Chapter 420: The One-Punch Daoist! Women Are Trouble! A Senior of the Third Realm!

Xiao Ran froze for a moment, surprised. She turned to look back at him, and for the first time, clearly saw the young Daoist’s face. His features were finely cut, his sword-like brows framing eyes bright as stars. He was handsome to the point of being almost unreal.

Even in a situation this dire, Xiao Ran found herself holding her breath.

Such a handsome Daoist...

Just then, Li Yanchu noticed her dazed expression and frowned slightly.

What’s wrong with this girl? Daydreaming at a time like this?

In his eyes, that was the height of unprofessionalism. Still, since her intentions weren’t bad, he said nothing further; instead, he simply stepped forward and charged ahead.

On the other side, the ghost bride in scarlet had fully manifested, her figure solidifying in the gloom. Her yin qi was overwhelmingly oppressive and suffocating.

“You shameless pair of lovers!” Ji Bochang roared. “Today, I will refine you both!”

At the same moment, the ghost bride in her crimson wedding dress slowly raised one pale hand, and Xiao Ran felt her chest tighten, her blood turning to ice. It was as though even her heartbeat was freezing solid.

But Li Yanchu wasn’t affected in the slightest. He stepped forward and, with one clean stroke of his blade, chopped off the ghost bride’s head, which rolled across the ground.

Without pausing, his eyes gleamed coldly as he swung his blade again, this time at Ji Bochang’s neck swiftly and ruthlessly.

Ji Bochang’s pupils contracted sharply, his eyes widening in disbelief. He didn’t even have time to react. He was still frozen in shock, unable to comprehend how his ultimate trump card, the ghost bride, had just been decapitated in a single strike.

But the Jiaoslayer didn’t cut into his flesh.

The headless ghost bride, dressed in her crimson wedding gown, suddenly moved on her own and blocked Ji Bochang’s body with a strange, mournful devotion. She was then sliced cleanly in half.

For a brief moment, it almost felt like watching a tragedy of love and obsession, a doomed pair bound by twisted fate.

That instant’s delay gave Ji Bochang the chance to activate another protective talisman. It was a shard of white bone, polished to a smooth, gleaming finish. No one knew which ferocious beast it had come from.

Boom!

A wave of invisible force exploded outward.

Ji Bochang staggered back, barely managing to escape. His face was pale, and his breath was uneven.

Watching this, Li Yanchu raised an eyebrow in faint surprise. That white bone shard had actually managed to withstand nine strikes from the Jiaoslayer.

Still, he simply murmured, “Not bad,” and vanished in a blur, using his Godspeed to give chase.

The first bone shard, drained of its spiritual energy, fell uselessly to the ground.

Ji Bochang, panting, pulled out another identical white bone shard from his robes.

“You really brought quite a lot of toys,” Li Yanchu said coldly, lips curving faintly.

He sheathed his blade and said, “Perfect. Let’s see how my fists compare.”

In an instant, his blood energy erupted like wildfire, blazing skyward like a crimson sun. He threw a single punch, and behind him, two colossal divine figures materialized, mirroring his movement. It was the embodiment of martial will and divine might, as though gods themselves had descended from the heavens.

BOOM!

The ground quaked, and mountains trembled. The white bone shard shattered, stripped of all divine essence, and the overwhelming force of his punch reduced Ji Bochang’s body to powder.

The resulting shockwave was even more terrifying than before. Dust and stones flew everywhere, a towering mushroom cloud rising as the forest around them was scorched into wasteland.

Xiao Ran stared, wide-eyed and utterly speechless. Her full chest rose and fell rapidly, unable to calm.

Li Yanchu, too, seemed faintly surprised.

“...Should I start calling myself the

One-Punch Daoist

now?”

He began cleaning up the battlefield, but found little of value. Ordinary magical artifacts had all been obliterated by that last strike. Only the two white bone shards remained, and he casually tucked them into his robe.

By then, Xiao Ran was still standing there, completely dazed. Suddenly, with a sharp

“Wah!”

Xiao Ran spat out a mouthful of black blood. The dark liquid hit the ground with a hiss, eating into the earth and billowing white smoke.

Her heart surged from emotion, and the poison she had been suppressing flooded into her heart meridian. At this rate, she wouldn’t survive.

