Something's wrong with this demon.

Blood stained the grass red.

A strong stench of blood permeated the entire forest, and the air was filled with a pungent odor.

"call……"

"call……"

Luo Qingchen gasped for breath, her hands still tightly gripping the dagger plunged into the other's heart, as if afraid the other would come back to life.

After a while.

He trembled as he slowly loosened his five fingers.

His hands were covered in blood.

The pain from the wound caused his entire arm to tremble uncontrollably, and his blood-stained face became contorted.

Only then did waves of fear wash over me.

If he hadn't used the blood from the second health bar to quickly replenish his health, he would probably be the one lying on the ground right now.

Life and death are separated by just a moment.

This time, he won.

But what about next time?

Looking at the corpse on the ground, he felt neither joy nor pride, only relief and trembling at having survived a near-death experience.

The cruelty of this world filled him with fear.

But he knew he had no other choice but to grit his teeth and keep going.

"Aww—"

Suddenly, a wolf howl came from the woods not far away.

Without delay, he immediately used his other uninjured hand to grip the dagger again and began to suck blood.

He had tried drinking blood during his life-or-death confrontation with Zhang Dashan.

But there was no response.

Therefore, it can be concluded that this blood-sucking ability cannot be used on living people, but only on dead people.

At this moment, the blood in Zhang Dashan's body began to flow rapidly into his body.

The blood in the second reserve blood bar in the body quickly increased from a pitiful 10% to 20%.

He stopped immediately.

Zhang Dashan had already lost a lot of blood; if he were to absorb too much now, the corpse would definitely exhibit abnormalities.

If Tian Feng finds out, that will be troublesome.

Therefore, he must be cautious.

He began to explore Zhang Dashan's belongings.

Since the person is dead, they naturally no longer need the things on their body.

Zhang Dashan didn't have much on him, only a tael of silver and a martial arts manual.

He looked at the martial arts manual, on which were written several large characters: Strong Bone Mountain-Opening Fist.

"It seems to be a fist technique practiced at the Bone Strengthening Realm..."

In this way, he would no longer need to ask Tian Feng for the Bone Strengthening Realm cultivation method.

He put away the silver coins, the cultivation manual, and the still-sharp dagger. After carefully examining the signs of battle around him, he dragged Zhang Dashan's corpse toward the cave on the hillside.

It was past midnight, and dawn would soon break.

Deep inside the cave, Tian Feng remained in seclusion, consolidating his cultivation, unaware of what was happening outside.

Of course, he didn't care.

Luo Qingchen sat down at the cave entrance, bandaged her wounds, closed her eyes, and rested for a while.

As night gradually faded, a faint light quietly appeared on the horizon.

As the first rays of dawn broke through the green hills and sprinkled through the forest, a bird flew out of its dark nest in the rock wall and landed on a large tree outside the cave. It hopped and chirped incessantly, enjoying the rare sunshine and tranquility.

At this moment, Tian Feng emerged from the depths of the cave.

When he saw the figure sitting outside the cave, quietly basking in the morning sunlight, he asked, "Dashan, is the body ready?"

Luo Qingchen stood up from the ground, turned around, bowed her head, and said respectfully, "Master, the body has been prepared, but Senior Brother is no longer here."

Tian Feng paused, staring at him in astonishment.

On that usually calm and composed face, the expression was subtly shifting at this moment, showing surprise, shock, and doubt.

A moment of silence fell over the room.

Tian Feng walked over and immediately saw the corpse lying on the ground next to him.

Zhang Dashan stared wide-eyed, dying with his eyes wide open.

The blood on his chest wound had congealed, and his left shoe was soaked in blood, turning the entire gray shoe blood red.

Tian Feng raised his head and looked at the boy in front of him again.

Luo Qingchen lowered her head and calmly explained, "My senior brother tried to kill me last night, and then I killed him."

He knew that for the people in front of him, the process of the struggle between the drug users was not important, and even the result was not important.

Who cares about the struggle between ants?

He only needs to answer truthfully.

Of course, this is all predicated on completing the task.

He had completed his mission; the corpse on the ground was very fresh.

Tian Feng stared at him for a while, then said, "But he has already broken through to the Bone Strengthening Realm."

