21: Chapter 21 Mountain Ginseng and Chicken Soup

Using his Earth Hearing Ear, Shen Moyan listened to the entire sequence of events and the causes behind the actions of the three individuals.

He had originally planned to strike after the three entered seclusion, but their internal conflicts erupted, and the chaos settled. This presented the perfect opening.

Resources? Shen Moyan had scavenged many while escaping from the Eastern Mountain, but quantity is no match for quality.

The accumulated wealth of a Mortal Transformation Realm city lord over several decades is undoubtedly an immensely tempting prize.

"Devil Eye, open!" Ni Gaoyuan, with a grave expression, promptly unleashed the Heavenly Demon Transformation Art towards Shen Moyan.

The crimson Heavenly Demon Eye intimidated all living beings, capable of summoning the inner Heart Demons of people.

With the city lord and Meng Chen as prior examples, Shen Moyan immediately closed his eyes.

But the scattered Devilish Qi penetrated the six senses, reaching the depths of Shen Moyan's will, causing his mind to waver.

The stagnant sea of his thoughts suddenly boiled, countless distracting thoughts sprouting.

The earnest teachings of the Shaolin Temple's abbot, fighting side by side with his close friend General Zhenbei on the battlefield, and the tender embrace of Princess Anle—all reflected upon the surface of that sea of thought.

Shen Moyan's will stood upon the turbulent sea, bending down, reaching out, fishing up these memories of the past.

"Is this the Heart Demon? Trying to trap me in the past?"

The past slipped through his fingers like water. Shen Moyan's face remained expressionless.

He looked at his reflection on the water's surface—sometimes the desolation of old age in solitude, sometimes the spirited vigor of first stepping into the Jianghu, and sometimes the sorrow of losing loved ones.

These fragments of life's memories sketched out the complex existence named 'Shen Moyan'.

Wealth? Beauties? Power?

These things, along with Shen Moyan's Ascension in this life, had already been abandoned by him in that narrow plane.

Before the world-destroying sword arrived, you could have lived comfortably in that Small World. Why did you actively come to this extremely dangerous world?

Was the beauty by your pillow not tender enough? Was the world's reverence for you insufficient? Was the lofty chill after reaching the Peak of martial arts too much, or did the power in your hands fail to encompass the entire world?

Having abandoned all of this, do you not have a single regret?

One voice after another echoed in his heart, resonating for a long time.

Shen Moyan's will paused, then he curled the corner of his mouth into a cold smile: "Since you know that the falling sword would destroy the world, you should also know that everything in that plane was nothing but an illusion."

"Before eternal life, these are all but a handful of dust." Shen Moyan's will raised its hand, and the entire sea of memories churned with terrifying waves at his gesture.

Then, Shen Moyan suddenly thrust his hand into the sea, like an old fisherman spearing a fat fish with a harpoon.

Beneath his feet, upon the water's surface, the reflection of the past Heart Demon was firmly grasped in Shen Moyan's palm, its throat tightly clamped.

It looked exactly like Shen Moyan, except for the eyes.

The Heart Demon's eyes were filled with terror. It struggled violently, pouring the tidal wave of past memories into Shen Moyan's gaze.

But Shen Moyan's eyes were like a bottomless ancient well; even this vast sea of memories could not stir the dark depths.

"All of this... is just that."

Shen Moyan said coldly, his five fingers flexing, unmoving, literally strangling the humanoid Heart Demon to death.

"I, Shen Moyan, seek only eternal life. Even if it leads to death, I have no regrets!"

Gradually, the Heart Demon's body convulsed, stopped struggling, turned into a pool of black mud, melted into the sea, without raising a single ripple.

The Heart Demon has perished!

Time returned to reality; only a moment had passed.

Shen Moyan abruptly opened his eyes, stared directly into Ni Gaoyuan's Devil Eye, and the heavenly demon sword in his hand no longer hesitated. Spiritual power enveloped the blade as he slashed out a perfect half-circle.

Blood droplets sprayed. Through the veil of crimson, their gazes met. That resolute and sharp stare made Ni Gaoyuan's heart shudder.

"How is this possible?!"

Ni Gaoyuan was horrified. Although his Heavenly Demon Eye was still only at the first stage, disturbing a person in the Qi Gathering Realm should have been effortless.

What on earth is this person's background!?

"Not good..."

Shen Moyan shifted his stance, the long sword drawing back and then thrusting upward.

Feeling the black sword tip repeatedly slicing through the flesh on his chest, Ni Gaoyuan hurriedly bit his tongue:

"Demon Body, Manifest!"

Shen Moyan raised an eyebrow, sensing something, and quickly withdrew.

Simultaneously, a cloud of mist dispersed. Ni Gaoyuan's originally slender frame suddenly swelled several times in size, growing several zhang taller.

Thick black Demonic Qi rushed out like a great river, sweeping through the surroundings. Trees within a hundred zhang were blown askew.

