44: Chapter 44 Su Mo was startled

But soon, Su Mo felt that something was wrong.

The woman's soft moans inside gradually turned into shrill screams, mixed with the bone-chilling sound of tearing skin.

Following the sound, Su Mo arrived on the third floor, moistened his finger, poked a small hole in the window paper, and squinted to peer inside—

There were no candles in the room, yet it was illuminated like daylight by several pearls embedded in the walls.

A gaunt old man, stripped to the waist, was pressing an unconscious young girl against the side of a massive bronze tripod.

There was a fist-sized wound on the girl's left chest, deep enough to expose the bone.

Hot blood sprayed from the wound, staining the girl's delicate body, the old man's chest, and the smooth floor red.

This scene couldn't help but remind Su Mo of a slaughterhouse from his previous life; even from outside, Su Mo could smell the pungent stench of blood.

The old man tossed the lifeless girl onto a pile of bodies to the side, gripped the heart in his other hand, squeezed out the heart-blood, and greedily shoved it into his mouth to chew.

Blood dripped down from the corners of his mouth, and the old man licked his fingertips in satisfaction.

"The three hundred and sixty-first... Just one hundred and twenty-nine more virgin heart-bloods, and this Yin Pill will be finished..."

The old man turned to look at the cluster of young girls huddled in the corner, his eyes gleaming with greed.

Those girls were shivering, their faces pale, and several had already fainted from fear.

"National... Preceptor..." a brave girl spoke up tremblingly, "Please... spare us..."

"National Preceptor?! This old man is the National Preceptor? How does he look so much like an Evil Cultivator!"

Su Mo was delighted.

He had come to the right place. He arrived and immediately saw an old man suspected of being an Evil Cultivator practicing Alchemy; perhaps he could find a Cultivation Technique on him.

The National Preceptor grinned, revealing teeth stained with blood:

"Rest assured, it won't hurt for long..."

He walked toward the girls, raised his withered palm, and a palm-sized fireball ignited in it.

Suddenly, the National Preceptor stopped, and the fireball in his hand shot through the air, flying toward the window to the side.

"Boom!"

The tightly shut window and the wall exploded, and the scorching heat grazed Su Mo's cheek.

Fortunately, his "Su Mo's Shudder" triggered, and he dodged the fireball by a hair's breadth.

"Little mouse, have you seen enough?"

The National Preceptor's sinister voice sounded, and as he spoke, another fireball condensed on his withered palm.

As the dust settled, Su Mo hovered in mid-air, his four wings flapping slowly.

"Old Thing, how did you detect me?"

Yao Race? No! Evil Cultivator? Also no!

Su Mo's neither-human-nor-Yao appearance, combined with the lack of spiritual power in his body, left the National Preceptor uncertain for a moment.

"What on earth are you?"

The National Preceptor looked Su Mo up and down, the fireball in his hand flickering:

"Neither human nor Yao..."

He suddenly grinned viciously, and the fireball in his hand flew violently toward Su Mo:

"Whatever you are, I'll study you properly once I catch you!"

Su Mo cursed inwardly, flapped his four wings violently, and his figure vanished from the spot like a phantom.

The fireball exploded where he had just been hovering, bursting into a blinding flash of light.

"Damn it! Old Thing, I asked you a question, and you're acting all high and mighty."

Su Mo had already retracted his wings and arrived behind the National Preceptor, punching toward his heart.

But the expected sensation did not come; instead, he was blocked by a layer of golden light barrier.

"Crack!"

The light barrier shattered instantly. The National Preceptor seized the opportunity, stepped with strange footwork, and flashed three zhang away like a phantom.

He glanced at his waist, his eyes filled with doubt and suspicion.

'There is not a shred of spiritual power in his body, yet he could break my Golden Light Shield?!'

'With my cultivation at the seventh level of Qi Refining, the Golden Light Talisman I refined would take even someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining some effort to break.'

'This brat... what exactly is his background?'

A flash of wariness crossed the National Preceptor's eyes, and he reached out to pat a small cloth bag at his waist.

