This was a small city two hundred and fifty kilometers away from the Clear River prefecture. It was called a small city, but it still had a population of several tens of thousand. As far as the eye could see, there was only a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
The red blood soaked the ground, turning it black before being frozen by the winter. It was sticky and slippery.
With each step Li Qingshan took, he would alarm countless crows and various unknown scavenging birds. However, what was even stranger was that there were no signs of enemies invading this place.
A woman in an apron and wielding a cleaver plunged her cleaver viciously into a man's head. At the same time, the man retaliated right before his death, crushing her throat. His expression before his death was utterly furious, like he was facing his mortal enemy. From where they stood, they should have been husband and wife. The virtuous woman should have finished cooking and called for the man to eat.
A regular soldier with a spear pierced the chest of an armoured military officer. At the same time, three spears pierced him. They all wore the same attire, as if they were soldiers responsible for defending the city. Now, they had been reduced to a pile of ice-cold corpses. They had forgotten their responsibilities and killed one another.
A child with a bun used a hemp rope as a belt around the neck of another child beside her. His head had caved in from the metal ball that was originally a toy in his hand. His dead face was filled with viciousness and killing intent that did not belong to a child. The bloodied metal ball rolled to one side. This was originally a very ordinary game between friends.
Wives killing husbands, soldiers killing commanders, friends killing partners …
It was like the people in the city had gone mad together, launching desperate attacks against the people around them in an attempt to drag them down with them.
Li Qingshan could vaguely guess who had done this. He clenched his fists as his expression became rather ugly.
"I thought you'd like it! Fortunately, it's winter. If it were summer, it'd be much more entertaining! "Qian Rongzhi walked over from behind.
"Doesn't anyone do anything about it?"
"There were in the beginning, but after being killed a few times, they all learnt their lesson. Who would sacrifice themselves for mortals that are no different from ants? Oh right. There was one a while ago. The One Thought master came to deliver the masses from suffering. He challenged the rock demon, but he lost. "
"The rock demon!?" Li Qingshan confirmed in his heart that there was no mistake. This was the power of the Stone of Slaughter. Strong Stone had arrived here. He released his innate ability, causing everyone to fall into a frenzy and die.
To a monster like him. Massacring an entire city was not a difficult task. As long as Li Qingshan was willing, he could also cause a huge earthquake here and turn the entire city into ruins.
"You still don't know! Now, the demons were under the command of the Stone Fiends and Blood Fiends. They were great fiendish demons that had massacred countless cities. The cities that were massacred by the Stone Fiends were like this, while the cities that were massacred by the Blood Fiends were filled with corpses without a single drop of blood in their bodies. Whether it was the Hundred Schools of Thought or the Demon Slayer. There aren't many who can fight against them. "
"Then what are we doing here? What's there to investigate here? "
"Collect the corpse."
"Collect the corpse?"
"This is a good job, I can see that. Hwa Seung-zan takes good care of you. Look, what's that? "Qian Rongzhi pointed forward.
Under the setting sun, a swaying figure stood up.
A survivor! Li Qingshan's heart skipped a beat, but he immediately rejected this idea. The figure was a burly farmer. His eyes were white, and his fangs protruded. His body had already turned green, and his entire body was surrounded by corpse aura. Suddenly, he turned his head and locked onto a trace of a living person's aura. He roared and pounced at Li Qingshan. A wooden cart blocked his way, but he smashed it into pieces.
"This is a zombie!" Li Qingshan suddenly understood.
Qian Rongzhi dashed forward, and a bronze hoop flew out of her hand. She smashed it on the zombie's head, and the zombie disappeared. The bronze hoop flashed and returned to her hand. There was a faint bloodstain on it, and it almost covered the entire hoop.
"The dead have great resentment. With a little refinement, they can be turned into Corpse Soldiers that can charge into enemy lines. The quality of the Corpse Soldiers produced in the cities that were massacred by the Stone Demons are especially good. Their murderous aura lingers for a long time, and they can even be turned into zombies and refined into Corpse Generals, "Qian Rongzhi said with a sweet smile.
One by one, the corpses crawled up from the ground. Under the setting sun, they howled, as if they were expressing their endless resentment.
Li Qingshan was also shocked by this scene. The words that he wanted to criticize Qian Rongzhi were at the tip of his tongue, but he was rendered speechless. Everything that happened in front of him was partly his responsibility.
Of course, he could defend himself by saying that it was the Demon Slayer who instigated all of this, that the war between humans and demons was inevitable, and that he was only a pawn. However, in front of the scene in front of him, all excuses became useless. Even if he was only responsible for one in ten thousand, it was still as heavy as a mountain.
Ignoring Li Qingshan's thoughts, Qian Rongzhi's footsteps were light, and she subdued the zombies one by one. Little Ann tugged at Li Qingshan's sleeve, and revealed a worried expression.
Li Qingshan patted her head, and quietly went to collect the corpses.
…
A raccoon-like demon shuttled through the alleys, constantly changing directions.
It avoided the bursting flames.
A few fireballs flew above the city, illuminating the night sky. It was a few disciples of the Fire Cloud Gate, dressed in scarlet robes, chasing after it, unleashing fireballs that ignited the flames.
Smoke rose from the city, and the flames spread. The noise and wails soared into the sky like smoke signals.
