"What Painted Skin Demon? We are Tracking the Blood Demon. The Blood Demon's aura is right inside this room, which is why we came in."
"I see... Then how can you be sure it's the Blood Demon?"
"That's simple."
Chen Luo immediately brought out an archaic Compass. He bit his finger and squeezed a drop of fresh blood onto it.
The Compass absorbed the blood.
HUM.
The Compass emitted a brilliant light. Within the radiance, a faint bloody hue pointed toward the room.
Chen Luo stepped back inside. Instantly, a massive bloody phantom materialized within the Compass.
"Look, the Blood Demon definitely came here, and it stayed in this room for quite a while," Chen Luo said, pointing at the bloody phantom.
"Could it be that the entire Lei Residence was murdered by the Blood Demon?" Lei Yu frowned. "Young Master Ji, didn't you say the Painted Skin Demon killed everyone here?"
HUM.
Before Ji Qing could answer, the Compass in Chen Luo's hands burst into brilliant light once again. This time, a blurry phantom appeared right next to the bloody one. Chen Luo was deeply startled by the sight.
"Huh? There's a second phantom. That means a second Demon Monster was likely in this room. Could it be this Painted Skin Demon you mentioned?"
A sharp glint flashed through Ji Qing's eyes. He asked in a deep voice, "Chen Luo, you are a Demon Exterminator. Are you telling me you don't know what a Painted Skin Demon is?"
"My Chen Family has been a lineage of Demon Exterminators for generations. There isn't a single Demon Monster in the world that my Chen Family doesn't know about. However, my skills are lacking, and I don't know much about many Demon Monsters. Can you be absolutely certain it's called a Painted Skin Demon?"
"I am certain!" Ji Qing's tone was ironclad.
It was verified by the Demon Monster Record. How could he not be certain?
"Fortunately, I brought the Demon Identification Manual with me. Give me a moment to look it up."
Chen Luo immediately pulled out a mysterious ancient tome from his bundle. The four large characters for "Demon Identification Manual" were written on its cover. He opened the manual and carefully checked it page by page.
Lei Yu and Ji Qing exchanged a glance, both unable to help but shake their heads. They could tell that Chen Luo truly had zero experience in the Martial World. He was an absolute greenhorn.
"Found it!" Chen Luo's face lit up with excitement. He read aloud, "Painted Skin Demon. Excels at Concealment of its aura. Capable of peeling human skin to create clones. Cunning by nature, its true body rarely appears in the world."
"Even you Demon Exterminators can't find its true body?" Ji Qing's heart sank.
Chen Luo scratched the back of his head and smiled bitterly. "Most of the Demon Monsters in the Demon Identification Manual have been exterminated or Sealed by my Chen Family at some point. There are only a very small number that leave us helpless, and the Painted Skin Demon is one of them.
"However, while its true body is very hard to locate, its clones are highly active in the world. Besides, the clones of the Painted Skin Demon generally don't have much strength. If we run into one, it shouldn't be too hard to deal with."
Ji Qing fell silent. He understood the Painted Skin Demon even better than Chen Luo, an actual Demon Exterminator.
"It's not that the clones are inherently weak. Rather, a clone's strength depends entirely on how powerful the victim was while alive. The stronger they were in life, the stronger they become as a Painted Skin Demon clone!" Ji Qing explained.
"Hero, you aren't a Demon Exterminator, yet you know the Painted Skin Demon so intimately. Could you have crossed paths with one before?" Chen Luo asked.
"Crossed paths? It's far more than that! Young Master Ji's entire family, as well as the whole Lei Residence, were slaughtered by the Painted Skin Demon! I don't care if it's a clone or its true body, I will see it dead!" Lei Yu said, her voice dripping with murderous intent. She then demanded, "Chen Luo, can you find the Painted Skin Demon?"
"Well... we can find it. With just a wisp of Demon Monster aura, a Demon Exterminator can Track it. But our main goal for this trip is hunting down the Blood Demon," Chen Luo explained. "This Blood Demon is highly unusual and incredibly dangerous. Your average Martial Artist of the Martial World is absolutely no match for it. Once the Blood Demon emerges, it will pose a true threat to the entire world."
Lei Yu was about to fly into a rage. They had finally found a trace of the Painted Skin Demon—Chen Luo had to Track it whether he wanted to or not!
However, Ji Qing gave her a slight shake of his head and said, "Brother Chen, since the auras of both the Blood Demon and the Painted Skin Demon appeared in the Lei Residence, that means the two of them must be together. For two Demon Monsters to join forces, they are most likely plotting something sinister. If you Track the Blood Demon now, we'll tag along. We might just find the Painted Skin Demon in the process!"
"Huh? That's actually a good idea... However, the Blood Demon is far too perilous. Even though you folks of the Martial World possess formidable Martial Arts, it's still way too dangerous to face the Blood Demon..." Chen Luo meant well. He was simply afraid that once they caught up to the Blood Demon, it would cost Ji Qing and Miss Lei their lives.
"Chen, you haven't forgotten who was just beaten until they were coughing up blood all over the floor, have you?"
"This..."
Chen Luo was indeed somewhat embarrassed. He stole another glance at Miss Lei, feeling quite conflicted. Even though he was green, he was still considered one of the most outstanding talents among the younger generation of his Demon Exterminator family. When he sneaked out for this Tracking mission, he genuinely believed his Martial Arts and Magic were both highly formidable. Yet, the very first opponent he encountered turned out to be Miss Lei, and even combining his Martial Arts and Magic, he wasn't her match. It was utterly humiliating.
"Miss Lei... Brother Ji, it's not that I'm looking down on your abilities. Among the people of the Martial World, your strength is certainly impressive. But against the Blood Demon, you won't stand a chance. The Blood Demon fears no ordinary blades or weapons. It has boundless strength, shifts its forms constantly, and is virtually immortal. Only the Magic of us Demon Exterminators can injure the Blood Demon," Chen Luo explained.
"Demon Exterminator's Magic?" Ji Qing's mind stirred. "Could you perhaps teach us? Even if it's just the simplest, smallest spell, mastering it would allow us to lend you a hand!"
"Right, right, just teach us some Magic." Although Lei Yu's words implied Chen Luo's strength was mediocre, she was actually quite interested in his Demon Exterminator's Magic.
"Magic..." Chen Luo shook his head. "Even if I teach you my Magic, you wouldn't be able to learn it. The Magic of a Demon Exterminator can only be cast using our own blood. Every time we cast a spell, we use our own blood as the medium.
"Without the bloodline of a Demon Exterminator, it's practically impossible to cast any Magic. Though, occasionally, there are a few wanderers who might possess the bloodline, but the chances of that are extremely slim.
"If you two don't believe me, please take a look at my and my sister's blood."
Chen Luo and Chen Lin each flicked out a drop of fresh blood.
"This blood... has a hint of cyan in it?" Ji Qing and Lei Yu exchanged a glance, both feeling astonished.
"That's right, this is the bloodline of a Demon Exterminator! Truth be told, not every child born in our clan inherently possesses the bloodline. Most are simply incapable of manifesting it.
"You two can also examine your own blood. It doesn't just have to be cyan; as long as it carries a hint of an unusual color, there is a high probability that it's the bloodline of a Demon Exterminator!"
Prompted by this, Ji Qing and Lei Yu both squeezed out a drop of their own blood.
Lei Yu's blood was completely normal. It was a standard blood-red with nothing special about it.
Ji Qing's blood, however, seemed a little different.
"Your blood... why is there a trace of black mixed into it?" Lei Yu stared intently at Ji Qing's blood, her eyes slowly widening.