Even hybrid monsters have their day

"You're asking me about your own body?" Huangfu Aoxuan couldn't answer either, so he passed the question back to her.

Since the two were communicating through their consciousness, Qiu Pi had no idea what she was doing. He only saw that Geng Miaowan's face was constantly changing, sometimes joyful, sometimes angry, sometimes sorrowful, and sometimes grief-stricken.

Her hair was styled in a high bun, revealing her temples; her eyebrows were lightly drawn, and her eyes held a spring-like allure. Her skin was smooth and lustrous, like warm jade, and her cherry-red lips, naturally red, were captivating. Two strands of hair gently brushed her cheeks in the breeze, adding to her alluring charm. Her bright eyes darted about mischievously, revealing a hint of playfulness and mischief. She wore a light green dress that accentuated her slender waist, highlighting the curves of her still-developing figure.

She was clearly a demon, with alluring and seductive eyebrows, yet she exuded an ethereal elegance, seemingly untouched by worldly concerns. These two contrasting qualities, surprisingly, didn't feel out of place on her; instead, they drew the eye.

Qiu Pi had no grudge against her; he simply disliked the way she looked at him—it was too enthusiastic and lewd.

He remembered how she used to gaze at him with such longing, her eyes filled with undisguised admiration. Back then, he couldn't even be bothered to look at her, and even a fleeting glance made him feel incredibly uncomfortable. He never imagined he could stare at her face for so long without feeling disgusted or annoyed; in fact, he found it rather amusing.

It's the same person, yet they seem so different.

"Thank you for saving me," Geng Miaowan suddenly said, and Qiu Pi, who hadn't had time to look away, quickly turned his head slightly. He was used to her dazed demeanor, and this change in her was still somewhat unsettling.

Moreover, he saved her not because he wanted to, but because he feared that if Gongye Hong found out she had died at his hands, it wouldn't do him any good. He just never imagined that saving her would almost cost him his life.

Geng Miaowan, unaware of his thoughts, asked again when he didn't reply, "Um... are you alright now?"

"It's nothing serious, just needs time to recover spiritual energy."

"I'm sorry, I don't know why this is happening, my body..." She didn't know what to say next, because she also wanted to know what was going on.

Qiu Pi withdrew his gaze from elsewhere and turned back to look at Geng Miaowan, a barely perceptible inquiry in his eyes. "Are you really Geng Miaowan?"

Geng Miaowan's face stiffened, and she looked up in surprise.

“You are completely different from a year ago.”

Qiu Pi looked at her. Her eyebrows were long and slender, her nose straight and delicate, and her lips, neither too thick nor too thin, curved in an alluring way. Her azure eyes shone with a captivating light, possessing a mesmerizing charm. She suddenly felt she could understand the original owner of that body's feeling; to be gazed upon by such eyes, any woman would willingly succumb.

She quickly looked away, feigning indifference and chuckled twice. "Commander Qiu really loves to joke. If I'm not Geng Miaowan, then who am I?"

Qiu Pi stared at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out, so he withdrew his gaze and asked calmly, "Is the reason you are able to cultivate because of the evil technique of absorbing spirits?"

He intuitively felt that Geng Miaowan had been a waste of time for so many years, and now she could suddenly cultivate, so she must have used some extraordinary method, such as a spirit-absorbing technique.

"No, no! I... After I was rescued from the Dark Forest by the Left Protector last time, I found that I could cultivate. As for absorbing spiritual energy, I really don't know how it happened."

Geng Miaowan quickly explained that she also knew about the Spirit Absorption Technique. It was an extremely evil technique that could allow the user to increase their cultivation level and gain immense benefits in a short period of time. However, if used for too long, it would cause the user to become dependent on the technique, eventually turning them into a mindless monster that only absorbed spiritual energy.

Moreover, because the Spirit Absorption Technique is almost equivalent to stealing the cultivation achievements of others, and it also causes the cultivation of the person whose spiritual power is absorbed to decline, all those who cultivate seriously despise the user of this technique. Once others find out who has cultivated using this method, they will definitely be eliminated as soon as possible.

Geng Miaowan had no desire to be associated with techniques like the Soul Absorption Technique.

When Qiu Pi was first drained of his spiritual energy, he was terrified, thinking that Geng Miaowan had come to the human realm to learn such evil techniques in order to cultivate. However, after his spiritual energy was freed from her control, he checked his body and found that apart from the depletion of spiritual energy in his dantian, his cultivation level had not been affected.

Now that I hear her say this, I'm starting to believe that she really didn't know.

"So you stopped being stupid around that time?"

"You're the stupid one, your whole family is stupid!" Geng Miaowan thought to herself, but nodded somewhat blankly. At this moment, a boy lying on the ground turned over, catching her attention.

Geng Miaowan then remembered the scene she had seen on the hilltop, "Did you do those corpses?"

Although she had a gut feeling that Qiu Pi wouldn't do such a thing, she still couldn't help but ask. After all, seeing him under those circumstances would inevitably raise some doubts in her heart.

Qiu Pi glanced at her sideways without speaking, but Geng Miaowan, who knew him well, already understood the meaning behind his behavior. She pursed her lips and then asked awkwardly, "Then how did you end up there, and with those two children..."

He composed himself and told her what had happened.

It turned out that after Qiu Pi and Gongye Hong parted ways that day, he passed by this mountain. But as soon as he approached, he sensed a demonic aura swirling around it. Although humans don't often encounter demons, there are quite a few demons cultivating in the human realm, so he assumed it was one cultivating there. Qiu Pi wasn't a curious person, so he didn't pay much attention and continued on his way.

But before he could even leave the mountain, he heard children screaming in terror and despair from the other side of the mountain, crying out, "Help! There's a monster!"

Although Qiu Pi disliked meddling in other people's business, he disliked even more the bullying of the weak and the oppressed, especially since it was clearly a demon bullying children, something he absolutely could not stand by and watch. He followed the sound into the mountain and soon saw a demon holding two children, preparing to eat them.

One of the children was struggling fiercely, while the other was terrified, remaining motionless as the demon held him. Scattered on the ground nearby were bloodied remains, a gruesome sight that even he, a demon, found unbearable to witness.

Qiu Pi was a demon, but he cultivated entirely using the techniques of demon cultivators in the demon realm. Moreover, although some demons in the demon realm would absorb the essence or spiritual energy of other demon beasts to improve their own cultivation, none of them were ever this cruel and bloody.

He angrily rebuked the monster, demanding that it hand over the child.