Tie Dan rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he hadn't seen wrong this time.
The human heads that Chen Huzi had brought back and left at the door somehow struggled out of the bag.
There were about a dozen, most of them were dead heads, but among them was one that seemed to be a living dead head, its mouth opening and closing, making noises. It was unclear if it was chanting or chewing meat.
Could it be they secretly ate the mutton?
At this moment, all these dead heads and living dead heads had their braids tied with a red rope, confined together, unable to escape. So, the living dead head controlled the others using Qi Manipulation, maneuvering them as limbs, rolling and twisting autonomously.
Much like some spider or crawling insect, it cautiously, like a silkworm cocoon, pushed its way out from beneath a painting scroll altar, not daring to take the main path, crawling out of the Mysterious Gate. It immediately sped, like a spider, in the cave, desperately searching for a way out, clearly intending to escape from this Sword Immortal Cave Mansion.
Tie Dan cautiously hid in a dark place, observing the human head monster.
He saw the human head monster first try to escape through an air vent but seemed blocked by an invisible wall of wind, its head stuck, unable to push through. So, it wandered around, just like Tie Dan, and finally crawled to the Cold Pond entrance, muttering incantations, emitting waves of demonic sound. It then opened its bloody mouth wide, "Aah!" and blew out a foul wind!
The foul wind was orange-yellow, like a misty poison cloud, dispersing the fresh breeze at the Cold Pond entrance, shockingly burning a passage with fire.
Tie Dan rolled his eyes and cautiously ducked to the ground, following the human head monster into the cave.
Indeed, inside the cave, there was a Cold Pond, the dark blue water clear to the bottom, where a bronze furnace lay submerged, and surprisingly, there was still fire beneath the furnace.
Yes, some strange azure flame, burning continuously at the pond's bottom, encased the bronze furnace like layers of lotus petals.
The glaze window of the furnace lid shone with multicolored light, like a giant gemstone, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Boy! You want to escape too!"
"..."
The human head monster circled the Cold Pond and suddenly shouted.
It had already noticed Tie Dan too, but evidently, the creature knew the Sword Immortal would soon return and didn't have the time or energy to waste on this boy,
"You are a born sword seed, go down and open the furnace to get the sword! By then, the sword light will break the Daoist field barrier and open a way out!"
"..."
Tie Dan didn't respond, just lay far back against the rock wall, peeking with one eye at the creature. He eyed the deep pond in the cave.
It seemed like there wasn't a fat catfish. Was it really an illusion...
The human head monster saw him looking at the Sword Pond, seemingly interested, and thus explained patiently,
"Boy, I see your Divine Light is radiant, your pupils clear, you should be aware and understand, right?
Haha, so you think these hill people truly intend to take you as a disciple and guide your Sword Immortal cultivation?
Ha! Don't be foolish! Do you know what a sword boy is for? Let me tell you!
It's the oil to nourish the sword! The scabbard to hide the sword! The blood to sacrifice the sword!
See this furnace sword? The Beichen Sword Sect's swords need human lives to sacrifice! Fed with human blood!
The people of the Demon Sect, each one appears righteous! Despicable and shameless! Not a single good thing!
And their Beichen Demon Sect, it's the pinnacle of the Demon Path! Killing people effortlessly! Cold and ruthless! Not one of them is anything but a scourge on the world!
Furthermore, this Guangxia Mountain isn't even the main peak of the Sword Sect! Just a peripheral branch of the outer mountain! Look at this Daoist field's shabby state, not even on par with second or third rate Loose Cultivator sects!
Chen Tianku, he's just a Vice Star Sword Cultivator, a thug guarding the main peak of the Sword Sect! He can't even afford to raise his own sword! Associating with them, you'll meet a bad end sooner or later!"
"..."
The human head monster rambled on, mouth dry and tongue parched, yet the boy still remained silent, just hiding behind the rock wall, showing half his face, coldly staring at it, leaving it helpless, but to persist like this wasn't a solution.
So, it had to soften its tone, exhaling a Dao Breath, then from among the heads, flipped a face out, revealing a face as beautiful as jade, indescribably male or female, emitting a woman's voice.
"Come... come to mother here... come... over here..."
The human head met Tie Dan's gaze; its eyes emitted flashing purple light, and simultaneously used Inner Breath to apply a sonic wave technique, blending male and female voices, piercing with demonic sound, employing the Primordial Spirit Technique of illusion and enticement,
"Come... come to mother here..."
