Chapter 117: Slaying Demons and Exterminating Evils, Upholding Justice

The power isn’t strong, but it’s easy to hold Ma Tong back midway, preventing him from breaching the city in a short time.

Hehe, by the time he breaks through the walls, his troops will probably be nearly wiped out. In such dire circumstances, if there really is a demonic cultivator among the enemy forces, and he thinks he can handle the two of us as Grand Masters, he’ll surely be unable to resist revealing himself and striking.

Ji Yuanzhen spoke as he grabbed a black iron spear and hurled it with all his strength.

As he threw it, he glanced twice toward the attacking army below the wall, as if searching for something.

“Dao Ming is truly sneaky—in the blink of an eye, he slipped off the wall and vanished without a trace.” Ji Yuanzhen said.

“Naturally. A true dragon can grow large or small, rise or vanish. As the saying goes: the divine dragon shows its head but not its tail. Our Tenglong Mansion cultivates the true dragon’s profound mystery—unfathomably subtle.”

“Dao Ming is the most formidable disciple of our Tenglong Mansion. If he wants to move unseen, it’s only natural that Old Master can’t spot him.” Liang Jingtang said with obvious pride.

“You’re right—Dao Ming truly is my most outstanding son-in-law!” Ji Yuanzhen said.

He hasn’t even married her yet!

Liang Jingtang grumbled inwardly but still ordered Yuchi Xiao and others: “Yuchi Xiao, you don’t need to handle this side. Focus all your efforts on killing the enemy troops below—force that demonic cultivator to reveal himself and strike.”

“Yes, Master!” Yuchi Xiao and the others obeyed, turning to kill other enemy soldiers.

Yuchi Xiao and his group were the most elite troops below Grand Master level in Li City.

Earlier, they had been helping clear away Ma Tong’s Iron Blood Guards and hadn’t yet coordinated with the city defenders to kill other troops.

Now that they were free, ten or so seventh- and eighth-grade Great Martial Masters acting together—what a terrifying sight.

Instantly, the enemy’s strongest warriors who had reached the city walls were all shot down.

As the enemy’s strongest warriors reaching the walls were being shot down, Ji Shouli, under Ji Yuanzhen’s orders, led a group of elites down from the wall and headed straight for the North Gate.

“I never expected Li City to have two Grand Masters guarding it. Fortunately, my Ten Thousand Ghosts Dark Yin Storm is already taking shape—if they’d been stationed on the walls with heavy troops, including many Great Martial Masters, and held the high ground, dealing with them would’ve been truly dangerous and troublesome.”

Wu Rong, trailing behind the army, saw his soldiers falling one after another. He frowned, gazing at the wall, then muttered incantations while forming a hand seal and slapped the black gourd hanging at his waist.

A mass of black mist surged out of the gourd.

The black mist spread instantly, engulfing Wu Rong and covering an area of roughly an acre.

At that moment, a chilling wind arose, swirling the black mist and silently drifting toward Li City.

Under the night sky, the black mist resembled a dark cloud, drifting low—unless one was extremely close, its sinister aura would make it nearly impossible to detect.

“So there really is a demonic cultivator!”

Under the night, a shadow leapt up from behind a dead horse, ready to strike—when a green light shot through the air, accompanied by a man’s voice from above.

“Demonic cultivator, cease your evil!”

The leaping shadow’s face changed slightly, then, like a snake, it silently retreated back behind the dead horse.

The shadow was naturally Xia Daoming.

Wu Rong inside the black mist saw the green light streaking toward him, his expression shifting. He abandoned concealment, suddenly summoning violent chilling winds that whipped the black mist into a storm, racing like galloping horses in the opposite direction of the green light.

But the green light had appeared suddenly and was already close; its speed was faster than the black mist.

The black mist turned and fled, yet before it had traveled twenty or thirty zhang, the green light had closed to within six or seven zhang.

At this point, Xia Daoming clearly saw that the green light was actually a flying vessel.

It was covered in talismans, glowing faintly green under the night sky.

On the vessel stood three young people: one man and two women.

The man stood with his hands behind his back, his face like a jade mask, eyebrows like swords, eyes like stars, clad in a white robe that fluttered gently in the wind—utterly confident and composed.

The two women—

one had an apple-shaped face and wore a pale blue long dress, looking quite likable.

The other woman was stunningly beautiful, dressed in a dazzling red gown.

“This must be a flying magic artifact. Standing atop it, robes fluttering, hair dancing in the wind—hmm, truly, the prestige of cultivation isn’t comparable to crude martial warriors!” Xia Daoming muttered inwardly.

He himself could now project his strength into shapes and glide low through the air—but it drained him terribly and couldn’t be sustained. Compared to these people standing calmly on their immortal vessel, robes and hair flowing effortlessly—he had no chance.

But in terms of pure speed, Xia Daoming was certain that if he unleashed his full power, he’d outpace this immortal vessel.

