Chapter 89 Rakshasa 1 "A Person Just Like You"
"Boss, you're right, this time the mountain wind has indeed moved westward!"
Seeing the raging wind outside the cave pass by, Xin Zhou felt a little excited. He turned his head and saw the man meditating inside the cave. He then composed himself and cautiously spoke up to remind him.
Dressed in a black robe, Shen Du's slightly disheveled long hair was casually tied behind his head. Awakening from the void, he raised his head, revealing sharp eyebrows and eyes, and glanced indifferently at Xin Zhou at the cave entrance. Xin Zhou subconsciously shrank his neck and leaned against the cave wall.
Xin Zhou was naturally afraid.
After Yu Jiu's death, those who had been barely surviving under his command spontaneously recognized Shen Du as their new leader. However, Shen Du was extremely ruthless and showed no mercy to those who continued Yu Jiu's ways. Over the years, almost half of the original number of people died at the hands of this leader.
Previously, every so often, one of them would be chosen by Yu Jiu to be eaten by a magical beast. But Shen Du never did that. By following him, they not only no longer had to pay tribute to the magical beasts, but they also managed to survive on the thirteenth floor. Even the magical beasts had to avoid him.
Over the years, although Shen Du had hardly interacted with them, Xin Zhou could see clearly that someone like him, who hadn't committed any major evils before falling into the Abyss of Corruption and was now obediently following Shen Du, would be fine.
Even so, it didn't stop him from feeling fear when he saw the other person's eyes grow colder year by year...
Before Shen Du could get up, a powerful and robust Iron-Eating Beast slowly emerged from the darkness behind him.
The Iron-Eating Beast's long black and white fur on its face was trimmed very short, revealing a pair of rather fierce, dark eyes. It was much taller than Chen Du, who was sitting, and its extremely explosive and fluid body made it easy to imagine what would happen if it pounced on you.
At this moment, it was staring intently at Xin Zhou, pawing at the ground with one front paw and letting out a threatening growl.
Seeing this, Xin Zhou pressed himself even closer to the cave wall, inwardly groaning. Sure enough, the next moment, the Iron-Eating Beast pounced over, its movements as fast as lightning, knocking him down and pinning him to the ground.
Seeing Tuanzi's actions, a fleeting warmth flashed in Shen Du's eyes. He stood up and said in a cold voice, "Take it to the Nine Soul Tapir's cave."
Xin Zhou nodded repeatedly, finally getting a chance to catch his breath under the Iron-Eating Beast's claws.
This Iron-Eating Beast, kept by Shen Du, is their undisputed second king. Not only is it ferocious, but it also has a huge appetite. It loves to eat young Nine-Soul Tapirs. It has devoured all the Nine-Soul Tapirs in the territory of that third-tier Nine-Soul Tapir. Over the years, the Nine-Soul Tapirs have moved several times, but they still cannot escape its clutches.
To satisfy the appetite of this Iron-Eating Beast King, it had no choice but to continuously split its demonic souls to "generate" the little Nine-Soul Tapirs, but the rate of reproduction still couldn't keep up with the rate at which the Iron-Eating Beast ate...
However, thinking that his only friend in the Eclipse Abyss had also been eaten by the monsters, and now the situation had reversed, with the monsters offering them tribute in order to survive, Xin Zhou, the servant dedicated to the Iron-Eating Beast, felt quite pleased despite being exhausted from dealing with the Iron-Eating Beast's excessive energy.
As Shen Du stepped out of the cave, he glanced at the desolate scene outside that had remained unchanged for years. After so many times of the mountain winds, he had made a discovery: the key to reaching other parts of the Erosion Abyss lay in those Hidden Wind Worms.
If all goes well, he will be able to leave the thirteenth floor when the next mountain-piercing wind arrives.
Chen Du lowered his eyes, habitually rubbed the storage ring hanging around his neck twice, and then carved an "X" shape deeply into the mountain wall with his sword. Over the years, he had traveled to every part of the thirteenth floor, and he would leave this pattern, which he had long memorized, wherever he went.
Perhaps in his long-frozen heart, there is still hope, anticipation of the day they meet again.
