In an instant, countless blades and swords flew toward Zanxing.
Before she could even see their faces, they were already attacking? Zanxing swung her staff and deflected the incoming blades and swords. She quickly activated her Demon King’s energy, causing countless black flowers to bloom continuously from the tip of her staff. The flowers grew more vibrant and seductive, crashing heavily toward the approaching cultivators.
The demon race had a unique physique, and the Heavenly Demon bloodline was even rarer. Ordinary cultivators were no match for them. The group was forced to retreat several steps from Zanxing’s strike, coughing up blood and daring not to approach her for the moment.
Zanxing looked up at the group of people.
Their robes… seemed to be from the Yinfeng Sect.
There were not many disciples from the Yinfeng Sect, only about twenty or so. It was unclear if they had gotten separated from their group. Zanxing didn’t see the ones she met in Li’er Country last time. These people naturally didn’t recognize Zanxing and regarded her as a formidable enemy. One person noticed the Xiang Ling Sect senior sister lying on the ground and exclaimed, “Isn’t this Senior Sister Sisi? She went to fetch water and never returned. It turns out she fell into the hands of this demon! Despicable!”
Zanxing said, “Take a closer look. She’s not dead, so how could she have met her end at my hands? I pulled her out of the lake. If you don’t believe me, ask her yourself when she wakes up.”
“Don’t listen to her nonsense, she’s just stalling for time!” The Yinfeng Sect disciples were outraged, shouting, “This demon is extremely cunning. Even if we have to risk our lives, we must fight her to the end. Charge, brothers, kill this demon and avenge the common people!”
Zanxing: “…” She had expected the Demon Extermination Army to be quite troublesome, but this? Or was it only the Yinfeng Sect disciples who were this comical? The ones she saw in Li’er Country last time seemed normal. Had the Yinfeng Sect declined so much in just two years that they couldn’t find competent people?
“Brothers, form the formation!” The Yinfeng Sect disciple slashed with his long sword, blood dripping from his fingertip into the soil. The disciples behind him followed suit, dripping blood into the mud. Dozens of long swords rose from the ground, forming a sword formation in the air, charging toward Zanxing.
Zanxing: “Is that all?” The formation seemed more showy than formidable. Zanxing gripped her staff and swung it in the air. Suddenly, it split into countless azure streaks of light.
Bang bang bang bang bang——
The long swords clashed with the green staff as if striking the hardest boulders. The staff was rounded, but its tip was even sharper than the sword tips. In a moment, the long swords shattered into pieces, falling like rain. The disciples in the formation spat out blood and were unable to hold on, all being sent flying.
The sword formation was broken.
Zanxing, holding the staff, looked at the scattered Yinfeng Sect disciples on the ground and calmly said, “Can you calm down now?”
“A soldier can be killed but not humiliated!” The leading disciple held his neck high and sneered, “Demon, do you think we will let you humiliate us? Even if we die, we won’t bow to a demon like you. You might as well kill us! When our sect learns of this, they will avenge us! Come on!”
Zanxing: “Why don’t you go sing instead?”
“Senior Brother,” a disciple beside him, perhaps reluctant to die just yet, cautiously tugged at his sleeve, “Maybe we should listen to what she has to say first.”
“Listen to what? To her deceitful words and manipulation?” The one who was shouting replied loudly, “Our master always taught us that demons are treacherous and we must not fall into their traps. We must never lose the face of the Yinfeng Sect, even if it means death. I didn’t expect you to be such a coward who fears death. Junior Brother, I am very disappointed in you! Have you ever considered what if she takes a liking to us and locks us up in the demon realm, forcing us to serve her? I’ve heard that the Demon Queen of the past captured handsome men and kept them in her palace, plundering and dominating them. If we fall into the hands of a female demon, wouldn’t that be worse than death!”
Zanxing looked at him incredulously: “Who gave you the confidence that you’re a handsome man?”
“Stop pretending. If you weren’t planning to capture us alive, why haven’t you killed us yet? It’s obvious you have dirty intentions. Do you think we can’t see through that?”
Zanxing was in no mood to continue dealing with this lunatic. She said, “Think what you want. My subordinate was dragged into the water by a monster. I saved him,” Zanxing pointed to the unconscious Senior Sister, “I happened to see the Xiang Ling Sect person at the bottom of the water and brought her out as well. Believe it or not, our demon race might have a bad reputation, but we’re not a scapegoat for nothing. If you don’t believe me, you can ask her when she wakes up. I have things to attend to, so I won’t keep you.”
She picked up the disciple and turned to leave. It seemed that these Yinfeng Sect disciples had probably gotten separated from the extermination army. Zanxing needed to rejoin Xiao Shuang and the others. Staying here was somewhat conspicuous, and it would be problematic if Gui Yansheng showed up. Zanxing didn’t want to start a fight with the Yinfeng Sect disciples here. The most important thing for this mission was the Xiao Yuan Pearl. Any disturbance, whether Gui Yansheng hides or appears now, would not be good for the demon race.
Of course, these paper-tiger Yinfeng Sect disciples were no threat to her.
Once entangled in the identity of the demon race, many ordinary actions come off as having ulterior motives. In such cases, it’s hard to be clear about anything.
Just as Zanxing took a few steps, a sinister voice suddenly came from behind her: “Who allowed you to leave?” A chilling gust of wind suddenly struck from behind.
