The three Dark Night Elves also noticed Xiu Nuo, speaking in an incomprehensible language, babbling something.
Although he didn't understand them, Xiu Nuo could tell they were threatening him.
Clearly, they were displeased with Xiu Nuo for not only refusing to turn his head away but daring to look at them.
Xiu Nuo then asked the girl, "Do you hate them?"
Seeing that Xiu Nuo responded, the girl quickly yelled, "Hurry and help me!"
"I asked, do you hate them?"
The girl saw that Xiu Nuo dared to ask and immediately grew anxious, "Stop talking nonsense! Can you just come and save me?"
The righteous indignation displayed by the girl left Xiu Nuo, a Demon Cultivator, somewhat confused for a moment.
However, Xiu Nuo needed hostility and resentful energy, the power of Divine Souls. Although the Power of Flesh could also restore the Ghostly Vicious Energy, only the Sword Spirit remained of it now, with the spirit body incomplete; refining the body was only forcing its growth.
If it were a matter of life and death, Xiu Nuo would naturally choose the Power of Flesh, but the situation was clearly not like that.
He had led similar inductions many times before, the most drastic one causing a night parade of a hundred demons under the six Immortal Sects in a city, which substantially increased his spiritual cultivation.
But Xiu Nuo swore, this was the first time he had encountered a woman with such a reaction.
Could this woman possibly have hysteria?
Forget it, what's the use of being picky now?
Xiu Nuo composed himself and then asked, "I can help you kill them, but are you ready to give up everything?"
A Black Elf was already walking towards Xiu Nuo.
The girl, upon hearing Xiu Nuo's mention of giving up everything, fell silent as if deep in thought.
Good, hate them! Let resentful energy fill your soul!
However, the girl's next words completely threw Xiu Nuo off.
Seeing the girl stop struggling and instead accept her fate, she said, "This is the inevitable price of seeking freedom."
Xiu Nuo: "??????"
No, are you sick?
What kind of goddess has descended here!
The Black Elf had already reached Xiu Nuo and reached out to grab his face.
The prime prey turning into rotten meat had already infuriated Xiu Nuo, so he immediately grabbed the fellow's wrist and shook it violently downwards.
With a snap!
A scream suddenly came from the Black Elf's mouth.
Xiu Nuo stared at him and regardless of whether he understood, said, "Scram!"
Even without understanding the language, this Black Elf felt his liver tremble at that moment.
He staggered backward, and the remaining two Black Elves also met Xiu Nuo's gaze.
Those captivating eyes instantly triggered the fear deep in their hearts.
It was as if... prey had seen its predator.
The three things dared not even utter harsh words and turned to run.
Xiu Nuo figured it out, these were just a group of beings that even someone from the Demon Path like him looked down on.
Weak, cowardly, they did nothing but reach their demonic claws towards those even weaker than themselves. When facing someone stronger, they wouldn't even dare to resist, only sprawling on the ground begging for mercy.
If you lined them up and killed them one by one, the last one wouldn't even have the courage to run.
Born slaves indeed.
The woman clearly did not expect things to turn out this way. It took her a long while to sit up, adjust her clothes, and then walk towards Xiu Nuo.
She saw something different in Xiu Nuo, her eyes shifted, and she had already decided to stay by this man's side, using him as a shield when danger arises.
The girl approached Xiu Nuo, squeezing her voice into a frail tone and said, "May I join you?"
Xiu Nuo glanced at her, disgust written all over his face as he responded, "You scram too."
He hated those without self-awareness the most. These types usually caused trouble that involved others.
Such causes and consequences, he certainly did not want.
The girl was clearly stunned, disbelief in her eyes.
This man really doesn't want a face offered to him!
And Xiu Nuo, noticing the change in the woman, was also shocked beyond measure.
Resentful energy! He actually saw resentful energy in this girl! Did my single remark really increase the resentful energy in her to an extent visible even in his current state?
No, sister, where did this resentful energy come from?
Towards me???
The girl took a deep breath, as if making a significant decision, and said, "I won't let you help me for nothing. If we get to America, I will pay you."
Xiu Nuo replied, "I told you to scram, didn't you hear me?"
The girl's eyes instantly filled with venomous resentment as she gave Xiu Nuo a deep look before turning around and walking away.
It surged! It surged!
That woman's resentful energy was directed squarely at him.
No, you were almost violated just now and didn't have this sky-high resentful energy, were you? I'm the one who saved you, after all.
