95: Slit Woman

The study room door slowly opened.

Li Ke walked out, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"My lord."

Barton, with a rather large oil painting tucked under his right arm, bowed slightly.

"You have emerged from your seclusion. Shall I have the kitchen prepare a meal?"

"No need."

Li Ke smiled and shook his head.

He scrutinized Barton for a moment.

Compared to a while ago, Barton's aura had become much more restrained.

He looked just Li Ke an ordinary Mortal butler, without any trace of Clairvoyance aura.

However, under Li Ke's spiritual perception, the invisible threads wrapped around Barton became increasingly numerous and tight.

A trace of mysterious connection, Li Ke a spider web, spread out, secretly linking to countless lurking demons and nightmares throughout the castle, gradually transforming the entire castle into a terrifying demon's den.

"Barton, it seems your cultivation is progressing very well."

A hint of approval flashed in Li Ke's eyes.

"It's all thanks to my lord."

Barton replied respectfully, bowing his head.

"By the way, my lord, a new oil painting appeared in the castle last night."

"However, it hasn't formed a name yet, and its state seems unstable."

As Barton spoke, he took out the new oil painting he had tucked under his arm and turned it over for Li Ke to see.

"No name, huh."

Li Ke's gaze fell upon the oil painting, and he immediately understood.

The nightmare in this oil painting was clearly derived from the Impurities of the abyss will produced when he refined the [Worm Crystal].

And the abyss will has always been known for its chaos and disorder.

The nightmare thus generated also did not produce clear rules...

"Since it has no name, I'll give it one."

Li Ke pondered for a moment.

His gaze lingered on the giant scissors in the painting for an instant, suddenly recalling a certain urban legend from his first life.

A curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Let's call it... Slit-Mouthed Woman."

As soon as the words fell.

Above the oil painting, the hazy black Qi that originally enveloped the tall human figure vanished instantly.

As the black Qi dissipated, it revealed a beautiful, tall woman holding a pair of giant scissors.

Rip!

However, before her complete face could be seen clearly, a slit appeared on the canvas without warning.

The slit happened to tear the woman's originally beautiful mouth, turning it into a hideous, gaping wound.

The originally beautiful and tall image instantly became eerie and sinister, sending shivers down one's spine.

*This*/*beautiful*

A chaotic and inexplicable sound emanated from the painting of the [Slit-Mouthed Woman], Li Ke someone who hadn't spoken for a long time was regaining the ability to speak.

Beautiful...?

The voice gradually became clear, turning into a difficult-to-understand language that could barely be deciphered.

Finally, it transformed into an incredibly charming, mature female voice.

"Am I beautiful?"

"How about this? Hahahahahahaha!!!!"

Seeing the tall woman in the painting becoming increasingly frenzied, the picture began to writhe.

The Slit-Mouthed Woman's scissors opened and closed, already showing signs of crawling out of the painting.

Thump!

Barton tapped the picture frame with his finger.

The sound from the painting abruptly ceased.

The picture also froze, becoming an ordinary oil painting.

"My lord, shall I hang it up?"

Barton bowed slightly.

"Good, hang it in this hallway as a decoration."

Li Ke smiled and nodded, deep in thought.

It seemed that the abilities and forms of some nightmares, when uncertain, could be artificially interfered with and influenced.

"This is an interesting phenomenon..."

At this moment, the unique crisp laughter of the Spirit boy and girl suddenly echoed in the hallway.

Hehehe...

Giggle...

They ran back and forth among the several oil paintings hanging in the hallway, from one painting to another.

After a few flashes, they approached along the path of the oil paintings, then suddenly leaped out of an oil painting on the wall, standing obediently beside Li Ke.

Recently, the Spirit boy and girl had been assisting Barton with various castle affairs.

Li Ke could feel that their aura had noticeably grown stronger.

It seemed that Barton's Sealing Demon Spirit Feeding Secret Method was indeed very helpful for the growth of demons Li Ke the Spirit boy and girl.

"By the way, Barton, come take a look at this thing."

Li Ke took out the snuff bottle he had obtained from the auction from his Storage Pouch.

