Chapter 174: and translation of chapter title

Old Four, don't just stand there, quickly take the storage bag, see if Old Five has found this person's true body……

Before the tiger demon finished speaking, a white flash pierced Fang Lu's back, spraying a blob of blood, followed by a 'Plop!' sound, Fang Lu collapsed dead on the ground, utterly dead.

"Oh no, big brother, Old Four is dead, we might have been tricked!"

The fox demon beside them turned pale, seeing the incoming white flash; upon closer look, it was a flying sword. It hastily activated its magic, unleashing a spell attack at the sword while stepping back.

Hiding on the tiger demon and another monster!

Whether it was the tiger demon or the other monster, they paid no heed to the fox demon's change, for they were utterly terrified by the flying sword that had taken Fang Lu's life.

They knew Fang Lu's cultivation—only fifth level of Qi Refining—but he had a few fierce spells, plus the gift of gab, treating his kin's lives as nothing, making him kindred spirit to them.

That's why they accepted Fang Lu, a human, as a sworn brother.

Although.

The flying sword was a sneak attack, catching Fang Lu off guard, but given their knowledge of him, he was always vigilant, even when venting with a female demon he still paid attention to his surroundings.

At the slightest sign of movement, he would flee faster than one could cover their ears.

Let alone looting corpses for gear!

Frankly, Fang Lu, who does such things, is more cautious than any of those monsters; he has even feigned death after severe injury, attempting a dying blow to take them down together, yet Fang Lu easily thwarted it.

They couldn't believe that this time, upon seeing the storage bag dropped by the paper person on the ground, Fang Lu failed to raise utmost vigilance, yet he was still killed by the flying sword.

This suffices to show the opponent's strength, giving Fang Lu no time to react.

For some reason.

Faced with the oncoming flying sword, even if they exerted all their defensive abilities, they still felt a hairs-standing-on-end sense of danger.

It felt as if they could die and descend to the Yellow Springs at any moment!

They just didn't know whether the sense of danger came from the flying sword before them or from a hidden cultivator lurking nearby who had not shown themselves.

The two monsters exchanged a glance, realizing the principle 'the best defense is offense,' and immediately unleashed their strongest combat power.

They sought to destroy the incoming flying sword, then search for the hidden cultivator nearby.

"Pfft!" "Pfft!"

Yet what the two monsters never expected was that, facing their strongest assault, not only did it fail to destroy the incoming flying sword, but the sword easily shattered their attack.

"How is this possible?"

This sight made the two monsters' eyes widen; they were sixth-level Qi Refining cultivators, unleashing their strongest attack, which would still be insufficient against a seventh- or eighth-level Qi Refining cultivator or monster.

If they did not resist with all their might, they would suffer severe injuries.

They never imagined……

... that a single flying sword could so easily shatter them!

The two monsters looked at each other, their eyes filled with panic, and said, 'Could the hidden master be a cultivator of the ninth level of Qi Refining or even Foundation Establishment?'

Upon thinking this, the two monsters were greatly startled, quickly employing another strongest attack to block the flying sword's strike, then turning to flee.

"Pfft!", "Pfft!"—the next moment, the two monsters suddenly felt a heartache, instinctively lowered their heads, and saw a fist-sized blood hole in their chests.

Clearly.

They had, upon seeing the flying sword kill Fang Lu, immediately used defensive arts to protect themselves, and then observed that the sword could even shatter their strongest attack.

They once again doubled down on enhancing their all-around defense!

Never would they have thought.

They considered their defense the strongest, believing even a full-force strike from a ninth-level Qi Refining cultivator, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, or a monster could hardly break it, yet against this unnamed flying sword it offered no resistance at all.

"This, this, this... is this a magic treasure?"

Before the two monsters finished speaking, their bodies collapsed heavily to the ground; raising their heads to call for help, they saw the fox demon beside them had already vanished.

Obviously.

When they turned to flee—no, it's more likely that at the moment their strongest attack was easily shattered by the flying sword, the fox demon already intended to escape.

"Old Second/Second Brother, save me!"

This novel you have reached

The two monsters shouted unwillingly, but to their disappointment, even in death they never saw the fox demon return.

The fox demon's retreating figure not only did not pause, but sped up to twice its speed.

"Ding! You have slain a wicked Evil Cultivator, congratulations on earning reward: Merit +1000!"

"Ding! You have slain a wicked Tiger Demon, congratulations on earning reward: Merit +2000!"

"Ding! You have slain a wicked Pig Demon, congratulations on earning reward: Merit +1000!"

Three mechanical, cold-toned voices rang in his mind; far away, on the face of Wang Ping'an of the Wang family, a hint of surprise appeared.

He knew that slaying an Evil Cultivator or monster would surely grant a large amount of merit reward, yet he never expected to once receive two thousand merit points.

He also didn't know whether it was because the tiger demon's cultivation was stronger than other Evil Cultivators and monsters, or because the tiger demon had committed more evil deeds than them.

That's why he instantly gained two thousand merit points!

"No matter what, it's a good thing, but the most important thing right now is to first find the fleeing fox demon, which is worth a thousand merit points, pertaining to a skill's advancement to the Cultivation stage; we cannot let it get away!"

Speaking thus, Wang Ping'an again commanded the flying sword, following the direction the fox demon had gone, and pursued it.

"Bang!"

The fox demon fled in panic, just about to burst out of the underground passage when a figure blocked its path; before it could prepare, it was fiercely kicked down by the monster blocking its way.

"Hmph! You fat sheep greedy for treasure, we finally lured you into our specially set trap—how could we let you run? Even the elder brothers are really something, how could they let you escape……"

The one blocking the passage entrance was a rat demon, who snorted coldly with smug satisfaction; before finishing his words, he suddenly noticed that the one he had kicked down was the fox demon, their gang's second brother.

"Second Brother, how is it you?"

The rat demon wore an embarrassed face, fearing the fox demon would cause trouble, and hastily changed the subject: 'Second Brother, I've searched this mountain inside and out, yet I couldn't find the fat sheep's true body; you say he might not have come, or perhaps he's controlling a paper person that entered our trap?'

The fox demon trembled in voice, panicked: 'He, he, he is inside the trap!'

(End of chapter)