Chapter 414: Two Sides Clash

Feilian had finally returned to the city and was just looking to relax, but he hadn't expected the Grand Marshal to assign him another task.

Although Feilian did not like the old man, the Grand Marshal was his superior, and since it was a military order, he had no choice but to comply, no matter how reluctant he was.

Yet, Feilian, who had been grumbling, immediately cast his displeasure to the back of his mind the moment he heard it was to capture Wumin Jun.

Wumin Jun! Hah!

This meddlesome old man had ruined many of his plans; today he had finally fallen. If he could capture him, the Demon Lord might be pleased, and perhaps his rank could be elevated. In the future, that stinking woman Guihua would be a notch below him—just thinking about it made him happy.

However, things did not go as smoothly as Feilian had imagined. He had followed the route given by the Grand Marshal all the way here, yet he hadn't even seen a shadow. Seeing that they had passed the Ghost Market, let alone Wumin Jun, he hadn't even seen a wandering soul, which infuriated Feilian so much he cursed aloud.

Unexpectedly, however, just as they were about to reach the River Domain, he actually saw a few living people. Looking closely, they were even familiar faces.

"Good, good! Even if I didn't catch Wumin Jun, capturing you lot will be enough to report back to the Lord."

Feilian carried a scythe twice his size on his shoulder, sitting atop a monster with a rat's face and a leopard's body, staring at Long Qi's group with an evil grin.

Sangmu secretly thought it was a bad sign; sure enough, what they feared most had come to pass.

Those two squads of Demon Soldiers alone were enough to give them a hard time, not to mention Feilian, one of the Four Demon Generals of the Demon Realm.

Long Qi recognized Feilian at a glance. Back when the Demon Race launched a full-scale attack on Wuji Hall, this little fellow's "Chu Intent" had caused him a great deal of suffering. Later, through Wuji, Long Qi realized that it was fortunate Lingxiang had fed him the Hanyu Pill, otherwise he would have long since become a soul under this little creature's blade.

The so-called "Chu" was a unique ability of the Demon Race, essential for their cultivation. The deeper the Chu Intent, the higher the cultivation, much like the Spirit Qi required by mortals during their cultivation. As this "Chu" accumulated, it could not only increase combat power but also release an aura to intimidate or even harm enemies, much like "Arts."

As for Xin Yi, no one understood Feilian better than he did. When he was young and forced to serve in the Demon Race barracks, he had been bullied by Feilian more than once.

Don't let Feilian's short stature fool you—he looked like a six-year-old child—but he was notoriously ruthless. Anyone in the camp who touched a sore spot of his would inevitably be subjected to extreme torture and tortured to death. That was just how he treated his own kind; when it came to ordinary mortals, it was far more than just simple torture.

The ghastly state of Shao Fengcheng's family, whom they had encountered back at the Nanhua Long Family, had originally been the handiwork of this Feilian, and it was later widely applied by the Demon Race to mortals who resisted.

Zhanli also knew something about Feilian. Although he had never had the chance to see him, Zhanli was, after all, of the Demon Race and had been warned since childhood that if he encountered a Demon General, he should stay as far away as possible, especially this General Feilian before them.

The notoriety of this General Feilian was known to everyone in the Demon Realm; ordinary Demon Race families often used him to scare their children. The souls of the Demon Race were incomplete, so it was said they could not suffer from madness because they had no hearts, but it was rumored that a Demon Race prisoner had been driven completely insane by Feilian's torture, which showed just how ruthless and vicious he was.

The four of them were each feeling anxious, but the others did not understand, and everyone was on high alert. Only Adao quietly transformed into his Demon Body and hid in Zhanli's sleeve.

Seeing them like this, Feilian sneered, "What are you waiting for? Why aren't you attacking?" As he spoke, he lay back on his mount with disdain, "Capture them alive for me!"

The two squads of Demon Soldiers received the order and immediately rushed forward, surrounding Long Qi and the others. Each of them had a fierce expression, some grinning hideously, others glaring, their faces vicious and terrifying.

Long Qi and his companions were not afraid, especially Liu Xia. Having spent these years searching for Banxia's soul, what kind of monsters hadn't he seen? Could he really be scared by a mere few Demon Race members?

But Zhao Wuyang was somewhat cowering. After all, he had always been under Xin Yi's care, and in these past few years, the most he had encountered were Living Corpses; how could he compare them to these fierce, strange-looking Demon Race members before him?

Chiyanzi, standing to the side, patted Zhao Wuyang on the shoulder. Under his concerned gaze, Zhao Wuyang slowly calmed down.

Having made up his mind long ago, how could he be timid here? Even if he couldn't share the burden for his brothers, he must never hold them back!

Mist filled the Netherworld, adding to the tension, but Feilian began to laugh at this moment. The child-like laughter echoed all around, appearing particularly eerie.

Suddenly, the laughter stopped abruptly. Feilian flicked his small hand and let out a soft "Boom," and the Demon Soldiers swarmed forward, pouncing on Long Qi and the others like evil ghosts.

Amidst the thin mist, blades flashed and swords gleamed, the sound of weapons clashing ringing out incessantly. Although Long Qi and the others had not yet brought out their true skills, they were still dealing with the situation with their full attention.

The road ahead was still long; they couldn't exhaust their strength now, could they? Besides, there was still Feilian; if they used up all their energy now, how would they deal with him?

At the very beginning, the group had stayed together, but as the moves were exchanged, they became scattered. Now, each person had to deal with three or four Demon Soldiers, and even if they wanted to look out for one another, they were powerless to do so.

Don't let the fact that these were just foot soldiers fool you; they were still Demon Race members after all. Every move was extremely ruthless, and they were all going for the kill when they fought—how could they still care about Feilian's orders?

Chiyanzi was, after all, a few years older and wiser. He knew that if they continued to respond like this, their stamina would inevitably fail. The saying went, "To capture the bandits, first capture the king," so the best strategy for now was to take down Feilian.

After deciding, Chiyanzi pinched his fingers to form a Rootless Image Technique, leaving an illusion to confuse his opponents, then cast an invisibility spell while pinching his fingers again. Afterward, he drew his Cizhu Sword and quietly crept toward Feilian.

Seeing Feilian right before his eyes, Chiyanzi raised his sword to strike, but heaven did not grant his wish; he had ultimately underestimated this half-grown child.

Although Feilian appeared to be lying comfortably on his mount, in reality, he had shrouded everyone in his "Chu" from the very beginning, so he had long since sensed Chiyanzi's movements; he had only been pretending not to know.

Chiyanzi's mistake was judging by appearances, completely forgetting that the opponent was, after all, a Demon General who had commanded a force of Demon Soldiers for hundreds of years—how could he be without any schemes?

Just as Chiyanzi thrust his sword down, the mount beneath Feilian raised its head and bit the Cizhu Sword.

Although this monster was a mount, it was still a member of the Demon Race. The mouth biting the sword hissed with black Qi, but it did not let go. With a tilt of its head, it easily snapped the Cizhu Sword in two.

Feilian's eyes widened slightly, and he glanced lazily at Chiyanzi, a wicked smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. Seeing this, Chiyanzi secretly thought it was a bad sign, but it was already too late.

The monster spat out the broken sword, twisted its body, and its massive leopard tail lashed out toward Chiyanzi.

If he were struck by this tail, he would surely be severely injured!

A gust of wind rushed toward his face, but Chiyanzi was already too late to dodge!

Just as Chiyanzi thought he couldn't escape and raised his arms to brace for the impact, the rat-headed, leopard-bodied monster suddenly stopped. Looking over, it turned out that Chengkai had used his Jinglei Staff to entangle the monster's tail!