"This furnace sword will take another hundred years to form, the Sword Spirit hasn't been born yet, you just go into the Sword Pond, open the furnace, take the sword, and then this magic treasure will be yours. At that time, I'll help you, and together we can escape! Wouldn't that be wonderful!"
"Come... come to mother here..."
"Then protect me, find a Taoist Body for me to seize and reincarnate, I will give you all the Heavenly Materials and Treasures, Divine Skills, secret techniques, servants, and beast pets of my eighteen hundred years, teach you the Supreme Divine Treasure Secret, and the Flying Head Undying Sword Secret! Inherit my Supreme Mysterious Dao teachings! Is that good!"
"Come to mother here, let mother hold you..."
"..."
Unexpectedly, despite the manipulative and passionate enticement, the reasoned logic, that Tie Dan still lay there silently, expressionless.
The human head monster also, after speaking so much, ran dry, even using all manner of soul-capturing illusions, but faced with such an impassive reaction, couldn't help but frown, uncertainly asking,
"...Hey, you boy, do you understand human language? Are you a fool??"
Tie Dan, "..."
The human head monster momentarily despaired, rolling its eyes heavenward, sighed with its head up,
"Heavens abandoned me, how could I encounter an idiot at such a life-and-death moment..."
Then "Bang!" suddenly, Tie Dan jumped up! Threw a basin straight over!
"Serves you right for stealing food!"
The human head monster was taken aback, rolled its head like a fleshy spider, sidestepping, angry and surprised,
"Hey! Boy, what are you doing..."
But Tie Dan had already lunged, grabbing two handfuls of earth, repeating the same trick, flinging it straight at the human head monster's face!
"Courting death!!"
But the creature was evidently an old demon of many years, not something such a clumsy move could defeat! It immediately counterattacked!
"Swish! Swish! Swish!" In moments, the human head monster shot out all its heads! Each one, a flying head roaring frantically! Crashed into Tie Dan, biting as they went! Tearing large swathes of flesh from him! Holding him to the ground, gnawing fiercely!
"Fool who brings about your own demise! I'll seize your body then! Primordial Spirit emergence!!"
That central head roared, its mouth and nose emanating purple light, spraying a light shadow from the head, lunging directly at the boy on the ground!
"Ha!"
And finally, Tie Dan spoke.
As soon as he spoke, he sprayed out the sword energy he'd been holding for so long! Just like the female fairy in the painting scroll, flying skyward, thrusting out a sword!
A mouthful of sword energy, transforming into a three-inch white light, like a straight bamboo leaf, flashed in mid-air!
Straight at that old demon's emerging Primordial Spirit, and the flying demon head!
One sword to slay the demon! Blade piercing the heart!
"Gah——!!"
In an instant, the cave's demonic light and alluring shadows abruptly vanished, the ghostly howling in the ether dissipated without a trace, silently, a pile of heads thudded to the ground, dead beyond any doubt.
Tie Dan lay amidst the pile of heads, panting, drenched in cold sweat, his meridians and viscera wracked with excruciating pain.
After all, his body was weak, having sprayed sword energy twice, he had exerted all his strength, feeling as if his head would split, nearly unable to move.
Fortunately, this pain and fatigue, he had long grown accustomed to over the years.
After a while, Tie Dan gritted his teeth, sucking in air, following the Big and Small Eyes Sect breathing technique, relying on the Sword Pond's dense Spiritual Qi, forcing a recovery of Breathing Qi, flipped himself upright, tore off the heads clinging to him, and walked over to the demon head.
This demon head likely never imagined it would be sneak attacked by such a silent and impassive boy, catching it off guard with sword energy, piercing through its brow, splitting open its skull, causing its eyeballs to be squeezed out by cranial pressure, hanging loosely on either side of its eye sockets, truly dying like a fool...
Tie Dan leaned in to sniff the demon head's scent, extended a finger, inserted it into the sword scar in its forehead, peeled apart the fractured bone and muscular tissue, finger stained with pale cerebral fluids, dug out a light-emanating, pearl-sized golden bead, and swallowed it whole.
"...Who taught you to consume the Divine Storage Golden Pill this way? Aren't you afraid of diarrhea?"
Tie Dan turned back to see Chen Huzi glaring at him with a face full of disbelief, unperturbed, he replied gloomily,
"Lady Yuan."
Chen Huzi raised his silkworm eyebrows, a gossipy look on his face,
"So you can speak... Who's Lady Yuan? Your mother? Was she lost? Want help finding her?"
Tie Dan paused quietly,
"Lady Yuan is dead."
Then he turned his head, once more like a sullen gourd, silent no longer.