Chapter 13: 13 So Fragrant, Sincerity, and Decorum/Strength

Chapter 13: Good Incense, Sincere Heart, and a Strong Body

The two Mountain-Crashing Bear demon leaders were decapitated on the spot, and the lurking Ghost-Shadow Macaque had also fled the scene. It was as if a hornet’s nest had been poked; after a brief moment of stillness, the common bear demons and the smaller bear cubs suddenly went mad and began charging out of the cave.

Ning Xuan saw it clearly. With a flicker of his figure, he reached the cave entrance. His broken blade swung out—*Flying Swallow Collapses the Mountain*—decapitating the first bear demon to rush out. Using the bear’s belly as a springboard, he recoiled, regained his momentum, and unleashed another *Flying Swallow Collapses the Mountain* to slay the next bear demon following close behind.

"Bear-Crushing Mountain Collapse" was the innate demon art of the Mountain-Crashing Bear demons, and its activation requirement was "acceleration."

Whether or not Ning Xuan could utilize "Mountain Collapse" was of vital importance.

If he could use it, he was on one level.

If he couldn't, he was on another.

The two were simply incomparable.

His physique was there, but his physique was like an unsharpened blade.

And the innate demon art, "Mountain Collapse," was the edge of that blade.

If he didn't use "Mountain Collapse," let alone the bear demon leaders from before, he wouldn't even be able to kill these small bear demons in a single strike; he would have to rely on brute force to smash them one by one.

What a waste of time, how inefficient.

Therefore, he had to keep himself in a constant state of "acceleration."

And because the distance he could "accelerate" was very short, he had to use every bit of technique and explosive force in every strike.

Using the spiral of the blade handle was acceleration; charging toward the cave entrance was acceleration; using the bear demon’s belly to rebound and then kicking off for more force was also acceleration.

He was in a state of rapid, explosive motion.

Hand rises, blade falls; hand rises, blade falls; hand rises, blade falls...

Soon, over a dozen bear demon corpses were piled up at the cave entrance, stacked like a small hill. The stench was overwhelming, yet no wild beast dared to approach.

Ning Xuan panted heavily. The spot on his back where the Ghost-Shadow Macaque had lashed him suddenly began to ache, a burning, stinging sensation.

But he had no intention of letting these bear demon minions escape.

With over a dozen bear demons dead, there was no more movement in the cave.

The bear demons stopped running out and instead huddled deep inside.

Ning Xuan didn't enter the cave either.

His expression shifted. He turned his head to look at the fire-starter he had discarded earlier. After taking two steps, he suddenly caught sight of the bloody, mangled corpse of a beauty nearby. Beside the body lay a tiny metal bottle, engraved with elegant calligraphy: "Butterfly Brand Rose Dew."

As the young master of the Ning family who had frequented the Chenxiang Pavilion, he naturally knew of "Butterfly Brand Rose Dew."

It was a high-end perfume, sold by the drop and highly volatile. Only high-status courtesans could afford it. Of course, this rose dew, which was more expensive than gold, had become the dream of ordinary courtesans; once they had some savings, they would always want to try it.

A thought crossed his mind. He changed course, walked over, and grabbed the metal bottle.

He shook it—empty.

He pried open the stopper and looked inside—completely empty.

The deceased woman was clearly not a top-tier courtesan or a star of the Chenxiang Pavilion; the perfume bottle she kept on her person wasn't even half-full.

That made sense. Even if those top courtesans went out for excursions, the brothel owners would specially arrange guards to follow them, and the guards would always scout the path ahead. Such bad luck wouldn't easily fall upon them.

Ning Xuan took the empty bottle and went to the small pool of blood left by the Ghost-Shadow Macaque earlier.

He carefully lowered the bottle, slowly scooping the blood along with the sand and soil into it, then held it before him.

A line of familiar information appeared

【Ghost-Shadow Macaque】

【Refine into Talisman?】

Seeing that it worked, Ning Xuan shoved the bottle into his pocket.

Then, he retrieved his fire-starter.

With more time, he gathered some dry branches, piled them at the cave entrance, and slowly worked until a fire began to rise.

He gathered enough branches to form a small hill, and the fire grew larger and larger. As luck would have it, the wind was blowing from the south, carrying the thick smoke into the south-facing cave.

Ning Xuan grabbed his broken blade and, in a few leaps, climbed to a high vantage point outside the cave to observe if smoke was leaking out anywhere else.

If it was, that meant the cave had a back exit, and the small demons would likely escape through it.

After half an hour of observation, he found no other leaks.

Unable to bear the choking smoke, the small demons finally began to scramble out of the main entrance.

Ning Xuan swooped down from the heights.

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

With every strike, another bear demon fell into a pool of blood.

When the next bear demon ran out, it had completely given up on resistance. It fell to its knees before Ning Xuan with a "thud," kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy: "Spare me... spare me..."

Seeing that it could speak, Ning Xuan lied: "There's a chance."

The bear demon kowtowed again and again.

