Blood Sacrifice Advances

Swish, swish, swish!

With Tu Xiong lunging ferociously from the front and a continuous volley of crossbow bolts coming from behind, Li Qingyun's scalp tingled.

Tu Xiong's movement and footwork were subtly a step ahead of him, and his close-quarters combat skills were extremely potent.

Although he cultivated the fifth layer of Sha Refining through unorthodox methods, he was still naturally at a disadvantage against true Daoist techniques, but he couldn't be underestimated.

What Li Qingyun feared even more were the dozens of skilled crossbowmen.

Each talisman arrow's power was comparable to an attack from someone at the Great Accomplishment of Qi Sensing level. The dense, continuous barrage made it impossible for him, who had only just advanced to the third layer of Qi Refining, to block!

"Die!"

The blade light fiercely descended.

Clang! Li Qingyun swung his sword to block the blood-red saber cleaving down from above. His body flickered, and he was forced back over a dozen steps by the impact.

Upon looking again, he realized he had fallen within the range of the soldiers' crossbow volleys.

Forty to fifty soldiers drew their bows, nocking arrows, preparing for a second wave of arrow rain!

When it came to formation combat, Tu Xiong's experience was ultimately superior to Li Qingyun's, and his coordination with the armored soldiers was exceptionally tacit, feeling as natural as moving his own limbs.

"Illusion!"

Li Qingyun's breath hitched slightly, and his speed momentarily faltered. He knew he couldn't completely evade this volley of arrows.

He had no choice but to forcefully summon his Mana and cast the Illusionary Spirit Technique, hoping that his insufficient grasp of illusions could at least trigger a deeper, wide-ranging disorienting effect!

Just like the Nightmare Deer Demon, which could easily control the entire desolate temple area.

The instantaneous consumption of five furnaces' worth of Mana left Li Qingyun feeling hollow.

But fortunately, as he wished, invisible ripples spread through the air!

In an instant, the eyes of the crossbowmen suddenly froze, becoming somewhat vacant.

The daze lasted perhaps only half a second before they recovered, and the crossbow bolts shot out!

But that was enough!

Li Qingyun caught his breath, his robes billowing like a great crane gliding with its wings spread, and he charged into the military formation.

His bronze short sword unleashed sharp sword energy several feet long, sweeping and thrusting in a dazzling display!

Continuous screams erupted.

In the blink of an eye, at least a dozen crossbowmen fell.

Li Qingyun's expression was stern; his attacks were merciless.

If he couldn't break the soldiers' formation, he would eventually die under the arrow rain!

"You dare!"

Tu Xiong charged forward fiercely, swinging his saber in a wild sweep.

But suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his heel, nearly causing him to fall to the ground.

"Meow!"

A big black cat was angrily biting his heel, its dagger-like teeth piercing through the leather boot, drawing a spray of blood.

"Vermin! Just like your master, you all deserve to die..."

In his pain and rage, Tu Xiong threw a punch, but it missed.

Yuanbao was extremely agile, knowing when to retreat. It instantly vanished, then followed Li Qingyun in a chaotic charge and bite among the soldiers.

Men and horses overturned, screams echoed incessantly.

"Yuanbao, stay with me!"

Li Qingyun didn't linger in the fight. He swung his sword, cutting down two soldiers blocking his path, then suddenly turned, heading towards the inside of the city gate instead.

Inside the town, chaos had already erupted.

Upon seeing the golden talisman light pillar shoot into the sky, Zhao Yifan, Chi Hui, and others at the Daoist Affairs Bureau, leading dozens of wandering swordsmen, immediately revolted. They killed the soldiers and Daoist priests monitoring them and broke out of the Daoist Affairs Bureau.

When Jia Song led his men in an angry pursuit, Zhao Yifan and his group, according to their planned strategy, immediately split into over a dozen routes, fleeing in all directions.

Some rushed into residential areas, shouting, "Jia Song is colluding with demons and plans to blood sacrifice the entire town."

Some fled while shouting, "Commander Zhou is dead, flee for your lives!"

A few ruthless wandering swordsmen even set fires in multiple places, causing smoke to rise everywhere, obscuring vision and diverting the pursuers' attention.

