CHAPTER 107: CHAPTER 100: DEMON MOUNTAIN_1

Dusk Night.

A crescent moon hung in the sky.

In the dilapidated courtyard of an abandoned village, the Crow God’s Divine Servant, completely enveloped by dense Black Qi, stood quietly over twenty meters away from Lu Yuan.

Under the moonlight, the Black Qi around it churned violently.

Suddenly, it extended, shooting towards Lu Yuan like a tentacle.

"Stop!"

Lu Yuan sharply pressed the "pause button."

The scene before him instantly froze; everything was suspended.

With a thought, Lu Yuan’s consciousness immediately occupied the body of the Crow God’s Divine Servant.

WHOOSH—

A strange yet powerful sensation arose within him.

His vocal cords felt as if they’d been slashed, and his throat was congested with phlegm he couldn’t cough out.

His limbs were deformed, and bones throughout his body were twisted and malformed. The experience was atrocious.

Enduring the discomfort, Lu Yuan slowly released the "pause button."

Of course, he kept it in "slow motion."

He meticulously experienced the sensations this body produced as the Black Qi churned within it.

The surging Death Qi seemed to erupt from deep within the flesh and bones of this body.

Nodes existed in the locations from which the Death Qi erupted.

While releasing Death Qi, these nodes also continuously absorbed Death Qi from the surroundings.

Storage!

A word popped into Lu Yuan’s head.

Then, enlightenment struck him.

His consciousness quickly returned to his own body. After freezing the Crow God’s Divine Servant, he immediately tried to activate [Circulation of Death Qi].

Strands of Black Qi gathered in Lu Yuan’s palm.

Some of it originated from him, but most of it materialized out of thin air.

The Death Qi I summon when using my skills basically comes from the natural residual Death Qi in the environment. This is fundamentally different from the Crow God’s Divine Servant.

Lu Yuan’s mind raced, analyzing quickly.

The Crow God’s Divine Servant stored Death Qi internally, drawing upon it directly when needed.

He, on the other hand, called upon it temporarily.

His body didn’t need prolonged contact with Death Qi, thus naturally avoiding the risk of physical mutation from its corrosive influence.

It’s like the profession panel stripped away the side effects of this Extraordinary power. The trade-off is a slight reduction in the efficiency of mobilizing Death Qi...

With a swift leap, Lu Yuan approached the frozen Crow God’s Divine Servant and drew a deep breath.

Lv3 [Absolute Focus], Lv1 [Special Burst], and the Sure-kill Skill [Crane Shadow Floating in the Air] activated simultaneously.

Instantly, his arm swelled and thickened. Veins bulged violently, resembling a python rearing its head.

This time, however, strands of black Death Qi coiled around this blue-black python.

POW!

The punch landed solidly on the Crow God’s Divine Servant’s chest, his entire fist sinking deep.

Unfortunately, the Crow God’s Divine Servant was frozen. It was unresponsive, like a wooden stake, its body merely recoiling several meters violently.

After Lu Yuan followed through with his punch, he looked again at the Crow God’s Divine Servant.

He found that a bowl-sized gap had been punched through the thick Death Qi at the Crow God’s Divine Servant’s chest. The flesh and blood within were caved in, and he presumed many bones must have been broken.

My Death Qi can neutralize another’s Death Qi. Finally, I can actually harm him...

A smile touched Lu Yuan’s lips; he was quite satisfied with the power of this punch.

He didn’t need the Death Qi to gather quickly, as his true reliance was still his own Martial Arts prowess.

Death Qi was merely an additional enhancement.

It added effects like "corrosion" and "armor penetration" to his attacks.

When I executed the [Crane Shadow Floating in the Air] punch just now, the crane image in my mind seemed to change somehow...

Lu Yuan suddenly recalled something.

As he had thrown the punch, the image of Crane Shadow Floating in the Air had naturally appeared in his mind. Simultaneously, scenes from the Crow Dreamscape he had experienced before also flashed through.

Subsequently, the [Crane Shadow Floating in the Air] punch produced a subtle change.

He couldn’t pinpoint it, but the change was definitely there.

Could it be... I’m really on the right path?

Lu Yuan stood thoughtfully, quietly savoring the feeling.

...

I won’t need these for now.

Lu Yuan carefully removed the last peephole surveillance camera installed downstairs in his building, a hint of nostalgia in his movements as he stuffed it into his backpack.

Several stray cats milled around his feet. Lu Yuan smiled, took out a few sausages from his backpack—originally intended for the crows—tore open the packaging, and fed them.

Having personally dealt with the second Mouse Monster, Lu Yuan’s mood lightened considerably.

A great weight lifted from his heart, and even his breathing felt easier.

COO-COO—COO-COO—

From the road outside their front yard gate came the sound of someone feeding pigeons. With his excellent hearing, Lu Yuan instantly recognized the voice as his mother’s, Zheng Qiuling.

His expression flickered. He picked up his backpack and walked out of the yard.

As soon as he reached the road, he saw his mother standing at the entrance of their shop, holding a handful of millet and cooing to a few pitch-black... Crows?!

"Mom, do you even know what kind of bird this is?" Lu Yuan walked over, pointing at the Crow pecking millet in front of her, his expression odd.

Zheng Qiuling glanced at him. "A crow, of course. Do you think your mother is an idiot?"

"Aren’t you worried they’re bad luck?"

"Honestly, for someone so young, and a top student in high school too! How can you be as superstitious as an old woman?"

Zheng Qiuling clapped her hands, dusting off the millet grains from between her fingers, then gestured mysteriously for Lu Yuan to come closer.

"Come on, get over here."

Curious, Lu Yuan approached, only for his mother to grab him and pull him into the shop.

Then, she quietly opened a drawer beneath the counter.

Lu Yuan glanced inside. Lying there were several gleaming gold ornaments and a large diamond ring.