The sun and moon are both wrong; who made him seek the Dharma

I'm fighting this kind of monster?

Although he made some very strong statements.

But the crimson vertical eye on that head was now watching Xia Chuan's reaction with extreme tension.

These two were just killing ordinary corpses all over the mountainside, clearly exorcising demons and monsters. They should be righteous seekers of the Dharma with a conscience.

Hearing that the lives of the entire village are being used as leverage, they'll surely hesitate to act rashly, right?

To everyone's surprise, the burly man, upon hearing this, showed no sign of panic; instead, he smiled slightly.

"You mean you want to make a deal, right?"

Xia Chuan exerted a slight force on his wrist. "I have a suggestion."

"If you tie up your clone and your original body and bring them to me now, I will be merciful and let this girl go."

"Otherwise, I'll kill her right now!"

Three-eyed: ? ? ?

Chapter 8 Village Rumors

Looking at Xia Chuan's fierce expression, San Yan felt extremely troubled.

But since the other side had hostages, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak:

"You, aren't you the righteous path? How can you act like this?"

Xia Chuan responded frankly: "How is it not right?!"

"She has no trace of Nirvana Corpse; she is just a mortal."

Xia Chuan's tone was calm, but his sharp gaze swept past Bai Xiaoxiao and fixed on the head with red eyes.

"I was just planning to bluff her, but you just showed up on your own."

A half-smile appeared on Xia Chuan's handsome face:

"You want to save her, right?"

Otherwise, you could simply cut off contact and leave. Why waste your breath arguing with us here?

The three-eyed head fell into a deathly silence.

Oh no, they found out.

After a long while, the withered lips slowly opened and closed, emitting a dry sound.

“My clones, these countless corpses covering the mountains and fields, have all been killed by you.”

"My main body is on its way, but it will take a little longer."

It gave Bai Xiaoxiao a deep look, its tone carrying a hint of helpless compromise:

"Please wait patiently, we won't run away."

"Please keep your promise and do not hurt her."

The head and broken torso, now free from magical control, fell to the ground with a thud, becoming a complete corpse.

Gao Haoguang stood to the side, completely dumbfounded.

He stared blankly at the trembling Bai Xiaoxiao, his mind still reeling:

"What exactly is going on?"

"You...you are truly an accomplice of that Nirvana?"

Bai Xiaoxiao bit her pale lips and fell silent.

Just then, she felt a lightness on the back of her neck, as the large, iron-like hand completely released its grip.

No, she isn't.

Xia Chuan withdrew his hand. He looked down at the girl before him, scrutinizing her.

"This little girl must be someone who serves as a sacrifice or something similar."

"You told us to leave quickly just now, not to cover for Nie Shi."

Rather, they were worried about the safety of the two of us staying here, which is why they tried to dissuade us.

Xia Chuan's eyes were sharp, and he succinctly revealed the secret.

"In your village, there must be a custom of offering living people to the corpse, right?"

Bai Xiaoxiao shuddered, abruptly raising her head, her tear-streaked face filled with disbelief:

"How...how did you know?"

Xia Chuan sighed and naturally spread his hands:

"It's very simple. Your village is so close to the area where the Nirvana Corpse is active, yet you still dare to raise smoke from your cooking fires."

There are only two possibilities: either you had absolutely no idea there were Nirvana corpses on this mountain;

"Or perhaps you've reached some kind of tacit agreement with Nirvana."

"What Nirvana wants is nothing more than the flesh and blood of living people."

Rather than a one-off deal, it's better to raise people like livestock, providing them with regular tributes and slowly consuming their resources.

Am I right?

Bai Xiaoxiao kept her head down, her thin body trembling violently, but she didn't say a word.

“That corpse’s attitude just now was very clear: he not only didn’t want to hurt you, but he even wanted to exchange the lives of the entire village for yours.”

Xia Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Clearly, that corpse doesn't know that you've been chosen as the 'meal' for this meal."

In other words, you were forcibly pushed out to your death by the other villagers.

"But that doesn't make sense."

Generally speaking, when it comes to offerings, villagers will prioritize choosing from the elderly, frail, and unable to do heavy work.

Xia Chuan paused, his tone becoming firm:

"But they chose you."

"You are still young, and you haven't even had children yet."

In secluded rural villages, young, unmarried women are the most valuable resource, as they can both do farm work and carry on the family line.

Using such a scarce resource as tribute is inherently unreasonable.

Xia Chuan stared intently into Bai Xiaoxiao's eyes and slowly offered a conjecture.

"Unless... all the adults in your family were given away as sacrifices in the past."

Now that your family line has ended, it's finally your turn, isn't it?

Otherwise, every parent in the world would surely be willing to die in their daughter's place.

Bai Xiaoxiao's face turned deathly pale instantly.

But Xia Chuan showed no sign of stopping. He pieced together the clues in his mind and continued:

“In rural areas, it’s rare to see a family driven to the brink of death, to the point of sacrificing them to ensure their extinction. Unless…”

"What heinous things did you, or your ancestors, do to these villagers?"

"Stop talking!"

Bai Xiaoxiao covered her ears in despair, interrupting Xia Chuan's words with a sharp voice and a sob in her voice.

Gao Haoguang, who was standing to the side, felt his hands and feet turn cold and fell into a deathly silence.

Is it really true...?

In order to survive, the villagers treated each other like livestock in a pigsty.

They pass the buck to each other, stand by and watch coldly, and then clean up the most helpless and isolated one, sending it out for the Nirvana Corpse to feast on.

Gao Haoguang felt nauseous.

Xia Chuan, however, remained remarkably calm, his tone carrying a sense of confidence:

"You saw the reaction of that Nirvana clone just now; it's no match for us at all."

Explain the whole story to me clearly, and I'm sure I can help you resolve it.

"Don't worry, although I was a bit rough just now, we're really not bad people."

Bai Xiaoxiao stared blankly at Xia Chuan's right hand, which had almost snapped her neck, her expression complicated.

She turned around, her back to the two of them, her shoulders twitching slightly.

Gao Haoguang glared fiercely at his senior brother.

He quickly stepped forward and gently comforted Bai Xiaoxiao's retreating figure:

"Sister, it's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

Bai Xiaoxiao remained silent.

Gao Haoguang sighed and shrugged at Xia Chuan, indicating that he was also helpless.

Unexpectedly, Bai Xiaoxiao gave a bitter smile, her voice trembling, and slowly opened her mouth.

“I…I am Bai Xiaoxiao.”

These are all stories my parents told me.

"This happened to our ancestors, a long, long time ago..."

Upon hearing that they were finally about to uncover the secrets of that year, Gao Haoguang and Xia Chuan were overjoyed and immediately perked up their ears.

"Back then, the outside world was a hundred times more chaotic than it is now."

But the village of Heishan, nestled deep in the mountains, retains a tranquility that outsiders can only dream of because of its isolation.

"Back then, there was a doctor in the village who was the only one who could diagnose and prescribe medicine."