Chapter 125: Ambush on the Toad Lord

The room was not particularly spacious.

Three deputy commanders stood nervously at the door; one stepped to the table and respectfully handed the youth his badge: "Lord Shen."

Liu Bin had been stripped of his ink-colored robe and bound tightly, kneeling in the center.

Xiao Qiangwei stood beside him, tasked with guarding him.

Her only curiosity now was: what exactly did Shen Yi intend to do? Since Liu Bin had already been captured, why not swiftly escort him back to Tingyang Commandery?

"My Lord Shen, the Black Stone Pond Demon Lord is a poison toad that has lived over four thousand years, possessing Nascent Core Realm cultivation, excelling in poison, and dwelling in the unfathomably deep Black Stone Pond—Even General You has no good way to deal with it, which is why Commander Liu was ordered to lead us in guarding this place."

The deputy commander's voice grew quieter with each word.

Clearly, after Liu Bin was wounded, they had long since lost the strength to hold the position, forced to watch as the demon lord walked freely through Outside Qingzhou as if it were empty land, even having a trusted personal deputy commander conceal the truth and cover for him.

"The places guarded by personal deputy commanders are often like this—either the terrain is bizarre, or the methods are astonishing, too difficult to eliminate, yet too close to the Twelve Commanderies of Qingzhou to simply let demons roam free…"

Xiao Qiangwei instinctively explained to him, then suddenly realized: Shen Yi had risen to become a personal deputy commander, even wandering freely around—likely a figure treated like a nephew by Chen Laoyezi, with ties far deeper than she could guess.

She had no need to speak so much.

Better to say something a demon hunter excels at—she shook her head: "More accurately, it's a Demon Lord of Elixir Formation Realm, not far from reaching Nascent Core fullness."

At that moment, Liu Bin slowly raised his head, fixing his gaze on Shen Yi behind the desk, his pale face twisted with mockery: "Indeed, once it finishes digesting me, it'll be enough—so, Lord Shen, what exactly do you plan to do?"

He had done countless things for Qingzhou.

Even this wound was caused by the poison toad demon lord.

He merely wished to wait five more years, even at the risk of his life, unwilling to descend in realm and remain a personal deputy commander for life.

Yet now he would meet the fate of the cooked dog—where is justice in heaven?

"Is it that Old Master Chen can no longer tolerate you, so you've come to Tingyang Commandery to seek another path? How about this—we swap places, hahaha!"

The old man roared with laughter, when suddenly a teacup shattered against his face, tea splashing over his body.

Shen Yi retracted his hand and said coolly: "I haven't asked you—keep your mouth shut."

Xiao Qiangwei bit her lip, suddenly feeling deep admiration for his composure.

The letter from General You lay quietly on the table, yet after Shen Yi sat down with calm ease, not a single person—not even Liu Bin—dared entertain the thought of opening it to glance.

Just by this aura, the deputy commanders even believed General You had granted Lord Shen the authority to execute first and report later.

Liu Bin sullenly lowered his head, curious to see what tricks this arrogant boy intended to play.

"Is it still in the Black Stone Pond?"

Shen Yi looked at the others.

Elixir Formation Realm demons were already hard to encounter, let alone in a situation where one had full authority and could even summon a Silver Bell demon hunter to assist.

From Jiang Chengyun's expression earlier, Xiao Qiangwei seemed to have a good relationship with General You.

Although the Black Stone Pond Demon Lord is Zhen Mo Si's internal matter, this still counts as helping General You—surely he wouldn't just stand by and watch.

If the demon could be eliminated, as a personal deputy commander, I would rightfully represent Zhen Mo Si to sincerely thank Xiao Qiangwei, the demon hunter, for her assistance.

"By my count, it should return within the next couple of days…" the deputy commanders bowed their heads in shame.

Xiao Qiangwei frowned deeply, utterly at a loss for words—this demon had reached the point of entering and leaving Outside Qingzhou at will, even with a routine, yet Liu still refused to inform General You.

The next moment, Shen Yi stood up, his words leaving everyone frozen in place.

"Lead the way."

Xiao Qiangwei stared in shock, finally realizing what he intended to do.

She opened her mouth to speak, then sighed helplessly—perhaps he simply didn't understand the situation at Black Stone Pond, or why an Elixir Formation Realm demon had left even General You powerless.

Once they arrived at the site, Shen Yi would naturally stop wasting time on this.

…

Three deputy commanders led the way, over a hundred Zhen Mo Si Captains clearing the path.

Circling around a row of wooden structures and climbing the hill, the ground beneath their feet turned damp and muddy, black and radiating cold.

Ahead lay a circular depression.

In the very center, a deep pond nearly a hundred zhang wide came into view—the water was still, yet even before approaching, one felt a bone-chilling chill, and strange green mist drifted from within.

Xiao Qiangwei tugged the chain, shoving Liu Bin forward: "If it were a direct fight, the poison toad wouldn't necessarily be his match—but because of this cold pond, the demon has survived for so many years on the edge of Qingzhou's Twelve Commanderies without being eliminated."

The demon's innate talent was truly enviable to martial cultivators.

Same realm, yet demons could soar into the heavens or dive into the deepest seas; even this terrifying extreme cold failed to harm the Toad Lord, instead becoming his protective sanctuary.

"Now that you've seen it, shall we leave?"

Xiao Qiangwei sighed—if it were truly this easy to resolve, why had it dragged on this long?

"No rush—wait two days."

"You should rest up too, lest your wound worsen."

Shen Yi turned and walked toward several temporary tents, where Zhen Mo Si personnel normally kept watch over the demon.

