I tried to stand up, tried was the magic word because everything hurt, I could even feel the growth of new muscle tissue and the soreness that followed it. I was unable to stand up unaided, and Wu Di came to my aid, he propped his shoulder under mine and helped me walk.
"Let me take you back to the inn, you need rest Shen Bao," Wu Di said as he glanced around, he had a wary look on his face as if afraid of someone attacking us.
"Why the long face?" I asked, "You look worried," I said as I looked at the rest of Wu Di's companions, "You all look worried." I added.
"Yes, now that you're a Core Formation Realm Cultivator, the Demon Kins are allowed to attack you on sight, you hereby entered the competition for the Lords Ranking.
"Oh, I believed it would be an arena-like tournament or something like that," I said.
"The more civil of the Demon-kin and the ones with the strength to carry their own weight around rather face us on the arena. But the weaker most insidious and sinister ones usually take chances when cultivators are alone, meditating or weakened to assault them." Wu Di said.
Xian Lang also spoke, "You present the best target, weak, wounded, and just barely entered Core Creation Realm." Xiang Lang said. "It would be best if we take you to the inn and stay with you until you're healed up."
I shook my head, "I can't do that, I'll be imposing on your time."
"Master had said to guard you and protect you at all costs, this Lord's Ranking is good but I doubt it's worth going against my master nor protecting a good friend," Wu Di said.
I smiled at the man and said, "I'll make sure to repay this favor, but I really don't need any help."
Before Wu Di could interject a group of Demons came at us, they were five led by a short stature demon that had so many daggers on his person that one would mistake him for a dagger rack.
"Leave that man and go," said the short-statured demon.
The rest of the demon kins around him had readied their weapons.
Wu Di frowned, "That's Chan Gui, he had already killed a few of our friends and few cultivators. He usually go after the weaker cultivators. Xiang Lang, Yuzehan ready up," Wu Di said.
"Hold up," I said. "You mean you already fought him?" I asked.
"News spread fast among cultivators, you came very late today, we already faced against a lot of demons just to get inside the city, we were fighting the whole day and barely got some time to rest." Wu Di said.
"So, you were actually resting when you were in the in from all the battles," I said as I removed my arm from over Wu Di's shoulder, "I'm not so helpless to be safeguarded like a sheltered princess," I said.
"Thank you for the help, but I won't be dragging you in my troubles, after all, it was because of me that you all had to leave the inn. It won't sit well with me to see others suffer for my own faults." I added then drew my sword.
"Shen Bao, you've yet to stabilize your cultivation, you just broke through, not to mention you're heavily damaged you need to heal first, let us help."
"That old man has clearly lost his head, he thinks he can fight us with those wounds," one of the men accompanying Chan Gui said in a derisive tone as he licked his sword. Man, that's just unsanitary.
"I won't be fighting, nor will you." I said to Wu Di "Arslan you can come out."
I said then a roar that shook the earth echoed from behind the group of assailants. Turning they saw the armored lion standing tall behind them, while they had no idea how it had managed to approach so close without them noticing.
"Remember when I told you don't eat anyone," I said to Arslan. "Well, you can forget that. Feast to your heart's content, I hope they don't taste bad though."
And so the lion was let loose, as it pawed one of the cultivators, buckling his head inside his chest in a hideous crunch of bone and tearing flesh, while it jumped at another one.
A lion can be fearsome, especially something as big as Arslan, he was a massive slobbering mass of muscle and feline grace. It jumped against one of the demons. The moment Arslan's paws touched the demon, he was already dead, so the crash against the ground, nor the literal ripping of his head from his torso was nothing but overkill.
The rest of the demons ran away, everyone splitting in a different direction to distract the lion, at least this way, one will die while the rest will escape. Or so they thought.
Arslan, heavy, massive and gigantic, was still surprisingly agile, far too agile for his size, as it bounded twice and had already torn through one of the running demons, then it changed direction, licking his bloodied snout and continued chasing after the closest one.
No matter how fast the demons ran, once Arslan had his eyes focused on them, they'll be dead in seconds. Every one of them besides Chan Gui didn't escape away but came at me with a dagger in hand.
While Arslan was busy chasing after the rest of the demons Chan Gui wanted to take my life first.
Wu Di and the rest ran towards him to try and stop him, but I was amazed at how agile the little statured demon was. He sidestepped Yuzehan's sword strike, ducked under Xiao Lang's saber, and jumped above Wu Di's fan, all in extremely dexterous and agile movements, acrobatic but moves of a great martial artist.
Chan Gui didn't have fear in his eyes as he drew two blades that had a black liquid dripping from their tips. With crossed hands, he struck both daggers that were held in a backhanded grip at my chest.
And I didn't dodge, I only didn't wish for the blades to go directly through my heart and that was easily done with shifting my body a bit.
