Chapter Fifty-Eight: Who Is the Demon?

Qin Feng approached and signaled Tu Zheng to pull Zhan Bai aside. He then gently lifted Fang Xinyi from the ground, gazing at her delicate beauty. In his heart, he sighed silently; regardless of success or failure, this woman would forever be the greatest obstacle in Zhan Bai's life. Zhan Bai, the most outstanding young man Qin Feng had ever met, could rightly be called a dragon among men. At less than forty years old, he had cultivated to the fifth stage of the Human Qi Realm—a truly extraordinary talent.

Yet, who could imagine that Zhan Bai would be so infatuated with a woman?

“If she had died outright, it would have been nothing, but now…” Qin Feng looked again at Zhan Bai, and under the unwavering gaze of the other man, he nodded. As he grasped Fang Xinyi’s hand, a tiny black snake slid between their palms and burrowed into Fang Xinyi’s body.

This little black snake was small, wormlike, with only a single head. After his bloodline soul had advanced, Qin Feng discovered a new innate ability: the demon serpent avatar. He hadn’t had time to study its true purpose, but now it fit perfectly; it was more than enough to deal with the soul-devouring wraith. Otherwise, releasing his bloodline soul outright would frighten everyone and expose his identity as a Qin family disciple, inviting suspicion.

The little black snake traveled up Fang Xinyi’s arm and entered her mind. In that instant, Qin Feng felt fragments of Fang Xinyi’s memories and the control over her bodily movements fall within his grasp. He was first shocked, then ecstatic! By accident, he had discovered the function of the demon serpent avatar. What did this mean? In the future, controlling a puppet would be effortless!

But there was no time for joy now—he had important matters to attend to. Controlling the demon serpent avatar, Qin Feng easily eradicated the soul-devouring wraith and learned why Fang Xinyi had not died immediately. The girl was truly ruthless; to escape the wraith’s consumption, she had forcibly split her soul in two—half was devoured, and the other half hid in a corner of her soul’s sea of consciousness.

“With only half a soul, a person can live, but… alas!” After finishing everything, Qin Feng withdrew the demon serpent avatar from Fang Xinyi’s body.

He had considered leaving it inside her, but dismissed the thought. To Qin Feng, Zhan Bai was a true friend, and between friends, deception was unacceptable. Even if it might temporarily calm Zhan Bai and fool everyone, the truth would eventually come out. Helping others required moderation—too much was as bad as too little.

Qin Feng’s intervention took only a moment; Fang Xinyi’s breathing and expression stabilized, though she remained unconscious. Zhan Bai’s brows were tightly furrowed, and he looked to Qin Feng with a plea and confusion in his eyes.

Qin Feng patted Zhan Bai’s shoulder, explaining in a tone he hoped Zhan Bai could accept, “The soul-devouring wraith inside our friend Fang is gone, but half her soul has been consumed by the ghost. Her body is unharmed, but her soul is only half intact… Such soul damage is troublesome; she’ll likely remain unconscious for a long time…”

With these words, everyone’s expressions turned somber. Qin Feng was already being gentle, omitting that she might never wake again, sparing Zhan Bai’s feelings as much as possible. Even so, Zhan Bai’s face turned deathly pale, tears of regret shining in his eyes.

“Xinyi, I shouldn’t have brought you here,” Zhan Bai murmured to himself, while Qin Feng turned his gaze to Qin Hu.

Unexpectedly, Qin Feng did not see any worry or grief in Qin Hu’s eyes.

Page (1/3)

Page (2/3)

“Could it be that the dead Daoist Sun really wasn’t his accomplice?” This surprised Qin Feng greatly. He shifted his gaze from Qin Hu to the two remaining women: Shi Yuan and Hua Ruyan.

Shi Yuan seemed unlikely; could it really be Hua Ruyan? Unable to unravel the mystery, Qin Feng forced himself to stay calm, reviewing scene after scene in his mind.

Then, as he glanced unintentionally at the corpse of Daoist Sun, a bold conjecture flashed through his mind.

“Could it be…?”

With this thought, Qin Feng let out a cold laugh.

“Should we keep moving forward?” Hua Ruyan’s voice quivered, tears threatening to spill as she asked the group. The attack just now had left two dead and one wounded—these were her longtime friends, companions in many adventures, yet never before had casualties been so severe.

