The strange world of demon cultivators

Ji Yao quietly sat cross-legged behind a thick pillar, his back pressed firmly against it.

His deep eyes peered through the gap between the pillar and the surrounding environment.

He was quietly observing the five people who were sitting around a fire not far away, warming themselves.

Among those five people, the first to catch his eye was the tall, upright figure in military uniform.

Beside him sat a fair-looking, petite girl.

Her appearance was playful and cute, inspiring affection.

In addition, there was a burly man with a face full of橫肉 (flesh), his muscles well-developed, looking strong and powerful;

Another young man was dressed similarly to Ji Yao, in simple and practical attire;

Finally, there was a middle-aged man in mountaineering gear, with a calm expression.

Although they looked slightly haggard at the moment, and their bodies were covered in dirt, making them look dirty.

Fortunately, everyone had all their limbs intact, without any missing arms or legs.

This scene made Ji Yao involuntarily recall the man who was unfortunately eaten by the female ghost before—Li Feng.

Ji Yao subconsciously reached into his pocket and secretly touched the mysterious metal tag twice.

He wondered to himself whether he should ask these people in front of him if they knew Li Feng.

However, after much deliberation, he finally decided to abandon the idea.

After all, in such an environment full of unknown dangers, exposing himself too much was not a wise move.

Thinking of this, Ji Yao quickly stuffed the metal tag back into the depths of his pocket.

And continued to observe the five people's every move without showing any signs.

Just then, the five people sitting around the campfire were whispering to each other, discussing something.

In the flickering firelight, everyone's faces were illuminated, appearing dim and bright.

"Brother Ji, shouldn't we go out and look for food? What we have left can only last us for two more days at most."

The one speaking was the young man with glasses, who looked gentle and refined.

At this moment, he looked anxiously at the big brother in military uniform beside him, his eyes full of expectation and inquiry.

The girl sitting on the side nodded quickly in agreement upon hearing this.

Her small face, which already looked a little pale, looked even more haggard in the firelight, obviously quite hungry.

After hearing this, the big brother in military uniform frowned slightly and fell into thought.

After a while, he slowly said:

"Let's wait and see first, and set off tomorrow.

It's too dangerous outside, we can't act rashly."

After speaking, he looked around at everyone with a solemn gaze.

Upon hearing this, the others breathed a sigh of relief and nodded repeatedly, expressing their approval of the decision.

After all, no one wanted to easily take that risk, especially in such a dangerous environment.

However, just then, the burly man with a face full of flesh, who had been silent all along, suddenly turned his head.

He glared fiercely at Ji Yao, muttering and complaining:

"Why not ask that person for some?

He obviously came in from the outside, he must have a lot of food hidden on him!

I saw just now that the bag he was carrying was bulging!"

Before he could finish speaking, the big brother in military uniform quickly reached out and grabbed the burly man's wrist.

And shook his head vigorously, signaling him to shut up.

Seeing the solemn and somewhat fearful expression on the big brother in military uniform's face, the burly man's heart tightened.

He knew very well that anyone or anything that could make this usually steady and strong big brother so fearful.

Must not be easy to deal with.

Thinking of this, the burly man's burning desire to rob instantly extinguished like a pot of cold water had been poured on it.

Although he was unwilling, reason told him that he must not act rashly at this moment.

Before long, a slightly dim sun gradually rose in the originally gray sky.

The faint light shone on the earth through layers of clouds, causing the ink-like darkness to gradually fade away, no longer as creepy as before.

At this time, several people greeted each other with forced smiles, and then began to busy themselves with their own affairs.

The middle-aged man in mountaineering gear and the girl walked into the yard together, bending down to carefully pick up the firewood scattered on the ground.

The temperature here was extremely low, as if even the air had been frozen, icy cold.

Even if the sun occasionally shone down, it could not bring any warmth.

Without a roaring campfire, ordinary people probably wouldn't last two days here.

At the same time, the young man was squatting in the corner of the yard, laboriously digging up grass roots with his hands.

Or carefully peeling off some tree bark, trying to find food to fill his stomach.

The burly man with the sturdy build, on the other hand, held a sharp axe tightly in both hands, and forcefully chopped the old wooden cabinets and wooden benches that he had found in the house, one after another.

With each swing of the axe, wood chips flew everywhere, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance of wood.

Finally, looking at the big brother in military uniform, he stood quietly beside an ancient well.

Skillfully cranking the windlass, lifting buckets of cool well water from the deep well.

The sound of the bucket colliding with the well wall was crisp and clear, and it was particularly clear in this silent atmosphere.

Ji Yao widened his eyes, staring intently at the well, and a feeling of unspeakable surprise welled up in his heart.

He had heard of some ancient temples that would deliberately dig ponds or build wells, but that was just a rumor.

Now, witnessing such a real existence with his own eyes really surprised him.

The shape of the well was slightly simple and unadorned, and the small stone wellhead was covered with deep rope marks, as if the traces of time were deeply imprinted on it.

Those rope marks crisscrossed, like mysterious patterns, telling the long history and countless uses of this well.

Ji Yao quietly stared at the well, his thoughts drifting away.

He imagined that in the past, the monks might have drawn cool well water through this well, nourishing this peaceful temple.

And those deep rope marks witnessed the hard work and life of generations of people.

At this time, Ji Yao did not disturb the others, but silently walked to the corridor and squatted down.

Through the carved stone wall, he looked out at the lush bamboo forest.

Outside the bamboo forest, there stood rows of ghosts of different shapes and colors.

They just stood there silently, motionless, like solidified sculptures.

But a closer look would reveal that the eyes of those ghosts were full of strange expressions.

Some were hideous and terrifying, some were gloomy and cold, all staring intently at the temple in front of them, revealing a creepy aura.

Ji Yao took a deep breath, trying to calm the fear in his heart, and began to slowly count in his mind, wanting to find out how many ghosts were gathered outside.

At the same time, the others also noticed Ji Yao's actions.

But everyone was busy with their own affairs, and no one stepped forward to interrupt him.

Just then, the big brother in military uniform suddenly said:

"These ghostly things have been staying there for a long time! Don't worry too much, they can't enter the temple!"

He seemed to be saying this to reassure Ji Yao.

Even so, facing so many ghosts.

These days, the big brother himself did not dare to take it lightly, and would observe the movements outside from time to time.

After hearing this, Ji Yao slowly turned his head, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile to the big brother beside him.

"Thank you! Actually, I'm just a little curious, wondering what they are staring at so intently?"

Ji Yao said softly, his words revealing a hint of doubt and curiosity.

At this time, a young voice was heard from not far away:

"What else? It's just us!"

The speaker was the young man standing not far away.

Ji Yao keenly noticed that the young man's tone seemed a little unfriendly, but he didn't dwell too much on the other party's attitude.

He silently lowered his head, casting his gaze on the soul-sealing bottle he was holding tightly in his hand.

Inside the transparent bottle, the originally rich ghost energy had now been reduced by more than half.

It turned out that last night, Ji Yao had successfully digested most of the ghost energy.

Now, only a little bit remained.

According to the current progress, he only needed to meditate and cultivate for about two more days.

He would be able to completely absorb all the remaining ghost energy.

Once he completed this absorption, Ji Yao knew that the ghost power in his body would be significantly improved.

At that time, let alone a dozen or so ordinary ghosts, even if the number was multiplied several times, it would probably be difficult to pose a real threat to him.

Thinking of this, a feeling of confidence and anticipation welled up in Ji Yao's heart.