Ning Xuan said: "I ask, you answer."

He thought for a moment and asked: "Are there any more bears in the cave?"

The bear demon replied: "I... I am the Third King. The Great King and the Second King are dead. I... I was just driving the small demons to rush out first, and then I deliberately held back for a while, not expecting you to still be outside. There are no more bears in the cave."

Ning Xuan asked: "Are there any treasures?"

The bear demon replied repeatedly: "Yes, there is that Brocade Kasaya. The Kasaya was originally used by the Great King. After the Great King died, the Second King used it. After the Second King died, I wanted to use it, but... but it stopped working."

Ning Xuan asked curiously: "How did it stop working?"

The bear demon said: "Treasures must be invited. You have to burn good incense to invite them. A sincere heart and a strong body make it work; once it works, the treasure comes. Perhaps... I am not strong enough, and my heart is not sincere enough."

After saying this, it kowtowed again: "Spare me."

Ning Xuan kicked it: "Take it out."

The bear demon hurriedly fished a palm-sized Buddha statue from its thick fur and presented it with both hands respectfully.

Ning Xuan took it and glanced at it. The Buddha statue was as clear as pure water, the hair on the Buddha's head like blue lotuses, the face like a full moon, with a white tuft of hair between the brows, eyes cast downward, and a smile on its lips. It was truly both majestic and compassionate.

Ning Xuan asked: "Burning incense is enough?"

The bear demon nodded repeatedly and added: "Good incense, a sincere heart, and a strong body..."

Ning Xuan tucked the Buddha statue into his pocket and continued: "Where did you come from?"

The bear demon was stunned: "Black Wind Mountain, of course."

"Black Wind Mountain?"

"Black Wind Mountain is Black Wind Mountain."

"Then where is this?"

"This is also Black Wind Mountain. It’s a secret place discovered by Black Wave, who was under the Second King."

"And who is Black Wave?"

"The one you killed."

Ning Xuan asked a few more questions, only to find that this was a complete waste of time. He changed his approach: "How were you able to detect me from so far away?"

The bear demon said anxiously: "Aura, it’s the aura. After we occupied this land, we left our aura everywhere. If other demons intrude, the aura becomes chaotic."

"We can easily sense where the aura is chaotic, thereby detecting where the demons come from. The stronger the demon, the clearer the perception."

"However, if it’s not in our territory, then... then it doesn't work."

"You... please spare me, we are all demons."

Ning Xuan asked: "What about humans? Can you sense humans?"

The bear demon said: "The distance isn't that far, but once they get close, we can clearly smell the human scent. We have an innate sensitivity to the human scent, but for other demons, we can only sense them if we have laid out an aura zone in advance."

Ning Xuan nodded.

He understood.

Aura was a unique method of identification for demons.

For humans, they were more direct, but the range was short;

For demons, they needed preparation, but the range was long.

The reason that small bear demon could sense him all along was because he had been within their aura zone; this was, after all, the lair of the Mountain-Crashing Bear demons.

Just then, the kneeling bear demon suddenly sniffed the air, for it had caught a whiff of a human scent.

It looked into the distance in surprise: "Someone is coming."

Ning Xuan tilted his head slightly.

He smelled it too.

Not only did he smell it, but he also identified it.

The human scent this time was the same as the one he had smelled before, which meant the newcomers were Han Ba and his group.

He understood everything now.

When he could smell the human scent at the waterfall area earlier, he thought it was his own keen perception. Now it seemed that after using the Heavenly Demon Talisman, he had acquired demon aura and characteristics, which gave him a special perception of the human scent.

Ning Xuan’s heart stirred, and he suddenly said: "Go and kill them."

He guessed that Han Ba and the others were likely following the smoke.

However, he still needed to explore the cave and couldn't be discovered by Han Ba and his group.

Besides, since Han Ba and the others dared to walk here, he naturally wanted to see their "extraordinary skills."

The bear demon was stunned, a glimmer of joy appearing in its eyes.

Ning Xuan gave it an ultimatum: "I don't keep trash."

The bear demon’s mind went through a "logical loop." It felt as if it had found a lifeline, scrambled up, and headed in the direction of the human scent. It had to prove itself.

Ning Xuan watched its retreating back, then suddenly turned and slipped into the cave.

Upon entering, he saw scattered bone fragments, rotting flesh, and a skull that had been half-gnawed.

Walking deeper, he saw seven or eight skinned, gutted corpses hanging from the natural rock spikes of the cave. Their muscles were exposed, they were long dead, and they swayed slightly in the air...

Clearly, the number of people who had actually died was far greater than those reported missing.

Deep in the cave, a human-skin mat covered a stone platform.

To the side sat a conspicuous shrine. The shrine was empty; Ning Xuan guessed that the Buddha statue in his pocket had originally been placed there.

He scanned the ground, seeing only the belongings of the deceased. He didn't pick anything up, walked a circle, and quickly exited the bear cave.

In the distance, the sounds of fighting were drifting over from afar.

(End of chapter)