Chapter 17: One Man Holds the Fort, Darkness Brings Wu Chang

Whoosh!

The crossbow arrow shot into the sky.

Immediately from above the firmament, an owl with a body pierced by an arrow fell, its blood flowing profusely.

This was a bird that had become spiritually aware, having developed intelligence.

Though also a demon that had become enlightened, this smaller demon bird was clearly far less formidable than the fierce demon tiger and similar beasts.

A single crossbow arrow coated with the ash from Liu Venerate Temple was enough to shoot it down.

Lin Yan's long sword suddenly swung!

Demon Suppression Divine Power!

Evil Qi erupted!

His blade seemed to slash through air, but the ripples it created tore apart the invisible and intangible evil spirit before him, dissipating it immediately into smoke.

"To the common martial artist, this incorporeal wandering spirit is fearsome to the extreme, as it can assail the mind."

"But to me, it's embarrassingly weak, much simpler to deal with than killing a Martial Artist in the initial realm."

Lin Yan's thoughts sank slightly.

This wandering specter had brought him three strands of Evil Qi.

Equivalent to slaying a Martial Artist who had reached the peak in the "flesh and bone" realm.

To many Martial Artists in the Inner Strength Realm, they would rather face a peer than confront a wandering specter.

But to Lin Yan, a specter was like a gift, as easy to crush as stepping on an ant!

This was simply a feast!

Moreover, on these city walls, there were not too many eyes focused on him.

Therefore, he relaxed his Concealing Breath Technique a bit, revealing a cultivation aura comparable to the "Marrow Cleansing" level.

This level of Qi Mechanism was far superior to ordinary martial artists and greatly enhanced the attraction to evil beings.

Yet, it was far from enough to deter them.

In effect, he had made himself a beacon!

The endless evil beings in the dark were like moths to a flame!

He stood there, guarding three hundred and sixty paces of the city wall.

In fact, the demons gathered within ten paces around him.

As he thought this, he saw another small demon climbing up the city wall a hundred paces away.

The glow of the Liu Zun Night Lamp instilled fear in it, causing it to slow down.

But the incense of the temple in the inner city and the nearby abundant Human Clan Qi-Blood made it desperately crave.

The flame of the incense caused it to feel intense heat.

So, while it hesitated, it still gritted its teeth, pushed through the area covered by the lamp, and headed straight for the city.

But suddenly, there was a sound of something cutting through the air!

An arrow struck!

Yet, it did not pierce its body!

This arrow broke through three sachets of ash.

The ash burst open suddenly, creating a cloud of dust that fell upon the small demon.

In that instant, there was a heart-wrenching scream.

While the small demon thrashed about in agony, it shockingly saw that not far away, another small demon was also obscured by the incense ash.

Further away, two wandering evil spirits were scattered by the incense ash, their presence erratic, unable to regroup.

This single arrow had grievously wounded two specters and two demons.

When the small demon regained its senses,

it opened its eyes only to find the swordlight already upon it.

Evil Qi plus ten!

Lin Yan felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

He glanced around and thought, "Three hundred and sixty paces, even with my Refining Essence Realm physique, running back and forth would be excessively tiring."

"Using myself as bait to lure the demons was a relatively effortless approach!"

"But perhaps I've killed too ruthlessly?"

"To be precise, it's the might of the Demon Suppression Divine Power that's overly domineering and powerful..."

Even ants fight for their lives, and these evil beings shrouded in darkness, after this indiscriminate massacre, had begun to feel fear.

Slowly, some of the more 'intelligent' demons started to avoid him from a hundred paces away, attempting to cross the city wall.

But Lin Yan had anticipated this.

Having already demonstrated his might, it was now time for his Paper Cutting into Horse Skill to come into play.

"Tonight, I shall see just how terrifying the omen that tramples the rules of darkness can be!"

In Lin Yan's mind, text appeared.

Name: Lin Yan.

Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Inner Breath Technique.

Cultivation: Refining Essence Realm (1/3650)+

Divine Power 1: Consuming Evil!

Divine Power 2: Demon Suppression!

Techniques as follows:

Thunder Blade, First Layer (100/100)

Paper Cutting into Horse (30/100)+

Disguise Technique (67/100)+

Concealing Breath Technique (31/100)+

Evil Qi: 92 strands.

"Tonight, killing the evil spirit increased the Evil Qi significantly, so let's add it all up."

Lin Yan spent seventy strands of Evil Qi to push his mastery of the Paper Cutting into Horse Skill to the limit.

Paper Cutting into Horse (100/100)

In an instant, countless images emerged in his mind.

In a flash, enlightenment struck him, and with a wave of his hand, he summoned a gust of wind.

The paper at his feet instantly turned into a human form, and looking at its features, it was identical to the disguise of "Wu Chang" that he had taken on.

Similar in stature, holding a paper knife.

Shortly after, Lin Yan bit his fingertip and flicked it.

