11 Chapter 9 Dark Souls_1

The tranquil Liu Family Village had disappeared without a trace, replaced by a terrifying sight that made their hearts pound with horror.

What Wu Qian and the others felt first was the sudden surge of coldness. Many constables shivered; the chilling sensation seemed to penetrate their flesh and seep into their bones.

Next came the overwhelming, nauseating stench of decay that nearly knocked them out.

The scene before them now was the true appearance of Liu Family Village.

Gu Chen looked at the decomposing bodies scattered across the ground and could vaguely identify them by their clothes as the villagers of Liu Family Village from before their deaths.

Time had passed since the incident, and the bodies of the villagers had decayed to various extents. The piercing stench they smelled was indeed coming from these corpses.

"Master Gu, what is this..." Wu Qian stammered as he stared at the scene before him, utterly dumbfounded.

"This is the real Liu Family Village. What we saw before was nothing but an illusion created by demonic entities," Gu Chen said.

When Gu Chen first arrived at Liu Family Village, he indeed hadn't found any clues; he only felt an unnerving silence.

But as he continued to explore, he detected a faint smell of decay, and the longer he stayed, the more he felt a sense of unreality about everything before his eyes, along with the strange quiet. So he grew suspicious and decided to test the waters.

As expected, his probing revealed the truth.

However, the methods of the demonic entities were indeed cunning, and not everyone could, like Gu Chen, amass seventy years of internal energy cultivation at the Body Refining Stage. If other officers from the Jing Tian Department had come here, they might not have found any clues, just like Wu Qian. Even if they had, they might not have been able to break the previous illusion.

It was only Gu Chen, with seventy years of internal energy cultivation at the Body Refining Stage, who could unleash his full power to shatter the illusion created by the demonic entities with a single blow.

Had it been Wu Qian or any other officer, even if they had perceived the discordance and smelled the decay, they still wouldn't have been able to break through the illusion.

"Boss... look quickly, what is that?!" Suddenly, a constable cried out in horror, drawing Gu Chen and Wu Qian's attention.

Right behind several constables stood a few pitch-black infants with ghastly appearances, clinging to their necks, crouched there with eerie smiles on their faces, feeding on the constables' lifeforce.

Earlier, their discomfort was indeed due to this reason.

"Yin spirits!"

Upon seeing this sight, Gu Chen frowned. He and Wu Qian recognized the origin of these ghastly infants.

Yin spirits were a peculiar kind of entity that relished absorbing human lifeforce, especially from robust martial practitioners, which were their favorites.

Suffering from the absorption of lifeforce by a Yin spirit could lead to serious illness at best and life-threatening danger at worst.

"Hee hee hee hee..."

When the Yin spirits noticed Gu Chen and the others looking their way, they all let out a sinister laugh that sent chills down one's spine.

At that moment, Gu Chen flashed behind the constables, his robust internal energy flowing through the pathways of the Pure Yang Technique. With a fierce swipe of his hand, he unleashed the Red Flame Palm. Accompanied by sharp screams, the intense heat of his palm force instantly turned all the Yin spirits into ashes.

Seeing this, Wu Qian let out a sigh of relief; he had also thought to act, but his reaction was not as swift as Gu Chen's.

"Thank you, Master Gu!" Wu Qian was the first to speak, cupping his fists in gratitude.

Upon hearing this, the constables rescued also came to their senses and hurriedly voiced their thanks: "Thank you, Master Gu, for the rescue."

They weren't foolish; they knew that if Gu Chen hadn't taken action to shatter the illusion, allowing the Yin spirits to continue feeding, their bodies would have been in grave danger.

Although they had killed the Yin spirits, the constables' complexions were ghastly due to the loss of lifeforce, and their bodies felt weak.

Seeing their condition, Gu Chen transferred a stream of his inner breath to each of them. The constables, upon receiving Gu Chen's inner breath, all trembled as nourishment flowed through them, their complexions instantly improving.

They looked at each other in disbelief; it seemed they had not anticipated that someone of Gu Chen's status would actually show them favor, and they all froze on the spot.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and thank Master Gu!" Wu Qian exclaimed, quickly speaking up.

"No need to worry, these are but trifles. The pressing matter is to deal with the spirits here," Gu Chen waved his hand, dismissing the formalities.

