Bull Demon Besieges the City

Deep within the General of the Middle Army's residence lay an underground secret chamber thick with the pungent stench of medicine and blood.

Mr. Yin, hunched over, appeared soundlessly beside the ruins, ghostlike. He did not even glance at the two twisted, inhuman corpses on the floor. His murky gaze locked directly onto the figure collapsed in the pool of blood at the center of the ruins—Li Chongshan, barely clinging to life.

By now, Li Chongshan had long since shed that terrifying Spider Scorpion form and returned to human shape. But even this human body was in ruins. A blade wound deep enough to expose bone slashed diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, the flesh turned inside out, with glimpses of damaged organs and the jagged edges of broken bones beneath. Little blood flowed from the wound, as though an icy force had frozen his blood vessels. Only a trace of eerie, dark radiance remained, preventing the wound from healing. His face was ashen as gold leaf, his breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible. Only the occasional slight convulsion from unbearable pain proved that he still had a breath left in him.

"Tsk, tsk... What a brutal beating." Mr. Yin crouched down and cautiously probed Li Chongshan's wound with fingers thin as bird claws. A strange light flashed in his murky eyes. "Scarface Chen's Nirvana Blade Intent... It truly is domineering. Fortunately, fortunately, there's still a sliver of vitality in his heart meridian, and his soul hasn't completely collapsed. This vessel... can still be saved."

Muttering to himself, he pulled several bottles and jars from his robes, mixed some pungent powder with a viscous liquid, and roughly smeared it over the terrible wound on Li Chongshan's body. The medicinal powder touched the wound and sizzled softly, wisps of white smoke rising from it. Even while unconscious, Li Chongshan's body convulsed violently from the fierce stimulation.

Mr. Yin paid it no mind. With nimble movements, he helped Li Chongshan's battered body upright and hoisted him onto his shoulder. He looked wizened and thin, but possessed astonishing strength; even carrying a grown man, he walked with steady steps. He crossed the ruins and stopped before a wall at the innermost side of the secret chamber, then pressed several times on an inconspicuous brick.

"Click, click, click..." A mechanical grinding filled the air. The wall silently slid open, revealing an even more concealed chamber beyond. At its center stood a waist-high bronze vat filled with viscous, ink-green medicinal liquid that constantly churned and bubbled. It gave off a bizarre stench—a mixture of countless herbs and some rotting form of life—so thick it was nauseating.

Mr. Yin carefully lowered Li Chongshan into the vat of medicinal liquid. The liquid instantly submerged his body, leaving only his nose and mouth above the surface. The ink-green fluid seemed alive as it swiftly wrapped around Li Chongshan's wounds and slowly seeped in through his seven orifices. A trace of the faintest vitality seemed to return to his ashen face, but more than that was an inhuman, eerie blue-green hue.

"Just soak in there slowly, my lord." Mr. Yin looked at Li Chongshan in the medicinal liquid, a strange, inscrutable smile spreading across his face. "When you wake up... perhaps you won't even recognize yourself anymore... Heh heh heh..."

Almost at the same moment, in the valley of Black Wind Cave thousands of li away, the flames reaching into the sky gradually dimmed, leaving behind only billowing smoke and a sharp stench of burnt remains.

Wang Quan stood at the valley pass, expressionless, stuffing the last few valuable demonic plants into his leather pouch. Several fresh wounds marked his body, but his aura was denser and sharper than when he had arrived, the keenness in his eyes like a newly honed blade.

[Realm comprehension increased.]

["Extreme Breaking: Demon Slaying Blade" proficiency greatly increased.]

The cold notifications flashed through his consciousness. Feeling the surging growth of power within him, he took one last look at the valley ruins still smoking, then turned and sped without hesitation toward the Ten Thousand Snakes Den.

Just then, within Anping County—

"Boom!!!"

