked, "Is it dead?"

"Yes. What else would it be? It was already weak, and its Dao was on the verge of collapse from Ancestor Red Simurgh’s plundering."

Despite his words, Lu Changyuan had eaten his fill.

The Black Skirt Fairy stared at the Painting Demon’s corpse. "I didn’t detect its final Thought."

Lu Changyuan froze.

The Nether Monarch could extract the final Thought of a deceased being and transform it into a Spirit. In other words, if she didn’t detect a Thought, the creature wasn’t dead. Moreover, this wasn’t something that had died hundreds of years ago; it made no sense for the Thought of a fresh death to go unnoticed.

So.

Qiu Yuehan kicked the Painting Demon’s corpse. "It’s not dead yet."

’Not dead?’

’It’s still not dead after all that?’

Lu Changyuan laughed in exasperation.

"If it’s not dead, where is it hiding?"

The moment he spoke, the answer appeared before them.

At the village entrance, not far from the graveyard, a large yellow dog was wagging its tail. Behind it, an ink-wash scroll had opened. In an instant, the dog leaped into the painting.

Qiu Yuehan said softly, "You even petted it when we first arrived."

Lu Changyuan gritted his teeth. "So it refuses to die, does it!"

Of course.

When they first entered the village within the scroll, Lu Changyuan had petted the large yellow dog at the entrance. But at the time, the painted world was devoid of even the villagers’ chickens and ducks. How could there possibly be a large yellow dog, one that wasn’t even bothered by the rain?

Qiu Yuehan found Lu Changyuan’s expression quite amusing and added, "It must have painted the body of a large yellow dog for its Spirit. It no longer poses a threat and has no Power left. Its Dao was well and truly shattered and devoured by you."

"I know!"

An inexplicable smile touched the Moon Fairy’s lips. She smoothed the hem of her skirt and asked, "So, are we still giving chase?"

"Chase it! Of course we’re going to chase it." Lu Changyuan’s fists clenched. "It’s completely shameless, painting a dog’s body as a backup right from the start."

"Survival is what’s important, after all," Qiu Yuehan murmured after a moment’s hesitation.

[The Blood Dragon is about to emerge.]

~~~~~~~~~~~~

「Celestial Mountain.」

Jiang Jiayi rose abruptly, taking up her Wooden Sword.

"The aura of a Demon...?"

She saw an overwhelming wave of Demonic Qi in the distance. But this aura was unlike the Demonic Qi of a common Desire Demon; it belonged to another Demon, merely tainted by the aura of a Desire Demon.

This wasn’t a case of a common Cultivator having Fallen into Demon, but one of the Three Thousand Great Demons manifesting in the world.

The Demon Thought buried deep within the chaos—a hatred for the Human Race—was so potent that even Jiang Jiayi couldn’t quite distinguish which Demon it was.

But none of that mattered.

Her Wooden Sword was already in her grip. It had appeared in her hand suddenly after she reached the Fifth Realm and was the very manifestation of her True Sword Dao. It was so incomparably sharp that no shield in the world could withstand it.

The only thing Jiang Jiayi had to consider was exactly how many strikes it would take to slay this Demon.

Hmm.

It seemed it hadn’t yet reached Yao Guang, and its foundation in the Sixth Realm was unstable. One strike should be enough.

Power began to coalesce around her. The wind itself sharpened into blades, and throughout the entire Daoist Sect, every sword began to ring out, responding to the might of her Innate Sword Body.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Jiang Jiayi lowered her Wooden Sword and sat back down.

The Demonic Qi had vanished.

She couldn’t help but wonder.

’Which Demon was so unlucky? Killed the moment it reared its head.’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can entrust this painting to you for now, True Master, but you mustn’t forget our agreement."

Xue Nichang handed the scroll to Zi Hua Master.

"Of course."

Zi Hua Master accepted the scroll. "I understand what you mean. When the time comes, simply let me see the bone, and I will be able to replicate its divine charm."

"Then I must trouble you to wait on the Outer Island for now, True Master. When the process for the Dragon Transformation Bone begins, I will come to invite you."

Xue Nichang led her people onto the Inner Island.

The Blood Demon Palace controlled many islands in this stretch of sea. The outlying isles were collectively known as the Outer Islands, and they were mostly home to Named Disciples and various followers of the Demon Dao.

The true members of the Blood Demon Palace, those who had learned its Heart Method, resided almost exclusively on the large, central island surrounded by the Outer Islands. This place was called the Inner Island.