One Man Holds the Line Alone, the Fickleness of Night

With a whoosh!

The crossbow bolt shot skyward.

A moment later, an owl fell from the heavens, an arrow lodged in its body as blood streamed freely.

It was an avian creature that had become a spirit and gained intelligence.

Though it too was a demon, this smaller demonic bird was clearly worlds apart from that ferocious demon tiger.

A single crossbow bolt smeared with incense ash from the Temple of Lord Liu was enough to shoot it down.

Lin Yan suddenly swept out his long blade!

Demon Quelling Divine Ability!

Baleful aura erupted!

His slash seemed to strike empty air, yet the ripples it raised completely tore apart the invisible, formless evil aura before him, which promptly dispersed like smoke.

"To an ordinary martial artist, a Wandering Spirit without physical form can erode the mind. It truly is terrifying beyond measure."

"But to me, it's simply too weak to withstand a single blow—far easier to kill than a martial artist at the initial realm."

Lin Yan's thoughts sank slightly.

This Wandering Spirit had brought him three strands of baleful aura.

That was equivalent to slaying a martial artist who had reached great completion in the fourth realm of Skin, Flesh, Tendons, Bones.

For many martial artists in the Internal Strength Realm, they would rather face an evenly matched Internal Strength martial artist than confront a Wandering Spirit.

But to Lin Yan, a Wandering Spirit was practically a free gift, no different from crushing an ant beneath his foot!

This was practically a feast!

Moreover, atop this stretch of city wall, not too many eyes were fixed on him.

So he moderately loosened the traces of his Breath Concealment Art, revealing an aura equivalent to the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

The aura of this level far surpassed that of ordinary martial artists, greatly enhancing its allure to demons and evil entities.

Yet it was still far from enough to intimidate them.

Thus, it was as though he had lit himself into a lamp!

The endless demons and evil entities in the darkness were like moths rushing into the flame!

He stood here guarding three hundred and sixty paces of city wall.

In truth, all the demons and evil entities were converging within thirty zhang of him!

As he thought this, he saw a lesser demon climb onto the city wall a hundred paces away.

The light of the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp filled it with fear, making it slow down involuntarily.

Yet the incense offerings from the ritual altar in the Inner City, along with the blood and qi of the many humans so close at hand, filled it with boundless desire.

The flames of the incense candles felt searingly hot to it.

Thus, it struggled faintly, but still gritted its teeth, broke through the area covered by the lamplight, and headed straight into the city.

Then, with a sudden whistling sound, something tore through the air!

An arrow came hurtling in!

Yet it did not pierce its body!

This arrow burst through three packets of incense ash!

The incense ash suddenly scattered, filling the air with dust as it fell over the lesser demon's body.

In an instant, miserable shrieks and wails rang out.

As the lesser demon rolled about in agony, it discovered in utter misery that not far away, another lesser demon had also been shrouded in incense ash.

Farther away still, two Wandering Spirits' evil auras were struck by the incense ash, their breaths immediately thrown into disarray, unable to gather again.

This single arrow had grievously wounded two Wandering Spirits and two demons.

By the time the lesser demon regained its senses—

When it opened its eyes again, blade-light was already upon it.

Sha Qi +10!

Lin Yan felt deeply satisfied.

He swept his gaze over the area and thought to himself, "Three hundred and sixty paces—even with my Essence Refining Realm physique, running back and forth would inevitably be too exhausting."

"Using myself as bait just now to lure demons and evil entities into attacking was a relatively effortless method!"

"But perhaps I killed a little too ruthlessly?"

"More accurately, the might of the Demon Quelling Divine Ability is simply too domineering and powerful..."

Even ants cling to life. After his indiscriminate slaughter, the demons and evil entities in the darkness had begun to feel fear.

Thus, some of the relatively "clever" demons and evil entities gradually began detouring around him from a hundred paces away, attempting to cross the city wall elsewhere.

But Lin Yan had anticipated this long ago.

Since he had already fought his way into a display of might earlier, it was time for his Paper Cut into Horse technique to come into play.

"Ominous Omen that tramples the rules of darkness—tonight, I want to see just how terrifying you truly are!"

Words abruptly surfaced in Lin Yan's mind.

Name: Lin Yan.

Cultivation Art: Five Elements Inner Breath Art.

Cultivation: Essence Refining Realm (1/3650)+

Divine Ability 1: Devour Baleful Intent!

Divine Ability 2: Demon Suppression!

Techniques:

Thunder Blade, First Level (100/100)

Paper Cut into Horse (30/100)+

Disguise Technique (67/100)+

Breath Concealment Technique (31/100)+

Sha Qi: 92 strands.

"After slaying demons and evil things tonight, my Sha Qi has increased quite a bit. I'll put it all in."

Lin Yan spent seventy strands of Sha Qi, raising his mastery of Paper Cut into Horse to its limit.

Paper Cut into Horse (100/100)

In an instant, countless images surfaced in his mind.

Enlightenment struck in a flash. With a wave of his hand, he stirred up a gust of wind.

The paper beneath his feet instantly transformed into a humanoid figure. Its face was identical to that of the Impermanence he had currently assumed.

