Roots Pierce the Earth, Incense Travels in All Directions

The Demonic Evils within Lin Jiang Ward have all been cleared by Lin Yan.

Tonight's greatest haul of Malevolent Energy came from the Bear Demon.

Malevolent Energy increased by 46 strands.

"Even though they're both Demonic Creatures that have reached the Essence Refining Realm, that demon tiger's cultivation seems to surpass the Bear Demon by quite a bit..."

Lin Yan thought to himself, "But the demon tiger lost the aid of the Ghoul, and it was already old and nearing its end. Its combat power wasn't actually stronger than the Bear Demon's."

With that thought, he glanced back and let out a breath.

Originally, tonight he had planned to reveal his Inner Strength realm power to the outside world.

With the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp and the candlelight, he alone could defend those three hundred sixty paces, which was within the scope of what the Inner Strength realm could achieve.

But he hadn't expected someone to secretly assassinate the city defenders and replace the lamp oil of the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamp, thus tearing a larger gap in the city wall's defenses.

Seeing the darkness surge like a tide, about to invade the entire Lin Jiang Ward.

He had no choice but to draw his saber and stem the flow, filling the gap.

"Three hundred sixty paces is barely within the range that Inner Strength can defend alone."

"But once it reaches nearly a thousand paces, even an Inner Strength peak cultivator couldn't defend it!"

"This Essence Refining Realm cultivation of mine is probably no longer a secret."

Lin Yan thought this to himself, musing, "At the very least, it won't be a secret from Duke Lu... it all depends on whether Duke Lu is willing to keep it hidden for me."

He had sensed Duke Lu's presence when he was killing the Bear Demon.

Moreover, the person beside Duke Lu, though seemingly ordinary, was actually hiding immense power; if he didn't restrain himself, his Blood Essence would surge like rivers.

"Commander Han has always been proud and arrogant, but he believes Duke Lu can be trusted."

"Then I'll trust Duke Lu this time as well, and leave the aftermath to him."

Lin Yan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Revealing all my trump cards, showing them to others, is like stripping myself naked. I truly feel a bit uneasy."

"Fortunately, tonight's Malevolent Energy gain is substantial, allowing me to advance further."

"Duke Lu currently knows I have achieved the Essence Refining Realm."

"He probably wouldn't expect that after tonight, I've taken another huge step within the Essence Refining Realm."

Just as he thought this, he suddenly sensed something was amiss.

His gaze narrowed slightly, and he looked down.

Under his feet were merely bluestone slabs.

But in a trance, he seemed to have a misconception.

Beneath the earth, it felt as if golden streams were flowing.

When he focused his gaze, he saw only bluestone slabs on the ground, with no change.

In an instant, understanding dawned on Lin Yan.

"Is this the Power of Incense?"

"Willow Venerate's roots penetrate the earth."

"And the Temple uses Willow Venerate's main roots to transport the incense outside the city?"

As he thought this, Lin Yan heard an aged yet resonant voice from the city wall ahead.

It was the voice of Zhao Zhou, the Grand Commander of the city defense for the southern area of the inner city.

"The altar in the inner city is complete! Please invoke Willow Venerate's divine might to drive away the Demonic Evils outside the city!"

"Everyone, hold on a little longer. Dawn is approaching."

"This dark night will pass!"

Following Grand Commander Zhao Zhou's voice.

"Defend the city! Defend the city!"

"Defend the city! Defend the city!"

"Defend the city! Defend the city!"

From both sides of the city wall, strong responses came one after another, like waves, shaking the heart.

Lin Yan glanced down and whispered, "Willow Venerate's divine might, to drive away Demonic Evils?"

He looked up, his eyes filled with complexity.

Dawn was approaching.

But outside the city, in the dark woods.

A childish voice rang out.

"Grandpa, you still couldn't figure out which of the figures on the city wall is his true form?"

On the city walls now, the light from the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamps illuminated one figure after another holding swords.

But for the Demonic Evils lurking in the darkness, the light from the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamps did not reveal the scene on the city walls clearly. Instead, it was as if a layer of mist had descended.

Perhaps it was because the person fighting earlier had been too brutal, and every Demonic Creature and Malevolent Spirit that crossed the city wall had been cut down.

This caused the Demonic Evils in the darkness to develop an instinctive fear. They had basically bypassed the position defended by "that figure" and attempted to break into the city from other locations.

"Nonsense!"

The aged voice said angrily, "Our lineage possesses Divine Abilities in our bloodline, and our eyes generate divine light, capable of seeing through falsehood. How could we not see through him?"

Then, the aged voice stated with certainty, "This section of the city wall he is guarding is entirely made of paper figures manifesting as false bodies, with no true form! I reckon after sealing the breach earlier, he has already returned to reinforce the city!"

The forest in the night was silent.

The tender voice did not respond.

"What do you mean by that?"

The aged voice said angrily, "Are you not trusting Grandpa's abilities, or are you not trusting our family's bloodline Divine Abilities?"

"Grandson just feels that I am still young and could actually use this opportunity to try and awaken the bloodline Divine Abilities from my mother's side?"

"Little brat, you have no insight, you don't understand the profoundness of our clan's bloodline Divine Abilities!"

The aged voice snorted and said, "If I don't show you clearly today, do you really think the race on your mother's side is superior to ours?"

A faint, ethereal glow suddenly flashed through the forest.

"Grandpa, are you going to bewitch those two little demons to cross the city wall and probe their strength?"

"Grandpa saw through his falsehood at a glance, I'm just probing it for you to see."

Before the words were even finished, the aged voice suddenly paused, saying in surprise, "What's going on? They were clearly bewitched by me, why are they still afraid to advance? Could it be that the person's ferocity has made them this terrified?"

"Is he really that fierce?" the tender voice gasped.

"No wonder even the Lone Boat Eerie Mist was scared away by him. We father and son haven't directly faced his sharpness. It seems we've still underestimated his ferocity," the aged voice said in a low tone.

"Oh, so these two little demons are afraid to go up, and we can't probe their strength. Grandpa, we should leave."

"Hmph! This Spirit Bewitching Technique is also a bloodline inheritance of our family, how can it be an ordinary method?"

As the aged voice let out a low shout.

The ethereal glow in the forest shone even brighter.

Immediately, two little demons leaped out from the forest, one to the left and one to the right, heading towards the city wall.

One pounced towards the "paper figure" position on the left.

One pounced towards the "paper figure" position on the right.

They were about a thousand paces apart.

In the darkness, they bypassed the deterrence of the Willow Branch Night-Illuminating Lamps and climbed the city wall.

Then, a flash of blade light appeared.

The little demon on the left had its head chopped off.

The little demon on the right was pierced through by a crossbow bolt and fell below the city wall.

"..."

The aged voice was silent for a moment, then said, "He just got back."

There was no response from the forest.

After a moment of silence, the tender voice finally spoke.

"Grandpa, I still think the Divine Abilities from my mother's side might be a bit more powerful."