Chapter 32: Night Dream of Riding a Bug
Swoosh!
Two needles, thin as ox hair, pierced the air.
Fu Shaoguang used the Flowing Light Technique, closing the distance while simultaneously throwing the poison needles.
The poison needles glowed faintly blue under the moonlight.
In the dark night, the subtle needles were hard to distinguish.
The two Sparrow Demons suddenly puffed up into balls of fluff.
Fear arose in their hearts; they wanted to flee, but their minds were dazed, their old strength was spent, and new strength had yet to be generated, leaving them willing but unable.
Facing a life-or-death crisis, they could only grit their teeth and flap their wings.
They tried their best to avoid this fatal blow.
But Fu Shaoguang had calculated the timing precisely, launching his sudden attack; how could he let them escape so easily?
The closer the poison needles got, the more panicked the two Sparrow Demons became. They smelled the scent of their natural predator, and their wings felt even weaker.
The poison needles pierced through feathers and sank into flesh.
The Silver-Throated Sparrow Demon let out a mournful shriek, tumbled headfirst from the treetop, crashed onto the ground, and was ripped into pieces.
Crimson blood mixed with black poisonous blood.
And the Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon, unexpectedly, met with an accident.
In the nick of time, she spat out a Sparrow feather.
The feather emitted a silver radiance, helping her block the fatal strike.
Fu Shaoguang was not surprised by this.
This Sparrow Demon was more cunning than the other, and also had more resources, so having extra life-saving measures was normal.
He had prepared for this long ago.
While throwing the two poison needles, his lower two legs were not idle either. He pried open the porcelain bottle cap, guided the Poisonous Liquid within, and launched two Water Arrows, one high and one low, aiming at the target.
They seamlessly followed the poison needles.
"Cheep cheep cheep!"
The Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon cried out anxiously.
She disregarded the consequences and desperately pushed herself. Just as a Wind Vortex began to form, she was instinctively frightened by a dense aura, and her body went limp.
The power of the Wind Vortex was greatly diminished.
It only blocked one Water Arrow.
The Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon, who had protected her head but neglected her tail, was pierced by the Water Arrow in a vulnerable spot near her tail.
It struck with irresistible force, a savage impact.
She shrieked mournfully.
Accompanied by a strange feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time, her internal organs ached, her insides felt scorched, and blood flowed from her seven orifices.
She crashed headfirst onto the ground.
Following in the footsteps of the Silver-Throated Sparrow Demon.
A three-inch Mayfly materialized beside the corpse of the Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon, its translucent insect body both beautiful and dangerous.
Fu Shaoguang landed.
Just as he let out a sigh of relief, a speck of light the size of a peanut floated up from the Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon's corpse.
It resembled a miniature Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon.
It was precisely her Soul.
Fu Shaoguang was greatly alarmed and instinctively scattered Poison Powder.
The Poison Powder passed directly through the speck of light and drifted down to the ground, proving completely useless.
"Fu Shaoguang, I will certainly avenge this someday."
Having spoken, she flapped her wings, attempting to escape.
Green robes fluttered, and a snow-white finger suddenly appeared, lightly tapping the speck of light.
The Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon's Soul was instantly restrained.
Seeing the Green-Robed Female Demon appear without warning, both Fu Shaoguang and the Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon were startled.
"Who are you? Release me quickly, or my master will not let you off!"
The Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon threatened urgently.
Fu Shaoguang, however, flapped his wings in greeting.
"Junior greets Empress Yuli."
The Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon was so terrified her Soul nearly dissipated.
The Green-Robed Female Demon lightly raised her moth-like eyebrows: "You Little Bug are quite clever, much smarter than this idiot bird."
Fu Shaoguang respectfully explained: "Junior also happened to see a portrait of the Empress in Headmaster Ji Mo's study."
Empress Yuli waved her hand impatiently: "Don't call yourself Junior, and don't learn all those Human Race customs. This Old Mother prefers to be called 'little one.' Back in the day, when This Old Mother was a Mountain King, I was truly magnificent."
Fu Shaoguang immediately said: "Little one greets King Yuli."
Taking a fierce swig of wine, Empress Yuli's face flushed crimson, and she laughed heartily: "Now that sounds much better."
Her gaze then sharpened like a knife, falling upon the Sparrow Demon's Soul.
The Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon's Soul dimmed in terror, and she began to beg for mercy, but Yu Li interrupted her impatiently.
"This Old Mother asks you, why are you seeking trouble with this Little Bug?"
Although she arrived late, having lived for several hundred years, she could guess what happened. It must have been this little demon who struck first, failed, and thus caused internal conflict.
Otherwise, why would an insect provoke a bird?
Empress Yuli's accumulated Divine Might was profound.
Facing her, the Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon dared not lie and honestly recounted the sequence of events.
