"Damn that brat! He lifted the veil from the Huang Pi Dao Master!"
"We're doomed! He's enraged the divine being!"
"What family does that little bastard belong to?"
Below the opera stage, weasel heads jostled thickly together, and furious shouts suddenly spilled out, filling the air.
But soon, some sharp-eyed demons among the crowd recognized him and called out to Fourth Master Huang in the procession:
"Hey, Fourth Master, that looks like your grandson, A-Jun..."
"Yeah, Fourth Master, isn't that your grandson, A-Jun?"
"That boy's always been pretty well-behaved. How could he do something so absurd?"
Everyone began discussing it noisily. Their heavy, tangled voices were like immense burdens, all pressing down on Fourth Master Huang's back.
At that moment, even Fourth Master Huang, transformed into a massive demon, could not help but hunch his back a little. He stood silent as stone, saying nothing, while his eyes remained fixed on Lu Jun atop the stage.
Move!
Why can't I move?!
Lu Jun, a Green Zombie, stood rooted to the spot. His body had been immobilized, leaving him completely unable to move. All he could do was stare helplessly into the eyes of the Huang Pi Dao Master before him.
He watched those hollow, transparent, eerie eyes and that strange, mocking smile.
"Does anyone else feel... that A-Jun smells really good..."
Suddenly, a voice came from the crowd. It was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear.
"Yeah, he smells so good... It feels like he smells even better than that entire banquet at Old Master Xu's eightieth birthday feast in town..."
Lu Jun's heart lurched, and he looked toward the stage's base again.
Countless weasels with golden, vertical pupils were now staring at Lu Jun in unison. Their eyes were filled with intense yearning, and foul-smelling drool kept dripping from their mouths...
"Kill him! Sacrifice him to the divine being! Quell the divine being's fury!"
One stone stirred up a thousand waves!
Suddenly, in an instant, the many villagers who had transformed into demons erupted into a frenzy.
"That's right!"
"Kill him!"
"Sacrifice him to the divine being!"
"Quell the divine being's fury!"
Every villager raised a torch, their passions running high, yet the greed and yearning in their eyes could not be concealed no matter what.
At that moment, the village chief stepped forward. His gaze toward Lu Jun was likewise filled with yearning and greed.
"Since this is what the people want, then it must be the divine revelation bestowed by the Huang Pi Dao Master..."
"Then let us follow the divine revelation..."
The village chief's voice was calm.
Yet it sent the villagers' emotions soaring, and they suddenly jolted.
Then, in the very next moment, the countless villagers transformed into demons no longer hesitated. They surged forward in unison and charged toward Lu Jun on the stage.
Lu Jun felt cold from head to toe.
Despair began to grow in his heart.
Meanwhile, the smile on the Huang Pi Dao Master's raised face grew brighter and brighter...
At that moment, a demon took the lead and climbed onto the stage. Just as its sharp claw was about to seize Lu Jun—
With a thunderous boom, that demon was brutally trampled beneath the foot of another demon that had suddenly descended from the sky, sending great clouds of dust billowing outward...
Pointed triangular ears, a familiar weasel head, a familiar coarse hemp robe, and a slightly hunched back...
"Grandpa..."
Lu Jun's gaze was complicated.
"I'm really damn impressed by you! I told you to go to Yunzhou and call for reinforcements, but you just had to come chop down the divine idol!"
"Why are you always such a reckless fool at the crucial moments!"
"You've been caught, and you still don't know to run!"
The figure's appearance was strange and demonic, yet it still spoke in the utterly familiar tone Lu Jun knew so well, uttering one irreverent scolding after another.
"Fourth Master, what are you trying to do! Even at a time like this, you still want to protect your traitorous grandson?"
"You want to enrage the divine being and have the entire village be buried with you?"
"The villagers are still reasonable. Your grandson is the one who made the mistake. Step aside now, and you'll still be one of the villagers. We can let bygones be bygones."
"..."
The many demons roared furiously at Fourth Master Huang.
Fourth Master Huang merely rolled his shoulders and stretched his limbs. The bones throughout his body crackled loudly. Then he said softly, "Sigh, fighting is something this old man only did when he was young. Now I'm nothing but an old bag of bones. I don't even know if I can still manage it..."
"When a grandson makes a mistake, his grandfather naturally has to bear it first. What kind of grandfather sells out his own grandson? Besides, I genuinely want to hold a great-grandson!"
Fourth Master Huang sighed softly, then gently came to Lu Jun's side. "Kid, this might hurt a little. You'll have to endure it..."
Fourth Master Huang swung out a palm. A fierce gale of astral force swept over him, and Lu Jun felt the exposed skin on his body sting painfully beneath it. Then, an immense force struck him.
Lu Jun was sent flying dozens of meters backward. The wind by his ears carried Fourth Master Huang's voice, reduced to two light words—run.
