Chapter 102: Unexpectedly Encountering an Old Demon (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The yaoguai, whose body had been pierced through by five throwing darts and had another dart stuck in its head, lay on the ground. Its life force was already extinguished, yet it would not rest; instead, it kept twisting and struggling on the ground, creating a distinct commotion.

"Is it dead?"

"Should be."

"Third Shixiong brother, where did you learn these spells..."

"Don't you worry about it."

"Oh! Then it..."

The junior sister pointed at the corpse that kept twitching on the ground.

With a bang, the room door was kicked open.

Stepping in first were four tall and fierce armored guards, their faces painted with bright red oil paint, holding shields; behind them was the third senior brother carrying a sword.

As soon as they entered, they saw a charred corpse lying on the ground, its clothes reduced to rags. It could only be identified as humanoid, and it had already lost its life force, yet it was neither like a person nor like a corpse.

The third senior brother breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the two of them.

"I knew you had also encountered a yaoguai, but fortunately, it seems you've already solved it."

"Third Shixiong brother, why did you only just arrive?"

"Just arrived? These bald donkeys are acquainted with quite a few yaoguai; I've already slaughtered two snake yaoguai and one large spider outside!" After finishing, the third senior brother looked down, "What is this thing? Why is it still jumping around even after death?"

"This is..."

Lin Jue looked down, fragments of what just happened flashing through his mind. His eyes revealed contemplation, then he suddenly widened his eyes, his expression turning solemn.

"Not good!"

He pushed out a palm, flames like a dragon.

The sound of fire and wind intertwined.

Once the spiritual fire scorched it, the yaoguai on the ground immediately revealed its true form.

It was precisely a tail that kept twitching.

Lin Jue reacted, holding his sword without hesitation and chanting:

"Heaven and earth are vast, spirits of this place, hear my command! Spiritual light washes clean, illuminating the ancient dark realm! Yaoguai and ghosts come forth, do not hide your forms to avoid the light! In the three realms of yin and yang, my incantation reveals your true shape!"

Spiritual light rippled out like water.

A mottled trail of blood appeared on the ground.

Lin Jue turned his head to look—

A shadow was moving along the wall, having just bypassed the armored guards in the room. Upon reaching the doorway and seeing that it had been discovered, it no longer cared about hiding its tracks or footsteps, flashing out and charging toward the outside.

Swish! The fox was the first to rush out the door!

The three of them followed closely behind.

Upon exiting and looking up, the thing had already crossed the courtyard wall. Although heavily injured, its speed was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, it vaulted over the wall.

The courtyard was already a scene of blood and mess.

Many pilgrims and commoners were trembling with fear.

"Running?"

Lin Jue hesitated slightly, but tilting his head, he looked at the bloodstain on his shoulder; the stinging pain was still coming through. He gritted his teeth, gripped his long sword tightly, and also took out a cyan bottle the size of a finger.

He swallowed it in one gulp.

Now that his method of ingestion had achieved success, both the speed at which the medicinal pill took effect and its potency were much better than before. Immediately, he felt a surge of heat flowing through his entire body, and wind rose beneath his feet.

A pilgrim surnamed Wang hid in the room, peeking outside.

Today's events had come so suddenly; they had both terrified him and overturned his understanding.

First, for some unknown reason, that young Daoist priest who had been so easy to talk to yesterday found the monks in the temple with his sword. With a wave of his hand, he performed the "scattering beans to form soldiers" technique, a skill truly like an immortal, and no one knew why he was angry.

The high monks in the temple were initially puzzled and fearful, as if the young Daoist had become possessed. Those with more courage tried to persuade him, while those with less had already run out of the temple or hidden. But until the young Daoist cut down a high monk with one sword, these high monks instantly changed their faces, and to save their lives, they even summoned yaoguai.

Both sides claimed the other was a demon.

The young Daoist said the monks were deeply hidden and the yaoguai were full of death energy, while the monks said the great snake was the Heavenly Dragon protecting the Buddhist teachings, and these armored guards all over the ground were ghost soldiers and demon generals.

It left the pilgrim surnamed Wang unable to tell who was good and who was evil.

In any case, the young Daoist was the more skilled one in the end.

