The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 320: Chapter 312: Demonic Disaster

Haaah...

Bai Yuan let out a long sigh of relief.

Though his training in the White Ape Breaks the Mountain had some twists and turns, it had been a close call with no real danger.

’How can I fear a few setbacks on the path of the Martial Dao?’

He had originally planned to sleep, but the sticky sweat covering his body made him uncomfortable.

Bai Yuan remembered seeing a large puddle on the way up the mountain. Puddles like that were usually formed in pits left from mining and filled up with rainwater.

’A bath!’

He made up his mind instantly. Throwing on an outer robe, he prepared to head out.

Just as he lifted the tent flap, he bumped right into someone.

"Lord Bai."

The Chen Family Patriarch, Chen Liu, gave an awkward smile.

Bai Yuan’s eyebrow twitched. "What is it?"

Chen Liu knew he needed a reasonable explanation for disturbing Bai Yuan so late at night.

"I saw that the candle in Lord Bai’s tent was still lit, so I thought I might bring something over."

"Oh?"

Bai Yuan was surprised.

Chen Liu took a small jade vial from his robes.

"My lord, this is called Hundred Refinement Liquid. It is an essential item for forging Blood Radiance Iron. It’s just a bit difficult to find. My family happened to have a vial, so I’ve come to offer it to you."

Bai Yuan smiled faintly and accepted the Hundred Refinement Liquid without ceremony.

"You’re very thoughtful."

Seeing Bai Yuan’s approval, the smile on Chen Liu’s face widened.

This Hundred Refinement Liquid wasn’t actually precious, merely rare at best.

Its uses were too few; it was only needed when forging a very small number of Divine Irons.

To gain the favor of Ling Province’s Chief Official with a single vial of Hundred Refinement Liquid was a massively profitable deal.

As one of the largest powers in Jingyang Prefecture, the Chen Family had always wanted to build a relationship with the Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office. Now, a golden opportunity had fallen from the heavens.

’The Chen Family will rise!’

"Well, I won’t disturb you any longer, my lord."

Chen Liu bowed repeatedly.

But just as he was about to turn, he froze.

"I... I also have a rather impertinent request."

The corners of Bai Yuan’s mouth curled up. ’Just like a merchant. Of course he’d want something in return for the Hundred Refinement Liquid.’

Still, given Chen Liu’s thoughtful gesture, he decided to hear him out.

"Speak."

Overjoyed at Bai Yuan’s consent, Chen Liu couldn’t help but take a few more steps forward, closing the distance between them to only a foot.

The next instant.

A look of struggle appeared on Chen Liu’s face.

Then, the unthinkable happened!

Chen Liu’s body swelled to more than ten times its size in the blink of an eye, like a balloon about to burst.

His face was contorted in agony.

BANG!

A massive explosion.

Flesh and blood splattered throughout the tent.

...

Meanwhile.

Liu Zhengwen and Fang Yong, who were deep in thought, turned pale when they heard the commotion outside their tent.

Liu Zhengwen stopped pondering the meaning of the divination signs.

He flung open the tent flap.

The camp was already in chaos.

The Chen Family members and the miners were rushing the Demon Slayer Guards like madmen.

The miners, who hadn’t even been Martial Artists before, were now abnormally ferocious. A few of the Demon Slayer Guard officials were even pinned down by a mob of them, being savagely torn at and bitten.

Liu Zhengwen’s face fell in horror, and he blurted out.

"Demon Slaves!"

’This place really is connected to a Demon Seed!’

He looked toward the center of the camp.

That was the epicenter of the explosion, now shrouded in a bloody mist.

The bloody mist was bizarre; not even Liu Zhengwen and Fang Yong could see through it.

Just as Liu Zhengwen was about to act...

...he saw a figure slowly emerge from the mist.

The man’s clothes were tattered in several places and he was covered in blood. It was Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan’s lips curled into a cold smirk. "You think this is enough to kill me?"

