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Chapter 36: Long-Awaited Disgust

Casting aside the faint premonition of minor troubles, Miss Vilyric strode directly towards the Snake Demon, which had been subdued by Ling Feng and Bai’er.

The two had already reached the Snake Demon while Priestess was treating the Bald Man, seemingly trying to communicate with it.

It looked like, in some sense, their efforts were effective.

“Well, what’s the deal? Is the Demon-Suppressing Sect behind this? Where have those guys run off to?”

At least within Vilyric’s range of perception, the only sneaky being was this Snake Demon.

Ling Feng nodded.

“It has been confirmed that the person controlling this Snake Demon hails from the same source as the force that planted the spirit flesh at the inn. Look here.”

She lifted a tattered piece of clothing off the now-immobile, expressionless Snake Demon, revealing a clear pattern that had recently emerged due to a special potion applied to its body at the intersection of human and snake.

It appeared to be some kind of symbol or special design, resembling inscriptions, though Vilyric had never seen anything like it. However, from the faint aura emanating from it, she could deduce it was likely some kind of magic pattern related to enslavement and control.

“This is the ‘Demon Controlling Rune.’ Initially, it was just stuck on, but as time went by, the effect of the rune gradually seeped into the body of the demon, evolving into this current form.”

“Demons that are completely controlled by the Demon-Suppressing Sect generally bear similar signature marks. This serves as proof and is a common method they use to dominate demons—quite despicable and looked down upon in the cultivation world.”

“I feel like I’ve seen a similar thing somewhere…”

Murmuring to herself, Vilyric leaned her holy staff against the Snake Demon’s shoulder and activated her ‘Information Detection.’

Soon, the details of the opponent were presented before her in a more intuitive manner.

Well… in a way, this Snake Demon was already dead.

Its situation resembled that of Leila and Renée, who were previously kept as blood slaves for stockpiling food, or more aptly, like a puppet created through alchemy.

The spiritual essence and consciousness of this demon—essentially its soul—had long been extinguished. Only the demon body’s magical power and combat instinct were preserved using some special technique by the Demon-Suppressing Sect, turning it into a weapon conveniently controlled.

What a vile method.

A wave of long-lost disgust welled up in the girl’s heart.

Vilyric did not oppose normal battles and skirmishes; using spirit beasts in combat was a reasonable method. Or, if someone were to be more forceful, taming them by brute force—though Vilyric wouldn’t do so, she also wasn’t so bored as to meddle in others’ affairs.

However, she could not accept the act of erasing a sentient being’s will, distorting its essence, and completely transforming it into something else—such an insult to life itself. This could not be justified as a form of combat; it was purely a wicked act of degradation, plunder, and cruelty.

If the demons under the control of the ‘Demon-Suppressing Sect’ were managed in a similar fashion, it would be best to eliminate these sects sooner rather than later.

If the people of the Ancient Spirit Realm could not do it, the Priestess wouldn’t mind acting as a righteous agent this time.

“Vilyric, is there any hope for this Snake Demon?”

Exchanging a glance with Ling Feng’s slightly shimmering beautiful eyes, Vilyric immediately sensed that this simple question likely contained many hidden implications.

If one had to say whether it could be saved… of course, it could.

Although it was a bit of a hassle since the soul had already dispersed, the physical body of this Snake Demon was still intact. It wasn’t like the complete helpless state of someone like Cheese Mofuman or the void existence of Hao Miao Yi Meng—so long as high-tier resurrection magic like ‘Chrono Reversal’ was used, it should be able to revert back to its original form.

But such an approach was far too shocking, even more unimaginable than ordinary resurrection magic. If only she were alone with this Snake Demon, perhaps Vilyric would have taken pity and attempted to intervene, but it was clearly not appropriate at this moment.

“Dealing with souls, perhaps only true immortals could perform such resurrection.”

This seemingly evasive response caused the girl to momentarily frown, but she quickly nodded and sighed helplessly.

“Yeah, only the true immortals could do it… Sorry, I might be asking too much. This situation just reminds me of some past events… Let’s forget it.”

“My lady…”

Gently patting Bai’er on the worried shoulder, Ling Feng smiled softly.

“I’m fine. The truth is, it’s not entirely hopeless. Though she currently has no news, I still have plenty of time… as long as I continue to wait, one day I will be able to reunite. Don’t worry.”

Ling Feng took out a treasure-like box, opened the lid, and the Snake Demon pinned to the wall quickly shrunk and was sucked into it. It was tucked away again under Vilyric’s raised eyebrows.

“Let’s go. We must act immediately. Since the Demon-Suppressing Sect is dragging us down with this Snake Demon while refusing to show themselves, they’ve likely found other means to approach the sacred beast Qilin… time is of the essence.”

The three women returned to the crowd and roughly described the current situation. Several captains soon made decisions and began leading everyone into the passage ahead.

“This is the spot. The hole suddenly appeared here, and that space is probably deep beneath our feet.”

Roughly at the center of the canyon, Murong Yun stopped, squatted down, and tapped a spot on the hard stone wall that looked no different from others.

Due to the limitations of the canyon’s terrain, there was simply no way for everyone to gather around, so following behind Murong Yun, the only ones able to converse with him in real-time were Zhu Chengye and a few captains, along with Vilyric and the notably powerful Ling Feng.

The commoner fortune teller tapped the stone wall with his jade measuring stick, producing a dull “ding ding” sound, and frowned slightly.

“That’s not right, Yun. This place is solid, and it sounds like it’s at least a yard thick. How could this be an entrance?”

“No, there is definitely something below.”

The black-haired girl’s firm statement instantly lifted everyone’s spirits; after all, as a “strong individual in the same life realm,” her previous reaction had already earned unanimous recognition and respect, so her words were naturally significant.

“Senior Vilyric…”

“Knock it off already! I’ve told you a thousand times not to call me Senior Vilyric… Anyway, if you all want to go down, you’ll need to figure out how to open it, or just smash through this tidal stone blocking the way.”

The Priestess grinned mischievously.

“By the way, it’s at least five meters thick.”

“F-five meters thick… tidal stone?”

Zhu Chengye’s corner of the mouth twitched, and others also showed distress.

Tidal stone is incredibly hard; in terms of strength, it could rival the famous indestructible metal Ink Steel from another continent. Although Vilyric could perceive the situation on the other side through SP infiltration, to be honest, forcefully breaking through such a thick stone…

Would probably require a seventh or even eighth-tier attack magic.

“But if that’s the case, how did the Demon-Suppressing Sect go down? If they haven’t actually arrived here, then the existence of the Snake Demon couldn’t be explained, right?”

“Well, I think perhaps it’s…”

Just as Ling Feng was about to say something, for some reason, the ground beneath everyone suddenly began to shake violently!

“Rumbling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Accompanied by such a loud noise and vibrations, rocks of various sizes began to fall from the dark, boundless cliffs on either side of the canyon, crashing down where the group stood in a space that was barely a yard wide.

“What’s happening!? Could it be another trap set by the Demon-Suppressing Sect?”

“No, wait! Chengye, this is a land dragon turning over!!!”

Without time to sort through the causes and effects, Murong Yun’s exceptional survival instincts kicked in, and he almost immediately looked up, shouting hoarsely behind him.

“Everyone, quickly retreat to outside the canyon!!!!!!”

“We’re out of time!”

“Be careful, the ground is cracking!”

“Ahhhhhh! Help!!!!!!”

The booming noise and tremors, accompanied by an avalanche of falling rocks, buried the only passage connecting the tidal canyon inside and out within just ten short seconds, leaving nothing but ruins behind.

Those caught within disappeared without a trace.