As spiritual energy revived, I, having acquired certain attributes, gradually ascended to immortalit

Chapter 148 The Numb Villagers

At the village entrance, it was a dark mass of people.

Many villagers knelt down again. In front of them stood a tall creature with a wolf's head and a human body, wearing an animal skin around its waist.

"A half-human, half-demon who can wear clothes?"

Shen Qinggang walked over and was taken aback when he saw this half-human, half-demon creature for the first time.

"A superhuman!"

The half-demon blurted it out, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

In recent years, this area has not encountered any supernatural beings from the outside world. This was his first time coming to collect tributes, and he was so unlucky to encounter them.

The werewolf half-demon subconsciously took a step back, but quickly came to his senses. Zi Guang looked Shen Qing over and realized something was wrong.

"Oh ho, so you're just an eighth-rank official. You're stuck here now, aren't you?"

Getting in here depends on luck, but getting out depends on your strength.

The half-demon grinned, revealing fangs as he cackled, "The flesh and blood of a supernatural being are far superior to those of these lowly commoners. You've come at just the right time; it'll help me break through to the seventh rank!"

Before the words were even finished, it pounced on Shen Qing.

Normally, this half-demon would have the right to say such a thing when facing an ordinary human eighth-rank supernatural being.

Its aura was solid, and most of its power had been transformed into a power similar to Yuan Power. It was just one step away from breaking through to the seventh rank.

It's just that environmental issues have held it back, but the level of skill is still there.

However, Shen Qing ignored him completely and casually slapped the half-demon who pounced on him.

"boom!"

The half-demon couldn't react in time and was sent flying more than ten meters away, crashing heavily to the ground. All of its fangs broke off, and blood mixed with broken teeth flowed from its mouth.

It lay paralyzed on the ground, its eyes filled with confusion, completely unaware of what had happened, followed by fear.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out around them.

The villagers who were kneeling on the ground raised their heads, but their faces showed no joy, only fear. Some even knelt down in front of Shen Qing.

They were chattering away and kowtowing incessantly.

Although he couldn't understand what the villagers around him were saying, judging from their eyes, they seemed to be trying to stop him from taking action.

Shen Qing frowned, but still spared the half-demon's life for the time being, waiting for the village chief to arrive.

Before long, the village chief stumbled over, glanced at the half-demon on the ground who was barely breathing, and then listened to the others muttering a bunch of things.

The village chief swallowed hard, looked at Shen Qing, and said in a trembling voice, "Sir, this is a subordinate of a powerful demon."

The term "Great Demon" corresponds to a mid-level third-grade supernatural being.

"so what?"

Shen Qing frowned. Seeing that the village chief only said this when he arrived, he became even more irritated.

The spear appeared out of thin air in his hand and pierced the half-demon to death.

But after that shot, the fear in the eyes of the surrounding villagers intensified, and they gathered together and began to discuss it.

His gaze towards Shen Qing became even more evasive.

"My lord, you—you are an eighth-rank official, right?"

As the only person in the village who could communicate with outsiders, the village chief was naturally aware of the different levels of power among those with supernatural abilities.

Seeing Shen Qing nod, the village chief's lips moved, but he ultimately didn't say anything. He simply bent down and asked Shen Qing to continue resting.

"You think I shouldn't have killed that half-demon?"

Feeling the gazes of the surrounding villagers, Shen Qing frowned, naturally guessing what they were thinking.

"Sir, you're overthinking it."

The village chief shook his head, refusing to admit it, but insisted that Shen Qing go back to rest. However, when he returned, the boy in the room was gone.

Then, he heard the village chief and Xiao Qi talking from a stone house not far away.

With a thought, Shen Qing pressed himself against the wall and vanished from the spot in an instant.

"Little Seven, are you sure that the great demon at the summit was really killed by this lord?"

Although Shen Qing couldn't understand what the two were saying, judging from their expressions through the window, it was clearly not a good thing.

The boy's eyes reddened slightly, and the old man's voice was full of helplessness.

Not knowing what was going on, Shen Qing didn't take any action for the time being, since the village chief wouldn't explain it to him.

It wasn't until midnight that Shen Qing, who was cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes and walked out of the room.

Under the moonlight, two figures were tiptoeing out of the village. It was the village chief and Xiao Qi. Xiao Qi was holding some medicinal herbs, just like during the day.

Is this another matter of delivering the responsibilities, or rather, becoming the responsibilities oneself?

"Village chief, what do you mean by this?"

Shen Qing's calm voice rang out, startling the village chief. He turned around and immediately knelt on the ground.

Xiao Qi also knelt down, bowing her head deeply.

"My lord, we—we have no other choice."

The village chief's voice was full of bitterness as he pleaded loudly, "Without offerings, we will all die. This is not just targeting Xiao Qi, but every family will be chosen."

Those powerful demons are really too dangerous for us to deal with.

In the end, he almost roared, as if he wanted to release all the pent-up fear.

Firelight gradually appeared in the surrounding stone houses.

Many villagers came out after hearing the commotion. Looking at the crowd surrounding him, Shen Qing suddenly thought of a sentence: Should good people be held at gunpoint?

However, the thought only lasted for a moment, and what happened next was not what he had imagined.

The villagers did nothing but kneel down and humbly beg repeatedly.

Having witnessed Shen Qing's methods during the day, the villagers knew they couldn't afford to offend the demon, but they also couldn't afford to offend Shen Qing.

So, without accusations or coercion, they could only resort to this most helpless method to plead with Shen Qing not to interfere with them.

Let them continue delivering tribute; at least they can survive.

The villagers believed that even without today's events, and regardless of whether Shen Qing was a match for those demons, he would disappear after a while.

They will continue to serve as food for those demons.

"you----"

Looking at the villagers around him, their numb and desperate faces, Shen Qing felt extremely irritated and angry.

But it wasn't aimed at them, but at the demons.

It is wrong to keep humans in captivity as food, to harvest them regularly like crops. This should not happen.

This should not happen anywhere.

Don't say that humans also domesticate other animals. He is a human being and naturally has to think from a human perspective. He cannot imagine that such a thing may happen in modern times.

"Location."

Shen Qing took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in her heart.

The village chief was taken aback and looked at him blankly.

I'm talking about the location.

Shen Qing repeated, "Once we kill those demons, you won't need to send blood offerings anymore, right?"

His gaze fell on Xiao Qi, and he said, "Also, you said before that his life was mine, right? Then you have no right to let him die."

Since he happened to save them, it proves that the other person was not meant to die.

"But you, sir—"

An uncertain look flashed in the village chief's eyes, and his lips trembled. "Those demons are all sixth-rank, no weaker than the demon at the peak, and perhaps even stronger."

An eighth-rank official slaying a sixth-rank official—that demon in the sky must have been killed by some accident, right?

The village chief didn't dare to ask this question at all.

Although he had already asked Xiao Qi, Xiao Qi had not personally witnessed Shen Qing killing that sixth-grade demon.

When they arrived there, the demon had already been killed by having its neck broken. Only then did they see Shen Qing emerge from the bird's nest, holding a long spear.

Neither their strength nor their fighting skills match up.

The village chief dared not gamble with the lives of the entire village; if he gambled wrong, they would all die together.