Chapter 50

As the demons vanished, the Three Elements Demon Slayer Formation flashed a few times before also vanishing. In the middle of the formation, a purse remained.

I am very familiar with this purse; it is the one Erma always carries with her.

I bent down, picked up the purse, held it in my hand and touched it gently.

Now I can be sure that Erma is trapped in this Tongba Mountain just like us.

"Where are we going now?" Mao Jianming asked.

When I stood up, before I could say anything, I heard the sound of cymbals.

"Crack", "crack", "crack".

The blood moon in the sky was obscured by dark clouds, and in the blink of an eye, the surrounding environment changed again.

We were at our previous campsite. Before us was a roaring bonfire, rabbit roasting fragrantly. And our injuries had completely vanished. I glanced at my arm; there was no scar at all.

The three of us looked at each other blankly.

"Was everything that just happened an illusion?" Mao Jianming said.

After hearing what he said, I took out the purse in my hand.

When they saw the purse, a flicker of surprise crossed their eyes. "Everything we just saw was real, but it's completely out of place with the current situation. Whether this is divine power or the force of nature, I can't tell."

The three of us took turns keeping watch until dawn the next day, and nothing strange happened. After a quick packing, we continued our search for Erma. As we got deeper into the mountains, the fog thickened. At first, we thought it was normal—it's common in the mountains, after all. But then we sensed something was amiss. Normally, the fog we see is white, but this time it was red.

I had a vague feeling that we were being watched, and no matter where the three of us went, we couldn't escape that gaze.

"What is that?" Mao Jianming said, pointing ahead.

Zhang Song and I both looked in the direction he pointed. There was a dark silhouette that looked like a sheep. Given the situation, it definitely wasn't an ordinary sheep. Zhang Song silently pulled out his pistol, just in case.

The three of us slowly approached it, and when we got closer, we could see clearly that the thing in front of us was not a goat, but looked more like a sika deer.

"Muntjac!" said Zhang Song.

"It does look more like a muntjac, but why is it black?" said Mao Jianming.

Muntjacs resemble deer, but lack the large antlers of deer, possessing only two short horns. Males have tusks, while females lack horns. Muntjacs are typically reddish or brown in color; I've never seen a black muntjac. Muntjacs are known for their timidity and agility, disappearing without a trace when faced with danger.

It faced the three of us, looking at us curiously with no sign of fear at all.

It even came towards me and licked my hand with its tongue. I curiously stroked it with my hand, but it bit the evil-repelling bead on my hand hard and pulled me forward.

I had an idea and followed its strength. It was very human-like. Seeing that I understood its meaning, it turned around and jumped onto the mountain road, then waited for us to catch up.

"Let's go, follow it," I said.

I have a feeling it will lead us to Erma.

We followed it all the way up, eventually arriving at a structure resembling an ancient plaza. The red mist gradually dissipated, revealing the plaza in its entirety. It was vast, with a raised platform in its center. The aisle was paved with yellow silk, and the entire platform itself was wrapped in yellow silk, creating a sacred atmosphere. The muntjac that had led us there leaped onto the platform in a few strides and vanished.

We hurried up, and incredibly, on the platform, Erma was lying quietly at the place where the muntjac disappeared.

"Erma!" Mao Jianming shouted.

The three of us rushed to her and found her fast asleep—no, unconscious. We called out to her for a long time, but couldn't wake her. I placed my hand on her forehead and found that her three souls and seven spirits were intact, and there were no restrictions. This was very strange. Why couldn't she wake up?

"Let's leave here first!" I have been feeling uneasy since I saw this platform.

Zhang Song took the responsibility and carried Erma on his shoulders. We hurried away, but before we even got off the platform, we were stopped by a voice: "Why did you steal my Saint?"

Mao Jianming and Zhang Song might be okay with it, but they just felt that the voice was majestic.

Hearing this voice, my mind exploded! This voice contained an extremely powerful spiritual pressure. The more advanced the cultivation, the more it could sense its extraordinary power. The three of us looked at the source of the sound at the same time. A man wearing an imperial robe and with a stern face appeared where Erma had just been lying.

When I saw him, my heart started pounding, like the difference between a firefly and the bright moon.

"You two take Erma away first!" I said to Zhang Song and Mao Jianming.

After hearing what I said, the two of them did not leave, but stared at the man in front of them.

I knew that no matter what I said, they would not leave.

"Who are you?" I asked him nervously.

"I am the Son of Heaven."

After that, he pulled out a thigh from somewhere and started eating it. Seeing this, the three of us took a step back. Because what he was eating wasn't a lamb or a deer leg, but a human leg!

"Why, are you scared too?" he said, looking at us.

We looked at him warily, completely confused by his actions.

"Cannibalism has existed since ancient times. The rebel army only eats people as a temporary measure!" He threw the human leg towards us.

Mao Jianming was unable to dodge and was hit by someone's leg. He lay on the ground spitting blood.

"Maomao!" I shouted.

I quickly ran to his side. He was spitting blood and foaming at the mouth. He raised his hand and pointed to the sky. I looked up and saw a huge eye, replacing the sun, looking at us in the sky.

Mao Jianming's lips moved, but he couldn't speak. Then his arms dropped, his head tilted, and he closed his eyes.

"Maomao!"

My tears welled up and I hugged him tightly, hoping he would wake up.

Zhang Song put down the Erma at this time, took out his pistol and fired several shots at the man in front of him. The bullets hit him, sending out sparks, but the pistol had limited bullets after all. When the bullets were empty, Zhang Song immediately gathered around me.

I put Mao Jianming down and faced the man in front of us with Zhang Song.

From what he said just now and his appearance, I confirmed his identity: Huang Chao.

According to legend, when he attacked Chenzhou, he ordered the establishment of a "Chongmozhai" (a type of pounding and grinding camp) to turn the people into military rations. This was an extremely cruel method that angered both heaven and man.

Judging from his current state, he has already reached the level of a Corpse Immortal. I know I am no match for him, but now we can't escape, so we can only fight to the death.

When he saw that Mao Jianming was dead, he looked at me mockingly and laughed out loud.

Rage welled up in my heart, and I summoned the Fire Bell, blasting flames at him. He swallowed the surging black flames. He savored them with a lingering aftertaste and said, "It tastes good!"

"Bang!"

The bullet hit his forehead and the shell fell heavily to the ground.

He stood there intact, looking at the two of us as if we were ants.