Distorted World

Tao Worm

Proficient in herbalism, she was all too familiar with healing others' scars. Luo Shuichan's hands moved without pause as she molded a lump of clay into simple human figures. After crafting about seven or eight of them, she poured out a large piece of a demon's soul from her spirit-restoring pouch.

The soul, wreathed in malice, angrily bounced on the ground. With a snap of her left fingers, Shuichan made the soul fall powerless to the ground, clasped her hands together, and conjured a purification spell. "Behave yourself." She pointed two fingers at the soul, and the malevolence dissipated.

The purified soul transformed into a silent, white flame. Picking up the soul, she divided it into small pieces and infused each clay figure. Instantly, the clay figures came to life. As she prepared to imbue the second figure, the first animated one looked at itself, then at Shuichan, silently mouthing words while spreading its arms as if to flap wings.

"I see, you want wings?" Shuichan smiled, gently brushing her left hand over the figure. In an instant, it sprouted translucent wings like those of a cicada, dotted with glowing specks. The clay figure excitedly flew around Shuichan in gratitude, then pointed towards its still-lifeless "siblings," gesturing for wings for each.

Shuichan nodded with understanding and soon, seven or eight clay insects were flying around her. A few of them gathered in a circle, seemingly conspiring before half of them flew off and disappeared.

The method of creating these clay insects was actually a simplified version of how she herself had been resurrected. The demon that had revived her had long since passed away. Shuichan sat down to rest against a large rock, her black hair cascading freely. Just as drowsiness began to overtake her, the buzzing of wings filled her ears.

Several clay insects carried herbs in their mouths, circling her.

"Fangshu, Platycodon, Mangcao—these are for detoxification and purification. Thank you for your efforts; just put them in the bag, they'll be useful later." She smiled.

The insects shook their heads and continued to circle her.

"You brought these for me?" The insects nodded eagerly.

Shuichan was momentarily speechless, standing up to carefully collect and store the herbs. She raised her palm, gathering the clay insects into her hand.

"Your souls come from the venomous scorpion demon I captured. See, even among demons, there is goodness." Lost in thought, she mused silently about the kindness of demons...

Far-off demon, after all these years, are you well?

She instructed the clay insects to rest in the grass and performed a couple of spells to grind some of the herbs into a wooden bowl.

Slowly unfastening her clothes, she revealed a horrific scar across her left shoulder, suffused with poison and only temporarily bandaged tightly. The wound was deep and at risk of spreading.

This was why the clay insects had gathered the herbs—they sensed the hidden injury on their master.

"I am but a mortal who has died once, a mere skeleton, how could I seek eternal companionship?"

Under the moonlight, she applied the herbs bit by bit to the wound, knowing it was merely a drop in the bucket.

If everything went as planned, she would have the fortune to reach Ai Luo Mountain, where her fate would lead her to fight until death in what was known as the capital of demons. So be it, so be it, everyone had their own destiny. Far-off demon, may a quirky girl accompany you always, sparing you loneliness, rather than someone like me, a fugitive at the end of her road.

Numb to the pain from the wound, her consciousness grew hazy as she drifted into sleep.

In her dream, she recalled her father mentioning methods of purifying demons. It wasn't about individually and tediously purifying each demon but mastering a more pure and powerful energy that didn't require painstaking removal but instead inspired demons across mountains and fields to willingly reform and turn towards the light.

"There's an old saying: 'The highest form of warfare is to attack without fighting,'" her father had told her. But demon hunting was about eliminating threats posed by malicious demons, so how could there be talk of "reformation"? Shuichan couldn't understand.

The scene shifted, and she found herself bathed in warm, bright white light. Reaching out, she realized she was slowly taking hold of Mingxuan's hand, whose gentle smile was as beautiful as jade, nearly bringing tears to her eyes.

That hand morphed into the long legs of a spider demon, the sharp claws of a rat demon, the writhing tentacles of an insect demon, and the long tongue of a snake demon... myriad forms in a single thought.

With a "whoosh," a long sword pierced through the clouds, slaying an insect demon beneath an oak tree.

Sensing demonic energy, she immediately drew her bow and released an arrow—an action ingrained in her muscles through rigorous training, even in her dreams.

Standing up, dusting herself off, and securing her bow and tying her hair back, she said, "Little clay insects, stay close, we're moving out."