...
After falling in the darkness for an unknown amount of time, Xu Xing finally landed on a vast expanse of sand. The surroundings were extremely dark, with only a blood moon hanging high in the sky emitting a dim red light, which kept her from seeing nothing at all.
Just now, during her fall, the spiritual shield surrounding her lost its light the moment it came into contact with the dense black energy. Now that she has arrived at the Abyss of Corruption, she tried to replace it with a new spiritual shield, but it also failed in a short while, as if her spiritual power had been sucked away by something in the darkness.
The surging black energy around her made her feel very uncomfortable. Xu Xing pulled her cloak tighter and stopped wasting her time.
The sandy land in front of us stretched as far as the eye could see, and with the limited visibility, it was almost impossible to see if there was a road. Which level was this?
She touched the soul lamp necklace; the soul energy was weak, indicating that she and her senior brother were still far apart.
Xu Xing thought for a moment and summoned Nan Ye. Yin Xue and Qing were too conspicuous in this place, while Nan Ye, who had the weakest cultivation, was more convenient because he had a human form.
The two walked cautiously forward. The surroundings were deathly silent. Xu Xing felt increasingly uneasy. Was there really nothing here?
But no matter how careful she was, most of the day passed without any movement, and the two eventually reached the edge of the sand safely.
Xu Xing looked back and saw that the calm sandy land not far away had suddenly risen into countless sand dunes, as if something was surging within them. She dared not delay any longer and quickly left the sandy area with Nan Ye.
"Master, something is approaching."
Yin Xue's voice rang out in her mind.
Xu Xing was startled and instantly summoned the Snowless Sword. Nan Ye also quickly concealed their presence.
As soon as he used the invisibility technique, Nan Ye realized something was wrong and reminded him, "Master, this place is restricted. With you, it'll be half a quarter of an hour; on my own, it'll be a quarter of an hour."
Xu Xing understood Nan Ye's meaning. The two of them could only hide for half a quarter of an hour. This Eclipse Abyss was truly strange.
Just then, two small, dark figures emerged from the mist ahead. They seemed to be being chased by something, panting and running away in a panic, but they quickly stopped when they saw the edge of the sandy area.
"We can't go there!"
"What do we do? It's catching up with us!"
Xu Xing was quite surprised to hear the voice of a child, thinking they were some kind of magical beast. How could there be such a small child in the Abyss?
One of the slightly taller children shoved a clump of sticky stuff he was clutching into the hands of a smaller child. “You go first! I’ll distract them!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he shoved the other person hard, but remained standing still.
Xu Xing heard him shout in a trembling voice, trying to sound fierce, "Come and eat me if you dare!"
Xu Xing looked around, but there was nothing there. What was he talking to?
The next moment, a subtle breeze blew by, lifting a strand of Xu Xing's long hair. She opened her eyes wide and looked up. She saw that the child was being lifted high up as if by something, his hands gripping his neck tightly and his legs kicking wildly.
Xu Xing then realized that the thing had always been there! She just couldn't see it! It could actually turn invisible!
Seeing that the child's struggling movements were getting weaker and weaker, Xu Xing no longer hesitated. He picked up Xue Wujian and swung it forward heavily. Her hand was pulled down as if it had been pierced by some viscous liquid. A sharp shriek was faintly heard, and the child was thrown down heavily.
Nanye immediately caught the child and led him back.
Knowing that his strength was inferior to his master's, he realized that only his invisibility technique could be of use. Despite his worries, he would not try to cause trouble at this time.
"Cough cough! Cough!" The child knelt on the ground and coughed a few times while covering his neck. When he saw the unfamiliar Nan Ye, his dark eyes were full of vigilance and fear, and he quietly moved back a little.
The child who had run away quickly came over to help him up, and the two of them swiftly disappeared into the darkness.
They ran away?
Nanye glanced at it but didn't chase after it. He just looked at his master with concern. That thing could also turn invisible. His master couldn't see it at all. How should he deal with it?
Xu Xing initially tried to thrust her sword around with the Snowless Sword, and it actually hit her every time. However, the thing reacted and dodged the sword's edge. After missing twice in a row, Xu Xing realized something was wrong. The wind around her seemed to have stopped, but she tried to sense it and found nothing.