A muffled roar like thunder came from somewhere far away, yet clearly pierced through layer upon layer of walls, shaking dust loose from the ceiling of the secret chamber. Then came a second sound, a third... Each one heavier than the last and each one closer, as though some colossal creature was battering Anping County's walls with brute force!

At the same time, a roar like rolling thunder, filled with violence and killing intent, resounded across nearly half of Anping County:

"Captain! Chen! Li! Chong! Shan! Get your ass out here!"

The voice contained terrifying demonic power, churning people's blood and qi. Ordinary civilians were even more frightened, trembling as they shut their doors and barred their homes. In an instant, the entire city sank into a deathly panic.

Outside the garrison duty room, a city guard came tumbling in, his face deathly pale and his breath ragged. "N-not good! Outside the city... there are so many demonic beasts! The leader... he's s-so terrifying! He specifically demanded to see Commander Chen and... and the General of the Middle Army!"

Hearing this, Shi Zhu, who had been pacing anxiously outside the door, felt his heart jolt. He grabbed the guard, who was trying to rush straight inside, and barked, "What are you panicking for? Commander Chen just suffered serious injuries and went to rest! I'll report it!"

Shi Zhu took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the storm raging in his heart before gently pushing open the duty room door. The room was thick with the smell of Trauma Medicine and blood. Commander Chen sat hunched against the wall on a straw mat, his face pale as paper, the bandages wrapped around his chest soaked through with dark-red blood over more than half their surface. His eyes were closed, as though asleep, but Shi Zhu could sense that within that seemingly feeble body, he was desperately suppressing injuries and exhaustion like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

"Commander Chen..." Shi Zhu's voice was hoarse, his anxiety impossible to conceal. "A large number of Demonic Beasts have gathered outside the city. The leader's Monster Qi reaches the heavens, and he specifically demanded to see you and Lord Li... It looks like they've come with hostile intentions..."

Commander Chen's eyelids moved slightly, but he did not open them. He merely gave an extremely faint, phlegmy response from his throat. "Mm..."

Seeing Commander Chen in such a state, Shi Zhu's heart grew even heavier. After hesitating, he still steeled himself and said, "Commander Chen, your injuries... Should I go notify the General of the Middle Army's residence? After all, they also..."

"No need." Commander Chen finally spoke. His voice was hoarse and weak, yet carried an unquestionable calm. "That fellow... won't die. You... go to the walls... keep watch."

Shi Zhu froze. He wanted to say more, but Commander Chen struggled to raise a hand and waved him off, signaling for him to leave. Shi Zhu gritted his teeth and clasped his fists. "Yes! Commander Chen, rest easy and recover. I'll watch the walls!" With that, he turned and hurried away, closing the door behind him.

The duty room sank back into darkness and silence. Commander Chen slowly opened his eyes. Deep within his murky gaze lay a calmness and resolve cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice. He tried circulating the qi and blood remaining in his body, and a needle-sharp agony instantly swept through him. The wound in his chest, eroded by Scorpion Poison, burned with searing pain, nearly making him faint again. In his battle with Li Chongshan, he had seemed to win, but in truth he was already a spent force, his oil burned and lamp dry. The backlash of the Nirvana Blade Intent and the corrosion of the Netherworld Scorpion Poison were crazily devouring what little vitality he had left.

He laboriously shifted his body and reached for the dark-black straight saber leaning against the wall. The instant his fingertips touched its cold sheath, his body trembled faintly, as though reuniting with an old friend. Using the saber as a staff, he supported himself and rose bit by bit, incredibly slowly. Every step tugged at all his injuries, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped across his forehead.

But he did not stop. Leaning on the saber, he shuffled forward one step at a time, like a true old man in the final flicker of his life. Slowly, yet with absolute determination, he left the duty room and headed toward the city walls. The setting sun stretched his hunched silhouette long and crooked across the cold ground, making him seem especially lonely and tragic.

Atop Anping County's walls, the atmosphere was as oppressive as lead hardened into stone. The defending soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, their knuckles whitening from the effort. Fear and despair were written across their faces as they stared at the scene below, while many of their legs trembled uncontrollably.

