“Is there a way to avoid the descent of evil power?”
Li Muyang inquired about a solution.
He earnestly wished to have an open and honest discussion with Liu Li Fairy and the others, caring for the current situation in Tianyuan Continent as well as needing the help of Mysterious Sword Sect.
If external assistance could be called upon, why struggle alone?
If the help from Mysterious Sword Sect could be secured, then the pursuit by Black Feather Pavilion wouldn’t be as frightening.
Yet, Li Muyang’s question only received a disappointing response.
The voice from the jar chuckled awkwardly, “Well… there might be a way, but I don’t know it.”
“The only method now is to meet them, but you must ensure they don’t detect your true identity.”
“Even interacting with them could pose a danger.”
“These visitors from the Mortal World are under constant surveillance by Heavenly Eye Earth Monarch. If you enter the sight of Heavenly Eye Earth Monarch, with your current strength, it’s quite possible that before your friends recognize you, the Heavenly Eye Earth Monarch will first detect something amiss with you.”
At this moment, the old fellow in the jar actually considered the matter from Li Muyang’s perspective quite thoughtfully.
“So for safety’s sake, it’s better not to make contact with them.”
The voice in the jar added, “After all, the evil spirits you’re looking for are also on this route. It seems your friends are in pursuit of them.”
“And my perception is definitely stronger than theirs. We can get ahead of your friends and find the evil entities you are looking for first.”
The words of the voice left Li Muyang plunged into silence.
He looked up at the distant Sword Cultivators of the Mysterious Sword Sect and at the Liu Li Fairy standing aloft in mid-air, yearning to go up and meet them.
But the several instances of sudden death he had experienced made him acutely aware of the terror of the evil power.
It was a force far beyond his capacity to resist.
As for the pursuit of the evil spirit that fled within General Zhong’s body?
After pondering for a few seconds, Li Muyang shook his head, “If my friends are already in pursuit of the evil entity, then there’s no need for me to intervene for the time being.”
“I am going to seek out the Mare, old fellow in the jar, help me locate the Mare’s whereabouts.”
The Mare is the crucial main mission.
After Li Muyang finished speaking, the voice in the jar promptly replied, prepared as ever, “Continue in this direction, staying clear of your friends. Not far ahead should be where the Mare appears.”
“Ever since you mentioned the Mare before, I’ve been keeping an eye out for you.”
This time, the voice in the jar readily gave Li Muyang clear directions without any evasion.
It even asked with curiosity, “But what do you want with those Mares? Those creatures are not good news.”
“Every time a Mare manifests, it brings trouble. It is said that once tangled with a Mare, a person becomes unfortunate.”
“Others would avoid Mares at all costs if they encounter one, yet you’re actually moving closer to it… tsk tsk…”
The voice was full of curiosity.
To this, Li Muyang gave a cold laugh, “None of your damn business.”
It’s no wonder the old fellow knew so many things, too curious for its own good – although plenty of its information was haphazardly made up or thoroughly jumbled.
Following the directions given by the voice in the jar, their carriage veered off course across the plains, not continuing toward the mountain range ahead, but passing by the mouth of the valley on the outside of the mountain and heading in another direction.
The few Sword Cultivators of Mysterious Sword Sect floating in the air above the mountain range merely gave the passing carriage a distant glance and did not pay it much attention.
Only the Liu Li Fairy in white, carrying the Immortal Sword, seemed to sense something. She gave a glance at the passing carriage on the distant plains, feeling a sense of familiarity.
But she took just a glance and then paid it no further mind.
Inside the carriage, Li Muyang sat with a detached expression, ignoring the nagging of the voice in the jar and entered the state of offline hibernation.
He logged off and opened the “Deicide Simulator,” continuing as always to challenge the Extreme Night God in the real mode.
The carriage traveled across the plains, over valleys, and rested for a night in a small town beyond the valleys. The next morning, they continued on their way.
Around noon, Li Muyang, who was in idle mode, received a system notification and opened his eyes.
The system detected the presence of a nightmare demon, marking out an arrow for guidance.
And when opening the map, one could see the red dots representing the nightmare demons.
There were three in total, scattered throughout the dense forest ahead.
“…Nightmare demons hiding in the mountains?”
Li Muyang furrowed his brow.
Previously encountered nightmare demons all hid amongst human settlements, killing and devouring mortals in secret.
This kind of nightmare demon hiding in the wilderness was appearing for the first time.
And the three red dots were close to each other, faintly forming a mutual support arrangement.
These three nightmare demons hiding in the forest were actually on alert, yet watching over each other consciously.
“It seems that as the nightmare demons continue to be killed, this group has sensed that someone is hunting them.”
Li Muyang directly rode the carriage into the mountains, then had Ding Liang stop the carriage about a kilometer away from the red dots.
He also left the talkative old Grandpa Crow with Ding Liang for temporary safekeeping.
Meanwhile, Li Muyang went alone into the deep mountains to hunt the nightmare demons.
Just as he had speculated, these three nightmare demons hiding in the forest were indeed keeping watch over each other.
When Li Muyang, accompanied by the Princess of the Defunct Country, attacked the first demon, a sharp howl immediately came from the distant forest.
The two other nightmare demons that also lived in the valley surged out one after another.
The three nightmare demons surrounded Li Muyang, their eyes ferocious and their demeanor fierce.
“Is it you who has been hunting us?”
“Where did this brat come from! I’m going to flay you alive!”
“His legs are mine! Tender and soft skin, they must be delicious when roasted!”
The three nightmare demons were extremely vicious and could even speak.
They had even progressed from consuming raw, bloody prey, to cooking their food over fire and eating cooked meals.
All three demons came at him at once, each stronger than the Princess of the Defunct Country.
With three demons attacking simultaneously, Li Muyang would undoubtedly be condemned to death under normal circumstances.
However, fifteen minutes later, Li Muyang emerged from a pile of nightmare demon corpses, covered in fresh blood.
[Quest Content: Find traces of nightmare demons and collect nightmare demon fragments]
[Current Progress: 28/61]
Looking at the foul, blood-stained clothes on his body, Li Muyang frowned in disgust.
“So dirty…”
Without reloading a save, he killed three nightmare demons in one go.
But facing three demons at once had now become somewhat strenuous for him.
He couldn’t dominate as before; while he wasn’t injured in the fight, it was inevitable that his clothes would be stained with blood.
After letting the Princess of the Defunct Country consume the three demons and leveling up again, Li Muyang began to inspect the habitats of the three demons.
He discovered that the three nightmarish demons actually lived in caves, with beds inside, as well as tables and chairs, and even tea and stoves. Inside each demon’s cave, there were two to three terrified mortals who screamed upon seeing Li Muyang.
Upon a detailed inquiry, he learned that these people were captives taken by the demons to do chores, helping them to boil water, cook meals, and clean.