Demoness's Art of Vengeance

As soon as Jun Xiaomo mentioned that the meat of the Colossal Centipede might be poisonous, nobody dared to approach it anymore. Instead, they simply stared with widened eyes as Jun Xiaomo continued to treat the Colossal Centipede’s meat.

They watched on as Jun Xiaomo knocked hard on one of the Colossal Centipede’s legs and retrieved a small round object. Then, she ground that object into a powder before spreading it all over the Colossal Centipede’s meat. Moments later, she retrieved a talisman from her Interspatial Ring, ground it to powder and similarly scattered it all over the Colossal Centipede’s meat. Finally, she dug about in the marshlands before digging up a plain and simple tuft of wild grass, squeezed out the pulp from within and drizzled that over the centipede’s meat as well.

“Alright, that’ll do. We can grill it after approximately one incense stick of time.” Jun Xiaomo announced to the Heavenly Peak disciples and the Dragontiger Sect disciples alike.

Everyone: ……

Martial sister Xiaomo/sister Xiaomo, can this really be eaten? This was the thought on everyone’s heart.

When they thought about volunteering to eat the Colossal Centipede’s meat, the disciples from the Dragontiger Sect couldn’t help but gulp down in dismay as another thought surfaced in their minds – Is it too late to reject eating the meat of this Colossal Centipede? Would lady Jun be upset, especially after the amount of effort she’s put into treating the meat?

Jun Xiaomo pretended not to notice the changes in their facial expressions. After all, she was fully aware of the fact that what she had done seemed immensely out of the ordinary.

However, what she had done was gleaned from her previous life’s experience. In her previous life, in order not to go hungry when she was on the run, she had read widely about sourcing food from the most unexpected sources. One of these sources of foods was the Colossal Centipede that could be found in the marshlands.

Truth be told, if not for the fact that she was almost dizzy with hunger in the past, she would never have attempted to eat the meat of the Colossal Centipede either. After all, the Colossal Centipede looked far too hideous and nauseating, not to mention the putrid and vile scent it emanated even after it died.

Of course, the meat on its belly did not smell or taste strange. But as long as a person brought his mind to think about where this meat came from, one would naturally lose his appetite.

The Dragontiger Sect’s disciples wished that this one incense stick of time would pass slower, and slower. That way, they could think of a proper excuse not to touch this strange and vile-looking piece of meat.

Unfortunately, time was a concept that loved to toy with people. Whenever someone longed for time to pass quickly, time would invariably crawl; and whenever someone longed for time to pass slowly, time would instead zoom by in a flash.

Thus, no matter how much the Dragontiger Sect’s disciples prayed in their hearts, one incense stick of time passed just like that.

Jun Xiaomo did not grill the meat beside the Colossal Centipede’s corpse. Rather, she consciously set up her grill a fair distance away before she began to start grilling the Colossal Centipede’s meat.

She had no choice. Its corpse was far too nauseating, and the sight of it would instantly cause anyone to lose his appetite. In order to reduce the repugnance of the meat she was grilling, Jun Xiaomo knew that she had to look for a place which was conducive for a person’s appetite.

That said, this was more for others than for herself. If it were her, she would hardly mind eating beside the Colossal Centipede. After all, Jun Xiaomo had eaten far viler and more nauseating food in grosser environments in her previous life. This much could hardly count for anything.

Tss… Jun Xiaomo was adept at grilling meat in the wilderness. As soon as he placed the skewers of marinated meat onto the grill, wafts of pleasant aromas began to diffuse into the surroundings.

Jun Xiaomo would apply some oil or honey onto the grilled meat from time to time. Under the intense heat radiating from her makeshift furnace, the grilled meat began to glisten with a golden hue in no time.

Growl… Some disciples swallowed their saliva, while their stomachs growled uncontrollably. Even though they knew that the source of the meat was rather questionable, they still couldn’t help but be tempted by the meat in front of them – perhaps they were too hungry, or perhaps the food just looked simply too delectable.

Forget it. Let’s fill our stomachs first. As for the future…if we really yield our lives up at this place, then we can only count it our own dumb luck that it happened.

The Dragontiger Sect’s disciples all thought in the same manner. They no longer looked at the food with the same disdain as before.

Jun Xiaomo scattered some black pepper and white sesame on the grilled meat, and the grilled meat was finally done.

“Let me…” Luo Xuyuan walked up with an outstretched arm and was about to ask Jun Xiaomo to let him try the meat first when Jun Xiaomo immediately picked up the grilled meat, “I know many of you are still a bit hesitant about the grilled meat, so let me test it first. You can eat once we verify that there’s no issue with the meat.”

