Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

In the next instant, his consciousness arrived before the gates of his Grotto Heaven Dao Mansion.

Without a second thought, with a mere flicker of his will, he summoned the crystal-clear Brookfall Water and began to gulp it down.

"GULP! GULP!"

This spiritual water, imbued with the true rhythm of the Great Dao, was indeed miraculously effective.

Although his physical body was still limp and unable to move, his consciousness gradually regained clarity as the cool, clear sensation washed over it.

’Phew... That was close.’

Jiang Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

He was no virtuous saint, capable of remaining completely composed.

But he also knew.

If he actually did the deed with this Eighth Realm powerhouse before him, he would absolutely be diced into mincemeat and fed to the dogs once she recovered!

However.

Just as Jiang Mu thought he had escaped disaster,

he felt a sudden, inexplicable chill, as if something bad was about to happen.

Jiang Mu’s consciousness immediately returned to his body.

He looked forward.

Shui Miaozheng was standing quietly before him, though he didn’t know when she had gotten there.

A lonely valley wind swept by, lifting her tattered, light-blue dress and revealing the skin beneath.

She still had that dignified and gentle appearance, her face as serene as a Buddha’s. She seemed normal.

But...

In those eyes, once as gentle as still water, a shimmering red light now rippled, like a pool about to boil.

With every shift of her gaze, an alluring charm overflowed.

Her mature, womanly charm gushed forth like a bursting dam.

’This woman...’

Jiang Mu cursed inwardly.

’She’s a fucking Eighth Realm Great Cultivator!’

’Does she have no self-control at all?!’

Shui Miaozheng looked down at Jiang Mu, her gaze roaming over his body as if she were inspecting something.

"Shuyu... It’s on you..."

The woman spoke slowly.

Her voice was low, husky, and charming, carrying a magnetic quality that felt like a feather lightly tickling the tip of Jiang Mu’s heart.

Just that single sentence sent a shiver through Jiang Mu, making him feel as if his bones were melting.

"What Shuyu?"

Jiang Mu was completely bewildered; he had no idea what she was talking about.

Shui Miaozheng didn’t explain.

She seemed to have recovered a sliver of her Cultivation Level. With a light tap of her jade-like finger...

"BUZZ!"

Jiang Mu felt a sudden warmth in his chest.

Something seemed to fly out and land in Shui Miaozheng’s hand.

Jiang Mu wanted to get a closer look, but he felt that wave of heat surge back. Startled, he quickly shut his eyes, his consciousness diving back into his Dao Mansion to frantically gulp down more of the Brookfall Water.

Of course, he had no idea that on the other side, Shangguan Luoxue was cursing up a storm.

「In the real world.」

As the Shuyu was drawn out, the red light in Shui Miaozheng’s eyes faded slightly, and she regained some clarity.

She staggered back a step and collapsed weakly to the ground again.

Lifting her head, she looked at the young man before her. His eyes were shut tight, his forehead was covered in sweat, and he was clearly struggling to hold on. A trace of surprise flashed through her beautiful eyes.

She knew better than anyone how potent the Dragon’s Allure Qi was.

An ordinary man, even a Fifth or Sixth Realm Cultivator, would have likely turned into a beast and pounced on her by now after inhaling even a single wisp of it.

Yet this young man, a mere Fourth Realm Cultivator, had managed to resist until now through sheer willpower?

Such willpower and mental fortitude were truly astonishing!

Especially since she was well aware of her own charms.

For a hot-blooded young man like him, the appeal of a mature woman like herself was an absolutely fatal poison.

Catalyzed by the Dragon Qi, that temptation would be magnified ten, even a hundredfold.

’He can actually resist looking, resist making a move?’

’He’s a true gentleman...’

Shui Miaozheng couldn’t help but feel a sense of goodwill and admiration toward him.

But...

as for her...

Feeling the venomous, lustful Dragon Qi still rampaging through her body, she could only smile bitterly.

In her heavily injured state, it was impossible to force out the poison.

If it remained in her body for too long, even if it didn’t kill her, it would likely affect the future shaping of her Dao Foundation.

In that case, there was only one option left...

"So be it."

Shui Miaozheng looked at the young man with his eyes squeezed shut, a trace of resignation flashing in her own.

’Fortunately, his eyes are closed. He shouldn’t be able to see anything.’

"The path of the Great Dao is one of conflict, with tribulations ever-present..."

Her red lips parted. "Since it has come to this, perhaps it is better to... empty my mind and body, and simply let fate take its course."

...

...

「An unknown amount of time passed.」

When Jiang Mu returned from the icy space of his consciousness and regained control of his body, the wind in the valley had grown somewhat cool.

He opened his eyes, his hand subconsciously reaching for the hilt of the blade at his waist as he warily scanned his surroundings.

The area before him was empty.

Aside from the sound of the wind, it was deathly silent.

The beautiful woman who had both terrified and inexplicably agitated him was nowhere to be seen.

He looked down.

His clothes were perfectly intact.

"Phew..."

Jiang Mu let out a long sigh of relief.

’Thank goodness... In the end, that Eighth Realm powerhouse’s willpower was profound and her Dao heart was stable. Nothing irreversible happened.’

But immediately after, a faint sense of disappointment inexplicably welled up from the bottom of his heart.

’Why did her self-control have to be so strong, though?’

He shook his head, casting the unrealistic thought from his mind.

But...

Jiang Mu frowned, tugging strangely at his collar.

’Why are my clothes so damp?’

It was as if he had been caught in a sudden downpour.

He subconsciously touched his cheek.

"Jeez, how much did I just sweat?"

Jiang Mu was a little puzzled.

"Whatever. All that matters is that I’m still alive."

He scrambled up from the ground and stretched his stiff limbs.

At that moment, dawn was breaking in the east.

A crimson sun was peeking out from behind the overlapping mountain peaks.

Golden sunlight pierced through the thin clouds, casting down myriad rays of light. It bathed the devastated valley—the scene of a recent, brutal slaughter—in a golden glow.

Jiang Mu faced the morning sun, squinting as he stared blankly at the crimson disk in the distance.

A gentle breeze swept by, carrying the unique chill of early morning.

It also blew away the strange fragrance that clung to him.

After a long moment,

he suddenly laughed at himself and gave the rising sun the middle finger.

"Fucking hell, this is all just a pile of dogshit!"

After surviving a night of life-and-death struggles, witnessing the depravity of human nature and the brutality of Demon Fiends, and even nearly losing his innocence in a bizarre, amorous encounter...

...thinking back on it all, it just felt absurd and ridiculous.

It also left him with a profound sense of exhaustion.

"So damn tired."

Jiang Mu exhaled again, clearing the foul air from his chest and casting all his chaotic thoughts aside.

He turned and walked out of the valley.

...

「Back in Li family Village.」

The village was quiet.

The villagers, seemingly still reeling from the previous night’s terror, did not dare to venture outside.

Jiang Mu went to check their previous camp and found that Xu Fu and Ming Cuicui had already left.

They had deliberately left him a sign indicating it was safe to leave.

Jiang Mu’s mind was put at ease.

After quickly washing up, he got a set of clean clothes from a villager and set off once more.

His destination: Yan City!

Since he had survived, he had to keep moving.

After all,

there were still some bastards that needed to be killed!