Chapter 66: The Mountain Road

The mountain road was rugged, and the group moved very slowly.

Coupled with the fact that wild beasts would charge out from time to time, the progress of the entire group was slowed down even further.

This caused the members of the Demon Slaying Division to frown deeply.

There was no other reason.

It was simply because the scent of blood clinging to them was growing heavier, and more and more ferocious beasts were charging out from the mountain forest.

Just a moment ago, a ranked spirit snake had slithered out from an inconspicuous spot and bitten one of the Demon Slaying Division's colleagues.

The spirit snake was highly venomous; within the span of just three breaths, the man's body had dissolved from the poison, and he died, turning into a pool of blood that flowed across the ground—a sight that left everyone terrified, filled with both grief and rage.

If not for Garrison Commander Lu arriving quickly and shattering it with a single blade strike, more people would likely have died.

This mountain road had become increasingly dangerous.

As time passed, there was no telling how many more of them might lose their lives here today.

Lu Jianxing glanced at the stumbling elderly and children, his brows knitting together.

——

Within the group.

After hearing the little guy's answer, Li Xiang's emotions could not settle for a long time.

He really wanted to ask the little guy one thing.

It is easy for you to establish rules.

But you must understand.

The real challenge is getting everyone to obey your rules.

One's position is low, and one's words carry little weight.

Often, at the very moment a rule is established, it creates massive benefits for those who break it.

If a rule is to remain unchallenged, it requires powerful checks and balances.

That requires power nearly on par with the heavens.

Therefore, the little guy's idea is an overly idealized state.

And besides that.

Most importantly, can you truly achieve absolute fairness?

You must know, you are also human.

And humans.

All have desires!

Having desires means there will be favoritism.

Having favoritism means the beginning of unfairness.

Kid, you think of everything too simply!

Li Xiang looked at the little guy, silently complaining in his heart.

However, after pondering for a long time, he ultimately did not say it out loud.

After all, Zhenger is still young; there is no need to dampen his enthusiasm.

These things, he should be able to figure out for himself once he grows up.

And most importantly.

Who knows if one day, this little guy's ramblings.

Might actually lead him to achieve it step by step?

After all, his name is Zhao Zheng.

But having said that.

He is worthy of being Xiao Zhenger.

Although still young, he has already begun to show his mettle.

He looked up at the little guy.

Uh, it seems he has turned back into that cute, carefree little fool.

At this moment, he is happily eating the fruit he gave him.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother! Is there any more? I'm hungry!"

Li Xiang: "..."

You treat someone with an Eight-Point Family Background like this, you! You! You, you, you!

He looked up at the mountain road, Li Xiang holding his breath and focusing, ready to guard against any danger that might appear at any time.

"Little guy, don't run around, you must follow me closely, do you hear me!"

"I hear you!"

Li Xiang followed closely behind the group, a faint bit of Haoran Qi condensing in his hand, turning into silk threads that connected to Zhao Zheng and his parents.

Should there be any sign of trouble.

He would be able to react immediately.

The group was moving very slowly; having set off for so long, they had covered less than one-tenth of the distance.

At this speed, by the time they reached the county, it would likely already be dark.

After all, the group included many elderly people and women, and they were carrying many children, making movement extremely inconvenient.

This actually gave Li Xiang a sudden sense of goodwill toward this group from the Demon Slaying Division.

Being willing to take the commoners away—this kind of behavior is worthy of respect.

It's just that he didn't know how much longer this journey would take.

Li Xiang was also quite worried; if it dragged on too long, and some powerful demon really walked out of the mountains, it would be difficult to handle.

Just as he was thinking this.

Bang~

Li Xiang bumped into the back of his father.

A noisy sound suddenly came from the front; it seemed the group had encountered some problem.

At the same moment.

A heavy sound of the Demon Suppression Bell rang out.

"What happened?"

Li Xiang was a bit curious.

A flash of Immortal Light passed through his hand, and in an instant, an identical phantom of himself slowly condensed in the mountain forest not far away.

Qi Roaming Mountains and Rivers!

His field of vision opened up along with it.

At the very front of the group, a huge pit had suddenly appeared, blocking the road.

At the same moment, the Demon Suppression Bell also suddenly underwent a change.

