Chapter 431: Chapter 430: Inhumanity, White Jade Tiger
The white light appeared too suddenly, and Shi Xiaole was distracted at the time, so he failed to get a clear look at the other party.
However, this proved that Wang Heng wasn’t acting alone.
Could the person who murdered those innocents a few days ago be that white light?
Suppressing his scattered thoughts, Shi Xiaole returned to the courtyard, woke the son of Dai Lun, and immediately used the Soul Capturing Skill: "Tell me everything you know about the green-haired monster."
Shi Xiaole quickly learned the whole story, being astonished by the ruthless acts of Dai Lun and his companions, as well as terrified by the legend of Peony Town.
According to the son of Dai Lun, several mysterious incidents involving green-haired monsters had occurred in Peony Town as far back as eight or nine hundred years ago.
These monsters reportedly craved human blood, seemed impervious to weapons, and increased in strength over time. The only way to kill them was with fire.
Distinguished families of the time banded together to kill several green-haired monsters and warned subsequent generations to always be on guard.
Over time, some distinguished families left Peony Town, others decline, and the population dwindled. By the generation of Dai Lun, only six families knew the secret.
These six families were the masterminds behind the killing of Peony Girl and various other green-haired monsters twenty years ago.
But the motives of Dai Lun and his companions were not straightforward.
They once secretly captured a green-haired monster for experimentation. When they found they couldn’t control it, they killed the monster and switched to collecting its blood.
Periodically, they would buy healthy individuals from outside as experiment samples, researching the effect of the monster’s blood on human bodies in the hopes of discovering the secret to its eternal youth.
The son of Dai Lun was one of the persons in charge of buying these people.
"Young Master, please, don’t kill me, please!"
The son of Dai Lun was trembling like a leaf, begging incessantly.
Shaking his head, Shi Xiaole touched the man’s forehead and killed him. Then he entered Dai Lun’s room, pushed hard against the eastern wall, which swung open to reveal a passageway.
After entering, the space in front of him suddenly widened.
Shi Xiaole saw something he could never forget.
In the spacious stone room, men and women, devoid of hands and feet with empty eye sockets, were chained to the walls. The moaning sounds from their mouths indicated their tongues had been removed.
Some were disemboweled; some had their lower halves amputated; others had their skins peeled off. Human organs and blood were everywhere. The overpowering stench of blood flooded the nose and made one’s stomach contract. It was a tableau of hell.
Even with Shi Xiaole’s strong capabilities, he found the sight unbearable, becoming visibly pale.
A few men who resembled doctors were administering medications to some people or sprinkling some strange liquids on their injuries.
These liquids were apparently drawn from a wine jar. Shi Xiaole clearly saw that the liquids were green with a touch of red—probably the green-haired monster’s blood.
"Dai Lizheng, I have some good news. We have discovered that when paired with certain herbs, the monster’s blood can accelerate the healing of wounds by tenfold. Furthermore, it can maintain a human’s vitality indefinitely. This is probably the reason for the monster’s immortality."
Hearing the footsteps, none of the doctors turned around. Instead, one of them, looking flushed and excited, said so.
Immortality has been the greatest dream and pursuit of mankind since ancient times—from emperors and generals to peddlers and foot soldiers, who doesn’t want that?
These doctors all believed that if they continued to delve into this, they might figure out the secret within their lifetime, massively prolong their lives, and live a long life even without turning into monsters.
"Enough is enough."
Shi Xiaole stated.
"Who’s there?"
The doctors finally turned around, only to find a strange boy in green robes, all of them visibly horrified.
Half an hour later, having learned the specifics of the doctors’ research, Shi Xiaole killed them with a slap. Then he turned to a boy on the east side.
The boy had no limbs left. His eyes, nose, and ears had also been cut off. The scabs on his wounds were brown in color, with a faintly eerie green.
The reason to pay particular attention to this boy was that he had been captured ten years ago, and there was almost no change in his appearance over these years.
He was the most successful experimental subject of the group.
Of course, the price was that many of his body organs mutated, endangering his life. The doctors amputated the boy in order to observe him more sustainably.
Looking at the people around him, living as they were was worse than death, Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but heave a sigh.
Their vitalities were already severely damaged and were only maintained through the monster’s blood. Once the supply stops, they would die instantly. However, if the supply continued, diseases would occur, making death even more painful.
Their fate was sealed the moment they were brought here.
"The most poisonous thing is a person’s intention."
Gently releasing Invisible Gang Qi, the people in the room stopped breathing. They didn’t feel any pain before death.
In the eastern part of the stone room was a jar of green liquid. According to the doctors, applying even a small amount of it would heal the most severe wounds in the shortest time.
But Shi Xiaole didn’t plan to take it.
The downsides of the green liquid were too great. Who knew if one would turn into a monster after using it?
Upon leaving the tunnel, Shi Xiaole turned around and buried all of the evil deeds underground with two palms.
He didn’t know whether humans could live forever or not, but if this inhumane method was the key, he would destroy it wherever he saw it, without mercy.
Having come back into the light of day, Shi Xiaole and Qingfeng found themselves at the peak of Peony Mountain.
He could now confirm that the strange noises he heard a few days prior were not a mere figment of his imagination, but were very real indeed.
True enough, not too long afterwards, the noises echoed once again.
