Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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In mid-air, two giant beasts were fighting.
Bai You’s hands, feet, and back sprouted countless tentacles of varying thickness. Some attacked Jiang Lan frantically, attempting to form a giant red net to trap and kill him; others were rooted in the ground, suddenly leaping into the air to launch surprise attacks. Taking advantage of his home-field advantage and the offensive and defensive capabilities of his tentacles, he initially maintained a steady pressure on Jiang Lan.
Jiang Lan couldn’t get close to him and could only dodge and weave through the dense attacks of the tentacles, occasionally getting slammed by the tentacles that attacked from the ground.
But as time went on, Bai You discovered that Jiang Lan, aside from a few minor superficial injuries, was becoming increasingly fierce in battle. The tentacles he had used to trap and kill Jiang Lan had instead become his meal.
Bai You originally didn’t take him seriously. He was a general under Gonggong. Back when he roamed the ancient times, Taotie was just a clueless, hungry, useless dog abandoned by the Jinyun clan.
Even if the Taotie had improved a bit over the years, how much more capable could he be?
However, the excruciating pain of his limbs being torn apart forced him to admit that he had underestimated his opponent.
Things were different now. He was no longer the Fuyou[1] of the past, and Taotie was no longer the Taotie of yesteryear.
Bai You became ruthless and used all his skills to deal with him.
His tentacles, rooted in the ground, contracted and writhed incessantly. Centered on the hotel, everything within the space began to turn into red mist and be absorbed by him. Flowers, trees, birds, fish, insects, even roadside buildings gradually blurred, turning into wisps of red mist to be absorbed, becoming the source of his power.
Nowadays, spiritual energy was scarce in the world, and many powerful demons did not easily take action. In addition to the sudden emergence of the Demon Management Bureau to control fights, a major reason was that the thin spiritual energy was insufficient to support their powerful and enormous bodies.
But he was different. After his death, his vengeful spirit remained, and by a twist of fate, he learned a new cultivation method that allowed him to directly absorb the souls of others to nourish himself.
Other powerful demons needed to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to cultivate, but he only needed to absorb human souls to strengthen himself.
Although most humans were dull and unable to cultivate, their souls contained abundant and pure energy. This energy was very weak at birth, gradually became stronger with age, reached its peak between the ages of twenty and thirty, and then began to weaken year by year.
He disguised himself as an ordinary person to enter the entertainment industry precisely because most of the fan groups were vibrant and met his requirements as young people.
His specialty was manipulating people’s minds, and his criteria for choosing his prey, besides age, was appearance. Once a human was completely consumed by him, their physical body became his tool.
With his good looks and seductive skills, he didn’t even need to take the initiative. He could simply wait in place, and his prey would pounce on him one after another for him to choose from.
Over the years, he had been scheming and acting cautiously, not only successfully evading the eyes and ears of the Demon Management Bureau to establish himself in human society but also developing a method of controlling souls. He could split off souls from himself to command. These souls were like puppets when they were first created, but after absorbing enough nutrients, they became more and more like humans.
He would select the clever and pleasing servant spirits to do his bidding, while the rest would be sent out to hunt. Once the servant spirits grew strong enough, they would become his reserve food.
If he hadn’t unfortunately run into the Taotie, he would probably have lived a few more years under the identity of Bai You, raising several batches of powerful servant souls, completing the tasks assigned by Qian Jun, and then changing to a new identity.
However, all the plans had now been disrupted by the sudden appearance of Jiang Lan.
As Bai You absorbed the entire space as nourishment, his heart was breaking. This space was the culmination of decades of painstaking planning. It was only through this space, which allowed him to intersect with the real world, that he was able to evade the eyes and ears of the Demon Management Bureau and their hunters.
Now it was all destroyed.
Bai You’s eyes turned bloodshot with hatred. His tentacles, having absorbed even more power, intertwined and twisted into a gigantic beastly claw, lunging down at Jiang Lan—
Jiang Lan dodged, but Bai You had anticipated his movement and a thick tentacle was already lying in ambush on the ground. As Jiang Lan retreated, the tentacle entangled him, causing him to freeze in mid-air. Before he could dodge, the giant claw slammed down and grabbed him squarely.
Compared to the almost towering floating creatures, Jiang Lan’s figure appeared much smaller.
He was held in Bai You’s claws. The thick, powerful claws restricted his movements, while more unseen, tiny tentacles burrowed in from between the scales, piercing his body. The tentacles contracted rapidly— Bai You was actually trying to feed on him.
Jiang Lan let out a furious growl, but in Bai You’s eyes, he was like a fish on a chopping board, not daring to struggle.
He listened with relish to the angry growl and felt the continuous flow of spiritual energy from Jiang Lan’s body. He then squinted his eyes contentedly and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t drain you dry. After all, Qian Sect still has a use for you.”
Jiang Lan’s spiritual energy rapidly drained away, and his struggles gradually weakened. He opened his eyes defiantly and roared, “Are you from the Qian Sect?”
Bai You smiled, lifting him closer with his tentacles so he could better appreciate his disheveled state: “That’s right. It’s a pity you found out too late.”
