Demonic Cultivator: Immune To Common Side Effects - Chapter 60

Chapter 60: Slaying the Village Chief – Will the Demonic Eye Aid Core Formation?

As Li Yan downed the poisoned wine, the Old Village Chief’s face twisted into a sinister grin of triumph.

“You’ve got some skill, kid, but you’re still too green!” the Chief sneered, pointing his cane at Li Yan. “Even with your extraordinary talent, you’re too young. How could someone so naive possibly hope to match wits with me?” His voice dripped with petty triumph.

Li Yan, unfazed by the poison, remained seated, his expression calm as he chuckled. “You poisoned me? If you kill me, aren’t you afraid of Grandmaster’s wrath?”

The Old Village Chief puffed out his chest and jabbed his cane at Li Yan. “The spells you used earlier weren’t from the Tranquil Void Temple at all. Furthermore, Daoist Tranquil Void instructed me to treat anyone without a talisman token as a mere servant. You put on a good show, kid, but you don’t have Daoist Tranquil Void’s talisman token.”

Hearing this, Li Yan finally understood how the Old Village Chief had seen through his disguise. The spells he had used were indeed a clue, though that mattered little.

The key was the talisman. If Li Yan had entered with Daoist Tranquil Void’s talisman, no one would have suspected him, even if he were bathed in holy light.

But none of that mattered now. Li Yan had already probed the Old Village Chief’s cultivation base with his Divine Sense.

The Village Chief was just an old man at the fifth layer of the Blood Shifting Realm, with exceptionally poor innate talent.

Seeing the Old Village Chief’s smug expression, Li Yan retrieved the Blood Glazed Lotus Lamp.

The moment the Old Village Chief spotted the Magical Treasure, his eyes blazed with greed.

“Oh, you think you can bribe me with a treasure to spare your life? Too late!” he sneered. “You drank poison wine laced with Heart-Piercing Grass. Even a cultivator in the Blood Core Realm can’t withstand its toxin!”

Watching the Old Village Chief prance about like a fool, Li Yan felt an inexplicable urge to laugh.

He remained silent, instead channeling Yang Sacrifice Power into the Lotus Lamp to activate the Burning Lamp Technique.

The Blood Glazed Lotus Lamp erupted in golden-crimson holy light, its searing flames engulfing the Old Village Chief.

A million needles seemed to prick his skin, piercing agony coursing through his body. The Insect Gu within him writhed restlessly.

He tried to flee, only to discover his feet ensnared by shadowy hands that had materialized from beneath him.

Terrified by the scene, the other concubines fled through the door.

The Old Village Chief was now paralyzed, desperate to escape or cry for help, but it was too late.

“No… no… impossible!”

He couldn’t comprehend it. Hadn’t Li Yan drunk the poison from the Heart-Piercing Grass? How could he still be unharmed?

What the Old Village Chief didn’t know was that the Heart-Piercing Grass was a potent tonic for Li Yan. Drinking it felt like savoring a vintage wine, causing his Blood Qi to surge and boil.

Bathed in the golden light of the Lotus Lamp, the Old Village Chief’s skin peeled away layer by layer, revealing the Gu worms hidden beneath his flesh.

It seemed the old man was also a disciple of Daoist Tranquil Void, assigned to oversee Gu Cave Village from the shadows.

The Old Village Chief’s agonizing scream drew a crowd of villagers.

Li Yan turned to face the gate, finding the courtyard already swarming with people. Among them were familiar faces like Old Servant Yao Yan and young Servant Yao Chen.

Holding the Blood Glazed Lotus Lamp aloft, Li Yan raised his head to address the assembled villagers.

“The Old Village Chief has been subdued. Who among you dares challenge me?”

The moment Li Yan spoke, most of the villagers instinctively took a few steps back.

But then, Yao Chen, the young servant, stepped forward, drawing a small knife from his waist.

Oh?