Upon hearing this, Wu Qian's brows furrowed. He looked around and said, "There are still spirits present in this place?"

Gu Chen didn't respond. Suddenly, several shadows flashed out from the corners, identical to the previously seen spirits.

Simultaneously, a stronger presence appeared. Behind those few shadows, a more solid figure materialized.

"A Panic Level Demon?!"

The moment Wu Qian saw the towering shadow, his face changed color. Sensing the aura radiating from it, equivalent to a martial artist of the Human Clan's late Blood Refining Stage, he knew he was no match.

"No wonder Liu Family Village disappeared overnight."

Confronting this formidable shadow, Gu Chen realized the answer. Without mentioning anything else, just this single Panic Level Demon alone was enough to devour all the villagers of Liu Family Village in one night.

Spirits, these types of strange beings, are best at concealing themselves. Unless discovered, they will not attack directly, but instead hide away, stealthily absorbing yang energy – this is their instinct for survival.

This Panic Level Demon seemed to have been asleep before, and if it weren't for Gu Chen shattering the illusion, it likely would not have awakened.

However, without Gu Chen's arrival, this place would likely become a dangerous area near Ning City. Once the spirits finished digesting the yang energy of Liu Family Village's villagers and left this place to wander nearby, there's no telling how many ordinary people would lose their lives.

"Master Gu, we should retreat for now and report the situation here. With the current state of affairs, I'm afraid the two of us cannot handle it," Wu Qian said with a grave expression.

Hearing this, Gu Chen remained calm and slightly shook his head, saying, "No matter, they are merely a few minor demons. Constable Wu, just stand aside and protect your subordinates. Leave the rest to me."

"Master Gu, this is not advisable..." Upon hearing this, Wu Qian's expression changed. He was well aware of the terror of demons and was about to continue persuading Gu Chen, but saw that Gu Chen had already dashed towards the group of spirits.

Strange beings are the weakest among the demons, with strength equivalent to the martial artists of the Human Clan's Body Refining or Blood Refining Stage.

Wu Qian, being a martial artist of the Inner Breath Technique Stage, could handle even a larger number of ordinary strange beings. Spirits have some peculiar methods, but if they confront him head-on, they still would not be his match.

However, the situation today was different. The spirits that appeared before them had surpassed the level of strange beings; they were facing a Panic Level Demon.

Demons, transcending the rank of strange beings, even the weakest Panic Level Demon is equivalent to a martial artist at the early stages of the Inner Breath Technique Stage of the Human Clan. The stronger ones could even compare to those in the Meridian Unblocking Stage; they are certainly not something that an ordinary first-rank officer of the Jing Tian Department or a small constable like Wu Qian can handle.

The spirit before them, though not reaching the Meridian Unblocking Stage, based on the aura it emitted, was powerful enough to be comparable to a martial artist at the latter stages of the Inner Breath Technique Stage. It was much stronger than any demon the original host had encountered; if the original host were here, Wu Qian's advice would be correct, and the two of them combined would not be a match for this Panic Level Demon.

However, the one standing here today was Gu Chen. He was different from the original host. At this moment, he held seventy years of inner breath cultivation, and his realm had reached the great completion of the Inner Breath Technique Stage. In every aspect, he far outmatched the Panic Level Demon, so naturally, there was no reason for him to retreat.

In Gu Chen's eyes, the Panic Level Demon before him was nothing but a walking source of cultivation points. Having encountered it, he naturally would not let it slip by.

"Die!"

Accompanied by Gu Chen's cold shout, the inner breath that he had cultivated for seventy years circulated through his flesh, reaching his left palm. Driven with full force by Gu Chen, the fully consummated Red Flame Palm was pushed to its limit.

In that instant, Gu Chen's left palm blazed bright red like a searing iron, and a layer of flame barely visible to the naked eye enveloped his palm completely.

This was indeed the sign that Gu Chen had pushed the consummated Red Flame Palm to its extreme!

In the blink of an eye, Gu Chen crossed the distance of several meters, reaching the Panic Level Demon. He then swiftly brought his left palm down, and with a thunderous boom, terrifying palm force exploded in an instant. The demon in front of him melted away without even a chance to scream!