Li Qingshan looked down from the sky, and he was shocked. From his point of view, it seemed like a few cultivators were setting the city on fire.
Before he could complete the first mission, he received a second mission. There were traces of demons in the city, and he had to eliminate them. But when he arrived, he only saw this scene.
"Someone got here first. It's the Fire Cloud Gate," said Qian Rongzhi.
"What are they doing?"
"Purging demons, of course. It's fine. When they succeed, we'll just kill them as well, and we'll even get a few hundred treasure pouches. Don't look at me like that. Even if they have the chance, they won't go easy on us. The Hundred Schools of Thought lost so many disciples, and they didn't just die in the mouths of demons. "
The threat of the demon race did not unite the humans. Instead, it broke the original order, causing the conflict to become more intense. Although they did not have the bewitchment of the Stone of Slaughter, killing each other was already the norm. To be able to obtain a few hundred treasure pouches without any danger, no one would mind. After all, in this chaotic world, no one would look into it.
Before Qian Rongzhi could finish her words, Li Qingshan flew down.
"Oh no! Senior brother, it escaped!"
The raccoon-like demon was extremely nimble. It turned a corner and disappeared. The Fire Cloud Gate's disciples followed it, and when they saw a small hole in the wall, they couldn't help feeling dejected. That was a beast core!
At this moment, Li Qingshan descended from above. The disciples of the Fire Cloud sect immediately raised their guards. Li Qingshan waved his hand and conjured a few water dragons, lunging towards the fire and putting out the spreading flames.
The Fire Cloud Gate's disciples' faces immediately changed. This person was definitely not someone they could deal with.
"I wonder which senior brother has arrived? Why haven't I seen you before?" The leader of the group was an eighth layer Qi Refining Realm disciple. He mustered his courage and went up to greet Li Qingshan. Seeing that Li Qingshan had appeared in public, it did not seem like he was going to kill them immediately.
"Did you guys catch that demon?" asked Li Qingshan as he stood on the roof.
"Nope, or I would've handed it over with both hands."
"Then do you know how many people you've killed?" Li Qingshan gazed at the city in the distance. There were still wisps of green smoke rising into the sky. With his extraordinary hearing, he could clearly hear the many sobs and moans, flying into the night sky like weeping and complaining.
In the blink of an eye, countless families had been destroyed. Even if Li Qingshan had a heart of stone, he couldn't remain indifferent to all of this.
"If we don't kill this demon, more people will die!" On the other hand, the Fire Cloud Gate's disciple was more resolute than Li Qingshan. He then pretended to be compassionate and said, "Sigh, we didn't want this to happen either. But if we're not careful, we'll be taken advantage of by the demon."
When humans and demons fought, most of them didn't fight in the wilderness, but in the city. Powerful demons would massacre the city to vent their anger, while weak demons would use the complicated terrain to hide and treat humans as food. It was a common occurrence. When they fought, they would prioritize their own lives. Why would they care about the lives of mortals?
Li Qingshan waved his hand, and the Fire Cloud Gate's disciples flew out of the city as if they had been pardoned. They gradually turned into a few sparks of light, but they suddenly extinguished.
"Another mission," said Qian Rongzhi as she walked over from where the sparks were extinguished. Her collection of corpses had increased by a few more.
Li Qingshan turned a deaf ear to her. He crossed his arms and fell into deep thought, like a statue in the darkness.
"What's wrong? After three years of seclusion, you've turned from a ferocious tiger into a timid cat?" Qian Rongzhi smiled faintly. She thought that she could work with him more often, but his performance disappointed her. She was even angry that she took the risk to anger him!
Little Ann looked at Qian Rongzhi. Qian Rongzhi raised her hands and shrugged, not saying a word.
"Thank you, great immortal! Thank you, great immortal!" The commoners in the city gathered under the eaves, kowtowing, expressing their gratitude, and asking for help. Li Qingshan turned a deaf ear to them, and the crowd soon dispersed.
Unknowingly, a night had passed. The stars had faded, and the east was shining.
At the corner of the wall, Qian Rongzhi, who was holding Little Ann's hand and teasing her, suddenly raised her head and looked at Li Qingshan. Gradually, a familiar feeling came from him, causing her to tremble. The morning sun in the east gilded him with a layer of golden radiance.
"Let's go, Little Ann. Let's go back." Li Qingshan opened his eyes. There was no longer a trace of confusion in his eyes, and it turned into determination.
Little Ann leaped up and returned to his side, holding onto his finger.
"Mission!" said Qian Rongzhi.
"Boring mission, go and do it yourself!" Li Qingshan's expression was as if he had just woken up, with a bit of laziness. Leaving Qian Rongzhi behind, he took Little Ann and flew away.
A dream that lasted three years, awakened at this moment.
Qian Rongzhi looked up at him disappearing into the horizon, and suddenly smiled. This kind of you, is still somewhat useful!
In the high sky where the wind was raging, Little Ann cast a questioning gaze over.
"I'm not you, I can't not help either side, and I can't end everything. I will go and bear my responsibilities, as a human, as a demon. " Li Qingshan stared at the golden horizon, and the corner of his mouth curled up. There was a bit of sharpness and naivety in his smile. Vaguely, he was still that high-spirited young ranger.
"I'm not a very smart person, and I can't think of any good ideas. But, as long as both sides are killed, the war will stop! "
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