Countless tentacles danced behind him, and the entire space almost turned into nothingness, leaving only a vast expanse of red mist, teetering on the verge of collapse.
“I am one of the four geomancers under the Qian Sect.”
Jiang Lan’s eyes flickered slightly, and he sneered with resentment: “Where did these four geomancers come from? Suan Yu was captured by me long ago, wasn’t he? He was eaten alive, leaving only his head and body. He’s locked up in the bureau’s water dungeon, and his hands and feet haven’t grown back yet.”
He took a deep breath, his voice unsteady, but he still stubbornly said, “The Four Geomancers are nothing special.”
“Stubborn to the end.”
Bai You’s face darkened, and he stared at him with a sinister look: “Suan Yu is a piece of trash. If he weren’t good at controlling people’s hearts, Qian Sect wouldn’t want him. Apart from Suan Yu, you wouldn’t be at a disadvantage if you lost to any of the other two, me or them.”
“Really? But I feel—”
“…You’re not much stronger than Suan Yu.” Jiang Lan finished speaking before unleashing a powerful attack, lunging straight for Bai You’s neck. The thick tentacles binding him were all torn off, and Bai You let out a painful roar. His intact tentacles immediately went back to defend, but his earlier arrogance had inadvertently shortened the distance between him and Jiang Lan. Jiang Lan’s attack was swift and fierce, like an unstoppable thunderbolt. Before Bai You could protect his neck, Jiang Lan had already bitten down on it.
The tentacles, arriving too late, tightly wrapped around Jiang Lan, while more tiny tentacles tried to burrow into the gaps in her scales once more. However, this time, they found no opening.
The jet-black scales were indestructible, without a single gap.
Bai You then realized that Jiang Lan had been deliberately feigning weakness: “You tricked me?!”
His tentacles thrashed wildly, yet he hesitated to advance further, fearing the consequences.
Jiang Lan ignored his questioning and swiftly tore at his neck. In just a minute or two, nearly two-thirds of Bai You’s thick, hard neck was gone, and his enormous head was pinned precariously to the massive body. And thick red mist, like blood, seeped from the wound on his neck.
At the same time, Bai You’s movements visibly slowed down.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Lan knew he had guessed correctly— the neck was the vital point of Fuyou.
It was said that when Fuyou committed suicide, he did so by cutting his own throat.
The receptionist he met at the hotel was also very careful to protect his neck.
Jiang Lan happily slapped Bai You’s head to the ground like a ball with one paw, then jumped down and pawed at it a few times.
Bai You’s body remained rooted to the spot, but his head rolled far away.
His eyes widened in anger as he cursed Jiang Lan, while the newly grown, fragile tentacles beneath his neck quietly probed into the ground, attempting to absorb nutrients from his body.
However, Jiang Lan had already seen through his plan. So he lifted his head up, preventing him from touching her body, and said with a smile, “See? I told you you weren’t much better than Suan Yu, were you?”
After thinking for a moment, he added, “Your four great geomancers will soon only have two left. If you tell me who the other two are, I can bring them back and make up four for you.”
Playing mahjong was unlikely now, but keeping their heads in the water cell of the detention center for a chat was still no problem.
Compared to being locked up alone, it was always more reassuring to suffer with someone else.
Bai You glared at him angrily: “Kill me if you want, but don’t even think about getting anything out of me.”
“Suan Yu said the same thing before, but after I did some ideological work with him, he understood and was willing to cooperate.” Jiang Lan said seriously, “You cult members just need to be educated.”
He curled his lip in boredom, grabbed Bai You’s head, walked to the edge of the pit where Xiao Xiaoyu was hiding, and poked his head out, saying, “Xiaoyu, you can come out now. Give me the scales.”
Xiao Xiaoyu clutched her two black scales tightly, curled up at the bottom of the pit, her head buried deep in her legs, not daring to open her eyes.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Jiang Lan’s voice and that the crisis was over. She raised her head to reply but was met with Jiang Lan’s large head.
Xiao Xiaoyu: …
She stared blankly at Jiang Lan, her mouth opening and closing but no sound came out, like an old, stuck disc spinning aimlessly, making a “hoarse” sound.
What the hell is this thing?!
She’s going to die.
“???”
Jiang Lan blinked, then leaned closer, urging her, “Xiaoyu?”
What are you waiting for? You’re here to get some work done!
Xiao Xiaoyu shuddered as if she had been electrocuted and finally realized that the ferocious beast in front of her was indeed her handsome, cute, and good-tempered colleague, Jiang Lan, from the familiar voice.
She blankly handed over the scale she was clutching and barely managed to resist backing away when Jiang Lan reached in with his other paw to take it.
Only after Jiang Lan walked away, picking up the scales with his claws, did she let out a long sigh.
Slumped at the bottom of the pit, she felt utterly hopeless.
Today, not only have my values been shattered, but my idealized view of my colleagues has also been destroyed.
Alas, life is full of hardships.
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[1] Check it out on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbTnLNkZ3pA#:~:text=Discover%20the%20enigmatic%20F%C3%BA%20Y%C3%B3u%2C%20a%20mythical,explore%20its%20origins%2C%20its%20role%20in%20Chinese
