52 The Nightmare Demon Reappears
The standoff lasted only a moment. Before Hua Lang could respond, 001's electronic voice, like a belated thunderclap, rang rapidly in Hua Lang's mind:
[Phase 2 Main Mission - Now Open]
[Guiding the hero into the depths of the Ghost Abyss and taking the top spot on the Cangluan leaderboard - Unfinished]
It turned out to be him—Xie Hanjing!
Hua Lang suddenly raised her head, her eyes fixed on the man opposite. Through the cold mask, she could only catch a glimpse of a look that was both familiar and unfamiliar. Although he was just standing there, his taller height and aura gave people a sense of oppression. Nine years had finally changed him.
The forest wind blew up the dead leaves, swirling between the two of them, and the buzzing of the demonic bees faded away.
Seeing Hua Lang didn't answer, Xie Hanjing's eyes were full of suspicion. He took another step forward and asked in a cold voice, "What's your name?"
Hua Lang sensed a sense of unfamiliarity in his sharp demeanor. She instinctively retreated until she reached a silent, ancient tree. The rough bark pricked her back, causing pain. Only then did Hua Lang regain her composure. Just as she was about to speak his name, she recalled her unpleasant parting with Xie Hanjing.
Now he has become a disciple of Cangluan and has a new master, but his identity is so embarrassing that what he says may be even more indecent than what he said to a stranger.
"You're not a human cultivator," Xie Hanjing said, stepping closer, the tip of his sword slightly raised. "You're deliberately approaching Cangluan's disciples. What do you want to do?"
Although Hua Lang had encountered many changes since she woke up, she had not felt any real threat from either Wu Tingque or Pei Miu. However, facing Xie Hanjing at this moment, she felt a real oppression and fear.
Watching his slightly raised sword, Hua Lang's pupils shrank, and she subconsciously closed her eyes. Something above her head involuntarily drooped down, and this uncontrollable and extremely strange feeling frightened her.
Xie Hanjing simply put away the sword. He tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something. His eyes swept over Hua Lang's head, but he said nothing. As if he knew Hua Lang was afraid of him, he stood a little further away from her.
Hua Lang opened her eyes and confirmed that Xie Hanjing would not be so bold as to kill his master. She then reached out her hand tremblingly and touched the top of her head. Her fingertips felt furry, and at the same time, an extra organ also felt a slight itch.
…
???
What is this!
As the threat faded away, the fox ears that had just drooped stood up again. The wonderful feeling made Hua Lang unable to help but touch them a few more times while falling into fear!
Although she knew that she was a monster, how could the system create a monster form for her?
"Your friend is here." For some reason, after confirming that Hua Lang was a demon, Xie Hanjing changed his attitude and even reminded her kindly. However, his tone was not only distant but also cold, as if he was going to draw his sword again in the next second.
Sure enough, shouts were heard one after another.
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
"Little sister!"
Hua Lang was in a panic and tried to cover his ears, but he couldn't do it. Xie Hanjing was watching from the side. After a while, he even turned his head away, showing no intention of helping at all.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Hua Lang covered his head and turned around, only to see disciples from Cangluan and Yunfu rushing over.
The Cangluan disciples headed straight towards Xie Hanjing.
"Brother Xie, I finally meet you! I saw the points on this spirit tablet and you're already in eighth place. I really admire you!"
Canglan does not use the year of entry as a criterion for seniority, but instead re-divides levels based on the monthly rankings. Since Xie Hanjing entered the sect, he has always been ranked fourth to tenth, and everyone present has to call him "senior brother."
"It's still early. If we go to the depths of Ghost Abyss and kill a big monster, maybe Senior Brother Xie will be in the top three!"
"Hahaha, Junior Brother, you probably don't know Senior Brother's rules. Senior Brother Xie never takes the top three."
Hua Lang was also surrounded by the Yunfu disciples. Upon hearing this, she covered her head and was forced to accept Jing Yunzan's care, while distracting herself to listen to the conversation between the Cangluan disciples.
"Why not take the top three? That would be a great opportunity to receive the elders' secret teachings!"
"Hehe, I know, I know," the disciple who had previously returned to the camp with a beehive on his head and whose face was now swollen like a pig's head immediately spoke up as if vying for credit, "Because Senior Brother Xie doesn't want to stay in Cangluan at all, what he wants is...!"
Before he could finish his words, Xie Hanjing picked up the sword. With a clear sound, the disciple stopped firing and his voice became unclear.
Seeing this, everyone lowered their heads, coughed lightly, and exchanged glances with each other secretly.
Hua Lang was just about to reach the critical moment when these people seemed to have stones stuck in their throats. They kept coughing for a long time, but no one continued to speak.
She was extremely anxious, but she still had things to deal with in Yunfu.
"Little sister, why are you covering your head? Did you get stung by a demon bee?"
Pei Miu seemed to have discovered something and said in a deep voice, "Take your hand away."
Hua Lang had only loosely covered the fox ears, hoping to take advantage of the dim light in the forest to fish in troubled waters, but most cultivators were very perceptive, so this method was doomed to fail.
Hua Lang let go of her hand. If Pei Miu drew his sword, she would just run away and then come back to find Xie Hanjing.
A subtle spiritual energy, so subtle that no one noticed, rolled towards Hua Lang. When she lowered her hand, there was nothing left except her messed up black hair.
"Let me take a look... Fortunately, there are no demon bees and no wounds on the head." Jing Yunzan breathed a sigh of relief.