He had just carefully examined this snuff bottle again in the study, but he couldn't find where the Three Aunts Six Grannies Nine Ghosts had sensed that terrifying malevolent spirit.

And Barton, being in a peculiar state of half-human, half-demon, might be able to see things that ordinary people couldn't.

"Can you tell if there's anything unusual about this thing?"

As soon as Li Ke took out the snuff bottle, the Three Aunts Six Grannies Nine Ghosts inside him immediately curled up.

Even the countless souls in the Soul Summoning Forest outside the castle showed a clear disturbance.

All the wandering living souls displayed expressions of extreme fear, as if they had encountered a natural enemy.

Barton took a half step closer, carefully examining the snuff bottle in Li Ke's hand, but he couldn't discern anything unusual about it.

He quietly activated the Sealing Demon Spirit Feeding Secret Method, and countless hidden connections linked to him.

The light in the hallway behind him instantly dimmed, and his aura became complex.

It seemed that many invisible entities were residing within him, observing the snuff bottle with him.

After a moment, Barton still shook his head.

"Reporting to my lord, I couldn't see anything unusual about it."

"But the Seam Man said there's a terrifying aura wrapped around it."

Li Ke showed a thoughtful expression upon hearing this.

It seemed there was indeed something hidden in this snuff bottle, but only soul bodies or certain special existences could sense it.

Since it was deeply hidden, it didn't matter.

He naturally had a way to make it come out on its own.

Subsequently, Li Ke casually placed the snuff bottle on an inconspicuous shelf in the study, temporarily not bothering with it.

...

On the training ground of Charles Manor.

Hatties was meticulously training a dozen or so manor guards, their shouts rising and falling.

At the edge of the training ground stood more than a dozen young children, most of them around eleven or twelve years old.

Each of them had flushed faces and were drenched in sweat, gritting their teeth and persevering, maintaining a basic horse stance at the edge of the training ground, their tender faces filled with stubbornness.

Li Ke's figure slowly walked out of the castle.

In his eyes, a deep, dark light flickered as he looked at the group of children.

A moment later, a hint of disappointment flashed in Li Ke's eyes.

"Still no one suitable for cultivating demons."

He had specifically instructed Hatties to find these children in the villages and towns around Oak Tree Territory.

They were either impoverished children whose families were too poor to survive, or orphans who had unfortunately lost their families in recent turmoil.

While not absolute, generally speaking, those in desperate situations are often more likely to develop strong obsessions and radical tendencies, and children's Heart-Nature is purer, their sense of good and evil often clearer, making it easier to cultivate demonic nature.

However, among this group of children, there were still no suitable candidates who met his standards.

"My lord."

Hatties noticed Li Ke's presence, immediately stopped his movements, and quickly stepped forward, kneeling on one knee.

He keenly sensed the disappointment on Li Ke's face, and his heart sank slightly.

"My lord, have you still not found a suitable candidate?"

"Your subordinate will send people to search the surrounding territories for another batch!"

Although Hatties was not entirely clear about what kind of person Li Ke was looking for, he had done his best to bring all the children who met the general criteria back to the Manor.

Unexpectedly, he still failed to satisfy Li Ke.

"No need."

Li Ke waved his hand.

"Perhaps I was mistaken."

Searching for a Devil Head among impoverished children might not be the correct direction; he was just trying it out.

Even if these children did not meet the demonic standard, they had all experienced great changes, and their Heart-Nature was relatively tougher, making them very suitable for training as a guard team.

Subsequently, Li Ke's gaze fell on Hatties, sensing the fluctuations of power within him.

After the last battle with the Silver Armor Corpse, Hatties had another Breakthrough on the spot, and his strength had improved significantly.

Now, he was very close to the third node of the Nine Lives Spiral Skill.

"It's almost time."

Li Ke's heart stirred.

The third life of the Nine Lives Spiral Skill was an extremely important pass.

Once a successful Breakthrough was achieved, a significant qualitative change would occur.

However, without sufficient preparation, it was very likely to result in death.

"Hatties, when you Break through to the third life, come see me first."

"I will give you another opportunity; it's up to you whether you can seize it."

Hatties's expression became solemn upon hearing this, and he nodded heavily.

"Your subordinate obeys!"