Luo Qingchen lowered her head and said, "This disciple has also broken through."

Tian Feng's eyebrows twitched slightly. He stared at him for a long time before saying calmly, "I underestimated you."

He didn't ask any more questions, his expression returning to its initial indifference. He lifted his foot and walked down the hillside, instructing, "Collect the hide, take the corpse, and come back to the sect with me."

"yes!"

Luo Qingchen agreed, immediately went to collect the hide, carried the corpse on her back, and followed behind him.

Finally, we're going back to our sect.

I hope that the Ten Souls Banner and my sister's soul can hold on.

The two of them went down the hillside, one after the other.

After passing through the woods and walking for about two miles, we began to climb another hillside.

The trees began to grow thicker and denser.

Looking up, more hills appeared ahead, like layers of waves, one slope after another, stretching as far as the eye could see.

The sunlight overhead is no longer visible.

As evening fell, after the two climbed up a hillside covered with ancient trees, a majestic mountain suddenly appeared in front of them.

The mountain was shrouded in a layer of black mist, towering into the clouds, hazy and indistinct, its entirety and summit invisible, like a colossal beast hidden in the black mist, appearing sinister and terrifying.

"This must be Demon-Suppressing Peak, where the Demon-Suppressing Sect is located, right?"

Looking at the huge black shadow in front of her, Luo Qingchen thought to herself.

As he followed Tian Feng down the hillside and into the jungle below, the world before his eyes suddenly changed.

The entire scene suddenly turned dark and gloomy.

It felt as if we had gone from daytime to nighttime, or from a colorful world to a dark one.

The massive tree trunk turned black, as did the branches and leaves on it, and the soil on the ground; the thick, ancient vines, like giant black pythons, hid among the thick layer of fallen leaves on the ground, revealing their large, jet-black leaves; the bushes growing nearby, and the flowers blooming under the tree, were all black.

An ancient, decaying, damp, and foul odor permeated the air.

After walking for a short while, a dilapidated wooden bridge covered with black vines appeared ahead.

Below the wooden bridge is a river.

The water in the river was also black, but it wasn't stagnant; it was flowing slowly.

A small wooden house sits at the head of the bridge.

As Luo Qingchen and Tian Feng walked out of the woods, the wooden door of the cabin creaked open.

A short, white-haired old man walked out of the wooden house and looked at the two of them.

Tian Feng, who was usually calm and composed, immediately stepped forward with a respectful smile and bowed, saying, "Uncle-Master Wang, this is your disciple Tian Feng. Behind me are the medicine mannequin I brought back, and a corpse."

As he spoke, he took out a black wooden plaque from his pocket and handed it over.

The white-haired old man took the wooden plaque, glanced at it, and handed it to him, saying in a somewhat hoarse voice, "I know you, but your medicine person still needs to be examined."

As he spoke, he took out a piece of red jade.

Tian Feng laughed and said, "That's for sure."

He immediately turned to Luo Qingchen and said, "Come here, let Uncle Wang check you out."

Luo Qingchen stepped forward, bowed her head, and looked extremely respectful.

The white-haired old man placed the red jade in his hand on Tian Feng's chest, rubbed it gently a few times, then placed it on his forehead, and asked, "Has this person had a fever or cough in the last three days?"

Tian Feng shook his head.

The white-haired old man stared at the red jade for a while longer before putting it away, saying, "Recently, demons have been rampant, and many mortals have been possessed. Do you know the origin of this medicine man?"

Tian Feng said, "He is from Qingshui Town, and his background is not a problem. I brought him back to the cave to cultivate, and it has been half a month since then."

Upon hearing this, the white-haired old man nodded, asked no further questions, and then leaned closer to examine the corpse behind Luo Qingchen more carefully. He then waved his hand and said, "Go in. Tell him the rules inside beforehand; if he causes trouble, you'll be implicated."

"Yes, I understand."

Tian Feng respectfully agreed and led Luo Qingchen onto the wooden bridge.

At this moment, Luo Qingchen finally saw a black stone tablet standing on the right side of the opposite bridge, with three large scarlet characters engraved on it: Medicine Man Town.

