Chapter 340: Given by Liang Jingru

Chapter 340: Liang Jingru's Gift

Yang Guang could not refute, looking at Qi Yuan, he said, "Now... the demon blood should be enough, right? Should we withdraw from Shuyao Mountain first?"

"Not enough, far from enough."

Qi Yuan shook his head.

"With such a paltry amount of demon blood, how can I defeat my great enemy? While there's plenty here, I must strive!"

Yang Guang was utterly speechless.

An Qiao also remained silent, finally asking, "Mr. Qi, do you intend to wage guerrilla warfare here to gather demon blood?"

"Something like that," Qi Yuan nodded.

In truth, he was not waging guerrilla warfare but sweeping through.

"This..." An Qiao hesitated, then said, "Perhaps we should leave first; otherwise, staying here will only hold you back, Mr. Qi."

An Qiao spoke the truth.

With her strength at the late stage of the Qi-Blood Realm, encountering a Jade-Blood Realm great demon would mean her end.

If Qi Yuan fought guerrilla-style, her presence would likely hinder his efficiency.

"You make a valid point," Qi Yuan nodded, then scanned the three present and fixed his gaze on Yang Guang. "Can you still slay a hundred more Jade-Blood Realm great demons?"

A... a hundred?

The expression on Yang Guang's face was worse than tears.

A hundred Jade-Blood Realm great demons—even if he were stuffed to bursting, he'd die.

"I... cannot."

"It seems your kidney deficiency is still too severe. Go back with An Qiao and the others," Qi Yuan said with disdain.

Folks, who gets it? He hired a bodyguard, burly and strong, yet kidney-deficient.

"Cough, cough..." Yang Guang had no words.

An Qiao looked at Qi Yuan and said earnestly, "Mr. Qi, please prioritize your own safety. If things become impossible, leave as soon as you can!"

Just then, an unexpected childish voice rang out: "Mr. Qi, you're slaying demons on Shuyao Mountain and need someone to attend to you. I, Huo Mushi, wish to stay here and take care of your meals and daily needs!"

Huo Mushi's youthful face bore a resolute expression, as if he had wrestled with these words for a long time.

An Qiao and Yang Guang looked at Huo Mushi in surprise, seemingly astonished by his courage.

Qi Yuan, however, remained calm: "I have high standards for meals—three dishes and a soup. Can you manage that?"

"..." Yang Guang.

"I can!" Huo Mushi's face lit up with excitement.

Seeing this, An Qiao said nothing more.

Originally, she wanted to warn Huo Mushi that staying on Shuyao Mountain could very well mean death.

At the same time, she was puzzled as to why Qi Yuan would bring along a burden.

Of course, she truly could not fathom Qi Yuan's way of thinking.

Sometimes, even Qi Yuan himself could not understand his own thoughts.

A quarter of an hour later.

The figures of An Qiao and Yang Guang vanished.

Inside the cave, only Qi Yuan and Huo Mushi remained.

Gazing at the pitch-black night, Huo Mushi would be lying if he said he felt no fear.

Yet he still clutched his blade tightly, guarding the cave entrance.

Ever since the southward migration incident, the surrounding cities had fallen into dire straits.

Nearly all the young and able-bodied men of Zhenyang City had died in battle.

Now, a third of those guarding the city walls were child soldiers, and another third were white-haired elders.

The elderly could no longer enjoy their twilight years, and children could no longer grow up.

Such was the current state of Zhenyang City.

Still, compared to other cities that had become demon domains, Zhenyang City was fortunate.

In other places, when swarms of demons saw a city, they would charge in, slaughter the inhabitants, and turn their corpses into dried rations.

But the leader of Shuyao Mountain seemed to have more "foresight."

Rumor had it that, on the advice of his strategist, he had besieged Zhenyang City and kept the people inside like livestock.

Thus, whenever he craved meat, he would send demon soldiers to seize people.

To them, the human dried rations in Zhenyang City were an endless supply.

Unlike other demon domains, which fished the waters dry.

When other demon domains faced shortages of population and human-meat snacks, they would capture people from Zhenyang City and sell them to other demon domains for resources.

In short, Zhenyang City was Shuyao Mountain's pasture and treasure trove.

Huo Mushi held his blade, occasionally glancing into the cave.

From within came Qi Yuan's strange voice, as if he were pretending to be a robot.

Many thoughts crossed Huo Mushi's mind.

"If only I could keep swallowing demon blood too... that would be wonderful."

Of course, it was just a wish.

Just then, a sound came from the cave. Qi Yuan rose and walked out. He looked at Huo Mushi, a hint of regret in his eyes: "It's a pity you don't know how to play the suona, otherwise..."

Qi Yuan recalled the times in Canglan Realm and Fanxin Realm.

