Demon Disaster Suddenly Appears

Dawn.

Brilliant morning light slowly spilled from the east, as if gilding the entire Black Stone City.

Fang Xi returned to his residence and changed his clothes.

"Lu She was no match for me, but the information he revealed before dying is worth noting..."

Last night, with the power of talismans, he had extremely smoothly eliminated the higher-ups of the Red Snake Martial Arts School, while the outer disciples remained unaware.

Furthermore, he had used Lu She to complete an experiment of his own.

'Martial artists who cultivate True Force are still at a significant disadvantage against Low-grade Magic Tools... Their bones are only slightly harder than ordinary people's, but as long as one avoids a few hard points and targets vital areas, it's easy to defeat a stronger opponent with a weaker one!'

Thinking of Lu She's shocked expression when he witnessed the Flying Sword technique last night, Fang Xi still found it quite amusing.

After breakfast, Fang Xi arrived at the White Cloud Martial Arts School.

"Junior Brother, you're finally here."

Mu Piaomiao, standing at the entrance of the Martial Arts School, brightened when she saw Fang Xi and immediately grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the inner courtyard.

"Senior Sister, what's happened?"

Fang Xi felt the surprised gazes of the disciples around them and subtly pulled his hand away from Mu Piaomiao's.

"A friend of Father's has arrived. Uncle Hao is also a Martial Hall Master..."

Mu Piaomiao briefly explained.

Oh, so Mu Canglong has a guest and wants me to help prop up the scene?

Fang Xi understood roughly and didn't refuse, following Mu Piaomiao into the living room.

"Haha, is this the esteemed niece? You've grown even more radiant."

In the main hall, Mu Canglong and a stout, red-faced man were seated as host and guest.

The red-faced man's eyes lit up upon seeing Mu Piaomiao, and he then instructed a young man in red robes beside him, "Why aren't you going to pay your respects?"

"I am Hao Lan, greetings, Miss Mu."

The young man, likely the Martial Hall Master Hao's nephew, stepped forward with a gentle smile.

"My nephew's talent is undeniable. At only nineteen years old, he has already reached the Three Changes of Qi and Blood realm..."

Martial Hall Master Hao laughed heartily.

"Haha... My unaccomplished daughter only broke through to the Three Changes of Qi and Blood realm at twenty."

Mu Canglong calmly took a sip of tea and then pointed at Fang Xi, "However, this disciple of mine is quite good. He's seventeen this year and also at the Three Changes of Qi and Blood."

"What?"

Hao Lan's expression became incredibly interesting, as if he had been struck by a knife.

"Haha... I have some important matters to discuss with Brother Mu..." As for the Martial Hall Master Hao, after a brief moment of shock, he quickly regained his composure.

"Mm, Piaomiao, Fang Xi, take Hao Lan out for a stroll. Young people should get to know each other better."

Mu Canglong's expression also turned serious.

Fang Xi and Mu Piaomiao bowed respectively and walked out of the living room.

Before leaving, Fang Xi's ears twitched. Martial Hall Master Hao's worried voice reached him: "...Brother Mu, the previous encirclement and suppression of Demon Beasts might have been more complicated than it seemed!"

'What exactly went wrong during the previous encirclement and suppression of Demon Beasts?'

As Fang Xi pondered, Hao Lan, noticing Mu Piaomiao's occasional glances at his junior brother, felt a surge of youthful pride. "Junior Brother Fang has actually broken through to the Three Changes of Qi and Blood at seventeen. Hao Lan is impressed. How about... we have a spar? What do you say?"

"This... there's no need, right?"

Fang Xi refused.

At his current realm as a Martial Hall Master, ordinary Three Changes of Qi and Blood cultivators were easily dealt with, one leg at a time.

"What? In front of Miss Mu, Junior Brother Fang... are you afraid of losing?" Hao Lan chuckled.

He believed that a young person, easily provoked, would surely fall for this bait.

To his surprise, Fang Xi merely rolled his eyes inwardly, too lazy to argue with a child. "Mm... then I'll concede. Brother Hao's strength is extraordinary, and I admit I am inferior!"

"Huh?"

Hao Lan's eyes widened, as if he were seeing Fang Xi for the first time.

After a long moment, he finally uttered, "I have never met anyone like you, Brother Fang..."

"Brother Mu, please take today's matter to heart."

The main entrance of the White Cloud Martial Arts School.

Martial Hall Master Hao, accompanied by his nephew, bid farewell to Mu Canglong.

Mu Piaomiao and Fang Xi stood among the crowd, seeing them off.

"You... why did you just surrender?" Mu Piaomiao asked quietly, leaning closer to Fang Xi.

"What's the point of fighting a meaningless battle?" Fang Xi retorted, lowering his eyelids.

Instead of arguing with a child, it was better to consider the recent strange atmosphere in Black Stone City.

It seemed... ever since the last monster hunt, something extraordinary had happened.

As his mind wandered, suddenly, a startled cry came from not far away:

"Murder!!!"

The voice was high-pitched, almost piercing the sky.

"Hm?"

Fang Xi frowned and followed the disciples of the Martial Arts School to where the sound came from.

After turning a street corner, they saw a group of people fleeing in disarray, dodging a few... strange people behind them?

"What the hell are those things?"

