The Mingchan Clan

Chen Zhou held Earth Cicada by the leg, dangling him in mid-air as he shook like a sieve.

Only one thought filled his mind.

It was over.

His grandfather had told him that the Plague God, Jing Hui, had slaughtered the entire Mingchan Clan back then, killing every single one he found.

He had hidden underground for eight hundred years, never daring to show his face, just to avoid this Plague God.

In the end, he was still found.

Ancestors protect him, let his death be quick!

Earth Cicada closed his eyes in despair.

Then he felt something being shoved into his mouth.

He opened his eyes and looked down to see a red and white pill that stank to high heaven, yet emitted a dense blood energy.

Earth Cicada chewed instinctively.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, and a warm torrent surged through his body, giving him an urge to emerge.

Earth Cicada shuddered.

Why did it feel like his cultivation had increased slightly? What kind of miraculous thing was this?

Around the stone forest, the small demons were collectively petrified.

Another pill!

He had just rewarded Scorpion Demon with a fourth-stage one, and now he was giving Earth Cicada another.

And this one... the stench was even worse than Scorpion Demon's, and the blood energy was even denser!

"If it is more powerful than the fourth-stage, is it a fifth-stage?" a discerning small demon shrieked.

"My god, what is the Lord's background? He can just hand out fifth-stage treasures like that?"

"I am so jealous, I want one too!"

Scorpion Demon's eyes turned red, and drool pooled at the corners of his mouth.

The fourth-stage pill from earlier had already made him incredibly excited.

Now this old fellow Earth Cicada had done nothing and yet he got to eat a fifth-stage one!

How was that fair!

But he did not dare say a word.

It was the Lord's property, and the Lord could give it to whomever he pleased.

He only stared at Earth Cicada with a resentful look, his eyes full of envy.

Earth Cicada snapped back to his senses, realizing he was still being held by the leg.

He struggled a bit and said cautiously, "Um... Lord... could you put me down first?"

Chen Zhou tossed him onto the ground.

Earth Cicada stood firm and smacked his lips, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

"Lord, this pill... is there any more?"

Chen Zhou looked at him with a smile, saying nothing.

In fact, Chen Zhou had noticed the moment they met that this old demon's blood energy was deficient.

An old demon who had lived for eight hundred years and was still in the form of a nymph was a typical case of insufficient flesh and blood energy.

From this, it was clear that the living standards for small demons in Tianchi Province were very poor, and even the old ones were not doing well.

Earth Cicada laughed sheepishly. "I was just asking, just asking..."

He suddenly remembered something and looked at Jing Hui again.

Jing Hui stood not far away, looking at him silently.

Earth Cicada's body stiffened, and he instinctively took a step back, letting Chen Zhou's robes completely cover him.

"Um... Lord..." he whispered to Chen Zhou, "Why are you with the Plague God? That is Jing Hui! The one who slaughtered half of Tianchi Province a thousand years ago!"

Chen Zhou raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

Earth Cicada nodded frantically, then felt that was not right and quickly shook his head.

"I do not know him, how could I know such a great fiend! But I know of him, my grandfather told me!"

"A thousand years ago, he slaughtered the Royal Capital and the settlements of every clan, killing countless people!"

"My grandfather said that at that time, Tianchi Province was covered in corpses. My grandfather was still young then and only survived by hiding in a pile of corpses and playing dead."

"Before my grandfather died, he instructed me to hide well, not to emerge, and never to be found."

Plague Rat's face darkened, and he strode over, giving Earth Cicada two sharp punches.

"So, all these years, the rumors about Jing Hui in the Earth Dissolving Cave were spread by you?"

Earth Cicada was beaten into a frantic scramble, his six legs kicking wildly.

"I am telling the truth! It is absolutely true, not a single word is false!"

Plague Rat glared at him. "And where did your grandfather hear these rumors from?"

Earth Cicada stammered, "They are not rumors, they were my grandfather's personal experiences... My grandfather was... part of the Mingchan Clan..."

"He said that what Jing Hui hated most was the Mingchan Clan. Because the Mingchan can perform divination and foretell the future, the moment Jing Hui found out, he slaughtered the entire Mingchan Clan first."

Plague Rat's expression was unfriendly. "Your grandfather told you himself that you must not be found by Jing Hui because he hates your Mingchan Clan the most?"

Earth Cicada trembled, looking like he was about to cry. "Not exactly. Grandfather only said I must not be found, he did not say by whom."

"But in this hellish place that is Tianchi Province, who else could it be besides Jing Hui..."

The terrifying reputation of the True Lord of Purity and Filth was indeed enough to stop a child's night crying in Tianchi Province during those early years.

After hearing this, Plague Rat felt his fists hardening again.

But Jing Hui's expression became very complex.

The Mingchan Clan.

Duke Wu's tribe.

Duke Wu himself was a transformed Mingchan, so his clansmen were naturally Mingchan as well.

This unique race could deliver a divine oracle through their chirping and divine good or bad fortune.

He looked at Earth Cicada, looking at that face that bore some resemblance to Duke Wu, and suddenly remembered the events of a thousand years ago.

Back then, Duke Wu was still around, and the Mingchan Clan still existed.

Jing Hui remembered that every time he went out to cleanse filth, Duke Wu would have the youths of his clan accompany the army.

Those tiny Mingchan would vibrate their wings, emitting crisp chirps, and then tell him the fortune of the soldiers' journey.

He never fully believed them, but he never disregarded them either.

During the Golden Buddha trial, a small Mingchan divined a great calamity.

Duke Wu originally wanted the soldiers to withdraw, but he insisted on taking the army anyway.

The descent of the Golden Buddha was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; it was the last hope for Tianchi Province, and he could not afford to miss it.

In the end, he successfully defeated the other contenders and obtained the Golden Buddha.

But that small Mingchan later died in the trial, absorbed by a bone pillar.

He could not even collect its remains.

The Mingchan were not a race that enjoyed fighting, but Duke Wu said that the small Mingchan went quickly without pain. To be able to die for him and for the cleansing of Tianchi Province was its glory.

Jing Hui knew Duke Wu was lying to him.

How could there be no pain when being absorbed by a bone pillar?

At that time, he thought that when Tianchi Province regained its vitality and peace returned to the world, he would surely compensate the Mingchan Clan well.

He would give them the best fiefs and the most resources, so they would never have to go to the battlefield again.

Then he would personally visit the Mingchan Clan's settlement and offer a stick of incense for every Mingchan who died in battle.

He would tell them that their sacrifice was not in vain.

Tianchi Province would get better.

But what happened later?

Later, he went mad.

The Golden Buddha took root and sprouted within him, and an addiction to purity eroded his sanity.

He killed them all.

Jing Hui took a deep breath, walked over, bowed deeply, and offered a formal salute to Earth Cicada.

"This old man has wronged your Mingchan Clan."

Earth Cicada jumped back in fright, nearly falling over.

"You you you... what are you doing?!"

Jing Hui continued, "You just said that I slaughtered the entire Mingchan Clan."

"It is true."

"A thousand years ago, after I fell into madness, I did indeed kill many, many people."

Earth Cicada froze. He never expected that this legendary Plague God would admit to it so readily.