Outside the city, a black mass stretched across the land. Hundreds of Demonic Beasts of various shapes had gathered—jackals, wolves, tigers, leopards, and all manner of mountain spirits and wild monsters. Their Monster Qi mingled together, forming a Baleful Intent cloud that soared into the sky and made it hard to breathe. Yet all of these Demonic Beasts clustered around the enormous figure at the very front, as though stars surrounding the moon.

It was a Bull Demon.

Its body far exceeded that of an ordinary wild ox. Standing upright, it was nearly thirty feet tall, like a moving hill. Its entire body was covered in dense, felt-like black hair that shimmered with a metallic sheen. Its muscles bulged and knotted, brimming with explosive strength, and each leg was thicker than an adult man's waist. Most eye-catching were the pair of horns atop its head, curving toward the heavens. Unlike ordinary ox horns, they were a dusky gold, covered in rings of bizarre spiral patterns. Chilling light glimmered from their tips, as though they could easily pierce the sturdiest city wall.

It was not completely beast-shaped, but stood in a half-human, half-demon form. Its enormous bull's eyes, as large as copper bells, were blood-red, holding nothing but pure savagery, greed, and bloodlust. Two blasts of scorching white air poured from its huge nostrils, hissing in the air. It carried no weapon, but its massive fists, comparable to battering rams, and its terrifying dark-gold horns were the most fearsome weapons of all. The Monster Qi radiating from its body surged like tangible waves. It was clearly a terrifying great demon that had reached the Core Condensation Realm!

This Bull Demon was one of the most capable lieutenants under the demon king entrenched in Black Wind Cave north of Anping County. Its name was Earth Splitter, and it was renowned for its terrifying brute strength and savage temperament.

Just then, a hunched figure leaning on a saber slowly appeared at the end of the stairs atop the city wall and shuffled step by step to the edge. It was Commander Chen.

Earth Splitter's scarlet eyes instantly locked onto him. The white vapor pouring from its nostrils grew thicker, and its voice boomed like rolling thunder, filled with undisguised killing intent. "Captain Chen! You finally agreed to show yourself! Enough nonsense! The matter of the Pig Demon's disappearance still hasn't been settled. A few days ago, the two lads Old Ancestor sent to ask about it were ambushed on their way back! Was it you lowly two-legged sheep who did this?! Today, you must give Old Ancestor an explanation! Otherwise, I'll flatten this broken city of yours and slaughter everyone!"

Commander Chen stopped, breathing slightly heavily. He raised his murky eyes and calmly looked down at the Bull Demon whose Baleful Intent soared into the sky. His voice was hoarse but clear as it carried across the walls. "There is no explanation. I don't know."

"Don't know?" Earth Splitter seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world and let out a deafening roar. "What the hell do you mean, you don't know?! In Anping County, apart from you treacherous and deceitful humans, who else would dare touch Old Ancestor's people?! Looks like if I don't show you some color, you'll never know Old Ancestor's might!"

It suddenly raised one enormous forehoof and stomped viciously on the ground!

"Rumble!!!"

The earth shook violently. Centered beneath its hoof, the ground split open into a terrifying fissure several feet deep and stretching more than a hundred feet! Everyone atop the walls felt the ground sway beneath their feet and nearly lost their balance.

"My little ones!" Earth Splitter waved its massive arm toward Anping County's gates. "Blast them! Smash that broken gate to pieces! Today, Old Ancestor is going to feast on fresh flesh!"

"Roar!" The hundreds of Demonic Beasts behind it roared as one, their Monster Qi soaring into the heavens. Like a flood bursting through a breached dam, they launched a mad assault on the city gates! Innate demonic arts, stones, and charging bodies rained down upon the gates and walls, unleashing deafening booms. Under the violent impacts, the city gates groaned as though unable to bear the strain, while bricks and stones pattered down from the walls.