Jade Willow Light and Shadow and Green Yin Fire

"Why?"

"Brother, do you know what this means?" Jiang Yan's expression was grim.

In his opinion, the Hall Master Ning had acted too hastily.

Borrowing the power of the Talisman Soldiers without regard for the consequences, even exposing the entire Qingshan Village defenseless to the eyes of the Monster in the wilderness.

Why?

A sudden impatience and unease welled up in his heart.

He had only briefly interacted with Ning Gongdao, and this man was no simple character. As the Hall Master of the True Martial Hall in the mining area, why would he be so impatient?

Had something major happened in the village in the meantime?

"Why?" the man repeated Jiang Yan's question.

His face was ashen. He roughly pulled open his shirt, revealing a blood-red number on his chest.

The man gave a bitter laugh, his face contorted and ferocious. He said loudly, "I don't know what the Monster was thinking. It suddenly devoured over a dozen people. Not only that..."

At this point, fear overflowed in his eyes. "This Monster's stealth is too strong. Even the head leader Tan and a minor leader were swallowed by it."

Before Jiang Yan could react, he delivered even more terrifying news. "After the head leader and the others were killed, within half an hour, everyone in the entire Qingshan Village, including Hall Master Ning, had a blood-red number appear on their chests."

What!?

This man's words were earth-shattering.

The Monster, which had been lurking and growing by killing people through curses, had now entered the fray itself, devouring people. Even Tan Xinghe, whom Jiang Yan had just met, and a minor leader were killed.

Even more terrifying was that everyone in Qingshan Village had been cursed simultaneously.

This explained why Ning Gongdao was desperately accumulating talisman power. He wanted to kill this Monster as quickly as possible.

The Monster's actions seemed to have made Ning Gongdao agitated.

Jiang Yan froze for a moment, then his face darkened.

He thought of a possibility.

According to their previous analysis, although this Monster was powerful, its primary method of growth was by cursing and killing humans.

Now, it had broken its usual habit and actively engaged in devouring people. Afterward, the entire village was cursed.

This indicated that this Monster was likely on the verge of an evolution.

Ning Gongdao had guessed this possibility, which was why he took the risk and acted aggressively to kill the Monster early.

Otherwise, even if everyone was deeply cursed, they could just stay awake all night; no one would die. The Talisman Soldiers would accumulate talisman power in at most two hours, and then they could proceed slowly: use the spirit-seeking talisman to locate it, the Talisman Soldiers to restrain it, and Ning Gongdao to strike and kill it.

In the Blood Refining Realm, a Severe Sha-level Monster could be killed by overwhelming force.

But now, the situation had changed unexpectedly.

Jiang Yan estimated that the sudden curse on the entire village was due to the Monster's unstable power spreading as it was about to evolve.

Shaking his head, Jiang Yan clenched the long sword in his hand. "Whether my guess is right or not, the situation is definitely changing for the worse."

Suppressing the thoughts in his heart, his expression shifted slightly, and he asked, "Does Hall Master Ning have any other instructions?"

The man thought for a moment and said, "Hall Master Ning said that the patrol teams must repel any Monsters coming from the wilderness and prevent large-scale casualties among the villagers."

"Understood."

Jiang Yan cupped his fists at him. "As you command. Thank you for relaying the message, brother. I'll inform our head leader immediately."

After bidding farewell to the man, Jiang Yan left directly. He needed to deliver this news to the other members of the patrol team.

As he walked, his expression was thoughtful. "Even now, Ning Gongdao still has the presence of mind to have us increase our vigilance and protect ordinary people. It seems Hall Master Ning is flustered but not chaotic."

"He should still be able to handle this Monster."

However, I still need to memorize the route from Yuyang Village to Qingshan Village again.

He thought to himself.

Jiang Yan didn't deliver the message one by one. Instead, he temporarily gathered the squad leader, Tang Long, and Ren Yuan, and told them about the situation.

"What? Tan Xinghe is dead, and everyone in the village is cursed."

Ren Yuan and Tang Long were also stunned.

If they couldn't kill this Monster this time, then the entire Qingshan Village would...

To what extent could the Monster grow by absorbing the essence of the entire village's population?

No one could imagine.

"Ahem."

Jiang Yan coughed lightly, interrupting their thoughts. He said gravely, "Head leader, I think we should be even more cautious now. Completing Hall Master Ning's orders is more important."

"Hall Master Ning has already said that we must kill the Monster and prevent it from entering the village, thereby avoiding massive casualties among the villagers."

He emphasized this point heavily.

Both Ren Yuan and Tang Long were intelligent people, and they immediately understood. Their expressions softened slightly.