"Right rear!"
With the reminder from the childish voice, Xu Xing also noticed a faint gust of wind coming from behind her ear. She quickly ducked to avoid an attack, but her right hand holding the sword was tightened by something long.
Tentacles? What kind of monster is this?!
Xu Xing gritted his teeth and tried to break free, but the tentacle-like thing tightened its grip more and more. His right arm bones creaked under the strain. Xu Xing's face turned pale, but his mind was perfectly clear. Yin Xue and Qing in his mind were anxiously pacing around. They wanted to come out and help, but their master refused to summon them.
This was only the first monster she encountered.
Xu Xing calmly thought that she was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator and would definitely be able to defeat it. If she couldn't even defeat it, how could she possibly save her senior brother?
She took something out of her backpack, flicked her wrist, and scattered the powder, which covered the monster that had trapped her. Although it only outlined a small part of its shape, it was enough!
Xu Xing took out a gleaming kitchen knife with his left hand, raised it and chopped down, cutting a deep gash in one stroke. Dark green juice splattered everywhere, emitting a disgusting fishy smell.
The monster cried out in pain, and its tentacles loosened. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xu Xing drew his Snowless Sword and unleashed his sword techniques. The sword shadows were chaotic and the sword light was dazzling. In no time, half of the monster's body, which was covered in powder, was almost chopped into minced meat!
After losing its life, the monster gradually revealed its true form. It had eight tentacles and a huge head, resembling an octopus, but below the tentacles was a lower body that looked like two legs, making it extremely ugly and bizarre.
This was the first time Xu Xing had killed a monster with her own sword without the aid of magical artifacts. She stared at the monster's corpse on the ground, lost in thought, remaining silent for a long time.
Seeing her solemn expression, Nan Ye stepped forward and asked anxiously, "What's wrong?"
Xu Xing stretched his aching right arm, shook his head, and said in a deep voice, "Magic tools are still the best."
To find her senior brother in the Abyss of Eclipse, she must find a way to make those broken magical artifacts work again.
Within her sea of consciousness, Yin Xue remained relatively calm, but Qing's furious roar was deafening, "We're useful too! Why won't you let us out?!"
Xu Xing quickly reassured her, explaining that she only wanted to give it a try. After all, this place was so strange that even magical artifacts could fail. If she ended up being unable to summon her contracted beast, she couldn't just give up, could she? It seemed that apart from the fact that this monster could turn invisible, it wasn't too difficult to deal with.
"let's go."
Faced with the monster's hideous corpse and the increasingly strong stench, Xu Xing had no intention of continuing his study and was about to leave when he saw a small head peek out from behind a rock not far away.
Don't you want it?
Xu Xing was taken aback, then pointed the tip of his sword at the octopus monster. "You mean this? I don't want it."
Xu Xing had a sudden thought: perhaps following these two children might lead to a place where living people gather. With that in mind, she was about to ask them when she saw the two children quickly run out from behind the rock.
They knelt before the monster's corpse, deftly severing the tentacles while sniffing the remaining powder on the body, swallowing hard, and muttering, "It smells so good, what is this?"
Xu Xing raised an eyebrow. "Barbecue powder."
Besides pills and magical artifacts, her bag contained mostly various seasonings and ingredients.
"Roasted...meat..."
Having lived for several years and hardly ever eaten cooked food, they still managed to guess what "roasted meat" meant.
One of the children turned to look at Xu Xing, his gaze fixed on her golden eyes, and said with certainty, "You must be from outside!"
Outside?
Xu Xing's heart skipped a beat, and he pointed towards the sandy area in the darkness, "If you mean that place, then I did come from outside."
"You! You actually managed to cross the Rakshasa Sea?"
At this moment, another child, focused on cutting meat and not turning around, also looked over.
Xu Xing was surprised to see shock and admiration in the two equally dark faces.
But Rakshasa Sea? Isn't that a desert?