Hua Lang looked at Xie Hanjing, somewhat surprised.
He would actually help himself?
Pei Miu didn't notice anything unusual. After Jing Yunzhan confirmed everything, he asked bluntly, "Are you really just a mortal? What's your purpose in following us to Guiyuan?"
The Cangluan disciples who had been coughing just now now calmed down and looked over here in unison.
Hua Lang knew she could no longer hide it, so she could only tell the truth with a mixture of lies and truth: "I am indeed here to look for someone. As for what happened just now, it was because my husband left me some protective spells before he left, which is why those monsters couldn't get close to me."
Pei Miu's suspicions remained, "But along the way, there are an unusually large number of demons. This is definitely not normal!"
Although Jing Yunzhan also had her doubts, she was not as convinced as Pei Miu that Hua Lang was either black or white. She quickly spoke up to explain, "My younger sister knows someone from Zhongzhou, and her child was taken away by that person. Zhongzhou is home to the most evil demons, and my younger sister just saved us, so she's definitely not a demon. Let's wait until we've thoroughly investigated this matter before making any comments."
Xie Hanjing, who was about to leave, stopped as if he heard some key words.
A Cangluan disciple nearby recalled Hua Lang's earlier words and shouted, "Hey, Senior Brother, isn't your last name Xie too? This girl is looking for someone named... uh, Xie Xiaozhu. Senior Brother, do you know this person?"
Xie Xiaozhu? Perhaps this half-demon just made up a name.
Xie Hanjing knew it clearly in his heart, but after thinking about it for a moment, he said, "Well, we can only confirm it after we return to the camp and look through the roster."
"Oh, I finally found him. It must have been hard for this girl to chase him all the way to Guiyuan!"
Xie Hanjing's words finally helped Hua Lang escape from the dilemma of being suspected, but she did not feel happy at all.
Return to camp? Did Xie Hanjing really not intend to enter the depths of the Ghost Abyss and win the first place in this monthly ranking?
Why is this?
Shan Yue whispered, "Big Brother, should we follow them back to the camp as well?"
Pei Miu nodded, "Too many things have happened today, it's not appropriate to go into it any further."
Except for Hua Lang, everyone else reached a consensus and headed towards the camp.
But just as they pushed aside a clump of trees, several huge monsters jumped out and stared at them fiercely.
"There wasn't any monster here just now! What's going on?"
There was no time to think, the monster had already launched an attack.
Everyone could only bite the bullet and fight. For a moment, spiritual energy and demonic energy collided, trees fell, and the scene became chaotic.
This place wasn't far from the depths of the Ghost Abyss, and the monsters were significantly more powerful than those from before. Although they were wary of Xie Hanjing's spiritual energy, these monsters didn't flee like bees. Instead, they suppressed their natural fear and pounced frantically on the other disciples.
The disciples of Yunfu Sect, in particular, were targeted and besieged by multiple magical beasts. Several magical beasts formed a fan shape. When one died, a new one would soon rush out of the forest and fill the gap.
Gradually, everyone realized, "These monsters want to drive us deeper into the Ghost Abyss?!"
Xie Han was shocked to find that his attempts at intimidation were useless. He could only raise his sword and chop off the heads one by one. However, the number of monsters was simply too great, and the cultivation of these disciples was also mixed. If they weren't careful, they would fall into the beasts' mouths. He alone had to be both offensive and defensive, and if he did so, he would inevitably be forced deeper into the area by the monsters...
Hua Lang also retreated step by step. Perhaps because she was about to step into the depths of the Ghost Abyss, the soil on the ground and the surrounding trees began to turn black. The foul smell of blood filled her mouth and nose with gusts of cold wind, making her even more uneasy.
Suddenly, she stepped on something extremely soft, and the air behind her instantly turned into sticky tentacles, pulling her backwards.
What’s going on!
Hua Lang tried to struggle free of this invisible giant hand, but it seemed as if it had already merged with her. It held her tightly, and with an indescribable force, it slowly dipped her in...
Soon, several disciples were trapped in it as well, and their weapons fell to the ground as they struggled.
Xie Hanjing noticed the change here. Seeing this familiar scene, he was slightly stunned, "It's a nightmare demon, get out of here quickly!"
*
The veil of her skirt dangling in the air was kicked aside by a foot. The Charm Demon sat bored on a branch, watching the Nightmare Demon below weaving an illusion. She yawned, staring at a green worm in her palm, and muttered to herself, "How boring! I even brought my treasure with me, but I didn't expect these immortal sect disciples to be either wimps or total losers."
Suddenly, the nightmare monsters all gathered in one direction. The charm monster looked up lazily, wanting to see which unlucky guy had fallen into the illusion again.
At this moment, the caterpillar in her hand suddenly twisted violently. She was startled at first, then narrowed her eyes and curled the corners of her mouth into a meaningful smile, "It seems that I have met an old acquaintance."
After hiding her body, the charmer looked at the people trapped in the illusion. With the familiar scent from the antidote to the illusionary poisons, she recognized the acquaintances through the masks at a glance.
She looked outside the illusion again, at the other person holding a sword in the lead. He also had that familiar aura.
"After only a few years of not seeing each other, these two enemies have already parted ways?" Looking at the man who seemed to be leaving, the charm demon sighed, "Human cultivators are really boring."
The demon looked down at the green worm in her hand. She rolled her eyes and chuckled softly, "Oh, I almost forgot about you."
"With you here, they will definitely give me... the best show..."
【Author’s words】
After three thousand years, I am finally going to write the copy...
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