Chapter 74: I Am a Monster
“…”
Pfft.
Ning Ke couldn’t help but laugh.
He hadn’t paid much attention to this supporting female character, Liu Li, before.
Looking at her now… was this fellow daoist actually a “funny girl”?
The Music Sect was truly interesting.
When the demoness saw the green Buddha Lotus Lamp light up in the staff, her face was already filled with horror.
This… was the Buddha Lotus Lamp from the prophecy.
It could purify all things and dispel all evil.
It was the absolute nemesis of them demons.
When the Heavenly Dao sealed them, it had left a prophecy.
It said that in the future, a human cultivator would appear, wielding twin divine swords and capable of devouring them.
This human cultivatorās companions would include one skilled in Demon-Sealing Talismans, one who could activate the Buddha Lotus Lamp, and one who could reshape the Heavenly Dao arrays…
At that time, they would be completely destroyed, with no way out.
“It’s impossible, impossible! That old thing, the Heavenly Dao, has grown weak… I can feel it, he can’t keep us locked up for much longer…”
“His prophecy must be a lie!”
“With just these few people, how could they possibly destroy us demons?!”
Even as she said this, her heart was in turmoil, and her fighting spirit was crumbling.
When she looked up again, Lou Yunxiao had already appeared before her with ghost-like speed, sword in hand.
His expression was exactly like the one demons wore when looking at the humans or beasts they were about to eat.
That burning gaze that treated them as food.
It was as if he were saying: I control your life.
You are just meat on the chopping block, for me to slaughter at will.
The demoness couldn’t stand this role reversal. She had always felt that demons were the superior species; she couldn’t stand being treated as food!
Without the protection of the Youhun Grass, she could only extend her claws to resist Lou Yunxiao.
Her demonic Qi surged to an extreme height, yet as she fought Lou Yunxiao, it flowed into him in wave after wave!
With one’s strength waxing as the other’s waned…
She watched as the volume of Lou Yunxiaoās demonic Qi rose from the early Soul Transformation stage to the middle, then to the late stage!
Untilāthe peak of the Soul Transformation stage!
In contrast, she had unknowingly dropped to the early Integration stage!
Ning Ke watched from a distance.
He frowned.
With Lou Yunxiaoās demonic Qi growing like this, it would surely cause the spiritual Qi and demonic Qi in his body to lose balance again.
One slip, and there would be the danger of him going berserk.
In short, it wasn’t good.
“How can you…” The demoness’s resistance had weakened.
She retreated in panic.
But she still couldn’t dodge Cangyin and Hongyun. The divine swords were thrust violently into her body.
Demonic Qi drained away like crazy.
The demoness fell to the ground, her eyes staring at Lou Yunxiao, watching the demonic patterns on his cheeks grow deeper.
She suddenly thought of something, and her face was filled with shock.
She muttered:
“You have the scent of the Heavenly Dao on you…”
“And your appearance… I ignored it because it was masked by the demonic patterns… looking at it now, you look exactly like that person… So that’s how it is, so it’s you…”
At this point, the demoness suddenly burst into wild laughter.
“I didn’t expect that the man so full of righteous energy back then would now start practicing demonic arts! Itās the joke of the century!!”
Lou Yunxiao frowned. “What nonsense are you spouting?”
The demoness didn’t explain. Instead, she said to herself, “Boy, haven’t you realized it yet?”
“By absorbing my demonic Qi, you are essentially eating people!”
“That demonic Qi was all obtained by me eating people; it was obtained by me killing tens of thousands! You think that by killing me and taking the demonic Qi for yourself, you’ve won? You’re a hero respected by ten thousand?”
“Pah!”
“Don’t even dream of it. You will never be treated as a hero!”
“You are a monster now!!!”
“A monster that is neither human nor demon!!!”
Her voice was loud, and the surrounding Ning Ke and the others heard it.
Everyone was stunned.
But Lou Yunxiao lowered his head and pondered for a moment. His red eyes reflected the demoness’s distorted, hideous face.
He smiled.
It was an extremely brilliant smile.
“Who told you I wanted to be a hero?”
In truth, he hadn’t developed a split personality. The state he showed after his demonic Qi rose could only be said to be the side he had always suppressed in his heart being completely released.
