Absolute Destiny Game.

Chapter 530 Settling in Niujiao Village

Xiao Jie didn't look in the direction the boy had fled. He silently walked to Bai Ling's side. This companion who had saved his life and stayed with him for ten years had breathed his last, and the eye pierced by the crossbow bolt on his cold body looked particularly tragic.

He crouched down, gripping the cold animal trap with his left hand, his arm muscles bulging. With a snap, he forcefully broke open the steel trap. He carefully lifted Bai Ling's still-warm body, as if holding the most precious treasure in the world, turned around, and left this blood-soaked land with heavy steps.

Half an hour later, Xiao Jie returned to the cliff where he and the wolf pack lived.

He gently placed Bai Ling's body on the dry rock, then slumped down, staring blankly at the familiar, lifeless figure. Bai Ling was dead; his last and deepest bond in this wilderness was severed. Where should he go? In his current state, half-human, half-beast, was he truly human, or a wild beast?
Several gray wolves huddled around, howling uneasily. One of the larger male wolves cautiously approached Bai Ling's corpse, its nose twitching. Just as Xiao Jie thought it was expressing grief, the wolf suddenly opened its jaws and viciously bit into Bai Ling's soft belly!
"Get out of the way!" A surge of rage rose in Xiao Jie's heart! He kicked the male wolf hard, sending it tumbling and crashing into the rock wall with a painful howl! The male wolf whimpered pitifully, tucking its tail between its legs and cowering behind the pack.

Xiao Jie angrily glared at the other restless gray wolves. Their eyes held no sadness, only a primal hunger and confusion as to why he, the "superior," was not eating—they were waiting for him to enjoy this "feast" first!
Xiao Jie was initially shocked and furious, but then he understood. Yes, they were ultimately just a pack of wild beasts following the law of the jungle. In their world, survival trumped all emotions. Bai Ling had absorbed the moon's spiritual energy for many years, and the faint demonic power within her was an irresistible tonic for them. For the wolf pack, eating their dead companions, especially the powerful ones, was simply a matter of course, maximizing resource utilization, and part of the natural cycle.

How can food, especially such "precious" food, be wasted?

However, while he understood, Xiao Jie couldn't accept it. Watching Bai Ling being devoured caused him a deeper, more agonizing pain than killing the hunters. At that moment, he realized with absolute clarity: he was, after all, human! Possessing human emotions, human ethics, and human respect for the dead!

Wild beasts may lack the complex cunning and deceit of humans, but this isn't due to inherent goodness; it's simply because their intelligence is underdeveloped, making them incapable of comprehending more complex morals and emotions. It should be understood that those truly intelligent and cunning monsters are perhaps even more treacherous, cruel, and greedy than humans!

The surrounding gray wolves began to howl impatiently, their voices filled with urging: Hurry up and eat! We can't wait any longer!

A bunch of... beasts!
A cold light flashed in Xiao Jie's eyes, and a chilling, tangible aura of killing intent, mixed with his newly recovered inner strength, suddenly erupted! An invisible pressure instantly enveloped the bottom of the cliff! The wolf pack seemed to be struck by an invisible hammer, and immediately let out terrified howls, tucked their tails between their legs, and trembled as they lay prostrate on the ground, no longer daring to make the slightest move.

Xiao Jie didn't look at them again. He bent down, picked up Bai Ling's cold body again, and walked to the edge of the cliff. He took one last look at the valley where he had lived for ten years, then leaped, holding Bai Ling, and plunged into the rushing river below like a meteorite.

three days later.

Standing at the entrance of a valley that felt both familiar and strangely desolate, Xiao Jie was overwhelmed with emotion and a myriad of feelings.

Forget-Worry Valley, I'm back.

Ten years of hardship in the wilderness had given him a beast-like keen sense of perception. Now, returning to this familiar place, he could feel the unique spiritual energy contained within this valley even more clearly, though this spiritual energy was now shrouded in a deathly stillness.

The thatched huts and bamboo houses in the valley had long since fallen into disrepair and were covered with vines. On the open ground beside the waterfall, three solitary graves covered with moss and weeds stood out starkly.

He walked closer to take a look.

The first tomb: the tomb of my revered teacher, Xuanji Zi.

The second tomb: the tomb of the unworthy disciple, the Drunken Sword Immortal.

The third tomb: the tomb of the third junior brother, Yin Yue Sui Feng.

The handwriting is simple and vigorous, exuding a chivalrous and righteous spirit—it is the work of the eldest brother, a man of unparalleled chivalry.

