Chapter 140 - 139: The Imp Meets the King of Hell, Unexpected Discovery

A precious treasure?

The seven laughing Rat Demons abruptly froze, looking at the palm of Li Jing’s hand.

The two female demons, dressed in youthful clothing, instinctively leaned forward to take a closer look.

In the next second, a Boundary Stone appeared in Li Jing’s hand.

Ordinary people might not recognize a Boundary Stone when they saw one.

But how could a monster not recognize one?

The moment they saw the Boundary Stone, the two female demons who were close by immediately lost their composure. The other five male demons also had their faces filled with shock.

Patrol!

A recognition barely registered in the minds of the seven individuals.

The Boundary Stone emitted a faint light, instantly expanding the space boundary. It isolated Li Jing, Ji Qing, and the seven Rat Demons.

Although these Rat Demons were arrogant, their reactions were not slow.

Falling into a Subspace, the Rat Demon with the patterns of Qinglong and White Tiger made an immediate decision, crying out loudly.

"Attack!"

However, Li Jing was even faster.

If he met a cultivator who violated the law, he wouldn’t be polite at all.

What’s more, he encountered monsters that would undoubtedly resist fiercely?

"Boom!"

The sound of thunder exploded.

The two leading female demons took the brunt of the attack. Each of them was hit in the chest with a Palm Thunder of extreme power. Both of them were charred all over their bodies and flew out without even having time to groan.

"Blue Edge!

With a light scolding.

The newly promoted Treasure-level 9, Flying Sword Blue Edge "clang" unsheathed. It instantly turned into a stream of light and shot out, giving the Rat Demon with the Qinglong and White Tiger patterns a heart-chilling blow.

The speed of the sword’s flight was so fast that the five Rat Demons in the field couldn’t react at all.

Blood suddenly appeared.

The Rat Demon who was terribly heart-pierced fell backward.

"Experience +3668."

"Level up, 24. Spiritual Power Intensity +48, Skill Points +2."

The remaining four Rat Demons were just about to join forces to take action, who would have thought that within the blink of an eye, their side, which originally had an absolute numerical advantage, had two incapacitated and one dead?

Not to mention the four Rat Demons who remained unharmed, Ji Qing, who was lying on top of Li Jing’s head, ready to help at any time, also felt a chill spreading throughout his body.

Although she knew that Li Jing, who had always been sensible, could kill demons without blinking an eye, but this was a bit too quick!

The original seven-on-one situation suddenly changed to a four-on-one.

While Ji Qing was still stunned, Li Jing raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

Thousand Spirit Strikes appeared behind him.

In the next moment, the Spirit Strikes were all fired at once.

The four Rat Demons saw this and their eyes widened in fear, anxiously scrambling to escape.

One of the unlucky ones reacts a step too late and is immediately affected by nearly three hundred Spirit Strikes.

"Puff, puff, puff!"

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

Accompanied by a shrill scream, the alert sound rang in his ear.

"Experience +3319."

Another Rat Demon exploded and died. A new round of Spirit Strikes appeared behind Li Jing immediately followed by another burst of attack, sending the three Rat Demons who had managed to open their Demonic Qi barrier into a continuous backpedal.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

With constant Spirit Strike attacks, the Demonic Qi barrier erected by the three Rat Demons continuously shook, but was still as stable as ever.

Li Jing had not yet reached Dai Hong’s level, and did not possess his sophisticated application techniques. He purely relied on his own strength to enhance his power.

Within the same realm, under the premise that the opponent is prepared, the effect of the Spirit Strike is ultimately limited.

Having seized the advantage, however, he would naturally not give the adversaries a chance to resist.

With a pair of eyes shining like lightning, Li Jing’s hands were stacked together, and a thundering sound emerged from his palms.

Lightning Sword!

Dual-wield!

With the support of a middle-period Three Realm cultivation level, the lightning sword of fifty meters length was extraordinarily concentrated, far beyond what he could achieve in the Second Realm.

