“Nan Meng, are you used to the food?”
On the outskirts of the Extreme North, Jiang Mian and the Auspicious Beast were resting at a noodle stall.
The moon was high in the sky, and the surrounding shops had long since closed, with only this noodle stall still open.
The owner of the noodle stall was a kind old man who looked very old, and his Spirit was also very interesting—it was flour.
food system Spirits had always been very rare, but unfortunately, this old man's level only reached 34 and then stagnated, probably because he had no one to guide him when he was young.
“Delicious.” The Auspicious Beast nodded and smiled, “No wonder Di Tian said I was lucky to meet Jiang Mian.”
“Hahaha.” Jiang Mian stroked the Auspicious Beast’s hair and said, “After Snow Empress finished relaying the message to me, there was no more movement, but now that we are getting closer to the Extreme North, the subtle connection between her and me is becoming clearer.”
“Snow Empress is not in danger, and her cultivation is steadily improving. We’ll make some adjustments and depart tomorrow morning.”
In fact, before Jiang Mian left Sunset Forest, he felt that Snow Empress was not in any danger. After all, if she couldn’t solve a problem with her 700,000 years of cultivation, what use could Jiang Mian be?
Moreover, with Snow Empress’s personality, she wouldn’t let Jiang Mian die in vain, which is why Jiang Mian dared to leave Xiong Jun and Chi Wang in Spirit Hall and only brought the Auspicious Beast to the Extreme North to find Snow Empress.
Nan Meng, in her Auspicious Beast form, was eating noodles heartily. Jiang Mian rested his chin on his hand, quietly watching the Auspicious Beast.
She was truly beautiful. After all, who among young people didn’t have their own first love? But when his first love actually sat beside him, Jiang Mian felt she was so sacred that it dispelled any impure thoughts.
“Young master, could you spare me a bowl of noodles?”
From a corner of the alley, a girl dressed in ragged burlap clothes suddenly poked her head out. She was very thin, so thin that her cheeks were sunken, but she was also very beautiful, emanating a cold and broken feeling that made people feel pity.
This girl was so frail that it seemed a gust of wind could blow her over. She clutched her stomach and slowly walked in front of Jiang Mian.
Jiang Mian stared into her eyes, and saw that the girl’s eyes were very bright, shimmering with tears, like the myriad stars in the sky, pitiful yet beautiful.
“Boss, give him a bowl of noodles.”
Jiang Mian waved his hand, signaling the girl to sit. The old man quickly made a bowl of noodles. When he saw that the person was that girl, he couldn't help but sigh and skillfully handed the noodles to her.
The girl wolfed down a bowl of noodles. She secretly wiped away her tears, seemingly still wanting more, but not daring to ask again.
“Give her another bowl of noodles,” Jiang Mian said lightly.
“Young master, if you give me two bowls of noodles, I will repay you. I can sleep with you twice,” the girl bit her lip and said.
“Are you very hungry?” The Auspicious Beast lay on the table, looking at the girl with curiosity. Does being hungry really make people pay so much?
“Yes, I haven’t eaten for three days.” The girl’s words made one feel pained. Jiang Mian didn’t speak. The girl quickly finished the second bowl of noodles. She stood up, her voice trembling, “Young master, come with me.”
Jiang Mian shook his head. The noodle stall owner suddenly walked over and said, “Young master, don’t go. She’s sick.”
At these words, the girl instantly burst into tears. She hurriedly turned her head away, covering her face and weeping bitterly.
Jiang Mian’s eyebrows rose, looking at the old man in disbelief. The old man, unable to bear it, slowly said, “She lost her parents when she was six. To eat, she had no choice but to…”
“Is there no one in this Extreme North who can take her in?” Jiang Mian suddenly felt a little sad, “How much food can a six-year-old child eat?”
“Young master, you are from a big place.” The old man smiled bitterly, “This is the frontier of the Extreme North. What kind of chaos isn’t there? Everyone here is tightening their belts to live.”
Jiang Mian shook his head. Perhaps the Auspicious Beast Nan Meng hadn't realized what was happening. She blinked her eyes and innocently said, “If you’re sick, go get treated, big sister.”
Jiang Mian patted the Auspicious Beast’s shoulder, motioning for her not to speak. The frontier of the Extreme North had been ungoverned since ancient times. Most of the common people living here could be called abandoned people.
Forced by life, they had no choice but to come to this place to make a living, but here, bandits, evil Spirit Masters, and even Spirit Beasts often raided.
Those who survived lived very hard lives.
“Girl, take this money to see a doctor.” Jiang Mian took out a handful of gold coins from his storage spirit tool. His expression was complex, and he whispered, “This money is enough for you to start a small business and sustain yourself. Don’t stay here.”
“Young master, if she, a weak woman, goes into the city, she’ll be abducted within a few days,” the old man said. “In this world, common people’s lives are cheap.”