“We’ve come this far; should we just give up? Besides, all of you…” At this, Qin Hu paused, seemingly unwilling to finish.

“We have no way back, do we?” Suddenly, Qin Feng interjected, completing the sentence Qin Hu had left unsaid.

Qin Hu froze, then glared at Qin Feng with a fierce, venomous look.

Ignoring Qin Hu’s expression, Qin Feng continued, “This path only goes forward, not back. You knew long ago how dangerous it was, and you know what secrets are hidden in the Blood Qi Temple. You infiltrated our group to use us for your goals… cousin?!”

He emphasized “cousin” heavily.

His words caught everyone’s attention, though most didn’t understand his meaning, given the suddenness of events.

Zhan Bai raised his head, his gaze icy as he looked at Qin Hu.

“What are you saying? I don’t understand!”

“Stop pretending. You’re not a Qin family member—your bloodline soul is just a fake shadow, conjured by special means. And those two skinless corpses in the Yun Mang Mountain woods—can you explain them to everyone?”

At this, the whole group was shocked! As Qin Feng spoke, Shi Yuan, Hua Ruyan, and Tu Zheng unconsciously moved to surround Qin Hu, forming a pincer formation.

“Haha, well done! I calculated everything, but didn’t account for you, you little bastard! Fine, since you’ve exposed me, I won’t pretend any longer!” With that, Qin Hu reached up, grabbed the skin at the back of his head, and tore it off. He split it down the middle, and before everyone’s eyes, peeled away his entire scalp. With a final yank, all his skin came off, revealing a figure of raw flesh, now staring bloodthirstily at Qin Feng.

After shedding his outer skin, the blood man’s massive body quickly shriveled. New skin slowly grew, and soon, before everyone, stood a medium-built, obsidian-skinned faceless man. He leisurely took out a black robe from his storage bag and draped it over himself.

He had a face but no features—only two eye holes, two nostrils, and a mouth, flat and formless, grotesque in appearance. For ease of disguise, it seemed he had removed all protruding facial features.

“Who are you?!” Zhan Bai’s eyes flashed coldly. Still grieving for Fang Xinyi’s soul injury, he now faced the betrayal of a traitor among them, his murderous aura intensifying.

The faceless man ignored Zhan Bai, instead smoothing out Qin Hu’s skin—a complete skin from head to toe, like a beautiful garment, which he seemed reluctant to part with.

Page (2/3)

Page (3/3)

“Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is I must thank you all for bringing me here.”

“Up ahead lies my destination. Will you join me to see what awaits?” The faceless man twisted his neck; though his face showed no expression, his tone was full of pride.

“Speak, or die!” Zhan Bai had lost all patience, on the verge of erupting.

“Haha, with just you lot, you can’t kill me!” The faceless man twisted his head strangely, then turned to Qin Feng. “Kid, you’re Qin Feng, aren’t you? Good—since you saw the two corpses in the woods, you must know there’s another accomplice among you. But who might it be? Hahaha…”

He laughed wildly, sweeping his gaze over the group.

Everyone was startled.

“There’s another one?”

At this moment, terror filled everyone’s hearts. They looked at each other with amazement and suspicion.

“Don’t fall for it—he’s deliberately steering your thoughts. I know who the other traitor is!”

Qin Feng’s words suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned toward him, who was slowly approaching Hua Ruyan.

“Could it be… Hua Ruyan?!”

Zhan Bai and the others were shocked, and Tu Zheng was utterly incredulous, unable to believe Hua Ruyan was another traitor in disguise.

At that moment, Hua Ruyan’s face flashed with panic, but her usual coquettish tone vanished. She was furious, shouting, “Qin Feng, you suspect me?”

Most people now regarded her with suspicion—for Qin Feng had already exposed one traitor, and his word carried weight.

Hua Ruyan grew anxious. “Tu Zheng, do you suspect me too?”

Tu Zheng was sweating, flustered. “I—I… Qin Feng, she’s not… right?” Tu Zheng was truly desperate, looking to Qin Feng for reassurance like a child.

Shi Yuan’s gaze showed a hint of amusement.

Zhan Bai frowned.

The faceless man’s eyes were mocking.

As everyone turned their attention to Qin Feng, he smiled mysteriously, lips curling, and said, “That’s right—it’s you!”

With that, Qin Feng suddenly lunged at Hua Ruyan.

…

Page (3/3)