Chapter 426 300: Exploration 2

At the same time, he also saw the monster that had been spying on him from outside Shen Hong's window.

It had a serpentine body with explosive, muscular curves. But its face was ferocious and twisted. It had six pairs of eyes and a massive, bloody maw that stretched nearly to the back of its head, making it look utterly hideous.

Based on the warnings from his own will and the Hundred Beasts' Intent, and by comparing them to the Cyan-faced Ghost he had previously encountered, Zhao Xuanqi made a rough judgment. The threat level of these Evil Spirits was D Class, middle-tier or higher. Some even seemed to have surpassed D Class entirely. And this was all before they had even revealed any of their strange, supernatural abilities.

'With my current strength and the help of a Blood Qi Rune, I shouldn't have much trouble facing any single one of them. But it will be a problem if there are too many. These Evil Spirits are extremely sensitive to Life Primordial Qi. If I make a scene, a large number of them are sure to rush over in a short amount of time. If the fight drags on, I'll be overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.'

Soon, Zhao Xuanqi left the New Disciples' quarters. He planned to explore the entire city block first before deciding on his next move.

After leaving the quarters, he saw all sorts of strange Evil Spirits wandering the streets. An ordinary person suddenly thrown into this environment would be consumed by intense despair and lose their will to live, if they weren't scared to death first.

But Zhao Xuanqi was no ordinary person. He carefully explored the block, memorizing the characteristics of the various Evil Spirits and sensing their approximate strength and threat level.

Suddenly, he saw a human figure flash past a corner of the street.

'A living person?'

Zhao Xuanqi's eyes narrowed, and he immediately began to follow it quietly.

"Looking back, glory fades like a distant dream~ This fragile life adrift on a frightening stream~~"

As he neared the area where the figure had vanished, a melodious, undulating voice reached his ears. It sounded like someone was singing opera, faintly accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums.

At the same time, the sound seemed to possess a special Magic Power, luring him to draw closer and listen.

Zhao Xuanqi's Spirit immediately went on high alert. He quickly moved far out of the sound's range, then circled around to approach from another direction. He crept up to the roof of a distant building opposite where the figure had disappeared and looked toward the source.

In the midst of the gloomy darkness, a light was surprisingly shining from that spot.

Zhao Xuanqi saw a wooden stage, about a meter high, with a screen set up on it. A faint light shone from behind the screen, casting the silhouettes of dancing figures onto it.

They were shadow puppets.

The melodious singing and faint accompaniment drifted over. The setup looked just like a street performer's shadow puppet stall. Long benches were arranged around the stage, and on them, Zhao Xuanqi saw a few scattered figures of living people.

There were about seven or eight of them, all dressed differently. Some wore silk and satin, clearly from wealthy families, while others wore coarse cloth and appeared to be commoners.

For these people to be sitting so intently, engrossed in the show in such a bizarre environment, was a strange sight in itself.

Then, Zhao Xuanqi quickly discovered something horrifying. The body of one of the audience members began to deflate as if it were leaking air. It shriveled rapidly, as if all its flesh and blood had been sucked out in an instant. Only a sack of skin was left to slowly fall onto the bench, where it continued to shrink.

Finally, it shrank to the size of a Shadow Puppet. It suddenly stood up from the bench and hopped and skipped toward the stage, disappearing behind it.

'A cursed item? This thing is dangerous. It can affect me even from this distance. I need to stay away for now. But this also confirms one thing: I'm not the only living person here. I might be able to find someone who knows what's going on.'

Zhao Xuanqi frowned slightly. He took one last look at the stage, memorized the area, then rolled off the rooftop to continue his exploration.

After passing through another area, Zhao Xuanqi had a basic grasp of the situation.

'The strongest Evil Spirit I've sensed so far should be C-level or higher, but most are D-level. If all I have to do is survive, it shouldn't be a problem...'

BANG!!

Just then, Zhao Xuanqi sensed a commotion erupt from a residential area not far away. A faint red light pulsed in the darkness. The Evil Spirits wandering the streets paused for a moment before converging on the source of the sound.

'Blood Qi?'

Zhao Xuanqi narrowed his eyes. With a flicker of movement, he sped toward the commotion.

Before long, he reached the source of the disturbance.

In the courtyard of a house, a tall man was fighting two Demon Ghosts, his arms enveloped in the glow of Blood Qi. He wore a simple gray robe—the uniform of a Red Heart Sect disciple.

Of the two Demon Ghosts, one was a Cyan-faced Ghost, the same type Zhao Xuanqi had killed before. The other was a Long-haired Ghost, its long, disheveled hair whipping about to bind and restrain its enemy.

The man's Blood Qi was powerful, suggesting he was at the peak of the Blood Strengthening realm. However, caught in a battle with two Upper-Level D Class Demon Ghosts, he couldn't finish them off quickly. The commotion of their fight soon attracted the surrounding Evil Spirits.

Soon, a gecko-like Demon Ghost with a human head scrambled over the wall. From another direction came a Formless Yin Spirit, translucent and wielding a steel trident, resembling an Asura.

As soon as these two Evil Spirits joined the fray, the tall man immediately began to lose ground, his expression turning grim.

Zhao Xuanqi frowned slightly. He instantly controlled his facial muscles to alter his appearance, then, without much hesitation, he took a sudden step forward as his Qi and Blood surged.