"You live here? Do you know which level of the Abyss this is? Where do you live?" Xu Xing squatted down, took out a packet of barbecue seasoning, and looked at the two children at eye level. "Can you take me there? I'll give you some barbecue seasoning."
The two children looked at each other, then at the packet of barbecue seasoning. Finally, the slightly older child nodded.
"Did that octopus monster come from the Rakshasa Sea?"
Xu Xing stroked her chin. Could it be that what she saw was different from what these children saw? She followed the two children for a while and tentatively asked them some questions, but the two of them knew nothing about the Abyss or which level it was, as if they had no idea that this was inside the Abyss.
"Rain? There's no rain. This monster is a Rakshasa demon. The one we just saw was just one type. There are many other forms of Rakshasa demons."
Xu Xing became increasingly confused as she listened, but the two children were unable to explain the situation to her in detail. She could only suppress her doubts and follow them to a cellar hidden under a patch of withered grass.
Upon seeing the cellar, Xu Xing hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Nan Ye, who nodded knowingly. Only then did the two of them go down.
After they all went inside, the older boy carefully tidied up the withered grass on the cellar lid. He spent a long time doing this until the withered grass looked natural before he stopped.
To Xu Xing's surprise, the small cellar was full of children. Including the two who brought her there, there were a total of seven children, all dressed in identical animal skins, straw clothes, and with faces covered in soot.
Judging from their height, the oldest was the child she had saved, who looked to be only seven or eight years old, while the younger ones looked to be only three or four years old.
"We brought back food!"
As soon as the two children entered the cellar, smiles appeared on their faces. They took out "octopus" tentacles, while the other five children, who had been cautiously observing Xu Xing and Nan Ye, couldn't take their eyes off the meat.
They had never smelled such an enticing aroma before, especially from the tentacle meat coated with barbecue seasoning.
Xu Xing stared blankly as the children wolfed down the sticky monster meat that had just been cut from the monster's body, his stomach churning.
She suddenly realized that at such a young age, they were very likely born in the Abyss. They didn't know they lived in a place where the sun never shone, let alone know what a "fish" was.
"She's amazing, she came from the Rakshasa Sea."
"She also has barbecue seasoning, it's especially delicious!"
"She killed the Rakshasa!"
After they finished eating, the child who brought Xu Xing in patiently answered her questions, while another, smaller child stayed with the other children, quietly telling his friends about Xu Xing's "great achievements."
From the children's fragmented words, Xu Xing learned about their background.
Except for the eldest child, who was named "Qu," the other children had no names; they were indeed born in the Abyss of Eclipse.
They were led away by Qu because they didn't want to become food for the monsters, so they ran away.
Who would feed these children to monsters? Xu Xing already had a guess in his mind, and that slight feeling of nausea surged up again.
She listened quietly and realized that Qu, who looked seven or eight years old, was actually twelve.
She suddenly thought of "Xu Xing" when he was eight years old, who was much thinner and smaller than his peers because he was so hungry...
Have you seen this person before?
Xu Xing suppressed his turbulent emotions, used his spiritual power to conjure up the image of his senior brother, and asked the children.
Unsurprisingly, they all shook their heads; no one had seen it.
Qu looked at Xu Xing's somewhat disappointed expression, hesitated for a moment, and then suddenly said, "However, there is someone just like you, she also came from outside."
It turned out that there was a small cave hidden in the cellar. By pulling back the wooden plank that could barely be called a "door", another small wooden plank was revealed inside.
A little girl lay on the dilapidated wooden plank, her eyes closed and unconscious. But from her exquisite white dress and fair, clean face, it was clear that she could not possibly live in the Abyss for as long as these other children.
Xu Xing was puzzled, but then he saw the little girl slowly open her eyes, revealing a pair of bright golden pupils.
Only then did she understand what Qu meant by "just like you".
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Author's Note: Thank you to Rabbit who loves reading novels, Sleep a Little Longer, Late Sun and Cold Crow, Rabbit Demon Osmanthus Cake, Too Many Bugs, 25656288, Triangle City, Blue Feather Tears, Star Dream, It's Panpan, Silly Plus One, 24373753, and the nutrient solution irrigated by Orange and Pomelo~ [Please!]
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