The war blade swept past, blood spraying.
Ying Que only felt excruciating pain flood through his entire body. He instinctively lowered his head and saw that a line of blood had cleaved his waist in two. Blood gushed out like a spring, impossible to stop.
"How is this possible!"
Ying Que murmured in disbelief, his pupils gradually losing focus. His life force was fading away.
He raised his head slightly and looked at Lin Baichuan. His expression was complicated and profound, yet without resentment. His eyes were instead clear as water, even carrying a trace of relief.
"Pfft..."
A few breaths later, Ying Que spat out a mouthful of blood. His body crashed to the ground and split in two, blood instantly dyeing the floor red.
A dead silence filled the hall.
Qin Qing and Liang Youtian both stared at Lin Baichuan in shock. They had never imagined that Lin Baichuan's strength would be so formidable, that he would turn the tide against the wind at the final moment. Qin Qing in particular felt it most deeply, standing right beside Lin Baichuan.
Though Lin Baichuan's strike had not been aimed at her, it had still made her hair stand on end.
Lin Baichuan raised his brows, sheathed his war blade with a backhand motion, then strode toward the Emerald Jade Talisman that had fallen to the ground. It was the container for the Nine Yin Ice Soul Net, and could also be considered part of that high-grade spirit artifact.
With a lift of his hand, inner force surged forth and formed a pulling force in his palm, forcibly drawing the jade talisman from the ground into his hand.
It felt ice-cold in his hand, with faint Killing Intent leaking out and stimulating Lin Baichuan's skin.
But he had already cultivated Bronze Skin, reaching the limit of the Ninth Rank Skin Refinement Realm. His physical strength had even shattered the shackles of the human race in the Skin Refinement Realm, reaching thirteen thousand jin. With his body transformed, such a trifling amount of Killing Intent had no effect on him whatsoever.
Lin Baichuan held the jade talisman in his hand, turning it over as he examined it closely.
"Spirit artifacts must be refined through a blood sacrifice before they can be used."
At that moment, Qin Qing's voice came from behind him. Her expression had already returned to normal; she seemed to have recovered from her shock. Looking at the jade talisman in Lin Baichuan's hand, she said solemnly, "This Nine Yin Ice Soul Net is a high-grade spirit artifact, worth a city in gold. Try not to show it to others in the future, or it will surely bring great trouble..."
"Of course."
Lin Baichuan nodded slightly and slipped the jade talisman into his pocket. Naturally, this was merely a disguise. The jade talisman had already been stored within his Space Ring.
After putting away the jade talisman, Lin Baichuan continued, "Now that this matter is settled, shouldn't we be leaving?"
As he spoke, he cast a seemingly casual glance at Liang Youtian, who was slumped on the ground and had yet to fully recover his senses.
"Yes, it is indeed time to leave."
Qin Qing nodded slightly, then glanced at Liang Youtian and said solemnly, "Lord Liang, since the matter has been resolved, we will take our leave first. We hope Lord Liang can handle what follows."
The Demon Slayer Guards of the Demon Suppression Division were only responsible for slaying demons and exterminating fiends. Other matters were not within their jurisdiction.
Now that the demons and fiends wreaking havoc in Yunshan County, along with Ying Que behind them, had all been executed, they naturally would not linger. They intended to return to Cangwu County City to turn in their mission. Their squad had suffered grievous losses this time, and they needed to return as soon as possible to report in and account for everything.
"Certainly. Please take care, you two."
Liang Youtian let out a long breath and slowly rose from the ground. Then, with a solemn expression, he bowed to Lin Baichuan and Qin Qing. "On behalf of all the people of Yunshan County, I thank you two Demon Slayers..."
"No need. It was merely our duty."
Qin Qing waved her hand slightly. After exchanging a glance with Lin Baichuan, the two left the county office together and returned to the courtyard where they were staying.
Li Da was still treating his injuries in his room, utterly unaware of what had just occurred. Qin Qing glanced at Li Da's room, then said to Lin Baichuan, "Rest for the night. We will set out for the county city at dawn tomorrow."
"Alright."
Lin Baichuan nodded slightly. Without another word, he turned and entered his room.
The night was deep and still, the moon bright and the stars sparse.
Yunshan County was silent. Only the night wind howled, like ghosts weeping and wolves howling, making one's scalp tingle. Yet the county office remained brightly lit. Liang Youtian wore a cold expression, having already regained the authority of a county magistrate as he arranged for people to deal with the aftermath.