Zanxing swiftly dodged, turning to block a long sword with her staff. The person’s appearance was unfamiliar, but their robe was a translucent sash of the Chihua Sect. This was a disciple of the Chihua Sect.
Zanxing’s eyes caught sight of the small disciple who had been shouting earlier. A few ashes from a transmission talisman fell from his concealed fingers.
So it was a case of pretending to be weak and then attacking. One by one, it seemed none of them were easy to deal with.
The Chihua Sect disciple, having failed in his sneak attack, thrust his long sword again, this time with a deadly intent. He coldly said, “The demon race killing our Chihua Sect disciples is unforgivable. Not a single one will be spared. The Yinfeng Sect really raises a bunch of useless people. So many of them couldn’t even defeat one demon cultivator and almost let her escape—how utterly incompetent!”
“Who are you speaking so sarcastically to? Do you even know how powerful she is?” the disciple who had been mocking retorted stubbornly, “If you’re so capable, why don’t you step up yourself? With your sect’s abilities, dozens of your disciples were wiped out silently on Gufeng Mountain—who else in the cultivation world can match your sect’s incompetence?”
Hearing this sarcasm, the Chihua Sect disciple’s face darkened further. He thrust his sword at Zanxing, but as she met the attack with her staff, a short arrow suddenly flew out from his sleeve. The arrow emitted a sinister black sheen, indicating it was poisoned.
“Another sneak attack,” Zanxing’s expression darkened.
She had no fondness for the Chihua Sect. When Daoist Lingxin had thrown her into the Ten Thousand Killing Formation and pinned her to the Divine Fire Pillar with the Dragon Binding Spike, there was no intention of letting her survive. The agony of the Ten Thousand Killing Formation was still fresh in her memory, and now the Chihua Sect disciple was using the same old trick, exhausting her last bit of patience.
“Is this all your sect can do, sneaking attacks?” Zanxing said coldly.
The arrow was already close. The Chihua Sect disciple revealed a smug smile and said, “How does it matter if it’s a sneak attack against the demon race? Today, you dying here is your fortune.”
“Just you?” Zanxing looked down. Deep within her brows, a blue begonia quietly bloomed, and with a burst of azure-black light, the arrow exploded into dust. The Chihua Sect disciple was caught off guard, blasted away by the surging demonic energy, and the next moment, someone grasped his throat tightly, lifting him into the air.
The woman’s gaze was calm as she held him as if he were a weak, sickly kitten, staring at him intently.
“Zhao Jiaming is captured!” the mocking disciple from Yinfeng Sect gloated. “You talk so much, but in the end, you’re just another defeated foe! It’s well-deserved!”
“Senior Brother,” the younger disciple reminded him, “…we’re on the same side.”
Zhao Jiaming, the Chihua Sect disciple, struggled desperately. His sword had fallen to the ground, and his energy, compared to the woman before him, was as weak as a child’s against an adult. Realizing that he could not escape death today, he fixed his eyes on Zanxing with intense hatred, wishing he could tear her apart.
“Skill issue. You better accept defeat willingly,” Zanxing said, echoing his words back to him. “Dying here today is indeed your fortune.”
She slowly tightened her grip on his throat.
“Zhao Jiaming is going to die!” the Yinfeng Sect disciple exclaimed in horror.
Zanxing had no intention of taking Zhao Jiaming’s life. Killing him would only confirm the bloodbath on Gufeng Mountain, and he was deliberately provoking her. Why should Zhao Jiaming gain the name of a hero who fought against demons?
But the matter couldn’t end just like this. The Heavenly Demon Bloodline inherently carried some degree of innate ferocity. Though she could suppress her bloodline impulses due to her stable and peaceful nature, sometimes that impulse would erupt suddenly, as it was now.
Zhao Jiaming felt his energy slowly draining away, and he grit his teeth, managing to utter, “You…”
Zanxing was currently absorbing all his cultivation power.
The disciples of Chihua Sect who could enter the sect certainly not ordinary people. And those selected for the Demon Extermination Army were far from useless. Zanxing’s draining of Zhao Jiaming’s cultivation was meant to nullify decades of his efforts. For someone as arrogant as Zhao Jiaming, losing everything he had worked for would likely be worse than death.
Golden light points began to rise from Zhao Jiaming’s body. His cultivation power was being drained almost completely, with his Golden Core melting away significantly. Just a bit more, and he would become an ordinary person with no strength at all.
In that moment, a silver flash suddenly appeared from behind. This silver light, like swirling snowflakes, was dazzling and sharp, striking towards Zanxing’s hand. Zanxing let go, and Zhao Jiaming fell to the ground with a thud. A voice from behind came through, dripping with undisguised mockery: “Zhao Jiaming, being pinned down and beaten? Is this the extent of Chihua Sect’s capability?”
The voice was bright and arrogant, with a hint of provocation, causing Zanxing to look up suddenly.
She turned around sharply.
Under the trees, a young man’s silver spear swirled with flying snowflakes. Behind him was a vast sea of flowers, and he stood in the springtime blossoms like a dazzling morning star, full of spirit and pride.
A familiar face, but with an unfamiliar expression.
His gaze landed on Zanxing: “Demon clan?”
—
T/N: Knew this was gonna happen from the moment Shaoyang hit his head, but I’m still not ready for it djfdhfpj T.T