Chapter 48 - 48 48 Survivor

48: Chapter 48 Survivor 48: Chapter 48 Survivor Blood Fiend flowed, and as the air filled with the dying energy of a person, the Fiend Sword in An Jing’s hand became much more refined. Although the enhancement was temporary, it was indeed a Divine Skill where the more one killed, the more one could appreciate its intricacies. The surging Evil Qi allowed An Jing to delve deeper into the essence of his Divine Skill. “Good!” Seeing this scene, the Sword Spirit’s tone became eager, praising, “Such a clean method of demon-slaying is truly worthy of the ‘Sword Bearer’ I have been waiting for so many years.” “An Jing, your martial skills talent exceeds my imagination.” “Thank you for the praise.” An Jing took a deep breath, the blood light in his eyes grew more intense, and he said calmly, “But this is no time for joy. After some time, if Han Jiaoxi and the others don’t return, there will certainly be more people coming.” “We must hasten our steps.” Saying so, An Jing stepped forward, heading towards the dungeon. But on the way, he saw that dark golden Vessel Instrument that had fallen to the side. The Life-Nourishing Tray lay quietly toppled on the ground, with more than twenty Blood Pill Great Medicine pearls rolling around. An Jing paused, thinking of the medicinal paste in the water tank, thinking of those faces, the blood light in his eyes intensified, then he lifted his sword towards the Life-Nourishing Tray. Thud! The Fiend Sword swung, penetrating the dark golden precious Vessel Instrument, causing An Jing, who was expressionless, to feel a strange sensation, one of extremely tough flesh and blood. The pierced Vessel Instrument emitted a cry-like wailing sound, its luster faded, turning into an ordinary-looking black iron tray. Yet within An Jing’s Fiend Sword, a dark golden luster lit up, the blood color surged, eroding it, and the luster of the Fiend Sword grew much dimmer but also much purer, even gaining a bit of a profound aura. An Jing also vaguely gained a sense of how to control this profound Evil Qi. He didn’t know the principle; he relied on instinct, so it was a ‘feeling’. “You can control Soul Fiend too?” The Sword Spirit sounded a bit surprised, “Blood Fiend arises from killing, your Life Star ‘Mars’ being able to control it is not strange, but Soul Fiend is one of the Spiritual Fiends, belonging to ‘Town Age Binary Stars’. You’re not merely a Mars Star Life?” The Sword Spirit reached the same conclusion as the Master of the Medicine Manor, but It didn’t care, “Worthy of being my Sword Bearer, the awoken Fate Pattern is not ordinary.” “I don’t quite understand these things either, they seem quite excited about it.” An Jing shook his head slightly and continued towards the dungeon. With his current strength, he no longer needed to use a key to open the door. The refined Sword Light of the Blood Fiend swept past, breaking the iron lock. An Jing pushed open the door, stepping from the light into hell. Darkness, gloom. The air was filled with a stench of decay, and uneven bluestone grounds were covered with flaky blood scabs, dark traces crisscrossed everywhere. Wails, cries. The voices of the children in the dungeon were already weak and powerless as the Demon Sect used Merciless Water to suppress their abilities, numbing their limbs and slowing their motions, leaving them even without the strength to harm themselves or commit suicide. Creak! An Jing cut the outermost cell’s door with one stroke of his sword, and inside was a gaunt girl who woodenly raised her head to look at An Jing, her eyes expressing madness beyond fear, “You, you are… ” “I am An Jing. Eldest Senior.” An Jing said so, feeling some shame using this title given by the Demon Sect, which to him bore an unnatural irony because he hadn’t managed to do much, save many children. But now, for them to recognize him as quickly as possible, he still used that designation to assure, “I’ve come to rescue you, hurry out, the dungeon is unsafe.” “Eldest Senior… Eldest Senior… Wah—” And after a moment’s hesitation, upon recognizing An Jing, she clasped An Jing’s hand and cried out loudly, her voice bordering on a scream. An Jing couldn’t discern how many emotions were entangled in that crying; he could only imagine, imagine the days and nights imprisoned in this dungeon, watching as his companions and friends