Birds in the forest, startled, scattered in all directions.

"So the usual small, skinny physique was your smokescreen."

Shen Moyan understood. The Ni Gaoyuan before him was no longer in human form.

Black feathers shook off from the pitch-black wings as they slowly spread. At this moment, Ni Gaoyuan had sharp horns on his head and a long, narrow, and sharp bird beak.

His talons split, claw marks turning over the soft soil on either side.

Shen Moyan's eyes shifted, looking at the back of his sword-holding hand, where a fine blood mark was splitting open.

His Physical Body, comparable to the Mortal Transformation Realm, had actually been cut open.

Taking advantage of Shen Moyan's retreat, Ni Gaoyuan swallowed most of the ginseng in large gulps.

"Disgraceful, brat. You've truly embarrassed me."

Ni Gaoyuan rubbed his talons, swallowed the ginseng in his mouth, and the deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest connected with threads of flesh, gradually healing.

"It's just a pity about this ginseng. There's no time for me to digest it properly; it must be used for healing." Ni Gaoyuan glared at Shen Moyan, the Demonic Qi and sinister wind sharp as blades, rushing towards him.

Shen Moyan quickly assumed a sword stance, channeling spiritual power to resist the fierce Demonic Qi.

"So that's what it is. Just a child." A glint of light flashed in Ni Gaoyuan's eyes. Now he no longer hesitated.

Shen Moyan's methods were limited; he hadn't produced any Magical Artifact and had resorted to sneak attacks. This fully exposed his true background.

"Half-demon?" Shen Moyan did not underestimate the situation. Instead, he carefully observed Ni Gaoyuan in his revealed demon form.

When this person transformed, after consuming a pile of ginseng, his aura became completely different from before.

"How dare you! My Bloodline can be traced back to the great ancient Mythical Bird of the mountains and seas, the Sun-Shrouding Mythical Bird!"

"I possess both human intelligence and the supreme advantages of the Mythical Bird lineage. The two complement each other, making me far beyond ordinary beings..."

"All that talk, and you're just a mongrel." Shen Moyan mocked coldly.

"You..."

Looking at Ni Gaoyuan's current half-human, half-bird appearance, Shen Moyan suddenly laughed. His laughter spread throughout the entire forest, breaking the deadlock between them.

"Pfft! Hahaha! Hah..."

Ni Gaoyuan's expression froze. The ferocity in his eyes could no longer be concealed: "What are you laughing at?"

"Hahaha... I just remembered something amusing." Shen Moyan twirled his sword, circling Ni Gaoyuan.

"What is it?"

In the midst of a life-and-death struggle, the two men, each harboring their own thoughts, faced off against each other, yet conversed as if nothing were amiss.

"Once, a wealthy Family moved to a new region. The Family's Young Miss, unable to adapt to the environment, became weak and suffered from internal injuries due to overexertion."

"The Family then sought out a local physician, who concluded that the Young Miss's illness required a precious mountain ginseng for nourishment."

"However, taking the ginseng directly risked overwhelming her weak constitution, as its medicinal potency might harm her body."

"Thus, the clever Family devised a small ingenious plan."

"That delicate Young Miss was able to recover. Do you know what method they used?"

Hearing this, Ni Gaoyuan's cold, stern demon eyes flashed with a trace of confusion, as if he half-understood.

"Actually, the method is very simple."

"That is to first feed the mountain ginseng to a chicken."

"Then, the soup made from this chicken is served to that Young Miss..."

Shen Moyan spoke slowly, his gaze fixed on Ni Gaoyuan growing brighter and brighter. And with a barely detectable... greed.

"How about it? Interesting?" Shen Moyan raised the corner of his mouth.

"You! How dare you!"

Finally realizing the insult, Ni Gaoyuan flew into a rage. He threw his head back and let out a long roar before pouncing towards him.

Ni Gaoyuan's pouncing talons stirred up a gust of demonic wind. The fierce aura snapped all surrounding large trees, and countless leaves rustled down.

Shen Moyan did not dodge or evade. He closed his eyes and held his breath.

Everything slowed down.

The enemy's movements became as slow as a crawling turtle. The falling leaves in the forest danced in the air. Distant birdcalls stretched into long cries, echoing through the mountains.

He simply gripped the sword—just tightened his hold on the sword in his hand.

The giant claw was about to fall; there were only three or five steps between the two men.

Shen Moyan slowly twisted his foot, calmly sidestepped the claw, then leisurely opened his eyes and thrust out his sword, like a startling swan passing by.

Leaves fell with the wind, the sword vanished from sight. No sound, no sensation; nothing else remained in his vision except the throat of that half-demon mongrel ahead.

This was a supreme swordsmanship, refined by Shen Moyan across three lifetimes.

Moyan Supreme Art · Startling Swan Glance.