703: Chapter 5 Taotie: Hear my voice!

After returning to reality, the protective barrier Meng Li temporarily set up dissipated.

Chen Jingqiu and Ta Ba Yuer, who were nearby, hurriedly walked over.

"Elder Brother Meng, how is the situation?" Chen Jingqiu asked.

Meng Li didn't respond, but instead released the Golden Light Rope.

The Taotie immediately made a sound, a series of roars.

Chen Jingqiu and Ta Ba Yuer were startled.

Meng Li, however, was unhurried. He used the Shuangquan Hand to perform a series of modifications on the Taotie.

By the time he withdrew the Shuangquan Hand, the Taotie spoke again, this time in human speech: "Master, what do we do next?"

Hearing this, Ta Ba Yuer and Chen Jingqiu were greatly surprised: "Master?!"

Meng Li glanced at them and explained, "The one currently dominating this body is the Taotie's Primordial Spirit. I just used Primordial Spirit methods to subdue it."

Having finished speaking, he waved his hand to release Bu Lu Gu Hong from the Grotto-Heaven, then said to the Taotie, "Return her Essence to her, and then neutralize the poison in her body."

Ta Ba Yuer immediately showed a look of joy.

Unexpectedly, the Taotie shook its head and said, "The Essence cannot be returned; I automatically digested it after absorbing it. However, her poison can be neutralized. After detoxification, she only needs to rest for a while and eat more nourishing things to recover."

"Then neutralize the poison," Meng Li said.

The Taotie followed the instruction, reaching out its hand to perform a suction on Bu Lu Gu Hong from a distance.

Instantly, several wisps of black gas-like toxic substances drifted out of her body and were taken back by the Taotie.

During this process, all the beast fur on Bu Lu Gu Hong's arms disappeared completely.

Seeing this, Ta Ba Yuer was overjoyed. As soon as the Taotie stopped, she immediately ran over, held Bu Lu Gu Hong, and gently shook her: "Hong Hong, Hong Hong, wake up..."

Before long, Bu Lu Gu Hong's eyelids flickered slightly, and then she opened her eyes with difficulty: "Second Princess?"

"Yes, it's me."

"That's great! You really have recovered!"

Seeing this, Ta Ba Yuer's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled.

At this moment, Bu Lu Gu Hong remembered the scene she saw before fainting. Startled, she hurriedly said to Ta Ba Yuer, "Second Princess, run! There's a monster!"

Hearing this, the Taotie said dissatisfiedly, "What monster? This young lady is a Taotie, a Vicious Beast, not a monster."

Bu Lu Gu Hong looked at the Taotie, who wore Mao Fire's appearance, with a puzzled expression.

Ta Ba Yuer wanted to explain, but Chen Jingqiu, who was beside her, exclaimed in surprise, "Young lady? You are a female—no, you are a she-beast?"

The Taotie put its hands on its hips: "Nonsense! If I were male, why would I find a female of the Human Race to possess?"

Chen Jingqiu thought that made sense, then said, "Then you can leave Mao Fire's body now, right?"

The Taotie said, "You aren't my Master, why should I listen to you?"

Chen Jingqiu was speechless and turned to look at Meng Li.

Meng Li said, "After the Taotie's Primordial Spirit possessed her, it devoured Mao Fire's Soul and has already digested a part of it. Mao Fire's Soul is incomplete; once the Taotie's Primordial Spirit leaves, she will die very soon. And even if she can undergo Reincarnation, she won't be able to be human."

"Ah? Then what should be done?"

Meng Li replied, "Two ways. One is to let the Taotie's Primordial Spirit continue to possess Mao Fire's body, maintaining the status quo."

"The second is for it to leave, and then I will try to find a way to mend Mao Fire's Soul."

"A Soul can also be mended?" Ta Ba Yuer was very surprised.

Taking the opportunity to adjust her breathing and recover her Origin Qi, Bu Lu Gu Hong also opened her eyes in surprise.

Even the Taotie showed a look of shock.

Because such a thing was unheard of to them.

Meng Li said calmly, "It is possible, but it requires paying a huge price, and there's no way to guarantee one hundred percent success."

Having said that, he turned to look at the Taotie, pointed at the damaged great Formation around them, and asked, "Tell me, what happened here?"

Hearing this question, the Taotie seemed to think of something unpleasant and said with an angry face, "Speaking of this makes me furious. I was sleeping soundly underground, having a wonderful dream. Then suddenly, a person fell down..."

It paused for a moment and pointed at Bu Lu Gu Hong: "It's her! I was in the middle of a beautiful dream when she suddenly woke me up."

"I have a bad temper when woken up, so in a fit of rage, I absorbed her Essence."

"And we Taotie are naturally never full. It's fine while sleeping, but once awake, it's very easy to get hungry, especially after taking a bite and not being full—it made me want to eat even more. So, I wanted to jump out and see if there was anything to eat around here."

"I didn't expect the exit above to be sealed by a Formation."

"There was nothing to eat down there, and I was hungry. Not wanting to starve, I naturally had to break through the Formation to find food."

"As a result, just as I broke through the Formation's blockade, this Mao Fire person and a few others joined forces to deploy a Killing Formation to kill me!"

"Who did I provoke?"

"I was sleeping perfectly fine and it's one thing to be woken up. After waking up, I just wanted to find something to eat, but the exit was sealed by a Formation. After finally breaking through the Formation, I turned around and encountered a group of people I'd never even seen before trying to kill me."

"Who did I provoke?"

"Huh?"

"Answer me!"

Chen Jingqiu was stunned and speechless.

Because from the Taotie's perspective, it really was somewhat innocent.

He wasn't sure if this Taotie had done any evil before.

But based on the information Chen Jingqiu got from Chen Fu and the Four Disciples of Ghost Valley, the Taotie should have been sleeping for at least these eighteen years. Because the Nine Dragons Subduing Demon Formation had shown no movement for eighteen years, to the point where he previously thought the Seal of the Taotie under the Formation was just a legend.

Ta Ba Yuer and Bu Lu Gu Hong also didn't know what to say.

Because they were the outside intruders.

"What happened later?" Meng Li asked the Taotie.

The Taotie replied, "Later, this Mao Fire's injuries flared up, and she was unable to sustain it, causing the Killing Formation's power to weaken. It failed to kill me, only destroying my Physical Body. I had no choice but to attach my Primordial Spirit to her, and then, while those few people came to save her, I absorbed their Essence."

Saying this, it seemed to remember something and slapped its head: "Right, one of them, an old man, was knocked away by me, so I didn't get to absorb his Essence. His Essence was the most abundant."

Chen Jingqiu was shocked: "You absorbed the Essence of Shen Yu and the others? Then won't they become half-beast and half-human, just like Hong Hong was before?"

"So what?" the Taotie retorted, then snorted coldly, "It's all your own fault!"

"If Master weren't here, I would have absorbed you too!"

As it spoke, it bared its teeth at Chen Jingqiu, its eyes gleaming with ferocity.

Chen Jingqiu was startled but still asked, "Then where did my Master and Shen Yu and the others go?"

The Taotie crossed its arms: "Why should I tell you?"

Chen Jingqiu immediately cast a pleading look toward Meng Li.

Meng Li ignored him and instead asked the Taotie, "What is the deal between you and the kunlun mirror?"

...