were taken one by one out of sight, the loneliness and fear, those resistance attempts, that blood, those rolling heads… “I will take you out of here.” An Jing spoke in a low voice, promising them he would help. With one hand wielding a sword, the other supporting the frame of a body so light it was almost skeletal, he moved them out of the dungeon. Then came the next one. And the next. Until the last one. In the dungeon, there were only eleven young boys and girls still alive. There should have been four more, but they died. Today was the day of the Ritual Sacrifice, and they were attacked by the Red Armored Guards. No one brought food or medicine, so they died before An Jing arrived. Two hundred and forty-eight children were sent into the deep mountains. One hundred and eight were chosen to participate in the Ritual Sacrifice, with sixty-six surviving. One hundred and forty were eliminated. It was unknown how many of them ended up imprisoned in the dungeon, becoming materials for the Flesh and Blood Great Medicine, but in the end, only eleven survived. Out of these seventy-seven survivors, fourteen chose to follow Bai Qinghan to leave the Hanging Fate Manor and join the Demon Sect, leaving sixty-two in the end. Sёarᴄh the nôᴠel Fire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. If it hadn’t been for the Merciless Water suppressing the spirits and bodies of these dungeon children, even those who had endured the Frost Calamity of the Northern Border couldn’t possibly have survived months of dungeon life; they would have definitely experienced mental breakdowns. And now, because their thoughts were still under the influence of the medicine, these children were still quite ‘obedient’ in following An Jing’s instructions to come out of the dungeon. Perhaps because the Demon Sect also needed these young boys and girls for medicine, the children, though emaciated, were actually in a slightly better state than when they were fleeing in the Northern Border. It was just that they lacked fat. After leaving the dungeon, they regained some strength, but their eyes couldn’t handle light yet and needed time to adjust. “I know a little path that leads out of the manor… wait a moment?” An Jing had intended to lead the survivors out of the Hanging Fate Manor as quickly as possible, but he soon furrowed his brows. He heard footsteps, urgent ones, uncertain whether they were retreating or rushing: “Someone’s coming…” An Jing leapt up, using the lean-to structures for support, and reached atop the wall. He saw a squad of Demon Sect members quickly approaching along the road toward the dungeon. “Five mounted guards… and more Red Armored Guards in pursuit?” An Jing narrowed his eyes, feeling the Inner Breath still surging within him and the sharper Fiend Sword: “It seems we cannot hide.” “Stay here and protect yourselves well.” He instructed the survivors behind him and then lifted his leg, taking a step. Dust rose, and his figure disappeared from sight. “An Jing?” The Demon Sect squad retreating towards East Mountain Dong Zhuang noticed the breeze and the lead rider, who recognized An Jing, was somewhat astonished, “Weren’t you at the Ritual Sacrifice…” He stopped mid-sentence, his complexion abruptly changing because he saw the calm, almost indifferent expression on An Jing’s face, and the Fiend Sword in his hand. And then, he thought of An Jing’s position at Dong Zhuang and what his current expression might mean: “Wait, let me explain, that medicine…” Before he could finish, the rider reached for the hand crossbow at his waist and glanced around, signaling his companions to act with his eyes. Yet, he failed to notice the change from calmness to disappointment in An Jing’s gaze. He didn’t see the utter shock in the eyes of the other four men. What… happened? Before he could fire the hand crossbow, his body had already tilted, half of his torso falling to the ground, blood spurting everywhere, his eyes completely dimming. “I didn’t want to take action… why couldn’t you just flee when you saw me?” The Fiend Sword shone brightly, killing with one strong strike before the enemy could react. An Jing stepped forward, stepping on the body of the rider, crushing his spine. “Are you going to act as well?” Speaking softly, he continued walking toward the rapidly pale-faced, instinctively retreating Demon Sect members.