Chapter 30 The Villagers Who Were Raised in Captivity

Sangye Village during the day had mottled earthen walls and desolate roads; it was terrifyingly quiet.

Chen Mu walked with light, slow steps, his sharp gaze sweeping over every tightly closed courtyard gate.

Liu Ziming leaned on a thick tree branch that Chen Mu had found for him, following along with a limp, his expression tense.

All the doors were just like yesterday—locked from the outside, covered in rust, as if they hadn't been opened for years.

Chen Mu chose one house and listened closely, but there was no sound from within.

Just as he was about to leave to continue searching the next house, his nose twitched suddenly, catching a whiff of an indescribable, sweet, fishy stench in the air.

This smell was somewhat similar to the blood mist from last night, but fresher and more intense.

Chen Mu and Liu Ziming immediately exchanged glances; the latter had clearly smelled it too, and his face turned slightly pale.

Something is strange!

Chen Mu hesitated no longer; he stepped back half a pace, gathered all his strength, let out a low shout, and kicked fiercely at the seemingly sturdy wooden door.

"Bang!"

The wooden door was kicked open instantly, the door panel falling askew to the ground, and a thick, cloying, fishy-sweet scent rushed toward them.

The two hurriedly covered their noses and looked inside; the sight before them made their pupils shrink suddenly.

On the floor of the main room, covered in filthy straw, a naked man and woman were huddled in the corner, their hands and feet bound by rough hemp rope.

Their bodies were covered in crisscrossing bruises and scratch marks, yet they looked vacant, their lips cracked, only emitting weak whimpers from their throats.

In front of them, a figure sat crouched on the ground, back to the door.

The figure wore a villager's coarse cloth clothes and was covered in black fur, holding something in its hands while making "smack, smack" chewing sounds.

Hearing the door break, the figure slowly turned its head.

It was a cat face, mottled with black and green, covered in downy fur, and stained with blood.

And what it held in its hands was shockingly a tender, delicate infant's lower leg, still stained with undried blood!

The dark red flesh and the stark white bone shard were shocking to the eye!

This scene was like a red-hot iron, searing painfully into Chen Mu's eyes.

He instantly understood the purpose of those imprisoned men and women.

They were like imprisoned livestock, forced to mate, and the infants they birthed became blood food for those monsters!

According to legend, the flesh and essence of young boys and girls were highly nourishing for demons, even comparable to items like Flat Peaches and Ginseng Fruit, which are Spiritual Root of heaven and earth.

These demonized things had not only lost their humanity but also completely lost any past affection they once had for their masters.

They regarded their former protectors as livestock and prisoners, even specifically targeting the most innocent and tender children to commit such acts worse than beasts!

"Be... beast!"

Liu Ziming's eyes were splitting, his stomach churning; at this moment, his fury overwhelmed his fear and the pain in his leg.

He had always detested evil spirits, and seeing such a tragic and horrific scene now, how could he hold back?

The demonized villager was also stunned for a moment, then let out a cackling laugh, tossed aside the severed limb, got down on all fours, arched its back, extended its sharp claws, and assumed a posture ready to pounce at any moment.

The Demonic Qi radiating from its body was not strong; it was likely just an ordinary beast that had been demonized, barely touching the threshold of the Martial Artist path.

"Die!"

Liu Ziming shouted in anger, ignoring his leg injury, and suddenly kicked off the ground with his single good leg.

The thick tree branch he used as a crutch was now treated as a sharp blade; pouring all his rage into it, he slashed fiercely at the cat demon!

Although he was better at saber techniques, this strike, delivered in a fit of rage, actually carried considerable force and whistled through the air.

The demonized villager leaped nimbly to the side, easily evading this slightly clumsy attack.

It then fiercely extended its sharp claws, backhanding a grab toward Liu Ziming's injured lower leg at an extremely tricky angle.

Just as the sharp claws were about to touch his skin, a cold sword shadow struck first.

The cat demon's extended forelimb was cleanly severed, and pitch-black blood immediately sprayed out.

Chen Mu had already entered the fray at some unknown moment, his long sword moving without any flashy flourishes.

His face was cold as iron, his eyes devoid of any ripples, holding only chilling killing intent.

In extreme pain, the demonized villager let out a shrill howl. Chen Mu's Divine Void Step shifted slightly, his figure flickering, and he arrived behind it, his sword light flashing again.

[Killed a walking corpse, plundered Martial Artist Lifespan: three years!]

The cold System prompt rang in his mind. Chen Mu no longer looked at the corpse already broken into two pieces on the ground, sheathed his sword, and walked toward the bound man and woman.

They still had breath, but their eyes were vacant, showing no reaction to the outside world; clearly, their souls were severely damaged, no different from walking corpses.

Even if they could be rescued, it would likely be difficult for them to regain their sanity.

"Bastards! These Prodigies actually keep humans as livestock, and even..."

"As expected, these demonized villagers are no longer human; they are beasts wearing human skin! No, they are worse than beasts!"

Liu Ziming leaned on his tree branch, looking at the bloody infant limb before him, trembling with rage.

Chen Mu said nothing more, turned around, walked out of this house, and said coldly.

"Next house!"

One house, two houses, three houses...

Almost every house that could still be entered had scenes much the same.

Men and women imprisoned and tortured for breeding, guarding demonized villagers, and hair-raising, bloody scenes.

Some were eating, while others were drowsy.

Most of their strength was not high, relying only on instinct and agile movements.

They might have been enough to deal with ordinary people or even low-level Martial Artists, but before Chen Mu and Liu Ziming, who were in a rage and gradually developing tacit understanding, they all became lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Chen Mu's sword technique was fierce; the Concept of the Heaven-Slaying Sword Drawing Technique was integrated into his ordinary slashes, often killing the enemy in one strike.

Liu Ziming had also long since killed until his eyes were red, his leg injury seemingly temporarily suppressed by his fury.

He no longer stuck to specific Moves; the tree branch in his hand, the saber at his waist, and even the sharp claws he seized from demonic creatures all became his weapons of slaughter.

He focused on attacking the joints, eyes, and other vulnerable parts of these demonized villagers, forming an effective coordination with Chen Mu.

The last shred of pity and hesitation in his heart completely dissipated in the face of such atrocities.

All that remained was the determination to slay demons and eliminate evil.

[Plundered Lifespan: six years, nine years, twelve years...]

The System prompts rang out continuously, and the two fought more bravely the more they killed.

Until they arrived at the entrance of a dilapidated village temple, Chen Mu frowned, his eyes suddenly sharp.

The fluctuation of the aura in this dilapidated temple was clearly much stronger than that of the group of minor demons just now.

It might not be so easy to deal with.