Seeing Bai Yuan appear, the Demon Slayer Guards felt a wave of reassurance, as if they had taken a calming pill.

Zhou Lin cut down a miner in front of him with a single slash and rushed to Bai Yuan’s side.

He was shocked to see Bai Yuan’s battered state. "My lord, what happened? What should we do?"

Bai Yuan said coolly, "Kill them all."

Hearing this, Zhou Lin couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. But his resolve quickly returned. "Yes, sir!"

「Two hours later.」

Not a single living soul was left in the Chen Family’s camp.

The ground was littered with the bodies of miners and Chen Family members.

"Reporting, my lord. Lord Ma... has been killed in action."

Zhou Lin’s expression was grim.

When he reached Ma Hong’s tent, it was already a ruin.

Not long after the explosion near Bai Yuan, Ma Hong’s tent had also exploded. It was just that Ma Hong wasn’t as tough as Bai Yuan; he had been blasted into a pile of minced flesh.

Bai Yuan took a towel from a Demon Slayer Guard official and wiped his face.

"Report it."

"Yes, sir."

Zhou Lin accepted the order.

The death of a Prefect in action was not something that could be covered up. It had to be reported to Grand Protector Yan in Ling Province, to let that great personage decide what to do.

This time, Bai Yuan had really suffered a huge loss.

He had inadvertently carried out another massacre.

Just then, Liu Zhengwen and Fang Yong walked over.

"Lord Bai, are you alright?"

Liu Zhengwen couldn’t help but ask as he looked at Bai Yuan’s disheveled state.

Bai Yuan shook his head. "I’m fine."

Liu Zhengwen gazed at the young official before him with awe. He had already pieced together most of what had happened.

To be this close to a demon explosion and emerge unscathed... this Lord General was terrifyingly strong.

Bai Yuan noticed the strange look in Liu Zhengwen’s eyes. "Could it be you know the reason for this?"

Liu Zhengwen nodded.

Hearing this, Bai Yuan waved away the soldiers beside him and then found a quiet place.

Seeing this, Liu Zhengwen finally spoke. "It was the work of a Demon Seed."

Bai Yuan’s pupils contracted.

"If I’m not mistaken, these Chen Family members had been in contact with a Demon Seed at some point, so they were gradually and imperceptibly turned into Demon Slaves."

"The Demon Seed didn’t take control of them immediately. Instead, it waited to erupt until the moment of the demon explosion just now."

Having said this, Liu Zhengwen glanced at Bai Yuan again.

Bai Yuan nodded.

He recalled Chen Liu’s expression. He had been completely normal at first. ’It must have been in that final moment that the Demon Seed took control.’

Chen Liu’s situation reminded him of an old acquaintance—Ji Hanming.

To be precise, it reminded him of Ji Hanming after his body was usurped by Long Ao.

Although the situations were slightly different, both involved being cultivated as a vessel, only to be forcibly possessed later.

’The Celestial Heart Sect really is skilled in these kinds of methods.’

A look of fear appeared on Liu Zhengwen’s face. "I have only ever read about such methods in books. I never imagined a Demon Seed could actually achieve something so terrifying."

Fang Yong nodded as well.

For the first time, the two of them truly felt the danger of investigating a Demon Seed.

The Qingming Stones only reacted to these Demon Slaves when they erupted. It was impossible to guard against.

Fang Yong looked at Bai Yuan again.

He was inwardly amazed at the ruthlessness and decisiveness of Bai Yuan’s actions. ’Everyone in the Capital City calls him Ren Tu. Now I see it’s true.’

Even though the Chen Family members couldn’t be saved, giving the order to slaughter them was still a difficult decision. Yet Bai Yuan was abnormally calm—or perhaps, cold-blooded.

"So, Lord Liu, General Fang," Bai Yuan asked, "what do you plan to do next?"

Liu Zhengwen replied, "Since the Demon Seed appeared among the Chen Family, we plan to continue searching for clues."

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