Retreat to the Li River

Hundreds of crossbow bolts rained down on Qin Ming was in mid-air with nowhere to gain leverage. When the bolts hit, they exploded one after another. The terrifying explosive force was such that even Qin Ming's physical body could not withstand it and he would be blown to dust.

The Spirit Medium's smile deepened, as if she could already see Qin Ming reduced to ashes in the explosion.

But the next moment, her smile froze, her face filled with astonishment.

"How is that possible? How did he do that?"

Exclamations arose from the crowd.

Qin Ming stepped into the void, taking three steps in succession, as if he were walking on an invisible ladder in the air, and suddenly shot upwards, dodging all the crossbow bolts in an instant.

"What kind of movement technique is this? It can even use mid-air to gain momentum!"

Everyone was shocked; such a movement technique was simply unheard of.

"Could it be the long-lost martial art technique 'Ladder Cloud Vertical'?"

Someone whispered, "But how did his 'Ladder Cloud Vertical' manage to soar so high?"

Normally, the "Ladder Cloud Vertical" technique only allows one to ascend a few zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) in three steps, but Qin Ming can ascend several zhang with each step, adding up to nearly ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) in height, which is quite astonishing.

Qin Ming perfectly dodged the crossbow bolts, but the other twelve Blood Refining Realm experts seized the opportunity to charge forward.

"Take him down!"

Lu Ming's face darkened. If this person escaped in front of everyone, how could he, Lu Ming, save face?!

"Boom!"

The twelve Blood Refining Realm attacked simultaneously, their terrifying Qi and Blood crashing towards Qin Ming like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down.

This was a combined attack from twelve people, so powerful that Blood Refining Realm present were horrified.

Qin Ming could only take three steps with his Ladder Cloud Vertical leap. After three steps, his body began to fall uncontrollably downwards, just in time to meet the combined attack of the twelve people.

A sea of blood seemed to appear before Qin Ming's eyes, alarm bells rang in his mind, and in an instant, all the power in his body was mobilized, and the second stage of the Pure Yang Art was pushed to its limit!

He knew in his heart that if he couldn't withstand this attack, he would die!

In his Dantian, the Pure Yang Fire was suddenly mobilized, transforming into a vigorous force. The gold and silver bones in his body emitted a whooshing sound, as if golden blood was surging within them.

Qin Ming suddenly clasped his hands together, and all his Horizontal Training Martial Arts were activated to their limit at this moment. The Fire Poison Art and the Black Sha Skill were also secretly hidden in his palms at this moment.

"Ah...!"

Qin Ming roared to the sky, his arms became long and slender, a thick layer of calluses quickly appeared on his body, and black hairs broke through the skin of his arms. When all his Horizontal Training Martial Arts were pushed to the limit, Qin Ming's state reached an unprecedented peak, and he fell like a meteor.

The next moment, accompanied by a deafening roar, everyone's ears were dazed. Looking up at the sky, visible ripples spread out, and a figure flew backwards for hundreds of feet, crashing heavily into the surface of the Li River.

Just as it was about to fall, the figure suddenly flipped over and landed steadily on the bow of a fishing boat.

It was Qin Ming!

"It's blocked... it's blocked!"

Everyone was utterly horrified.

It's unbelievable that he managed to escape unscathed from a combined attack by twelve Blood Refining Realm cultivators!

Qin Ming's face was pale, but because he was wearing a human skin mask, no one could tell. He had not suffered from the attack just now. The attack from the twelve people was too powerful. If it weren't for the Pure Yang Fire helping him to offset most of the power, and the internal energy of the "Diamond Shield", his internal organs would have been shaken into mincemeat!

Among the twelve, two Blood Refining Realm experts had two streams of hot blood flowing from their noses, and they subconsciously reached out to wipe them away.

Just now, Qin Ming's palm strikes, penetrating through his Qi and Blood, actually injured them from a distance.

"Is this kid a monster?! His palm strikes can actually hurt people!"

The two exchanged a glance, a flicker of fear crossing their eyes.

If that palm strike had landed on them, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"That's interesting."

A figure appeared behind Lu Ming.

Li Qingfeng!

Li Qingfeng, a master of the Bright Strength) technique!

"Was that the 'Fire Poison Art' you just used from my Wangjing Prefecture? Where did you get it?"

Li Qingfeng drew his sword from his waist.