Li Jing took a step forward, his hands intertwined and swept around.

The remaining three Rat Demons were hit hard each, and their Demonic Qi barrier showed signs of imminent collapse.

At the same time, another round of Spirit Strikes appeared behind Li Jing. Like a storm, it swept across the area.

Two of the Rat Demons, whose strength showed somewhat lacking, saw their Demonic Qi Barrier collapse under the bombardment of new round of Spirit Strikes, and the hot Lightning Sword crossed their chests.

In just one moment, they were struck by dozens of Palm Thunders with slightly weaker prowess.

But even if the prowess was slightly weaker, it was still a Palm Thunder of Great Perfection that broke the limit.

"Experience +3296."

"Experience+3267."

"Level up, 25. Spiritual Power Intensity+50, Skill Points+2."

Three consecutive prompts, announcing the death of two rat demons.

Only one rat demon was left, supporting its almost collapsed demonic Qi shield.

Seeing his companions dropping dead, he was fuming with rage, bellowing loudly.

"I’ll fight you till the end..."

Before his roar ends, the Flying Sword Blue Edge swiftly shoots back, piercing its demonic Qi shield, cutting its neck from behind.

Blood gushed out, and the head was sent flying.

"Experience+3452."

Accompanied by another prompt, the sword light of the Flying Sword Blue Edge bends, sweeping over the necks of the first two female demons that were knocked down.

Two streaks of deep red, silently flowing.

"Experience+3213."

"Experience+3208."

"Level up, 26. Spiritual Power Intensity+52, Skill Points+2."

The battle, is over.

Li Jing jumped three levels in a row, exhaling deeply.

Ji Qing, who had been watching the whole time, was completely stunned as he seamlessly slew seven Rat Demons.

What just happened?

Seven rat demons, transformed into human forms with the power of Three Realm, could not withstand even a moment in front of Li Jing.

They had only entered the subspace less than a minute ago...

It was like small demons encountering the king of hell; the gap between them was like a chasm!

Just how strong is Li Jing now?

Within the Three Realm, is there any opponent he couldn’t handle?

Ji Qing was both shocked and scared.

At this moment, a pair of warm hands lifted her.

"I told you, didn’t I? You don’t need to be afraid when I’m around."

The comforting words stirred her heartstrings.

Ji Qing, who had been held down, stared blankly at Li Jing, her tiny furry paws curling into fists as she murmured softly.

"I’m not scared of the rat demon anymore, but now I’m a little scared of you..."

"Well, there’s nothing I can do about that. You’ll have to get used to it."

Li Jing laughed and ruffled Ji Qing’s little head, his gaze shifting to the panel for a check.

Host: Li Jing

Experience Points: 5875/9292

Level: 26

Skill Points: 6

Spiritual Power Intensity: 702

Equipment: Blue Edge (Treasure-level 9 3%), Linglong (Spirit weapon Level 1 7%)

Passive Skills: Momentary Space, Clothing Protection Spirit (5/5)...

Active Skills: Palm Thunder (5/5), Spirit Strikes (5/5)...

He leveled up three times in one breath and Li Jing felt refreshed.

The lacking skill points have all been replenished.

His Spiritual Power Intensity has greatly increased, and the efficiency of the nurturing process that became weaker will undoubtedly improve.

There are also seven giant Rat Demon corpses on the scene.

This time, it was a huge win.

With a thought, he maxed out his Returning to Origin Skill and Sky Eye Technique, then Li Jing placed Ji Qing on his shoulder and went on to pick up the seven Rat Demon corpses scattered in the subspace.

He beckoned his Flying Sword Blue Edge, fluttering as a streak of light, and turned his head.

"These seven rat demons aren’t that big, but together they should provide a good amount of rat demon meat, you..."

Before he could finish, Ji Qing expressed her distaste.

"I’m a Ragdoll, I don’t eat rats."

"..."

Li Jing.

He was thinking that since a ragdoll is also a cat, why would it refuse rats?

