NEBM Chapter 50.2: Fiend

Once she hoped to marry Meng Yun, now she hoped that Meng Yun could belong to her completely.

“Why do you always go to those places…You have always been like this.” Madam Meng finally grabbed the remaining half of the scroll. But half of the woman’s body in the painting was already burnt by the fire. Madam Meng tugged tightly at the scroll, feeling pained and desperate. “Won’t it be good to enter the painting with me? There, it’ll be only two of us. We’ll have eternal peace and never be separated again…”

Although Madam Meng had abandoned her demon body, she could still sense that Tao Hua’er, the woman in the pleasure boat, wasn’t an ordinary person. Her paintings had an inexplicable power. So, she went to ask for a painting, got it, and coupled with what she’d learned in the Undead City, it was not difficult for her to trap them inside the painting forever. It wasn’t difficult, but unfortunately…a stumbling block emerged halfway through. And now, all was ruined.

Madam Meng screamed hoarsely. The half of the picture scroll suddenly brightened. A ray of light enveloped her whole body. Madam Meng’s figure gradually shrank, and she was swallowed into the painting.

Meng Yun looked on with shock, finally realizing what the painting was. They’d been a pair of husband and wife for several years, and his feelings were not shallow. He abandoned his fear and ignored Shen Zhixian’s obstruction. He flung himself forward to pick up the remaining half of the painting.

But that half of the painting was still burning. A small shadow of a bird suddenly appeared, soon to be enveloped by the fire.

Meng Yun rushed over, regardless of the fire. He quickly patted the scroll painting and tried to extinguish the fire. But the scroll painting was stained with wine, and soon it burned, leaving only ashes. When the wind blew, the ashes were blown up, and the figure of Madam Meng loomed in the light smoke. The shape of a little bird floated in mid-air, watching him quietly.

“Qing … Qing Qing?” Meng Yun stretched out his hand blankly to touch the shadow. But a gust of wind blew through, completely dispersing the shadow.

“Where is she? Where’s my wife?” Meng Yun stared blankly for a moment, then turned his head to question.

As Shen Zhixian was about to speak, Frost Return violently shook. His face shifted, and he turned decisively toward Yan Jin, saying, “Send out Meng Yun, along with anyone still in the residence.”

Then, he looked toward the direction where that small courtyard lay, his expression grave. “That thing is coming out.”

They didn’t know anything about this devil. But, Shen Zhixian intended to go and see for himself. Meanwhile, Yan Jin could rescue everyone in the residence first. However, Yan Jin didn’t seem too keen on this idea. Shen Zhixian ordered again, with a frown, and only then did Yan Jin reluctantly leave with a struggling Meng Yun.

Shen Zhixian released a breath, stood up, and hurried to the small courtyard. The lock had cracked but the rune remaining on the seal was still functioning. With his sword, Shen Zhixian shattered the lock into powder.

The surging aura suddenly stagnated.

Shen Zhixian kicked opened the crumbling wooden door, protected himself with an spell, and broke into the room.

The inside was full of black smoke, dark and murky. It was full of corpses, most of which looked like little demons. A thick, almost substantial black qi traveled across the ground, transforming into various shapes and making hoarse, terrifying roar.

This was probably the fiend that Madam Meng had made a deal with. Shen Zhixian saw the entire cloud of black qi roiled about and didn’t dare underestimate it. Instead, he watched it cautiously.

Shen Zhixian had already guessed the Madam Meng had separated her demon body from her human body. The thrush bird was actually her demon body. He thought about the little thrush crawling out of the yard…It was done by Madam Meng and this fiend. Their deal was likely that she would look for food for the fiend and, in return, the fiend would control her demon body for her.

Frost Return seemed excited and desperate to engage. The sword spirit also showed signs of awakening. Shen Zhixian clenched the sword tightly and took a deep breath. His wrist moved and the sword was finally satisfied as it slashed toward the black qi.

The sword aura was bitingly cold. The fiend seemed to be aware of it and suddenly drew back, making a noise that sounded like hot water boiling and bubbling.

This was Shen Zhixian’s first actual combat since transmigrating into the book. Even though he had a lot of memory in his mind and he’d practiced sword play with Yan Jin, this was different. He thought that it would take a while for him to adapt. However, after unsheathing the sword, his movements were very natural, with no sense of unfamiliarity.

There was some confusion in Shen Zhixian’s heart, but he soon became distracted by the fiend.

Although Shen Zhixian didn’t know much about this fiend, he knew that its strength was not weak and that it can, in fact, be considered quite formidable. Meanwhile, Shen Zhixian had been plagued by his heart ailment for a long time. Although his cultivation stage still hadn’t changed, his spiritual power was unable to sustain it. He didn’t know how long he would last.

Meanwhile, per Shen Zhixian’s order, Yan Jin took Meng Yun away and, fearing that Shen Zhixian would lose his life and worried that Meng Yun would make a lot of noise and shock others, he could only throw him into the pleasure boat for the painted skin demon to watch over. Only then did he hurried back as fast as he could.

