Surviving The Demon's Territory

Walking beside Xiao Nantian, Li Meng is uncharacteristically quiet, which is so unlike him.

Xiao Nantian being a quiet person doesn't know what to say to break the silence, so he also didn't say anything, accompanying Li Meng in his silence.

"What do you think is waiting for us out there". Li Meng suddenly voiced, his voice trembling slightly.

"I don't know, honestly, but we shall face it bravely". Xiao Nantian attempted to console him.

"How can you be so calm?". Li Meng questioned in a barely concealed awe.

Xiao Nantian shrugged before asking...

"Do you feel afraid?".

"No I have you by my side, I'm just worried that by the time I'm back my Grandfather won't be alive anymore". He spoke his tone neutral, no sadness detected.

Xiao Nantian wanted to comfort him, saying otherwise but he knows that what the young Childe said is likely to happen.

The patriarch of Li is slowly withering with age, so how long he will live is not guaranteed, so why say words that seem empty compared to the reality of the situation.

"I smell something, do you smell it?". Li Meng suddenly spoke up halting his steps.

"I don't smell anything but I think it's demonic aura that you are perceiving, we are very close to the Demon Territory". Xiao Nantian inferred pointing towards a path on their other side.

They both kept silent after that, trying not to attract the demons attention.

But luck seems to be very far from them, as they both heard some shuffling from a nearby bush, turning towards the direction of the noise, they both saw a demon lunging at them.

Caught off guard and not having enough room to prepare for an attack, Xiao Nantian could only block with his sword sheathed held in front of him as he shoved Li Meng away from the attack.

'It must be a Stray Demon, attacking so brashly during daylight". Thought Xiao Nantian, using the sheathed sword to knock the demon back five steps.

Which confirmed his conjecture, to be able to knock him backwards that much, he's definitely a stray but that's what makes them all the more terrifying, they hunt in groups, there will definitely be more of them coming soon which means he must finish this one quickly before they group here after noticing the demon's long absence from their midst.

He took a few steps back before unsheathing his sword.

Flames danced around him, the tip of his hair seems to have been engulfed in fire.

He used his right hand to hold the sword, his left hand holding the scabbard that seems to be an illusion of fire.

With a slash of the blazing sword, the demon let out a piercing scream, taking more steps backwards.

But there fight have attracted attention from fellow stray demons.

Xiao Nantian and Li Meng suddenly found themselves surrounded by a dozen or so demons whose orbs are bright flaming red, speaking volumes of their anger from having one of their kind assaulted.

The demons stared at the two before focusing all their attention on Xiao Nantian, deciding that he's their only threat since they couldn't detect any ripple of spiritual power from Li Meng.

Xiao Nantian took a deep breath before leaping into the air, doing a few forward flips landing in front of the demon he was attacking earlier, he raised his sword to bring it down on him but was blocked by a claw that made his arm vibrate as the sword was almost knocked out of his grip.

He took a step back, his arm still shaking, startled he stared at the opponent calmly but his internal organs rattled unsteadily.

He took a fighting stance, determined to take all of them down.

Li Meng watched in awe as Xiao Nantian fought bravely, his spiritual power brewing as he is convered in a flaming Qi.

In the midst of all the fierce and aggressive attacks, Xiao Nantian remained composed and calm, delivering attacks precisely and defending with ease, at least that's what the enemy thought but inside of him, Xiao Nantian is suffering greatly.

'This is just the first encounter and I'm already beaten this badly, who knows what more we are going to encounter on this Journey, will I still be able to return alive, am I capable of bringing back Li Meng in one piece'.

These thoughts couldn't leave his mind but before he could ponder further, he heard a piercing sound.

He turned around to see Li Meng with a flute placed delicately on his lips, his white cloth unstained, his long black hair swaying in the wind, his hand and mouth working in harmony with each other to produce an awful sound.

'He looks so otherworldly, only if the sound is any less awful'. Xiao Nantian shook his head in mock sadness.

Despite the fact that the sound is awful, it was enough to cause chaos in the minds of these demons.

Their attacks became uncoordinated, lacking speed and power, everyone of them except the one who attacked Xiao Nantian earlier is affected by Li Meng's awful playing.

When the later saw that there is a demon that is unaffected, he raised the sound by a note, causing them to bleat in all their olfactories.

Xiao Nantian placed his hands in his ears to block off the overly loud and awful sound.

Li Meng saw this and tugged at the hair ribbon holding his silky hair in a ponytail, he used a bit of spiritual power to hand it over to Xiao Nantian who immediately wrapped it around his eyes after catching a glimpse of Li Meng's appearance.

He stood there like some kind of Gods, his hair flowing freely with the wind, eyes shot tight in concentration, a white jade flute on his red lips, his plain white Hanfu complementing his pale skin and slim figure. The pure Qi flowing around him making it hard for any evil to evade the domain which he created from his music, though awful to the ear.