Just as he was pondering, Ji Qing muttered in frustration.

"Want money?"

"..."

Li Jing was stunned, then chuckled and said.

"The rat demons were discovered by you, how could I take your money?"

"Hmm..."

Ji Qing hesitated, licking her small, pink cat lips.

"I want two hamsters, not field mice; they’re too dirty."

Field mice are too dirty...

Are monsters clean or not clean?

Li Jing couldn’t help but laugh silently.

Since Ji Qing wanted to be picky, he could only let her be.

"Alright, after going to the spirit market for identification and disassembly later, I’ll send them to you."

He nodded and pulled out the Boundary Stone to release the accumulated energy within.

As the spatial boundaries were lifted, both Li Jing and Ji Qing returned to their original location along Central Avenue.

Pulling out his contact list, Li Jing messaged Chen Yuran.

"I’ve finished on my side. How about you?"

"?"

Chen Yuran quickly replied with a question mark, followed by another message.

"You finished already? Didn’t you and Ji Qing run into seven Rat Demons?"

"All seven of them were roughly at the Three Realm’s level, dealing with them was much easier than handling Jiang Guanwen."

Li Jing replied.

Chen Yuran’s side was silent for a while after receiving the message, and then she responded.

"We’re doing alright here. There are four Rat Demons in total, they seem to be waiting for a rendezvous in a high-end restaurant. I’ll send you the location, come find me and Jing Ming."

Seeing Chen Yuran’s message about four Rat Demons, Li Jing’s eyes lit up.

These four Rat Demons hadn’t crossed his path with the seven he’d encountered previously, they were either not in league with each other, or there were higher-ups present.

The latter was more likely.

After all, Chen Yuran had conveyed Jing Ming’s message earlier that the leader of the Rat Demons was amongst the four.

Combined with the fact that they were waiting in a high-end restaurant, it could be inferred that they were probably waiting for someone who would buy the stolen goods, intending to dispose of the stolen Elixir.

If the leader of the Rat Demons was there, his Health Bar wouldn’t be short.

If they could take them all out at once, wouldn’t he level up by two ranks?

After replying to Chen Yuran with an "understood", he took a look at the location she had sent, and began walking back along the pedestrian street.

...

The location where Chen Yuran and Jing Ming were was the exact opposite direction from where Li Jing and Ji Qing were, and it was quite a distance away.

Li Jing wasn’t in a hurry, he took his time walking with Ji Qing through the pedestrian street.

After about fifteen minutes, he finally saw Chen Yuran and Jing Ming at a roadside stall selling special flavored tea drinks.

Seeing a few empty seats, Li Jing naturally walked over and sat down.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

"I didn’t wait long."

Chen Yuran agreed and glanced at a restaurant in the distance.

Li Jing understood and looked over.

It was a semi-outdoor high-end Western restaurant, about five hundred meters away from the tea stall. Through the crowd, he saw four people with Health Bars above their heads sitting at an outside table.

The food on the table was untouched.

It seemed that they truly were waiting for someone.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Li Jing used his spiritual power to enhance his vision and looked closer, then frowned.

These four Rat Demons were incomparable to the seven he had encountered earlier.

The one with the longest Health Bar was a male, with a value of 5717.

Late Fourth Realm.

The remaining three were 4428, 4385, and 4372 respectively.

Two males and one female, all late Third Realm.

These from the Third Realm ones didn’t bother Li Jing.

But the Late Fourth Realm one made him wary.

He had killed those of the Fourth Realm before.

But Jiang Guanwen, who had transformed into a Yin entity, after all, was suppressed by Yang Thunder.

Although Yang Thunder also restrains monsters to some extent, the effect is much weaker.

Monsters have much more resistance to Yang Thunder than Yin entities and Evil Cultivators.

Returning his gaze, Li Jing whispered.

"These four seem difficult to deal with."

"They are indeed."

Chen Yuran nodded in agreement, stroked Jing Ming who was lying on the table, and lowered her voice.

