A Day

Not only had Ren Yuan drawn on the power of the demon spirit [Sky Pillar] to help everyone throw out the thugs blocking the entrance one by one.

Right after that, Chong Li led the team in and finally used the power of her demon spirit as well. The surging force blew open the cloak wrapped around her entire body.

This was the first time she had revealed her face in public.

This eighteen-year-old heroine of the martial world had a slender figure and a medium height, with a head of long, jet-black hair that gleamed brightly.

Her eyes were bright and lively, while determination and fearlessness showed between her brows. Her features were not particularly delicate, but the corners of her lips curved slightly upward, giving her an air of confidence and decisiveness.

The wear and tear of travel still clung to her. Whether it was the daily life of a heroine of the martial world or her identity as an abandoned disciple of the Sky-Toppling Observatory, both made her difficult to approach.

The [demon spirit: Earth Hero Star Heavenly Eye General] inside her, once awakened, first caused a dim radiance to gather in her eyes, allowing her to see the enemies and scenery deep within the tunnel with ease.

She wore light armor, her clothes fluttering as her nimble figure revealed her agility and flexibility. Her flesh was firm and powerful, radiating health and vitality. Her body was well-proportioned, with faintly defined muscles that displayed her strength and skill.

So sorcerers were not the sort of profession that hid in the back and cast spells after all.

No one knew where Chong Li had drawn it from, but she suddenly produced a short sword and instantly stabbed to death an enemy who came rushing from the side, black flames billowing from his body.

The other Demon Hunters behind her did not use their demon spirits, but they nevertheless increased the force of their attacks. The tunnel was not particularly spacious; although it could barely accommodate two or three people advancing side by side,

during a battle, they discovered that it was still far too narrow.

Fortunately, Chong Li was not as tall and massive as Ren Yuan.

Once the Heavenly Eye General's power was added to her body, Chong Li was no longer merely a third-tier sorcerer. She was also a Martial Artist with at least fifth-tier combat strength.

Because of the restrictions imposed by the surroundings, the thugs might have had the advantage in numbers, but they had no room to attack.

Ming Shu and Old Zhao also responded perfectly. Even when taking turns guarding the doorway, the two of them kept every enemy firmly outside the stone chamber.

With Chong Li and the others entering from behind to attack from both sides, they soon captured all the thugs who were not emitting black smoke, while those with black flames were all killed.

Ming Shu made it through without incident and returned to the group.

This was also the first time he had seen Chong Li use the power of her demon spirit. What a bold and heroic bearing!

While the people outside cleaned up the scene, tied up the captured thugs, and sent them away, Ming Shu and Old Zhao took the opportunity to briefly explain their discovery and what had happened before to Chong Li.

The person who had come to deliver the message earlier could not really be blamed either. He had only given a distant explanation of the arrangements that followed and had not made things clear. After all, they were the ones who had failed to act according to the original plan.

That had nearly caused them to lose contact.

And the fact that the other person had encountered him and done everything he could to pass the most important information on to Ming Shu already made him a remarkable person—someone Ming Shu ought to thank properly.

Chong Li looked it over and found that the altar was more or less the same as the other one she had found earlier.

She believed Ming Shu's account. At the same time, she shared her own experiences and discoveries with Ming Shu.

After they regrouped, they gave Ming Shu and Old Zhao several pills produced by the Sky-Toppling Observatory that could rapidly replenish stamina and spiritual power.

The two men quickly recovered.

They set out immediately, hurrying to deal with the remaining strongholds.

"The large batch of Ghost Spirits we encountered outside the city earlier should have been nurtured and formed in these places."

"It is just that we still do not know how they managed to control and transfer so many of them out of the city, then mobilize them for battle and slaughter."

Ming Shu spoke in a speculative tone about the information he had seen in the Life Book. "My guess is that there may still be powerful Ghost Cultivators hiding in the city. They are the real experts in this area."

"I think so too. You said earlier that those hidden scouts did not have even the slightest aura of demon spirits, monster spirits, or Ghost Spirits on them."

"They could clearly borrow the power of Ghost Spirits nearby, yet they refused to use it for so long. The Ghost Spirits they had created must have enormous flaws. They might even cause severe side effects to their own bodies."

"As for the black smoke that appeared at the end, it was probably another secret technique they had developed. They could actually consume their own lives to catalyze the power of others, even affecting their normal minds and reducing them to nothing but killing."

Before Chong Li entered, she had directly experienced the battles against those people whose bodies emitted black smoke. What she did not say was that this might be the relatively rare Gu Spirit.

They left several people behind to clean up the battlefield and escort the group of thugs back, where they would be held at the main base for the time being. Everyone else immediately headed for the next target.

Ming Shu also witnessed Chong Li's method of sealing the altar with his own eyes, and it left him awestruck. He had no idea whether the talismans she had stuck onto it were special or merely standard issue.

He had not recorded the incantation she recited, nor could he make sense of those dazzling Hand Seals.

Thus, Ming Shu silently abandoned the idea of secretly learning from her.

The battles that followed were also mostly uneventful. The several so-called forbidden grounds were dealt with one after another over the course of an entire day.

The only exception was the Ximen Family, which Qilin was leading people to attack. They had not even managed to break through the streets outside.

As night fell, the atmosphere in the city once again grew strange, becoming even more oppressive and heavy.

For the mortals still inside the city, this was truly terrible news.

During the day, Ming Shu had not felt anything wrong while fighting. But as the sun went down and the light-element concealment took effect, he finally realized it.

This was the enemy's home ground, which they had cultivated for more than a decade, perhaps even several decades. How had he managed to walk straight into their trap?

The good news was that every forbidden ground for Ghost Raising they had discovered had already been sealed. After comparing them with the memory fragments he had taken from those dead spirits and the intelligence provided by Earl Ying, Ming Shu knew that every forbidden ground they could find had been dealt with.

There should not be any more Ghost Spirits appearing in the short term.

It was not impossible that the Ximen Family themselves had raised a whole swarm of them underground. It was simply unlikely. If they were all demon spirits, what use would Ghost Raising be to them? To eat?

Chong Li's guess was that the Ghost Spirits were handled by the barbarian scouts, while the Ximen Family merely provided convenience.

The underground sites where the Ghost Spirits were raised were basically all Ximen Family properties.

Calling them Ximen Half-the-City would not have been an exaggeration.

Ming Shu had never seen Earl Ying's original sphere of influence and did not know what the area inside and outside Qing Shui County had looked like before he withdrew. But from what he was witnessing with his own eyes, the Ximen Family's power was something even the county magistrate could do nothing about.

No wonder they had been forced to give him an official position, yet still could not control him.

Ming Shu walked among the others, heading toward the area where Qilin was stationed.

During the day, Qilin and the others had still tried to avoid using overly brutal methods. After all, the people on the other side were basically mortals who had merely been bewitched and controlled.

But there were simply too many of them. If he killed them all, the pressure on him would be immense.

Now, he regretted it.

After battling those men for an entire day, whenever they grew hungry or thirsty, they simply picked up the corpses of their companions from the ground and began gnawing on them.

Could these things still be called human? They could not be saved!

Moreover, after night fell, they became even more brutal, more bloodthirsty, more furious, and more frenzied.

The offensive line they had established against them had instead become a defensive position. They had no choice but to draw it back and withstand the counterattack.