One of the daggers pierced through my left lung and the other found its way to my liver. At that moment Wu Di and Xiao Lang were wrathful for letting the little man pass beyond them and attack me, while Yuzehan's face became white.
The rest of the spectators shook their heads, some even spoke about the loss of a newly born talent.
But I grinned, as I hand both my hands gripped tightly around Chan Gui's arms. Tightly pinning him in front of me, my only eye was opened wide, not in fright but in ecstasy.
"YES! Delicious!" I spoke licking my bloodied mouth.
Chan Gui shuddered, but couldn't move his hands, "Fuck! Let me go! You should be dead already that's a Dragon's Corrupted blood. Why don't you die yet!"
I even heard a few people inhaling loudly, fear gripping them as apparently they didn't want to be anywhere near this dragon's corrupted blood. But it was so tasty I could feel the poison in my mouth even if it had pierced my liver.
"Good poison," I said "Do you have some more?" I asked honestly and my question shook the man to the core.
He stomped a foot on the ground and a blade emerged from the sole of his boot, he then struck at my right thigh with another type of poison.
I shuddered as my body willingly welcomed the new poison, "Good, more! Do you have anything else?!" I asked as I twisted my hands and broke both of Chan Gui's hands.
The man screeched as he fell to the ground. I slowly removed the two daggers from my chest and liver, then moved to grab Chun Gui from the neck.
"Are you okay?" Wu Di asked.
"Never felt better," I said.
"With all those wounds, man you're gonna bleed to death!" Xiao Lang said, his slyness no loner there and genuine worry was apparent on his face.
"Don't worry, this is actually beneficial to me. Say little monkey, do you have more of that poison?" I asked.
But the small demon squirmed and spat a needle right into my forehead, another type of poison, it was painful this one, it didn't taste good and was far weaker than the other poisons.
"That's trash, give me the good stuff!" I said as I grabbed the demon's pouch.
"What are you doing?" asked the demon "don't touch my pouch!" he cried but I forcefully opened his holding bag, even with his own mental imprint on it, it felt far easier to open it now that I have a divine sense.
I threw Chun Gui to the ground and began pulling items from his pouch. He had so many things, most belonging to cultivators that he killed to which I threw to the side and called, "If any one of the sects present here know who these items belong to please approach and take them back. Their deceased owners would feel better with their belongings back to their sects."
But no one came to reclaim the treasures. I didn't care though, I need the poisons from this guy.
I kept rummaging through his pouch, further pulling more precious treasures that I discarded like the trash they were.
Chan Gui squirmed and tried to fight against me, willing to pit his life against the humiliation of having his belongings searched in plain sight. But a single stomp on his back was enough to force his face into the dirt.
"Man, that's just evil…" Xiao Lang said, but he didn't have a disapproving look only a sly grin.
"I never claimed sainthood," I said then found what I was looking for, a bottle full of corrupted dragon blood.
"Ah Such exquisite smell," I said to which many frowned.
"Brother Shen Bao," Wu Di said, his face as white as a sheet as he had his sleeve over his nose. "I think your sense of smell has been damaged while you were under the Heavenly Tribulation."
"You're too kind brother Wu Di, Shen Bao, that smells like shit! Literal shit, shit tones of shit man!" Xiao Lang said.
I grinned as I took a big gulp from the bottle and said, "But it tastes like heaven!" Yuzhen immediately threw up.
Wu Di's already pale face grew paler. But when he saw my body immediately healing, he didn't comment.
"Brother Shen Bao's cultivation is peculiar. That corrupted dragon blood cannot be used for anything good, it's not even valuable for alchemy even if it's rare as it tends to destroy ingredients, the most useful thing to use it for is poison, but you're drinking it like its some good wine." Wu Di shook his head.
"You seem knowledgeable about alchemy," I said.
"It would be a good topic to discuss if not for some certain…hassles," Wu Di said as he gestured with his chin at the man under my foot.
"Oh, dead? No, ah you're faking being dead," I said as I kicked the man in the ribs to which he winced.
"Get up, get your stuff and get out of my sight, as for the things that belong to these cultivators you're not allowed to take them with you," I said as I threw his pouch back to him.
"You're sure you wanna let him go?" Wu Di said.
"I'm not so evil to kill someone who brought me something so useful, but if he tries anything," I said as I consciously forced my divine sense on him.
"I will never show my face in front of you! Please let me go oh great Shen Bao." Chan Gui said pleading with tears streaming down his face.
'Bruh, you can seriously compete for an oscar with that act.'
"Just piss off," I said and turned to Wu Di, "That drink was so good I don't even feel sore anymore, I'll still need to consolidate my cultivation, how about we go and have a bite?" I asked.
"Yeah, we can accompany you, but a bite… I doubt I'll have the stomach to eat anything today…" Xiao Lang said, and from the look of Wu Di and the disheveled Yuzhan, I suppose they were right.
"Well, I'm hungry," I said "So please lead the way."
The group moved out and I followed after.