Three Flavors Plague Extermination

"Quick, weave the invisible net—chaotic blades shatter wind and dust!"

The moment Li Ye stepped onto the fourth floor, he saw the uniformed man inside the wide-open doorway recite the line with effortless flair. As the man leaped out, his figure dragged sword light into afterimages, layering web-like traces upon web-like traces as they slashed toward the Five Plagues Ghost he had caught up with.

"Thousand Spiders Weaving Net!"

His figure was graceful, his swordsmanship nimble. Li Ye even saw him slash out Sword Qi.

If Li Ye counted as a martial arts expert, then this man was a true wuxia master!

But Li Ye had no room for awe. After unleashing the sword net, the man locked down the Five Plagues Ghost's movements and carved countless dense gashes across its body.

The instant his attack landed, the man touched down and smoothly drew a gun, pressing it against the Five Plagues Ghost's chest. With a light smile, he said, "Bye-bye!"

At the Six Dragon Gate realm, killing a newborn lesser demon was as easy as turning one's hand over!

"Fuck!!"

Bang!

Muzzle flash burst forth, punching another hole straight through its chest.

The man coolly blew on the muzzle before turning toward the source of the shout, frowning.

"Didn't I tell you to wait? Why did you run up here? Watch your mouth, kid. Don't worry, it's a Powerful Insect Repellent Bullet, specially made. The last shot didn't kill it, but this one will definitely blow it apart."

"Behind you!!" Li Ye shouted again.

The man instantly sensed something was wrong and whipped around. The Five Plagues Ghost's mouth suddenly shot out a scarlet tongue, streaking straight at him.

His reaction was swift as well. He dodged sideways, drove his sword back, and pierced through the long tongue from below. Yet though he reacted quickly, the extended tongue still grazed his shoulder, scraping out a wound.

"Ah!"

A hoarse cry came from the Five Plagues Ghost's mouth. Its humanoid form burst forward and pounced right at him.

Five phantoms rose from its body, which was riddled with gashes and holes in both its head and chest, as though it were about to split apart.

The man raised an eyebrow and gripped his longsword, preparing to meet it head-on.

"It's going to undergo Disaster Transformation! If you want us dead, then move!!"

Before he could attack, the shout rang out from behind him again.

That made him hesitate for a moment. In that instant of delay, the Five Plagues Ghost lunged before him and viciously bit down on his injured shoulder with its rotten, fetid mouth, instantly leaving a black ring around the wound.

"Urgh..."

The man let out a sound as though his Essence Qi had been sucked dry.

His body visibly thinned in that instant, while the demon that had nearly split apart became much more solid after that bite.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several saltwater rounds struck his shoulder and hit the demon's head, stiffening its movements.

"Shadow Leak Without Trace!"

The man twisted his steps and vibrated his wrist, spinning his body like a top.

Sshk! Sshk! Sshk!

His sword became like a spinning cutting blade, rapidly breaking free of the Five Plagues Ghost's restraint. He drifted upward and retreated, moving so fast that he left a fleeting afterimage where he had stood.

Smack!

He crashed down beside Li Ye, who was holding up the Salt Bullet Gun.

As the Five Plagues Ghost was freed and reeled backward, Li Ye seized the chance. He pulled out a lighter, ignited the Molotov Cocktail he had been holding all along, and hurled it forward with all his strength.

Smash!

Glass shattered, and a bright ball of flame engulfed the Five Plagues Ghost's body, stopping it dead in its tracks.

Fire countered germs too!

"Thank goodness." Li Ye let out a breath.

"Th-thank you. My name is Huang Qingyi, I—"

"Thank goodness it bit you!"

Huang Qingyi froze, even stopping halfway through getting back up.

Li Ye said, "That wasn't a Filth Worm. That was a Five Plagues Ghost. If it hadn't bitten you and sucked away some of your Essence Qi, those five phantoms would have split out, and the demon would have undergone Disaster Transformation!"

Five Plagues Ghosts could absorb a person's Essence Qi, which would satisfy them.

