Ch. 2 - Heart Fire

Mountain ghosts, the demons lurking in the depths of gorges and ravines, mostly manifested as female apparitions. They delighted in consuming humans, beasts, demons, and spirits, born from the accumulation of yin energy within mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, nurturing grievances.

Unless unforeseen events occur, they can never leave the land of their incarnation.

Ji Yuenian's long eyelashes trembled slightly. Raising his head, he faced the terrifying and monstrous face of the young girl. Vague reflections of the faint halo around her body shimmered in his eyes. However, his scalp started to tingle, and a weak and overwhelming sense of exhaustion surged through his entire body. He found himself unable to move even a finger and stood motionless in place.

"It's been a long time since anyone has come to this place," the jade-like finger, emitting a white light, lightly touched Ji Yuenian's head. The mouthpiece on the mountain ghost's face squirmed, and a hoarse and unpleasant voice echoed in the narrow and secluded mountain gorge, "The allure of this is much stronger than those newly born spiritual creatures."

As her hand touched Ji Yuenian's head, he felt as though he were suddenly plunged into an icy hell. A bone-chilling cold penetrated his body within moments. Even between his fair and handsome brows, there involuntarily arose wisps of white mist, eventually drawn into the mouthpiece of the mountain ghost.

"Though the vitality of humans is of little use to me, the taste is truly unforgettable …"

The mountain ghost stood barefoot, suspended as if weightless, speaking to herself as if no one else were there. Her tone carried a hint of intoxication. Her gentle touch on Ji Yuenian's head was exceedingly tender.

Though Ji Yuenian couldn't move at all, he could keenly perceive his growing weakness. If this mountain ghost continued to drain him like this, he would surely die!

Gradually, a faint black flame flickered within his soul.

This fire was called Heartfire, although only a mere flicker, it had the potential to ignite a blaze.

Boom!

As if lightning in a clear sky, the fog in his memory suddenly dissipated somewhat. Though Ji Yuenian tightly shut his eyes, he eerily glimpsed a scene in his deep memory that sent shivers down his spine.

Before he could continue recalling the scene from his memory, an excruciating pain suddenly emanated from his left arm.

Ji Yuenian abruptly opened his eyes. His handsome face contorted with extreme agony, his mouth gaping open but unable to produce any sound. Fresh blood sprayed from the broken wrist, staining even the faint white halo around the gorge with a stark and dazzling red hue.

"Quite satisfying."

The mountain ghost forcibly tore off Ji Yuenian's left hand, casually tossing it into her mouth. The confined space echoed with the chilling sound of her chewing.

In just a few breaths, she completely swallowed the hand, her delicate face filled with a sense of aftertaste.

Apparently, having not consumed a human for a long time, she didn't immediately kill Ji Yuenian but intended to keep him as livestock, slowly consuming him.

A faint white halo flowed from her fingertips, covering Ji Yuenian's left wrist. The splattering blood inexplicably began to stop, even showing signs of slight healing in such a short time, a method that left one astounded.

With his head drooping, Ji Yuenian's face lost all color. His black eyelashes quivered slightly, and once again, faint traces of Heartfire surged from an unknown place within him. His eyes were filled with profound and endless darkness.

Since waking up by the side of this narrow stream in the mountain gorge, he had lost all memories and was physically weakened to the extreme.

After evading the bell-like sonic waves and falling into this narrow mountain gorge, he fell into the hands of this mountain ghost, treated as mere livestock.

These perilous and hopeless events occurred in an extremely short time, causing Ji Yuenian, under the invasion of some mysterious power, to gradually ignite a terrifying black flame deep within his soul.

"Hm?" The mountain ghost seemed to sense something amiss. Looking at Ji Yuenian with his head lowered, she sneered, "A mere mortal, akin to livestock. Although it's rare to ignite Heartfire, in front of me … dare you resist!?"

As she finished speaking, she waved her palm again, and a rainbow-like white light pierced directly through Ji Yuenian's entire left arm!

The residual white light left no trace of blood on Ji Yuenian's left arm. It then rolled up the severed limb and disappeared into the mouthpiece of the mountain ghost.

Crunch, crunch.

The pain was too intense. Ji Yuenian fainted outright under such intense stimulation. There was no longer a flicker of flame in his soul, and the black Heartfire gradually subsided, gradually fading away.

Gulp.

Satisfied, the mountain ghost swallowed the last piece of flesh and bone, her twisted mouthpiece slowly retracting. Under the cover of the white light, in just a few breaths, she transformed back into the beautiful and charming young girl from before.

The shimmering light in her beautiful eyes finally settled on Ji Yuenian's face.

"Although just like livestock, this one is quite exceptional. If I hadn't abstained from consuming humans for many years, perhaps I would have toyed with him a bit before devouring."

Oddly enough, her voice was no longer hoarse and unpleasant but as melodious as a warbler, extremely pleasant to hear.

Ji Yuenian's fainting only lasted a very short time. Though the bleeding from his left arm had ceased, the excruciating pain still woke him from his slumber.

Upon waking, he saw the beautiful barefooted girl standing in the narrow mountain gorge, gazing down at him with playful interest.

Suddenly, a finger-thick, blazing white lightning bolt appeared from the void and pierced directly into the girl's forehead!

Her expression changed slightly. In a moment, her figure completely turned into a phantom, barely evading most of the lightning's power. After the blazing light passed through her body, it fiercely struck the bottom of the gorge!

Boom!

Rocks shattered, and the narrow gorge completely collapsed. The dazzling, blazing white light in the night sky was so bright that it illuminated the nearby Qingluan Mountain as if it were daylight.

"You scoundrel, won't you kneel and submit?"

A clear voice swept down from the sky, carrying a hint of suppression, forming ripples that carried the remaining blazing white lightning toward the reappeared figure of the mountain ghost.

The girl snorted, a white light emanating from her graceful movements, forming a radiant white light curtain around her.

The light curtain violently collided with the sound waves, generating countless transparent ripples in the void, stirring up a storm of debris that could destroy everything.

"I thought it was a real cultivator who came here, but it turned out to be an unweaned child, daring to boast here, trying to subdue me? Leave your life first!"

As she spoke, the girl's face had once again transformed into the terrifying appearance of the mountain ghost. With a wide mouth, a dark wind gathered out of nowhere, forming a python several dozen yards long, roaring as it lunged towards the figure in the sky.

The figure paused, seemingly unexpected at the mountain ghost's formidable dark energy. But in the next moment, he swiftly formed a seal with his hands and conjured a blazing white lightning bolt, cleaving directly into the body of the dark python.

Roar!

As the lightning entered its body, the python let out an excruciating howl, then disintegrated into dark winds, vanishing into the night sky.

Within the lingering silver light, the figure slowly descended. Just a few yards away from where the mountain ghost stood, he smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, my apologies for my presumptuousness earlier."

The silver light gradually dissipated, revealing a clear image of a young Daoist with rosy lips and white teeth.

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