Lu Jun slowly climbed to his feet. Every inch of his skin throbbed with a needle-prick pain, but the strange gale of astral force Fourth Master Huang had unleashed had sent him far away without causing much damage to his muscles or bones.
Lu Jun looked at the thunderous sounds of slaughter in the distance and the savage scene drenched in blood. After a moment of uncertainty, determination once again lit his eyes.
"Just a little more..."
"As long as I completely chop apart that damn divine idol, everything will be revealed..."
"I was only caught off guard and immobilized just now. I'm not weak!"
Lu Jun climbed up from the ground and picked up the ancient long saber in his hand again. His eyes were bloodshot. "Kill!"
At that moment, Lu Jun abandoned all thought. There was only one idea in his eyes—to hack that damn divine idol to pieces!
To sever the so-called curse that had accumulated in the village over countless years.
Lu Jun rose to his feet, gripped the long saber's hilt tightly, and roared as he charged once more toward the divine idol, swinging down with all his strength.
It had to be said that Grandpa's combat power was still formidable. Though he was at a disadvantage while facing dozens of demons alone, he could still barely hold his own.
But he could only withstand dozens of demons at most.
The remaining hundred-plus demons charged toward Lu Jun in unison.
"Kill, kill, kill!"
Adrenaline surged. Serotonin, cortisol—every hormone in Lu Jun's body was being secreted madly.
Fear, confusion, hesitation, and timidity all vanished beneath Lu Jun's conviction—the conviction to smash the divine idol to pieces.
At that moment, the ancient long saber the blind old beggar had lent Lu Jun began to flicker with a faint blue radiance.
Countless demons howled and roared as they surged toward Lu Jun.
"Mine! His first bite is mine!"
A demon reached him first. Its sharp claws suddenly raked toward Lu Jun.
Lu Jun ignored everything else and abruptly swung his saber down. The faint blue radiance on the blade formed strange rune patterns, and the light flared brilliantly!
With one slash, the demon that had approached him was cleaved in two.
Blood sprayed everywhere, drenching Lu Jun from head to toe.
[Slain demon, Weasel Demon. Acquired its innate evolved divine ability—Wind Manipulation] [Wind Manipulation: Command the power of wind and travel through the air] [This divine ability has been converted into Demon Essence.] [Demon Essence: 600] [Demon Life Essence can be used to raise the realm of cultivation techniques and martial arts.]
In an instant, a warm current suddenly swept through Lu Jun's entire body. The strength in his arms, which had been somewhat drained after swinging the saber with all his might, became abundant once more.
Lu Jun ignored the words before him. His gaze held only one thing: the Huang Pi Dao Master's divine idol atop the stage.
Lu Jun dashed forward at full speed.
In an instant, Lu Jun's speed nearly multiplied several times over.
Wind currents flowed beneath Lu Jun's feet.
Looking closely, one could see that Lu Jun's feet were not actually touching the ground. They hovered just above it, moving with an extremely subtle force that kept him airborne as he threaded through the surging tide of demons, racing toward the divine idol.
Lu Jun in the distance also drew everyone's attention.
"Damn it, that brat really doesn't listen. He's such a reckless fool."
"This old man is going to die without descendants... I'm a sinner to the entire Huang family..."
Fourth Master Huang had long since been pinned to the ground by four Weasel Demons holding down his limbs. Not a single patch of skin on his body remained uninjured; he was drenched in blood. His expression held a trace of sorrow, but also a hint of emotion at Lu Jun's careful approach to rescue him.
"Catch him! Tear him apart and share the meat. Everyone gets a portion!" the village chief ordered at once.
A second wave of Weasel Demons surged forward, their only target the charging Lu Jun.
But with Soaring Wind's support, Lu Jun's speed had reached an astonishing level. He was like a loach swimming through a crowd, so fast that the many demons could barely touch even the hem of his clothes.
In the blink of an eye, Lu Jun had once again reached the area around the Huang Pi Dao Master's divine idol.
"Thief, how dare you!"
The village chief roared.
At the same time, the Huang Pi Dao Master turned its head again. Just as that ugly, ferocious weasel head was about to meet Lu Jun's gaze once more—
Lu Jun had already closed his eyes in preparation. Then he brought his saber down heavily, without the slightest hesitation or pause.
Crack!
The sensation of the blade cleaving through clay traveled up his hand. The sound of the clay idol shattering rang beside his ears, accompanied by an incredibly shrill, agonized wail...
Lu Jun knew that he had succeeded.
Lu Jun opened his eyes. Before him lay the shattered clay idol.
Among the fragments, a pale-blue, jelly-like creature resembling a jellyfish, its entire body covered in luminous specks, writhed frantically. It let out a piercing, miserable scream.
[Slain demon, Misty Mirage. Acquired its innate evolved divine ability—Mirror Flower, Water Moon] [Mirror Flower, Water Moon: Manipulate the five senses and create illusions] [Demon Essence: 1000]
While Lu Jun was still stunned, a massive amount of memories suddenly surged into his mind in one great rush.
Before you continue