White Bone Demon Trail

Chapter 83 Confusing people’s hearts
In the dark cave, a giant python with a human head and a snake's body lay coiled beside a hot spring, with wisps of steam rising from the water, and beneath it lay a series of withered skeletons.

Several women were trapped in the center of a swarm of snakes. They looked around in terror at the colorful venomous snakes, their slender, slippery bodies sometimes even crawling over their feet.

The giant python had a man's head on its long body. It had just woken up from a nap and was wriggling toward the four women.

As it passed by, the snakes made way for it. It raised its body, smiled, and looked at the women in front of it. A scarlet snake tongue emerged from its mouth and sniffed the face of a woman wearing thin clothes.

"That's right, I'll treat you to something nice today."

As he spoke, the snake behind him twisted and coiled around the woman who was still struggling desperately. Then, the snake raised its head, opened its mouth wide, and a stench wafted out.

Just then, a sharp, piercing laugh suddenly rang out, startling the snake demon, who had no choice but to release the woman whose body it was coiled around.

Pythons experience a period of weakness after eating, and may even vomit their food to escape when encountering enemies.

This demon's cultivation was not very deep, and it naturally retained many of the snake's habits that were difficult to change.

It hissed and turned its head to look at the eerie laughter coming from all directions.

"squeak~"

The scattered skulls were pieced together to form a giant skull over ten feet tall, which let out eerie laughter before lunging at the snake demon.

The snake demon was startled and lashed out with its tail.

Unexpectedly, the skeletal giant grabbed him with both hands and instead held his lower body.

The snake demon twitched its body, coiled around, and tightly wrapped its body around the skeleton giant. The terrifying crushing force made the skeleton's body unable to bear the weight.

A moment later, with a crack, the skeletal giant collapsed.

The snake demon breathed a sigh of relief, looking triumphantly at the shattered bones on the ground. Suddenly, it felt a pain in its body.

Turning his head, he discovered that his snake belly was riddled with bone fragments of varying depths, and streaks of bright red blood were flowing from those wounds.

It twisted its body in terror, trying to use its demonic power to heal its wounds.

But at that moment, a pair of shadowy hands emerged from its long shadow on the ground and plunged straight into its body, causing the snake demon to scream and writhe in agony, thrashing its body wildly like a fish struggling to come ashore.

Unfortunately, it was held tightly by the shadows all over its body, struggling desperately like a fish waiting to be slaughtered on a wooden board.

This scene terrified the snakes, causing them to scatter and flee. The four women turned pale and collapsed to the ground, completely weak and powerless.

The eerie laughter from all around had not yet disappeared, and those shadowy hands dragged the terrified snake demon little by little into the shadows.

It was like a man-eating monster encountering an even more terrifying demon, and being skinned alive without any resistance.

The shadowy figure swayed and suddenly transformed into a strangely handsome man with an eerie face, holding a long snake bone in his slender fingers.

The snake bones were removed extremely cleanly, without a trace of blood or flesh, and the bones were as clear as jade.

"Hahaha~"

The eerie laughter in the cave suddenly grew louder, as if countless women were screaming and laughing hysterically, startling several girls who covered their ears, closed their eyes, and curled up, too afraid to move.

After a long while, the girls cautiously opened their eyes and watched as a thick fog in the cave slowly dissipated.

On the ground, the snake demon was beyond dead, turned into a pool of filthy black blood.

……

In the snowy fields, Xiao Qianli stood before the dug-out earthen grave, staring at the old woman whose body was frozen like an ice sculpture, and the broken bone statue kneeling before her. Anger flashed in his eyes, "Evil demons and crooked gods, how can they harm people like this!"

She reached out and released a ball of fire, turning the old woman's body into ashes, which she then buried in the earthen grave.

After doing all this, Xiao Qianli sensed for a moment, then transformed into a golden light and rushed off.

As she stood in the foul-smelling cave, she frowned, brushed away the demonic aura, and looked at the several terrified girls. She spoke softly, "Are you villagers from the foot of the mountain? Were you captured by that formless demon?"

Upon seeing the sword-wielding woman before them, who appeared as ethereal as a fairy and devoid of any ghostly aura, the four girls knelt down with delight: "Fairy Sister, we are villagers who were captured and brought up the mountain by this snake demon. We beg you to save us!"

"A snake demon?" Xiao Qianli snapped out of her daze and glanced at the small snakes hidden in the crevices of the cave, as well as the pool of blood on the ground.

