Chapter 97: Repelling the Demon Beasts, Slaying the Demon Evildoers

In the dead of night, a patch of clouds obscured the moonlight, leaving Qinghe City in pitch darkness; occasionally, a few warm red lanterns could be seen on the streets.

A burst of hurried footsteps sounded.

"Brother Zhang, what exactly has happened?"

Li Rui had been woken up by Zhang Yang in the middle of the night. Without explaining the specifics, Zhang Yang had told him to follow along and bring his weapon.

He threw on an outer garment and had just reached the entrance of the branch headquarters.

He discovered that Tang Sheng, Dao Xiong, two deputy branch masters, and quite a few hall masters had already gathered, and then they exited the branch headquarters.

Zhang Yang shook his head helplessly: "I don't know either."

"I heard it's the intention of the county government. The branch master didn't say much; we'll know once we arrive."

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

"To be this cautious, it seems the county government is about to make a major move."

They did not show any signs of stopping until they reached the city gates.

"We're actually leaving the city?"

Li Rui followed Tang Sheng and the others out of Qinghe City. After walking about a mile along the official road, he saw disciples from the Huaqing Sect and men from the Blood Tiger Gang.

Tang Sheng stepped forward.

He cupped his fists toward the middle-aged man leading the Huaqing Sect: "Envoy, the people from the Heaven and Earth Alliance have all arrived."

The middle-aged man nodded: "Good, follow me."

He was swift and decisive.

The Heaven and Earth Alliance members had just arrived, and without saying more than a few words, he led his men into the forest beside the official road.

Li Rui did not see Jiang Linxian.

He quickened his pace and found Han Qin in the crowd: "Little Han, what are we going to do?"

Han Qin's expression was solemn:

"To encircle and suppress the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao."

Paozi Ridge.

Firelight illuminated the mountain forest in a deep red; the sounds of metal weapons clashing and the cries of battle were incessant.

"Damn the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao, I'll hack you to death!"

Zhang Yang kicked a fleeing Ghost Gui Ming Jiao cultist to the ground and brought his blade down on the man's head.

Blood splattered high into the air.

The man lay perfectly still in an instant.

Li Rui's long blade was already unsheathed. He swatted away a Ghost Gui Ming Jiao disciple who rushed at him and retreated without a trace.

He remained in the middle of the crowd at all times.

This position allowed for both offense and defense; it was a top-tier spot.

This was the lair of the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao, and there were no shortage of experts here. If he were to be targeted, it would be troublesome.

He looked at the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao cultists pouring out of the mountain cave.

"They actually found the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao's lair!"

The reason the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao was like a lingering ghost was largely because once they hid in the deep mountains, it was impossible to find them.

Just like the cave before them.

There were at least eighty, if not a hundred, such caves on Paozi Ridge.

Unless someone leaked the information, it would be impossible to search them out.

While knocking down the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao disciples rushing at him, Li Rui quietly reached out and swiped items that were flashing with golden light.

He thought to himself, what a pity.

He had come out in such a rush.

He should have worn an outer garment with hidden pockets; his current clothes couldn't hold much.

He had no choice but to selectively take items with high spiritual substance, decisively ignoring the rest.

"Too many, truly too many."

Just then.

Zhang Yang, standing to the side, looked at the distance with trepidation: "Ghost-Face Blade, Hu Yanzhuo!"

Li Rui turned his head at the sound.

He saw a stout man in the crowd with a round belly, at least eight feet tall, wielding a massive blade as tall as a person, resembling a coffin lid.

Just looking at his stance was enough to strike fear into anyone.

Before him, a Huaqing Sect disciple was fluttering up and down like a falling leaf.

He was locked in a fierce battle with the Ghost-Face Blade.

"Good footwork."

Li Rui praised inwardly.

The Huaqing Sect was truly extraordinary. The Ghost-Face Blade was a notorious scourge in the counties near Qinghe, yet the Huaqing Sect disciple was handling him with ease, keeping the Ghost-Face Blade tightly entangled.

