Within Lin Jiang Ward, all the demons and evil spirits had been completely swept away by Lin Yan.
The greatest gain of Killing Intent tonight had come from the Bear Demon.
Killing Intent increased by 46 wisps.
"Both were demonic creatures that had reached the Essence Refining Realm, but that Demon Tiger's cultivation seemed to surpass the Bear Demon's by quite a bit..."
Lin Yan thought to himself, But the Demon Tiger had lost the aid of its tiger spirit, and its own body was old and decrepit. Its combat power wasn't actually greater than the Bear Demon's.
As he thought this, he looked back and let out a breath.
Originally, he had already planned to reveal the power of the Inner Strengthening Realm tonight.
With the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp and the incense-candle flames, he had held the three hundred and sixty paces alone. That could be considered within the range of what someone in the Inner Strengthening Realm could accomplish.
But he had never expected someone to assassinate the city defenders from the shadows and replace the lamp oil in the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp, tearing an even larger hole in the city wall's defenses.
Watching the darkness sweep over everything like a tide, about to engulf all of Lin Jiang Ward,
he had no choice but to draw his blade and cut off the current, plugging the breach.
"Three hundred and sixty paces can barely be considered within the range that someone in the Inner Strengthening Realm can guard alone."
"But once it reaches nearly a thousand paces, even someone at the peak of the Inner Strengthening Realm won't be able to hold it!"
"It looks like this cultivation of the Essence Refining Realm can't be kept hidden."
Lin Yan thought this, then mused, At the very least, I can't hide it from Duke Lu... It all depends on whether Duke Lu is willing to help me keep it concealed.
When he killed the Bear Demon, he had already sensed Duke Lu's aura.
Moreover, the person beside Duke Lu looked ordinary, but beneath the surface lay surging power. If he did not restrain himself, his qi and blood would be as mighty as rivers.
"Commander Han has always been proud and arrogant, and he believes Duke Lu can be trusted."
"Then I'll trust Duke Lu this once as well. I'll have to trouble that old man with the aftermath."
Lin Yan could not help sighing inwardly. Laying all my trump cards bare before others is like taking off all my clothes. It really does leave me feeling somewhat uneasy.
"Fortunately, I gained quite a bit of Killing Intent tonight. I can advance another step."
"Duke Lu now knows that I've cultivated the Essence Refining Realm."
"He probably wouldn't imagine that after tonight, I've taken another great step within the Essence Refining Realm."
Just as he thought this, he suddenly sensed something strange.
His gaze narrowed slightly, and he looked down.
Beneath his feet were merely bluestone paving slabs.
Yet in a daze, he seemed to have an illusion.
Beneath the earth, there seemed to be one golden stream after another flowing past.
When he focused his eyes and looked carefully, he found only the same bluestone paving slabs on the ground, without the slightest change.
In an instant, Lin Yan came to a realization.
"Is this the Power of Incense?"
"Willow Venerable's roots pierce through the earth."
"And the temple uses the roots of Willow Venerable's true body to transport the Power of Incense outside the city?"
Just as he thought this, Lin Yan heard an old yet thunderous voice from atop the city wall ahead.
It was the voice of Zhao Zhou, the City Defense Commander of the southern section of the Outer City.
"The ritual altar in the Inner City has been completed. Please invoke Willow Venerable's divine might and drive away the demons and evil spirits outside the city!"
"Everyone, hold on a little longer. Dawn is about to break."
"This dark night is coming to an end!"
As Grand Commander Zhao Zhou's voice rang out,
"Defend the city! Defend the city!"
"Defend the city! Defend the city!"
"Defend the city! Defend the city!"
Powerful responses rang out one after another from both sides of the city wall, rising and falling like waves and shaking the heart.
Lin Yan lowered his head and glanced down, then murmured, "Willow Venerable's divine might, driving away demons and evil spirits?"
He raised his head, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.
Dawn was about to break.
But in the dark forest outside the city,
a childish voice rang out.
"Grandpa, you still couldn't see through which of those figures on the city wall was his true body?"
At this moment, the light from one Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp after another shone across the city wall, illuminating one saber-wielding figure after another.
But to the demons and evil spirits in the darkness, the light of the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp not only failed to illuminate the scene on the city wall—it seemed to shroud it in a layer of mist.
Perhaps because that person had killed too brutally earlier, every demonic creature and evil spirit that crossed the city wall had been cut down without exception.
As a result, the demons and evil spirits in the darkness had developed fear born from instinct. They basically avoided the position defended by "that figure," trying to break into the city from elsewhere.
"Nonsense!"
The old voice said angrily, "Our bloodline possesses divine abilities, and divine light is born within our eyes. We can see through all falsehoods. How could we possibly fail to see through him?"
Then the old voice said with certainty, "This section of the city wall he is guarding consists entirely of false bodies manifested from paper figures. There is no true body! He must have already returned to the city after sealing the breach earlier!"
The forest in the dark night fell silent.
The childish voice did not reply.
"What do you mean by that?"
The old voice said furiously, "Do you not believe in Grandpa's abilities, or do you not believe in our clan's bloodline divine ability?"
"Your grandson just thinks that I'm still young. Perhaps I could use this opportunity to try awakening the bloodline divine ability from my mother's side?"
"You little brat, you're ignorant and don't understand the marvels of our clan's bloodline divine ability!"
The old voice snorted and said, "If I don't let you see it clearly today, you'll really think your mother's species is superior to ours?"
A clear, shadowy radiance suddenly flashed through the forest.
"Grandpa, are you going to bewitch those two Lesser Demons and have them cross the city wall to test the truth?"
"I saw at a glance that he was a false body. I'm only having them test it so you can see."
Before the words had even faded, the old voice abruptly stopped. In astonishment, it said, "What's going on? They were clearly bewitched by me. Why don't they dare move forward? Could it be that person's ferocious might has frightened them to this extent?"
"Is he really that terrifying?" The childish voice sucked in a breath.
"No wonder even Lone Boat Eerie Mist was frightened away by him. We grandfather and grandson never faced his edge directly, so it seems we still underestimated his ferocious might," the old voice said heavily.
"Oh. Since these two Lesser Demons don't dare go up, there's no way to test the truth. Grandpa, we should leave."
"Hmph! This Spirit Bewitching Technique is also an inherited bloodline ability of our family. How could it be an ordinary method?"
Following the old voice's low shout,
the clear, shadowy radiance in the forest grew increasingly brilliant.
Immediately afterward, two Lesser Demons leaped out of the forest, heading toward the city wall from the left and right.
One pounced toward the "paper figure" on the left.
The other pounced toward the "paper figure" on the right.
They were roughly a thousand paces apart.
In the darkness, they crossed the intimidating radiance of the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamps and climbed onto the city wall.
Then a flash of saber light appeared.
The Lesser Demon on the left had its head chopped off.
The Lesser Demon on the right was pierced through by a crossbow bolt and fell from the city wall.
"..."
The old voice was silent for a moment, then said, "He just got back."
There was no response from the forest.
Only after a moment of silence did the childish voice finally speak.
"Grandpa, I still think the divine ability from my mother's side might be a little stronger."
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