Chapter 42: Assistance

The flesh and blood of those two-legged beast kings are the most scrumptious. I must not let them escape.

The demon squinted its eyes, observing the frantic assembly of the two-legged beasts in the distance, their torches ablaze, pointing toward it.

It smirked coldly.

I’ll drain their strength first. Once those two-legged beasts scatter in panic, that’s when I’ll strike and devour their kings.

It moved cautiously yet swiftly, navigating the snowy forest. Watching the two-legged beasts descend into chaos and fear brought it immense satisfaction.

Ever since it consumed the injured white deer, its mind had grown less clouded. This clarity helped it elude numerous pursuits by certain patterned two-legged beasts, eventually leading it to leave its pack and seek refuge here.

It was no stranger to the tactics of these two-legged beasts, particularly their kings who often released black mist from their mouths and wielded dark green bone swords. Overzealous aggression would only result in harm.

The beast realized it needed a calculated approach, occasionally attacking to gradually deplete the defenses of those two-legged beasts.

These two-legged beasts don’t have patterns on their body. What breed could they be?

It effortlessly leaped over a sweeping pole, ducked under a flying arrow, and snapped the arm of a two-legged beast.

If not because that two-legged beast killed my children, I wouldn’t have to stoop this low!

It grumbled viciously in its mind as it crushed the arm with its jaws.

As the creature recalled the grueling chase of that particular patterned two-legged beast that spanned seven mountains and inflicted harm to its vital qi, resulting in a loss of mana, its green eyes glinted with increased ferocity.

These patternless two-legged beasts seemed much weaker. The golden light they unleashed was not particularly strong, but it was still annoyingly persistent.

————

The forest was exceptionally quiet on winter nights. The gentle rustling of snowflakes could be heard continuously as they piled on the ground, broken only by the occasional creak of tree branches groaning under the burden of freshly accumulated snow.

Whoosh!

Li Xiangping fired a shimmering golden arrow, watching the wolf dodge and sink its vicious fangs into a villager’s arm.

Unfazed, he swiftly nocked and released another arrow, repelling the giant wolf that was preparing itself to lunge at another villager.

Witnessing a fellow villager collapsing onto the snow with a blood-curdling scream, painting a burst of hot crimson against the white, the other guards involuntarily shivered.

Fear gripped them, causing their hands on the long poles to slightly slacken as they weakly waved their weapons around.

Chen Erniu, with a grim expression, quickly bandaged the wounded guard with a strip of his cloth, then quickly hoisted him onto his shoulder, and rejoined the group.

“How much farther to Mount Lijing?” Li Xiangping called out as he trudged through the uneven snow, directing his question to Chen Erniu.

Handing the injured man to another villager, Chen Erniu scanned the horizon and promptly replied with a loud voice, “A quarter of an hour!”

Knowing that they were already close to Mount Lijing, a wave of relief washed over the villagers. They steeled themselves against the demon, silently praying not to be its next victim.

Li Xiangping wiped the blood on his face. At this point, the mana in his dantian was already running low. He looked at the terrified villagers and yelled, “We must lure this demon to the mountain for an ambush! If we don’t slay it today, it’ll return to feed on our families!”

Motivated by these words, the villagers exchanged determined glances. Gathering their strength, they raised their arms, heavy as if weighed down by lead, and once again aimed their torches and long poles resolutely at the demon.

The demon glanced at the torches and long poles pointed in its direction while licking the blood off its silver-gray claws.

“Awoooooooooooooooo!!” It put its foot down on the ground impatiently and then with a swift pounce, savagely bit several more villagers.

CRACK!

Suddenly, a whip cracked through the air, striking the demon with a burst of green light. Caught off guard, the beast reeled back, a bloody gash marring its side.

“AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The demon howled in pain and quickly took a few steps back. It fixed its eyes viciously on the man who was dressed in silk and wielding a whip.

“CHIEF!” Wan Tiancang’s relief was palpable at the sight of the whip. A weight seemed to be lifted off his chest, and his face brightened with hope.

Wan Xiaohua, having landed the strike, momentarily paled. He stood motionless, taking a moment to catch his breath as he slowly regained his composure as the color returned to his face.

Having received an urgent letter from Wan Tiancang, Wan Xiaohua hastened from the Wan Residence to Lichuankou Village.

With three consecutive uses of the Divine Movement spells, he arrived just in time to repel the demonic creature with his dharma weapon.

Even as a peak Jade Capital cultivator, this exertion left him slightly breathless, prompting him to take a few moments to catch his breath and regain his composure.

“What a resilient demon,” he muttered, eyeing the shallow wound on the creature’s back.

He inhaled sharply then instructed with a grim expression, “Let the mortals withdraw first.”

His rattan whip, a dharma weapon of Qi Cultivation Realm, demanded considerable effort to wield at his current peak Jade Capital cultivation.

Despite being capable of splitting rocks, it had only managed to leave a mere scratch on the demon’s tough hide.

Li Xiangping waved, and Chen Erniu promptly directed the villagers to carry the injured and retreat toward the west of Lijing Village.

As Wan Xiaohua and the demon squared off in the snowy clearing, Li Xiangping called out, “Chief Wan, if defeating this demon proves too difficult, then head southwest. There’s a protective formation on Mount Lijing. It should at least provide us with an escape route.”

Wan Xiaohua cast a glance at Li Xiangping and replied, “Got it.”

He raised his whip again, sending it lashing toward the demon’s side.

“Awooooo!” The demon nimbly twisted away, evading the whip. It closed the gap between itself and Wan Xiaohua in just two strides, then lunged at him.

Despite the oncoming threat, Wan Xiaohua remained calm and skillfully conjured a small white jade shield. Although shattered by a strike from the demon, it created enough distance for him to evade further harm.

The demon leaped up again, aiming for Wan Xiaohua. Sensing an opportunity, Wan Xiaohua’s eyes lit up.

“AHA!” His whip glowed brightly, aimed at the wolf’s side. However, the beast made no attempts to dodge it this time.

Cunningness flashed across its eyes as it opened its maw and released a pitch-black breath straight at Wan Xiaohua’s face.

“Cursed beast! You’re so sly!” Wan Xiaohua swore, left with no choice but to release his whip and retreat.

The demon growled viciously, enduring the sting of the whip. It clawed the discarded whip on the ground, trampling it underfoot as it glared at Wan Xiaohua, its green eyes cold and calculating.

“What a cunning demon...”

Wan Xiaohua observed the silver-gray giant wolf with a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. His family’s lands did not border Mount Dali, so encounters with demons, especially ones as formidable as those at the Jade Capital, were rare for him.

The demon, using its hind paw, buried the whip deep in the snow.

It then charged toward Wan Xiaohua, who quickly performed a hand seal and unleashed a spell. Once again, a small white shield materialized in front of him.

However, the demon was one step ahead. Emitting black qi from its paws, it leaped into the air, effortlessly shattering the delicate shield with a single strike.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The wolf’s jaws then snapped viciously toward Wan Xiaohua’s neck.