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Chapter 100 A Casual Act
Zhou You was well-prepared for this.

Although he had killed many lone monsters these past few days, whether it was bad luck or just a coincidence, he had never seen any type of zombie. So he just randomly picked one out of them. As for the issue of the invitation not matching his identity, there was also an explanation.

Then he faced the indifferent monster and said with a smile.

"So that this brother may know that this invitation was given to me by the elders of my clan, with the purpose of letting me come out and see the world. I really don't know where I got it from—but there are indeed a few mountain tigers that are related to my family, and it's possible that they passed it on to the elders?"

There was nothing wrong with his words. Xuan Yuan Daoist had mentioned to him before that zombies have the habit of gathering in groups, and there was even a clan that had all turned into zombies. It was perfectly normal for him to get an invitation from his elders.

The monster stared at him for a while before tossing the invitation aside.

"go in."

Zhou You showed no unusual expression, simply cupped his hands in greeting, and then walked in.

Xuan Yuan Daoist's voice only rang out again after the dazed figure had long since disappeared into the distance.

"You're quite the actor, aren't you? You actually fooled me like that."

Zhou You simply replied casually.

"It's just a little quick wit, nothing to brag about."

Then, he looked up and surveyed the room.

The inside was no different from the outside; it was still an open-air venue, but the ground had been cleared by hand, and various tables, chairs, and benches were arranged there, with many large red lanterns providing lighting.

By this time, the table was nearly half full, but those seated were all monsters and ghosts. Humans who had been coerced into coming here were not qualified to sit at this table, and there were even quite a few who were making fun of their human servants.

Some were forced to make themselves look ugly, striking all sorts of comical poses that made the surrounding monsters laugh out loud. Some were whipped and rolled on the ground, unable to make a sound. Several even had their facial features sewn up, unable to see or hear, with only large tears of blood welling up from the corners of their eyes.

Looking at the scene, Zhou You frowned and subconsciously touched the hilt of the sword at his waist.

—But it wasn't just him; the profound energy within his body was also stirring restlessly.

But in the end, both he and Xuan Yuan chose to slowly let go.

—It's not the right time yet. A moment's impatience could ruin a great plan. Taking action now would not only fail to save them, but would also harm them.

Zhou You shook his head, found a secluded corner behind the artificial hill, so secluded that no one would notice it, and sat down.

On the table were some melon seeds, dried fruit, and dried meat, which looked like the usual things to serve guests. But Zhou You never forgot that they were in the Ghostly Demon Cave, and he really had doubts about what the dried meat was made of.

So he simply took a plate of melon seeds and pretended to casually crack them open, just like the other demons at the table.

Even if he ignores it, some things just keep finding their way to him.

Suddenly, accompanied by a loud sound, something plopped down on the chair opposite.

Zhou You raised his eyes and saw only dozens of sharp, segmented limbs swaying in layers. Looking further up, he could only see a human face that looked like rotten wood.

It turned out to be a centipede that had become a spirit.

—But everyone else has a demon head and a human body, why are you the other way around?

Zhou You pursed his lips and didn't ask any further questions.

Beside the centipede was a trembling person, who seemed to be in better condition than the other human servants, with no visible external injuries. Zhou You glanced at him sideways, as if he were a real monster, and ignored him, simply moving the plate of melon seeds to the side.

The rejection and indifference were already obvious, but there were always some clueless people who came up to them.

"Hey kid, you look unfamiliar. Where do you work?"

The voice was hoarse and rusty, yet it always carried a kind of imperious arrogance.

Zhou You raised his head.

"Excuse me, are you talking to me?"

"Nonsense, if it wasn't you, then who was it? This beast over there, perhaps?"

The centipede demon writhed its limbs, as if it had finally found someone to confide in, and began to ramble on and on.

"Honestly, these demons these days don't even have a shred of respect for elders. They don't even bother to greet their elders. I, Wu Hou, have been in Cangzhou for so many years, and this is the first time I've ever seen someone like you, asking me who I am right off the bat. And that Tai Sui Xingjun, how long has he been cultivating? How dare he ride on my head?"

