Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists

Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Demon Transformation (Seeking Collections)_1 Chapter 21: Chapter 21 Demon Transformation (Seeking Collections)_1 Demon!

This word seemed to carry a strange power that made Chun Yu and Qiao Wucha’s faces pale and even their breathing became difficult.

“It’s too late, we must leave now, escape this place.”

Linghu Yang quickly made a decision and was about to use his lightness skills to move towards the city gate.

“Wait… My lord, may I have a moment? I still have a family…”

The complexion of an official from Yuanhe Mountain changed several times as he suddenly shouted.

“Get lost!”

Linghu Yang did not slow down his pace, regretting in his heart.

If he had been more vigilant, or if the letter from his sect had arrived a bit earlier, he might have been able to escape sooner.

And now, the Demon Seed had appeared!

Delaying even a moment could be playing a deadly joke on oneself!

Let alone the family of a mere official, even the official himself couldn’t cause Linghu Yang to hesitate for an instant!

His movements were astonishing. Chun Yu and Qiao Wucha could only see the afterimages, their expressions greatly altered as they hastened to chase after him.

Along the way, they occasionally saw solitary monsters slaughtering people, but the three from Yuanhe Mountain paid no attention.

Finally, Linghu Yang, ahead of the pack, burst through the city gate.

The next moment, when he saw the scene beyond the city gate, his expression slowly collapsed, “Damn it, damn it all!!!”

Outside the city gate, the original farmland and official roads had disappeared without a trace.

What was visible was layer upon layer of dark fog!

The immense dark fog, like thick city walls, completely enveloped Black Stone City.

“This is…”

Behind him. the sound of fluttering robes suddenly rose.

Upon seeing this scene, even Chun Yu’s icy expression became unbelievably shocked.

“The Demon Realm has formed, this place has already become a dead zone, we…can’t get out!”

Linghu Yang’s voice became incredibly hoarse and dry… like that of a dying person struggling.

At this moment, if one looked closely, they could see in the eyes of the protector of Yuanhe Mountain, were there… flickers of despair?

…

White Cloud Martial Arts School.

“Something…is not right.”

Fang Xi looked up and felt as if the weather had suddenly become much gloomier.

All around was dim, as if dusk was setting, and the sun was about to set.

But his Spirit Sense was giving him frantic warnings, as if some danger was lurking nearby.

This made Fang Xi’s mood become a bit agitated.

“Quick!”

“Block the main entrance!”

“Grab weapons!”

“Fire, these creatures fear fire!”

The disciples of the martial arts school were in a panic until they realized that the strange people feared flames and dared not get too close. Only then did they feel somewhat relieved.

“What is…going on?”

Fang Xi wiped the black ash from his face and turned to look at Mu Piaomiao.

The appearance of this senior sister of his was even more disheveled. Her previously clean and tidy dress was now stained with blood.

“I…I don’t know…” Mu Piaomiao said in a daze. “Could it be some kind of strange Monster Beast infiltrating the city?”

“If that’s the case, there must be at least two types,” Fang Xi pondered for a moment. “One seems to be parasitized by trees, and even the Principal of the Martial Arts School can hardly cope with it, possessing a very strong contagiousness… The other has a black patterned face, and its strength also surpasses the average Martial Trainee at the Three Transformations of Qi and Blood!”

Fang Xi had already collected a few drops of the second type of monster’s blood and securely sealed it in a jade bottle for future research.

But the first type, those strange plants that seemed to be alive, Fang Xi dared not touch recklessly.

Suddenly, a figure dashed through the wall of flames and entered the martial arts school.

Many disciples were startled, but when they saw who it was, they were slightly reassured, “The Principal, the Principal is back!”

“Father!”

Mu Piaomiao cried with joy but saw that Mu Canglong’s face was pale, one hand hanging limply, with blood seeping out continuously.

With a wave of his hand and an imposing tone, he commanded, “Piaomiao! Do not come over!”

“Father, what’s happened to you?” Mu Piaomiao froze on the spot, at a loss.

Mu Canglong looked around at everyone, took a deep breath, and announced, “My disciples of the Martial Arts School, those who want to return home do so immediately, those who want to stay within the school must hand over a hundred pounds of food!”

“Food?!”

Fang Xi, hearing this somewhat nonsensical request, couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Principal, why is this?”

“Because of the Demon!”

Mu Canglong’s lips curled into a bitter smile. “Black Stone City… we can’t get out…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when his expression changed, and he suddenly vomited a mouthful of black blood.

Meanwhile, dark patterns emerged along his veins, surfacing from his collar.

“It’s that kind of monster!”

A disciple of the martial arts school, in utter terror, lost control of his bladder and bowels: “The Principal is going to turn into a man-eating monster…”

He had personally witnessed several fellows with such dark marks covering their faces, after which they became unrecognizable even to their own kin.

At that moment, with a scream, he seized a torch and fled the school, disappearing without a trace.

