Chapter Ten: I Noticed It at a Glance…!

Although I had previous experience treating that Zeng Er Gouzi, to be honest, Miss Vilyric still had no clear understanding of these so-called evil demons.

They seemed to be some sort of amalgamation of void energy, yet were particularly chaotic and murky, lacking any definite consciousness.

This was strange. Void life, or what one might call spiritual life forms, usually possess clearer thinking and wisdom compared to material beings, as that’s their nature, contrasting starkly with the elemental bodies that serve as the most basic foundation of material life.

Even vengeful spirits need to have some strong obsessions or resentments to exist; otherwise, they cannot maintain their forms and will quickly fade into the underworld following the world’s rules.

The notion that spirits lack self-will is bizarre, akin to having scalding hot ice or ice-cold fire—a contradiction to the foundational rules of the world.

However, the dog demon that was attached to that Zeng Er Gouzi was indeed such a thing, something that should not exist and cannot exist.

Moreover…

Miss Vilyric leaned down, holding her hand close to one of the bound villagers’ bodies under the dim yellow candlelight, feeling carefully.

There’s no mistake.

This faintly sinister aura, the blurred and murky void energy, did not come from an external attack; it was indeed seeping from within these villagers.

That feeling was like a broken chrysalis, a change naturally revealed after something has matured in response to external stimuli.

Without immediately removing the evil demons attached to the villagers, the black-haired girl stood back up and looked around.

It seemed that Village Chief Zeng Xianzhiy came so late because he noticed something was wrong with these people and spent time addressing it urgently. But… how did they become infected by the evil demons?

Given that all these individuals had fought vigorously with that Zeng Er Gouzi during the day, there must definitely be some direct connection between them.

At least during the day, these people seemed perfectly normal; although Miss Vilyric hadn’t investigated in detail, she would have certainly sensed such an obvious sinister aura if it had been present.

In other words, the change happened afterward or had some delay.

Moreover, there was one person who shared the same experience but had not appeared among these individuals.

It seemed the answer was becoming quite clear.

Suddenly, a surprised little exclamation reached Miss Vilyric’s ears from outside.

“Ah, the door hasn’t posted any protective talismans, no wonder the surrounding sinister energy is gathering this way, looking like something big is about to happen. Are the people in this village all idiots?”

“It’s merely a common mountain village; ordinary folk would naturally not notice the flow of spiritual veins and yin-yang energy. Bai’er, you must understand, not everyone is skilled in yin-yang affairs.”

“Ahahaha, I’m sorry, I’m sorry… But isn’t it a bit strange not to have protective talismans on the door? Shouldn’t that be basic knowledge for the people of the Spirit Kingdom? After all, the western land within the Ancient Spirit Realm is heavily saturated with Yin energy, easily causing demonic thoughts to breed evil demons.”

“Indeed, and this house is exquisitely decorated, probably the residence of someone of high status in the village. Such a person should understand the importance of protective talismans even more… Something is fishy here, Bai’er, be cautious.”

“At your command, my Lady ~”

With such a conversation, the two figures approached from afar, soon arriving at the door of the wooden house.

In a flash of thought, Miss Vilyric donned her chameleon cloak again to conceal her form before they pushed the door open.

Then, the unbolted door was gently pushed open, and a lithe figure stepped inside first.

She wore simple cloth trousers, no makeup, and had neatly arranged gray hair, looking elegant and spirited, with a long sword at her waist.

Her sharp and bright black eyes scanned the dimly lit room illuminated by candlelight, seemingly unaware of the hidden presence of a priestess nearby. Her gaze quickly settled on the several villagers bound and temporarily unconscious.

The girl’s eyes flickered with a mysterious light, though she did not immediately act, merely maintaining a cautious posture with her hand resting on the sword hilt, turning her head slightly to say,

“There’s currently no danger, my Lady, you may enter.”

With the girl named Bai’er speaking, the other woman who had been conversing with her finally stepped into the room.

…So beautiful.

Although she was similarly dressed in plain peasant clothing and a simple skirt, the simplicity of her attire could not conceal the noble aura that subtly radiated from her.

With bright eyes and a radiant smile, combined with her flowing, lustrous hair, Miss Vilyric immediately identified her as certainly someone of high status, deliberately disguised as a commoner.

If she wasn’t mistaken, that Bai’er was likely the girl’s attendant or something akin to that.

A master and a servant visiting incognito? There’s an oddly familiar feeling about this…

Perhaps thanks to the chameleon cloak, the two girls likely didn’t notice the presence of another person in the room, both diverting their gazes to the conspicuous villagers possessed by the evil demons in the corner.

The gracefully noble gray-haired girl slightly furrowed her brows.

“Just as I thought… This place indeed gathers extreme Yin energy. At the year’s end, on the night of peak Yin, consolidating evil demons with the bodies of the living—could it be the living sacrifice method recorded in the ‘Catalog of All Demons’…?”

Bai’er turned around in surprise, her expression changing.

“Living sacrifice method? Isn’t that known as one of the most cruel and malicious yet produces the strongest evil demons? Who could be doing something so cruel?”

The girl shook her head, taking a few steps forward to place her hand on the wrist of one of the villagers, seemingly feeling for his pulse.

“Not just that, a common living sacrifice only requires gathering the Yin energies from the entire year at the year’s end. But tonight is the last evening of the year 999 of the Sacred Saint era—a rare peak Yin moment. If a large-scale living sacrifice were to take place now, the resulting evil demons would…”

“Whew, with the millennia approaching, the various evils are indeed starting to stir… Bai’er, how long until the time of Zi?”

The short-haired attendant girl pulled out a compass-like ornate device with scales from her chest and examined it.

“About two hours left, my Lady.”

“Mm…”

After affixing a kind of white talisman onto the villagers’ foreheads, the noble girl stood up and turned to say,

“If it’s a living sacrifice, it definitely won’t be limited to this few; as the night of the millennial approaches, the midnight hour will surely mark the beginning of turmoil. Let’s go; we must stop the scheme brewing here.”

   

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