Zhou You shook his head, intending to stand up and get away from this chatterbox, but upon hearing the last sentence, he couldn't help but sit down again.

—It sounds like this centipede knows that Tai Sui star deity?

So he didn't rush to leave his seat, but instead asked a question.

"It sounds like you're quite familiar with the Grand Duke Jupiter?"

"It's more than just familiar!" The centipede demon slapped his thigh, about to complain loudly—but he suddenly shut his mouth tightly, looked around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he whispered.

"I only told you because I thought you were a demon from out of town. I, Lord Wu, know far more than just that Tai Sui Xingjun. This guy became a demon in my mountains back then. His true form was just a piece of slime. I was the one who took care of him all those years ago. Who would have thought that he would turn his back on me after climbing up the social ladder?"

Zhou You laughed with great interest.

"Oh, and who is Gao Zhi?"

"Who else could it be but that one in the sky—"

As if someone had grabbed his throat, the centipede demon's voice came to an abrupt halt.

It seemed to realize something terrifying, and its whole body shuddered violently, a look of horror appearing on its face—as if it had mentioned something that should never be mentioned—and after a long while, it awkwardly changed the subject with a laugh.

However, after that, it was basically all meaningless boasting about his seniority and showing off, with nothing of any significance. Only after he got tired of talking did he fork a piece of jerky from the table and stuff it into his mouth.

But immediately, he vomited it up.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey! What is this stuff? It's sour! Is this how Tai Sui treats his guests?"

The centipede demon frowned, looked around, and then suddenly laughed.

"Forget it, there's still fresh stuff. We're already here, so we don't need this guy anymore."

After speaking, the segmented limb gently swung.

Before Zhou You could realize what was happening, blood suddenly appeared!
With a scream, the man next to him had his arm chopped off!
"Damn it, what are you yelling for? Don't forget your wife and children are still here with me. If you keep yelling, I won't be eating your arm, but your tender son!"

Upon hearing this, the man shuddered, then gritted his teeth and endured the excruciating pain of his severed arm. Seeing that the man had finally quieted down, the centipede demon lifted the bloodied arm, and without cutting it open, simply stuffed it into its mouth.

Spiral-shaped teeth shredded flesh and bones, and the centipede demon greedily devoured the blood and flesh, so he did not see it.

Zhou You tilted his ear as if listening intently, then a strange smile appeared on his face.
-
A few minutes later, the thing finally ground up the last bit of bone marrow.

It wiped the blood off its face and then spoke to Zhou You.

"See that, kid? This is what demons should eat. Fresh flesh and blood are much better than this junk meat and these fruits and vegetables. Look at what's on this table, ptooey, there's not even a bottle of wine!"

At this point, Zhou You, who had been wearing a cold expression, instead showed a polite smile.

"I've learned my lesson, but it seems the birthday banquet won't start for a while. Is Lord Wu relying on just this one arm?"

It seemed that no one had called it 'Lord Wu' for a long time, and the centipede demon immediately showed a very pleased expression.

"How could that be? There's a lot of meat in this animal. If I eat it carefully, it'll be enough to keep me full until the birthday banquet starts."

The words were very ordinary, as if they were just talking about a roasted chicken.

Upon hearing this, the man's face, already pale from blood loss, turned even paler.

Zhou You seemed not to notice, and simply smiled and said.

"But I heard that the Grand Duke Jupiter doesn't like noise. Those laughing and joking around here are fine, but if you make any big noise, you might displease the Grand Duke Jupiter."

“I would care about him—” He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence, and after making sure no one had heard him again, he continued, “I wouldn’t care. First, no one is likely to see us here, and second, this guy wouldn’t dare to shout loudly.”

"Oh? Why?"

"—Didn't I just say that this thing's wife and children are all in my hands?"

The centipede demon laughed.

"Humans are like that. It's one thing to be alone, but once they have a family, some people often value their family more than their own lives—this guy is a typical example. As long as I have his wife, children, and elderly parents, he won't utter a sound even if I skin him alive—am I right?"

This statement was not made to Zhou You.