Fang Xi's keen eyesight allowed him to see the true appearance of these strange people – their cheeks were gaunt, and root-like tendrils protruded from their seven orifices.

At this moment, one of the strange people casually grabbed a nearby passerby, and roots burrowed into the other person's body.

"Ah!"

The innocent passerby screamed, their body rapidly shrinking, and their eyes gradually becoming vacant...

'Feels... a lot like some kind of puppet?'

As a cultivator, Fang Xi's knowledge was quite extensive.

Seeing this scene, his pupils constricted, and he felt even more speechless: 'I was wrong... I was so naive and foolish back then, thinking this was a low-level martial arts world...'

"Save... save me!"

"Wuwu... Demonmmy..."

The strange people and the fear spread rapidly through the crowd as if contagious.

A large number of people fled in panic, and a child fell by the roadside, crying.

"Get up quickly."

Hao Lan grabbed the child and quickly retreated towards the Martial Arts School disciples.

"Brother Mu!" Pavilion Master Hao roared, his fists like rolling stones, smashing towards one of the strange people.

Pfft!

Where the True Force passed, the strange person's spine snapped, and half of its body broke off.

"Brother Hao, dodge quickly!"

Mu Canglong's eyes twitched, and he exclaimed.

"Ah!"

Pavilion Master Hao cried out in pain, looking at his palm, only to see several bloody holes that had appeared on it at some point.

"At least a Great Demon, or possibly even..."

Mu Canglong's expression became extremely solemn, and he roared, "White Cloud Martial Arts School disciples, heed my command! Retreat to the Martial Arts School immediately and defend the walls!"

"Yes, sir!"

Mu Piaomiao glanced at her father and led her junior disciples back to the Martial Arts School.

Fang Xi looked up and saw Mu Canglong wielding a steel rod, fighting a strange person.

He looked at the collapsed shelves by the roadside, a rattle rolled a few times on the ground, and finally stopped at his feet.

This seemingly prosperous world was like a soap bubble, easily burst...

The speed was so fast, it truly felt like a dream.

"Hurry!"

Hao Lan didn't know why, but he felt pity for the child and saved it on impulse.

By the time he came to his senses, several strange people had already surrounded him.

This time, the strange people were different from the previous ones. There were no root tendrils protruding from their seven orifices, but they were all branded with strange black markings that wriggled like tadpoles, covering most of their faces like grotesque masks.

"Behold my family's... Rolling Stone Fist!"

He took a deep breath, and the powerful force of the Three Changes of Qi and Blood struck out like a raging storm.

Bang bang bang!

Crack!

Hao Lan cried out in pain, feeling the bones in his right hand break.

He looked at a masked strange person lunging at him, and couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, closing his eyes.

Boom!

The next moment, a loud noise echoed.

"What are you still愣着 (lèng zhe -愣着: stunned/frozen) for? Hurry up and go!"

Fang Xi kicked a strange person flying. In his hand, a green short sword appeared from who knows when, and he slashed it across another charging strange person.

Drops of dark red blood splattered, remaining on the blade.

*'Got some blood. I can go back and study it, or take it to the cultivation world to find someone to examine it...'

Fang Xi's main objective for coming out was to get a sample. As for Hao Lan?

It was just because he had a slight good impression of the other party's previous act of saving a child, so he saved him casually.

As a cultivator, one should act as they please and do what they want.

"So... so powerful!"

Hao Lan was almost stunned there.

As the opponent he had just fought, he knew exactly how troublesome those strange people were.

He had lost his hand in just a few moves, yet Fang Xi dealt with them with extreme ease.

Thinking of the scene where the other party had calmly admitted defeat earlier, Hao Lan's cheeks turned as red as a monkey's backside from shame: "I was so stupid, really..."

Time moves back slightly.

Black Stone City, the seat of Da Liang's government.

In the backyard of the prefecture office.

One Demon Beast after another appeared. The two-headed Demon Wolves from back then, and even several missing Martial Hall Masters, were among them.

The ground was covered in blood, and there wasn't a single living person around.

The infested Demon Beasts and powerful martial artists gathered together, suddenly let out piercing roars, and their flesh and blood exploded.

As countless blood, bones, and flesh splattered, vine-like things emerged, intertwining with each other, growing long roots, and burrowing into the ground.

Soon, a bizarre, pitch-black great tree grew from the flesh and blood.

Countless roots extended from the white bones and skulls, supporting the main trunk of the pitch-black great tree. Vein-like patterns appeared on the bark, and within the enormous black canopy, what seemed like faces flickered in and out of view.

Black aerial roots descended from mid-air, piercing into the strange people who appeared nearby.

Life and death, evil and beauty...

All sorts of coordination and discordance, symmetry and asymmetry, could be found on this bizarre lifeform!

After this strange black-blooded great tree appeared, its massive canopy expanded wantonly, and a faint mist emerged, continuously thickening...

"Damn it, it's 'Demon'!"

Not far away, the experts from the Yuan He Demonuntain branch were all present, led by Linghu Yang!

Linghu Yang watched the scene, gritting his teeth in hatred: "The frequent migration of Demon Beasts near Black Stone City is because a 'Demon' has been born! Now this demon has chosen to take root in the center of Black Stone City. Black Stone City... is finished!"