Chapter 356: The Chief of Demons

"Truly carefree."

Behind and to the side of Chen Jing, his teammates stepped forward.

If Lu Ran were here, he might even recognize the person who just spoke.

After all, this Prisoned Demon disciple had once helped Lu Ran pry open windows and pick locks to return to his home.

"Carefree he truly is, but it's also quite infuriating, haha!" Chen Jing gazed toward the far end of the long street.

There, Lu Ran had stopped again to engage a demon in fierce combat.

"By the way, Old Liu," Chen Jing continued.

Old Liu possessed thick eyebrows and large eyes, appearing quite upright; though a Prisoned Demon disciple, beside comrades who had faced life and death together, he was not particularly cold-hearted.

He too kept a close watch on Lu Ran's battlefield: "What is it?"

Chen Jing said, "That kid of yours will be seventeen next year, won't he?"

Liu Ming sighed with the sorrow of an old father: "Yes, my son's talent is truly not much to speak of; I don't know if he'll succeed in Jing Shen Cheng Gong."

Chen Jing chuckled: "Stop pretending! Laozi is a hero; how could his son be any worse?"

"But, should we let my big nephew try worshipping Lord Xiang Xiang Xianyang?"

Liu Ming laughed as well: "There are many believers of Xiang Xiang Xianyang in this world, but there is only one Lu Lu Tianjiao!"

As they spoke, at the far end of the long street, Lu Ran slew three demons in succession before speeding away.

Beneath the thick immortal mist, frost and snow danced chaotically.

It certainly created a profound atmosphere, but it also obscured vision.

"Wait! Something's wrong!"

Above the heads of Chen Jing and Liu Ming, a pitch-black crow spoke in human language, extremely serious.

"Hmm?"

"Where?" Chen and Liu both exclaimed, standing at the entrance of the residential compound, searching everywhere for demons.

The pitch-black crow flew in the air, speaking rapidly: "The location of the battlefield where Lu Lu Tianjiao was just now!"

Chen Jing, Liu Ming, and another teammate who was a Two Two Biwu believer immediately turned their gaze toward the end of the long street.

Frost and snow still danced there, making it impossible to clearly see the enemy at a glance.

Chen Jing's brows furrowed slightly; he vaguely perceived that it seemed to be a blood-red figure?

"Damn!"

In the night sky, the pupils of the pitch-black crow contracted, and it blurted out a coarse expletive.

"Report the situation!" Liu Ming's face was grim.

Of the four members in the team, except for the Two Two Biwu believer who had joined later, all were experienced veterans who had hovered on the brink of life and death countless times throughout their past years of combat.

Yet now, the team's scout was losing composure like this?

What exactly had he seen?

"Blood Skull!"

The black crow's voice even carried a slight tremor.

"What?" Chen Jing's body instinctively tensed, and he accidentally shouted aloud.

Demon·Blood Skull?

In this tiny rainy alley, how did He Deheneng deserve the honor of a visit from the great Blood Skull?

Such a terrifying demon wouldn't even necessarily go to densely populated places like Jingcheng or Chang'an.

People always say this demon is rare, that demon is hard to come by.

For instance, Thread-Puppet Shadow, Rouge-Paper Man, and Lao Tian Mo indeed appear only once every few months.

And races like Yin Hua Dan, Evil Spear Emperor, and Jade-Faced Snake might only be seen once every year or so.

If you weren't a patrol member but a Moon-Watcher standing guard, you might even see Yin Hua Dan only once every three to five years.

But if we truly discuss the degree of rarity,

there is one demon that is unquestionably number one.

The Blood Skull clan!

Their frequency of appearance is extremely, extremely low.

"Blood Skull! At the entrance of the Rainy Alley Home Residential Compound, demon·Blood Skull discovered!"

The young Two Two Biwu believer immediately reported to his superiors.

Liu Ming likewise spoke immediately: "Divert the Blood Skull's attention; we absolutely cannot let it escape!"

Chen Jing's expression turned extremely ugly!

The Red Scarf disciple, who had never feared battle and was even bellicose by nature, immediately took a step forward.

But those trembling arms revealed Chen Jing's violent inner turmoil.

Blood Skull,

this is the Blood Skull!

Is life about to end right here?

The kid just praised me, saying I performed quite well this time.

