91: Chapter 91 Run away, the farther the better.

The demonic energy permeating Kulong Mountain began to drift everywhere, and the friends within the mountain started whispering in the corners.

"Hey, Old Bai, how many hits do you think you can take from that girl? Yeah, the one who's gone demonic. I don't think she's just possessed; I think she was a demon to begin with."

A massive, emerald-green python flicked its tongue twice at a white hedgehog.

"You'd better keep leading the way for the Tang Clan's youngsters. I can't take many hits from her either. You've cultivated all these years for nothing. She was just a girl before, but open your Heavenly Eye and look now—the one in charge of that body is a grand dame. By our standards, she's at least at the Heavenly Immortal level, maybe even higher; a Human Immortal might not even stand a chance. Five hundred years ago, this thing would have been a nobody, but now we definitely need to avoid her edge." The white hedgehog turned into a white-clad gentleman holding a folding fan and quietly followed behind the Tang Clan members, ready to help at any moment.

An elegant yet powerful hand reached into the water. As if picking a flower with its fingers, it plucked Die out—drenched and with her curves fully exposed—just as she had jumped into the water.

A faint smile slowly appeared on Demonized Mia's face, which was adorned with peach blossom makeup formed from demonic energy. Her left hand slowly tightened around Die's neck. "Your skills aren't much, but your skin is quite nice. Too bad my current vessel is a hundred times stronger than yours. It would be a waste not to eat you..."

With a "pfft" sound, [hirumaru] plunged into Die's abdomen. In no time, Die transformed from a young, beautiful kunoichi into a corpse with dissolving flesh and bones. Demonized Mia licked her lethal red lips, seemingly wanting more. (Life Support System prompt: Although Mia herself cannot hear this, because a high-charm NPC was absorbed, Charm +1. Current Charm: 23(63). Please check the prompt logs yourself after regaining control of the body...)

Die—deceased. The gates of the Nightmare Cathedral seemed to slowly open once more...

"Is it your turn now? ♦♬~ Should I eat you, or will you submit? Let the one in charge of your body tell me, okay?" After her demonization, she was a complete lunatic who saw slaughter as entertainment. Shohei knelt on the ground as Mia tilted his chin up with her index finger and asked mockingly.

At this moment, within his mental world, the consciousnesses of both Shohei and Chu Byei were trembling. The powerful demon was beyond their comprehension, but after the initial terror, the two consciousnesses gripped each other's hands tightly...

"Have you reached a decision? You humans' stubbornness is truly annoying!!" Demonized Mia's bat-like wings, covered in fleshy membranes, flapped as she dodged the yellow light beams fired by Chu Byei. Then, Shohei used a seemingly ordinary but exceptionally hard katana to barely parry a claw strike from the flying Demonized Mia. She took the opportunity to shake Die's corpse off [hirumaru] and slashed horizontally at Shohei's waist. Shohei activated [Tariki], emerging from the space where Die's flying corpse was, and then bolted, activating [Ren] as he ran—

"Everyone, whether you surrender or flee, please leave the vicinity of Kulong Mountain immediately. Go as far as possible! We seem to have released a powerful demonic creature beyond our imagination. Please inform our opponents, the Tang Clan, that an unknown change occurred when their little pharmacist girl picked up [hirumaru]. This is definitely not a change that the influence of [hirumaru] could produce." Suddenly, he felt a fragrant breeze wafting from behind, causing a lapse in his mental focus. Shohei decisively activated [Tariki] again, emerging from Makino Ittosai's body. He was met head-on by Uncle Ying's stunning blade strike, which he managed to parry.

"We surrender! We give up all resistance! Please, you must escape this place with us." To prevent the Bihe Shinobi from being wiped out by Demonized Mia, Shohei cast aside his dignity and prostrated himself on the ground, begging for the Tang Clan's forgiveness.

"Sorry, we can't accept your surrender. Mia's intelligence made it clear. You Bihe Mountain ninjas intend to break into small groups and infiltrate our Great Xia Kingdom to take root and become a tumor we can never get rid of. Oh, and that girl said your army has a similar plan, apparently codenamed—Swine."

"No, that was before! Now, we can even abandon the name of Bihe. We only beg that you don't let that devil drag us all to hell." Shohei used [Ren]—

"Everyone, kneel! Otherwise, we will definitely be the first to die!! Hurry, forget about ninja dignity! Find a chance to run! If you really can't escape, then help these Tang Clan fellows resist that devil!"

"Chu Byei, have you gone mad? Call Shohei out! Uh, wait, the one who can use [Tariki] is Shohei, right?" Makino Ittosai's mind wavered, and he almost fell to his knees. "What could possibly scare Shohei like this? It's just death, isn't it? What does he mean by being dragged to hell?"

Homer, Amakusa Unzai, Kimura, A-Yun, Xu Duo, as well as Makino Ittosai and Shohei (Lay Buddhist Erli). The remaining Bihe Mountain Shinobi and their new leader—seven in total—temporarily ceased their engagement with the Tang Clan. They dropped their combat stances and stayed put obediently. The Tang Clan elites were also somewhat bewildered. Aunt Yu wondered aloud to herself, "What on earth happened to that girl to scare these desperadoes like this? Could they be acting?"

From afar, the sound of armor scraping accompanied by heavy footsteps (which didn't sound like they belonged to two legs) echoed through the cave, drawing closer.

Ryan, running frantically on all fours, and Liang Wuer, who was carrying a large sack on his back and felt like he was about to die from the jolting, swept past everyone like the wind. Ryan only had time to shout, "Run!" before continuing his mad dash forward.

Aunt Yu reacted the fastest. Using her Hidden Silks, she pulled several people nearby and began running after Ryan. Once the others realized what was happening, they also used Body Flicker and Invisibility Cloaks, vanishing as they ran.

Among the remaining Bihe Mountain Shinobi, besides Shohei, only the quick-footed Kimura managed to keep up with the Tang Clan's retreat. The other stubborn ones stayed where they were, waiting to see what kind of demonic creature had terrified their leader so much.

Amakusa Unzai released [grudge of shimabara], and bright yellow flaming skulls instantly flew toward the surrounding cave walls, illuminating the path Ryan had come from. A breathtakingly beautiful figure appeared before everyone's eyes. The [blood rose abbess robe] had transformed into a black, form-fitting outfit that perfectly covered her modesty. With every step of her nearly transparent [rose form], illusions of roses bloomed on the ground. As Demonized Mia moved forward, steps woven from [Blood Rose] vines appeared beneath her feet; though she was walking on level ground, it looked as if she were descending a staircase. Her face was so charming it was hard to raise a hand against her, and it even bore a trace of Die's likeness. What shocked everyone even more was that despite being a demon, her face was filled with innocence and compassion. No one could even muster the will to resist her...

"So, who will be the first to fall into my embrace?" That gentle tilt of her head left the Bihe Mountain Shinobi dazed. Several long whips, identical to the [rose form], lashed out toward the people standing in front...