Chapter 38
This is what Wen Wan saw when she arrived.
Lin Zhu, with a look of resignation to death, let the demonic energy devour him, while the evil dragon opened its gaping maw, trying to swallow him whole.
What a sight it was to see demonic cultivators and evil dragons locked in a fierce battle.
Lin Zhu, who had been delirious due to the evil energy, immediately calmed down the moment Wen Wan appeared. The evil energy that had been suppressed for many years and was now restless also stopped immediately and no longer tried to control him. He effortlessly broke free from the control of the evil energy.
Wenwan rescued him from the dragon's jaws like a hero.
"you……"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Lin Zhu originally wanted to ask Wen Wan why she was here, but was silenced by the other party's angry roar.
This was the first time he had ever seen Wen Wan so angry.
"Stay here and I'll settle the score with you later." Wen Wan calmed her anger, settled him in a relatively safe place, and decided to confront this evil dragon.
Just as the evil dragon was about to devour its enemy, Wen Wan appeared and rescued it at the crucial moment. The cooked pigeon flew away, and the dragon glared fiercely at its opponent. It swung its tail to attack, but the opponent easily dodged it.
Wen Wan easily dodged the evil dragon's attack, and didn't forget to throw out a Flame Talisman. Although the evil dragon, which was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, was covered with hard scales, it had already suffered many wounds after fighting with Lin Zhu. As soon as the Flame Talisman ignited, it grimaced in pain and rolled on the spot a few times, then stared at Wen Wan even more angrily.
Wen Wan showed no fear. After all, she was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator with full strength. Even though she had suppressed her strength to the Golden Core stage, she could still fight against the nearly exhausted Nascent Soul stage evil dragon.
If all else fails, there's always a follower in the early stages of the Out-of-Body stage who can protect you.
Liu Qingqing, who was still traveling behind, had no idea that she had been included in the calculation of combat strength.
What puzzled Lin Zhu was that the evil aura, which was usually difficult to suppress and which he tried every means to control, should have been even more difficult to suppress after he was able to control Lin Zhu's consciousness without any hindrance this time. However, unexpectedly, the evil aura was as quiet as a chicken.
No, it shouldn't be described as quiet as a chicken. The evil energy was still stirring, but not to control its body. Instead, it was just to assert its presence. Therefore, Lin Zhu was able to easily regain control of his body and was not corrupted by the demonic energy, thus avoiding becoming a mindless puppet.
Wen Wan nimbly dodged the evil dragon's attacks, occasionally dropping a few spirit talismans. Although the evil dragon's shell was hard, the individual attack talismans were not very effective, but when detonated together, their power was not to be underestimated.
The evil dragon was not very bright; it only attacked relentlessly, wishing it could devour Wen Wan whole and exact revenge for her snatching food from its mouth.
Soon its body was covered with talismans. The person dodging the attack spun beautifully and landed perfectly. In one smooth motion, she raised her hand and made a hand seal, detonating the talismans on the evil dragon. The sudden pain made the evil dragon roll on the ground twice to relieve the pain.
Wen Wan gave it no chance to catch its breath, and continued her attack with the Ink Shadow in hand.
Under a barrage of attacks, the evil dragon was forced to retreat and eventually collapsed.
A mere evil dragon, severely injured and out of its body, is in for a lot of trouble when it encounters my overflowing golden core.
Wen Wan turned around triumphantly, ready to berate Lin Zhu, but unexpectedly, the evil dragon was faking its death. In its death throes, it tried to take someone down with it and attacked the unsuspecting Wen Wan. At the critical moment, a red-tasseled spear struck and swiftly pierced through the evil dragon's head, causing it to fall to the ground, lifeless.
"What's going on between you and this demonic cultivator?" Liu Qingqing, who arrived late, was still on guard, looking warily at Lin Zhu, who exuded an evil aura, and asked Wen Wan a soul-searching question.
She was the team leader for this mission, and it was her duty to ensure the safety of every team member.
Demonic cultivators are influenced by the Great Dao, and most of them have dark and twisted minds and cunning character. Moreover, humans and demons are irreconcilable enemies.
Judging from Wen Wan's demeanor and the fact that she had traveled a long way to save the day, the two were clearly familiar with each other.
Could this little girl have been bewitched by a demonic cultivator?
Thinking of this, his gaze toward Lin Zhu grew increasingly hostile.
Seeing that Liu Qingqing was about to kill Lin Zhu with her eyes, Wen Wan hurriedly spoke up to joke, "Senior Sister Liu, this is my friend, a close friend I know very well, Lin Zhu!"
Wen Wan emphasized the words "knows them inside and out" to reassure them, "There was a slight accident, many years ago, but it hasn't affected us. We're safe, we're safe."
Liu Qingqing looked unconvinced: "Demonic cultivators are good at disguising themselves. Don't be fooled by their appearance."
Wen Wan kicked the man who was still standing there dumbfounded on the ground without any politeness, signaling him to say something.
"Uh... Hello, I'm a good person..." He was still pondering why the evil energy was becoming more and more active but had no intention of taking control of his body when he finally came to his senses and answered.
Wen Wan: ……
Liu Qingqing: ...
Liu Qingqing looked at the other person, who seemed rather dim-witted, and was speechless for a moment.
What if it's an act?
He glanced at Wen Wan, then at Lin Zhu, still feeling uneasy.
She had never dealt with demonic cultivators, but she knew a little about what they were like, given their notorious reputation.
