In truth, Ji Qing had recognized the Painted Skin Demon the moment he stepped into the courtyard. He was far too familiar with it. He was so familiar that a mere trace of its scent was enough for him to know that Mrs. Lei of the Qian Clan was one of its clones.
The Painted Skin Demon's gaze fell upon Ji Qing, a hint of coldness flashing in its eyes. "Ji Qing, I didn't expect you to grow this much in such a short time. Even the Blood Demon fell by your hands.
"I originally wanted to trick the Blood Demon into dealing with you, but I didn't expect that idiot to be so useless. To think it was resealed so quickly."
Hearing this, realization dawned upon Ji Qing. No wonder the Painted Skin Demon had mixed itself up with the Blood Demon. So, it wanted the Blood Demon to deal with him? If it hadn't been for Chen Luo and his sister, Ji Qing would have undoubtedly died facing the Blood Demon alone! For a moment, his killing intent surged even higher.
But the Painted Skin Demon was sinister and cunning. Mrs. Lei of the Qian Clan was merely one of its clones, and no one knew where its true body was hiding.
"Painted Skin Demon, were you the one who slaughtered everyone in the Lei Residence?" Lei Yu suddenly asked from the side, unable to hold back any longer.
"The Lei Residence? Oh, it seems a fish slipped through the net. Tsk, tsk, tsk... That physical body of yours is quite nice. If I could peel off your skin and refine you into a clone..."
"You're courting death!" Lei Yu instantly flew into a violent rage.
Her massive frame charged right in front of Mrs. Lei of the Qian Clan. She grabbed her by the neck and forcefully lifted her off the ground.
The Painted Skin Demon's face instantly turned a deep shade of red, on the verge of suffocating to death.
"Miss Lei, leave her to me."
Ji Qing's words helped Lei Yu calm down slightly. She threw Mrs. Lei of the Qian Clan directly in front of him.
The Painted Skin Demon didn't care in the slightest. Instead, it glared venomously at Ji Qing and sneered. "Ji Qing, you've ruined several of my clones. I'll remember this grudge!"
"Oh? It seems clones aren't infinite for you either. Whenever you lose a physical body, you suffer a certain degree of damage yourself." Ji Qing managed to glean some information from the Painted Skin Demon's words.
"So what? You'll never find my true body, so what does it matter if I lose more clones?
"Besides, I'm going to give you a 'grand gift' this time. Hahaha..." The Painted Skin Demon burst into loud laughter.
SHING.
Ji Qing drew his saber. With a single slash, the Painted Skin Demon's head fell to the ground. The smile on its face froze instantly.
"Killed a Painted Skin Demon clone. Gained one Source Point."
Ji Qing had gained a Source Point, but he couldn't bring himself to be happy, because the "grand gift" the Painted Skin Demon mentioned had already arrived!
The group abruptly turned around, only to see ordinary commoners outside the courtyard. Right now, all of them had ferocious expressions and bloodshot eyes as they charged toward Ji Qing and the others.
"What's going on? Clan Head, what happened to you?" Lei Yu saw many familiar faces among the crowd. Evidently, these were all villagers from the Lei Family Fort.
"They've all been controlled by the Painted Skin Demon. They've become its clones," Chen Luo said in a deep voice.
"Clones? How could there be so many clones?" Lei Yu's eyes widened.
The outside was densely packed with villagers from the Lei Family Fort. Had they all become Painted Skin Demon clones? The group slowly backed away. They wanted to flee, but red-eyed villagers surrounded them in all directions. There was nowhere to hide.
SWISH.
Ji Qing drew his saber and struck down a villager.
"You killed a Skin Puppet."
"Skin Puppet?" Ji Qing focused his attention on the Demon Monster Record. Sure enough, the page for the Painted Skin Demon had a new entry.
"Skin Puppet: A low-level puppet controlled by the Painted Skin Demon. Lacking sentience and entirely fearless of death. The Painted Skin Demon can control a large number of Skin Puppets, even forming a Skin Puppet army capable of overthrowing dynasties and bringing disaster to the mortal realm!"
