CHAPTER 200: CHAPTER 120: BREEDING ANIMALS, YIN FIRE_2

The only thing he cared about was the thick smoke that continuously eroded his acupoints.

This smoke was very similar to the method used by the Water Monkeys that infiltrated the lungs, except the Water Monkeys used water while the Shepherd used fire-toxic smoke.

His wide sleeves fluttered, revealing several fireproof talismans with scorched yellow marks that ignited without wind and turned into ashes.

Soon, more fireproof talismans replaced them.

Xu Qing was fearless of the fire toxin, and he forcefully crashed into the center of the fire.

In the thick smoke, the Shepherd’s figure was nowhere to be seen, so Xu Qing took out the Water-Soaked Bowl and started chanting the Water Absorption Spell.

The creek water nearby responded to the call and surged towards him like a tidal wave.

The mountain stream swept through the fire field, clearing the thick smoke instantly.

Xu Qing squinted his eyes to look, but the Shepherd was nowhere to be found; only a shredded sheepskin coat appeared before him.

The sheepskin coat not only had claw marks from Xuan Yu but also a puncture hole from his sword.

"Young man, you almost took my life; I will remember this vengeance!"

A voice emerged from the sheep, and Xu Qing turned his head to see hundreds of sheep rubbing shoulders, moving back and forth with not a single human figure in sight.

Beside him, Xuan Yu transformed into a black shadow and slipped into the flock.

The Cat Immortal excelled at the Soul Capturing and Shadow Shifting technique; it merged into the shadows beneath the lambs and circled around within a short time.

Dark demonic energy gathered into the shape of a cat from the shadows beside Xu Qing, and Xuan Yu, revealing herself, looked up at Xu Qing before turning to the restless flock, saying in a childish voice, "It’s strange, besides the sheep, there is no sign of that old man in the flock, yet I clearly heard him speaking among them..."

Xu Qing felt a slight movement in his heart and walked to the front of the flock, saying:

"I know you are all living beings, captured by this demon and turned into livestock using the Beast-Making Technique. Now you see, this demon is not my match; if you reveal him, you will regain your freedom..."

The flock remained still for a moment, then suddenly started to stir.

A lamb bleated at an old sheep, and more lambs soon joined in.

The surrounding large sheep gathered into a circle, isolating the old sheep.

"..."

The old sheep uneasily trod its hooves but could not break through the surrounding flock.

The eyes of the sheep were filled with resentment and anger.

The flock parted, forming a path for Xu Qing and Xuan Yu to walk through.

"You foolish humans, if I die, you’ll never turn back into humans!"

The lambs were unmoved by his words, but the large sheep began to stir uneasily again.

"Boy, now I see, you just want to save these people, but if you kill me, no one will undo the technique on them."

"So why not make a deal? I can restore their original forms, but you must let me go..."

The old sheep walked fearlessly to Xu Qing, but before he could continue speaking, a flash of sword light mercilessly slashed at his neck.

The large sheep head fell to the ground, hot thick blood spraying in all directions, and the flock retreated in fear.

A dead man has no right to negotiate.

Xu Qing sheathed the Treasure Sword, his face showed a trace of impatience and nothing else.

Xuan Yu disdainfully jumped to the side, although not stained by the old sheep’s blood, she couldn’t help but shake her paws.

Xu Qing drove the flock to one side and then asked Xuan Yu to protect him as he began to examine the Shepherd’s corpse.

The Shepherd was dead, but he still retained his sheep form, not reverting to human, contrary to Xu Qing’s initial guess that killing the transformed person would break the Beast-Making Evil Technique.

It seems this was not the case.

As for how to turn the sheep back into humans after the Shepherd’s death, Xu Qing never worried.

No matter how many secrets one holds, once they come to him, it’s like stripping them naked, not even the biggest secret can escape his eyes.

Xu Qing took out a large needle for stitching corpses and reattached the sheep head before starting to watch the Shepherd’s life.

The old Shepherd was named Chen Mancang. He was born during a disaster year, when food and drink were scarce, hence his parents gave him such a name.

There wasn’t much to see about Chen Mancang’s childhood until thirty years ago, when he was in his twenties, his life took a significant turn.

While fleeing from famine, Chen Mancang encountered an old Shepherd.

People were barely surviving at that time, grass roots and tree barks had been scraped clean, but the Shepherd was driving dozens of sheep ahead.

Chen Mancang’s stomach had been empty for days; upon seeing the flock and the old man, his eyes turned green.

During famine, people eat each other.

The fact that Chen Mancang survived so long during the great drought and still had the strength to travel spoke to his unrelenting nature.

Salivating, he followed closely, and midway, the old man, perhaps hungry, set up a pot in the wilderness and began to cook a sheep.

The old man carefully removed the sheepskin and placed it aside, wary of damaging it.

The remaining meat and bones were thrown into the pot for cooking.

Smelling the meat, Chen Mancang couldn’t resist approaching the pot.

Without asking, he grabbed a piece of half-cooked meat and gnawed on it.

After filling his stomach, he found the old Shepherd smiling at him.

He couldn’t help asking, "Aren’t you upset that I ate your sheep?"