“Young master, why do you do this?” The girl held the gold coins in her palm, her voice trembling as she asked.
“Even if the people of this world owe you.”
“Young master, may I ask your esteemed name?” The girl trembled all over, continuously thanking Jiang Mian.
“Kind-hearted people in the world are all nameless.” Jiang Mian suddenly recalled this phrase and spoke it aloud, “Our chance encounter is fate. Don’t do that kind of thing again in the future.”
“Okay.” The girl nodded heavily, tears continuously dripping onto the table.
“Nan Meng.” Jiang Mian looked at Nan Meng and opened his mouth, but couldn’t speak. This Auspicious Beast had been pampered in the Star Dou Great Forest since childhood and naturally didn’t know how hard the lives of ordinary people were, otherwise she wouldn’t have said such a thing.
In fact, it wasn't just the Auspicious Beast; Jiang Mian was also the same. They, as Spirit Masters, were high above and rarely knew the suffering of the common people.
Ding ding ding!
A rapid ringing sound rang out. The old man and Jiang Mian looked towards the village entrance in unison.
“What is that sound?” Jiang Mian asked, “Could it be a bandit attack?”
“No, that alarm, it’s evil Spirit Masters!” The old man’s face changed drastically. He instantly released his spirit rings, one white and two yellow, preparing for battle.
Evil Spirit Masters are defined in various ways, but their common point is that they all rely on slaughter, devouring, and absorption to increase their spirit power. This is similar to evil Spirit Beasts.
Jiang Mian glanced at Nan Meng. With him here, how much trouble could these evil Spirit Masters stir up?
“Run!” People from every household poured out, scattering and fleeing, but there were also many Spirit Masters who released their Spirits and went to meet the enemy. Their levels were not high; the strongest was only a Spirit Elder.
These people risked their lives to protect everyone and ensure their evacuation, as long as they weren't completely wiped out, they could continuously produce Spirit Masters.
“Old man, food system Spirit Masters, don’t rush forward. Are you going to be live targets?” Jiang Mian suddenly appeared beside the old man with the flour Spirit. He raised his hand and pressed the old man’s shoulder, smiling, “Leave this kind of thing to us.”
Under the old man’s disbelieving gaze, Jiang Mian slowly revealed his spirit rings: one red, four orange!
The old man, whether startled by the evil Spirit Masters or something else, asked a nonsensical question: “Can spirit rings be dyed?”
“You’ll see if they’re dyed in a moment.” Jiang Mian smiled faintly, said little else, and charged directly into the battlefield.
Nan Meng’s mouth was full, she didn’t know where she got so much food, and she mumbled, “Jiang Mian, go! Get them wet!”
“Big brother, aren’t you helping?” Jiang Mian heard Nan Meng’s encouraging voice and immediately laughed in exasperation, “Are you trying to turn things upside down?”
“Go, big brother!” Nan Meng dragged the noodle stall owner and the girl into the crowd, “I’m running away first, don’t get wet!”
Indeed, when one is speechless, they laugh. Jiang Mian finally understood. Was he supposed to be a mascot by bringing the Auspicious Beast to the Extreme North?
How did the Auspicious Beast, who was so arrogant and aloof a few years ago, become so cute and naive now?
Does staying with him for a long time really have this effect?
The leading evil Spirit Master at the entrance saw Jiang Mian, immediately showing a mouthful of large yellow teeth and cackling, “What a handsome young man, perfect for me to have some fun with.”
“How are there still people who like this?” Jiang Mian frowned slightly. It was all his fault for being too handsome. He landed in front of everyone and provoked, “If you, this toad-head, have the ability, I’ll be yours today.”
“Hahaha, I like it!” The evil Spirit Master’s face was twisted, as if he wanted to contort his features together, “I’ll rape you first, then kill you, and then savor your flesh.”
“So disgusting.” Jiang Mian gagged, muttering to himself, “When it comes to perverts, these guys are the best.”
“Come!”
The leading evil Spirit Master let out a sharp cry. He slowly released his spirit rings: three yellow, two purple, and one black. He was actually a Spirit Emperor!
Evil Spirit Masters generally cultivate faster than normal Spirit Masters. They use unscrupulous methods, but because they are not tolerated by the world, almost no evil Spirit Masters can reach Titled Douluo; at most, they reach the Spirit Saint realm.
This evil Spirit Master could actually reach the Spirit Emperor realm, which showed that he had been acting tyrannically in this frontier region for a long time, and no one had been able to deal with him.
After all, which important figure would specifically come to this desolate place for a small evil Spirit Master? And those Spirit Masters who came to the Extreme North to obtain spirit rings adhered to the principle of avoiding trouble, turning a blind eye to these guys.
