Demon Cultivator in Abyssal Era

”Tap, tap, tap.”

The faint sound of footsteps echoed through the deep mountain cave as three people cautiously ventured forward while observing their surroundings.

All three were extremely cautious, knowing that they were about to approach the lair of the Murder Ghost. No one knew when they might be attacked.

The terrifying SSS-level talent was something even Chu Xiu couldn’t be sure of confronting.

Thus, he extended his divine sense to the fullest, not missing any corner as he scouted the environment around them.

In this manner, the three continued for about ten minutes until Chu Xiu seemed to detect something, and his expression changed.

”Brother Qin, what’s wrong?”

Zhao Jie asked.

Chu Xiu did not reply, only looking forward with a solemn expression.

Shortly after, once the three rounded a corner, the other two understood why Chu Xiu had shown such an unusual expression.

At the deepest part of this dark passage, there stood a massive altar!

The altar was quite rudimentary, seemingly pieced together temporarily using bones and remains. But what made the three frown was that in the center of the far end, a flayed figure was hanging upside down!

The outer skin of the figure had been completely removed, revealing already decaying muscle fibers and eerily white, broken bones were visible, indicating immense torture before death. An indescribable stench filled the air.

”This is...”

Jiang Miaoyin’s expression changed first.

Even though she was a seasoned Awakened, braver than most, at this moment she couldn’t help but feel a wave of nausea.

Chu Xiu then looked at the flayed figure, carefully sensing before realizing something.

This was a corpse of a Heroic Spirit.

If he guessed correctly, this unfortunate deceased was most likely the nephew of Divine Power Daoist, Zhang Changchuan.

Back then, the Murder Ghost wore Zhang Changchuan’s skin, even fooling Divine Power Daoist, who was sneak-attacked and severely injured.

This illustrates that this person possesses a very sinister secret technique, allowing him to greatly alter his aura simply by wearing someone else’s skin.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the Murder Ghost’s disguise is flawless. Apart from the mystery of the secret technique, another reason he could fool Divine Power Daoist is because probing someone else with reconnaissance skill is considered rude and taboo.

For Awakened individuals, especially High Tier Awakened, intelligence is vital; possessing information about the other party allows for tailored strategies. For instance, if Chu Xiu, who had not yet cultivated the ”Subduing Ghosts and Slaying Souls Yama Scripture,” exposed the shortcoming of his divine soul, the enemy wouldn’t need to confront his demigod body directly. Heroic Spirit level soul secret techniques would be sufficient to trouble him.

Therefore, it is usually enough to slightly sense the other party’s aura without delving deeper.

Chu Xiu also never used his divine sense to probe others deeply; otherwise, it could potentially cause unnecessary conflicts if detected by others.

This is why Chu Xiu managed to remain hidden until now. Otherwise, relying solely on his previous Qi Concealing Technique and General Tier Concealing Blessing, how could he possibly elude a Celestial King Demi-God?

Even the Sun King likely noticed something was amiss during their initial encounter using a similar ”spiritual sense” divine technique, which prompted him to probe Chu Xiu during their second meeting.

Moreover, it was merely to entice Chu Xiu into exposing himself; had Chu Xiu been able to resist the backlash of his divine-demonic foundation, the Sun King probably would not have investigated further.

As Chu Xiu pondered, Zhao Jie stepped forward to retrieve Zhang Changchuan’s corpse, carefully packing it away.

”This is a sacrifice to an Outer Realm Demon.” Zhao Jie sighed softly, looking at the grim scene before them.

Chu Xiu had heard about this as well.

In some confidential internal documents, he had read about the relationship between the Extreme Dao and the Outer Realm Demons.

Although the Outer Realm Demons are not True Gods, they regard themselves as gods. The relationship between them and the Extreme Dao is more akin to evil gods and their followers.

In order to gain power, the Extreme Dao not only completes tasks assigned by the Outer Realm Demons but also frequently resorts to ”sacrifice.”

”Different Outer Realm Demons have different sacrifice methods. If I’m not mistaken, the Outer Realm Demon that the Murder Ghost sacrifices to is the so-called ’God of Pain.’”

”God of Pain?” Chu Xiu’s heart stirred.

”Yes,” Zhao Jie nodded, ”The God of Pain draws power from suffering. His followers appease Him through acts of self-harm. The non-human torment endured by that corpse seems to match the ritual of the God of Pain.”

Chu Xiu understood this well, as during his first advancement trial, he had encountered this Outer Realm Demon.

At this moment, Jiang Miaoyin asked, ”Can Heroic Spirit level beings easily seal off their senses? Naturally, they wouldn’t feel pain. Can this ritual still work?”

Zhao Jie replied, ”Just as there are means to seal off senses, there are also ways to undo it.”

With that, Jiang Miaoyin sighed softly, her expression darkening, and she spoke no more.

She asked this question in hopes that this heroic former elder might have suffered less before death, but Zhao Jie’s answer disappointed her.

Zhao Jie also sensed this, consoling, ”Brother Changchuan was a man of justice and would never allow himself to be used by others. I used the Eye of the Past earlier; although months have passed and things are not clear, I discerned that Brother Changchuan destroyed his own divine soul, preventing the ritual from proceeding. It seems he didn’t suffer too greatly.”

Hearing this, Jiang Miaoyin’s expression improved slightly, but the murderous intent towards the Murder Ghost in her eyes intensified.

Chu Xiu, on the other hand, was concerned about something else: ”With the situation as it is, can the Murder Ghost still receive the blessing reward from the Outer Realm Demon?”