Before entering the manor, he activated the formation they’d originally set up around the residence. Now, no one could enter and leave at will.

With these delays, a quarter of an hour had already passed. Following the contract within his spiritual sea, Yan Jin found Shen Zhixian, who was in the middle of a one-on-one battle with the fiend. Without uttering a single word, Yan Jin pulled out his sword and entered the battle.

The two of them were of the same mind and had the same heart. When they joined forces, they hardly needed to second guess each other. When Shen Zhixian’s sword trembled, Yan Jin knew what sword move he was going to use. Without hesitation, his sword moved to cover any possible flaws, blocking the fiend’s escape.

Under their combined efforts, the fiend could only suffer. In these two days, the moonlight was weak and the spiritual qi was thin. Normally, the little thrush bird would look for food for it, but it didn’t know where the little demon went. Instead, two very fierce little humans had broken in and interrupted it’s rest.

The fiend was furious. Knowing that it was not seriously injured, it feared that it might yet suffer more. It roared hoarsely and the black qi around it suddenly increased as it sucked in the spiritual qi around it.

There were actually some spiritual qi left in the bones scattered around it. It’d been left behind as a snack for the fiend to crunch on with its fangs. At this time, it had no choice but to suck them in all at once and swallow them, squeezing out the last trace of spiritual qi.

Shen Zhixian noticed that things were not good and yelled, “Retreat!”

But, his warning came too late. The moment the fiend swallowed all the bones, it suddenly burst into great power. Brandishing its fangs and claws, it rushed toward them!

Its spiritual blast was too strong and too powerful. At that moment, Shen Zhixian knew that neither he nor Yan Jin could escape unscathed–What was this?! So powerful!

Yan Jin was next to him. If Shen Zhixian stepped back, the fiend would surely hurt Yan Jin.

As he thought this, Shen Zhixian gritted his teeth. Gathering spiritual power into his sword, he pushed Yan Jin back and prepared to face the fiend’s attack alone. However, in that instant, Yan Jin not only did not listen to him, but he took a step forward. Slashing his sword with an unyielding spiritual power, he took the lead in facing the fiend!

The two powerful forces collided. The collision crushed through the entire courtyard. The brick walls shattered one after another as the surrounding courtyard walls were razed to the ground. The residual force flattened the flowers and trees outside, even uprooting a few locust trees. They fell to the ground with a crash, revealing the countless skeletons underneath.

Yan Jin was forced take a step back. On his own, he won’t be able to resist the fiend’s power. Shen Zhixian pressed one hand on his back and transferred spiritual power to him.

As soon as his spiritual power passed to Yan Jin’s body, Shen Zhixian sensed that Yan Jin’s state was not good. His qi and blood were in chaos, and his meridians had reversed. He was seriously injured. Shen Zhixian’s heart tightened. Slashing his sword in a half circle, he worked together with Yan Jin to knock the fiend back.

The fiend had forcibly strengthened itself, but this sudden burst of strength only lasted for a short time. Although it’d managed to hurt Yan Jin, it soon realized that things wouldn’t turn out so well. The black qi that it’d frantically raised with such difficulties had now been halved by Yan Jin.

It was furious but it dare not delay. While the two of them were preoccupied, it quickly slipped into the ground and disappeared within moments, leaving behind only a resentful and hateful roar the reverberated through the soil. “Ignorant children! Very good!”

His voice was hoarse and mocking, sounding extremely ugly.

Shen Zhixian almost laughed at him. This fiend was not a gopher but had managed to punch a tunnel into the ground.

However, Yan Jin was injured, and he wouldn’t feel at ease leaving Yan Jin behind to chase the monster. He could only stay behind and set up a barrier to protect Yan Jin. Helping him sit, Shen Zhixian immediately used spiritual power to help him regulate the chaos in his body.

Yan Jin’s injury was not light. After adjusting his breath for a while, he gasped and coughed up a little blood. It brought a little relief, but he was still very pale.

He sat leaning on Shen Zhixian, his expression tired, a rare gesture of weakness. Shen Zhixian also wanted to pass on more spiritual power to him, but he refused, and said in a low voice, “I’m fine. Is Sui Xian okay?”

Even though Shen Zhixian received half of the fish scale to protect his heart, he still had hidden worries. In contrast, Yan Jin was even more worried that this fight would cause Shen Zhixian to have another heart attack.

Shen Zhixian’s heart was flowing hot. He smiled at him, his eyes warm, and he whispered, “I’m fine.”

He half-hugged Yan Jin for a while, then helped him stand up. “This place is too chaotic. It’s not suitable for healing. Let’s go back to the pleasure boat.”

The formation outside Meng Manor was still in place. There was only a small flaw, which was probably destroyed when the fiend escaped. Shen Zhixian replenished it to prevent the remaining spiritual energy from flowing out, and then they slowly returned to pleasure boat.

Inside the pleasure boat, the painted skin demon was dealing with Meng Yun, who was freaking out. When they came back, she was too busy to take them into consideration and only gave them a meaningful glance, signaling for them to quickly leave.

