Bait

Xu Zhe had pursued the Corpse Demon all the way here, covering thousands of miles and spending more than two months in the process.

The Corpse Demon was immensely powerful and cunning by nature. Though Xu Zhe had cornered him several times, the Corpse Demon had always slipped away after a fight.

As their clashes grew more frequent, Xu Zhe came to understand the Corpse Demon better and better.

The Corpse Demon truly lived up to his name. This Evil Warrior had become little different from a zombie, and Xu Zhe had seen traces of zombie flesh and blood implanted into his body!

Another madman who had implanted Evil Creatures into his body for the sake of power!

This also gave the Corpse Demon many zombie-like habits, such as a fondness for drinking blood.

There was another clear pattern to the Corpse Demon's actions: every half month, he would inevitably find a way to consume vast quantities of living blood. His prey might be wild beasts in the mountains or villagers in settlements he passed through. Wherever he went, corpses carpeted the ground.

The same had held true throughout these past two months, without a single exception.

Xu Zhe did not know why the Corpse Demon periodically plundered blood and vitality. Perhaps he was cultivating some evil art, or perhaps he was injured and needed the blood and vitality of countless living beings to recover his strength. But none of that mattered.

What mattered was that the time for the Corpse Demon to start feeding had come again—and it was today!

More than half a month had passed since the Corpse Demon's last meal. Today, he would surely slaughter living beings on a grand scale and seize their blood and vitality!

That was precisely why Xu Zhe and the Special Capture Division of Jiujiang Commandery had planned this operation.

They gathered a large number of martial artists and arranged for a caravan to leave the city, drawing the Corpse Demon's attention.

The blood and vitality of living beings held a great allure for zombies. Martial artists possessed abundant blood and vitality of exceptional quality, making their blood and vitality an even deadlier temptation to zombies!

Whether martial artists of Li Yuan's Inner Force Realm or Yan Nian's True Qi Realm, every one of them was bait meant to lure out the Corpse Demon!

The mission's supposed purpose of escorting supplies was a lie. Luring the Corpse Demon was the truth!

The quantity of supplies being escorted was so great that it defied reason. Their weight had been carefully calculated, and there was absolutely no way they could be delivered to Changgan County before nightfall.

If more than twenty martial artists were stranded in the wilderness, their rich blood and vitality giving off a sweet scent, could the Corpse Demon resist such temptation?

When Xu Zhe proposed this idea, Young Commander Chu Han immediately refused. The plan was too mad, and he did not dare gamble on it.

The wilderness was dangerous enough already, let alone with a Corpse Demon added to the mix.

If they lost these powerful martial artists, it would be a crushing blow to all of Jiujiang Commandery. And his career as Young Commander would likely be over; his superiors would never let him off.

Xu Zhe patiently persuaded Chu Han, saying that he was willing to accompany the caravan. Should the situation become critical, he would act to protect these martial artists.

Besides, sending these martial artists out as bait was dangerous—but was it not dangerous to let a Corpse Demon wander freely through Jiujiang territory?

One day, he might just cause a catastrophe that shook the heavens!

You, Chu Han, would not escape responsibility either!

And this escort mission was the perfect opportunity to hunt the Corpse Demon.

Xu Zhe had fought the Corpse Demon many times and had gained an ever deeper understanding of him. Xu Zhe had even glimpsed some of the Corpse Demon's weaknesses.

If they fought again, Xu Zhe was highly confident he could keep him from escaping.

After much persuasion, Chu Han felt helpless, but in the end, he agreed to the plan.

To ensure the plan went smoothly, the consecrated elder Zong Wencheng would also lend his aid, and he would bring along the Zong Family's most gifted Spirit Master, Zong Lin.

If even that failed, then Chu Han would accept his fate.

None of the martial artists responsible for escorting the caravan knew the truth. Only Yan Nian, a True Qi Realm martial artist, understood the full course of events.

They were all bait!

Zong Wencheng explained the entire matter to Yan Nian in detail and gave him many talismans, telling him to adapt to circumstances.

