I am a living immortal.

Chapter 580 Demon Cave

After all, a spirit full of hope and good spirits was highly valuable, and the quality of the human pills they produced was much higher. The refugees were easily satisfied, and for the sake of the quality of the human pills, Su Qingtu was willing to use illusions to deceive these people, satisfying their inner desires and allowing them to die in pleasure.

The human elixir refined here is of superior quality.

The best materials were those with long lifespan and good spirits; these were the highest quality. Unfortunately, such materials were rare even in peacetime, let alone now. So he had to settle for the next best thing, which was of decent quality.

Moreover, for people who have suffered a lot, even a little hope can make them burst into infinite brilliance, which is a good thing for him.

The villagers warmly welcomed the refugees.

Three meals of porridge a day were provided, and after a little nurturing, they could be sent back into the mountains. The refugees were unaware and were just making up lies. Of course, we couldn't say it was a ghost or a god now, otherwise many people would still back out, which would be much more troublesome.

When the refugees asked about it, the villagers would smile and reply, "There's no such thing as ghosts or gods. We've just reclaimed some land in the mountains and forests, and we just need help."

"You know, the world is in chaos right now. How can we dare to plant crops openly? The crops will be eaten up before they're even ripe. There's no way we can stop them."

That's the truth. During the war, apart from the constant looting of food by those above them, there were no natural disasters. Why didn't people farm? First, the crops would be eaten. Second, it takes a long time for crops to mature in the fields, and often, before they reach maturity, they're eaten by the hungry.

These people have no sense of the bigger picture. They're simply starving, and there's a field of edible wheat right in front of them. So no matter how you try to drive them away or reason with them, it's useless. These are the scoundrels who only care about the present, and they won't let you off easy, even if they're beaten to death.

Yes, one is to fill the stomach, and the other is that I can’t stand seeing others do well.

Such people aren't exactly numerous, but they are nonetheless numerous. In a chaotic world where rituals and music have collapsed, the constraints of law have vanished. Human nature is inherently evil; don't challenge it. If others fare poorly, you'll become a target of public criticism if you fare well. Jealousy can distort a person's character.

As a result, more and more people are unable to farm. Even those who persevere will fail for one reason or another. Even if they know it's the right thing to do, when they see others fail, they will say, "I knew it earlier."

After all, all of this is caused by human beings themselves.

The refugees present may look pitiful now, but in reality, many have brought this upon themselves. War is the root, and jealousy is the nourishment, ultimately resulting in this bitter fruit.

So when the villagers said they didn't dare to do it openly, everyone believed them. After all, in the face of an outrageous reason, even a slightly reasonable explanation can make people believe it.

The villagers continued to deceive: "They can't feed so many people. If they want to survive, they can go to the mountains and cultivate fields."

This was the saying during spring plowing. And in summer and autumn, it was time to help with the autumn harvest. It was actually quite easy to trick people into the mountains. With a hope of survival, these people would smile as they entered the mountains, then step into the illusion of Su Qingtu, continue dreaming, and ultimately die in their dreams.

Be eaten or be refined into human pills.

Su Mu used a trick to watch all this with Xuan Mo.

Xuan Mo curled his lips, expressing his dislike for the village. This picturesque landscape had buried tens of thousands of people, and the number was still rising. There were no souls left here who had died in vain, and entering that forest would likely prevent even reincarnation.

The soul and body are refined together.

Su Qingtu's method was far more sophisticated than simply swallowing them, and it was also much less likely to be detected. Beneath the rosy cheeks of the villagers here lay the faces of demons. It was these very people that Xuan Mo disliked. "Like demons" wasn't just an expression; it was the truth—these villagers were no longer human.

Where do you think Su Qingtu got so much food?

These were all born from the pile of bones. The lingering resentment had already transformed those it devoured daily into something neither human nor ghost. Many had become stinking, their blood black, their internal organs rotting, and the fat beneath their skin had long since turned yellow to a substance akin to corpse oil. The only thing remaining was the outer layer of skin they wore.

Half dead.

Furthermore, the village had long been unable to produce newborns. Every pregnancy resulted in a stillbirth. Gradually, the villagers stopped caring about it.

How could this be considered a brilliant move? Ordinary people wouldn't be able to tell. This place is a complete ghost town.

The villagers are also immersed in a wealthy state where they have no worries about food and clothing, which is somewhat sad and lamentable.

No one will betray. They will keep luring people into the mountains, and it will be a cycle.

Su Mu saw that it was almost time for this farce to end. So, he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The illusion that enveloped the place shattered in an instant. Su Qingtu suddenly woke up and looked down the mountain, his eyes filled with anger—someone had ruined his plan, damn it!

The originally peaceful scene in the village was also broken by this.

The refugee, who had been chatting happily with the villagers, looked up, his eyes dazed for a moment, and then he saw a horrifying scene. The peaceful village had suddenly become dilapidated, with collapsed houses, the rotting corpses of chickens, ducks, cats, and dogs scattered all over the ground, and mosquitoes were everywhere. The kind old woman who had been serving porridge was still as kind and gentle as ever, and her face remained the same, but those who were close could see that her eyes were gone.

Yellow liquid flowed from the corners of his eyes, and his mouth was full of rotten teeth and maggots wriggling on his gums, causing the refugee to spit out all the rice he had just eaten.

"vomit!!"

However, what was vomited out was no longer the rice grains they imagined, but living, wriggling maggots.

At that moment, everyone's stomach lurched, and they vomited even more violently. After vomiting everything out, someone's scream brought everyone back to reality. Then, with a pale face, they fled without hesitation, pissing and pissing.

This almost exhausted all their strength.

Amidst the constant barrage of "youngster, youngster" like death warrants, they desperately fled. Now they knew this place wasn't some kind of paradise; it was a man-eating den. Though they didn't know why their true form had been revealed, the fleeing men no longer cared about anything else. Their minds held only one thought: escape, the farther the better.

Leaving a group of villagers at a loss.