"Jing Ming was able to determine that three of them are at the late Third Realm, but she couldn’t see through the leader; he’s probably at least in the Fourth Realm."

Just as she was about to say more, the four Rat Demons in the distant restaurant suddenly stood up and left, walking in the direction away from the pedestrian street.

Chen Yuran caught sight of this situation and paused slightly.

Li Jing also frowned at the sight.

How did these four rat demons just up and leave?

The food on the table was still untouched.

Had they already sensed that their companions had been annihilated?

No.

It was too early for that.

Just as Li Jing was puzzled, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

He pulled out the phone and turned on the screen. On the screen were the bubbles from the chat with Xia Ai.

"Master, the surveillance search has results."

The bubbles disappeared, and on the screen appeared overlapped surveillance screenshots.

The screenshots showed a gang of eleven people in total.

The seven rat demons that he had just killed were members of this gang.

The other four were the ones that had just left the pedestrian street.

Eleven people, all present.

But the surveillance search results were meaningless at this point.

Just as he was about to put away his phone, Li Jing noticed a silhouette wearing a peaked cap, unrecognizable and looking down, in one of the surveillance screenshots.

Taken aback by this discovery, Li Jing frowned and zoomed in on the screenshot.

Upon closer inspection, he immediately recognized the man as Wu Shu, a courier from the Darknet Black Market.

In the screenshot, Wu Shu did not interact with the rat demon gang, it looked like he was just passing by in a hurry.

However, Wu Shu’s appearance in the surveillance was too much of a coincidence.

If he were just strolling around the pedestrian street, he wouldn’t need to wear that suspicious peaked cap that hides his face, drawing more attention instead.

Darknet Black Market...

Without much thought, Li Jing thought of the word "fencing".

To fence stolen goods, there was no better place than the Darknet Black Market.

However, the screenshot of Wu Shu was taken two days ago.

The theft had not occurred then.

Could it be that the rat demon gang had scheduled a reserve sale before even committing the crime?

Caught in thought, Li Jing cast his gaze at Jing Ming and whispered a question.

"Jing Ming, I remember you saying that this gang of rat demons were habitual thieves, where did that information come from?"

Jing Ming, who was being petted under Chen Yuran’s hand, blinked at his words. Using the hand on her head as a cover, she spoke softly.

"I heard it from other demons. I’m not sure about the specifics, but I heard that they recently committed a major crime in Tasu Province and fled to Jianghai."

"I see."

Li Jing nodded and looked at Chen Yuran.

"I have some leads."

Chen Yuran, who was petting Jing Ming, was watching the four rat demons going away. At his words, she turned around.

"What do you mean?"

Faced with the question, Li Jing handed the phone to her, pointing out the courier from the Darknet caught in surveillance.

"This guy, is the Darknet courier who delivered the supercomputer for Xia Ai."

Chen Yuran frowned as she looked down.

Being as smart as she is, she easily read a lot into his words.

Combined with the question Li Jing had just asked Jing Ming, she instantly thought of more possibilities.

"Are you suggesting that this rat demon gang had a fencing transaction on the Darknet Black Market two days ago?"

"Most likely."

Li Jing responded.

Chen Yuran was silent for a moment, then turned her head and said,

"They’ve gone quite a way, we might not be able to catch up if we don’t follow soon. Do you have any way to contact this courier from the surveillance?"

"I have his business card, I can try to contact him."

Li Jing answered, adding,

"But there’s no rush for now. If nothing unexpected happens, the one these rat demons are waiting for is likely him. Through him, we might be able to retrieve the stolen elixir."

As he spoke, he took the Qing from his shoulder and put her on the table.

"I will go after them, you send Jing Ming and Ji Qing away and then come find me. It’s too dangerous for them to come with us. Once we confirm who the rat demons traded with, we can then consider whether to take action."

"Agreed."

Chen Yuran nodded without hesitation and spoke softly,

"Be careful and don’t act rashly."

...