The Demon Suppression Bell on the mule cart suddenly began to vibrate rapidly, and a faint halo of light began to emerge from the bell, spreading toward the surroundings.

Before long, it had enveloped everyone within it.

This was the defensive measure of the Demon Suppression Bell.

Li Xiang had seen it last time when demons attacked the village; with this shield present, no demons could harm the people inside.

It was just that this time, the Demon Suppression Bell was damaged, and the power it emitted seemed much weaker.

The halo protecting them was very thin.

"Everyone!"

"Be on guard!"

Lu Jianxing let out a loud shout, and the sound of blades being drawn rang out continuously.

The members of the Demon Slaying Division surrounded the villagers in the center.

The Demon Suppression Bell had issued a warning.

This meant a powerful demon was approaching!

It was just unclear what rank of demon it was.

【Ding! Triggered Grade C Task "Choice"】

【The Southern Wilderness is undergoing a transformation, with demons running rampant. The villagers of Shihe Village are encountering a demon attack on their way to Chiyang County, and the villagers are in imminent danger. Please make a choice, Host, whether to complete the task.】

【Option A: Slay the attacking demon and successfully protect the villagers as they arrive in Chiyang County. Reward: Attribute Points x30, Yellow Grade Refining Material x3!】

【Option B: Flee this place and abandon the task. Reward: None】

【Please make your choice!】

Along with the system's prompt, Li Xiang also felt a trace of danger.

This was a formal task, not an encounter event.

This indicated that the enemy possessed strong aggression and posed a great danger.

He glanced at his parents, then looked at Xiao Zhenger, Li Xiang silently chanting in his heart.

"Accept the task, Option A!"

The next moment.

The system's prompt sounded again.

【Task has been refreshed.】

【The enemy you will face has been marked on the map, please check in time.】

【Chiyang County has been marked on the map, please check in time.】

【Current task completion: 0%】

【Seventh Grade Demon Jiaoli Status: Alive】

"Hmm?"

"A Seventh Grade demon?"

"What is a Jiaoli? What a strange name."

Li Xiang frowned, his whole body quickly becoming tense.

A Seventh Grade demon could already condense Demon Qi and was extremely fierce.

It had many means of attack, so he had to be fully focused.

While pondering, a faint Immortal Light flashed by Li Xiang's hand, and six faint phantoms appeared out of thin air in various corners of the mountain forest.

Monitoring every move in the surroundings.

It was just that what felt a bit strange was.

Li Xiang did not see anything unusual.

The area around the mountain road was very quiet.

He couldn't even see a rabbit.

"Hmm?"

"Could it be that it's still quite far away and hasn't approached yet?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a loud bang.

The light shield around the group shattered directly.

At the same time, the Demon Suppression Bell at the front of the group shattered in half under the force of this counter-shock.

The demon, the demon has attacked?!

Not only Li Xiang, but Lu Jianxing was also looking around in great shock.

Because even with his cultivation, he hadn't sensed a single trace of the demon's aura.

He just saw the Demon Suppression Bell shatter directly.

They had suffered heavy losses without even finding the enemy.

The first time it was the bell, what about the next time?

Should they use human lives to fill the gap?

Li Xiang controlled the phantoms, six pairs of eyes scanning the jungle, searching for the enemy's tracks.

The next moment, Li Xiang suddenly thought of something.

"Open the map!"

【Map has been updated, please review in time!】

Li Xiang saw that on the map, at his own location, a strange beast head was overlapping with him.

The demon had clearly completely overlapped with him.

But he couldn't find the demon's location.

"This..."

"Could it be!"

A trace of Haoran Righteous Qi flowed in Li Xiang's eyes, and he looked up at the sky.

The sky was empty.

He lowered his head and looked toward the ground.

His Confucian divine ability took effect, seeing through all disguises.

Sure enough, beneath the group's feet, a huge black shadow was rolling wantonly in the soil.

Passages crisscrossing each other were being established underground.

Li Xiang stared intently.

A scaled demon emitting thick Demon Qi was looking at them fiercely from within the tunnel.

【Seventh Grade Demon: Jiaoli!】

I wrote too slowly yesterday, so I stayed up all night writing. This is the update for Saturday. I'll write the Sunday one after I wake up—the dog author who loves you.

PS: Recommending a book, a strong book with a Great Ming theme!

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