To verify his speculation, Yu Nian whispered to the female corpse, "Forgive my rudeness."
Yu Nian dipped his finger in cinnabar and carefully rolled up the sleeve of the female corpse. What he saw were several terrifying scars!
Everyone gasped. Among these scars, some were caused by hot coals, some by whippings, and some even by knife cuts... There wasn't a single patch of good skin!
Although the wounds were not on his own body, Qi Rongsheng couldn't help but curse. He despised two types of people in his life. One was those who beat women, and the other was still those who beat women!
"Who the hell did this?"
With a "click," the female corpse suddenly opened her mouth. Only then did everyone notice that there was a round object in her mouth, dark green like a precious pearl.
Yu Nian explained, "In ancient times, there was indeed a custom of putting a precious pearl in the mouth of a corpse to keep it from decaying."
Xue Yier hesitated a bit. "Since this pearl is used to protect the corpse, if we take it out, will the corpse immediately disappear?"
"Maybe, but this pearl must be taken out. Perhaps it's the key to breaking the illusion."
Yu Nian's hand paused for a moment. He drew several runes on the female corpse's arm. Then he gently lifted the female corpse's head and used two fingers to take out the pearl.
The pearl obediently spun in Yu Nian's hand. Maybe it was just Yu Nian's illusion, but the female corpse seemed to curl up the corner of her mouth, looking somewhat serene.
At the same time, the entire cave shook violently. Rocks flew everywhere, and it seemed as if it was going to collapse the next second.
The few people hurriedly fled the cave and stood silently looking at the ruins behind them.
By now, the sky had completely darkened. Yu Nian and the others returned to Granny Qiu's house with the pearl. They saw that the villagers who had been acting strange during the day had all come out of their rooms and were standing in a circle as if watching a show.
The scene was extremely chaotic. Inside the circle, there were the shouts of men and the screams of women.
Many contestants had already picked the herbs and were watching coldly. Some other contestants were hesitating, not knowing whether they should step forward.
At a higher place in the crowd, Yan Qing was looking at Yu Nian with a smiling face. There was extreme paranoia in his scarlet eyes.
Yu Nian pushed through the on - lookers and walked forward. He saw Bai Jiming and another contestant, Zhang Li, chasing Cui Wan desperately. Each of the two men was holding a large machete of unknown origin. With ferocious looks on their faces, they roared, "Don't let her get away. She's a monster!"
Cui Wan tightly covered the bag with the herbs and fled desperately. "You're talking nonsense. You just want to rob my herbs!"
Bai Jiming and Zhang Li glanced at each other and chased after her relentlessly. "You say you're not a monster. What evidence do you have?"
Yu Nian was so angry at Bai Jiming's words that he laughed. Asking a Taoist priest to prove that she's not a monster. Only he could come up with such an idea!
Yu Nian stepped forward and protected Cui Wan behind him. He kicked Bai Jiming hard in the chest and knocked him to the ground.
"What are you crazy about?"
When Cui Wan was fleeing alone, she could hold back the tears in her eyes. But as soon as she saw Yu Nian, she couldn't suppress her grievances anymore. She shouted, "Fellow Daoist Yu, please save me! How could I be a monster?"
The moment Bai Jiming saw Yu Nian, there was a flicker of uneasiness in his eyes. He was originally in a group with Gou Yu and was counting on hitching a ride on that guy to make it all the way to the finals. But who would have thought that Gou Yu, that useless guy, would be killed by Feng Chengyuan. Now it was just him and Zhang Li, two poor souls relying on each other!
Unexpectedly, after the illusion task was announced, he lost the initiative and couldn't pick any herbs.
In the illusion, Cui Wan had the weakest strength and came from a small sect. He only dared to pick on the weak!
But with so many people around, it wasn't appropriate to rob openly. After much thought, he decided to use this excuse. Before every Taoist competition, all the contestants would sign a death waiver. Even if he "accidentally" killed Cui Wan in the secret realm, everyone would just think it was because the secret realm was dangerous and the contestant made a mistake.
Thinking of this, Bai Jiming gained a bit more courage and said fiercely, "Yu Nian, don't stop me! The person behind you is not Cui Wan at all. She's a monster transformed by the illusion. Let me kill her quickly! We're slaying demons and defending the Tao!"
Yu Nian raised his eyebrows coldly. "You say she's a monster. What evidence do you have?"
Bai Jiming grinned ferociously. "Hand her over to me. Let me take a slash at her and see if she can be beaten back to her original form!"
Cui Wan was now in tears. She never expected that she would be chased and killed by her fellow Daoists just for participating in a competition!
She knelt on the ground with a "thud" and grabbed Yu Nian's sleeve. Her voice was a bit desperate. "Fellow Daoist Yu, please don't hand me over. I'm really not a monster. If I fall into Bai Jiming's hands, he'll definitely kill me!"
Yu Nian didn't say a word. He turned around and hooked his finger at Bai Jiming. Seeing there was a chance, Bai Jiming walked forward with a smile.
Before he could say a word, Yu Nian punched him to the ground.
In an instant, Bai Jiming's nose was bleeding. He never expected that Yu Nian would dare to beat him up in front of so many people! Didn't she fear public opinion and sect struggles?
Yu Nian leaned over and looked at him. His eyes were full of coldness. "Better a fellow Daoist die than me, right? Fine. Today I'll see if your mouth is tougher or my fist is stronger."
Qi Rongsheng nodded in agreement. He had long disliked Bai Jiming. He gloated and laughed. "That's right. There are many things in this world that can't be explained clearly. We can only solve them by fighting. If the wound doesn't fall on your own body, you'll never know how much it hurts."
Before Bai Jiming could react, Yu Nian suddenly grabbed his thumb and bent it backward forcefully!
"Crunch—" The clear sound of bone cracking echoed in the empty snow - covered land along with Bai Jiming's shrill scream.
Seeing this, Zhang Li picked up an axe and was about to chop. But Yu Nian quickly dodged to the side. His speed was so fast that it was almost impossible to see.
He grabbed Zhang Li's hair with his left hand, kicked him hard in the crotch, and then knocked him to the ground with an elbow strike.
The two of them were now pale with pain and were rolling on the ground continuously.
Yu Nian patted his sleeve and casually picked up the machete on the ground.
His voice was low, filled with decisive ferocity.
"I suspect that Bai Jiming and Zhang Li are monsters. I'm going to slay demons and defend the Tao now!"
Bai Jiming and Zhang Li looked at Yu Nian in horror. What was going on? All the words this woman said were exactly what they had said!
And wasn't Yu Nian an orthodox Taoist priest? How could he suddenly become so fierce, like a malevolent ghost climbing out of hell, as if he was going to devour them alive!
Yu Nian effortlessly carried two large machetes and walked towards the two of them step by step.
The tips of the knives dragged on the ground, creating a string of sparks. The harsh sound was like a death knell constantly approaching.
Bai Jiming's heart sank. They had killed demons and were very sensitive to the aura of killing. Yu Nian really wanted to kill them now!