Senior Brother actually... erected a cenotaph for himself? A complex warmth welled up in Xiao Jie's heart, mixed with the sorrow of things changing and people gone. He walked to the grave with his name engraved on it, remained silent for a moment, then pulled out his broken sword and began to dig. Soon, a shallow pit appeared. He carefully placed Bai Ling, whom he had been holding in his arms, into the pit, gently covered her with soil, and piled up a small mound.

He stood before Bai Ling's new grave, silently reciting: I know that in your world, being devoured by your own descendants was perhaps part of returning to nature. You don't need to thank me for taking you away, nor blame me for acting on my own initiative. This place is peaceful and undisturbed; may you rest in peace here.

After doing all this, Xiao Jie took a deep look at the graves of his master and the Drunken Sword Immortal, then looked at his former "home," and with no more lingering attachment, turned and drifted away.

Xiao Jie's figure moved swiftly through the mountains and forests, as fast as the wind, yet carrying a hint of bewildered heaviness. He avoided densely populated roads, choosing instead desolate mountain ridges and trails. He was unwilling to step into the treacherous human society again, to face the unpredictable human heart; yet he was also weary of the utter solitude of the wilderness, accompanied only by wild beasts.

Ten years of solitude left him yearning for the warmth of human connection, yet the betrayals and hurts of the past instinctively made him afraid of contact, wanting only to be alone in a corner, far from trouble. These two conflicting emotions tore at him fiercely, making him restless and agitated, and he could only rely on instinct to travel aimlessly southward.

On this day, Xiao Jie finally crossed the last treacherous mountain ridge. Before him stretched a vast wilderness that reached to the horizon. In this desolate landscape, a dilapidated temple stood alone in the wind, its crumbling walls telling tales of the vicissitudes of time.

Xiao Jie stopped and looked around the dilapidated temple. The presence of buildings indicated that there had once been people nearby, but judging from its state of disrepair, it was probably far removed from any bustling area and rarely visited by humans. This was indeed an ideal place—one could rely on the remnants of human civilization and feel a touch of life, without having to worry about being harmed by worldly disturbances and human scheming.

After much deliberation, Xiao Jie finally made up his mind to make this place his temporary refuge. He pushed open the creaking, almost collapsing temple door and went inside. The temple was covered in cobwebs and dust. In the center of the main hall was a clay statue of a deity, surrounded by several smaller statues of other deities; the layout resembled a local earth god temple. However, to Xiao Jie's astonishment, all of these statues had human bodies, but their heads were adorned with the heads of various wild beasts! The main earth god was none other than an old bull with a benevolent face and a long beard reaching his chest!
Although he was puzzled, Xiao Jie was exhausted from days of travel. He simply cleared a corner of the ground, sat down, leaned against the cold wall, and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, a series of heavy, slightly dragging footsteps approached from afar, startling Xiao Jie from his light sleep. He abruptly opened his eyes and listened intently. The footsteps belonged to a strong, ordinary person, and there was no fluctuation of internal energy.

"Creak—" The dilapidated temple door was pushed open. An exceptionally burly and robust man, carrying a heavy load of firewood, walked in with his head down. When he looked up and saw Xiao Jie sitting in the corner of the temple, he was clearly startled and subconsciously took half a step back.

Xiao Jie also saw the appearance of the person who came—it was a “person” with a huge bull’s head! Rough brown hair covered his face, his nostrils were large, a pair of curved horns extended from the top of his forehead, and his eyes were filled with honesty and surprise.

Xiao Jie suddenly realized! His aimless southward journey had unknowingly led him to the territory of Canglin Prefecture! This place was the settlement of demons from later generations. The minotaur before him was clearly a "native" of this place.

"This...brother, please." The ox-headed woodcutter composed himself and spoke in a deep, gruff voice, his tone carrying a hint of tentative friendliness. He looked Xiao Jie up and down, his eyes showing surprise but not much hostility; rather...it was as if he were looking at one of his own kind?
Xiao Jie was slightly taken aback, then understood. For the past ten years, he had imitated all kinds of beasts and absorbed the essence of heaven and earth, even forming the rudimentary form of a demon core within his body. His aura was already vastly different from that of ordinary humans. In the eyes of this minotaur, his disheveled and wild appearance had probably made him appear as a "senior demon" who had successfully transformed into human form and possessed considerable power!

He didn't explain, but simply nodded slightly in response.

Seeing Xiao Jie's response, the ox-headed woodcutter seemed to grow bolder. He put down his bundle of firewood, rubbed his rough hands, and said, "Brother, you look unfamiliar. Are you from out of town? A few years ago, King Xiaoyue issued the land reclamation order and the household registration order. Right now, our Niujiao Village is re-measuring and redistributing land, and people are settling down and registering their households. It's quite lively!"
"If you're interested in settling here, why don't you come with me to the village? With your abilities, as long as you're willing to register, you're sure to be allocated a good piece of land!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jie's long-dormant memories were instantly stirred. Yes! This time point was precisely after the earth-shattering upheaval that Canglin Prefecture experienced! The local humans were slaughtered and devoured by the rising demons, and then a "celestial being" enlightened the powerful demon king of this place, instructing him to restrain his people, learn human etiquette and systems, identify as "humans," and establish order.