Whenever he set out on campaign, a legion of suona players would follow.

Once the suona sounded, not a bone remained.

"Huh?" Huo Mushi was taken aback, then said, "The suona you speak of, young master, I can play it? My grandfather was a funeral director."

Qi Yuan's eyes lit up.

"It seems fate has guided you to stay here."

Qi Yuan waved his hand, and instantly a suona appeared.

This suona was not something Qi Yuan carried with him; he had conjured it with magic.

"I have a task for you. Whenever I slay demons, you stand by and play the suona... understand?"

"Ah... yes!" Huo Mushi was startled, then quickly nodded in agreement.

……

Three days later.

Within the demon camp of Shu Demon Mountain.

A figure in purple robes, the Peacock, her eyes blazing with fury: “Are they not useless? A single human… not caught in three days, and nearly a hundred demon soldiers dead or wounded?”

The Peacock’s eyes burned with rage.

Nearly a hundred demon soldiers had fallen.

For the demon camp, this was an exceedingly grave loss.

Every assault on Zhenyang City had cost only a few demon soldiers, sometimes none at all.

And now, one human had brought down nearly a hundred—this was undoubtedly the heaviest loss Shu Demon Mountain had ever suffered.

“That fiend is formidable… likely second only to the Twelve Generals,” said a demon, head bowed, fear flickering in his eyes.

Within Shu Demon Mountain, there was one Chieftain, three Great Generals, and twelve Generals.

The Twelve Generals were all at the late Jade Blood Realm, and not ordinary late Jade Blood cultivators at that.

“Hmph.” The Peacock woman snorted coldly.

She was a Great General, a terrifying great demon of the demon elite rank.

“Within three days, I want to see his corpse!” the Peacock declared, her voice icy.

Just then, a tall, straight-backed man approached, dressed as a white-robed scholar, his voice clear and cheerful.

“Great General, why be so angered? The terrain of Shu Demon Mountain is complex; finding a human cultivator at the late Jade Blood Realm is indeed difficult.”

This white-robed scholar was the military strategist of Shu Demon Mountain.

Seeing him, a hint of tenderness flickered in the Peacock’s eyes.

“But these demon soldiers are merely lazy and cowardly. If we sent a few demon generals, capturing him would be effortless, no?”

“That man’s strength is ordinary; the difficulty lies in locating him.

To send a large number of demon soldiers searching for one person is unwise,” the strategist said.

The Peacock nodded.

At present, the Chieftain was forging a demon artifact.

Most of the demon soldiers needed to guard the camp to prevent any unforeseen incidents.

“So, to resolve this matter… I have a plan, but it requires the Great General’s consent,” the strategist said, gazing at the Peacock’s face with gentle eyes.

“The strategist is so clever—please, speak!” the Peacock urged.

“Let me say it instead!”

At that moment, a burly man with a dense aura radiating from him strode over.

A strange smile twisted his face—clearly not someone to be trifled with.

“A human?” Seeing him, the Peacock’s eyes flashed with killing intent. Had the strategist not been present, she might have struck him down.

“Great General, I possess a treasure that can pinpoint the exact location of any human within a hundred li.

I can lead the way and guide the demon generals to slay that man.

However… I have one request!”

This burly man was Zhou Yuan.

“What request?” the Peacock asked.

“I wish to meet the flower demon Man Luo!” Zhou Yuan stated his purpose. “After killing Qi Yuan, I need an item from his body!”

That item was, naturally, the token of the Genius Alliance.

As for the flower demon Man Luo, she was the key to completing this mission.

The Peacock’s pupils narrowed slightly. She glanced at the strategist, and seeing his expression unchanged, she smiled: “Agreed. I can grant that condition.”

The strategist cared deeply for the flower demon Man Luo.

Since he did not object to the other’s request to see her, it was clearly a tacit approval.

But once he saw Man Luo, thinking he could leave again… that was out of the question.

Such was the Peacock’s intention.

Zhou Yuan’s thoughts ran along similar lines.

Once he met Man Luo and completed his mission, he could return to his stronghold, unafraid of any tricks these demons might play.

The strategist then turned to Zhou Yuan: “I trouble you, sir.”

Zhou Yuan smiled: “Rest assured, with my treasure, he has nowhere to hide!”

A pang of regret struck Zhou Yuan.

It was a pity that Yang Guang had not come along.

Otherwise, he could have used the demons’ power to kill not only Qi Yuan but also Yang Guang.

As Zhou Yuan spoke, a compass appeared in his hand from his qi space.

He held the compass and dripped a drop of blood onto it.

Instantly, the compass flashed with light.

The Peacock eyed the compass greedily.

If she could obtain it, wouldn’t that mean no matter how deeply the food hid, she could find it?

