Chapter 10 Blood Moon Secret Realm (Part 5) The White-Bearded Old Man
Shi Xianxue felt her body falling continuously, with a gust of wind whistling in her ears. A blinding white light flashed by, and she crashed solidly onto the ground.
"Oh no, my butt! My poor butt!"
Her buttocks suffered a second injury in a short period of time, and she was in so much pain that she lay on the ground howling in agony.
System: "Xiaoxue, get up quickly, something's not right here!"
Of course she knew something was wrong. There was no water at the bottom of the well, but another mysterious space. Shi Xianxue stood up and carefully looked around. She tried to call out to Zhou Zheyue and the others. After receiving a hollow echo, she recognized that this place seemed to be the village that she and Zhou Zheyue had just searched.
However, Shi Xianxue looked up.
The difference is that the moon here is not obscured by clouds and is still red.
She limped forward, remembering the Blood Moon Secret Realm she hadn't yet heard about in the teahouse.
If they're really that unlucky, then the world below the well is the Blood Moon Secret Realm. What was the Nine-Tailed Fox's purpose in luring them here? Could it be that this place weakens cultivators' magic power and strengthens their abilities, making it as easy as taking candy from a baby to kill them?
While she was deep in thought, the system suddenly spoke up: "Xiaoxue, there are people ahead of you. Go and see if it's Song Qingshu and the others!"
With the help of the system's mini radar, Shi Xianxue indeed spotted a figure standing with his back to her under the fence in the backyard. He was hiding in the wall, holding something in his hands and gnawing on it eagerly, emitting low, animalistic roars.
Based on Shi Xianxue's years of experience watching horror movies, something was wrong with him. She shouldn't go over there; she should turn around and leave immediately.
So, she lifted her skirt and tiptoed back.
The man's chewing suddenly stopped, and Shi Xianxue's heart skipped a beat. She could even feel that menacing gaze, which made her scalp tingle, clinging to her back like a spider's web.
She turned her head back little by little.
The person emerged from the darkness in an extremely stiff and contorted posture.
Upon seeing the person's face, Shi Xianxue immediately gasped.
His eyes were completely filled with black pupils, with no white showing at all. There were bits of scarlet flesh that hadn't been chewed properly around his mouth. Mysterious dark patterns extended from his neck and covered his entire face. He was also holding a half-eaten severed arm in his hand. His whole body exuded a strong ogre aura.
This person is like a demon.
The moment the system met those lifeless eyes, it screamed in its mind: "Run!"
Shi Xianxue turned and ran wildly. The man behind her, carrying her severed arm, roared and chased after her like a mad hunting dog. He was very fast and showed no trace of the stiffness he had shown earlier.
Shi Xianxue was terrified. She ran like the wind but didn't know where to run. She was trapped in the monster's lair. She had just crawled into a house when she was chased out again. She even climbed a tree and crawled into a dog hole, but in the end, she only attracted more monsters.
She had no choice but to run for her life, without stopping for even a moment.
When Song Qingshu rescued an old man with a white beard from the mouth of a man-eating monster, she turned around and saw Shi Xianxue leading a vast horde of monsters charging towards them.
Wherever the monster passed, it kicked up clouds of dust, creating a scene reminiscent of a zombie apocalypse—a truly spectacular and awe-inspiring sight. Song Qingshu stared in astonishment: "Xiaoxue..."
A female disciple from the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace in the crowd said, "It seems this woman is the leader of these monsters. To catch the thief, catch the leader first. Let's capture this woman first!"
"Stop! This person is not a monster!" Li Fuchao shouted sharply to stop them. Seeing that the weapons of the group were already poised to strike Shi Xianxue with tremendous force, he put two fingers together and poured spiritual power out of his fingertips: "Mysterious Crane Sword, go!"
The azure spiritual wave transformed into sword energy and flew away with a whoosh.
Wu Xiutang had one foot on the monster's chest, his hair wrapped around his hand. He tore off the monster's head without expression. The blood in the monster's body was drained, leaving only black smoke. After its head was pulled off, its teeth still clenched and biting. However, before it could touch Wu Xiutang's arm, it was crushed by the black boots and thrown into the pile of corpses.
Under the blood moon, his gaze toward Shi Xianxue was filled with gloom.
That woman is like a persistent ghost.
She was given a chance to live, but she didn't cherish it and just liked to ignore what others said.
Since that's the case, then let's get rid of her here without anyone noticing.
However, at this time, some people have already discovered that black markings similar to those on a monster's body have appeared on their bodies.