After crossing the wooden bridge, a sudden commotion of voices came from ahead.

After passing through another dark forest, a lively scene suddenly appeared ahead.

There were people driving oxcarts, people hawking their goods, streets, houses, teahouses, restaurants, vendors, and pedestrians strolling around – it was just like a bustling little town!

At this moment, Tian Feng spoke up: "From today onwards, you will stay here, work honestly, support yourself, and don't cause trouble. Every seven days, I will come down to collect blood. If you can endure this for a year, I will take you up."

At first, Luo Qingchen didn't understand what he meant by "coming down" and "going up" until she saw the steep, seemingly endless stone steps at the very back of the town.

The stone steps lead to the town below, but are shrouded in black mist above, suggesting they lead up the mountain.

The medicine master lived at the foot of the mountain, while his disciples lived on the mountain.

Luo Qingchen had heard Zhang Dashan say that even if one breaks through to the Bone Strengthening Realm, one is still a medicine person, just a stronger one with more blood-extraction value.

Only by breaking through to the Blood Exchange Realm can one completely shed the identity of a medicine person and truly become a disciple of the Demon Control Sect.

"You wait here, I'll find you a job."

Tian Feng gave a few more instructions, then grabbed the corpse and skin from his back and walked towards a stone house in front of him.

Luo Qingchen stopped in her tracks, looking around, when a surprised voice suddenly came from beside her: "Achen, what are you doing here?"

Luo Qingchen turned her head and saw a young man selling vegetables at a roadside stall standing up from the ground with a look of surprise on his face.

"Brother Shi?"

Luo Qingchen was stunned for a moment before recognizing the other person.

The short, stocky young man was named Zhao Shi. He was from Qingshui Town and was an honest man. He had studied with Zhao Shi in a private school and they had a fairly good relationship.

"Ah Chen, it really is you!"

Zhao Shi came over with a look of surprise and patted him on the shoulder, asking, "When did you arrive? My father, my little sister, and I have been here for half a month, but we haven't seen you yet."

Just as Luo Qingchen was about to answer, Tian Feng called to him from not far away: "Come here."

"Brother Shi, let's talk later."

Luo Qingchen walked quickly to Tian Feng and bowed respectfully.

Tian Feng said, "Most of the medicine people here have gone to mine. But you're already a cultivator, so going to mine would be a waste. There just happens to be a job suitable for you: a guard at Bai Xiang Lou. It'll cost two taels of silver a month, one magic stone, and a portion of cultivation herbs, plus room and board. Are you interested?"

Bai Xiang Lou? What does that do?

Luo Qingchen was puzzled.

At this moment, the bald man in the stone house, beaming, gave his reply: "Baixianglou is a brothel in our area, and the girls there are all top-notch. Going there as a guard would mainly involve keeping an eye on things and preventing any trouble. Besides, the girls there are very obedient. If you like, hehe..."

He chuckled, said nothing more, and handed him a wooden plaque, saying, "Your name is on this. Just take it over there, and someone will greet you."

Luo Qingchen took the wooden plaque and looked at it carefully.

Not only does it have his name on it, but there is also another line of smaller print: Tian Feng's Medicine Man.

It was obviously just engraved.

"Go by yourself. I have other things to do. I'll come down to find you in seven days."

After Tian Feng finished speaking, he turned and left.

Luo Qingchen looked up, glanced again at the stone steps behind the town, paused, then, holding the wooden sign, approached Zhao Shi and asked, "Brother Shi, do you know where Baixianglou is?"

"Baixianglou?"

Upon hearing this name, Zhao Shi's expression immediately changed.

"Chen, what are you doing there? That place... people have died there, three people have died already... I heard there are man-eating monsters in there..."

Zhao Shi quickly lowered his voice.

Luo Qingchen's heart skipped a beat, and she said, "I want to go there as a guard."

"Ah! A guard?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shi was even more startled. He quickly grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear, "Don't go! My sister said that the three dead men were all guards inside, and they were all killed by having their hearts ripped out!"

Luo Qingchen's expression shifted for a moment before she asked, "How does A-Yun know all this?"

Zhao Shi looked around and whispered, "Of course she knows; she's the most popular prostitute there."