This time, I wasn't hanging by a thread, nor was I covered in wounds...

"Haaah!" Chen Jing let out a furious roar, unleashing his divine arts fully.

Under the Red Scarf Order, fighting spirit soared!

He was a Red Scarf disciple, and furthermore, a Great Xia Moon-Watcher.

In this battle,

Even knowing death awaits, they must fight!

They must detain the Blood Skull at all costs; under no circumstances could they allow it to escape. They had to wait for the supporting patrol team to arrive, otherwise the consequences would be unthinkable.

They could only hope this Blood Skull's cultivation realm was low, preferably the lowest Fog Realm minion.

The problem was,

how could the cultivation realm of such an evil demon possibly be low?

In the limited number of times the Blood Skull clan had appeared,

which instance was not a massacre, which instance did not stir up a storm of blood and gore?

This was an existence known as the "Head of Evil Demons."

"Caw~~~"

The black crow let out a piercing cry, launching a sound-wave attack toward the distance.

Chen Zhuang Jingyi's forward charge came to an abrupt halt.

Because the Blood Skull had vanished.

At almost the same instant, a mournful cry from the black crow echoed from the night sky above and behind: "Caw~~~"

Liu Ming's expression changed drastically!

Shun Yi Zhi Fa?

This meant this evil demon, the Blood Skull, possessed a cultivation realm of at least River Realm, Third Stage!

When an evil demon possesses Shun Yi Ji Fa, its threat to the lives of the Great Xia people naturally reaches its peak.

The Evil Dog clan also possesses teleportation.

But their intelligence is low; humans can at least maneuver against them to some extent.

The Blood Skull clan,

not only possesses high intelligence, but is in fact a first-rate existence within the evil demon hierarchy.

It is comparable to the Evil Spear Emperor and the Jade-Faced Snake!

This is precisely why the Moonwatchers cannot lose track of their target.

Once the Blood Skull vanishes, finding it again becomes exceedingly difficult.

Moreover, by the time it is found again, the Blood Skull will inevitably have accumulated a mountain of blood debts, with countless souls dead beneath its blade!

"Flap, flap, flap~"

Black crow feathers drifted down together with the gently falling snowflakes.

Facing the thrust of the slender blood blade, the Crow Cultist erupted with astonishing will to survive.

The black crow's desperate attempt to shift its body caused the blood blade to pierce its wing rather than its heart.

The Crow Cultist escaped disaster; enduring excruciating pain, it immediately activated Ti Shen Zhi Fa.

"Flap, flap, flap~"

The black crow left behind its injured decoy while its true body fled frantically.

"Splat!"

The blood blade instantly shattered the decoy; scalding blood droplets flicked from the blade's tip splashed onto the fleeing true body of the black crow.

"Caw~~~"

A miserable cry resounded through the night sky.

"Haaah!!"

A battle cry rang out once more as Chen Zhuang Jingyi spurred his horse into combat.

In the night sky, the evil demon glanced at Chen Zhuang Jingyi, clenched a blood blade in hand, and casually flung it at the tottering black crow.

"Flap, flap, flap~"

The black crow heard the sound of breaking air from behind; the intense sense of crisis even caused this Crow Cultist's movements to become distorted.

Its heart hung right in its throat!

"Clank! Clank"

Several chains materialized out of thin air.

Although the chains were pierced and shattered by the blood blade, they at least created a path to survival for the black crow.

"Gulp."

Liu Ming swallowed hard, finally seeing the true appearance of the Blood Skull.

The Blood Skull was not merely a bloody head.

It took human form, resembling a young man, tall and powerfully built.

Its features were fierce and brimming with malice; it possessed red hair and red eyes, and even its skin was blood-red.

Around its neck, it wore a necklace of small bloody skulls, terrifying and horrifying.

Bare-chested and wearing tattered blood-red shorts, upon landing it gripped two slender blood blades in its hands.

Evil Demon · Blood Skull!

This name originated precisely from that string of bloody skull necklaces around its neck.

This name also served as a constant reminder to humanity of just how terrifying that necklace truly was.

That was the Blood Skull clan's ultimate trump card!

"Drip, drip"

From the tips of the slender blood blades, drops of blood trickled downward.

The faint sounds were like a countdown to people's lives.

A cold wind blew, carrying a pungent stench of blood that induced physiological nausea and sent shivers down one's spine.