Still muttering inwardly, Xia Daoming’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

As the distance closed, the man raised his hand—and a cold, silver arc of light shot through the air toward the black mist.

It was unmistakably a gleaming silver flying sword.

The red-clad woman followed instantly, flicking her wrist—her red sash transformed into a fire serpent.

The fire serpent darted nimbly around the black mist and landed behind it.

Almost simultaneously, the blue-clad woman flipped her palm, revealing a small mirror that emitted a soft blue glow. She placed it on the vessel, forming a blue, wave-like barrier that enclosed all three and the vessel beneath them.

The silver sword pierced the black mist, silver light radiating wildly, like a silver dragon diving into the sea—churning the mist violently, as agonizing, bone-chilling screams erupted from within.

Almost at once, the fire serpent from behind surged into the black mist.

“Ssssh!”

The black mist, upon contact with the fire serpent, ignited as if soaked in oil—releasing a foul stench that spread through the night air.

“Who are you?! Old Master has no grudge against you—why are you hunting me?” A furious voice rang from within the black mist.

“We are disciples of Qingyuan Sect, sent by our Master to patrol for demonic cultivators, evil beasts, and other crimes. When we passed Mangzhou, we discovered multiple cities slaughtered—pregnant women murdered, their unborn fetuses used in dark rituals.

After investigation, we traced it to you, demonic cultivator, and your ally Ma Tong. Fortunately, we arrived at Li City in time—otherwise, the people here would’ve suffered your evil again!” the blue-clad woman rebuked.

“Your Qingyuan Sect is far away in Qingzhou—why meddle here?” Wu Rong’s voice shrieked like an owl from within the mist.

“To slay demons and eradicate evil, to uphold justice—that is the duty of every Qingyuan disciple, regardless of distance!” the blue-clad woman retorted with righteous fury.

“Sister, why waste words? Just kill this demon!” The red-clad woman glanced at her with disdain.

“Jie jie! You three greenhorns can’t even break my protective spell—how dare you speak of slaying demons and upholding justice? How childish and laughable!” Wu Rong’s voice screeched again like an owl.

“Merely a vile, heretical trick—what’s hard about breaking it?” The white-robed man sneered coldly. The silver sword churned wildly within the mist, silver light swirling into a glowing sphere that rolled relentlessly toward the mist’s center.

Simultaneously, the fire serpent unleashed its full power, boiling the black mist as it surged forward.

But after advancing only three or four zhang, the once-mighty silver sword and red sash now moved as if trapped in thick mud, their progress slowing drastically.

Worse still, the silver dragon and fire serpent formed by the weapons were being squeezed and devoured by the surging black mist from all sides—their light dimming.

“Bad!” The white-robed man and red-clad woman, once so confident, now paled. They snapped their fingers—the sword and sash thrashed violently within the mist, then shot out, returning to their hands.

The white-robed man looked down—his silver sword, once palm-sized, radiant and gleaming, was now speckled with rust-like spots.

The red-clad woman’s sash was the same—black stains and holes marred its surface.

“Damn it! This demon’s dark art corrupts and erodes magic artifacts!” Both exclaimed, furious and heartbroken.

As they raged and grieved, the previously retreating black mist suddenly swelled—out of it emerged a spectral hand of black mist, descending upon the green vessel.

The black mist struck the blue wave-like barrier—and halted, as if hitting an invisible wall.

Yet slowly, the mist seeped through, and soon black veins spread across the blue barrier.

“No! My Bibo Shuiying Mirror!” the blue-clad woman cried out—her mirror’s once-pristine surface now dotted with black spots.

“Jie jie! Qingyuan Sect is powerful—I dare not challenge you. But you three brats came to Li City, where the emperor’s reach is distant—don’t blame Old Master for keeping you here and claiming a fortune!”

Within the mist, Wu Rong, seeing the power his newly forged Ten Thousand Ghosts Dark Yin Storm already possessed, felt his confidence surge. His gaze through the mist fixed on the three with greed and murderous intent.

As he spoke, chilling winds howled, the mist churned, and it surged toward the green vessel at speed.

“No! He’s going to trap us all inside this mist! Flee!” The white-robed man cried out in alarm.

As he shouted, the green vessel’s talismans flared bright green, accelerating back along their original path.

But the black mist hand clung to the vessel, as if thousands of threads bound and restrained it.

Even as the vessel blazed with green light, its speed lagged behind the mist.

The mist quickly caught up, swallowing the vessel whole.

“Don’t use your artifacts—use your spiritual power directly to break through!” A man’s voice rang out within the mist.

At the mist’s center, Wu Rong held the gourd, his hands forming rapid seals, pouring forth endless black mist to replenish what the three young cultivators had destroyed.

Thank you for your long wait, Qiuzhi Shen Guang, Jinju@.

(End of Chapter)

(End of Chapter)