Zhang Yang clicked his tongue.

"Zhao Wei didn't die in vain. No wonder he was hacked so badly that not even bone fragments could be found."

Li Rui nodded: "The Ghost-Face Blade truly lives up to his reputation. Today can be considered avenging Deputy Branch Master Zhao."

"Indeed."

Zhang Yang laughed loudly and hacked down another Ghost Gui Ming Jiao evildoer.

As they spoke.

A strange beast roar suddenly erupted, and one could not tell what kind of beast it was.

His pupils shrank abruptly.

"It's a demon beast!"

Before the words had faded, more than ten fierce and vicious monsters rushed out from the cave in the distance. The tallest was a full ten feet high, resembling a small mountain, causing one to look on in awe.

Li Rui faced a formidable enemy.

"These must be the demon beasts raised by the Ghost Gui Ming Jiao."

The demon beasts were massive in size.

They rampaged through the crowd; those with stronger cultivation were fine, but the weaker ones were sent flying several yards, falling to the ground and vomiting blood incessantly.

"It's a Nine-Horned Silver Lizard!"

Li Rui's eyes narrowed.

Looking at the giant lizard pouncing toward him, information he had previously read about the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard surfaced in his mind.

A demon beast is an existence that transcends ordinary beasts.

These demon beasts live in deep mountains and old forests.

Most of the supernatural legends in the villages are the work of demon beasts.

People also classify demon beasts into nine ranks.

The Nine-Horned Silver Lizard before him had two horns on its head; looking closely, there were tiny bumps next to the horns.

It was an Eighth-Rank Nine-Horned Silver Lizard.

When a Nine-Horned Silver Lizard grows nine horns, it becomes a First-Rank demon beast capable of overturning clouds and rain.

He didn't know if this Nine-Horned Silver Lizard had taken the wrong medicine, but it had locked onto Li Rui.

Helpless, Li Rui had no choice but to fight the giant lizard.

"Monster, die!"

Li Rui gave a light shout and maneuvered his long blade, attacking the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard.

This was his first time facing a demon beast.

Although the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard did not know Wu Gong, its skin was thick and its flesh was tough, and its strength was terrifying.

An ordinary martial artist would surely suffer a great loss if they encountered it.

With a flick of its tail.

It blocked Li Rui's powerful blade, and the long blade scraped sparks off the lizard's scales.

His pupils contracted slightly.

"What terrifying defense."

Li Rui intended to hide his strength, revealing only sixty percent, but the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard's defense still made him feel alarmed.

He recalled the weaknesses of the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard in his mind.

"The abdomen!"

Li Rui twisted his long blade, changing from a hack to an upward slash, specifically attacking the softest part of the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard's belly.

After a few strikes, the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard retreated repeatedly, and sure enough, it became timid.

After more than ten moves.

Li Rui found an opening and slashed upward, cutting a large gash in the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard's tender white belly.

The Nine-Horned Silver Lizard let out a shrill roar.

Its primitive beastly nature gradually gained the upper hand, and it twisted its body, diving into the forest to the side, disappearing from sight shortly after.

That strike had hit a vital point; even if the Nine-Horned Silver Lizard escaped, it likely wouldn't live long.

The situation in the forest was unclear.

Li Rui did not rashly pursue him, and heaved a sigh of relief.

Just as he was preparing to find an opportunity to slip away from this chaotic situation—

A shrill, furious roar came from the direction of the cave.

"Jiang Linxian, do you truly intend to kill us all?"

He turned his head.

He saw a humanoid monster, its gender indistinguishable, its entire body a greenish-black, its figure bloated, and standing a full zhang tall, charging out of the cave.

The roar from just a moment ago had come from the mouth of that monster.

Can this thing even be considered human?!

Li Rui stared at the monster.

He gasped:

"Mother of Ten Thousand Ghosts?"

(End of chapter)