The Blood Skull said nothing, his silence terrifying.

His pair of blood-red pupils were exceedingly sinister; his gaze swept over the few people before finally landing on Chen Jing, who was charging forward.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, the Blood Skull's figure darted through the air.

In his original spot, only a blood-colored afterimage remained.

Chen Jing felt his heart pound and his flesh jump; his rich combat experience and keen battlefield instinct joined forces to save his life.

"Clang!!"

Chen Jing raised his blade to block, his body reacting a step faster than his brain.

The Blood Skull had indeed appeared before Chen Jing, his blood blade slashing fiercely down onto the steel sword.

The blood droplets splashing off the blood blade were scalding hot!

Tiny drops of blood landed on Chen Jing's face—

Or more accurately, they landed on Chen Jing's Water Flow Armor, steaming up wisps of white mist.

"Whoosh~"

Liu Ming, clad in a great red robe, suddenly flicked the tail of his garment.

"Hiss—"

The Blood Skull suddenly shifted targets, teleporting away before anyone could react.

That slender blood blade was incredibly sharp!

The hem of the Qiumoyi Sect disciple's great red robe parted to both sides beneath the blood blade, like a red sea wave split open.

Liu Ming's pupils contracted violently!

In the blink of an eye, the Blood Skull had already sliced through the defensive garment the Qiumoyi Sect took pride in, the blood blade thrusting straight for the vital point.

"Aaaaaah!"

Liu Ming let out a piercing scream, actually being slashed flying by a single strike.

Scalding blood droplets trailed from Liu Ming's right shoulder all the way down to his left waist and abdomen.

The blood blade had not only sliced through the great red robe but also the Water Flow Armor exclusive to the human race.

It even tore open Liu Ming's clothes and skin.

The scalding blood droplets flung by the blood blade followed the wound, mixing into Liu Ming's body and boiling wildly.

Chen Jing's eyes nearly burst from their sockets: "Old Liu..."

Those two brief words were his limit.

The blood-colored figure, appearing and disappearing like a ghost, materialized before Chen Jing once again.

This time, Chen Jing failed to block the strike.

Previously, Chen Jing's spirit had been tightly wound, allowing him to perform beyond his normal capacity.

But this time, his attention shifted slightly, falling upon his severely injured teammate.

The Fiend·Blood Skull completed a left slash and right thrust in an instant.

There was not a moment's pause.

Only the scalding blood blade, which had slashed Liu Ming flying one second before, now pierced through Chen Jing's lower abdomen the next.

"Cough, cough..."

Chen Jing's pupils had nearly shrunk to the size of needle points.

The Blood Skull's gaze was equally knife-like; that pair of sinister blood-red eyes seemed to drill deep into the depths of Chen Jing's soul.

"Rip!"

The blood blade was withdrawn, only to stab in again.

The Blood Skull clearly possessed the ability to kill with a single strike, yet he did not do so.

For this Red Scarf Believer, the Blood Skull showed special attention.

He pulled out the blade, then thrust it back into Chen Jing's abdomen.

"Rip! Rip! Rip!"

The Blood Skull said nothing, striking again and again.

His pair of blood pupils remained fixed on Chen Jing's eyes.

It was as if he wanted to see something specific in the eyes of this brave and fearless Red Scarf Believer.

Fear, pain, regret, despair...

Just like that person behind him.

The Blood Skull slowly turned his head, looking toward the young Two Two Biwu Believer behind him.

This newly recruited Moon Gazer seemed completely terrified into stupidity.

He neither attacked nor fled.

He simply stood in place, his face deathly pale and trembling uncontrollably, staring blankly at the scene.

Fear,

Fear originating from the depths of the heart, spread through the Two Two Biwu Believer's mind.

These intense human emotions, though invisible, were nourishing the Blood Skull nearby.

The Blood Skull turned his head back, leaving that Two Two Biwu Believer standing behind him, and raised his eyes to look at Chen Jing before him.

Fresh blood constantly overflowed from the corners of Chen Jing's mouth; his eyes were dull, and his abdomen was a bloody mess.

As the Blood Skull slowly withdrew the slender blood blade, intending to stab again—

"Baaah!!!"

Three updates today, 12.18.22.

Begging for some monthly tickets!

(End of chapter)