Just like that, Luo Xuyuan’s arm remained outstretched as he looked at Jun Xiaomo tear off a chunk of meat and placed it straight into her mouth. Her eyes slowly shut as though she were thoroughly enjoying the meat.

Growl… Luo Xuyuan’s hunger burgeoned.

If the Dragontiger Sect’s disciples had earlier been vacillating between “to eat” or “not to eat”, they were all well beyond that right now and in the realms of “when can we eat”.

They had earlier found that time had passed by too quickly; yet now every single one of them felt as though time passed by too slowly.

It was an incredibly uncomfortable feeling.

Approximately half an incense stick of time later, Jun Xiaomo shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she remarked, “See, I’m fine. You guys can rest assured and eat now, right?”

Instantly, the Dragontiger Sect’s disciples rushed forward like a pack of hungry wolves as they began to cut off the meat piece by piece and distribute it to everyone around.

Luo Xuyuan tore off a small corner of the meat with his hands and sent it straight into his mouth. Suddenly, his eyes brightened in delight. He had initially intended to shut his eyes tightly and block out his senses as he swallowed this piece of meat to fill his stomach, but once the piece of meat touched his palate, he immediately had a change of heart, and he slowly began to chew and savour the delectable piece of flesh.

The other Dragontiger Sect’s disciples noticed their martial brother Luo’s expressions, and they also guessed that the Colossal Centipede’s meat must taste incredible. Thus, they immediately began to dig in.

“Oh. Ohhhh! It’s good stuff!” One of the Dragontiger Sect’s disciples exclaimed as he looked at Jun Xiaomo with a glimmer in his eyes and gave her two thumbs up.

If this were going to be his last meal on earth, so be it!

Sniffle… Wei Gaolang’s nose twitched slightly as he involuntarily looked at the Dragontiger Sect’s disciples who were eating as his heart cried out longingly – I want to eat as well!

At this moment, the Heavenly Peak disciples who were all holding onto their dry rations suddenly found their rations particularly hard to swallow and stomach.

The Dragontiger Sect’s disciples discovered that there were several pairs of eyes staring at them devour the meat, and they ate slower, and slower. Finally, Luo Xuyuan was the first one who caved, and he tore off half of the remaining grilled meat and offered it to Wei Gaolang as he said, “Little brother, this is for you.”

Wei Gaolang immediately received the grilled meat from Luo Xuyuan’s hands as he replied chirpily, “Thanks, brother Luo. That’s right, these are my rations. I’ll trade half of it with the grilled meat you’ve just given to me.”

After all, Luo Xuyuan would not have enough food for himself after giving Wei Gaolang half of the grilled meat that he had.

Just like that, the other Dragontiger Sect disciples also began to share their grilled meat with the Heavenly Peak disciples, while the Heavenly Peak disciples also offered half of their dry rations back in return.

Thus, the disciples of both sects ended up alternating between a mouthful of grilled meat and a mouthful of dry rations as they savored and devoured the rest of the food.

As the audience members looked on at the disciples of the Dragontiger Sect and the Heavenly Peak relish and devour their food with such gusto, even they began to feel somewhat…hungry.

Damn it! Is it really proper to turn such a serious competition into a grill-fest?! Several members of the audience began to curse and swear in their hearts, and some people even began to retrieve the dry rations from their Interspatial Rings and gnaw on them.

Since the participants were going to be competing for three days straight in the marshlands, most people in the audience had decided that they would also stay at their designated seating areas in the audience stand and watch the competition for the full three days. Thus, most people had also brought their own share of rations along as well.

That said, how could anyone bring themselves to swallow that dry and tasteless rations as they looked on at the golden, glistening grilled meat that the Dragontiger Sect and the Heavenly Peak disciples were eating?

Some of the members of the audience even felt that it might not be a bad thing to trade places with the Dragontiger Sect and the Heavenly Peak disciples right now…

Just as the Dragontiger Sect and the Heavenly Peak disciples were mingling and deepening their bonds with each other, the Eternal Summit Sect’s disciples, on the other hand, had also just encountered a team that had requested for help.

This group of disciples who appeared to be disciples from the Eternal Summit Sect were in fact Du Clan disciples. The person of the highest stature among them was the Du Clan Head’s son, Du Yongxu. Ever since his last travels outside of his clan, his cultivation level had experienced a huge jump, and he had broken through straight into the secondary-tier Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation.

At this moment, Du Yongxu and the other Du Clan disciples stood a distance away as they stared coldly at the team that had found themselves in danger. None of them had any intention to rescue them at all.

“Help…help us…please…” The other team had discovered their existence. However, the disciples in that team were trapped in the poisonous miasma within the marshlands and were even being attacked by a terrifying creature from the marshlands. They had no means of escape at all.

