A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Zhu Cheng finally surfaced.

Seriously, it was so difficult.

The ordeal he just went through at the bottom of the Blood Sea involved evil thoughts assaulting his mind, inner demons clinging to him, and the dual soul-searching of his childhood and teenage forms.

Finally, even the hand sticking out from his crotch went against him—

After this series of punches, he felt as if he had been run over by ten large trucks seven or eight times, and even his bones were about to fall apart.

He swam upwards with all his might, using all four limbs and every ounce of strength he had.

Finally, just a second before his lungs were about to explode, with a "whoosh," his head burst through the sea of ​​blood.

Fresh air rushed into his nostrils, carrying a strong smell of blood, but to him at that moment, it smelled better than any perfume.

He was panting heavily, feeling as if his lungs were two old bellows, working frantically with all their might.

Then he saw two faces, one big and one small.

Ji Zuodao and Qi Qi were leaning out, looking at him curiously.

The two of them squatted on the edge of the red lotus platform, one large and one small, one tall and one short, their movements remarkably synchronized—

They all had their hands on their knees, leaning forward with their heads tilted slightly, looking at him with an expression that said, "Oh my, there's someone here."

How should I put it, it looked like watching monkeys at a zoo.

Qiqi blinked her big eyes, looking at Zhu Cheng's pale face covered in blood. She opened her small mouth slightly and let out a soft "Oh~", as if she had seen something new and interesting.

Ji Zuodao smiled, a smile so innocent and harmless, like a little white flower blooming in spring.

He stretched out his hand, fingers spread, palm down, towards Zhu Cheng.

That posture and those movements clearly indicated that he wanted to help Zhu Cheng.

Zhu Cheng was still a little dizzy from those evil thoughts, his mind buzzing as if a hundred bees were having a party.

He saw a hand being extended in front of him, and his instinctive reaction was—

Someone tried to pull me up.

His brain hadn't fully recovered from the ordeal, and his information processing speed was much slower than usual.

Almost instinctively, he reached out his hand, ready to grab that helping hand.

Then he saw Ji Zuodao's smile brighten even more.

That smile, how should I put it, carried a sense of exhilaration that said, "I've been waiting for this moment for so long," and a sense of satisfaction that said, "Finally, I can do this."

Zhu Cheng's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition surged into his heart.

He wanted to pull back and retreat.

But it was too late.

Ji Zuodao's outstretched hand drew a graceful arc in mid-air, precisely bypassing Zhu Cheng's outstretched hand.

With his five fingers spread wide, he slapped the finger firmly onto Zhu Cheng's face with a "smack".

That slap was incredibly powerful, and the sound was incredibly crisp, echoing far and wide above the empty sea of ​​blood.

Zhu Cheng was completely stunned by the slap.

He felt as if his head had been hit by a rhinoceros in heat; it was buzzing and he was seeing stars.

Before he could react, a tremendous force came from the hand that was pressed against his face, slamming his head into the sea of ​​blood.

"Gurgle gurgle—"

Caught off guard, Zhu Cheng swallowed a mouthful of bloody water.

The blood entered his mouth with a strange fragrance, but what followed was a flood of resentment and malevolent energy that surged down his throat and into his body, assaulting his mind.

His hands flailed wildly in the blood, trying to grab something, but he couldn't grasp anything.

His legs were kicking wildly, like a turtle that had been flipped over, struggling in vain.

Beside the lotus platform, Ji Zuodao remained in the same position, half-bent over, one hand pressing on Zhu Cheng's head, firmly pressing him into the blood.

"Damn, I've wanted to do this for a long time."

"Always smiling, like a Buddha, what's with the act of being a big shot?"

The first time I met Zhu Cheng, this grandson was standing under that old locust tree, holding a little trinket in his hand, smiling as he waited for Qi Qi.

At that moment, Ji Zuodao wanted to slap him across the face.

Later, Zhu Cheng went even further, sending candied hawthorns and pastries, and creating all sorts of things like the "Great Ming Secret Realm" and the "Princess Returning to the Palace."

Ji Zuodao's urge to slap his face grew stronger every day.

Today my wish finally came true.

It feels pretty good.

Zhu Cheng's face shape is quite suitable for being covered; it's not too big or too small, just the right size to be covered by a palm.

It's neither uncomfortable to the touch nor leaky; it's practically perfect.

Ji Zuodao even mentally gave this experience a five-star rating.

As he spoke, he pressed down hard, causing Zhu Cheng's head to sink even further into the blood.

Qiqi squatted down beside him, watching Ji Zuodao push Zhu Cheng into the bloody water. Her little face showed no fear, but rather a hint of curiosity.

She tilted her head, looked at the bubbling spot in the blood, then at Ji Zuodao, and asked:

"Brother, what are you doing?"

Ji Zuodao turned his head and looked at Qi Qi. The ferocious expression on his face instantly disappeared, replaced by a gentle smile:

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm just playing a game with this older brother. His head is a little hot and he's not thinking straight, so I'm helping him cool down."

"Oh—" Qiqi nodded as if she understood, then asked, "When is he coming up?"

"What's the rush? Let him soak a little longer."

Ji Zuodao waved his hand, looking completely matter-of-fact, "This blood is good for your health. It's rich in various minerals and trace elements, and soaking in it more often is good for your health."

Qiqi blinked, looked at the churning sea of ​​blood, then at Zhu Cheng struggling in the blood, and her little face showed an expression that said, "Although I don't understand, what my brother is saying must be right."

Then she nodded obediently: "Oh, okay."

Just then, another head emerged from the surface of the Blood Sea beside the lotus platform.

No, not one, but three.

The inner demon Zhu Cheng emerged halfway out of the sea of ​​blood, wiped the blood from his face, and revealed his ferocious face, now stained with blood and fangs.

Several pairs of arms were stretching out from under his ribs, as if he were stretching his muscles.

He glanced at his true self, who was being held down in the blood, then at Ji Zuodao, a look of indignation on his face. He spat, his tone filled with resentment and anger:

"Damn it, this guy is protected by dragon energy, has built-in resistance to mental skills, and can even counterattack automatically."

"I was just a hair's breadth away from taking over him. But that dragon energy, with a 'boom,' blasted me away, almost roasting me alive."

Ji Zuodao glanced at him sideways and let out a disdainful sneer.

"You useless piece of trash. Even with the Blood Sea's help, you still haven't swayed him into demonic possession. How can you be a demon of the heart? Your professional skills are terrible."

The inner demon Zhu Cheng shrank back, a sheepish expression on his face:

"Well... there's nothing I can do about it, that's dragon energy..."

He shook his head, his tone tinged with envy and jealousy.

The inner demon Zhu Cheng knew that the dragon energy on his true body was only half of what it was.

That's right, only half of it.

In order to stabilize the secret realm, Zhu Cheng sacrificed half of the dragon energy within him, which almost cost him his life.

Only half of the dragon energy remained in his body.

Even with only half a dragon's aura remaining, it's still this powerful.

What if there were more?

His gaze unconsciously drifted towards Qi Qi, who was sitting on the lotus platform.

If only we could get our hands on that dragon energy...

The moment the thought popped into his head, Zhu Cheng, the inner demon, quickly extinguished it.

He knew he couldn't have that thought, absolutely couldn't.

This little girl is Ji Zuodao's Achilles' heel; anyone who touches her will die, without any room for negotiation.

He shrank his neck, looked away, and stood there meekly, as if to say, "I'm very well-behaved and obedient."

He knows how to behave.

But the two heads on his neck, we don't know.