As Zhang Yan flew closer, his own appearance and the surrounding scenery were reflected in perfect detail on the surface.
He glanced at it and felt a strange familiarity. Isn’t this similar to the green stone wall on Yingluo Island?
Just then, his reflection on the stone wall started to move. First, the muscles grew rough and hard, the features gradually became rugged, the cheeks thickened, and then it changed again. White hair slowly sprouted on the head, the skin became loose, covered with wrinkles and spots, then his figure gradually hunched, old and decayed, finally the skin fell away, and worms crawled all over, reducing it to a pile of hollow-eyed bones.
"This... must be the legendary Life-shining Stone. It’s said that those who stand here can see the changes over their lifetime." Zhang Yan stood there for a moment and muttered to himself, "Though these are illusions, if one doesn’t achieve immortality, this is how it ends up. It should be remembered in one’s heart as a constant warning."
Having said this, he was about to bypass the area and continue flying inward when his gaze suddenly caught sight of a corpse lying over a stone pillar, clad in what seemed to be the Daoist robe of the Mingcang Sect.
Cautiously, Zhang Yan surveyed the surroundings before drifting over to the corpse. Once there, he extended a hand, lifted the person’s chin a bit to better see the face, and discovered it was one of those who entered with the Han Clan disciple.
He was just about to investigate the cause of death when suddenly he heard voices in the distance.
Unsure if they were friend or foe, it was too late to escape elsewhere, so Zhang Yan’s gaze flickered and he sidestepped into the hollow of the strange stone.
It was then that he noticed the corpse was only the upper half, with the lower half missing, and its flesh was hollowed out, clearly drained away.
He furrowed his brows slightly. Consuming flesh and blood—this was the method of the legendary Walking Demon. These Devils could already manifest physically, in the process of transforming from Yin to Yang, comparable to Cultivators in the Ming Qi Second or Third Realm, and were incredibly swift, making them very difficult to deal with.
The sounds grew nearer, and he could distinguish that it was a man and a woman speaking.
Zhang Yan formed a spell with his fingers, using the Concentrating Qi Skill from the Lan Yun Secret Volume. A thin mist rose at his feet, blending with the pale fog around him, gradually merging his living aura into it.
The two people drew nearer. The man had a handsome face, wore a black Daoist robe with a large red blood cloud embroidered around the chest and shoulders. The contrasting black and red caught the eye, and he held a red gourd in his hand.
The woman wore a white robe but exposed her midriff, with a green pearl navel plug, although her chest and shoulders were tightly wrapped, and the lower part was a white cloth skirt. Her hair was worn in a lofty bun, her face charming, her posture graceful.
The two were originally passing by in flight, but upon seeing the corpse, they stopped and landed on a large stone not far away.
The man pointed with a finger, and a faint shadow appeared in the air, floating indistinctly, but resembling the deceased Mingcang Sect cultivator.
"Junior Sister, how is the new Blood Essence I’ve refined?"
The woman chuckled lightly, her eyes showing disdain, "Senior Brother, you call this a Blood Essence? It’s scattered and weak, lacking spiritual sense. It may barely fly twenty steps, whether it can harm anyone is another question."
The man laughed heartily, "Naturally, it can’t compare to your Blood Essence, Junior Sister. But it’s not been long since I refined it. Given time, it may not be inferior to yours."
The woman sighed, "It’s still Master who is impressive. With just one Blood Essence, he subdued three Ming Qi Third Realm disciples of the Mingcang Sect."
"Those Mingcang Sect cultivators are truly formidable, especially the one with the Flame-spitting Divine Circle, seemed like the nemesis of our Blood Essence. Not only did it burn one of my painstakingly refined Evil Souls, but even Master’s Blood Essence was damaged. It might need another year or half a year to be usable again."
The man’s voice revealed unconcealed pain as he spoke,
The woman sneered, "I recognize that treasure. It’s called the Five Fire Divine Weapon Circle, capable of breaking through various ghostly things. Hmph, if Master hadn’t been thousands of miles away at the time, merely sending the Blood Essence here, how could they have gotten the better?"
Hearing this, Zhang Yan was shocked. Could these two be disciples of the Blood Essence Sect, one of the Six Great Demon Sects?
But this was beneath the Sea Eye of the Mingcang Sect. How did they enter? Could there be other passages here?
Xie Zongyuan and the others must have encountered these people, forcing them to leave. But how many Blood Essence Sect disciples were there exactly?
Just then, the woman said, "For now, we’ll let a few disciples of the Mingcang Sect jump around. Once Master arrives to subdue the True Demon in half a month, they won’t escape disaster."
The man said, "Heh heh, I intended to search the Great Demon Cave through the small demon cave’s branches, but unexpectedly, it leads directly to the heartland of the Mingcang Sect. Quite an unexpected joy. It must remain secret, as it will surely be of great use in the future, and the elders will definitely reward us."
The woman glanced around, "Senior Brother, Senior Brother Li said to meet here in three hours, yet we haven’t seen him. Could he have encountered some troublesome Devil?"
The man laughed, "Senior Brother Li has such deep cultivation, there’s no need for us to worry. If there’s a troublesome Devil, it’s likely you, Junior Sister."
The woman coquettishly gave him a reproachful look, "Senior Brother is teasing me again."
While they laughed and joked, Zhang Yan frowned. From the snippets of their conversation, it seemed these two were still Ming Qi Stage Disciples, but unexpectedly, there was also a Senior Brother Li to come. And it didn’t appear to be just one, which now posed a problem. If more disciples of the Blood Essence Sect arrived, he feared escaping would be impossible.
He came here for cultivation, and the others were unaware of his presence, so he initially didn’t want a confrontation. But now, he had no choice but to act.
With this thought, his eyes flashed with cold light, and a murderous intent arose.
...(To be continued. If you work, you’re welcome to cast recommendation votes or monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
This chapter is updated by freew(e)bnovel.(c)om