In that moment, Xiu Nuo, as a Demon Cultivator, suspected that the other party was actually a disciple of the Demon Sect!
However...
Having resentful energy is a good thing! Better if there's even more!
Moreover, Xiu Nuo noticed that the recent commotion had drawn many people's gaze towards himself, their looks filled with goodwill but also a touch of... awe.
Indeed, no matter where, pretending to be a 'good person' with some abilities always garners quite a bit of goodwill.
As for the troubles genuine good people encounter, what does that have to do with Xiu Nuo?
I'm pretending, you didn't really think I was genuine, did you?
If you really think that...
That's just great!
Once no one was paying attention to him, Xiu Nuo's hand conjured a shattered sword shadow, which then sliced his finger.
Xiu Nuo flicked his finger, and a drop of fresh blood flew to the back of the woman's neck, quickly merging into her body.
Afterwards, Xiu Nuo began to meditate with closed eyes. As the night deepened, the woman's scream rang out again!
Xiu Nuo opened his eyes.
This time, two black ghosts looked at Xiu Nuo, but they didn't prattle on about anything. Instead, they watched him warily and were even ready to run at a moment's notice.
"Seeking freedom comes with its prices, doesn't it?" Xiu Nuo said to the woman, using the words she had said earlier. He then said to the two black ghosts, "Recklessness also comes with its prices. Consider yourselves forewarned."
After speaking, he did not care whether they understood or not and closed his eyes again.
The two black ghosts looked at each other, then understood the situation. Looking at the unresisting woman, they continued with what they had initially intended to do.
Meanwhile, a strand of black blood was ready to burst within the woman's body.
..............
The next morning, the guide's voice woke everyone up.
Xiu Nuo slowly opened his eyes and then got up, as did everyone else, one by one.
However, some people got up, and some never would again.
Like that woman last night, and those two black ghosts.
The guide walked over and kicked the woman, then bent down to check and found her eyes tightly closed and her breath gone.
"Dead," the guide said while picking up the girl's backpack with a look of regret. He then said to everyone, "Alright, let's get moving, folks."
The group started their journey. Xiu Nuo saw some black-skinned women lagging behind; their staggering steps told of their ordeal during the night. Even though some fell behind, no one took care of them.
In Panama's Darien Gap, the tropical rainforest never lacked stragglers—nor corpses. The girl was not the only one who did not wake up.
According to the official announcements from Panama, this route sees at least a few hundred thousand people pass through each year, with documented deaths numbering around three thousand.
These include diseases, allergies, poisonings, falling off cliffs, drownings, robberies, shootings, and mass violent crimes, among others.
As for the sexual violence the previous night, the Panamanian government rescued 400 victims of sexual violence last year alone, most of them women, including some as young as teenagers.
Given the special nature of these cases, combined with the actual control of the Panamanian government and various forces within the Darien Gap, this number may only represent the tip of the iceberg.
It's worth noting that most of these victims are... predominantly women. Predominantly.
After a rough headcount, the guide walked past Xiu Nuo, remarking, "You're looking quite well. A few died last night, including a few thuggish black ghosts who died quietly, as if they were poisoned, but you, you seem fine, not to mention the boils on your body have gone down."
"Really?" Xiu Nuo responded with a smile, "Maybe I'm just lucky."
Xiu Nuo wiped the sweat from his forehead with a wave of his hand.
The droplets that hit the muddy yellow ground turned into black spots.
Within the Sea of Consciousness, the Ghostly Vicious Sword was enveloped in a thin layer of fog, atop which the face of the woman from the last night appeared, although it was gradually fading.
At the same time, a massive amount of blood energy appeared in the Sea of Consciousness, continuously being refined.
Xiu Nuo felt in his heart that the people of this world, even in their very essence blood, had so much impurity, didn't they?
If one were to attempt the path of ascension through the Power of Flesh, even he, a Demon Cultivator, doubted whether he'd be driven mad by the impure energy of these fleshes and bloods.
But still, there was that saying, at this point, what was there to choose? Regaining his strength was the most important. The few people from last night weren't even enough to help him break through one layer of Body Refining.
The woman's resentful energy from last night and the essence blood of those black ghosts had brought him one step closer to Body Refining.
Especially that woman's Divine Soul resentful energy—one of hers counted for ten of theirs!
But even now, Xiu Nuo could not understand why!