The ones who usually dealt with demons were martial artists, with robust vitality and powerful bodies. A bite from it, and the absorbed Essence Qi would instead temporarily stabilize the Five Plagues Ghost.

But judging by this man's condition, he had not been contaminated. Vitality and blood had some resistance against contamination.

Li Ye shouted, "Quit standing there! That mouthful of Essence Qi won't keep working for long, and my flames are only suppressing it. Use the right method to kill it while we still can!"

Huang Qingyi's expression turned somewhat strange. He stood there blankly for a moment. "The right method?"

"Sunlight, intense ultraviolet rays, lasers, any high-heat energy weapon—high-temperature sterilization! Anything that kills germs will work! You can't use other methods. Why are you even asking me this, you—"

Li Ye suddenly frowned. He stared at Huang Qingyi for two seconds, then asked uncertainly, "You know about Filth Worms, but you don't know about Five Plagues Ghosts?"

"Huh?"

The idiot-like sound Huang Qingyi made sent Li Ye's heart, already fallen to the bottom of a valley, plunging into an abyss.

The man's face actually flushed with embarrassment. "The people below always provide the information and methods in time. I'm only responsible for killing."

"The Great Qing is doomed!"

Li Ye laughed in anger.

He glanced at the flames gradually shrinking over the Five Plagues Ghost, then pulled out another Molotov Cocktail to keep ready. "In any case, this is a special demon. If you don't kill it with the methods above, it'll cause a major disaster. At the very least, everyone in the neighborhood will fall gravely ill. You'd better not provoke it."

Fuck, they had already provoked it!

Li Ye gritted his teeth. "How long will it take for your reinforcements to bring the equipment again?"

"If another unit sends reinforcements, at least half an hour. I'm the only one on standby at our bureau, which is why I got here quickly. The others have assignments, so it'll take even longer for them to arrive."

Though he looked like an ordinary person, Huang Qingyi answered honestly.

He felt as though he were facing a teacher back in university, crushed by knowledge until he felt stupid.

Hearing that, Li Ye turned and left without a second thought.

"Then let it suck on you for another half hour. I'm going back to get my parents and run."

Huang Qingyi grabbed Li Ye by the sleeve. "I can't hold it off!"

"What the fuck does that have to do with me? I'm a student!" Li Ye tugged, only to find that he could not pull free.

Huang Qingyi pleaded, "That bite made me feel like I lost half my life. If it keeps sucking for half an hour, I'll die. I don't know much about demons, but I understand what you mean by Disaster Transformation. When that happens, we'll all be finished!"

Li Ye turned back bitterly and glared at him. "Where'd that cool swagger go when you were shooting just now?!"

So he could not leave after all.

Huang Qingyi was right. From the moment the Five Plagues Ghost's phantoms appeared, it had already begun undergoing Disaster Transformation. That bite of Essence Qi had merely forced them back together for the moment.

That would not last long. With luck, perhaps ten-odd minutes. Without it, only a few minutes.

Li Ye could not gamble on whether his family could escape safely.

He took a deep breath, forcing down the sick discomfort in his body. He swept his gaze over his backpack, then at the remaining Molotov Cocktail in his hand, and the Salt Bullet Gun he had dropped on the floor earlier.

And—

His gaze shifted around the room. As the storage place of a junk collector, it was piled high with all kinds of trash. Some of it was completely moldy and gave off a foul stench. The kitchen diagonally opposite, open and without a door, was likewise crammed with miscellaneous clutter.

It had what he needed.

At its core, the Five Plagues Ghost was a lesser demon. The methods for countering it would not be too difficult—indeed, they were even simpler than those for Filth Worms.

When he studied knowledge about Filth Worms, he had specifically looked into the Five Plagues Ghost's weaknesses as well.

Both ancient texts and academic papers recorded the Five Plagues Ghost's weaknesses.

It loved sourness yet feared sourness, and dreaded sunlight.

The simplest modern method was high-temperature sterilization. In ancient times, they used alcohol, white vinegar, and salt, then boiled and seared them together to destroy its five plagues.

It was called "Three Flavors Plague Extermination!"