Moreover, these evil Spirit Masters were not fools. They could sense the level of Spirit Masters. Once the opponent's level was higher than theirs, they would hide until it was safe to come out and act tyrannically. That’s why people often say, don’t be afraid of many villains, but be afraid of villains with brains.
Over time, this place became so chaotic.
The only place that could compare to the level of chaos here was Slaughter City, which was even more of a Hell.
“Third Spirit Ability, Devour!”
The evil Spirit Master laughed shrilly. His hands slid across his cheeks, and several shadowy figures instantly rushed towards Jiang Mian, attempting to devour him directly.
But unfortunately, Jiang Mian's body possessed the attribute of ultimate light, and all evil entities could not approach him. Jiang Mian didn't even use any Spirit Ability; those shadowy figures vanished into thin air the moment they touched him.
“Holy Light!” The evil Spirit Master clutched his eyes, roaring with bared fangs and claws, “So annoying, you’re really so annoying, I’m going to eat you!”
“Hellfire!”
Jiang Mian smiled slightly and raised his hand to conjure Chi Wang’s innate flame. Such scum, if not dealt with by humans, would surely be judged by Hellfire!
“Ah!”
A huge ring of fire formed around them, trapping almost all the evil Spirit Masters. The Spirit Masters who were preparing to sacrifice themselves looked at the situation, exchanging glances, unsure whether they should help or flee.
“Brothers, let’s not cause trouble for this Spirit Master adult. Everyone, run quickly!”
The noodle stall old man waved his arm, and everyone responded, running out in a surging crowd.
“Huh?” Jiang Mian looked back and saw that there was no one behind him. His mouth twitched slightly, and he pointed at the evil Spirit Masters in front of him, shouting, “You are surrounded by me!”
“Charge through!”
The leading Spirit Emperor loudly reprimanded his subordinates, but he himself kept retreating. This Hellfire inherently contained the ultimate fire attribute, and Jiang Mian had also added the ultimate light attribute to it.
At this moment, these evil Spirit Masters facing Hellfire were like mice encountering a cat, completely powerless to resist.
“You useless bunch.” The flames continuously diminished, and the evil Spirit Masters were already scorched and howling in agony.
Seeing that the situation was dire, the evil Spirit Emperor suddenly began to tremble all over, even his eyes started rolling back.
More than ten shadowy figures pounced on the other evil Spirit Masters, tearing them apart in just a moment, while the evil Spirit Emperor’s face began to show an expression of enjoyment.
“Wonderful.” The evil Spirit Emperor shivered as if he had just urinated. His legs went weak, and he covered his face, looking utterly sick. “Hahaha, truly wonderful.”
“Disgusting.” Jiang Mian frowned slightly. The smell of blood began to permeate the air. Without exception, all the evil Spirit Masters had their necks bitten off, and blood was continuously being devoured by the evil Spirit Emperor.
“Sixth Spirit Ability, Blood Nether!”
Pfft!
The evil Spirit Emperor’s limbs and bones were all ruptured, and one red thread after another slowly wriggled out like maggots.
“What is this thing?” Seeing the blood-thread maggots getting longer and longer, and the evil Spirit Emperor’s face becoming paler and paler, Jiang Mian felt a bit of physiological discomfort. He casually swung out a Tearing Sky Claw.
The Tearing Sky Claw severed the blood-thread maggots, but it accelerated their Growth. One became two, two became four, endlessly.
Blood-thread maggots began to break through the Hellfire’s encirclement, continuously surging towards Jiang Mian.
Jiang Mian immediately felt something was wrong. His figure shot back like a rainbow. The speed of those blood-thread maggots increased, some even growing wings to chase Jiang Mian.
Looking at the evil Spirit Master’s condition, it wasn’t much better. He fell to the ground with a thud, his face terrifyingly pale. This kind of method, harming a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of one’s own, was probably only used by these pests.
“Emperor of Frost and Ice, Snow Dance Dazzling Sun!”
Jiang Mian used his trump card. This move was a Domain skill he obtained after subduing Snow Empress. If Snow Empress herself were to use it, she could instantly transform a ten-thousand-meter area into an ice and snow Domain.
Jiang Mian’s strength was insufficient, only reaching a maximum of one hundred meters, but it was more than enough to deal with this evil Spirit Emperor.
Swish!
With Jiang Mian as the center, within a hundred meters, it instantly turned into a vast expanse of white. Those blood-thread maggots had no time to react and all became ice sculptures.
Even the evil Spirit Emperor lying on the ground was mercilessly killed in one blow!
A skill bestowed by the revered ruler of the Extreme North, was it for playing around?
Jiang Mian patted his backside, just about to go find the Auspicious Beast, when he suddenly heard a tragic sound from behind him. The evil Spirit Emperor was engulfed in flames, and a blood-red giant pillar shot into the sky.
“Master, save me!”