As for himself, he kept a cold face as he passed through the rear courtyard and entered an inconspicuous pavilion.
The pavilion was dark and bitingly cold, with sinister Killing Intent faintly seeping through it.
Liang Youtian walked to the innermost part of the pavilion and struck a stone brick in the wall.
At once, a muffled creak sounded, and the entire wall slowly turned, revealing a passage just wide enough for one person to pass through.
The passage was deep and secluded, stretching downward into the earth.
Below was an eerie underground palace, roughly ten zhang across. At its center stood a pool one zhang wide. The water in the pool was crimson, giving off a thick stench of blood. It was a pool of blood, constantly churning as though it had been brought to a boil.
Liang Youtian walked to the edge of the Blood Pool. His eyes gradually turned scarlet, and a savage, strange grin spread across his face.
"Cackle, cackle, cackle... Demon Suppression Division, Demon Slayer Guards... Heh heh heh, nothing more than this. Weren't they still played in circles by me?"
A low and eerie laugh came from Liang Youtian's mouth. Strange Black Mist Malevolent Energy suddenly surged from within his body, and the clothes around him instantly turned to dust. Black mist enveloped his entire body, sinister and dark.
Step by step, he entered the Blood Pool, his voice growing increasingly eerie. "It is only a pity about that Blood Demon. I spent so much painstaking effort on it.
But it does not matter... Once I absorb this entire pool of Essence Blood, my body will be completely demonized and become a Blood Demon Physique. Then I will have no need for a Blood Demon.
Demon Suppression Division... Heh, nothing more than this. I merely threw out a scapegoat and fooled them..."
"So you are very proud of yourself now!"
Suddenly!
Just as Liang Youtian was laughing coldly, full of smug satisfaction, an icy voice rang out and echoed endlessly through the underground palace.
"Who..."
Liang Youtian's entire body shook. He abruptly turned toward the entrance of the passage, his expression changing drastically as his face filled with terror.
At some unknown time, a young man had appeared at the passage entrance. Dressed in the black robes of a Demon Slayer Guard and holding a blade in his right hand, he stood there with an icy expression, coldly watching Liang Youtian.
It was none other than Lin Baichuan.
"Lin Baichuan, it was you! How did you get here?"
Liang Youtian's face darkened like water as he gritted his teeth and growled, "You deliberately left, only to secretly return afterward. When did you begin suspecting me?"
"When I killed Ying Que."
Lin Baichuan sneered. "I saw his eyes. They were clear and calm, without the slightest resentment toward me. Instead, there was a sense of relief. So I concluded there had to be something hidden behind this. Then I happened to see the trace of mocking cold laughter concealed beneath your panicked facade..."
In truth, after Lin Baichuan killed Ying Que, he had sensed that something was wrong. Then, by chance, he noticed something off about Liang Youtian's expression. He secretly observed him carefully and felt that Liang Youtian was very likely putting on an act.
Because everything had been too perfect, without the slightest flaw.
It was precisely because of this that Lin Baichuan had felt something was wrong. So he deliberately left the county office with Qin Qing and returned to where they were staying.
Only, after returning to his room, he immediately climbed out through the window and returned to the county office. He had wanted to secretly keep watch over Liang Youtian, never expecting this fellow to be so impatient that he would actually come to this underground palace, allowing Lin Baichuan to catch him red-handed.
So it turned out that Liang Youtian had done everything. Both the Mountain Fiend and the Blood Demon had been raised by him.
Ying Que had been taking the blame for him.
From the full pool of blood, it was not difficult to see that this fellow was likely cultivating some kind of demonic art. He wanted to use that demonic art to break through his realm and raise his martial cultivation.
Lin Baichuan's eyes narrowed slightly. Carrying his blade, he walked step by step toward the Blood Pool, squinting at Liang Youtian as he said coldly, "But I am very curious. How did you make Ying Que willingly become your scapegoat?"
"Heh... willingly? You are overthinking it."
Liang Youtian sneered. "The truth is that he was poisoned by my Corpse Poison and enslaved by me. He had no choice but to obey my orders..."
Boom!
The instant the word "me" left his mouth, Liang Youtian suddenly moved. He sprang from the Blood Pool and struck out with his palm, attacking Lin Baichuan directly.
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