The Demon with Holy Radiance Chapter 43

Stared at by He Tou’s venomous gaze, Yang An felt utterly exposed, as if he couldn’t hide a single thing from Elder Life Crane.

The feeling was intensely uncomfortable, yet he was powerless to resist. Yang An could only force a smile and bow.

"Greetings, Master!"

’As expected of a Great Power Cultivator.’ Even though he had been on the surface, he was pulled underground in an instant, silently and without any chance to resist.

In Elder Life Crane’s presence, Yang An could only be on his best behavior, not daring to let his thoughts stray.

Compared to He Tou’s bloody and grotesque way of eating, Elder Life Crane was far more elegant. He unhurriedly picked up a slice of raw meat with his chopsticks. To him, the bright red blood dripping from it like sauce only made it seem like a rare delicacy.

"This Flood Dragon’s heart and liver are much more tender than the last one’s. Excellent!"

Elder Life Crane gave a very satisfied appraisal of Mother Divination True Master’s latest harvest. Only then did he put down his chopsticks and look up at Yang An.

"You progressed much faster than I imagined. Not bad."

Yang An had thought his rapid progress might prompt some questions from Elder Life Crane, but he never expected such an understated remark.

It seemed that in Elder Life Crane’s eyes, advancing from a mortal to the Early Stage of Fake Food Realm in such a short time was nothing out of the ordinary.

But what sent a chill down Yang An’s spine was that the way the old man appraised him seemed no different from how he appraised the meat on the table.

’Just two words: "Not bad." The first was for a flavor that satisfied him. What, then, was the second for?’

"I was just lucky."

Cold sweat beaded on Yang An’s forehead without him even realizing it.

Elder Life Crane clearly had no intention of dwelling on the topic. He Tou shot Yang An a meaningful glance before ignoring him and returning to his meal.

Perhaps it was only while eating that He Tou would restrain its usual violent temper.

"Mother Divination prepared a special cut of meat for you. Are you sure you won’t go have a taste?"

Elder Life Crane changed the subject. Compared to Yang An’s progress in his Cultivation Level, he seemed more interested in why Yang An hadn’t attended the Communal Feast.

"I... I’m not worthy of such a fine meal. I can only regretfully decline the True Master’s kind offer."

He knew that as Elder Life Crane’s Direct Disciple, Mother Divination would certainly give him preferential treatment, setting him apart from the others.

But the moment he remembered the scene from before, his appetite vanished completely.

’Forget the Flood Dragon Demon’s physical body—even if it were real dragon meat, he wouldn’t dream of tasting it. Just one look at its appearance made it obvious something was wrong with it.’

Elder Life Crane nodded contentedly.

"It’s fine that you didn’t go. Stick with me, and you’ll have plenty to eat. We won’t be limited to the flesh of a Flood Dragon Demon; even celestial treasures from the heavens won’t be out of reach. Heh heh."

Yang An couldn’t tell if Elder Life Crane was bluffing, so he decided to act as if he hadn’t heard.

"Well, it’s about time. We should head back. Pack your things; we’re returning to the Life Crane Sect."

Elder Life Crane wiped his mouth, cleaning the bloodstains from his face as he spoke to Yang An.

’So suddenly?’

Yang An was stunned for a moment, but then he remembered his place. He was Elder Life Crane’s disciple now. If the Elder wanted to leave, he couldn’t object; he would simply have to return to the Life Crane Sect with him.

’I just wonder what kind of place the Life Crane Sect is.’

Yang An grew nervous at the thought.

He Tou paid no mind, still greedily devouring the meat and splattering red juices everywhere. It seemed to have completely ignored Elder Life Crane’s words.

’Logically, even though this body has two heads, it only has one stomach. But the way He Tou is frantically swallowing and chewing... it doesn’t show the slightest sign of being full. It’s like a bottomless pit.’

Seeing that He Tou was unmoved, Elder Life Crane seemed to recall something and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, right. There’s one more thing to take care of before we leave. Since you’re my new disciple now, I’ll go ahead and solve this little problem for you."

A puzzled look crossed Yang An’s face.

’A problem? What problem do I have?’

Just as he was puzzling over Elder Life Crane’s words, several unfamiliar voices suddenly spoke up beside him.