Upon hearing this, the man's face immediately showed despair and fear, but he still gritted his teeth and spoke to the centipede demon.

"Yes, yes. You can do whatever you want with my life, just please spare my wife and my child."

Zhou You nodded knowingly, then looked around.

Just as the centipede demon had said, the group of demons and ghosts were all sitting near the stands, and indeed, no one was paying attention to this area.

So?
Seeing that Zhou You didn't reply, the old ghost continued to speak smugly.

“You greenhorns may not understand, but human emotions are the best cooking material for us demons and ghosts. Some famous chefs—like Lady Bone and the pig demon of Huangzhong Cave—can even make this ingredient into something amazing. So the more miserable the beast next to me dies, the more delicious my food will be.”

The man was trembling all over, shaking like a leaf, and only managed to stay upright by sheer willpower.

At this moment, Master Xuanyuan's voice also rang in Zhou You's ears.

"Master's nephew."

Zhou You nodded knowingly.

"Yes, I know, Uncle-Master."

Hearing his barely audible words, the centipede demon raised its head in displeasure.

"—Kid, what did you say?"

"No. It's nothing. I was just marveling at your extensive knowledge, Lord Wu."

"Really? That's the truth, but why does it sound so sarcastic to me?"

The centipede demon returned inexplicably, but it didn't dwell on it for long. Instead, it quickly shifted its attention to the man.

"But what you said is true. There's still a lot of time before the birthday banquet starts, and I'm really hungry. One arm alone won't do much. It would be better to take out another leg."

But just as it was about to make another move, Zhou You stopped it with a smile.

"Lord Wu, there's no need to rush. I actually have an even better dish here that I'd like to invite you to try."

The old ghost was taken aback for a moment, then continued.

"What dish?"

"Actually, it's nothing, it's just..."

"Just deep-fried centipedes."

It took the other party three or four seconds to react; it slammed its hand on the table, immediately about to erupt in fury—

But by then, Zhou You had already made his move.

This time, however, he did not use the blood-stained blade, but rather the old Taoist's sword.

As the blade was drawn, in an instant, it seemed as if the entire space was painted with a deep red color. The centipede demon felt a murderous aura rushing towards it, accompanied by the roars and screams of countless demons and monsters. It was unknown how many harmful monsters this sword had cut down. The murderous aura within it had even materialized!
At that moment, the sword, with lightning speed, slashed horizontally towards his neck—

An ordinary lesser demon would probably be terrified and die at the mere sight of this sword, but this centipede demon, being an old demon who had been formed for many years, still possessed the ability to fight back. It swiftly spat out a mouthful of venom, but instead of attacking Zhou You, it turned and immediately began to flee towards the stands—

—Although I don’t know why this zombie suddenly turned on me, the Grand Duke Jupiter will not allow any trouble to occur on his birthday. As long as he gets out of this place, there will be plenty of ways to deal with this idiot!
But even with a good plan, it still needs to be able to get out of there.

Faced with the oncoming venom, the sword light did not hesitate at all, spreading out like water. The dark green and foul-smelling liquid was swept into a handful of water droplets before it could even get close, and only when it fell to the ground did it corrode small pits.

Don't forget, Zhou You isn't in his original form now; he's Xuan Yuan Daoist, suppressing half of the demons and monsters in Cangzhou!
Then, the sword continued forward as if unstoppable, and the centipede demon realized in despair that it seemed there was no way to avoid such a sharp blade and that it could only offer its neck to die.

This is Xuan Yuan Dao Ren's swordsmanship: when he strikes, he attacks; when he attacks, he hits; and when he hits, he dies!
So the centipede demon could only watch helplessly as the long sword drew closer and closer, finally wrapping around its neck and, with a gentle pull, 'plucked' its head off, just like a farmer harvesting fruit.

But the centipede demon wasn't the kind of creature that would simply close its eyes and wait to die. In the final moment before it fell, it opened its mouth, as if trying to make a startling sound—but the next moment, a certain mantra was whispered.

"Om".

So all words were sealed into the throat.

(End of this chapter)