This distribution of land and registration of households for the demons marked the beginning of the agrarian society of the demons in Canglin Prefecture in later generations!
Perhaps… this really is a good place to stay. Xiao Jie's heart stirred. He had absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, and the spiritual energy of the earth's veins, and although a demon core had formed within him, he remained clueless about how to utilize this "demon power," which was so different from both internal energy and Daoist spiritual power. He could only rely on instinct to perform rudimentary abilities such as night vision, long-distance vision, and sharp claws. Learning systematic demonic arts from these demons who were truly transformed from wild beasts would be a good choice.

It would be inconvenient to be a human, but if one could register as a local 'person,' then one could naturally cultivate demonic arts.

The "Howling Moon King" mentioned by that brute must be the Howling Moon Immortal.

Maybe we can even catch up on old times.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded to the ox-headed woodcutter.
The woodcutter was overjoyed and quickly picked up his bundle of firewood: "That's wonderful! Brother, please come with me!" He led Xiao Jie out of the dilapidated temple and along a path worn into the ground. After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a rather sizable village appeared before them.

The houses in the village are mostly built of logs and huge stones, rugged and sturdy. At the entrance of the village, a number of "people" gathered in an open space, in various forms: there were women with deer antlers, men with leopard tails, and some who had not yet manifested human form, looking half-human and half-beast, casually wearing a hemp garment and a tattered coat, and that was considered "people".

Seeing such a group of demons and monsters gathered together is truly terrifying.

In the center of the open space, an old minotaur with a felt hat, white hair and beard, and a dignified face was discussing something with a wolf-man dressed in fine clothes and with sharp eyes. Judging from the wolf-man's clothes, he seemed to be an official sent down from above.

The two men were facing an open map, loudly allocating land to the villagers.

The ox-headed woodcutter strode to the old ox-headed village chief, whispered a few words in his ear, and then pointed to Xiao Jie behind him. Upon hearing this, the old village chief's cloudy ox eyes widened suddenly, his face showing disbelief and astonishment! He scrutinized Xiao Jie from head to toe, lingering particularly long on his fully transformed human body, devoid of any animalistic features, and his deep, sharp eagle eyes. His cloudy eyes instantly filled with awe—in Canglin Prefecture, any demon capable of complete transformation was invariably a powerful and revered being!

This person is a powerful figure from who-knows-where, yet he has fallen into this remote and impoverished place. However, with the great chaos in Canglin Prefecture just subsided, such things are quite common.

The old village chief dared not be negligent. He quickly pushed aside the crowd, led the wolf official, and strode up to Xiao Jie. He solemnly clasped his hands in a salute and said, "I was unaware of your arrival in our humble village. I have been very negligent. Please forgive me!" The wolf official beside him also clasped his hands in salute, his eyes filled with scrutiny and a hint of barely perceptible apprehension.

"Hearing that you intend to settle in our Niujiao Village is truly an honor for our village!" The old village chief said sincerely, with obvious respect. "May I ask which area you have your eye on? There are still fertile fields in the village available for you to choose from."

Xiao Jie looked around, his gaze finally settling on the direction of the solitary, dilapidated temple in the wilderness. He pointed to it, then to the relatively flat but clearly barren land surrounding the temple.

The old village chief followed his finger, paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, and quickly said, "Brave warrior, have you taken a fancy to that ancient temple? Although the temple is dilapidated, it is quiet. The wasteland around the temple, although not the best, is large enough and the soil is decent. With diligent cultivation, it will surely yield some produce! If you don't mind, I will grant you the ancient temple and the surrounding hundred acres of wasteland. From then on, your household registration will be in our Niujiao Village. What do you think?"

Xiao Jie nodded slightly in agreement. He had no attachment to fertile land; the wilderness and dilapidated temple suited his desire to escape the hustle and bustle and cultivate in solitude.

Seeing Xiao Jie nod, the old village chief smiled and immediately instructed the wolf official beside him to mark the location on the map. He then issued Xiao Jie a household registration certificate and loudly announced the matter. The surrounding demon villagers looked at Xiao Jie with a mixture of curiosity and awe.

So Xiao Jie settled down in the dilapidated temple, acquiring the temple and a vast expanse of land around it, waiting to be cultivated. This desolate ancient temple on the edge of Canglin Prefecture became his new starting point.

(End of this chapter)