Immediately, Qingfeng shot off in a certain direction. When it came to utilizing the five senses, even Shi Xiaole was far outmatched by it.
Despite the noises being intermittent and seemingly moving around, Qingfeng never halted, riding on the fluctuations in the air, leaping over mountains and crossing ridges to swiftly arrive in front of a mountain wall.
Shi Xiaole discovered that Qingfeng, for some unknown reason, was suddenly quite excited.
Howl!
The ear-splitting howl suddenly became much closer, and a flash of white light in the distance zoomed towards them.
Quick as a flash, Shi Xiaole slashed out with his sword.
Clunk...
A large piece of rock shattered, the white light deflected to one side, allowing Shi Xiaole to finally get a good look at their opponent, which took him by surprise.
This was not a human, but a tiger—a huge, pure white tiger without a single spot of another color, as if it had been meticulously carved out of white jade.
The White Tiger bared its sharp teeth, its emerald-green eyes looking particularly fierce as it growled and charged at Shi Xiaole once again.
Swish!
Shi Xiaole executed his Thirteen Strikes of the Qingfeng. Under its relentless attack, even masters at the third level of Dragon Gate Realm would be at a disadvantage.
However, the White Tiger’s speed was no less than his, swift as the wind in its attacks and even managing to counter occasionally, its sharp teeth clashing against his Hidden Edge Sword, sending sparks flying.
After a man-to-beast duel of several dozen rounds with no one watching, Shi Xiaole suddenly drew the Red Dragon Sword from the system space and swung it forcefully.
The crimson dragon-shaped Sword Qi was majestic and enormous. Under the enhancement of the black Demonic True Intent, it twisted and turned, then suddenly crashed into the ferocious tiger.
Dirt and shattered rock billowed out as the White Tiger gave a long roar and was flung backwards, slamming into the distant rock wall and leaving cracks. Blood began to ooze out from its body.
"Just a minor injury?"
Shi Xiaole was taken aback.
Ever since the Demon Bone turned medium gray, the lethality of his Devil Path’s ultimate skills greatly increased, even surpassing the Thirteen Strikes of Qingfeng, yet it had only caused a skin wound on the White Tiger?
Little did he know, the White Tiger was infuriated. Ever since its mutation, when had it ever been injured by anyone?
Thump, thump, thump...
After a grueling clash of several more rounds, Shi Xiaole repeatedly sent the White Tiger flying. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he noticed that its strength and speed were gradually decreasing following a certain pattern compared to before.
Livid after being continually injured, the White Tiger gave a few enraged roars and, after kicking up several massive rocks, desperate to survive, it made its escape towards a dense forest in the distance. Midway through, it seemed to just disappear, vanishing from Shi Xiaole’s sight.
"An Array System?"
Shi Xiaole halted.
The air carried no trace of the Array System, which signified that this Array System was incredibly powerful, definitely something he couldn’t contend with. The next question was, who set up this Array System?
When he thought about how a mission from the Demon Alliance that was on the level of being overseen by a sanctuary lord successively led to encounters with a Green-haired Monster and a White Jade Tiger, Shi Xiaole could only let out a bitter laugh. When he turned around to return, however, he found Qingfeng lazing on the ground, its eyes half-open and half-closed.
"Qingfeng, what’s wrong?"
Normally, at the sound of Shi Xiaole’s voice, Qingfeng would instantly react. However, now it could barely open its eyes, as though it was utterly drained of energy.
Upon touching Qingfeng’s skin, Shi Xiaole was shocked to find it burning hot.
What was even more terrifying was that Shi Xiaole suddenly noticed thread-like objects emerging from Qingfeng’s pores, intertwining at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just half a moment, these threads turned into a cocoon, completely enveloping Qingfeng.
It had to be said, Qingfeng’s existence had always been a mystery. When did such a divine horse ever appear in this world? Just like the White Tiger he encountered today...
Wait, could the mutations of these two creatures be related to this place? And why did the Green-haired Monster also appear in Peony Town?
All sorts of mysteries surfaced in his mind, causing an unprecedented storm of astonishment and shock in Shi Xiaole’s heart. It was a good while before he managed to calm down.
Looking at the silken cocoon by his side and knowing that Qingfeng wouldn’t be awakening any time soon, Shi Xiaole simply sat down on the spot and kept guard.
As expected, two days later, the White Tiger reappeared, completely recovered from its injuries and its speed and strength returned to their peak.
This time, Shi Xiaole didn’t draw the Red Dragon Sword, because he realized he could use the tiger’s speed and strength to hone his own swordsmanship.
That day, man and tiger fought over a thousand rounds until the White Tiger’s strength flagged once again. Shi Xiaole’s arms, right leg, and left shoulder were grazed and bleeding from the tiger’s sharp teeth.
After a day had passed, the White Tiger appeared once again.
This time the duel lasted for more than nine hundred and eighty rounds, leading to the White Tiger’s exhaustion.
"The tiger’s speed comes from its explosive power, heedless of consequences, focusing all its efforts at one attack."
Shi Xiaole seemed to have gained some insight.
Without drawing a high-level martial arts skill, one way to increase strength was to create a lethal technique, such as the Destroying Star Flash that he’d been studying recently.
In the course of fighting successive battles with the White Tiger, Shi Xiaole seemed to have found the missing vibe of the Destroying Star Flash.
