Gou Zai Yao Wu Simulated Immortal

It's called a temple, but it's actually in a terrible state of disrepair.

The characters on the plaque have long been eroded, and only the characters for "land" can be vaguely discerned.

A faint, dim yellow light emanated from inside the temple.

The wasteland behind the temple was in complete disarray, with several broken baskets and old mats piled up in the corner.

The corner of the mat was stained with dark brown stains, making its original color unrecognizable.

Further away, beneath the overgrown weeds, half of a woman's embroidered shoe was visible.

Xue Duan was not seen, and the talisman still pointed towards the temple.

Li Qian reached out and lifted the broken wooden plank behind the window, then crouched down and quietly slipped into the temple.

The central altar is still there, but half of the clay statue of the Earth God has collapsed.

The altar had been hollowed out, and a dark passage leading downwards was exposed, with wisps of yin energy rising from it.

And in the shadows behind the altar, a figure was crouching—an old woman.

At a glance, Li Qian knew that this was no ordinary farmer.

She was hunched over, with sparse, gray hair and wrinkles on her face so deep they could trap flies.

The left half of his face still resembled a human, while the right half inexplicably grew fine, yellowish-brown short hair.

His ten fingers were like withered branches, with a translucent thin film growing between them, giving off an eerie blue hue.

Half-human, half-demon?

Behind him, at the entrance to the secret passage, there were rows of crude wooden cages.

Some were empty, while others contained fragments of women's clothing, hair, and bloodstains.

It turns out that the account book's statement about sending it to the mountains actually meant sending it here.

Just then, the half-demon old woman squatting behind the offering table suddenly twitched her nostrils slightly.

She slowly raised her head.

An eerie light appeared in his murky old eyes.

"...smells like a stranger."

She grinned, revealing her half-human, half-beast mouth with uneven, yellow teeth, her voice dry and hoarse.

The half-demon old woman shrank under the offering table.

His movements were incredibly fast, unlike those of an old man; his thin, bony body flashed and slipped into the shadows.

A strange whistle suddenly escaped her throat.

The sound was sharp and thin, like the cawing of a crow at night, or the mournful wail of a lynx.

Its penetrating power is astonishing, drilling straight into the depths of the earth, causing a buzzing sound in people's eardrums.

Li Qian frowned slightly.

He had clearly activated the Concealing Breath and Concealing Form talismans, gathering his energy and hiding his form.

Logically speaking, even a Qi Refining cultivator might not be able to see through it at a glance.

This old hag could tell just by smelling it.

Is it because their nasal passages are different from ordinary people, or is there another method for identifying life and breath in this place?

The thought only crossed his mind for a moment before Li Qian stopped thinking about it.

Once their whereabouts are exposed, hiding again would be tantamount to tying their own hands and feet.

He raised his hand and cast a silencing talisman.

The talisman flashed and transformed into a pale blue spiritual pattern, spreading out in an instant.

The entire area, several meters inside and outside the dilapidated temple, was covered.

The shrill sound was already piercing, but after only half of it had traveled out, it seemed to crash into an invisible soft wall.

It died silently in the temple, leaving only a dull lingering sound that vibrated back and forth between the beams and pillars.

Li Qian's foot is a dot.

He shot off like an arrow, skimming close to the ground.

With a flash of dark light, the Soul-Devouring Sword was already in his hand.

Before the half-demon old woman could let out a second strange cry, he flicked his sword diagonally, aiming straight for her neck.

The old woman huddled in the shadow of the offering table, intending to retreat further.

Seeing the sword light approaching, he let out a short, strange cry.

He suddenly spread his fingers, the thin membrane between his fingers trembled, and a spray of fishy yellow viscous liquid gushed out.

Li Qian's eyes turned cold, but he didn't change his wrist position.

Where the sword flashed, it swept across the frosty night like a blizzard.

He let out a sneer.

The old woman's head flew high into the air, crashed into the broken statue behind her, and then rolled to the ground.

The headless corpse twitched twice, its ten fingers clawing wildly, as if it still wanted to crawl into the dark passage.

Li Qian struck again with his sword, slicing open the man's chest and abdomen, completely extinguishing his life.