Yan Nian's expression gradually turned grave. Even as a True Qi Realm martial artist, he could not help feeling a sense of impending danger. It was not only zombies that were attacking, but many evil ghosts as well. When such things gathered together, they were extremely difficult to deal with.

Zombies possessed tremendous strength and tough bodies, while evil ghosts came and went like phantoms, impossible to guard against. Casualties had already begun appearing among the caravan's martial artists, and Yan Nian's heart sank.

"It's time to make a move."

He reached into his robes and drew out a handful of yellow talismans. With a flick of his wrist, the talismans turned into arrows and shot into the midst of those Evil Creatures.

Boom—

Boom—

Boom—

The yellow talismans exploded in succession, transforming into milky-white firelight that blanketed a wide area. Quite a few zombies and evil ghosts failed to evade in time and were set ablaze!

The milky-white firelight caused the martial artists no harm whatsoever. It only felt pleasantly warm when it fell upon them, but to those Evil Creatures, it was incomparably lethal.

Every Evil Creature set alight let out shrill, miserable howls.

The zombies' resilient bodies melted like butter, swiftly turning into flying ash and vanishing where they stood.

The evil ghosts ignited by the firelight melted away like spring snow, their bodies fading continuously until they disappeared.

Some quick-moving evil ghosts burrowed underground and avoided the yellow talismans' attack, while the untouched zombies scattered in every direction and fled.

Yan Nian let out a breath. That handful of talismans had finally driven back the Evil Creatures' offensive. He shouted sharply.

"Don't stop! Everyone, keep moving toward Changgan County!"

Those Evil Creatures clung like lingering ghosts. Soon after their attack was scattered, they surrounded the caravan again. This was no time to halt.

Over the remaining journey, Yan Nian bore the brunt of the pressure. Alone, he covered the rear, continually slashing out streams of Sword Qi at the Evil Creatures and occasionally throwing out yellow talismans!

The caravan did not pause and continued racing toward Changgan County.

The martial artists drove the carriages while fighting the zombies and evil ghosts pursuing the caravan. Everyone fought with all their might, and the cries of battle rang out as one!

Two icy auras quietly approached Li Yuan's feet. A faint, concealed malice rose from underground, and Li Yuan let out an angry roar.

"Get lost!"

He stomped heavily upon the ground!

Shocking Step!

The ground immediately burst open in a small crater. Spiderweb cracks radiated into the distance, while powerful Shocking Force surged deep underground.

The two evil ghosts let out miserable shrieks. Li Yuan's single stomp blasted them directly out of the earth. Their illusory forms became blurred and indistinct—they had already suffered grave injuries!

Li Yuan's figure flashed as he charged violently toward the two evil ghosts.

His Cinnabar Palm moved like a blade, thrusting into the two evil ghosts' bodies. The force in his palm exploded, and the two evil ghosts completely dissipated.

"Hm?"

Xu Zhe, seated atop a carriage, swept his gaze over the battlefield. Li Yuan's performance drew his attention. "Shocking Force?"

"To cultivate Cinnabar Palm to such a level is truly remarkable!"

As a dignified True Essence Realm martial artist, Xu Zhe possessed immensely broad knowledge. Cinnabar Palm was no secret martial art; countless people practiced it. Yet among Inner Force Realm martial artists, Li Yuan was the only one who could cultivate such outrageously powerful Shocking Force.

"Interesting."

A trace of appreciation appeared in Xu Zhe's eyes as he looked at Li Yuan.

By contrast, the others needed four or five strikes after using their Inner Force just to destroy a single evil ghost. The gap between them and Li Yuan was not small in the slightest.

Xu Zhe even saw several martial artists who had not only failed to defeat the evil ghosts, but had been injured instead, ending up dirty and disheveled. It made Xu Zhe frown deeply.

Though the current situation was perilous, everything remained within controllable limits. Xu Zhe quietly watched it all. He was waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity to strike.