They quietly avoided Meng Yun and searched for a vacant room.

……

The fiend didn’t return and Yangzhou was very peaceful for several days.

Meng Yun probably finally understood what was happening and his whole temperament changed.

He could no longer enter nor live inside Meng Manor. Fortunately, he had other places to live in. Meanwhile, the painted skin demon advised him to reorganize his new home, resettle his people, and strive to minimize the impact of this incident.

Yan Jin retreated behind closed doors to heal his injury, and Shen Zhixian went alone to clean up the follow-up matters within Meng Manor.

The several locust trees by the courtyard all fell down and fell into ruin overnight. The leaves had shedded and the roots withered. Shen Zhixian saw the deep pit left behind by the trees and, within it, were a mixture of bones and broken wooden seals. He took a deep breath and sighed.
Locust trees were considered ghost trees. It had very heavy yin energy, attracting both ghosts and souls. As a result, using locust to attract spirits resulted in half the work and twice the reward.

Even though the thrush can be considered a pitiful demon, pitiful creatures still had hatred. She had killed countless souls for her own selfish desires, and so it wasn’t too much to end her life.

Because the creatures within the courtyard had died in terrible circumstances and was suppressed by the fiend for a long time, Shen Zhixian was afraid that their grievances might be too strong, resulting in danger. He cleanse the area with fire and chant an incantation to calm the souls and guide them to the afterlife. After five to six days of busy work, it was finally finished.

It was a cloudy day when they left the pleasure boat. The pleasure boat was closed during the day, and the servants and pleasure girls were resting in their rooms. Only the painted skin demon sang a gentle song on stage.

There was no one in the audience.

Shen Zhixian stopped to listen to her sing.

“…the sound of drums had not yet ended, disturbing your noon daydreams and causing you to sober up, listening to the show. Removing my makeup before a bronze mirror, sighing long and short. The curtains dropped, and everyone scattered. But, who would love me truly…”

The painted skin demon had changed her face again. Swaying her long sleeves and holding an orchid between her fingers, she sang beautifully. The painted skin demon had always been reluctant to enter the Undead City. She’d said that it was a place that allowed people to indulge in their fantasies. But still, she preferred to live in this earthly world.

Even if one day she died, it could be considered a happy one.

Shen Zhixian didn’t bother her. After stopping to listen to her sing for a while, he quietly walked away with Yan Jin.

……

After leaving Yangzhou, they were not in a hurry to find the Undead City. On the surface, Yan Jin supposedly left the sect to practice. But, in truth, he hadn’t experienced many problems.

Although Yan Jin practiced diligently every day, it was still not enough. His actual combat experience was too little, and when he really had to fight against others, he would undoubtedly suffer.

Shen Zhixian gave the final word. “I’m not in a hurry to find the Undead City. Let’s find some secret place to make a breakthrough.” After having gained a general understanding of it through the thrush and the painted skin demon, he knew that the Undead City was not a simple place. They first must improve their own strengths.

There were 13 stages of cultivation in this world. Shen Zhixian reached the tenth level before suffering from heart ailment. Despite being a supposed genius, his spiritual power could no longer be sustained for long and so he could not cultivate any higher.

Yan Jin was no less inferior. He had just risen to the first level in the early period. At this time, he was only one level lower than Shen Zhixian. His spiritual power was still pure and full, waiting to be hone.

Secret realms like the one with the ancient merman were hard to find. However, there were surprisingly many common, little secret realms. They went to experience a few in succession. Shen Zhixian’s cultivation stage had insufficient spiritual power. As a result, he focused on absorbing spiritual qi. Meanwhile, Yan Jin focused on fighting fierce demon beasts. These actual combat experiences allow him to make rapid progress.

The environment within the secret realm was difficult. Fortunately, they were not afraid of hardship. In this way, they practiced for half a year. As a result, their cultivation made qualitative leaps.

After coming out of the secret realm, Shen Zhixian looked to the left, then the right. With a lazy stretch that was neither elegant nor graceful, he said with a smile: “We’re finally out. After fasting for such a long time, I’ve been craving for some good food. Let’s find a big city and have a delicious meal…”

With laughter in his eyes, Yan Jin murmured “mnn” and selected a general direction.

After coming out of the secret realm, they stopped by a remote place and turned toward the right path.

But they hadn’t walked for even a quarter of an hour, when five to six youth suddenly jumped out of the roadside forest, brandishing their swords, and surrounded them firmly.

Shen Zhixian looked at them subtly, looked at their postures, and waited for them to start the classic dialogues of robbery.

They stood still, and the leader finally said, “Brazen, vicious disciple! You’ve harmed countless people. Today, we’ll take the place of the Heavenly Dao and get rid of evil!”

His sword swayed and he launched at them.

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Xixi: Sorry for the late post. I recently finished watching The Untamed (so so good, I loved it!) and just had to finish binge-reading the novel The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (aka Founder of Diabolism), on which it was based on.