"Damn it, get away from me!"
Mu Jinyu watched in horror as the Rotten Corpse Bride reached out her salty pig-like hand toward him, making his skin crawl and his heart pound as if it was about to leap out of his throat.
Unfortunately, despite his cultivation in the God Realm and his control over the Dragon King Hall, he seemed utterly powerless against this strange demon, unable to withstand a single blow.
"Swoosh!"
Just as the Rotten Corpse Bride's hand was about to touch Mu Jinyu's cheek, suddenly, a dark shadow appeared, standing in front of Mu Jinyu and grasped the Rotten Corpse Bride's wrist.
This caused her jade hand to stop dead, just an inch away from Mu Jinyu's cheek.
"Huff…"
Mu Jinyu didn't know what was happening, but he was relieved that the filthy hand hadn't touched him.
"Buzz buzz buzz!!"
At that moment, faces made of human skin, spinning in the void and emitting ghostly howls, seemed to be under the Rotten Corpse Bride's control, producing even more urgent and mournful cries.
"Screech screech screech!!"
Instantly, the dark shadow that entwined the Rotten Corpse Bride's wrist began to show signs of collapsing, seemingly unable to hold her anymore.
"Dada dada…"
At this critical moment,
a series of rapid footsteps approached, and then several pale-faced middle-aged men ran into the study. Two of them grabbed the Rotten Corpse Bride, and another lifted his pale, withered palm, grabbing the floating human skin faces from the air and stacking them together.
"Whooo…"
The urgent and mournful cries emitted from the human skin faces were instantly subdued by the grip of that corpse-like hand; they no longer dared to make those unnerving screams.
With the disappearance of those cries, Mu Jinyu suddenly found himself freed from the ghastly presence, able to move freely.
"Crap!"
Mu Jinyu cursed and quickly distanced himself from these people and the Rotten Corpse Bride.
"Dragon King, are you alright?"
Just as Mu Jinyu, with a confused and alarmed look, was staring at these strange people who had subdued the Rotten Corpse Bride, observing their pale faces and the sinister aura they exuded, suspecting whether they were normal humans, he heard a somewhat familiar voice.
He suddenly turned his head to look back.
The person was Li Yaotong.
"Huff…"
Mu Jinyu sighed with relief and relaxed his tense expression, saying, "Are these your 'Omniscient' people?"
"Yes," Li Yaotong walked slowly into the study and said, "This is a demon subduing method I just developed. The effect is pretty good, right? In the past, you could have killed these people with one move, but now, facing demons, Dragon King, you seem helpless and weak, while they can easily subdue them!"
"What's the principle behind this?"
Mu Jinyu, warily eyeing the immobilized Rotten Corpse Bride and the stack of human skin faces held in the hand of another, asked curiously.
"It's because demons are not ordinary beings but are rather like fierce ghosts. We normal people, no matter how strong, have only a slim chance of subduing demons. But becoming a demon, that's different. Only a demon can combat a demon!"
Li Yaotong said softly.
"A demon can only combat a demon?"
Mu Jinyu, hearing Li Yaotong's words, slightly shifted his expression and said, "Have they also become demons?"
As he spoke, Mu Jinyu looked at those people with deep aversion, noticing they truly didn't seem human anymore, looking almost corpse-like, with their stiff, pale faces, dull gray eyes, and an overall sinister aura emanating from them.
Li Yaotong explained, "It's not exactly becoming a demon, but rather, controlling demons and harnessing their power, which is why they can be contested with!"
"So, it's becoming half-human, half-demon?" Mu Jinyu said.
"Something like that." Li Yaotong nodded.
"How can one achieve this, and what is the price?" Mu Jinyu asked.
If this were any other matter or not during these dark and chaotic times, Mu Jinyu would never directly ask someone such personal questions.
But now, in these times, he believed that Li Yaotong had already shared so much with him that he would not conceal the crucial parts, thus he saw no need for beating around the bush and asked directly.
Sure enough, Li Yaotong did not conceal anything and, without hesitation, answered directly, "By subjugating the demons and harboring them within one's body, trying to merge with them, and attempting to control them, the price is that, over time, the demon inside the human will devour the flesh and blood and grow stronger until one day, they break free from human control and completely consume the person, causing their death during the demon's revival!"
"This..."
Upon hearing Li Yaotong's words, Mu Jinyu's expression changed dramatically.
Initially, he thought that if the price of controlling the power of demons wasn't too great, even though it might make him as grotesque as a walking corpse, he wouldn't mind becoming a demon himself to better combat the demons and save the world.
But the actual cost, inevitably dying from the resurrection of the demon, amounted to a slow suicide, and he no longer considered it.
After all, with his status, being alive held far more value than combating a few demons and then dying due to their resurgence.
"Can just anyone freely control the power of demons?" Mu Jinyu couldn't help but ask.
"Not exactly," Li Yaotong shook his head and said, "Most people who try to control demons end up dying horrifically."
"Tap, tap, tap..."
At that moment, another series of footsteps came from outside the door.
Turning his head, Mu Jinyu saw several members of the Dragon King Hall approaching with the Golden Coffin meant for detaining the Rotten Corpse Bride.
However...
Mu Jinyu forced a smile, knowing that if it weren't for the arrival of someone Omniscient to assist, not only could he have possibly died at the hands of the Rotten Corpse Bride just moments ago, but these people coming to bring the Golden Container would likely have perished as well.
Alas, ordinary people encountering demons have only one path—death. As a powerful being of the God Realm, it's slightly better; though most demons cannot defeat him, he can still escape, but encountering a demon like the Rotten Corpse Bride is much more disastrous, and escape is much harder.
In the face of demons, human strength is fragile like porcelain.
"Dragon Master, we're late, but fortunately, it didn't waste any time."
These members of the Dragon King Hall had no idea about the recent events on Mu Jinyu's side, and they thought that the Rotten Corpse Bride, clothed in a wedding dress, was subdued by Mu Jinyu before handing her over to these strange-looking people to be restrained.
Upon approaching, they smiled politely at these Omniscient subordinates and were about to grab the Rotten Corpse Bride to lock her in the Golden Coffin.
Their expressions rigid, almost corpse-like, these people remained indifferent to the actions of the Dragon King Hall members.
"Don't touch this demon!" Mu Jinyu, seeing their actions, quickly shouted sharply.
"Ah?" they stuttered, involuntarily halting their actions.
"Why?" they asked, puzzled.
Li Yaotong answered for Mu Jinyu, "Because you are ordinary people, and rashly touching the demon will lead you to a very gruesome death."
As he spoke, he pointed to a subordinate clutching a stack of human skins and said, "The likelihood is that you'll end up like those with the face of human skin."
"Ah?!"
Hearing Li Yaotong's words, their expressions noticeably changed.
Now, they carefully looked at the two people restraining the Rotten Corpse Bride and realized that they indeed didn't look like normal people, but rather...
A moving corpse!