Its build was similar, and it held a paper blade.

Then Lin Yan bit open his fingertip and flicked it.

Blood fell, as though vital energy and blood were surging forth.

In the blink of an eye, the paper figure's aura became exactly the same as his own, impossible to distinguish.

He withdrew and moved to the left.

He had originally placed these specially crafted sheets of paper beneath the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp.

He had merely been waiting to slay demons and evil things, accumulate enough Sha Qi, elevate Paper Cut into Horse to its peak, and then transform them into human forms one by one.

As he passed, one Impermanence after another emerged into the night, their vital energy and blood powerful.

Beneath the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp, ordinary demons and evil things did not dare meet their gaze.

It was as though twelve people together guarded these three hundred and sixty paces.

Within the darkness, a ghostly gleam appeared.

"Grandfather, it's that man from yesterday. He didn't die."

"But he soon will. He trampled upon the rules of darkness and has drawn misfortune upon himself." The aged voice was full of sighs.

"What is the darkness's misfortune?" The childish voice sounded deeply puzzled.

"I don't know." The aged voice spoke slowly. "But the Lone Boat Eerie Mist loathes him greatly. Perhaps it sensed that this person himself is not powerful. It was merely that the Sha Qi which erupted from his body last night had suddenly scattered the form of the Eerie Mist..."

"What will happen, then?" the childish voice asked.

"The Lone Boat Eerie Mist is a complex and vast eerie existence." The aged voice said hesitantly, "A fierce struggle seems to have arisen within the Eerie Mist. One portion of its thoughts wishes to accept Gao Liu City's incense offerings, while another portion wishes to devour this man..."

"In other words, the Lone Boat Eerie Mist has actually placed this man almost on equal footing with Gao Liu City's 'vast incense offerings'?"

The childish voice could not help but exclaim, "He carries such weight, yet he clearly isn't powerful."

Judging from the aura on the city wall, he was roughly at the level of the second stage of human Martial Arts.

For demons and evil things, martial artists who had undergone Blood Refining, Marrow Cleansing were the most delicious, far surpassing ordinary people.

Yet to demons and evil things, martial artists at this realm did not possess overly powerful abilities. They were "prey" that could be hunted down.

If it were a martial artist at the Inner Strengthening level instead, then this "prey" would pose a certain threat to demons and evil things.

As for those in the Essence Refining Realm, they were naturally even more delicious Blood Food.

But upon reaching the Essence Refining Realm, one already possessed the ability to contend against demons and evil things, thereby shedding the status of prey.

They even qualified to become "hunters"!

"No, he's weaker than he was last night."

The aged voice said in astonishment, "Could it be that he has concealed his aura and is using his own flesh and blood to lure in Lesser Demons?"

"How could an ordinary martial artist's Breath Concealment Art possibly fool this old man's eyes?"

"Truly strange..."

The aged voice clicked its tongue in wonder, then said, "But he struck too ruthlessly. He's killed those little fellows until they're frightened... they've already begun avoiding him."

Hearing this, the childish voice could not help saying, "So his method of using himself as bait has failed? This is a three-hundred-and-sixty-step stretch of city wall. Even if he only runs back and forth, wouldn't he be exhausted to death?"

But before Grandfather could answer, it cried out in alarm, "Grandfather, look! He's turned into twelve people!"

The glow of the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp, the candle flames of the Temple of Lord Liu, and the incense ash drifting through the night sky.

The evil creatures' vision could not see everything clearly.

All they could make out was that, atop the city wall, twelve identical people had suddenly appeared, every last one exactly the same.

They did not know which was real, much less which was false.

A night breeze blew, and Wandering Spirits silently crossed over along the edges.

Then, in a flash, blade light gleamed!

The Wandering Spirit vanished like smoke dissipating.

Yet at that very moment, three hundred steps away, a deer demon leaped up, about to vault over the city wall.

But blade light flashed there as well, cutting it down into the dust!

At the same time, a crossbow bolt tore through the night sky and struck a nightingale in the distance.

"Huh?"

The childish voice sounded utterly shaken. "Could it be that all twelve of them are him?"

"No! At the same time he destroyed the Wandering Spirit, he crossed three hundred steps at incredible speed and slew the deer demon!"

The aged voice sounded deeply approving as it said, "And at that same instant, he fired a crossbow bolt!"

"He's that formidable?" the childish voice asked.

"Even more formidable than imagined," the aged voice replied.

"How formidable?"

"A wild deer in the mountains is no small creature. Once it becomes a demon, it can rival an Inner Strength martial artist."

"Huh?" The childish voice exclaimed in surprise. "So just now, in the blink of an eye, he ran three hundred steps and cut down a deer demon comparable to an Inner Strength martial artist?"

"Indeed. This man is far stronger than expected."

"Good thing I'm timid and didn't sneak into the city to steal incense offerings. Otherwise, he'd have hacked me to death too."

"Silly child, the incense offerings at the ritual altar in Gao Liu City have already been divided into twelve portions."

The aged voice laughed. "One of them is Grandfather's share. Why would you need to steal any?"