187: Chapter 187 Devouring Bones, Jiang Mingzi!

In the Spirit Realm, the situation in the Northern Plains spiraled completely out of control within just a few short months.

That crack connecting to the Demon Realm was like a wound that could never heal, spewing out an army of the Demon Race day and night without pause.

The leaders were ten great experts of the Demon Race at the Tribulation Crossing Peak.

These ten individuals were all overlords in the Demon Realm.

Each had countless experts under their command, with the lowest cultivation being at the Nascent Soul Realm.

While the ten working together weren't enough to sweep through the Spirit Realm, they were more than capable of stirring up a chaotic mess.

Their purpose in coming this time was not to conquer the Spirit Realm in one fell swoop.

Ancestor Xuetu had given her orders long ago.

Two-tenths of the forces were to be scattered and infiltrated into various parts of the Spirit Realm to kill whenever possible, destroy whenever possible, and cause chaos whenever possible.

The remaining eight-tenths would guard the Northern Plains and consolidate the passage to prevent a counterattack from the major Sects of the Spirit Realm.

This strategy wasn't particularly brilliant, but it was practical.

Thus, within just a few months, chaos broke out everywhere in the Spirit Realm.

...

At the border of the Northern Plains, near the territory of the Eastern Continent.

There was a small village called Jiang Family Village.

The village wasn't large, with about a hundred households living off the land and the water; though they weren't wealthy, their lives were stable.

There was a young boy in the village; no one knew his surname, his name, or where his home was.

Three years ago, when the old hunter of Jiang Family Village, Old Man Jiang, found him by the roadside, the child was skin and bones, clutching half a rock-hard pancake in his arms that wouldn't break no matter how hard one tried.

Old Man Jiang was kind-hearted and brought the child back to the village, giving him a name: Jiang Mingzi.

Although the villagers' own lives were tight, with a bowl of porridge from one house and a piece of pancake from another, they managed to keep the child alive.

Jiang Mingzi didn't like to talk, but he would remember for a lifetime whoever helped him once.

The children in the village laughed at his rustic name, but he didn't get angry, just grinning to reveal a row of small white teeth.

In Jiang Mingzi's heart, Jiang Family Village was his home, and the villagers were his family.

One evening, while Jiang Mingzi was catching fish by the stream outside the village, he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from the grass.

He pushed aside the blades of grass and saw a young girl about his age curled up in the bushes.

Her clothes were tattered, her hair was messy, and her eyes were large and round as she looked at him pitifully.

"Who... who are you?" Jiang Mingzi asked.

The little girl said timidly, "I... I was passing through here with my father and got separated. I'm hungry and thirsty; could you give me something to eat?"

Jiang Mingzi hesitated for a moment before pulling out half a piece of dry rations from his bosom and handing it over.

The little girl took the rations and ate them in small bites, her tears falling pitter-patter.

"Thank you, you're so kind," the little girl said, wiping her tears.

"Can you take me back to your home? I'm afraid to stay outside alone; it's scary when it gets dark."

Jiang Mingzi thought for a moment and nodded.

He brought the little girl back to Jiang Family Village, and when the villagers saw her, they didn't think much of it, assuming she was just a child from a family of refugees.

Some women brought the child a bowl of hot porridge, and some old men draped an old coat over her.

The little girl had a sweet tongue, calling everyone "Grandpa," "Grandma," "Uncle," and "Auntie," which made the villagers' hearts soften.

At night, Jiang Mingzi settled the little girl in his woodshed while he lay on a pile of straw, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

He always felt that something wasn't quite right.

But he couldn't put his finger on it.

In the middle of the night, Jiang Mingzi was startled awake by a strange sound.

The sound was like chewing, and also like swallowing, coming from the village in a continuous stream.

He scrambled up, pushed open the woodshed door, and looked outside.

Under the moonlight, the little girl was standing in the center of the village.

No.

That wasn't a little girl.

That was a humanoid shadow, its features distorted and its limbs bent at unnatural angles.

Something was wriggling beneath the skin, as if it were devouring something.

At the shadow's feet lay the villagers, strewn about in all directions.

Jiang Mingzi's whole body went stiff, and his mind went blank.

He saw the shadow turn its head and smile at him.

On that face, the features looked as if they had been haphazardly molded; the eyes were slanted, and the mouth was stretched to the ears.

"Little thing, don't be afraid."

The shadow extended an arm toward Jiang Mingzi.

The arm had been roasted to a golden brown, sizzling with oil and emitting a bizarre aroma of meat.