"Senior Brother Guang Du, you’ve broken the precepts!"

"Senior Brother Guang Xian, you’ve also broken the precepts!"

"Nonsense! We haven’t broken any precepts! This is just dead flesh! It’s vegetarian! Vegetarian!"

"Hahahahaha!"

...

The laughter cut off abruptly. The air seemed to freeze, plunging the space into a silence so profound you could hear a pin drop.

Three Cultivators, their mouths smeared with blood, had been laughing maniacally just a moment before. Now, they found themselves in a strange, unfamiliar place. They saw Yang An standing beside them, and then their eyes fell upon Elder Life Crane behind the stone platform.

In an instant, deathly silence!

Yang An stared, baffled, at the three men who had suddenly appeared before him. He didn’t recognize them, but their words from a moment ago sparked an instant realization.

’Three Monks? ...White Buddha Temple!’

He was shocked. ’The people from White Buddha Temple already tracked me here? I didn’t even notice a thing!’

These three were none other than Guang Du and his companions, who had infiltrated the Communal Feast.

One moment, they had been at the Communal Feast, joyfully sharing the precious Flood Dragon Demon’s physical body with the other Cultivators; the next, they were suddenly here.

All of a sudden, and especially upon seeing the smiling old man behind the stone platform, a dreadful realization seemed to dawn on all three of them.

"S... Senior Brother Guang Du..."

Guangzhi, the most junior of the three, looked at Guang Du in a panic. Guang Xian, beside him, did the same.

’To be pulled to an unknown place in the blink of an eye, without any of us even noticing...’

’Such terrifying power... This is definitely beyond the abilities of Visceral Stone True Master.’

’In other words, it wasn’t Mother Divination True Master who caught us. This two-headed old man... he must be an existence far more terrifying than she is!’

"Run!"

Before Guang Xian and Guangzhi could even react, a low shout echoed in their ears. The next second, Guang Du had already transformed into a black shadow, hurtling toward the cave wall.

But before he could smash through the rock, just as he neared the wall, he seemed to be crushed by some immense pressure. He was instantly reduced to a pile of pulped flesh that splattered heavily onto the ground.

At the same time, the still-unmoving Guang Xian and Guangzhi suffered the same fate. In an instant, as if squashed by an invisible giant, they were flattened. Bits of gore and tattered cloth were even driven into the cracks in the floor.

SPLAT—

Yang An stood only a few feet away from the three, and the erupting spray of blood instantly drenched him, dyeing his coarse robes red.

The foul, coppery stench that washed over him was nauseating.

Yang An stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at the scene. He looked down at the blood spattered all over him with an expression of pure disgust.

’He hadn’t expected them to be turned into paste without even a chance to resist.’

Meanwhile, Elder Life Crane looked over at the mangled flesh by the wall and frowned.

"A decoy body! To think there was a clever one among those bald donkeys. Interesting!"

With a casual wave of his hand, he summoned a foul, gusting wind.

The pile of meat paste by the wall instantly turned into black incense ash, which the foul wind scattered across the floor.

The Monk called Guang Du had never been here in his true body.

Elder Life Crane smiled, with no intention of pursuing the matter. It was just an insignificant little bug, after all.

"Let’s go. Time to return to the Life Crane Sect."

He rose to his feet, hands clasped behind his back, and forcefully yanked He Tou up from its meal. This immediately provoked a stream of merciless curses from the other head.

"Don’t you push it, old man! You’ve eaten your fill, and you’re making me starve? I’ll f*** your entire f***ing family..."

As he was about to follow Elder Life Crane back to the Life Crane Sect, Yang An glanced at the piles of flesh and blood. Although disgusting, it was, after all, a resource that was hard to come by.

’It would be a terrible waste to just leave it here!’

’As a man of fine education, there were certain traditional virtues I had to uphold.’

’Waste anything but food!’

He gritted his teeth. While He Tou was still locked in a standoff with Elder Life Crane, Yang An mustered his courage, walked over to the pulpy remains, and held out his right hand.

An ugly, fanged mouth split open on his palm. As if it had just laid eyes on the world’s greatest delicacy, it opened its maw in greed.

...