Blood fell, as if qi-blood was rising.

In an instant, the Qi Mechanism of the paper figure became indistinguishable from his own, making it difficult to tell apart.

He withdrew and moved to the left.

He had already placed these specially prepared papers under the Liu Zun Temple's Night Lamp.

He was waiting for the killing of the demon to sufficiently increase the Evil Qi, so he could enhance the Paper Cutting into Horse Skill to its peak, and then one by one transform them into human figures.

As he moved, one "Wu Chang" after another appeared in the dark night, each with robust qi-blood.

Under the Night Lamp of Liu Zun Temple, ordinary evil spirits dared not look directly at it.

It was as if twelve people were jointly defending these three hundred and sixty steps.

----

In the darkness, a faint light appeared.

"Grandfather, it's that man from yesterday, he didn't die."

"But he will soon. By trampling on the rules of darkness, he has attracted misfortune," the elder's voice was filled with sighs.

"What is the misfortune of darkness?" The innocent voice sounded puzzled.

"I don't know," the elder's voice slowly said, "But 'Lonely Boat amidst Ghostly Fog' is quite disgusted with him. Maybe it sensed that he is not inherently strong, but just last night, the sudden burst of Evil Qi from him dispersed the 'Ghostly Fog's' form..."

"What will happen?" The naive voice asked.

"Lonely Boat amidst Ghostly Fog is a complex and vast strange existence," the elder's voice hesitated, "It seems that a fierce struggle has started within the fog. Part of it wants to accept the incense from High Willow City, while another part wants to devour this man..."

"So, does this mean Lonely Boat amidst Ghostly Fog is actually placing this man at an almost equal position to the 'vast incense' of High Willow City?"

The innocent voice couldn't help but exclaim, "He carries such significance, yet he's clearly not that powerful."

Feeling the Qi Mechanism on the city walls, it seemed to be about the second level of the Human Clan's martial arts.

A Martial Artist who has refined their blood and marrow is most delicious to demons, far surpassing ordinary people.

However, to the demons, martial artists of this realm do not possess too great power and can still be preyed upon by them.

If it were a Martial Artist at the Inner Strength Realm, then this "prey" would pose a certain threat to the demons!

As for the Refining Essence Realm, they are naturally more delectable Blood Food.

But at the Refining Essence Realm, they already have the ability to resist demons and are no longer just prey.

They even have the qualifications to become "hunters"!

"No, he's weaker than he was last night."

The elder's voice, surprised, said: "Could he be concealing his Qi Mechanism and using his own flesh and blood to lure in the lesser demons?"

"How could the ordinary Martial Artist's Concealing Breath Technique fool this old man's eyes?"

"This is quite strange..."

The elder's voice tutted in wonder, then added, "But he has gone too far, killing these little creatures, making them afraid... They've already started to avoid him."

Hearing this, the innocent voice couldn't help but say, "So his method of using himself as bait is a failure? But this is a stretch of three hundred and sixty steps on the city wall. Wouldn't he just run himself to death?"

Before its grandfather could respond, it exclaimed, "Grandfather, look quick, he's turned into twelve people!"

The light from the Liu Zun Temple's Night Lamp, the flames of the incense candles, and the ash drifting in the night sky.

The view of the demons was not entirely clear.

All they saw was that all of a sudden, twelve identical people appeared on top of the city wall, indistinguishable from one another.

They couldn't tell which one was real, nor could they identify any fakes.

With a breeze blowing, spirits quietly crossed the edge.

In a flash, a blade's light shimmered!

The spirit vanished into smoke.

Yet at that moment, three hundred steps away, a deer demon leapt up, about to cross over the city wall.

But the blade's light shimmered just the same, cutting it down to dust!

At the same time, a Crossbow Arrow streaked across the night sky, hitting a nightingale far away.

"Eh?"

The innocent voice sounded quite shocked, "Could it be that all twelve are him?"

"No! While annihilating the spirit, he crossed three hundred steps at great speed and killed the deer demon!"

The elder's voice sounded quite admiring, saying, "And at the same time, he fired the Crossbow Arrow!"

"He's that impressive?" the naive voice sounded.

"More impressive than imagined," the elder's voice replied.

"How impressive?"

"A wild deer in the mountains is not small, and after becoming a spirit, it can rival a Martial Artist at the Inner Strength Realm."

"Ah?" The innocent voice was surprised, "So you mean, just now he ran three hundred steps in the blink of an eye and slashed a deer demon comparable to a Martial Artist at the Inner Strength Realm with a single cut?"

"Exactly, this man is much stronger than we expected."

"It's good that I'm timid and didn't sneak into the city to steal incense, or I'd have been chopped up by him too."

"Silly child, in High Willow City, the temple's incense has already been divided into twelve parts."

The elder's voice chuckled, "There's already a portion for your grandfather, is there any need for you to steal it?"