Free Web NovelChapter 345: Chapter 128: Tremendous Gains, Worldly Upheaval
Li Xuan lit incense and traveled northward for thousands of miles.
During the day, he explored; at night, he quickly hunted wild beasts. After hunting dozens, he hastily roasted them over a fire, then devoured them whole, leaving not even the bones.
As it turns out, becoming a demon still requires dealing with "bodily functions."
This matter became awkward for Li Xuan, further solidifying his resolve to learn "Alchemy" upon his return.
He planned to create High Tier meat pills to carry with him, eliminating waste and greatly easing his life.
After eating his fill and resolving his bodily needs, Li Xuan lay on the open ground, cautiously observing the rare "thin, long qi vein." He used the methods of the Flame Heart Skill, attempting to further strengthen this wisp of qi.
The essence of the Flame Heart Skill is "refining essence into qi."
Essence refers to blood and energy.
At this moment, Li Xuan’s "essence" was like a vast ocean, while that wisp of "qi vein" was like a small boat sailing on it.
Li Xuan nurtured this qi vein as if it were a treasure.
His golden finger only added demon blood but didn’t touch this qi vein at all.
However, during his cultivation, he began to notice many drawbacks of the "demon blood."
Even just entering the fourth realm required food for tens of thousands of people; if he became stronger, how would his appetite increase?
Li Xuan had tried eating soil and stones, but these things in his stomach were like a "ordinary person eating mud," only filling his belly without alleviating hunger. He needed proper food like rice, meat, and fruits.
He recalled a story he had read in a previous life about Journey to the West, "when the peacock was born, it was very ferocious, capable of swallowing people, sucking in people from forty-five miles away in one gulp."
What does this mean?
Newborn, swallowing people from forty to fifty miles away in one go.
And that Golden-winged Roc had an enormous appetite, devouring the entire human "Shituo Country." From the king and his officials to common people and beggars, regardless of gender or age, all entered its stomach.
Could such a demon eat so much without being extremely hungry?
Later, the Golden-winged Roc established the Shituo Country again.
Li Xuan had once thought how wonderful it would be for such a large demon to roam freely, so why establish a demon kingdom?
Now experiencing it himself, he had a hypothesis: for sustenance.
The Golden-winged Roc needed a demon kingdom to gather food for it, to avoid going hungry.
"Hunger" might be one of the biggest disadvantages brought by "demon blood."
Therefore, Li Xuan valued this qi vein highly.
While operating the Flame Heart Skill, he could feel his "qi" gradually increasing in a very subtle way.
That’s a good thing.
After another round of practice,
he exhaled a long breath, looking at the surrounding cliffs and distant sunrise, and then at the desolate mountain scenery of people, he was quite puzzled.
’Where is the Fire Moon Dynasty?’
’Could Bear Puppet have lied?’
’But why would he lie?’
Li Xuan couldn’t understand.
However, he had been out for a day, a desire to return home had risen, and he didn’t want to explore further.
Though the Bear Demon was eliminated, there were still many issues to resolve.
He had plans, but still needed to return before proceeding.
At this moment, Li Xuan glanced at the demon blood symbol in his "nine-grid blood column."
Suddenly, he was stunned, as the symbol had changed from its original "sword-bearing Demon Bear, blurry figure" dual-image to just "a figure."
The figure’s form becoming slightly clearer.
Li Xuan pondered for a moment, deciding to continue searching.
But not by moving northward; instead, he would explore east and west, though this place was not where his incense offered protection, so exploring relied on his own senses.
...
The next day.
Li Xuan was stunned by the sight before him.
He had discovered a city.
A very large city.
But it was an empty city.
The city exuded a rotting odor.
His gaze swept around as he casually opened the door that looked like a granary.
Behind the door came a rotting stench as numerous fat, tiny white worms crawled out with a "ch-ch-ch" sound. The sound appeared oddly eerie in this empty, old city.
He pushed open several more doors, all showing signs of long vacancy.
Vacancy... was not surprising; perhaps they had fled. Yet anyone could discern from the scene before them that "the people of this place hadn’t fled."
The residents seemed to have suddenly evaporated into the air.
One moment, they were going about their daily lives, and the next, they abruptly vanished.
The walls were covered with ancient vines, and old trees had grown wildly, each empty house proving people used to inhabit this place.
Li Xuan cautiously explored and eventually found a decaying, fragile "County Chronicle" in a large house in this city.
Through the "County Chronicle," he learned the Fire Moon Dynasty truly existed, and this small county was part of it.
The matters chronicled were ordinary: officials assuming or leaving office, major events in the county, wealthy families moving in, crop failures, rockfalls on nearby mountains, and so on...
But in one place, the "County Chronicle" abruptly ended without any warning.
Li Xuan reread the content before the "abrupt end" several times but found no explanation.
He scrutinized the few lines, the only anomaly being a record in the "County Chronicle" about "a suspected plague, though no one died from illness, but suffered colds and coughs, even in summer. Merchants took advantage to sell cotton clothes, making a fortune."
Li Xuan checked the recorded date.
This date was about half a year before the last recorded entry.