Seeing the record in the Demon Monster Record, Ji Qing's heart sank.
"Bringing disaster to the mortal realm" wasn't just empty talk. To possess such an ability, the Painted Skin Demon could definitely be considered a Top Level Great Demon! Ji Qing now understood the Painted Skin Demon's abilities: peeling skin to refine clones, and forming an army of Skin Puppets. All these abilities were incredibly bizarre and powerful. Compared to the Painted Skin Demon, the Blood Demon was nothing at all.
As more and more Skin Puppets gathered outside, Ji Qing noticed that Lei Yu, Chen Luo, and the others couldn't bring themselves to strike. After all, these were ordinary villagers of the Lei Family Fort.
Ji Qing spoke up, "They're all the Painted Skin Demon's Skin Puppets. Once they become Skin Puppets, they lose their minds and fall entirely under the Painted Skin Demon's control. They can even form an army of Skin Puppets... They might look alive, but they're basically already dead."
"What?" Lei Yu's eyes instantly reddened.
This was everyone in the entire Lei Family Fort. Had they all actually become Skin Puppets? It was the equivalent of being completely wiped out by the Painted Skin Demon single-handedly. The Painted Skin Demon hadn't just slaughtered the entire Lei Residence; it had wiped out the entire Lei Family Fort!
"Painted Skin Demon, get the hell out here!" Lei Yu instantly flew into a violent rage and charged right out of the courtyard. Any Skin Puppet that stood in her way was blown apart by her strikes.
"Skin Puppets... This kind of ability is a genuine menace to the world! No wonder the Demon Identification Manual ranks the Painted Skin Demon as a Top Level Great Demon. A single Painted Skin Demon can endanger the entire mortal realm..." Chen Luo muttered under his breath.
He hadn't cared much about the Painted Skin Demon at first. He thought it was just a Little Monster, and that even if it had the ability to make clones, it wasn't a big deal. But the "Skin Puppet" ability was far too terrifying. It could even form a Skin Puppet army. That changed everything. The threat level of the Painted Skin Demon instantly surpassed that of the Blood Demon, making it one of the most terrifying Demon Monsters in the world!
However, the calmest among them was Ji Qing.
SWOOSH.
Ji Qing made his move.
These people had all become Skin Puppets, puppets controlled by the Painted Skin Demon. Naturally, Ji Qing wasn't going to hold back, nor would he treat them as ordinary villagers anymore. Thus, utilizing Cao Shangfei, he weaved his way through the Skin Puppets. With every slash of his saber, several Skin Puppets fell dead.
The terrifying aspect of Skin Puppets was their sheer numbers. Yet, Ji Qing showed no mercy. For over a Two-hour, Ji Qing did nothing but slaughter.
Finally, rivers of blood flowed through the entire Lei Family Fort. Standing in a pool of blood, Ji Qing couldn't see a single Skin Puppet left standing. All the Skin Puppets in the Lei Family Fort were dead. That was hundreds of Skin Puppets—the equivalent of hundreds of people—almost entirely butchered by Ji Qing and his saber alone.
At this moment, whether it was Lei Yu or Chen Luo and his sister, looking at Ji Qing's figure sent shivers down their spines.
What was a Butcher?
This was!
But what about Ji Qing? He seemed to feel nothing at all. He even crouched down to wipe his saber clean on the clothes of a corpse.
CLICK.
Ji Qing sheathed his saber.
"There are no more Skin Puppets," Ji Qing said flatly.
Lei Yu and the Chen siblings exchanged a glance. Of course there were no more Skin Puppets. Ji Qing had gotten so caught up in the slaughter that he had even butchered the dogs in the Lei Family Fort. How could there be any survivors left?
Lei Yu even felt that Ji Qing's rank as eighth on the Evil People List was truly well-deserved; he hadn't been wronged in the slightest. If this "battle record" were to spread throughout the Martial World, Ji Qing's ranking on the Evil People List might just move up another spot or two.
"Chen Luo, do Demon Exterminator families have any way to find the Painted Skin Demon's true body?" Ji Qing suddenly asked.