Several yellow Talismans and a palm-sized small sword flew out from the bag.

With a pained expression, the National Preceptor slapped five Talismans onto his body and stuck another one onto his leg.

As the Talismans were applied, five layers of overlapping golden light shields instantly appeared on his body, and his body seemed to become lighter.

"Little beast, today I will let you witness what real immortal means are!"

The National Preceptor shouted sharply and formed a hand seal. The small sword hovering to the side grew in the wind, instantly transforming into a three-foot-long green blade.

"Go!"

The Flying Sword pierced through the air, its speed too fast for the naked eye to discern.

Su Mo calmly watched the incoming Flying Sword; the sword that would be difficult for an ordinary person to dodge was as slow as a snail in his eyes.

With the combined talents of various insects and animals, his dynamic vision had reached a terrifying level.

Just as the Flying Sword was merely three inches from Su Mo's brow, Su Mo simply tilted his head, and the Flying Sword whistled past his hair.

The National Preceptor's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly formed a hand seal to recall the Flying Sword.

But Su Mo's movements were faster than his—

He exerted force with his left foot, the solid bluestone floor instantly shattered, and his figure shot toward the National Preceptor like a cannonball.

"Boom!"

His right fist, carrying terrifying power, slammed heavily onto the National Preceptor's turtle shell.

"Crack!"

The golden light shield shattered by two layers in the blink of an eye. The National Preceptor dodged in a panic, his eyes full of horror.

"Bo-Body Cultivator!"

Su Mo shook his hand and sneered without speaking.

He thought this old man was so amazing?

He could barely handle it when Su Mo only used seventy percent of his strength.

Su Mo's ears twitched slightly, he dodged the Flying Sword from behind, and grabbed the hilt with a backhand grip.

The Flying Sword vibrated violently in his palm, but it was firmly restrained by his fingers like iron pincers.

"Old Thing, your toy... returning it to you!"

He exerted force suddenly and threw the Flying Sword, its speed faster than when it came.

The National Preceptor hurriedly formed a hand seal to control it, only to find that the Flying Sword was completely out of his control—

"Crack!"

The Flying Sword instantly shattered the remaining three layers of the golden light shield, its momentum undiminished, directly piercing through the National Preceptor's shoulder and bringing out a spray of blood.

The National Preceptor staggered backward until he hit the bronze tripod behind him.

"Is that all you've got?"

"Fellow Daoist, wait, it's a misunderstanding!"

The National Preceptor clutched his bleeding shoulder, forcing a smile onto his face that was uglier than crying:

"This old man... was blind and didn't recognize that you are a Body Cultivator."

"I am willing to apologize; these young women are all high-quality virgins, Fellow Daoist can enjoy them at will."

Su Mo sneered without a word, picked up the Flying Sword stuck in the ground, and approached step by step.

"If Fellow Daoist is willing to spare this old man... I am willing to offer my Storage Pouch."

Seeing that Su Mo completely ignored him, the National Preceptor became anxious and threw out his final bargaining chip.

"Huh? If I kill you, won't these things be mine anyway?"

Su Mo's flat remark made the National Preceptor's face turn extremely ugly.

"Fellow Daoist, you cannot kill me! I am a Disciple of the Taixu Sect. If you kill me, the Taixu Sect will not let you go!"

"Tomorrow, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from my Taixu Sect will descend upon this place!"

Upon hearing this, Su Mo paused his steps.

"Is that Foundation Establishment Cultivator surnamed Wang?"

"How did you know..."

Before the National Preceptor could finish his sentence, the Flying Sword had already been swung.

"Pfft!"

The blade sliced across his throat, and astonishment remained frozen in the National Preceptor's wide eyes.

Su Mo shook the blood droplets off the sword and said softly:

"What a coincidence, I just happen to have a small grudge with that Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

"If you hadn't said anything, I actually hadn't intended to kill you."

He searched the National Preceptor's entire body without missing a spot, only to find that apart from his clothes, all that remained was the Storage Pouch at his waist.