In the courtyard, two samurai in hemp clothes kneeled on the ground. Eyes screwed shut, lips twitching, fingers fumbling around. They unleashed frantic groans.

  Stirling moved ahead, cutting each one down with a single strike. Next, he finished them with a slash to the neck.

  The men offered no resistance. They jiggled on the ground like a fish out of water as the blade cut through their throats.

  "They're nothing more than samurai at the Skin-Resurfacing stage, as expected."

  Stirling frowned a tad, recalling the unmoved feeling of the blade piercing flesh. He had only been in this bloody world for a few months; how could he kill two people without a single flinch?

  Shaking his head, Stirling then looked towards the side room ahead.

  Pausing for a moment, Stirling bent down and ripped a piece of cloth from a fallen samurai. He covered his mouth and nose. Then, with some effort, he lifted the burly man, who weighed over two hundred pounds. With measured steps, he walked to the side room.

  Stirling, carrying the burly man's body, reached the door of the side room. With a powerful kick of his right leg, he twisted his waist. It was like a python wrapping around a tree. His spine pushed his right arm forward, sending the man flying several meters. He crashed into the wooden door of the side room.

  A muffled thud accompanied the sound of the wooden door shattering and hitting the ground. The corpse had smashed the entire door open, revealing the scene inside the room.

  Three or four women were strapped inside the room. Their faces blank, staring ahead with vacant expressions. Even the sound of the door breaking didn't faze them, as if they were under some kind of trance.

  Stirling's eyes widened. He hadn't expected to find multiple women bound and gagged in the side room.

  He stood outside the door for over ten seconds. Not seeing any poisonous smoke or flying arrows, he narrowed his eyes and strode into the room.

  The moment he stepped into the room, he sensed something was wrong.

  A familiar aura filled the room. He turned to look at the women bound, his brow furrowing.

  Stirling felt confused by the rich malice in the room, but he did not hesitate. He activated the Malice-Refining Technique. The malice changed into pure Aether streams within him, flowing out toward his skin.

  Stirling refined malice in a steady stream. It hit him that his skin barrier was weakening. It was coming apart twice as fast as when he refined Yearning Malice the night before. He was secretly delighted, thinking that this trip had indeed been worthwhile.

  Meanwhile, Stirling's hands weren't idle either. He held his blade parallel to his chest and carefully examined the room.

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  The back mansion was quite large, with two side rooms on either side.

  Stirling used his blade to push open the wooden door on the left-hand-side room. He saw several women lying on the bed. Their faces were blank. The gaps in the blankets showed they were naked.

  The senses grew stronger. Then Stirling walked around the room and focused on the floor tiles at the far end.

  The reason was simple: this area had the highest concentration of malice. As Stirling stood there, the Asther within him flowed much faster.

  Stirling paused to think. He then shoved his blade into a crack in the floor tile and kicked it with a flick, sending the tile flying.

  A square hole appeared below, containing a yellow cloth.

  The yellow cloth was wrapped up in a ball, bulging with something inside. But Stirling was certain that what he was looking for was inside this yellow cloth! Just as Stirling was about to reach out, he abruptly became alert. He hurried to withdraw his right hand, feigning helplessness as he stood still.

  The next moment, a figure descended from the sky, landing steadily in front of the room's door. She wore a green dress; it was Lilith, who had returned.

  Lilith's breathing was rather disordered, and the two round shapes on her chest moved up and down. This magnificent sight caught Stirling's eye, making him take a second glance.

  Upon landing, Lilith first looked at the women tied. Then, she turned to the pit beneath Stirling's feet.

  "My lady, have the thieves been apprehended?"

  Stirling tried to divert her attention.

  "Don't mention it! That guy ran away so fast; it was quite annoying!"

  Lilith said irritably, then looked at Stirling.

  "There is outer malice here, but not Pathos's malice. It looks like we have come to the wrong place."

  "Not Pathos's Malice?"

  Stirling asked, feigning surprise.

  "This is the Seven Extreme Shrine malice. It uses the seven kinds of emotions and six kinds of desires as a catalyst. These women have had their emotions devoured, becoming emotionless living dead."

  Lilith spoke as she ambled into the room.

  "Living dead? But what do these samurai aim to achieve with the Seven Extreme malice to make the living dead?" Stirling asked curiously.

  "You... I don't believe you didn't guess."

  Lilith rolled her eyes at Stirling. She walked close, lifted a woman's chin, and clicked her tongue in approval.

  "Not bad-looking, just a bit thin. She should fetch a good price."

  Stirling found no words to respond.

  "You samurai think of yourselves as the righteous path, yet you see our worship of gods as demonic."

  "Don't you know that in our eyes, you are even more despicable and disgusting?"

  Stirling couldn't help but mutter:

  "But it is not proper to sacrifice villagers."

  "Sacrifice villagers?" Lilith glanced at Stirling, then shook her head and said:

  "We are pursuing the path to immortality, not draining the pond to catch all the fish. The samurai of the central kingdom call us demons who raise humans as livestock. Little do they know: if sacrifices could boost them, they might exterminate all!"

  Stirling stood in silence. While he found Lilith's arguments to be twisted, they weren't entirely without reason.

  Human nature's dark aspect is the world's most profound abyss.

  "Alright, I've already notified the Night Watch to take over this place. Let's go." Lilith clearly wanted to leave.

  "My lady, no need to rush to hand over this evidence. Taking it back might be useful."

  Stirling said.

  "Hmm?"

  Lilith frowned. She was already quite annoyed at Stirling's interrupting her several times today.

  "It's like this, my lady. Before we came, we were not sure if it was the Pathos malice."

  "Since we didn't know, no one else knows either. Why not take it back? If someone comes to investigate tonight because of this, wouldn't that..."

  Stirling clapped his hands, a knowing look appearing on his face.

  Lilith was stunned at first; then her expression became more and more interesting.

  "You're a genius at manipulating people's minds!"

  Lilith said, licking her lips in a buzz. Stirling watched Lilith's tiny pink tongue. It stirred a deep itch in his heart, like a cat scratching inside. But he couldn't look any longer. He turned his head straight away, pretending to focus on the corpse outside the door that had just died.