14: Chapter 14 Completely Enraptured, the True Colors of a Demon Bear!

Three days later, Elder Rat brought back definite news.

Seven demonic Cultivators were stationed in the Earth God Temple—three in the Foundation Establishment Early Stage and four in the Qi Refining Late Stage.

The leader was a female Cultivator dressed in a red dress, using a Blood Banner; her Foundation Establishment Early Stage Aura fluctuations were very stable, not looking like someone who had just made a Breakthrough.

Several Qi Refining Late Stage followers carried black leather pouches on their backs, which contained stacks of human skins instead of Spirit Stones.

"Those three Foundation Establishment demonic Cultivators head out once every day at the Zi Hour and return at the Chou Hour. Every time they return, their leather pouches become ruddy and full..."

"In several villages thirty li away, people have been disappearing every night recently. The villagers thought it was a beast calamity, so no news spread."

Shi Jian didn't speak.

They weren't refraining from total extermination, but rather taking a slow and steady approach.

This showed the opponents weren't stupid; they knew a wholesale slaughter would attract an investigation from White Cloud Temple, so they switched to boiling a frog in warm water.

Taking the Essence Blood of only a few Mortals each night could both sustain their cultivation needs and avoid making too much noise.

But they had chosen the wrong place.

Within thirty li of Hongtian City, every single rat was Shi Jian's eyes.

"What are the specific cultivation levels of those four Qi Refining Cultivators?"

"Two or three are at the eighth level of Qi Refining, and one is at the ninth level."

"Weapons?"

"A Blood Banner, used by that woman. As for the other two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, their weapons are unclear. Three Bone Knifes and a Black Shield belong to the four followers."

"Formations?"

Elder Rat shook his head, "No Formations. They just made a nest in the temple. Some Storage Pouches and Bone Jars are piled in the corner, looking like loot ransacked from various places."

Shi Jian stood up, his four limbs spreading out, the black fur on his back standing on end.

No Formations.

Good.

"Tonight at the Zi Hour, when those three Foundation Establishment Cultivators go out to hunt for blood, I will make my move."

Elder Rat was stunned, "Old Ancestor, aren't you going to wait for them to return and deal with them all together?"

"Stupid."

Shi Jian ground his claws, "If I kill all seven at once, and that female Cultivator sacrifices her Blood Banner to entangle me, one of the other two Foundation Establishment ones might escape in the chaos. Once the news leaks, there will be endless trouble."

"I'll kill those Qi Refining ones first, then close the door to beat the dogs."

Elder Rat trembled all over and nodded repeatedly.

---

The Zi Hour.

The moon was hidden, the stars had sunk, and the wilderness was silent.

The Earth God Temple was situated in a grove of withered trees; the temple door was crooked, the walls mottled, and the clay statue of the Earth God on the incense altar was missing half a face.

Inside the temple, four demonic Cultivators sat cross-legged, each breathing in and out black Qi as they practiced their Cultivation Techniques.

A blood Formation was drawn on the ground with Bone Jars placed at the four corners, emitting a fishy-sweet scent. A middle-aged male Cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining leaned against the base of the wall, eyes closed as he regulated his breathing.

He was not too far from Foundation Establishment, and a Bone Knife lay by his hand.

The other three sat to the left and right; one held a shield while dozing, and the other two played with several blood-stained Spirit Stones...

The three Foundation Establishment Cultivators had already gone out; as per custom, they would return in half an hour.

Everything was as usual.

Until a extremely soft yet heavy breath came from outside the temple door...

The middle-aged male Cultivator's eyes snapped open, and in the next instant, the temple door was gone!

It wasn't pushed open; the entire door, along with its frame, had vanished, replaced by a pitch-black, massive silhouette.

A black bear.

Standing nearly one zhang tall at the shoulder, its black fur swallowed all light in the darkness, and its bear eyes glinted with a ghostly yellow cold light, its Demonic Qi surging to the heavens.

Its Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Aura poured out without reservation!

The middle-aged male Cultivator's pupils shrank, and just as his hand touched the Bone Knife...

Shi Jian's front paw had already struck!

One strike.

There was no surge of spiritual power, no clash of techniques, only pure physical strength.

The bear paw, carrying immense force, struck directly onto the middle-aged male Cultivator's crown without any fancy tricks!

The dull sound of a skull cracking rang out, like stepping on an overripe melon.

Ninth level of Qi Refining, killed in one strike.

The corpse remained in the posture of drawing a saber, slumped in the corner; everything above the neck was no longer human-shaped, with bones and flesh splattered across the ground...

From the moment Shi Jian struck with his claw to when he retracted it, not even a single breath had passed.

The remaining two had not yet reacted.

The one holding the shield was the first to snap back to his senses; with a scream, he manifested a Black Shield, frantically pouring in spiritual power as the Black Shield grew three times larger, blocking in front of him.

Shi Jian's second strike came down.

The runes on the surface of the Black Shield lit up for a moment before shattering inch by inch; the fragments were driven into the shield-bearer's chest, and both man and shield were embedded into the earthen wall.

Two breaths, two kills!

The last two demonic Cultivators finally reacted, throwing down their Spirit Stones and turning to slam into the wall, actually attempting to escape using the Earth Escape Art.

Shi Jian had long been waiting for this move.

He opened his mouth, and a mass of turbid Spiritual Qi surged from the depths of his throat, turning into a low bear roar.

It wasn't a physical roar, but a Soul Roar formed with Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Divine Sense as the guide and spiritual power as the blade!

Within a radius of three zhang, the air solidified.

Just as the two demonic Cultivators' bodies began to merge into the wall, they were directly bounced back, bleeding from their seven orifices, eyes losing focus, and the Meridians throughout their bodies in chaotic disarray.

As if their bones had been sucked out, they collapsed stiffly onto the ground...

Shi Jian walked over and pressed down on one of their heads.

"Speak, who is behind you lot?"

Blood foam bubbled from the demonic Cultivator's mouth as he squeezed out a few words intermittently:

"Kill... kill me... I won't..."

"Fine."

Shi Jian retracted his claw and switched to a sharp finger, precisely piercing the demonic Cultivator's Dantian.

A stream of turbid Spiritual Qi was drawn out along the tip of his claw. The true essence of a blood-path Cultivator was fishy and pungent, but for a Yao Beast, this stuff was over ten or even a hundred times faster for replenishment than spiritual rice!

The demonic Cultivator let out a non-human shriek, his body shriveling up and turning into a withered corpse in the blink of an eye.

Shi Jian smacked his lips, his pupils blood-red, with an expression of still wanting more.

Too thin.

The true essence of a Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivator wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth. He then followed the same method, consuming the other demonic Cultivator completely...

He turned to look at the pile of Storage Pouches and Bone Jars in the corner.

He rummaged through them.

Six Storage Pouches contained over five hundred Low-Grade Spirit Stones, several bottles of unknown Medicinal Pills, over a dozen Demonic Technique Jade Slips, and some scattered fragments of Magical Artifacts.

These were ransacked from various slaughtered clans.

The Bone Jars contained refined Essence Blood, smelling incredibly fishy. Shi Jian pried them open with the tip of his claw to look; there were twelve jars in total.

"Save these to feed the dogs."

He snorted and swept the Bone Jars into his own Storage Pouch.

He then dragged the three corpses together, stripping them of their Magical Artifacts and Storage Pouches. Eating the rest raw would easily dirty his fur, so taking them back to air-dry would also work.

Regardless, Shi Jian's hearing was keen; as he was tidying up, a very faint sound of wind came from outside the temple.

Shi Jian's ears twitched.

They're back!