Several swords clashed in mid-air, and Shi Xianxue took this opportunity to successfully reunite with Song Qingshu.
Seeing that Shi Xianxue had arrived safely, the Xuanhe Sword ceased its fighting and flew back into Li Fuchao's hand. He made hand seals, and the Xuanhe Sword was summoned to pierce the earth, setting up a blue barrier.
The monsters were kept outside the barrier.
Shi Xianxue held Song Qingshu tightly, panting heavily.
Song Qingshu wanted to reach out to help her catch her breath, but she saw the dark pattern creeping up her entire arm at a visible speed from under the fabric, so she immediately pulled her hand back.
Everyone was startled by the dark markings on their bodies. "What are these? How come we have markings like those monsters on our bodies?"
In just a few moments, apart from Wu Xiutang and Shi Xianxue, the dark patterns spread rapidly among the crowd like a plague.
The female disciple before them was dressed in fiery red. She had long, slender, willow-leaf eyes with slightly upturned outer corners, revealing a hint of spoiled arrogance. Her weapon was originally a long whip with red and blue stripes, which possessed the power of thunder when wielded. As the others protected her in the inner circle, the whip transformed into a red longsword, its blade crackling with lightning and flames, guarding her side.
She was the first to point her longsword at Shi Xianxue: "You still say she's not a monster!"
Despite her discomfort, Song Qingshu stood in front of her, saying, "Put the sword down first. There must be some misunderstanding. Xiaoxue is definitely not a monster."
Shi Xianxue peeked out and observed the woman in front of her. She was dressed in red and had a long whip wrapped in lightning. Could she be Fu Liuwan, the daughter of the Nine Heavens Immortal Mansion's sect leader?
That Fu Liuwan, who was obsessed with Li Fuchao, was even more so than herself. Of course, compared to Shi Huaiyu, who was also determined to go down the same path to the end, although she was a bit willful and capricious and did many wrong things, she was fortunate enough to turn back in time and ultimately died to save the male protagonist.
Overall, she is a more popular character than Shi Huaiyu.
She's so short, with a baby face and dimples. When she puffs out her cheeks and looks at people, she looks like an adorable little figurine, which clashes with her dashing outfit.
No wonder she didn't see Fu Liuwan behind that square-faced man at the teahouse.
But why would that tall, square-faced man be hiding at the back of the crowd while clutching that broken box at such a dangerous moment?
“Since she appeared, dark markings have appeared on our bodies, and she has also attracted monsters. She clearly wants to kill us!”
"Yes, otherwise why would everyone else have dark markings on their bodies, but she doesn't!"
Not to mention them, Shi Xianxue also felt that she was very suspicious. She was the one who brought the monster army, and she was the only one with the dark patterns... Wait, she looked at Wu Xiutang, who was clean but had an abnormal air about him, and suddenly pointed her finger: "It's not that I don't have it, but Wu Xiutang doesn't have it either."
After she finished speaking, the white-bearded old man stood up, holding his bamboo basket, and glanced at it.
This is the second time.
The eyeballs that fell from the monster rolled all over the ground like glass marbles. Just when they were about to escape, they were mercilessly crushed to pieces by the black boots. Wu Xiutang slowly lifted his eyelids, a gloomy calm in his eyes: "I didn't. Are you very dissatisfied?"
Shi Xianxue felt a chill run down her spine, and her eyes seemed to throb with pain. She forced herself to say, "What I mean is, compared to us, aren't you people with human figures growing on your dark markings more like monsters?"
"you!"
“She’s right, you’re the monsters.”
The white-bearded old man suddenly spoke up. He calmly slung his bamboo basket over his shoulder, met the angry gazes of the crowd, and said, "Soon, you will become like those bloodthirsty monsters, devoid of emotion and reason, knowing only violent killing."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Fu Liuwan roared. "I am Fu Liuwan, daughter of Fu Chunsheng of the Nine Heavens Immortal Mansion. What bloodthirsty monster? Do you believe I'll kill you, you old geezer!"
The white-bearded old man said, "Look, he's starting to get irritable."
Fu Liuwan: "..."
The barrier began to crack from the bottom, with fine lines appearing. Li Fuchao's magic obviously couldn't hold for long.
"Take me to the well, I have a way to save you."
The old man was short, dressed in a white robe that trailed on the ground, with white beard, hair, and even eyelashes. His arrival was strange. When the group was tricked into the village below the well by the nine-tailed fox and attacked by monsters, this little old man, fearless, carried a bamboo basket and picked something up behind the monsters. When the monsters discovered him and he was almost eaten, it was Song Qingshu who saved him.