She dropped to one knee, her face turning pitch-black. Her mind spun as flashes of her life passing before her eyes like a lantern show: Moments of cultivating in the mountains, arguing with her master, sparring with her senior sister, being pursued by her senior brother, her first time slaying a demon... And finally, the image froze on a chiseled, sharp-featured face, with sword-like brows and bright, starry eyes. That face now overlapped perfectly with the one before her.

Just then, a wave of gratitude filled Xiao Ran’s heart. This refined, striking young Daoist hadn’t exactly saved her life, but he had avenged her. She wanted to thank him, to say at least a few words, but her consciousness grew fainter, slipping deeper and deeper into a black abyss...

Before she could fall completely, Li Yanchu pulled out a talisman from his robes, a bright yellow Plague-Dispelling Talisman, and pressed it gently to her forehead.

In the blink of an eye, the black pallor on her face faded, replaced by a healthy blush of color.

At this time, Xiao Ran fell speechless. The Plague-Dispelling Talisman was the bane of all poisons, venomous insects, and curses, and it had instantly purged the deadly toxins from her body.

She stared at him in stunned awe.

“What kind of divine spell was that?” she murmured, half in disbelief, half in envy.

“Feeling better?” Li Yanchu asked calmly.

“Much better,” Xiao Ran nodded, still dazed.

Li Yanchu gave a faint nod in return, rising to his feet. He hadn’t expected that hunting down a demonic outcast who practiced

Substitution Gu

would accidentally lead him to save a young woman.

Still, as a few bright female faces and the usual consequences of “hero saving beauty” flickered through his mind, he decided not to linger.

With a flicker of light, he used his Godspeed and vanished.

Stunned, Xiao Ran blinked. The handsome Daoist was gone, leaving her standing alone amid the rustling wind, utterly bewildered.

***

When Li Yanchu returned to Wei City, he went straight to find Head Constable Wang.

“The demon cultivator has been dealt with,” he said simply.

Head Constable Wang nodded absently. “It’s all right, Daoist Master. In such a big city, finding one person is nearly impos—”

He stopped mid-sentence, staring wide-eyed. “Wait, already killed?!”

Li Yanchu’s calm confirmation left him momentarily speechless.

“Then... what about the body?” he finally asked.

“I hit him a bit too hard. There’s no body left,” Li Yanchu replied evenly.

“...”

Head Constable Wang fell silent, but he didn’t doubt a word.

To him, Daoist Yanchu was Wei City’s guardian deity. Soon after, the county

yamen

officially closed the case and posted the notice.

***

Outside Wei City, where Li Yanchu had fought earlier, the land lay in utter ruin, as if ravaged by some ancient, primordial beast.

Xiao Ran was already gone. She had decided to head into the city, hoping she might catch another glimpse of that impossibly handsome young Daoist. Meanwhile, several figures were rushing toward the devastated area.

At the front was a shabby old Daoist with a peachwood sword strapped to his back, holding a divination compass in one hand. His expression was full of shock as he said, “Such intense yang qi!”

The oppressive yin and demonic qi that had lingered here were completely purified. Clearly, a righteous cultivator had just subdued a great evil. But... wasn’t this destruction

a bit

excessive?

As the old Daoist pondered this, a chubby monk with a round face and large ears walked up, smiling pleasantly.

“Old Daoist Cao, you arrived quickly.” The scruffy Daoist shot him a look.

“Master Benkong, here to stick your bald head in the excitement again?”

“Amitabha,” the fat monk chuckled. “If a Daoist can come when a Blissful Land is about to open, why can’t a monk?”

The Daoist snorted coldly, “Always meddling, aren’t you? With such a powerful cultivator stationed in Wei City, you’ll only waste your efforts again.”

The fat monk laughed.

“Heh, you old ox-nose, trying to fool me again? The person who struck here was clearly a third realm Yang Spirit expert. Such seniors are like dragons, seen only by fate. They can’t even enter the Blissful Land. Don’t try to trick me.”

The shabby Daoist let out another harsh snort and flicked his sleeve, turning to leave.

That’s right, only a master of the third realm could have caused such devastation.

Still, as he walked, he couldn’t help but think,

So be it. If any foolish demons dare to cause more trouble, having a senior of that level nearby will keep them in line.