Almost at the same instant, hurried footsteps echoed from the secret passage.

"Old woman!"

"Someone has broken in!"

Two figures emerged from under the offering table, one after the other.

A man wearing a straw raincoat and hat, short and thin, with a hand covered in gray hair and long, black, hook-shaped nails protruding from his sleeve.

The other one was hunched over, with bulging joints at the shoulders and neck, the bones pushing the flesh and skin together.

These were the two demons that Xue Duan had seen on the mountain road before.

The two demons emerged, but before they could even assess the situation, they were caught off guard.

Li Qian took the initiative, his sword preceding his opponent.

The man in the straw raincoat felt a blur before his eyes, and then a chill ran down his throat.

His hands remained in a poised, yet not quite pouncing, position.

His head had slid off his shoulder at an angle, and blood gushed from his chest, splattering all over the offering table.

The other hunchbacked demon was filled with shock and rage. He let out a low growl, and his arms suddenly grew longer, his claws like hooks, and he grabbed at the head.

Li Qian advanced instead of retreating, his shoulders and elbows slightly lowered.

While dodging that claw, the Soul-Devouring Sword slashed diagonally upwards.

There was a loud cracking sound.

The sorcerer was ripped open from his ribs to his shoulder by a single sword strike.

Between the rolled-up skin and flesh, there was no red blood, but instead a large amount of foul-smelling green pus flowed out.

It staggered a few steps, still trying to escape deeper into the dark passage, but Li Qian pointed and gestured.

The Soul-Devouring Sword's dark light reversed, piercing the demon's heart from behind and pinning its entire body to the stone wall of the secret passage.

The temple fell silent once more.

But from deeper into the passage, even more chaotic noises suddenly surged up.

Someone inside screamed in a shrill voice, "Open the cage!"

"Open the cage quickly!"

"Release all those fetuses! Hold him back! Hold him back!"

Li Qian's eyes darkened, and he drew his sword and charged down.

The secret passage under the offering table was not wide, only wide enough for two or three people to walk side by side, and the stone steps were slippery.

The wall was covered with a layer of something that was hard to tell whether it was moisture or oil, and it felt sticky when you stepped on it.

The further down you go, the stronger the fishy smell becomes.

The stench of blood, medicine, and rotting flesh mingled together, almost making one's chest and abdomen churn.

After turning a corner, a wide-open space suddenly appeared before us.

An underground shed that has been hollowed out.

Layers of wooden fences and haphazardly strung together, resembling pigsties and cowsheds, were densely nailed into the underground cavity.

Several oil lamps hung in the room, their dim, yellowish light illuminating the underground area in a half-light, half-dark manner.

Behind the wooden fence, however, were not livestock.

are people.

More than ten women were imprisoned in wooden cages.

His hair was disheveled, his expression blank, and he could only lie on the ground panting.

His limbs were chained and his body convulsed incessantly, as if he were enduring some kind of excruciating pain.

But what's most horrifying is their bodies.

Fine grayish-yellow hairs have grown on my arms, lying in clumps under the skin.

The lower leg was covered with a layer of blue scales, the scales were not fully formed, and there were still traces of blood on the edges.

Without exception, their abdomens were all distended and swollen.

The veins bulged out, and below them, demonic energy circulated. A living creature moved inside, causing the belly to bulge and sink.

Li Qian's gaze swept over the area, and his heart sank slightly.

"Is this about turning living people into monsters?!"

Just then, several dark figures emerged from the shadows on both sides of the passage.

Li Qian looked up and his killing intent surged.

The group of people walked stiffly, their eyes were green, and they were still wearing old clothes from ordinary people.

These were the old servants Li Qian had seen in front of the Liu family's house when he went to Heixi County to gather intelligence.

At this moment, they no longer resembled living people.

Its skin was sallow and its hair was gray. Fine scales rose up on its neck and under its ears. It made strange gurgling sounds from its throat, resembling both a corpse and a demon.

One of them screamed, "Let these women bite him to death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several half-demon servants rushed towards the wooden fence, frantically trying to pull off the iron latches on the gate.