"This snake demon is dead. It seems it was killed by that formless demon." Xiao Qianli pondered, "Could it be that this formless demon might take pity on people and kill demons for them?"

Looking at the four bewildered women in front of her, Xiao Qianli felt a headache coming on; she was after the Wuxiang Demon.

However, if the four women in front of her stayed here, they would still be eaten by mountain spirits and monsters, and she couldn't just stand by and watch them die.

Sending them down the mountain and settling them in would likely take a long time.

After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Qianli said, "In that case, I will escort you down the mountain."

She led four girls back to the village, and when the village chief heard the news, he quickly led everyone to welcome the immortal master.

But when Xiao Qianli saw the villagers staring at her with greedy eyes, she could even sense the filth and malice in their hearts.

A series of thoughts echoed in her ears.

"What kind of immortal master is this, so beautiful? She's worlds apart from my wife who's always looking so plain."

"Why is this 'important' meddling in other people's business? He should have let Aunt Li's granddaughter die in the mountains, so that the child's father wouldn't get those few acres of land."

"I really want to keep this so-called immortal master here, lock him up in a room, and have him have a few babies for me! Can this immortal master be drugged?"

"The girl I've got my eye on is still alive. I'll trade her a sheep for her. Even though I'm 51, I'm still vigorous. Let's see if she can get pregnant with my child."

……

One malicious thought after another rang out in Xiao Qianli's ears without any concealment. She suppressed her anger and looked at the four girls, wondering whether she had saved them or harmed them by sending them back.
Xiao Qianli could only coldly shout, "I bestow upon each of these four a defensive magic power. If they encounter danger, they may kill any demon, ghost, or human!"

With that, she pointed her sword, and four golden sword lights entered the bodies of the four girls, transforming into a golden sword pattern on their wrists.

This was all she could do; the difference between immortals and mortals meant that this was all she could manage.

After doing all this, she completely ignored the banquet and thanks offered by those hypocritical people, and transformed into a soaring sword light, flying away.

A phantom figure, transforming into a gloomy wind, flew in the distance, holding a snake bone in its hand. Yin energy surged into it, refining the demonic bone and turning it into a bone sword that could barely be considered a magical artifact.

On this journey, fighting with others is inevitable, so it's essential to have some suitable magical tools.

He flew north, and Xiao Qianli was able to track his location using the treasure mirror on his body, while Meiying was also able to sense the demonic thoughts left on Xiao Qianli.

The longer Xiao Qianli pursues him, the more she will be influenced by him and the subtle influence of his demonic thoughts, and she will become more and more like a demon, rather than a pure and detached cultivator who is devoted to the Dao.

……

"Whoosh~" Snow covered a pine forest at the foot of a mountain in the north, and a golden sword light fell from the snow.

Xiao Qianli sensed the location of the treasure mirror; it was in this pine forest.

At this moment, the night is dark and the snow is cold, while silver light shines through the forest.

Holding her sword in her right hand, she walked cautiously through the snowy forest, her feet crunching softly on the snow, a trail of shallow footprints growing increasingly faint behind her.

Xiao Qianli shouted, "Wuxiang Demon! Return the treasure mirror of this mountain at once! Otherwise, I will fight you to the death!"

Her voice echoed in the empty forest, lingering for a long time.

The surroundings were eerily silent. Xiao Qianli could only faintly hear the sound of the wind and the sound of melting snow dripping into water.

She paused in her tracks as she walked in front of an ancient pine tree.

Xiao Qianli stared at the withered pine tree in front of her, and seemed to sense something. She reached out and touched the dead trunk.

As she slowly closed her eyes, a scene suddenly appeared in her mind.

That was when the tree was still alive, with the Formless Demon, the White Fox, Pine Needle, and Fellow Daoist Qinghe...

Fellow Daoist Qinghe's primordial spirit was actually imprisoned in this tree by that formless demon!

The scene continued to change, but it was Qinghe's primordial spirit using a secret technique to draw her sect leaders to her aid in order to save herself.

A streak of red light descended from the sky; it was the spirit of Qinghe Fairy's master, Hongyuan Zhenren, who had sensed it coming.

"Master, I have been tricked by the Wuxiang Demon and am trapped in this wood. I have no choice but to call for your help."

Qinghe Fairy's voice was weak as she pleaded with her master to come and save her.

Master Hongyuan gazed calmly at the ancient pine tree before her, remained silent for a moment, sighed, and then said:

"Qinghe, do you know that your primordial spirit has been assimilated by that formless being and this tree?"

"Assimilation? What does that mean?" Qinghe asked with some unease.