Two more people stepped forward beside Lu Ming.

One of them was the lord of the Desolate City.

Both of them were experts in the Bright Strength, making a total of three including Li Qingfeng.

Qin Ming's expression changed, and he slapped the river surface with both hands, propelling the small boat beneath him rapidly toward the center of the Li River.

"If you want to leave, ask the sword in my hand if it will allow it!"

As soon as Li Qingfeng finished speaking, a bright yellow Sword Qi slashed down towards Qin Ming's brow in an instant.

Qin Ming was taken aback, and suddenly pushed off the small boat.

The next moment, the small boat was split in two.

The other two Bright Strength experts also arrived shortly after.

Although Qin Ming was startled, he remained calm. He quickly stepped forward, displaying his Perfection Realm lightness skill Water-Walking, and sped away across the river like an arrow.

Although the three were Bright Strength experts, they ultimately failed to break through to the Xiantian realm and were unable to fly. They could only land on the fishing boat and watch helplessly as Qin Ming ran further and further away until he became a small black dot.

"Damn it! This guy is so difficult to deal with!"

Lu Ming's face was grim, and Li Qingfeng was also quite angry, his sword constantly emitting sword Sword Qi.

As Demon Hunter from Wangjing Prefecture, how could someone escape right under his nose in this mere small town!

Is this person from the Desolate City? Does any of you recognize him?

Li Qingfeng asked.

"This..."

The group looked at each other and shook their heads.

They were completely unfamiliar with Qin Ming in his disguise and had no recollection of him whatsoever.

"Where did this person come from? Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to have broken through to the Blood Refining Realm yet. How can he possess such terrifying strength?"

The lord of Desolate City looked confused.

It's unbelievable that a Bone Refining Realm could escape unscathed from the siege of twelve Blood Refining Realm experts.

Li Qingfeng remained silent, still wondering how that person had mastered the "Fire Poison Art" of his Wangjing Prefecture.

Very few people practice this skill, and even fewer can master it to a certain level.

"Could that kid still be alive?"

Li Qingfeng thought of Qin Ming, whom he had met in Qingyang County, who possessed both the "Fire Poison Art" and the "Black Sha Skill".

"No, it shouldn't be him,"

Li Qingfeng recalled the scene just now. This person was clearly much stronger than the boy from Qingyang County. It was impossible for his strength to change so much in such a short time. Moreover, the boy had been captured by the people of the Ghost Mansion, and his chances of survival were slim.

"This person injured the River God's messenger. If the River God finds out, he will surely be furious. Immediately organize a force to pursue and capture him, preferably alive. On the day of the sacrifice, sink him to the bottom of the river, and only then will the River God be appeased."

The Spirit Medium came over and said.

Li Qingfeng glanced at the Spirit Medium, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes. His gaze was icy as he swept it over Lu Ming immediately understood, but a troubled expression appeared on his face. "Sir, that person is incredibly powerful, and with his mastery of the 'Riding the Waves' martial art, he'd be extremely difficult to deal with, except perhaps by Bright Strength expert."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingfeng frowned, but he knew that what Lu Ming said was true.

"Lord, I would be grateful if you could arrange for men to pursue them."

"Don't worry, sir."

The city lord clasped his hands in a fist salute, quickly organized his men, and boarded a boat to chase after Qin Ming in the direction he had left.

Although they knew it was impossible to catch up with Qin Ming at this point, they dared not disrespect Li Qingfeng. Apart from Li Qingfeng's identity as Demon Hunter from Wangjing Prefecture, he had a genuine Xiantian expert standing behind him. Even the city lord of Desolate City would not dare to show the slightest disrespect.

"Let's go."

Seeing Qin Ming leave, Xiong San covered Wang Shun as they quietly slipped away through the crowd.

"Aren't we going to wait for him?"

Yang Ye was astonished.

"Let's not wait any longer, let's get out of the city first."

However, with the city gates currently sealed off and layers of checks in place, including many government officials who could easily recognize Xiong San three of them had no choice but to hide in the city temporarily and wait until things calmed down before going back.

"There are only two days left until the River God Sacrifice. On the day of the River God Sacrifice, the city guards and officials will go to the sacrificial site, and we will be able to leave the city safely."

Xiong San had a very clear plan, but he never expected that a Dog Demon had already quietly found out where Li Shengnan and the others were hiding.

