The evening rain continued to pour. Screams soon rang throughout Su River City. At first, there was one, then two, then ten. These screams were filled with surprise, fear, pain, and something more. They came from all directions within the city walls.
"Ahhh!" A scream came from somewhere in the hotel.
“Interesting…” Chen Wentian muttered.
He looked up at the gilded ceiling, his spiritual sense telling him everything that was happening on the roof.
Three servants had gone up there when the rain started to check on the rainwater cisterns. They had no way to protect against the rain nor were they trying to.
The spiritual energy within each drop of water allowed it to burrow through their skin and deep into their flesh. Once inside, the corrupted water rapidly multiplied using human blood. Their mortal bodies could not resist the power of an immortal. The only counter would have been to chop off one’s limb at the source of contact. Similar to vicious poison, if one’s reaction wasn’t swift enough, it was all over. There was nothing the servants could do. The invading water spread too quickly, spreading to all corners of their body in a few short breaths.
The final target of the water was not the death of the person but something even more insidious. Instead of killing, it targeted the brain, obliterating the consciousness within. What was left were mindless meat puppets that obeyed the will of the demon behind this repulsive Dao.
The three servants, now devoid of human reason, returned inside the hotel and started attacking anyone they encountered. One charged into the servants’ quarters and started biting and clawing. The other two went their separate ways through the hallways, breaking down doors one by one to get at the customers within.
More screams rang out within the hotel.
As people awoke to the noise and senseless attacks, some fled while some tried to fight back.“Who dares?”
“What is Little Hei doing?”
“Grab him!”
The three mindless servants were quickly subdued. They were merely servants and couldn’t even compare to the average guest in cultivation. But this wasn’t the end of the horror.
Like a virulent disease, the corrupted water was easily spread by bodily fluids. The meat puppets had bitten many people and it only took a few breaths for them to lose their minds.
“What are you… Ahhh!”
“Help me!”
More screams filled the hallways.
Several strong guests at the Spirit Initiate Realm fell under the demon’s Dao. In a flash, what had been a situation under control turned into total chaos. The three original meat puppets even managed to break free and join the fray.
Nobody knew what was going on. Nobody knew who was attacking who or who the culprit was. It was as if everyone had gone mad.
“Help! Please open the door!” A fist banged on the door to Chen Wentian’s room. “Please, please… Ahhhh!”
Crash!
The door was smashed into pieces and two bodies fell through. The one on the bottom belonged to the woman who had pounded on the door originally. The one on top was of a servant, his body covered in bleeding wounds and bite marks. His eyes were bloodshot and his expression was empty.
“Noo… help…” The woman cried to no avail.
The man lunged and chomped down on her face, leaving a bloody gash. She pushed him off but this resulted in several missing fingers. Terrified, she lost the power to fight back, flailing around helplessly.
The man savaged the woman beneath him for a while before suddenly losing interest. Leaving the whimpering figure on the ground, he got up and looked around for a new target. It was not an act of mercy for her fate was already sealed.
The man saw the five women still unconscious on the bed and started towards them. But before he had made a full step, an invisible blade of sword energy swept out and separated his head from his shoulder. His body crashed to the floor and didn’t move again.
An eerie silence filled the room only to be broken by a long, pained groan. The woman who had been gnawed half to death finally stirred. She picked herself up from the ground, stumbling a few steps before casting her empty, soul-less gaze on Chen Wentian.
“Eeeeeee.” A low-pitched screech came from the woman’s mouth as she rapidly shuffled towards him.
Another blade of sword energy shot out.
Another body fell to the floor.
Chen Wentian shook his head and took another sip of wine. There was nothing he could do for the people in the hotel. There was nothing he could do for the city which was no doubt suffering from the same horrors.
This attack by the enemy was a low-power but wide-scale attack. If he were to go out and personally kill every demonized puppet, it would waste way more spiritual energy than the enemy expended in the attack.
No.
His resolve remained the same. He still wasn’t going to move until the demon came to him.
As the night wore on, Su River City was plunged into a bloodbath. Various cultivation sects tried to organize a defense but they were gradually overwhelmed. Even the strongest mortal cultivators could not resist the corrupted rain forever. All it took was one drop for the corruption to start.
It was a battle with no enemy and it was a battle where everyone was the enemy. Friends attacked friends. Children attacked parents. Masters attacked disciples. Nowhere was safe and fighting back was futile. There were simply too many demonized puppets. Their number multiplied with each passing breath until the inevitable conclusion.
The sounds of battle fell away. There were no longer any screams, only soft groans of a hundred thousand mindless slaves. Combined, it was as if the whole city was moaning in pain.
The hotel was completely taken over. There wasn’t a single same human left in the building except those in Chen Wentian’s room. The doorway had long been jammed by headless corpses, all the way into the hallway.
The puppets had no way of entering his room anymore so they went elsewhere. They occupied every floor and every room. They spilled into the streets, joining their mindless brethren.
Su River City was no more. An entire human city was gone, just like that, casualties in a contest of wills between two immortals. Their lives were insignificant and they were snuffed out with what was only the prelude.
A powerful presence landed on his balcony.
His enemy was here. With the city already dead, there was nothing else for it to do. It finally couldn't hold back.
Chen Wentian put down his cup of wine and wiped his mouth with a napkin. With a wave of spiritual energy, he opened the flimsy door that stood between them.
Woosh!
A wave of cold, blue spiritual energy slammed into his sword aura. He didn't blink and sliced the greeting apart.
“Aiya, so rude!" An attractive, feminine voice spoke from the doorway, "Here I thought you were enjoying the show I created for you. Instead, you were still stuffing your face like a fatty!"
---
Thank you to all my patrons!
Support me and read ahead by 20 or even 40 chapters!
p atreon.com/kigreenwriting
Join my discord for updates, delays, and my ramblings :)
d iscord.gg/dY5UApw
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter