Questioning

"Zhang Wanlong, die!"

Rage.

Rage that shot straight into the heavens!

Grief, remorse, unwillingness, and hatred transformed into a heart full of blazing fury.

He regretted it.

Why had he been afraid back then?

If he had risked death to kill Zhang Wanlong that day, none of this would have happened.

He hated Zhang Wanlong, but he hated himself even more.

If he had not pursued this matter, would this outcome never have come to pass?

Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this world.

Nor was there any medicine for regret.

If he did not investigate, if he did not avenge his friend, then he would not be Li Qingfeng.

Using people as medicine—such a crime deserved ten thousand deaths!

It was only because he had lacked the power to resist back then that tragedy had resulted.

Li Qingfeng drove his mana and charged into the main hall of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion.

Over a hundred Black Armor Soldiers stood ready in tight formation.

All of them raised powerful crossbows.

The instant he saw Li Qingfeng, Zhang Wanlong's eyes bloodshot and his face twisted savagely.

He roared sharply.

"Kill!"

"Kill him!"

When enemies met, their eyes burned especially red.

Both men had reason to kill the other.

The powerful crossbows fired.

More than a hundred bolts descended like a rain of arrows, like a great net shrouding Li Qingfeng.

Powerful crossbows and heavy bows were weapons of the state.

Even commoners who privately possessed their components would be charged with treason.

Because their destructive power was indeed extraordinary.

A graze meant injury; an injury meant death.

One coordinated volley could make even martial masters who dominated the jianghu die with hatred beneath a military formation of drawn bows and crossbows.

Though Li Qingfeng was a Qi cultivator, he was only at the Qi Refining First Layer.

If this volley struck his body, he too would die beneath the crossbow formation.

Li Qingfeng no longer held back. The three-foot Soul Banner expanded to over ten feet, its banner cloth snapping in the wind.

He swung the Soul Banner fiercely, and the massive banner stood before Li Qingfeng.

How could a High-Grade Artifact possibly be pierced by mortal arrows?

The huge face of the Soul Banner did not need to block every arrow. It only needed to shield Li Qingfeng from those aimed at him.

The volley achieved nothing.

The Black Armor Soldiers were immediately at a loss.

In their eyes, this was the method of immortals.

They were now opposing an immortal.

As despair rose, their morale began to plummet as well.

Unharmed beneath the Soul Banner's protection, Li Qingfeng shook it, and the Red-Haired Fiend crawled out from the banner.

The fiend stood more than seven feet tall.

He was two or three heads taller even than the strongest Black Armor Soldier.

Red hair hung loose around him. Two bulges protruded from his forehead, an inch above his brow bones, resembling fleshy horns.

Blue-black muscles knotted over his towering skeleton.

His face was blue-green, his expression solemn, and no fangs showed.

Scarlet ghost eyes looked down upon the crowd, while savage, baleful ferocity crashed over them.

The mere sight of this vicious fiend scared the wits out of every Black Armor Soldier.

The instant Tu Shan Jun emerged from the Soul Banner, he rushed straight at Zhang Wanlong.

He did not have much time. He had to defeat the enemy in a single blow.

Zhang Wanlong abruptly rose, drew the treasured sword at his waist, and set his face with resolve.

"Kill this man, and you shall receive promotion, nobility, and ten thousand taels of silver!"

"I shall take you as my adopted son and entrust my entire family fortune to you."

Wealth moved men's hearts.

Under heavy rewards, brave men were sure to emerge.

Zhang Wanlong had only one son. Now that his only son was dead, he even promised that an adopted son could inherit all his family property.

At once, this ignited the hundred-plus Black Armor Soldiers.

They rallied once more.

They formed a military formation, their armor pressed together into a wall of men.

Tu Shan Jun strode forward in great steps and swept out with a single strike.

Boom.

A force as mighty as a battering ram hurled forth and crashed into the military formation.

The dozen or so Black Armor Soldiers at the front died instantly.

Those in the middle were swept up by the force, vomiting blood as their bodies gave way.

Even the Black Armor Soldiers at the rear were knocked several steps back by that immense power.

Sweeping the crowd aside, Tu Shan Jun's ghost claw shot toward Zhang Wanlong's head.

Clang!

An ebony flying sword blocked Tu Shan Jun's attack.

Tu Shan Jun staggered two steps, losing the perfect opportunity.

Tu Shan Jun let out a shrill ghostly howl, revealing the hooked fangs folded and hidden inside his mouth.

Roar!

He opened his jaws and bit down.

Bang. His bite clamped onto the young immortal master's arm.

The young immortal master's Daoist robe was pierced instantly, and blood sprayed outward.

Yet the bite did not pierce the bone, only injuring flesh.

Spiritual light flickered. It seemed to be the glow of a spirit talisman.

An unknown spirit talisman had blocked Tu Shan Jun's attack.

Tu Shan Jun was furious. With the strength of the Qi Refining Fifth Layer, he had actually failed to sever the other man's arm.

The mana of Qi cultivators inherently restrained yin souls and ghostly creatures.

Though he was the Main Soul fiend, he was still a ghost.

With the Qi cultivator's spirit talisman protecting him as well, causing injury was already quite good.

Zhang Wanlong, protected behind the young immortal master, felt no relief at surviving calamity.

There was only deeply suppressed hatred filling his chest.

He was not afraid of death.

Even facing a vicious ghost monster, he was unafraid.

There was nothing left in this world worth fearing.

Though furious, Zhang Wanlong had not been swept away by rage.

To capture bandits, first capture their king.

As long as that Black-Cloaked Man was slain, the fiend would vanish.

Zhang Wanlong once more directed the soldiers to attack Li Qingfeng.

The young immortal master's right arm trembled without cease, hanging at his side as blood ran down it and dripped to the ground.

His face was pale, yet he stood firm without retreat, holding his sword horizontally before him in his left hand.

The young man was fortunate to possess a life-saving spirit talisman.

But the shock in his heart was impossible to conceal.

The last time they had met, this fiend had been defeated by his sword and vanished. He had not expected that when they met again, it would already be capable of wounding him through a spirit talisman.

The Five Directions Golden Light Talisman could withstand the full-force strike of a Qi Refining Middle Stage cultivator.

Few at the Qi Refining Middle Stage could break this spirit talisman. This fiend was simply too astonishing.

Precisely because of that, he could not allow that Demon Cultivator to escape.

Once the Demon Cultivator fled into the sea of people, finding him again would become troublesome.

Letting a tiger return to the mountains would only bring endless future trouble.

Slaying demons and exterminating devils would be done today!

As long as he could exhaust the Demon Cultivator's mana, victory would be his.

Having made up his mind, the young man bit the tip of his tongue.

He held the blood in his mouth, then sprayed it angrily onto the ebony sword.

The ebony sword blazed with spiritual light.

"Fiend, die."

Tu Shan Jun's fury had also been fully ignited. He had to deal with this young immortal master quickly.

Otherwise, once Li Qingfeng's mana ran dry, they would be lambs awaiting slaughter.

Even if he had to trade injury for injury, he had to carve out a bloody path.

Roar.

Demon Ape Mind-Settling Fist, Old Ape Hanging Its Seal.

Draw and release.

Man and ghost became entangled in battle.

Sword light and sword qi whistled past in succession.

Narrow wounds appeared across Tu Shan Jun's body.

Yet at the same time, he closed the distance to the young man.

"Five Spirits Sword Qi."

Wielding a sword with one arm, he was ultimately lax in defense.

Tu Shan Jun used Old Ape Hanging Its Seal, enduring the sword qi as he struck the young immortal master's chest.

The young man clenched his teeth, but blood still spurted from his mouth. Golden light flickered over his body, as though he had been brushed with a layer of gold powder.

The young immortal master's blood splashed onto Tu Shan Jun, producing sizzling sounds.

Tu Shan Jun did not fare well either. He was struck by sword qi, and one of his scarlet ghost eyes was blinded.

Black blood streamed down from the corner of his eye.

Instead, this aroused Tu Shan Jun's savage nature.

He dipped low and closed in again.

His arms rose like horns thrusting up at the moon, erupting with force.

Bang.

He rammed the immortal master beneath the chin, sending the young immortal master flying.

"His mana... is fading."

Before Tu Shan Jun could press his advantage, he felt the mana in his body was no longer abundant.

When he looked back, Li Qingfeng had already been surrounded by the Black Armor Soldiers, barely holding on.

Li Qingfeng bore even more wounds, yet he did not make a sound and showed no intention of recalling Tu Shan Jun.

Tu Shan Jun charged into the military formation.

Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, every movement of his fists and feet claimed a soldier's life.

He shielded Li Qingfeng at his side.

His left arm blocked every attack while his right arm continued its slaughter.

By then, the young immortal master had recovered somewhat, and Zhang Wanlong behind him remained completely unharmed.

Blood poured from the wounds on Li Qingfeng's body where blades had cut him, and his vision had already blurred.

"Why?!"

He demanded in a sharp voice.

"Why are you helping him?"

"Zhang Wanlong used people as medicine to repair the damage to his son's foundation."

"Why are you protecting him after such demonic conduct?!"

The mournful, piercing voice made the young immortal master stop despite himself.

In his daze, he turned and glanced at Zhang Wanlong, whose eyes were red with blood.

He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

After a long while.

The flickering gaze of the young man hardened once more, and he said, "I only guard Eight Directions City."

Li Qingfeng had little consciousness left. He could collapse unconscious at any moment.

Even so, he still clutched the Spirit Stone, pouring all his mana into supporting the Soul Banner.

Tu Shan Jun held Li Qingfeng under his arm and tilted his head slightly.

Only one ghostly eye remained.

The one-eyed ghost was ruthless and murderous, like a ferocious beast wounded in battle.

Silent and wordless, he leaped away.

He vanished into the vast night.