Indeed, Ning Gongdao still had the presence of mind to care about the safety of ordinary villagers, which meant the situation was still within his control.

If that was the case, after the Talisman Soldiers disappeared, the monsters in the wilderness would surely attack. The crisis and pressure they faced would be no less.

Just then, a faint green light rose within Qingshan Village.

As this wisp of green light appeared, countless more green lights rapidly emerged.

In the sky, numerous green lights converged, and finally, a colossal willow tree, ten zhang tall, solidified in the void.

The willow tree was like jade, crystal clear and translucent.

Outside the village, Jiang Yan stared blankly at the giant willow tree in the sky. Even though the village was fraught with danger at this moment, he was still awestruck by the magnificent spectacle of heaven and earth.

"Is this… is this the Talisman Soldiers?"

"Yes, this is the Talisman Soldiers!"

Several people gazed at the colossal willow tree's light projection, their expressions varied.

Just as their attention was drawn to the Talisman Soldiers' light projection, a whoosh sounded from behind them.

Several dark green fireballs suddenly appeared.

Crackling, crackling, the sound of wood burning fiercely.

"It's the Green Yin Fire."

Shan Renhu exclaimed.

As he uttered the name of this monster, the characteristics of the monster flashed rapidly in Jiang Yan's mind.

In fact, being able to accurately name a monster usually indicated that the monster appeared with relatively high frequency, or had even been recorded in the official Monster Compendium.

Then, the characteristics of such monsters would be recorded, and humans could use these characteristics to kill monsters more efficiently.

The Green Yin Fire was a monster that existed as a floating green flame. Its color was emerald green, and although it was in the form of fire, it was extremely cold to the touch.

Named Green Yin Fire – a Severe Sha level monster, it usually appeared in groups.

The dark green fireballs condensed. Because they were relatively close to Jiang Yan and the others, they let out a fierce howl after condensing and floated towards their group.

Wherever the Green Yin Fire passed, the wild grass below instantly turned white, frost forming.

As they approached, piercing shrieks disturbed their minds, and an bone-chilling cold made their bodies stiffen.

"Hmph!"

Ren Yuan made the first move, quickly saying, "I'll hold off three, Tang Long and Jiang Yan, one each, and the others one."

Severe Sha level monsters were much more powerful than Fierce Sha level monsters. Shan Renhu and the others were not Martial Apprentices yet. Even together, they could barely surround the monsters.

Hoo!

Haa!

Jiang Yan took a deep breath.

He gripped the sword hilt tightly, a mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman attached to it, a blazing fire distorting the air.

Thump-thump! His heart pounded, the immense power of a peak Martial Apprentice coursing through his body.

The Golden Cloak External Cultivation was secretly activated, a protective membrane appearing, and his strength increased further.

"Bring it on!"

Jiang Yan raised his long sword. Fierce flames blazed along the blade, the power of the mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman.

"Let's finish this quickly!"

The thought flashed through his mind. His body moved with his intent, and he slashed his sword. His left foot dipped, channeling force layer by layer. The first stance of Chopping Iron Four Forms, a direct thrust!

Swish!

Like a sudden thunderclap on flat ground, the tip of the sword expanded with rolling airflow, the air churning like boiling water.

This was Jiang Yan's most familiar sword form. Now that he had advanced to the peak of Martial Apprentice, its power was incomparable to before.

Sword rises!

Violent sonic booms and fierce air currents surged towards the Green Yin Fire!

He practiced Fast Sword, his sword strikes as swift as lightning. As soon as the form was unleashed, the Green Yin Fire, which appeared fast, didn't even have a chance to dodge.

In an instant, Jiang Yan thrust his sword ten times.

The chilling Green Yin Fire was directly pierced and exploded by his sword forms. On the scattered dark green flames, fiery red flames attached – the power of the mid-grade Blazing Flames Talisman.

Then, Jiang Yan's sword light surged, forming a screen of light that enveloped the scattering green light spots.

Piercing screams could be heard, the fiery red flames and dark green light interweaving and consuming each other.

In just a blink of an eye, the light screen shrank. During this process, the dark green flames continuously disintegrated, eventually being engulfed by the red flames.

Monster Value: 8

A Severe Sha-level Monster. Its strength corresponds to the gap between the Minor and Major Accomplishment stages of Martial Apprentice. For him, it was no longer a terrifying Devil.

Watching the Monster value increase, Jiang Yan's eyes lit up. He drew his sword and quickly joined the fray with Shan Renhu and the other four.

PS: In this chapter, if you can find a typo, consider me defeated. I've already proofread it.

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