AWB Chapter 170 Life and Death
Chapter 170 Life and Death
Five humanoid half-demons patrolled and led the way, while the carts pulled by centaurs were filled with the corpses of various beasts.
The cart was full of snow rabbits, snow foxes, a family of white tigers, a huge white bear, a beast with gaping fangs, thick thighs, and strong arms. The enormous bodies, too large to fit in the cart, were being dragged by four horse-like beasts on long chains. The bodies lay supine, their bellies covered in soft white skin, and the thorns on their backs leaving long furrows in the ground.
The continuous stream of cars took a full hour to complete.
Ning Xiaoxi's eyes were tired from watching. Tianji's brows furrowed even more tightly.
Ning Xiaoxi's expression changed when the last few carts of Crimson-Scaled Merfolk appeared. She herself had a little red fish demon pet, and seeing the corpses of its kin made her feel uneasy.
"Are you really concerned about those few merfolk?" Tianji sensed the change in Ning Xiaoxi's emotions as she stared at the carts of red-scaled merfolk.
"Mermaids must have souls, right?"
“No.” Tianji said decisively, “The monsters in the sea can cultivate demon cores, but they cannot change their form. They can only cultivate in their original form. They may have joy, anger, sorrow and happiness like humans, but they only act on instinct. They cannot weigh things or calculate.”
Perhaps the caravan was too long for the humanoid half-demons driving the chariots to manage, so the last third of the caravan was left unattended by half-demons and relied solely on the horse-bodied beasts to follow along.
Tianji pulled Ning Xiaoxi's arm and went outside, then casually lay down among a cart full of Crimson-Scaled Merfolk, pulling two corpses over himself. Ning Xiaoxi followed suit, quickly covering herself with a corpse as well.
The Crimson-Scaled Merfolk were tall with broad tail fins. Their bodies, especially after death, were icy cold and incredibly heavy. The corpse Ning Xiaoxi had pulled was facing her directly. That face, which might have once possessed a unique beauty, now held only deathly stillness. Its eyes were empty and lifeless, the eyeballs slightly bulging, as if it had witnessed an extremely horrific scene before its death. The whites of its eyes were bloodshot, like countless intertwined red threads. Its hair, which should have been a fiery red, was now dry, disheveled, and lusterless, like a pile of burnt straw clinging to its scalp, some strands falling off and scattered around.
Ning Xiaoxi took a deep breath and turned her eyes toward Tianji. She would rather look at his phoenix eyes and the amused smile on his thin lips than look at that dead fish face again!
Tianji smiled at Ning Xiaoxi, "I was afraid you would feel reluctant and wouldn't come over."
Ning Xiaoxi rolled her eyes. She wasn't stupid; did they really think the two of them could rush in? "The atmosphere here is so chaotic. As long as we don't do anything reckless, we shouldn't die." She stared intently at Tianji's face, refusing to move her eyes. The face next to him wasn't much better than the one above hers.
As they were talking, the vehicle they were lying in entered the mountainside.
Upon entering the mountain, a strong stench of decay assaulted the senses, as if stepping into a long-forgotten mass grave. Thick, inky darkness permeated the surroundings, with only occasional flickering streaks of eerie green light emanating from unknown moss or strange minerals on the cave walls, barely illuminating the scene before them.
The ground was rugged and uneven, and the echoing clatter of the car emphasized the vastness of the place. Huge boulders were randomly piled up on both sides of the road, interspersed with various animal bones, some decayed and riddled with holes of all sizes. The bones varied in size; some belonged to enormous beasts, their massive skulls still bearing sharp fangs that gleamed coldly in the dim light; others were from small animals, their delicate bones so fragile they seemed ready to crumble at the slightest touch.
The putrid stench was so strong that the blue halo around Ning Xiaoxi's mouth and nose could only barely block it, preventing her from suffocating.
The entire interior of the mountain has been almost completely hollowed out, and the rugged road winds down the rock face, revealing a chaotic scene.
The animal carcasses were haphazardly mixed together by groups of humanoid half-demons and thick tree branches, forming one twisted "sculpture" after another. Some of these newly arrived carcasses were not yet fully decomposed, emitting a nauseating stench, their flesh and hair stuck together, oozing black slime; mixed with the original, bare skeletons, they appeared particularly eerie in the dim light. The trees, once full of life, were now twisted and withered, their bark peeling away to reveal the rotten wood beneath, intertwined with the animal carcasses to form a bizarre and absurd combination.
In the center of the cave, there was a blood pool carved out of a boulder, filled with a thick, dark red liquid. Around the blood pool was a circle of humanoid half-demons, their wrists cut open as they bled into the pool.
An unseen force guided the blood, beginning to shape the soulless half-demons. Bubbles rose continuously from the surface of the blood pool, emitting gurgling sounds, like the agonizing groans of countless wronged souls. As the magic surged, the blood in the pool gradually condensed, slowly transforming into blurry humanoid outlines. These outlines were indistinct, only faintly defined. These faint shapes, when they landed on the "sculptures," would cause the blood mist to merge into them, and the process of a half-demon's birth would begin.
These half-demons' bodies twisted and deformed constantly during their formation, sometimes resembling humans, sometimes displaying demonic features. Their skin was a sickly bluish-gray, covered with dense veins that seemed ready to burst at any moment. Their faces were distorted, their features misaligned; some had eyes on their foreheads, others had mouths stretched to their ears, gaping open yet uttering no sound. They had no souls; their empty eyes held only endless killing intent and obedience.
The only sounds in the entire space were the gurgling of the blood pool and the sounds of moving and stirring; there was not a single sound from any living creature.
As the carriage spiraled down the road and turned a corner, Tianji nudged Ning Xiaoxi, then flipped off his Crimson Scale Mermaid armor and jumped onto a rock by the roadside. Ning Xiaoxi quickly followed, hiding behind a large rock with Tianji.
Tianji pointed to the edge of the blood pool, showing it to Ning Xiaoxi.
Beside the pool of blood, there was a red barrier. Inside the barrier, a small beast was curled up, its white head covered with fine scales and two tiny tentacles. Beneath it was a soft, fluffy white nest, and it was covered with a white cloak embroidered with golden patterns. A chubby little paw rested on the edge of the nest, occasionally lifting up. Each time it lifted up, faint human figures would emerge from the pool of blood.