“Ask him what he’s doing here and what his plans are.”
Actually, Wen Wan wanted to say that the person was right in front of her, but she still cooperated and said to Lin Zhu, "Senior Sister Liu is asking you a question."
He could think about the previous question again, but he needed to deal with the immediate problem first. Good and evil cannot coexist, and he no longer had the strength to deal with Liu Qingqing.
He immediately recognized that the other party was also a Nascent Soul cultivator, and honestly replied, "This dragon is named Qiuchi, the source of evil, but its core is extremely pure. I want to take its demon core and refine it into a top-grade purification pill to see if I can purify my own demonic energy."
"This dragon is no good either. Although it only lives in the Misty Forest, it has harmed many living beings. Killing it and taking its core can be considered doing justice for Heaven."
This answer surprised Liu Qingqing. She hadn't expected that there would still be demonic cultivators trying to purify their demonic energy. It's important to know that among the three thousand Great Daos, demonic cultivation is one of the fastest paths to cultivation, which is why most ordinary people who fall into demonic ways have no way back.
If three to five years of unorthodox cultivation can equal a hundred years of honest cultivation, who would want to go back to honest cultivation? It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Besides, from ancient times to the present, there has never been a demonic cultivator who could successfully purify their own demonic energy.
It's not that no one has done this before. At first, when they fall into demonic possession, their minds are not greatly affected, and some people with strong minds can withstand it. But no matter what they try, they can't get rid of the influence of demonic energy. In the end, they sink deeper and deeper, and their once firm beliefs collapse. In the end, they still embark on the path of demonic cultivation.
Therefore, if someone around them falls into demonic possession, they will be abandoned. Rather than wasting time trying to exorcise demonic energy, it is better to go all the way down a path and become a strong person, even if the reputation is not good.
Some of them firmly believed, and were relieved, that as long as they were steadfast enough, their minds would not be affected, and as time went by, they gradually succumbed to self-destruction.
The methods of cultivation that take shortcuts are not honorable and are mostly evil. They lower the bottom line again and again and become more and more cruel, eventually leading to the entire demonic cultivation community being infamous and ending up in the current situation where everyone hates them.
Liu Qingqing didn't respond to his question. Instead, she changed the subject and looked at him sharply: "How long have you been a demon?"
"15 years."
Liu Qingqing was shocked, but she didn't show it on her face and continued to ask, "How much has your mind been affected now?"
"Answer honestly, don't try anything funny."
"Would you believe me if I said I wasn't affected and that I never did anything immoral during this time?" Lin Zhu looked back at him with a firm expression, showing no guilt whatsoever.
There was a competitive atmosphere between the two, as if they were about to start fighting at any moment.
He wasn't lying, but the world's prejudice against demonic cultivators left him with no place in the righteous path.
After he fell into demonic possession, the righteous path of cultivation had little effect on him.
The youngest Nascent Soul cultivator at the age of twenty, who had been a demon for 15 years, was progressing from the early to the middle stages of Nascent Soul cultivation, a process that was extremely slow for him.
Before he fell into demonic possession, with his talent, his goal was to break through to the Nascent Soul stage within ten years.
As for why his mind wasn't affected by the demonic energy, it's likely related to the malevolent energy within him. This malevolent energy suppressed the demonic energy, while attempting to directly control his body. Another reason for his slow cultivation progress is that he needs to be distracted by fighting against the malevolent energy.
Liu Qingqing saw that he didn't seem to be lying, and his behavior was no different from that of an ordinary person. Except for the demonic aura that lingered around him, he really didn't seem like someone who had been a demon for more than ten years.
A fallen cultivator will be assimilated in as little as three to five days, or as long as three to five years. Both their appearance and behavior will change drastically, and unless they deliberately disguise themselves, they will be easily identified.
This Lin Zhu is either too well hidden, or, as he said, has not been affected.
Emotionally, she hoped it was the latter; he was Wan'er's friend, and having one more friend was always better than having one more enemy. But rationally, she leaned more towards the former; she didn't believe that someone could truly remain unchanged for fifteen years after falling into demonic possession.
But she ultimately did not attack him. She only said to Wenwan, "I will pretend I didn't see what happened today. Be careful and don't let others find out. I'll give you half an incense stick's time to deal with this matter."
After saying that, he left without waiting for Wen Wan's reply.
Liu Qingqing's words had two meanings: she was reminding her to be careful not to let others discover her friendship with the demonic cultivator, and to be wary of this person. The half incense stick was not only for dealing with Wen Wan's matter, but also a warning to Lin Zhu that if anything happened to Wen Wan, he would be implicated.
"Your fellow disciple has been very kind to you." Lin Zhu relaxed and said to Wen Wan with a smile.
In that situation, if a fight had broken out, he really wouldn't have been able to fight back. Of course, he also believed that Wen Wan wouldn't let him get beaten up for nothing.
"Of course," Wen Wan said smugly. "Who told me to be loved by everyone and admired by all?"
Wen Wan stepped forward and fed him a pill, which made him feel better. He slowly got up and walked to the evil dragon to begin reaping his spoils.
"Lin Zhu, what happened to you just now? It was trying to devour you, it didn't seem like demonic energy." After what happened with Liu Qingqing, the anger from before had disappeared, and there was more worry.
The radiant white dragon core slowly emerged from the evil dragon's body and gently fell into Lin Zhu's hand.
Now that he had been discovered, Lin Zhu told the truth, as he hadn't been trying to hide anything.
"It's malevolent energy."
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