Zhou Yuan muttered incantations, and the blood light on the compass grew brighter.

Suddenly, Zhou Yuan stopped. The blood light vanished, and disbelief spread across his face.

“Half a li from us, there is someone!”

The compass indicated a person five hundred meters away.

“And… he is approaching rapidly… almost here!”

Zhou Yuan was astonished.

The Peacock and the strategist were equally dumbfounded.

This was a stronghold of the demon camp, guarded by three hundred demon soldiers and a Great General.

Who would dare come this way? Were they courting death?

But before they could react, a thunderous voice echoed through the valley.

“No need for you to trouble yourselves searching for me—I’ve come directly.

Touching, isn’t it? Moving, isn’t it?

Since you’re so moved, how about… giving me your demon essence blood?”

The voice had barely faded when the man himself arrived.

A hundred yards away, a man in blood-red robes stood calm, holding a long, straight wooden staff in his hand.

That staff seemed stained red by blood, becoming eerie.

“It’s you, Qi Yuan!” Zhou Yuan’s expression twisted; he never expected Qi Yuan to appear here.

The peacock’s eyes showed shock and fury: “Who gave you the courage to come here?”

Though she spoke thus, deep in her eyes lurked profound wariness.

When things are abnormal, there must be a trick.

“Liang Jingru gave it,” Qi Yuan said, gripping the staff, his expression relaxed.

“Who is she?” The peacock immediately scanned her surroundings, as if seeking that person.

The other demons also looked around warily.

“Not a shred of humor—seems I’ll have to merge with you and remold you,” Qi Yuan said, stepping forward.

The wind stirred, his blood-red robes rustling loudly.

Huo Mushi watched this scene, his emotions stirred and awed.

These days, he had followed Qi Yuan, slaying demons.

Qi Yuan was like an undefeated war god, slaying gods who blocked him, killing Buddhas who stood in his way.

The demons that the townsfolk of Zhenyang City feared like scorpions were fragile in Qi Yuan’s hands.

Now, Qi Yuan directly attacked the stronghold, and he followed without any hesitation.

“A mere Jade Blood dares to be arrogant? Monkey General, seize him!” the peacock roared.

Behind her, a monkey demon stepped forward reluctantly.

This monkey demon was short in stature but extremely stout and agile.

He was also one of the twelve demon generals of Shu Demon Mountain.

Normally, he would not fear battle.

But now, Qi Yuan had come alone, single-handedly, which was very strange.

Still, he charged forward.

“Your life is mine!”

With the monkey demon’s roar, his body swelled in that moment, his skin color changing, his face turning green with fangs—utterly terrifying.

“Is this fate?” Qi Yuan said, holding his wooden staff, looking at the monkey demon.

Then, his figure flickered.

Heaven-Splitting Sword-Drawing Art!

A mighty sword strike—no, rather, a staff strike—descended from the sky.

This staff was too fast, too sharp.

One staff strike unleashed the aura of a peerless sword.

The mighty monkey demon had no power to resist under this staff.

One staff crushed him to death.

One staff slew one of the twelve generals, and five hundred drops of demon essence blood fell into his hand.

A smile played in Qi Yuan’s eyes: “All of you come at once—I’m in a hurry.”

Zhou Yuan saw this, his heart shaken.

Qi Yuan’s strength exceeded his expectations.

He had thought he could overpower Qi Yuan.

But now it seemed the gap between them was vast.

In fact, within ten moves, he would surely lose!

He felt relieved that he hadn’t sought out Qi Yuan but had instead allied with the demons.

At that moment, the peacock breathed a sigh of relief: “So this is your trump card?

The strength of the Jade Blood Perfection Realm is indeed formidable—but not enough to be arrogant!”

Qi Yuan’s blow was terrifying, instantly killing the demon monkey.

But it also revealed his true strength.

The peacock saw through Qi Yuan’s power.

With the peacock’s command, the three hundred demon soldiers of this stronghold surged forward.

These demon soldiers had bizarre forms, clad in various leather armors, wielding weapons, and together they were quite fearsome.

If so many demon soldiers, led by the peacock, attacked Zhenyang City,

the city could not hold.

Not far away, Huo Mushi also felt fear in his heart.

But Qi Yuan, in his blood-red robes, showed no fear.

“Only three hundred demon soldiers—a small scene.

Strike up the music!”

In previous worlds, how many enemies had he slain?

Countless.

He had faced three thousand foes of the same level at once.

What were a mere three hundred demon soldiers?

He grinned, the smile in his eyes deeply unsettling.

“Kill, kill—everything in sight… destroy it all!”

Qi Yuan, staff in hand, like a demon god, charged into the demon horde.

The shrill, mournful sound of the suona horn rose at that moment.

(End of chapter)