It could be said that this team’s luck was even worse than that of the Dragontiger Sect’s.

From the onset, they had seen the Eternal Summit Sect’s disciples approaching them, and their hearts were filled with hope at that time. This was primarily due to the reason that the team sent by the Eternal Summit Sect was clearly the strongest of all the teams participating in these group battles, and they knew that if any team were able to rescue them, it would have to be the team from the Eternal Summit Sect.

However, all the disciples from the Eternal Summit Sect did was to stand at the distance and watch them struggle in their plight.

“I beg you, save us. You can even take away our identity tokens…we don’t want points anymore. Just take away our tokens…”

This team that had found themselves in an increasingly dangerous predicament was no longer thinking about accumulating points or vying for a good placement in the competitions. At this point in time, they were prepared to tap out just to save their own lives.

Unfortunately, no matter what they said, none of the Eternal Summit Sect’s disciples responded at all.

Then, the swamp monster began to furiously attack the disciples trapped in the miasma. Within moments, several disciples perished under the vicious claws of the swamp monster. The team’s leader gritted his teeth as he yelled to the disciples around him, “If we’re going to die, then we’re going to die fighting! Martial brothers, let’s go out with a bang! All together now!”

As he yelled valiantly, he let his actions speak louder than his words as he charged straight towards the swamp monster.

The other disciples saw how their leader had acted, and they also decided not to run or hide any longer. They squared up against the swamp monster and began to use all forms of methods known to them to deal with it.

The marshlands were filled with all sorts of poisonous miasma that was incredibly damaging to a person’s meridians and Dantian if inhaled. This was the primary reason why this team found themselves in such a tragic predicament to begin with.

Truth be told, if they had done what Jun Xiaomo did and stored some talismans within their competition Interspatial Ring, then it would not have been very difficult for them to escape their present plight. Unfortunately, none of them appreciated the importance of talismans, and most of their Interspatial Rings were dedicated to the storage of recovery pills. In fact, these disciples had even neglected to carry many types of antidotes.

Thus, when they inadvertently stumbled into the poisonous miasma in these marshlands, they knew their fate had been sealed.

In the audience stand, the Eternal Summit Sect’s Grand Elder, Dai Yanfeng, turned around discreetly and whispered to a tall and well-built man wearing a cloak. This man’s appearances could not be seen clearly. “Du Clan Head, shouldn’t we rescue that team…”

“Oh? Why?” The Du Clan Head responded lackadaisically.

“The…truth be told, the sect that that team belongs to is on rather good terms with the Eternal Summit Sect. If we stand idly by and watch them perish, it might strain the relations between our respective sects.” Dai Yanfeng eagerly explained the situation to the Du Clan Head.

“Oh…so that’s the case.” The Du Clan Head appeared to be moved as he pondered about the situation.

Dai Yanfeng heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking that the Du Clan Head must have been swayed by his explanation.

Dai Yanfeng did not have any means to communicate with the Du Clan disciples participating in the group battles right now, but he knew that the Du Clan Head must have his ways about this. Thus, he was hardly worried about the relaying of instructions to the Du Clan disciples. All he needed to do was to convince the Du Clan Head to issue his orders…

However, before he could finish the sigh in his heart, the Du Clan Head snickered coldly as he shrugged his shoulders, “Nothing to do with me.”

“Wha-…what?!” Dai Yanfeng’s heart constricted with anxiety and his eyes widened.

“Haha, haven’t we earlier agreed that the primary objective in this transaction is the Heavenly Peak disciples?” The Du Clan Head quipped, “The only instructions I’d given to my disciples was to kill the Heavenly Peak disciples during the course of the group battles. As for the Eternal Summit Sect’s reputation and pride – all these things have got nothing to do with me.”

Dai Yanfeng was so incensed that he momentarily forgot the truth of the Du Clan Head’s identity. His face turned red with fury as he cried out, “You!”

“Do you think that the Du Clan disciples are not only going to help you kill your enemies, but help you earn first place in this competition and even preserve your sect’s pride and reputation, huh? Grand Elder Dai, you’re not getting any younger. How could you be so naïve to think that there would be such a profitable transaction on your end? Who do you treat us members of the Du Clan as, hmm?!”

As he drew close to the end of his spiel, the Du Clan Head’s anger clearly burgeoned as it manifested in the intensity of his speech.

Dai Yanfeng was instantly shocked by the Du Clan Head’s momentary release of his aura that was directed towards Dai Yanfeng. Then, with immense dread plastered all over his face, Dai Yanfeng grew completely taciturn. He no longer dared to raise any further objections at all.