He seemed to have lived here for a long time and knew this place like the back of his hand, leading Song Qingshu and the others to escape the monster's pursuit.
But they never reminded them that contact with monsters could lead to infection.
"Why should we believe you? We saved you, but you repay kindness with enmity, turning us into monsters. Who knows if you tricked us into going to the well to become food for the monsters?"
"Alright." Having said that, the white-bearded old man shrugged happily. "Then you'll have to stay in this Blood Moon Secret Realm forever."
"The Blood Moon Secret Realm?"
Everyone was horrified.
This Blood Moon Secret Realm is a mysterious place that has only appeared in recent years. No one knows its origin. All that is known is that it usually appears under a full moon, like a transparent water dome, silently descending upon a village. Humans and demons unknowingly enter the secret realm, and by dawn the next day, all living things in the entire village mysteriously disappear.
"This is the first level of the Blood Moon Secret Realm. Anyone caught in the secret realm, whether human or demon, will be transformed into a shadow, turning into a monster like them. The antidote to the shadow transformation is on the third level, and the passage to the third level of the secret realm is the well."
It turns out they didn't disappear, but were transformed into monsters and trapped here forever.
Before everyone could recover from the shock, the barrier suddenly exploded. Song Qingshu and Li Fuchao exchanged a glance and immediately made a decision.
"Walk!"
At Fu Liuwan's signal, the people from the Nine Heavens Immortal Mansion threw out several fist-sized wooden boxes. The boxes began to deform in mid-air, and when they landed, they had grown limbs and heads. They made sharp noises and flashed light as they moved around under the monsters' feet, quickly attracting a large number of monsters to chase after them.
Li Fuchao cleaved through the monsters blocking his path with a single sword stroke, snapping them in half at the waist. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the group broke free from the monster encirclement.
When the blood moon shone on the well opening, it emitted a dazzling white light.
The white-bearded old man was no longer in a hurry. He waved his hand, signaling Shi Xianxue to sit by the well.
The system stopped her, saying, "Xiaoxue, just to be on the safe side, you should wait until the female lead is safe before going down."
I almost forgot about the important matter.
In addition to ensuring the awakening of the Demon Lord's power within Song Qingshu, we must also be wary of her brainless behavior that is tantamount to self-harm at all times.
For example, right now, she was already so close, but she had to turn back to save Fu Liuwan, who was being attacked by monsters. As a result, Fu Liuwan, in a panic, pushed her into the monster horde.
Ah! Her leading lady!!
Shi Xianxue was about to jump down to save people when a huge force pushed her from behind. Before she could even make a sound, she fell in headfirst.
"Get down!"
The white-bearded old man clapped his hands and threw the bamboo basket down with him.
He called out to Wu Xiutang, who was about to go to rescue people, "Hey, although I don't know what you are, if you join us, we might have a better chance of getting the antidote."
“They’ll be completely transformed into shadows before they can hold out until the third level. Rather than being dragged to their deaths here, we should come down with you to find the antidote.”
Li Fuchao swung his sword at the monsters attacking Song Qingshu, but more and more monsters kept emerging from the shadows, as if determined to wear them down. Seeing this, Li Fuchao stopped using his killing moves and dodged whenever possible, trying not to expend his energy. As for those useless fellows from the Nine Heavens Immortal Mansion, they only knew how to set up formations and traps, and couldn't possibly trap the monsters.
It seems that only he and Shi Xianxue can move freely, and if they are not present, it would be easier for him to deal with that stupid woman, Shi Xianxue.
Wu Xiutang kicked the monster's body aside and leaped down.
Before jumping down, the white-bearded old man glanced at Song Qingshu, who was surrounded by monsters.
"Fine, consider it a blessing for your kindness."
He snapped his fingers, and the dark clouds in the sky instantly obscured the blood moon. The monster's attacks seemed to slow down considerably.
"This spell can only last for half an incense stick's time. Before they return, you'd better find a place where neither the blood moon's light nor the monsters can find you."
"Remember, the light of the blood moon will amplify inner desires. Without restraint, the speed of shadow transformation will be faster. Once you are completely transformed into shadow, even the Fruit of Unwavering Confusion will be useless."
After saying that, he disappeared into the white light.
Fu Liuwan tried to jump down, but was bounced back by the white light and fell to the ground. At this moment, the dark patterns on her body had spread to her neck.
Soon she will be like those monsters, forever trapped in this Blood Moon Secret Realm.
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