The abandoned manor was filled with the aroma of fish soup.

It'll be ready soon.

Xiangxiang carefully wrapped the handle of the earthenware pot with the corner of her cotton-padded jacket and poured the fish soup from the pot into a bowl. Her little face was covered with black ash.

Not far away, Li Shengnan and Lu Liu exchanged a glance, a smile appearing on their lips.

After spending a short time together, they grew to like the thoughtful and kind-hearted Xiangxiang from the bottom of their hearts.

"Sister Xiangxiang, let me help you."

Wang Xiaoxi squatted down next to Xiangxiang. She had just reached out to pick up a bowl of fish soup when a "big hand" covered in yellow hair slowly reached out from her shoulder and picked up the fish soup before she could.

Wang Xiaoxi instinctively turned around, only to see a giant dog's head!

That was a Dog Demon, taller than a person, with a dog's head and a human body!

"Ah!!"

Wang Xiaoxi was only seven years old and had never seen such a terrifying monster before. She was so frightened that she fainted on the spot.

Xiangxiang, who was standing next to her, was also quite frightened, but she had been begging for food on the Li River since she was a child, and her temperament was much stronger than Wang Xiaoxi's. She suppressed her fear and poured the scalding fish soup in the bowl onto the Dog Demon's face.

Unexpectedly, the scalding hot fish soup had no effect on the Dog Demon. The Dog Demon opened its mouth and sucked in all the fish soup, with a look of enjoyment on its face.

"Monster!"

Li Shengnan and the others were shocked.

They were hiding in the abandoned house and didn't come out, so how could a monster have broken in!

Little did they know that this Dog Demon had an exceptionally keen sense of smell, capable of detecting scents within a radius of dozens of miles. He had previously visited the courtyard where Wang Xiaoxi and the others had stayed, memorizing the scent, and after leaving the city, he continuously expanded his search area, which led him to this place.

Having confirmed that the two girls before him were the targets of this mission, the Dog Demon, carrying one in each hand, moved like a monkey, leaping over the wall and disappearing without a trace.

The dog demon was so fast that Li Shengnan and the others only saw a few afterimages. Clearly, the Dog Demon's strength far exceeded theirs, which was why it didn't attack them.

I disdain killing him.

"Xiao hope!!"

Wu Shi had just returned with hot water when she saw this scene and her vision went black. She dropped the wooden basin in her hand with a "bang," spilling hot water all over the floor.

"Oh no! What should we do! We have to get this message to our junior Junior Brother right away, only Junior Brother has a chance to rescue them!"

Li Shengnan was extremely anxious and immediately put on her clothes.

"Senior sister, let me go."

Lu Liu struggled to get out of bed, and a trace of pain appeared on his face, perhaps because it aggravated his injuries.

"You and Ye Wei are more seriously injured than me, so stay and recover properly." Li Shengnan took a deep breath. "Besides, I've actually benefited from this misfortune; my strength has improved slightly."

Li Shengnan slowly clenched her fist, her aura becoming significantly stronger than before.

"Perfected Skin-Refining Realm!"

Lu Liu was still somewhat uneasy. After all, this was no longer Qingshan Town. Let alone the Perfected Skin-Refining Realm, even the Flesh Refining Realm was nothing special here.

"Alright, you guys just stay put."

Li Shengnan picked up a sword and left.

"Senior Brother Lu, aren't we becoming a burden?"

Ye Wei sighed deeply, his expression one of utter dejection.

They had become so weak that even the Dog Demons could ignore them.

Lu Liu's heart skipped a beat, knowing that Ye Wei had fallen into self-doubt. If he lost his drive and ambition from now on, he would be stuck at the Skin Refining Realm for the rest of his life.

"Of course not."

Lu Liu shook his head. "Don't compare yourself to that freak, Junior Brother. You probably can't find another genius like him in the entire dynasty. Why bother yourself with trouble?"

"That's true."

Ye Wei let out a soft breath, closed his eyes to rest, and tried to recover from his injuries as quickly as possible.

Li River.

Qin Ming sat cross-legged on a wooden plank, drifting downstream along the Li River.

After shaking off the powerful figures, Qin Ming originally planned to circle back to the Desolate City, but he soon realized something was wrong.

There was an undercurrent beneath his feet, and a pair of eyes were fixed on him.

It's Ghost-Faced Monkey!