"I really appreciate it," Xiao Qiangwei muttered, her eyelid twitching—they'd traveled for days, and this was the first time he'd shown concern for her, and the result was dragging her to this freezing, poison-misted place to "rest properly."

"You're not seriously planning to ambush the Toad Lord outside, are you?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, Xiao Qiangwei realized it herself.

The Toad Lord had never killed Liu Bin outright, but slowly consumed him with dark, poisonous arts—not out of mercy.

More likely, it didn't want to risk a deadly fight with Liu, and also didn't want General You to send an even stronger personal deputy.

After so long, the Toad Lord may have grown careless… if they truly meant to ambush and kill it, now was the perfect opportunity.

"I just remembered something."

Xiao Qiangwei looked at him in confusion—if… if the two of them succeeded in killing the Toad Demon, then its heart's blood…

"What is it?"

Shen Yi turned back, casually brushing his cloak: "Go on."

Xiao Qiangwei stared at him in silence, looking expressionless on the surface, but in truth so angry her teeth itched.

Wonderful! One turn around and I'm the outsider, and this matter has become the Zhen Mo Si's private business.

Even more outrageous, nominally it was still the young man helping her resolve the trouble.

"I finally understand why you don't like to talk."

She raised an eyebrow, secretly muttering to herself, putting on the reckless air of a greenhorn, when in truth her mind was sharper than anyone's.

Shen Yi glanced at Xiao Qiangwei, saw that she had no intention of continuing to question him, and only then turned and entered the tent.

Back then, the other party had used the promise of information to get him to escort her here, saying things like, as long as the news was confirmed beyond doubt, she could ask the Zhen Mo General to make a move and back them up… treating him like a child to be coaxed.

Don't mention it, but dealing with these demon hunters really does teach one a thing or two.

Seeing the two of them in such a state, Liu Bin kept his head lowered, but the sneer on his face grew thicker.

Just a wounded Elixir Formation Realm martial artist, plus a youngster who'd practiced some body-tempering method, and they think they can take down that Toad Lord?

He'd thought it was a certain-death situation, never expected there could still be a turning point.

Once these two were eaten clean, perhaps that toad demon would leave him here to continue guarding the place.

……

About one day and night passed.

Xiao Qiangwei closed her eyes to regulate her breathing, nurturing her injuries, occasionally opening her eyes to look at the young man in the distance, only to find him as still as a statue, the perfected Turtle Breath Art never withdrawn… and to have cultivated the Turtle Breath Art to such a degree was already absurd in itself.

An ordinary Nascent Core Realm martial artist who could bring two or three signature moves to mastery was already counted among the finest of men.

But this one, what a waste—squandering his time on the Turtle Breath Art.

She asked, somewhat curious: "With a talent like yours, you must have drawn attention from a young age. How did you end up with such a cautious temperament?"

Hearing this, Shen Yi still did not turn his head.

Drawing attention? Yes, quite the attention—the dog demon of the Western Hills, the black ape of Eastern Mountain, the fox of the Northern Cliff, every last demon in Cypress Cloud County wanted him dead.

Now he had to add the flood dragon of Yangchun River and the Tiger Lord of Xitai Mountain.

He leaned quietly against a cold, great tree, reciting each of those names in his heart one by one, his state of mind growing ever more steady.

Just then, a wave of foul, baleful demon qi slowly swept in—clearly, its owner was not particularly tense, the attempt to mask his aura utterly perfunctory.

On the black mud slope diagonally opposite the hollow.

A pot-bellied, pockmarked man burped, patting his belly as he walked toward the cold pool.

As if seeing something, he beamed and waved at the Zhen Mo Si Captains: "Many thanks for your hard work, please go back. I need to head home and digest a bit. Give my regards to your Lord Liu for me."

Several Deputy Generals lowered their heads without thinking.

Their spines had long since been broken by Liu Bin's repeated orders, to the point they no longer had the courage to meet this Demon Lord's eyes.

Xiao Qiangwei sprang up abruptly, only to find the dark-robed figure in the distance had already stepped into the air and vanished. With no time to sigh, she likewise mobilized her inner core, and a surge of thick gang qi exploded forth between her palms.

Since this was an ambush, the opening move must be the strongest strike!

Boom—

Shen Yi stepped down from the air, his long boot slamming onto the pockmarked man's shoulder as he drew his dark blade.

After completing the second shedding of his immortal-demon body, the strength contained within his frame would be no less than that of an Elixir Formation Realm demon.

One kick forced the pockmarked man down to his knees.

The long blade tore through the cold air and suddenly slashed into the man's neck; dark green blood sprayed out.

The Toad Lord half-knelt on the ground, gripping the blade tightly.

Xiao Qiangwei arrived at the same moment, her surging palm-intent raging down toward the demon in a crushing blow.

Faced with such a vicious ambush.

The Toad Lord was clearly somewhat surprised, but with one hand gripping the blade, he raised his head and stared at the incoming Xiao Qiangwei.

The gash on his neck was extremely deep, dark green blood welling out, yet the corners of his mouth curved into a savage grin: "This Lord speaks you fair and square—how dare you push your luck?"

Author's note: to answer everyone's questions about realms, the Nascent Core Realm is one major realm, just divided into several stages.

Embryo Core (Mountain Lord's two sons), Elixir Formation (Flood Dragon Lord Zhang Hengzhou), Perfected Core (Mountain Lord), Core Embrace (Twelve Generals, Golden Bell demon hunter, Bai Lu). Shattered Core doesn't count, because after shattering the core comes the next realm.

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(End of chapter)