Chapter 128: Unkind Fathers and Unfilial Sons, A Twisted Devotion

Note: Nightmare’s Fang of Mid-Tier Yellow Grade: Detects and identifies dream illusions, with a certain probability of backfiring on the dream illusion creator. (The dream illusion creator cannot exceed mid-tier yellow grade.)

Sealed and archived low-level zombies. Reward: one Mid-Tier Yellow Grade Copper-Skinned Iron-Boned Talisman.

Copper-Skinned Iron-Boned Talisman: Upon use, the user’s body will transform to a copper-skinned, iron-boned protective state for one hour.

...

The rewards from “Cutting the Nerves” have arrived.

This time, the rewards were quite generous. Both the Nightmare’s Fang and the Copper-Skinned Iron-Boned Talisman could help Lin Yi advance in strength, making the loss of the Nightmare Talisman and Dream Entry Talisman worthwhile.

Especially the Nightmare’s Fang—it was definitely an upgraded version of the Dream Entry Talisman, a classic case of swapping a small gun for a cannon.

This lifted Lin Yi’s spirits somewhat.

At the same time, Lin Yi felt that the Nightmare’s Fang looked very much like something that had appeared in one of the alliances. However, it was clear that the alliance must have misunderstood its function; the effect of Lin Yi’s Nightmare’s Fang was the genuine one!

As Lin Yi received the “Cutting the Nerves” rewards, waves of memories began to flood back into his mind.

They revealed the truth behind the Little Nightmare Demon and the corpse of the desolate village.

“Cutting the Nerves” was now settled and back to normal.

Thus, memories about killing Zhao Qilin also surfaced repeatedly.

Lin Yi never expected that Zhao Qilin’s memories were somehow entangled with the Little Nightmare Demon and the corpse from the desolate village.

At the same time, previous doubts were fully clarified thanks to the acceptance of these memories.

...

Night. An endless wilderness, pitch black as ink.

Someone was running.

That person was Liu He.

Childhood Liu He.

Even as a child, Liu He’s head was somewhat bare on top.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! Run, run... If you don’t run, I’ll bite you, hahaha...”

Behind Liu He, a mammoth tiger relentlessly chased him.

Above the mammoth tiger’s head was a massive skull, smiling faintly.

From Liu He’s memories, it was known that this enormous head belonged to Liu He’s father—a powerful Nightmare Demon.

Young Liu He was trapped in a dream where the mammoth tiger constantly pursued him. Whenever Liu He stopped, the tiger would open its bloodied jaws and bite his back.

As Liu He cried out in pain, the tiger would release him and wait for him to run again.

Thus, whenever Liu He stopped, the tiger bit once.

The mammoth tiger never bit his legs.

Liu He kept running.

He didn’t know how long he ran until he was gasping, utterly exhausted and unable to continue. Then the mammoth tiger opened its jaws wide and bit down on one of Liu He’s arms as if to tear it off.

In reality, Liu He’s body was covered in wounds.

The injuries he suffered in the dream manifested exactly on his body in real life.

This was the power of his father, the formidable Nightmare Demon, made tangible.

Every day, his father invaded Liu He’s dreams.

Until one day, Liu He noticed the dream had changed—the demon in the dream was different.

The massive skull in the sky

no longer bore his father’s face, but that of a terrifying, savage reptilian visage.

...

That figure claimed to be the first son of the Nightmare Demon.

Then, the Nightmare Demon’s second son appeared.

The second son had the face of a fox, spoke gently, but was even more terrifying within the dream.

From that day on, Liu He was tormented by countless Little Nightmare Demons.

In his dreams, each time Liu He emerged more bruised and battered.

The same was true in reality.

Year after year passed, and Liu He desperately sought to escape that place.

He still remembered its name—Black Burlin Village.

Finally, on the eve of a certain day, Liu He was not attacked by the Nightmare Demon or the Little Nightmare Demons!

His wounds had improved!

He could escape!

During the day, Liu He fled.

He was eight years old that year; his mother had long been dead. Covered in wounds and scorned by the village, no one pitied him.

Liu He survived on wild fruits and whatever scraps he could find, filthy and foul-smelling. No one cared about him in the village.

If he had not been a descendant of the Nightmare Demon, he would have died long ago.