The pilgrim surnamed Wang still dared not go out. Just as he thought the dust had settled, he saw those two younger Daoists rush out of the room with aggressive momentum, and the Daoist surnamed Lin among them, without a word, charged out with his sword.

Although he seemed young, he reached the courtyard wall in one step, and in another, he was on top of it, heading toward the rising sun with his sword.

That white fox leaped nimbly and actually crossed the wall as well.

The two Daoists behind followed closely.

They seemed to be chasing something.

The struggle in the temple, to put it plainly, lasted only a short while, and the morning sun had not yet risen.

Once outside the courtyard wall, the world became vast and open.

First was a forest of pine and cypress, where squirrels searched for fruit and birds sang in the quiet, all shrouded in a faint morning mist.

But this tranquility was instantly shattered.

The yaoguai shuttled through it with agility.

Lin Jue, having ingested the Spirit-Walking Pill, felt as light as a swallow, with wind rising beneath his feet. He simply stopped walking on flat ground and chased by stepping on the treetops and tips, his eyes fixed firmly on the ground below.

After leaving this pine and cypress forest, there was another stretch of farmland.

The autumn harvest had long passed, and several autumn rains had just filled the fields with water. In the windless morning, every plot of land looked like a square mirror, reflecting the clouds and the morning sun in the sky, the green grass on the ridges, and the farmhouses.

Yet a yaoguai ran through the mirror-like water fields as if flying; it seemed its feet did not sink to the bottom when stepping in the water, only pulling out a gradually expanding ripple in the mirror.

The morning glow dyed the farmland water mirrors a magnificent red, and smoke from cooking fires rose in the thatched cottages by the fields. It was originally a peaceful picture of rural autumn scenery, but some farmers heard the noise and pushed open their doors, only to see a Daoist holding a sword, stepping on the water and shuttling between the ridges and the water surface.

That figure was ethereal, truly looking like an immortal.

The farmers could not help but watch in a daze.

The third senior brother behind, although high in cultivation, had not learned the method of ingestion and gradually could not keep up with him.

The only one who could keep up with him was actually a white shadow, running almost shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

It was like running and yet like leaping, like leaping and yet like flying. A water field was beneath its feet; it only needed to take one step in the middle to leap to the other side of the ridge.

The yaoguai in front was gradually widening the distance between them.

Chasing further ahead, they reached the mountains.

In late autumn, the grass had withered and turned yellow, the mountains were covered in red, and the forest was dyed in layers. The morning mist clung to the ground like a layer of white gauze among the trees.

Lin Jue still shuttled between the withered branches and red leaves.

Occasionally, a few red leaves flew from the air, blocking his line of sight along with the morning mist. Fortunately, Fuyao seemed to understand his thoughts, shuttling through the foot of the mountain like a shadow, pointing out the direction for him.

"Shu, shu, shu..."

Several throwing darts were shot out in succession, landing on the ground.

Immediately, they flew back amidst the sound of incantations.

This yaoguai ran so fast; despite being heavily injured, it was actually able to slowly widen the distance from him.

Gradually, they reached another large mountain.

Unknowingly, besides the withered branches and flying leaves, there was another crow beside him, flying side-by-side at a distance, occasionally turning its head to look at him.

"Awoo~"

A long wolf howl came from afar.

"Another yaoguai?"

Lin Jue looked back and saw the third senior brother still following behind, so he did not slow his pace.

At this time, they had already reached the mountain. One would imagine that in spring, this place would have grass like silk, but now it was withered grass half a person's height, swaying with the mountain wind against the morning sun, and the mountain grass had even taken on a few shades of red.

That yaoguai was fleeing for its life in the grassy mountain, the golden-yellow and red-tinted grass being parted into a path by it, and the distance from Lin Jue was getting further and further. Just as Lin Jue felt he might not be able to catch up and hesitated, feeling that chasing so far might carry some risks, he suddenly saw the grass on the opposite mountain also begin to move, also being parted into a distinct path.

The two lines seemed about to intersect.

Lin Jue stopped his pace, staring ahead.

The fox also stopped by his side, raising its head high, watching the front with great vigilance.

The sound of wind filled the mountains, and the morning light was dazzling.