When that person ran, the other apprentices dispersed like a frightened flock of birds and beasts.

Only a few people remained.

“Let’s go… It’s better that they’ve left.”

Witnessing this scene, Mu Canglong’s face revealed a strange smile.

“Dad…” Mu Piaomiao’s eyes reddened, and tears rolled down in large drops.

“Sigh… Don’t worry, even though daddy has been poisoned by the Demonic Curse, I can still maintain it for a while with my True Power…”

Mu Canglong looked at his daughter affectionately and consoled her.

“Master, what did you mean earlier when you said we can’t get out of Black Stone City?” Fang Xi, instead of leaving, watched Mu Canglong with interest and suddenly asked.

“It’s exactly as it sounds, the entire Black Stone City has become a prison, and no one can leave…”

Mu Canglong shook his head, looking at the few remaining disciples with a distressing expression: “Not to mention the danger of the Demon Disaster… we’re likely to die here due to a lack of food.”

It suddenly dawned on Fang Xi.

If Black Stone City had indeed become some sort of prison, what would be most critically scarce?

What’s most abundant in a large city are people, but what’s lacking are supplies!

Even a small place like Black Stone City would need a large number of nearby farms and villages to provide grain and vegetables, with long lines of supply convoys delivering goods daily.

Once blockaded, if supplies can’t come in, it would quickly turn into… a mortal hell!

‘But, what does it mean by not being able to leave? That doesn’t sound right…’

Fang Xi’s eyes shone brightly: “A Demon Disaster? Does it involve the ‘demon’ from the demonic beasts? Is there a demon causing havoc within the city?”

“Exactly!” Mu Canglong simply sat down on the ground and replied with a wry smile: “We’re not afraid of powerful monster beasts because they can get injured, they can die! As long as martial artists can inflict damage, with Great Liang’s forces, even the most formidable monsters can be overcome.”

‘This sounds like gamer talk… After all, even gods, as long as they dare show their health bar, can be slain for all to see!’

Fang Xi silently nodded in agreement to himself and heard Mu Canglong continue: “…But demons are different; they are indestructible! Even the weakest demon can’t be destroyed! Demons, being indestructible, lead to abandon of the afflicted lands by Great Liang often…”

His tone was filled with despair.

And the only thing Fang Xi felt was—’Report to the GM, someone’s using an invincibility cheat!’

It was only now that he realized just how troublesome the ‘demon’ within the demonic beasts could be!

‘Indestructible? Really?’

Fang Xi was somewhat incredulous.

‘Or maybe… these martial artists are just too weak.’

‘What martial artists can’t destroy, we Immortal Cultivators might well be able to.’

‘Even if a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage can’t do it, perhaps a Foundation Establishment cultivator could easily handle it…’

‘And if even Foundation Establishment cultivators can’t manage, there are still the Core Formation and Nascent Soul stages…’

With this thought, Fang Xi suddenly felt much better.

At the same time, his interest in those ‘demons’ increased tremendously.

‘This world is truly interesting, ordinary Monster Beast Meat is a supreme treasure for body refining, and ‘demons’ can be indestructible, isn’t that what every Immortal Cultivator dreams of?’

“Is there a demon lord in Black Stone City now?” Tang Xuan took a few steps back, her expression filled with fear and a hint of hope: “Master… the official forces and Yuanhe Mountain are said to have True Strength Warriors, they should be able to, they should be able to…”

Mu Canglong shook his head: “There was a Martial Arts Master who in a short span of time slew the demon lord ninety-nine times… But the demon lord still could not be destroyed, and it quickly revived, on the contrary… that master was eventually exhausted to death… Against demon lords, martial artists are like mortals facing monster beasts, utterly powerless.”

“Now our only hope is to gather enough food and then, wait…”

Hearing this, Liu Taotao’s eyes lit up: “Wait for the government to rescue us?”

“No.” Mu Canglong shook his head: “Wait for the demon to have its fill… to completely lose interest in this place, and then leave on its own accord…”

A feeling known as ‘despair’ began to envelop the hearts of everyone in the martial arts school.

“Ah, look, what’s that?”

Liu Taotao looked up and suddenly exclaimed.

Fang Xi followed the gaze, and his expression turned extremely solemn.

He saw… a gigantic tree!

The vast black canopy kept growing, expanding… as if a colossal black bowl was set to cover the entire Black Stone City.

Threads like tendrils of Qi Root fell from the canopy, shrouded in faint black mist.

An indescribable terror spread to the heart of everyone who saw it.

Meanwhile, the monsters rampaging outside seemed to receive some command, converging towards the city center.

Then, tendrils of Qi Root fell, penetrating the back of their necks, hoisting them up to dangle and sway in the wind…

“Is this… akin to the relationship between worker ants and a queen ant?”

Fang Xi murmured to himself: “Are these monsters just for extracting nutrients, and ultimately nourishing the main tree, enabling it to grow?”

“I never thought that in this world, I would see such a magnificent and bizarre life form…”