As Liu He escaped, he passed through a chaotic burial ground.

Unexpectedly, there was a freshly deceased person there; their family had placed numerous offerings.

Famished, Liu He ate from the offerings, finally having a full meal, regaining some strength.

After eating, Liu He prepared to leave, but suddenly realized night had fallen.

The darkness frightened him. The village was still close, and Liu He feared that his father or siblings might torment him again that night.

After consideration and steeling himself, Liu He looked around at the countless graves and decided to stay right there in the burial ground.

He would not starve; perhaps hiding there for a few days, regaining his strength under the daylight, he could then escape.

He could finally gain true freedom.

In the dark night, Liu He busied himself digging graves.

The soil was shallow; he could dig with his hands.

Moreover, he found a stick to assist him.

Soon, he uncovered a small hole and crawled inside. Then, he opened the coffin and slipped inside.

It contained a fresh female corpse, recently buried.

Before her death, many must have pursued her, for she was exceedingly beautiful.

In a hazy way, Liu He sensed a milky fragrance emanating from the corpse.

That scent was eerily similar to his mother’s.

He had never seen his mother. After birth, Liu He seemed to have lost many years of memory; his earliest recollections were of the boundless dark wilderness, chased by monsters like the mammoth tiger crafted by his father.

Since then, his body bore wounds every day.

So now, seeing this female corpse inexplicably reminded Liu He of his mother.

That night was the most comfortable he had experienced since gaining memories.

In his heart, a long-lost word emerged: home.

Originally, he had only wanted to hide from his father and siblings’ torment, but Liu He did not expect to find a strange kind of warmth instead.

...

So, Liu He took up residence there.

Strange as it was, recently the village had many deaths. Though mourned by relatives and friends, for Liu He, it meant more offerings to eat.

Gradually, Liu He grew stronger, no longer skinny or covered in wounds every day.

Until one day, another person died in Black Burlin Village.

This person was unremarkable, but served a famous family. As the chief steward of the Zhao family, a clan of corpse refiners, his funeral was grand.

Though he was just an ordinary man with no cultivation, the Zhao family spent money to give him a splendid burial.

To Liu He, this master seemed truly grand.

Dressed in gold and silver, the burial offerings sparkled brightly.

At night, Liu He entered this new grave.

Inside, he took the gold, silver, and jewels meant to accompany the deceased.

Suddenly, Liu He noticed the man’s belly was unusually swollen.

Opening it, he discovered a book inside.

Though he couldn't read some of the text, from the illustrations, he understood the contents.

Slowly, Liu He realized it was a manual on corpse refinement.

Like someone who has read the three hundred Tang poems, even if unable to compose poetry, one can still recite them.

After immersing himself in this book, Liu He unexpectedly gained some insights.

He discovered that he was quite the prodigy.

How could a descendant of the Nightmare Demon and Little Nightmare Demon not possess innate talent?

Soon, with the corpse refinement manual, Liu He formed a connection with the female corpse, cultivating alongside this motherly figure.

Year after year, Liu He grew.

Until one day, he realized that even demons and monsters had a lifespan limit.

The female corpse, whom he regarded as a mother and harbored a twisted affection for, had begun to decay.

Liu He began using the corpse refinement manual to continually regenerate new flesh on her.

He even killed many people to use their skin to cover the corpse.

He always believed that the corpse was the most beautiful; the better the skin, the more it enhanced her beauty.

Liu He himself was aging.

He felt his vitality draining until ten years ago when he came up with a good idea—using cultivators’ skin on the corpse would make her more beautiful.

Such skin was far superior to that of ordinary people.

Being a descendant of the Nightmare Demon, he could consume human flesh without hesitation.

So, starting ten years ago, Liu He single-handedly orchestrated the desolate village corpse incident.

The Nine Nether Formation was obtained by Liu He after killing a Little Nightmare Demon.

That Little Nightmare Demon was the Nightmare Demon’s second son—the half-human, half-fox creature.

Three years ago, Liu He succeeded.

Since then, he brimmed with confidence, plotting even greater schemes.

In the demon prison, this shameless Liu He shared a similar mindset with Lin Yi—he sought all means to torment the imprisoned demons and monsters.

Thus, Liu He’s power rose rapidly within a brief ten-year span.