Is this hot-blooded youth trying to avenge the Old Village Chief?

With his measly Blood Condensation Realm cultivation, does he really think he can come here looking for death?

Li Yan raised an eyebrow as he watched Yao Chen advance steadily, knife in hand, his expression unwavering.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Yao Chen declared. “This isn’t about you—it’s about him!”

His face twisted into a fierce grimace, Yao Chen plunged the knife into the barely conscious Old Village Chief.

“This old bastard ate my mother and turned my father into a human pig!”

Seeing the young servant strike the Old Village Chief, the others gradually found their courage and began to follow suit.

Even the concubines who had fled earlier returned, hatred burning in their eyes, and drew their own knives.

“You old beast! For defiling me! For murdering my Bis Sister!”

“You promised me you’d spare my father from being sent to his death at the God’s Tomb if I became your concubine!”

“This blade avenges my brother!”

“And this one avenges my mother!”

More and more villagers surged forward, overwhelming Li Yan’s need to act.

The Old Village Chief lay on the ground, barely alive, as countless villagers surrounded him, stabbing him relentlessly.

With his last breath, he hissed through gritted teeth, “Without my protection, you… you’d all be dead long ago.”

“A pack of ingrates! Leave Gu Cave Village, and you’ll all perish!”

His words were quickly drowned out by the villagers’ fury.

Everyone surged forward, eager to plunge their blades into the Old Village Chief one last time.

Li Yan watched the crowd descend into a near-insane frenzy. The old man had already breathed his last, his body riddled with countless daggers.

But the villagers weren’t satisfied. They dragged his corpse outside and strung it up by the courtyard gate.

They cursed, whipped the lifeless body, and spat on it, unleashing decades of pent-up rage.

As if possessed by demons, the villagers relentlessly kicked and punched the mangled corpse.

Li Yan watched silently from the sidelines as the frenzied inhabitants of the Underground Cave raged.

Only after some had exhausted their fury and snapped out of their frenzy did they remember their predicament.

Old Servant Yao Yan scurried over to Li Yan, his face creased with ingratiating smiles. “Daoist Lord, the Village Chief’s treasures are all yours! But could you spare some grain for us?”

“The village has been without food for days. We’ll starve if we don’t eat soon!”

Li Yan casually gestured toward the Village Chief’s granary. “Open the granary and distribute the grain.”

“Thank you, Daoist Lord! Thank you, Daoist Lord!” Yao Yan beamed, immediately ordering the villagers to break open the granary and distribute the Chief’s stockpiled grain.

Li Yan had only one condition for them:

“No one is to set foot in the Village Chief’s house again without my permission. I need to meditate in seclusion for a while. Unless it’s a matter of life and death, you understand.”

The old servant nodded obsequiously. “Understood! We all understand!”

“With your cultivation base, Daoist Lord, no one in the village would dare disturb you,” the old servant Yao Yan said, waving his hands frantically to shoo everyone out of the courtyard. He even thoughtfully closed the gate behind Li Yan.

For the villagers of Gu Cave Village, having secured their grain and avenged themselves on the tyrannical Village Chief, nothing else mattered.

Only after all the villagers had left did Su Mo, the Corpse Puppet hidden in the shadows, drop down from the rooftop and materialize before Li Yan.

“Mo Mo, guard the courtyard. Alert me immediately if anything happens outside.”

“Understood, Master.”

Su Mo plunged her Demonic Bone Greatsword into the ground and stood motionless in the courtyard, guarding the gate.

Only then did Li Yan return to the house and gaze at the chest containing the Ancient Demonic Eye.

“This object radiates intense Malevolent Qi. It must have severe side effects.”

“But absorbing this Malevolent Qi might aid me in Core Formation, allowing me to break through to the Blood Core Realm.”

Li Yan carefully opened the chest. Instantly, the Ancient Demonic Eye within flared to life, emitting a mesmerizing violet demonic light.