Fu Shaoguang, now knowing the full story, realized the truth.
Carrying a wine jar in her right hand and drinking from it, Empress Yuli used her left pinky finger to pick her ear, and asked curiously:
"So, your master behind you, because of a storybook called the chronicles of the great sage, wanted to enslave this Little Bug's Soul, just like you, to be used by him?"
"I dare not deceive the Empress."
"Who is your master?"
"My master is..."
Just as she reached this point, the Silver-Faced Sparrow Demon's Soul suddenly burst apart and scattered like the wind.
Empress Yuli took a few more sips of wine without changing her expression, and said with a look of disdain: "This Soul Seal is truly ordinary. It could only hide the identity; everything else that needed to be confessed was confessed."
Glancing at Fu Shaoguang, she said: "Little Bug, This Old Mother is leaving now. If you want to repay this kindness, next time write a battle poem that This Old Mother will like."
To know kindness but not seek repayment was never her style.
Saying this, Yu Li added with utter disgust: "Stop writing poems praising bamboo. No matter how good they are, This Old Mother is about to puke."
Fu Shaoguang: (._.)
Are you sure you don't feel like vomiting because you drank too much, old one?
"Yes! Little one obeys the King's command!"
Empress Yuli left, satisfied.
Only the dense scent of wine and bamboo fragrance remained.
Fu Shaoguang shook his head.
This Empress is quite different from the legends.
Shouldn't she be cold and aloof?
Why is she so... uniquely unconventional?
Judging a demon by her drinking habits, could this be the Empress's true nature? Were those previous rumors and records just a fabricated Demon Persona?
The pine and moon bring forth the night's coolness.
Ankang Alley, Ancient Pine Courtyard.
Fu Shaoguang lay sprawled on the bed, his six legs dangling.
Having endured two consecutive fights today, rushing back and forth, exhausting his mind and body, his expenditure exceeded his intake.
He was utterly exhausted.
He didn't want to do anything or think about anything.
Nevertheless, he struggled to get up and cooked a bowl of soft, mushy spirit porridge with spirit honey to fill his stomach.
Every bit of energy replenishment counted.
Then, with his six legs spread out, he collapsed onto the bed and slept spread-eagled.
Deep within the bamboo forest, the bright moonlight secretly crept through the window and slipped into the Bamboo Tower. Empress Yuli, whose sleeping posture was equally unrestrained and who smelled strongly of wine, had a wonderful dream: she dreamt she was riding a bug, slaughtering everything in her path, forcing her old rival, the Rakshasa Mountain Master, into constant retreat and crying out for help.
In the middle of the night, a burst of arrogant, unrestrained laughter rang out from the Sleeping Dream Demon, who was completely unaware.
Startling the night owls in the forest.
Hoot... The courtyard turned toward dawn, the morning breeze was gentle, and the weather was fine.
On the ancient pine, Fu Shaoguang woke up feeling refreshed and performed his Qi gathering cultivation practice without fail.
After finishing, he ate his Morning Meal.
Instead of immediately checking his gains, he stood in the spring breeze, silently reviewing the details of yesterday's two battles, summarizing his shortcomings, drawing lessons, identifying and correcting weaknesses, and even recording them with a Carving Knife onto a miniature Bamboo Slip for easy daily reference.
【In the future, I must bathe before leaving the Demon Market, lest I be inexplicably marked like this time.】
【Swallowing natural predators during the larval stage and slaying them after becoming an adult has given me confidence in facing natural predators, reducing the Limitations of Natural Opposition. I must continue this, promote it, and overcome biological instinct.
For example, stocking up on snacks named after natural predators, and placing predator-themed decorations in my dwelling. As long as I am not afraid, the ones who should be afraid are the predators.】
【I must continue researching Poison Powder and poison needles. Although cultivating the Poison Dao for Longevity yields minimal results, looking at it another way, isn't saving one's life a form of longevity cultivation?
Furthermore, during this confrontation, I had a flash of inspiration and spent money to buy Eagle Demon Feces, which I added to the Poisonous Liquid and needles used against the Sparrow Demons. The psychological deterrence was indeed effective.
In the future, I can try adding the Dao of Natural Opposition to my poison research to enhance the lethality of the poison.】
【Whether it was the Sparrow Demon's Soul or the Sound Wave Technique, they both exposed my own deficiencies. In the future, I must increase my research into the spirit/mind, and ideally cultivate a Spiritual Attack Technique and a Defensive Technique.
I must prioritize practicing the Dream Guiding Art.
At the same time, the Zither Dao is also a research direction.】
...Having summarized the gains and losses.
And determined some future cultivation directions.
Fu Shaoguang rested briefly, took out his money pouch, washed his feet, prayed, and opened it with a pilgrim's heart.
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