"In other words, even if I use my magic to rescue you from your predicament, you will no longer be able to live as a human."

The spirit that would only transform into this pine tree would become a tree demon.

"Tree demon? How could I become a tree demon?" Qinghe asked excitedly. "Master, what should we do? I don't want to become a demon! I don't want to become a demon!"

Even with her unwavering Daoist resolve, Qinghe still couldn't accept the drastic change from human to demon in an instant.

“My dear disciple, I know you don’t want to become a demon. So I will send you to reincarnation sooner, so you can be reborn as a human in your next life.” Master Hongyuan waved his hand, and a dark red light shone on the ancient pine tree.

Instantly, countless leaves fell from the ancient pine, and Qinghe's soul screamed as it turned to ashes and vanished within the tree.

Master Hongyuan sighed, “Disciple, how can our Emei lineage tolerate a demon bearing the name of Emei?”

Please don't blame your master; it's all that formless demon's fault!

Seeing this, Xiao Qianli trembled. She hurriedly took her hand off the tree and exclaimed in astonishment, "How is this possible? Master Hongyuan has cultivated for many years. How could she do something like killing her disciple and destroying his soul?"
"It must be you, you formless demon, who have bewitched my mind!"

Xiao Qianli shook his head and repeatedly chanted the calming and purifying mantra to clear his mind of all distracting thoughts.

A series of abrupt, strange laughs rang out from the forest. "Fellow Daoist Xiao, do you not believe your own conscience? You saw it with your own eyes, how could it be fake?"

Are you unwilling to believe it, or afraid to believe it?

"Demon, who considers you a fellow Daoist?"

Xiao Qianli said with a cold expression, "The Supreme Elder said that you are good at bewitching people's hearts, and now it seems that this is indeed true."

I will not believe a single memory related to you!

"If you've got the guts, come out and fight me! You're supposed to be a renowned ancient demon god, what kind of demon god are you, hiding like this?"

"Hahaha, Demon God? That's just a title you've given me. I, Wuxiang, am not a Demon God."

You Taoist masters are all selfish and hypocritical, only caring about your reputation. The Buddhist sect is even more despicable. Fellow Daoist Xiao, you have always lived in the quiet mountains and are unaware of the true dangers of the world.

Wuxiang will broaden your horizons and show you the true face of this world!

"Fellow Daoist Xiao, let's travel to the southwest together."

As soon as he finished speaking, a cold wind rose, and all the sounds around him ceased.

Xiao Qianli had no time to think. He could only erect a stele in front of the withered pine tree, inscribed with "Tomb of Qinghe, disciple of Mount Emei," before continuing to fly after it.

After Xiao Qianli walked away, a gust of cold wind blew down the wooden tablet she had erected. Meiying smiled and bent down, glancing at a green sapling in the hollow of the withered tree. "Fairy Qinghe, I can now call you Fellow Daoist Qinghe."

I never imagined that by sparing your life, I would be harmed by your master.

Fortunately, I managed to preserve a remnant of your primordial spirit. You must remember this grudge of having your soul scattered forever.

Then, cultivate diligently, become an unparalleled demon king as soon as possible, and then storm Mount Emei to avenge the soul-destroying grudge from your past life!

Having said that, the phantom let out a low laugh and transformed into a gust of wind, heading towards the territory of Mount Kongtong.

The Phantom's demonic body is different from the previous demonic body. It has no physical form and lives by transforming into shadows. In terms of being bizarre, it is even three points more bizarre than the original white bone demon.

His escape technique was incredibly swift; few beings below the Yuanzhen realm could match his speed.

Moreover, he is elusive and can hide his true abilities wherever there is a shadow.

Therefore, Xiao Qianli couldn't think of a way to deal with Meiying in a short time, and could only follow closely and look for an opportunity to make a plan.

Meiying and Xiao Qianli flew south one after the other, and a few days later, they arrived in Jiangling in the south.

And at this time, the winter festival will also arrive.

The Phantom had to stop flying; he needed to find a good place to hide.

After that lesson, Bai Wuxiang never dared to intercept the changing energy of the new world during festivals again. He just hid in the cave and didn't go anywhere else.

On the morning of Lunar New Year's Eve, the Phantom disappeared into a very lively crowd.

Hidden among the layers of human figures is an unknown demon.

He hid in the shadow of an eight-year-old child, watching the faint golden aura flash across the sky. He breathed a sigh of relief, finally relieved that he no longer had to chase after Xiao Qianli at this critical moment.

(End of this chapter)