To sum it up: this was his true nature; he just stopped pretending to be humble, polite, and fake.
The incident in the underground palace, A-Ke’s death, and the disciples’ doubts and questions…
All of it made him more certain of one thing.
He became stronger to take revenge and to protect those he wanted to protect.
Demons were also his enemies.
It was only natural for him to kill demons.
And since he did so, how others viewed him had nothing to do with him.
“I don’t find your demonic Qi dirty, either.”
Lou Yunxiaoās eyes were filled with coldness. He pulled the Hongyun Sword out of the demoness and raised it high.
“I am a monsterāa monster that specifically eats your kind.”
“In the future, wherever demons appear, I will be there.”
“I will make you… vanish.”
“Forever.”
After saying the last word, the Hongyun Sword slashed down violently!
One strike, and then anotherāit was as if he were avenging the tragically dead A-Ke, recklessly venting that hatred for demons.
He only stopped once he had chopped the demoness into shreds.
This time, because the array was completely reinforced, there was no more demonic Qi to replenish her.
The Youhun Grass had also completely broken free from her control, so she couldn’t continue to reassemble her body.
Thus, she was thoroughly sealed underground.
Boomā
Beiyou City shook again.
In the center of the city, a stone tablet burst from the ground. The inscriptions on it were identical to those in the secret realmās underground palace.
Wu Gouās chanting ended. With one last tap of his staff on the ground…
The root system entrenched underground completely dissipated.
The Youhun Grass in the residences all withered.
On Zeng Xi and Zhang Chen’s side, the Youhun Grass covering the city tower also fell, crashing to the ground and scattering like dust in the wind.
The dark clouds over Beiyou City slowly dispersed, and a red sun rose on the horizon.
Ning Ke and the others only then realized they had been fighting the demon all night.
For a moment, they were filled with emotion.
Only Liu Li blinked, staring at the withered Youhun Grass on the ground, and said:
“So, Fellow Daoist Wu Gou wasn’t trying to send us away, but trying to send the Youhun Grass away.”
The young girl pressed her palms together. “Amitabha. I have wronged Fellow Daoist Wu Gou.”
Her words broke the silence.
Ning Xiaoxiao was the first to burst into laughter.
She hadn’t been this happy in a long time.
She was no longer like she was in the underground palace, only able to hide from demons while her senior brother and brother suffered.
Instead, she was like this now, having personally defeated a powerful demon.
This allowed the pain and guilt in her heart for her brother to finally dissipate slightly.
Naturally, a smile bloomed on her face.
“Wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen you smile, Fellow Daoist Ning.” Liu Li moved close to Ning Xiaoxiao, her face almost touching hers.
“You look even better when you smile. So sweet.”
Ning Xiaoxiao was slightly startled and quickly retreated.
She wasn’t used to being praised by people she didn’t know well, so she shyly said thank you.
“Thatās a nice staff.” Lou Yunxiao sheathed his sword, walked up to Wu Gou, and said bluntly, “Can you give it to me?”
He had absorbed so much demonic Qi that the layer of black flames around him hadn’t vanished. Standing there, he looked more like a demon than the demoness from before.
He bared his white teeth, his face full of determination.
Wu Gou: “…”
He remembered that when Ning Ke saw his Buddha Lotus Lamp that day, his first reaction was also “Can I use it for a bit?”.
He had to say, in terms of thick-skinnedness, these two were quite a match.
However, Wu Gou didn’t indulge such behavior.
He directly put away the staff.
“No.”
“Tch, stingy.” Lou Yunxiao had only asked because he saw A-Ke staring at the staff with a look of wanting it.
Since he couldn’t get it, he couldn’t use the staff to please A-Ke.
Naturally, he had lost an opportunity to be praised.
How unlucky!
“Lou Yunxiao, whatās up with you?” Zhuang Yusheng had heard their conversation and looked at the unrestrained demonic Qi around Lou Yunxiao.
He felt that Lou Yunxiao was a bit off.
Could it be…
He had absorbed too much demonic Qi and completely changed his personality?
Translator’s Note:
Amitabha (éæ弄éä½ – ÄmĆtuĆ³fĆ³): A common Buddhist greeting or exclamation.
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