In the frigid lands, after my exile, I began to slay demons and monsters.

Chapter 168 The Tragedy of Humanity

Ning Xiaoxi stayed at home for a day, then two, but didn't hear any news about the half-goods attacking the city.

News of the attack on Donglin County arrived early on the third day. This attack was highly concentrated, with 15,000 troops from Youdu and 5,000 from Donglin. Counties east of Youdu immediately reinforced Donglin, while those west of Youdu focused their efforts on supporting Youdu. The defending general, Liao Wenju, led 3,000 reinforcements to Donglin that same day.

The entire county of Fufang was silent; shops remained closed, and residents kept their doors tightly shut. County Prefect Bai Qingting, with the assistance of two centurions, patrolled the border, while scouts were dispatched fifty li away to investigate and relay messages.

Nine days later, Liao Wenju led 2,500 reinforcements back.

The half-horse that attacked Youdu City was completely wiped out.

When Donglin City fell, over a thousand soldiers stormed into the city, causing over ten thousand civilian casualties. On the day the reinforcements returned, there was no cheering, no celebration; the entire city's inhabitants stood on both sides of the streets, silently welcoming the returning defenders.

Ning Xiaoxi locked herself in her room for a whole day.

After coming out, she told her parents and brother that she was going out of town again and asked them not to worry. Ning Shi, Ming Luoying, and Ning Ziqing saw her off at the gate.

When I saw Liao Wenju again, I saw his arm in a sling around his neck and told him that I was going to leave the city again.

Liao Wenju looked at Ning Xiaoxi's still-childish face, wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

When Ning Xiaoxi appeared on the city wall, the guards looked at this lowly Celestial Master. They didn't know about the order that Celestial Masters were forbidden from participating in battle; all they knew was that this young Celestial Master had inadvertently appeared, bringing news of a partial siege. Catapults were gradually added to the city wall, and boulders and logs were added to the mountains on both sides. They were just ordinary soldiers; they could only raise their swords in salute.

He leaped off the city wall again, and the moment his feet touched the ground, he transformed into a shadow and rushed northward. Before anyone could catch up, all that could be seen was a fleeting figure disappearing into the black icy plains.

Taking two steps towards the horde of Corrupted Thorn Demons, the swirling, putrid aura around her intensified. Souls continued to drift in from the border direction. Ning Xiaoxi turned and stood still.

Ning Xiaoxi looked at the endless stream of souls floating in, clasped her hands together, and when she opened them, a square spirit crystal ore the size of a brick lay in her palm.

"A gentle breeze arises!"

"A gentle breeze follows my will, and noble spirit sends my soul home; auspicious clouds accompany my soul as it rises, and auspicious light guides my soul to peace."

A gentle breeze stirred, breaking the silence of the black ice plains. The little silver dragon soared into the sky, winding and circling, dispersing the dark clouds. The mermaid's figure hovered beside Ning Xiaoxi, her mournful song ethereal and distant. The black bead guided the breeze, carrying the souls into the wind, slowly rising.

The pink snowflakes fluttered gently, "Bang! Bang! Bang!" like fireworks exploding in the air. The melodious snowflakes drifted down from the sky, and the white snowflakes under the blue sky were also covered with a blue halo, like shooting stars falling, dazzling and brilliant.

The Spirit Crystal Heart rested on Ning Xiaoxi's chest, transforming into a suit of Spirit Crystal Armor that she wore, radiating a blue light to protect her from the cold.

The breeze grew stronger, drawing in the souls already attached to the Corrupted Thorn Demon, who were drawn away by the wind. One by one, humanoid wisps of mist struggled free from the demon's thorns, even tearing their bodies apart, their mutilated forms yearning to follow the breeze and return home!

The Corrupted Thorn Demon, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, concealed its aura, pulling at the souls and refusing to let them pass away, tearing apart and dissipating many humanoid mists.

Ning Xiaoxi swung her stick back and struck the Corrupted Thorn Demon's thorns.

With a "crack!" sound, the thorns snapped, and the broken branches fell onto the rotting earth.

More humanoid mists struggled out, merging into the gentle breeze, and finally disappearing into the blue sky and sea created by the little silver dragon.

The spirit crystal ore in her palm was now only the size of her hand. Ning Xiaoxi quickened her movements as she swung the stick. The stick that emerged from the spirit crystal heart still had a frosted texture and was not slippery.

Black Bead led Qingfeng to intercept all the living souls drifting from the border as much as possible.

The spirit crystal ore is being consumed even faster.

Finally, having captured all the living souls, Qingfeng broke free from the black bead and soared into the blue sky and sea.

The humanoid mist, which had just broken free from the Corrupted Thorn Demon, could not keep up with the gentle breeze, and refused to return, eventually dissipating beneath the dark clouds.

Ning Xiaoxi narrowed her eyes as she looked at the swarm of Corrupted Thorn Demons, whose mist had thinned considerably. If this mission succeeded, she would burn all the Thorn Demons to ashes.

"We'll talk about it after you've investigated the situation. We can't burn it now."

Ning Xiaoxi glanced at Tianji, who had appeared beside her, and said, "How did you know I wanted to burn them?"

"I can tell from your expression."

"Just because you know this thing is raised and you don't care, we're not on the same page."

Tianji touched his nose. "I'm not human!"

“Those that broke free from the Corrupted Thorn Demon were all humanoid; there were no half-humans.”

"You mean they have no souls?" Tianji's attention was never on those half-baked things. "When I first discovered this Thorn Demon, I just ignored it and didn't pay attention to how it grew into this shape."

“The Thorn Demon we burned down before only had humanoid souls in the flames, not half-bodied ones.” Ning Xiaoxi’s voice was somewhat heavy. “The attacks of the half-bodied ones are very frequent, basically one attack every four or five years. No matter how you calculate it, it is impossible for the half-bodied ones to have so many, let alone gather so many every few years.”

"It's impossible that such an anomaly went unnoticed, but the scouts couldn't venture deep into the ice field, so they couldn't find out the root of the problem."

"Why not involve the Celestial Master?" Ning Xiaoxi had been wondering about this for the past few days.

Tianji smiled dismissively, "It's just a check and balance of power."

Ning Xiaoxi was taken aback. "The crisis hasn't been resolved yet, and they've already started fighting amongst themselves?"

"Even after living among humans for over a hundred years, I still don't understand human thought." Tianji's expression remained disdainful. "You can't imagine the inherent flaws of humanity; I've seen far too much of it over the years. I truly don't understand why this world insists on allowing humans to exist. When I was a mythical beast, humans and demons coexisted, and the world was prosperous. Why must humanity be the sole ruler?"

As Tianji spoke, he approached the thick fog surrounding the Corrupted Thorn Demon, and the passage reappeared.

Ning Xiaoxi followed Tianji into the passage.

This time, Tianji did not pass through directly. After entering the passage, his demonic energy surged and transformed into a whip that lashed out rapidly at the thorn bushes.

"what!"

"what!"

"what!"

A piercing scream rang out, and the corrosive mist, no longer trying to avoid it, rushed straight at the two of them.

The spirit crystal armor on Ning Xiaoxi's body rippled with azure light, preventing the mist from getting close.

Tianji completely ignored the corrosive mist. His demonic whip nimbly lashed out at the mist, and with a series of crackling sounds, the mist was drawn away.

The mist stopped condensing and instead enveloped the thorns, growing wildly before pricking or whipping at the two of them.