"Hungry, aren't you? Eat."

Jiang Mingzi wanted to shake his head and retreat, but he found that his body completely refused to obey him.

An invisible force gripped him.

His arm lifted on its own, taking the fragrant 'meat'.

His mouth opened on its own and bit down.

He wanted to vomit, but his mouth wouldn't listen, chewing and swallowing of its own accord.

Tears welled up in his eyes and wouldn't stop.

He cried as he ate.

His body was like a marionette; every movement did not belong to him.

The shadow just crouched nearby, tilting its head and watching with great interest as Jiang Mingzi cried and chewed, as if enjoying a brilliant play.

Only after Jiang Mingzi had gnawed the arm completely clean did it grin, revealing a mouthful of jagged, sharp teeth.

"The Human Race children here in the Spirit Realm are indeed more pure than those in the Demon Realm."

"Those Human Race brats in the Demon Realm wet their pants if you just scare them a little; they can't even cry properly."

"You, crying while eating with such rich expressions, are much more interesting."

As the shadow spoke, its body began to swell and distort, revealing its true form.

It was a pitch-black demon covered in bone spurs, with a hideous face and saliva dripping from its mouth.

This demon was a notorious monster in the Demon Realm; its true name had long been forgotten, leaving only a nickname: Bone Eater.

When Bone Eater was in the Demon Realm, his favorite thing to do was to sneak into Human Race villages and use illusions to deceive children.

He would then use the children's hands to open the village's Restrictions, and then slowly eat every person in the village, young and old, one by one.

What he enjoyed was not the slaughter, but the fear and despair of the prey before death.

Especially the expressions of those Human Race children he had deceived when they realized they had personally caused the deaths of all their loved ones.

That was the best seasoning for his food.

Bone Eater licked his lips and opened his bloody maw, about to bite toward Jiang Mingzi.

Just then, a sword light slashed down from the horizon.

The sword light was extremely sharp, striking Bone Eater right in the back.

Bone Eater let out a shrill scream as half of his body was sliced away by the sword light, and black blood gushed out.

"Who is it!"

Bone Eater roared and turned around, only to see a middle-aged Cultivator in green robes standing in the air, the long sword in his hand gleaming coldly.

The Cultivator had a lean face, and his cultivation was actually at the Void Refining Realm.

This person was named Lu Heng, an Elder of the Azure Wave Sect. He was traveling this time and had reached the border of the Northern Plains, intending to head further north to see the local customs.

Who would have thought that upon reaching this place, he would suddenly sense a thick Devilish Qi.

He followed the Devilish Qi and saw the tragic state of the village.

As well as this pitch-black, hideous demon.

Lu Heng had practiced in the Azure Wave Sect for many years and had never been to the Northern Plains, let alone seen the Demon Race.

He only knew that the Spirit Realm had Demon Cultivators, who were also a type of human Cultivators, just with sinister Cultivation Techniques.

Seeing this demon now, pitch-black and covered in bone spurs, with a face that didn't look human at all, although he had doubts, he didn't have time to think carefully.

No matter what it was, kill it first.

Lu Heng raised his long sword again and sliced away the remaining half of Bone Eater's body.

This time, Bone Eater didn't even have time to scream before he turned into a pool of black water and dissipated into the night.

Lu Heng sheathed his sword and landed, looking around with a deep frown.

The village was destroyed, leaving nothing but devastation.

On his journey here, he had already discovered several similar tragic scenes.

It was just that none were as shocking as this one.

What had happened to the Northern Plains?

And where did those strange-looking... things come from?

Lu Heng shook his head, temporarily suppressing the doubts in his heart.

He looked down at the shivering young boy crouching on the ground and said softly, "Child, what is your name?"

Jiang Mingzi looked up, his eyes red and swollen, his voice hoarse: "Jiang... Jiang Mingzi."

"Jiang Mingzi." Lu Heng nodded.

"Here is no longer safe; come with me."

Jiang Mingzi didn't answer, just looked back at the old tree at the village entrance.

Under the moonlight, those hanging figures were like the last fallen leaves of autumn.

Lu Heng said nothing more, reached out to pick up Jiang Mingzi, and leaped into the air.

He had originally intended to continue his travels north, but now it seemed unnecessary.

With the Northern Plains in this state, a Void Refining Realm Cultivator like him couldn't afford to get involved.

He would first take this child back to the Azure Wave Sect to settle him.

As for the matters of the Northern Plains, the Sect Master and the Elders would decide.