Fierce Battle with the Scarecrow

"I've reached the peak of the Strength Channeling Realm. Once my physical strength is honed to its limit, I can advance to the Vitality Mirror Realm. As long as that scarecrow isn't a Crimson Grade Weirdness, I still have a chance to fight it," Zhou Yi thought to himself, staring at his surroundings.

"Boss, the Signal Talisman has been sent," Lin De whispered excitedly to Zhou Yi.

"Good! But it's still quite far for my master to get here, so don't let your guard down," Zhou Yi said sternly to the two of them.

"Yes, Boss." The two knew this was a dangerous moment; one misstep and all three of them might end up here. Thus, they also became cautious.

Just as the three of them cautiously retreated towards the village entrance, all the scarecrows in the wheat field suddenly turned their faces towards them. Although the scarecrows had no eyes, Zhou Yi still felt as though they were staring at him.

"It seems I have no choice but to fight," Zhou Yi muttered softly.

After speaking, he affixed an Evil Exorcising Talisman onto Han Guang, while secretly activating his own Vital Energy.

The two behind him followed Zhou Yi's example, affixing Evil Exorcising Talismans onto their weapons.

The surrounding scarecrows suddenly moved, encircling the three of them and slowly closing in.

Zhou Yi swung his saber at the closest scarecrow.

With one strike, the scarecrow dissolved into a flurry of flying wisps, and a voice in his ear announced, "Yin Energy +1."

"It's only a little Yin Energy? It seems they are indeed quite weak," Zhou Yi thought. However, even a mosquito's leg is still meat, so Zhou Yi wouldn't complain about gaining a small amount of Yin Energy.

Seeing Zhou Yi make his move, the two beside him also swiftly struck the scarecrows closest to them. However, due to their lack of strength, they only managed to carve deep gashes into the scarecrows. It wasn't until their second strikes that the scarecrows finally fell and turned into flying wisps.

To Zhou Yi, these scarecrows were pathetically weak, barely qualifying as early Soul Grade Weirdness.

Zhou Yi continued to harvest the surrounding scarecrows at a steady pace while thinking.

Suddenly, all the scarecrows retreated, ceasing their attack on the three of them.

As Zhou Yi wondered what was happening, a scarecrow completely different from the others walked out.

Zhou Yi glanced at the Evil Warding Talisman in his hand. It hadn't burned, so this Weirdness hadn't advanced to the Crimson Realm yet.

The scarecrow's face was covered by a human face, its features contorted in extreme agony. Its gaping mouth seemed to want to scream something, yet it couldn't utter a sound.

As the scarecrow approached, Zhou Yi knew this was the scarecrow Weirdness his master had encountered.

However, Zhou Yi felt no fear; instead, he was eager to test his strength and see how far he had come.

With a roar, Zhou Yi raised Han Guang and unleashed his perfected Wave Breaking Saber Technique, slashing at the scarecrow. In an instant, a deep saber mark appeared on the scarecrow.

The scarecrow didn't just stand there and take it. It launched an attack at Zhou Yi with extreme speed, but Zhou Yi dodged every strike with his perfected Star Picking Steps.

Their exchange lasted only moments, yet Zhou Yi had already inflicted over a dozen wounds, large and small, on the scarecrow.

By this time, the other scarecrows had also been dealt with by Zhou Yi's subordinates.

Zhou Yi watched as the wheat stalks in the nearby field began to move, surging towards the extremely strange scarecrow. Instantly, the wounds Zhou Yi had inflicted on the scarecrow healed.

Zhou Yi's pupils contracted. He felt a sense of trouble. Fortunately, his Star Picking Steps were max level. While the scarecrow's attack speed was fast, it was only so for ordinary people. For Zhou Yi, it posed no significant threat.

"Alright, let's see if you can recover faster than my saber is sharp!" Zhou Yi muttered softly. He then unleashed his max-level Wave Breaking Saber Technique, slashing at the scarecrow again. This time, Zhou Yi didn't give the scarecrow any time to recover, and his Vital Energy began to infuse into Han Guang.

With the sharpness bonus from the Evil Exorcising Talisman, Zhou Yi easily broke through the scarecrow's defenses. While the scarecrow's recovery speed might be troublesome for ordinary people, Zhou Yi's Vital Energy, combined with Han Guang's inherent ability to prevent wounds from healing easily, resulted in countless gashes on the scarecrow.

Zhou Yi felt his Vital Energy nearing depletion and increased the intensity of his attacks.

The scarecrow looked at the dense wounds covering its body and took a step back, absorbing wheat stalks from the field to recover. However, this time, the Vital Energy in the wounds made its healing process extremely slow.

Sensing that the situation was turning against it, the scarecrow tried to turn and flee. But Zhou Yi wouldn't give it the chance, immediately giving chase.

Seeing Zhou Yi pursuing it, the scarecrow caused the wheat stalks in the field to surge towards Zhou Yi. However, Zhou Yi dodged them all with his footwork. Even the ones he couldn't dodge were easily broken through with a light sweep of Han Guang, clearing the obstacles formed by the wheat stalks.

As the scarecrow was about to escape the border protected by the sacred aura, Zhou Yi leaped forward, gripping Han Guang with both hands, and blocked its path.

Seeing that escape was impossible, the scarecrow prepared for a desperate final stand. However, its wounds had yet to heal, and there was no more wheat field around.

Zhou Yi simply held Han Guang with both hands and made a light slash. The scarecrow's body was torn asunder.

"Let's see if you can recover now," Zhou Yi said calmly, his foot resting on the scarecrow's remains.

"Yin Energy +100"

Hearing the voice in his ear, Zhou Yi was certain that the scarecrow was dead beyond any possibility of revival. He happily thought, "This is a big haul of Yin Energy. I probably won't need to raid the storeroom for a while. After all, doing it too often might alert Old Qin."

At that moment, Old Qin was guarding the storeroom entrance. He sneezed inexplicably and then said, "Who's badmouthing me behind my back?"

Zhou Yi then put away Han Guang, picked up a piece of the scarecrow's remains, and walked towards the village entrance. These remains could be exchanged for merit.