Ling Yun and the others knew nothing of what had happened after they left.
They continued to grope their way through the temple without any clear direction.
Looking at the buildings before them, which seemed to stretch on without end, a trace of irritation flashed through Ling Yun's eyes.
He turned to glance at Xu Huang behind him, walking with his nose in the air, and wondered whether he should just beat the guy up to vent his frustration.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a dazzling streak of colored light suddenly rose into the night sky beneath the black curtain.
Under everyone's gaze, the colored light climbed to its limit before exploding with a thunderous boom. The blood-red radiance it gave off nearly dyed the entire sky crimson.
"It's an emergency signal!" Ma Xiu and the other two looked at the nearly blood-red sky, their expressions changing drastically.
Seeing Ling Yun's puzzled expression, Ma Xiu quickly explained.
That colored light was not someone setting off fireworks out of boredom, but a method used internally by Demon Suppression Envoys to transmit messages.
It was generally divided into three colors—green, yellow, and red—representing different levels of danger.
Red was already the highest level.
That meant the person requesting aid was in an extremely critical situation. Every Demon Suppression Envoy nearby who saw it had to rush over to provide support as quickly as possible.
Ling Yun raised his head toward the direction from which the signal had risen, his eyes flickering slightly. If he remembered correctly, that seemed to be where the temple's main hall was located.
"Big Brother Zhang, let's hurry over too."
Seeing Ling Yun remain silent, Wen Qin could no longer sit still and urged him anxiously.
"Forget him. This guy must be scared. Brother Ma, Sister Qin, let's go ourselves!"
Xu Huang had nowhere near as much patience. He cast Ling Yun a disdainful glance and prepared to call the other two away.
"This..."
Ma Xiu looked at Ling Yun, who remained completely unmoved, his expression somewhat hesitant.
But when he recalled the scene of their previous meeting, his body trembled, and he immediately calmed down again.
He knew Ling Yun was definitely not someone who feared death. Since he had not acted now, there had to be another reason.
Naturally, Xu Huang had no idea what Ma Xiu was thinking. Seeing that Ma Xiu ignored him, his face darkened, and he turned to Wen Qin beside him.
"Sister Qin, what do you say?"
"Are you going to stay here with these cowards, or come with me to support our companions?"
Wen Qin's little face was also full of conflict, but after seeing the look Ma Xiu gave her, she made her decision at once.
She shifted her feet and stood behind Ma Xiu.
Clearly, she still had considerable faith in this senior brother who had more experience than them.
"Sister Qin, you..."
Seeing the shock in Xu Huang's eyes, Wen Qin felt somewhat embarrassed. Lowering her head, she muttered softly.
"Xu Huang, Captain Qin instructed us to listen to Big Brother Ling. I think we should..."
"Enough! Don't say another word!"
"You two cowards who fear death!"
Xu Huang was infuriated by their behavior, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. Pointing at them, he began cursing loudly.
As soon as he said that, Wen Qin and Ma Xiu's expressions immediately turned cold.
Wen Qin, in particular, completely shed her earlier gentle attitude and said icily.
"If you want to go, then go by yourself. In any case, the order I received was to follow Big Brother Ling's instructions!"
Seeing their expressions, Xu Huang clearly realized that he had said the wrong thing. Yet the pride in his heart made him unable to apologize.
At that moment, Ling Yun glanced at him and said in a somewhat "surprised" tone.
"Huh? Why are you still here? Don't tell me you're scared to go alone?"
Hearing the naked mockery in Ling Yun's words, Xu Huang gritted his teeth. Seeing that his other two companions were determined to stay, he immediately roared angrily.
"Fine! Since that's the case, when we see Captain Qin later, I'll make sure to tell him all about your attitude!"
Without looking back, he turned and ran directly toward the source of the signal.
"Big Brother Ling, we..."
Seeing that he had truly left, Wen Qin looked at Ling Yun hesitantly.
Yet Ling Yun merely waved his hand. Looking in the direction Xu Huang had disappeared, he said in an inexplicable tone.
"Don't worry about him. Prepare to face the enemy."
"Face the enemy?" Ma Xiu and Wen Qin's expressions changed at once as they vigilantly looked around.
Yet the surroundings were silent. Aside from their own shadows, they could find no other sign of anything unusual.
The two looked at Ling Yun in confusion. Just as they were about to ask, Ma Xiu's expression suddenly changed.
"Not good! Something's coming!"
As his words fell, a rumbling sound suddenly rang out in the distance, as if some colossal creature were rapidly approaching.
Before long, under the two's grave gazes, a human figure was hurled over from afar. After rolling several times, it landed at their feet.
Before they could inspect it, a deafening boom rang out. A figure several meters tall smashed through wall after wall and charged madly toward them.
"Bind!"
Ma Xiu's expression was grave. The instant the enormous figure stepped into a certain range, masses of shadows suddenly shot out from the surrounding walls and the ground, like ropes, tightly binding it in place.
Only then did they clearly see the monster's true appearance.
It was a humanoid monster made entirely of severed limbs and broken arms. In one corner of its body, they could vaguely make out a piece of monk's robe.
Its mangled, bloody body was packed with faces twisted in agony. Their mouths opened and closed as though they were making a silent accusation.
"Xu Huang!!"
At that moment, Wen Qin saw the figure that had been thrown over and cried out in alarm.
He had only been gone for a few minutes, yet no one knew what he had encountered. His entire body was covered in bite marks of varying sizes, and one of his left legs had even been chewed clean off. He looked utterly miserable.
However, he remained fully conscious. Seeing Ma Xiu clash with the monster, he shouted in terror.
"Be careful! That thing can devour our spirits!"
As though his injuries had been pulled, he immediately spat out several mouthfuls of blood.
"Alright, stop talking for now!"
At this point, Wen Qin had no time to care about their earlier grudge and directly summoned her spirit.
It was a strange creature without a solid form, covered all over in dark green spots.
If she had to describe it, it was probably a giant slug covered in mold.
It slowly wriggled across the ground, leaving behind a pool of sticky green fluid everywhere it passed.
Wen Qin showed no disgust whatsoever. She reached out and picked it up, then placed it directly on Xu Huang's chest.
Under Xu Huang's livid expression, the slug began to wriggle slowly, soon coating his entire body in green mucus.
The green mucus seemed to possess some kind of healing effect. Xu Huang's wounds began closing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Unfortunately, the giant slug's effect was not very apparent for an injury like a severed leg.
They could only wait until they returned to the Demon Suppression Division and think of another way.
Watching this scene from the side, Ling Yun's expression could not help turning strange.
Putting aside their abilities for the moment, these so-called spirits truly became more bizarre-looking one after another.
Imagining how it would feel to have that oversized slug crawl over his body, Ling Yun broke out in goosebumps.
Meanwhile, Ma Xiu had also run into trouble. He discovered that his spirit was being consumed at an astonishing rate!
Looking closely, the faces piled across the monster's body had opened their mouths and were now taking huge bites out of the shadows binding it.
With every bite, the shadows dimmed a little.
Before long, the restraints wrapped around it had already become fragmented and riddled with holes.
Before you continue