That yaoguai was fleeing frantically, and the line in the distance was also approaching rapidly; the two sides soon converged.

Only a scream and a roar were heard.

Extremely shrill.

The commotion in the grassy mountain stopped instantly.

Lin Jue stopped his pace, holding his sword in vigilance.

He saw a tall man suddenly stand up in the mountain grass half a person's height in the distance. The man was grabbing that yaoguai with one hand, walking toward Lin Jue amidst the strong wind and moving grass. Slowly, as he walked closer, it could be seen that the yaoguai's head had been bitten off by some kind of beast.

The fox became even more vigilant, even crouching low.

Lin Jue, however, felt this person looked somewhat familiar.

"Benefactor..."

That figure walked to Lin Jue's side and then stopped, throwing the yaoguai in front of Lin Jue: "Why did you not seek us out when you came to Zhou Shan, but instead spent the early morning chasing a yaoguai here?"

"Pu, pu, pu..."

A crow landed on his head.

Lin Jue then remembered—

It was actually that wolf yaoguai from Langtou Dashan.

"Zhou Shan?"

This was Zhou Shan?

Lin Jue looked around; unknowingly, he had already arrived in a large mountain. After some thought, he looked at the wolf yaoguai and the crow in front of him again: "To think I would coincidentally meet you!"

This actually puzzled the fox; it tilted its head to look at him, then at the wolf yaoguai and the crow in front.

At the same time, the third senior brother and the junior sister also arrived by their side.

The third senior brother did not know the situation and was as puzzled as the fox, while the junior sister still remembered this wolf yaoguai and the crow, and seeing them like this, she also felt it was very strange.

"Benefactor, why are you chasing the yaoguai?"

"It's a long story..."

Lin Jue held his sword and looked at them, not smelling any death energy on them, which made him relax slightly.

It was not that he was overly suspicious, but because this place was not far from the foot of the mountain, only ten or twenty li, so some vigilance was necessary.

However, thinking carefully, this temple had not been open for just one or two years. These two dared to attend the banquet of the Dashan Lord of Langtou Dashan early last summer, so they must not have entered the evil path at that time. They should not have been colluding with them. Now there was no death energy, which just confirmed their persistence.

Lin Jue then briefly explained the matter.

"Those monks at Songyin Temple. They have been here for many years. Actually, they are not monks; the original monks were killed by them. Over these years, they have also harmed some people, but not many, mainly for money, and apart from that, they have always been very low-key." The wolf yaoguai said to him, "Over these years, no people or immortals have come to manage them."

"You knew about it too?"

"Of course we knew, but we just didn't offend each other." The wolf yaoguai said, "Now that they have fallen into the hands of the benefactor, it can be considered retribution."

"Is that so..."

Lin Jue frowned in thought, but suddenly felt some doubt:

"They have been here for so many years, where did they spend the money they stole?"

"I don't know about that." The wolf yaoguai shook its head, "I have also been puzzled. They eat pills, but they don't refine them, and I have checked; they are just some very ordinary pills."

"I know!" The crow on the wolf yaoguai's head said, "They exchange all the money they swindled for silver. Often, yaoguai will come to the temple, and these yaoguai will take away all the silver and leave pills!"

"Eh?"

Lin Jue was surprised that it could speak, so he hurriedly cupped his hands and said to the wolf yaoguai and the crow: "It seems that your crow brother has successfully attained the Dao, and you have also had your wish fulfilled."

"Many thanks to the benefactor."

"Many thanks to the benefactor."

"I also have to thank you today. If it weren't for you, it would have run away." Lin Jue looked at the wound on his shoulder; if it had run away, his mind would not be at peace.

"Just a small effort."

"You said yaoguai took away the silver?" Lin Jue frowned, feeling even stranger, "But what do yaoguai use silver for?"

"We don't know about that."

"Many thanks."

While the person and the two yaoguai were talking, the third senior brother and the junior sister also stood by and watched. Only the crow turned its head and saw that white fox walk in front of the yaoguai—the yaoguai was dead, its soul scattered, and its magical power, essence, and life force or death energy naturally dissipated in the air, but the fox still would not let it go, running over to sniff it and hitting it with its paw alone out of boredom.

The crow tilted its head and stared. ===== CHAPTER 103 =====