The entire town was thrown into disarray. The common people fled in panic, rushing towards the various city gates under the faint light of the night sky.

During this period, residents disappeared every night, and the populace was already on the verge of collapse. If not for the forceful suppression by the Youdao Division's inspection department, the townspeople would have fled long ago.

Now that someone had taken the lead, and with the shouts that the long-unseen Commander Zhou had died at the hands of demons, how could the common people endure any longer? In their panic, everyone fled.

"Divide some men and send them to the various city gates. Anyone who dares to charge the gates, the lowly peasants, kill them all!"

"Qin Qing, take your men to Zhou Gang's house and see if this arrogant fellow is truly dead!"

"Don't forget, your lives and the lives of your families are in my hands..."

Jia Song was caught a bit off guard and had to threaten his subordinates to intercept them everywhere.

He then flew into the air. With his cultivation at the seventh layer of Qi Refining, he was almost the strongest person in town. He quickly caught up to a group of slower-moving wandering swordsmen.

He waved his hand, releasing cold air, and the three swordsmen's bodies instantly froze, rendering them immobile.

"Your flesh and blood will be even more delicious..."

He bit into a swordsman's neck. Jia Song no longer concealed his true nature, greedily devouring the flesh. His aged skin trembled with excitement, rapidly becoming ruddy.

The swordsman's body quickly withered, like a leaky wineskin, turning into a skeletal corpse in an instant.

After continuously devouring three wandering swordsmen who had achieved success in Sha Refining, Jia Song's white hair quickly turned black. He also became much more energetic, no longer appearing frail and decrepit.

His cultivation aura even increased slightly.

He spread his arms contentedly, looking up at the dark clouds above Yinshan Town, and shouted:

"Old ghost Tu, make your move! Before the Dao Division from the county arrives, devour them all..."

Immediately, the dark clouds in the sky churned, and ghostly energy billowed. A giant ghost face vaguely emerged, looking down menacingly at the chaotic town.

"Heh heh, so much flesh and yang energy! Although it's a bit rushed, it's barely enough. With a blood sacrifice of ten thousand people, Jia Song, you and I will surely advance greatly in our cultivation..."

RUMBLE!

The entire Yinshan Town shook violently.

The dark clouds in the sky were like ink, churning and rapidly expanding, spreading until they resembled a giant umbrella covering the sky, engulfing the town!

All light in the town was extinguished, as if plunged into a hellish ghost realm.

Figures of terrified, struggling townsfolk were pulled into the air by invisible hands. Ghostly energy swept over them, the sound of chewing was heard, and then bones rained down.

"Such cruel methods, Jia Song deserves to die!"

Seeing this terrifying scene, Li Qingyun was both shocked and enraged.

Jia Song had indeed colluded with a ghostly creature and had secretly set up a blood sacrifice formation, treating all the townsfolk as flesh on a plate.

However, Jia Song himself must have become neither human nor ghost by now, otherwise, why would the ominous aura around him be so strong?

Li Qingyun glanced back at the city gate behind him.

The city gate was covered by a black curtain. Even the armored soldiers felt something was wrong, looking panicked and bewildered, as if disaster was imminent.

Tu Xiong, who had just chased into the city, was also greatly alarmed. Forgetting about pursuing Li Qingyun, he violently rammed into the curtain wall, trying to break out, but for a moment, he couldn't break through the formation's dark barrier.

Those who act as accomplices will ultimately not have a good end.

"These town soldiers and Daoists will likely not escape death in the end, becoming food for Jia Song and that great ghost..."

His figure flashed, and he sped towards Zhou Gang's mansion.

The Azure Blood Talisman had been sent, everything that could be done had been done!

The blood sacrifice formation was activated in a hurry. He believed that Jia Song and the great ghost wouldn't have enough time to kill all the townsfolk; even devouring a thousand people would be quite good.

Did they really think the Daoist masters of Yuzhen were just sitting around?

Even from a thousand miles away, an expert in the Opening Mansion Realm could arrive in an instant.

Even closer temples like Luoxia Temple, Purple Gold Temple, and Lingbao Temple, which were only a few hundred miles away, could have Dao Foundation realm experts arrive quickly!

This was the confidence he had in returning to the town to fulfill his promise.