Evil Art

The moon shone bright, and the stars were sparse.

Besides, the road was fairly wide and flat, so traveling at night wasn't a problem.

But traveling through the wilderness at night was risky.

There were plenty of wild beasts, and nighttime was when they were most active.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

On the quiet road, only the horses' hooves and the wheels of the carriages could be heard.

Every now and then, the roar of a beast echoed from somewhere in the distance.

Li Gan watched their surroundings warily.

Beyond Xianlin Town, the nearest city was Anling County City.

At their current speed, they would probably reach Anling County City in the middle of the night.

In this world, only prefectural and commandery cities were exempt from curfew. The gates of nearly every other city would already be shut, making it impossible to enter.

There were a few villages along the way, but no one would let them stop for the night in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, it wasn't late autumn yet, so the nights weren't especially cold. Spending the night outdoors wouldn't be a problem; they just had to watch out for wild beasts.

They traveled like this for a little over an hour before reaching the outskirts of a village.

The village was pitch-black, with barely a light to be seen.

At this hour, with little to entertain them, most people had already gone to bed.

"We'll rest near this village tonight and set out again in the morning."

Li Gan said.

Wild beasts generally kept their distance from places where people lived, so they would be much safer here.

They found a fairly wide, flat spot and parked the two carriages side by side. The horses were tied up nearby, and the two drivers took out their spare feed and began to feed them.

The people inside the carriages also got out to stretch their legs.

Li Gan leaped onto a nearby tree and sat astride a branch with his sword in his arms, keeping watch over the area from above.

A series of dogs' barks rang out from the village.

The little caravan's arrival had roused the village dogs.

They barked for a long while before quieting down, though every so often one would start up again.

Even so, no lights came on in the village, and nobody came out to see what was happening.

Or perhaps they didn't dare.

"Big Brother, I want to climb the tree and play too."

The little girl, Yun Wen, came to the foot of the tree with the other two children and gazed up at him pleadingly.

"Xiaowen, don't bother Young Master Li. Let's go have something to eat."

Lin Yun hurriedly said.

She knew Li Gan was keeping watch. If her daughter distracted him, he could lose focus, and that could spell trouble if anything happened.

She led her daughter back to the carriage.

The three children chattered noisily for a while, then gradually quieted down.

They had been traveling all day and were exhausted from the journey. After eating, they fell asleep inside the carriage.

The drivers and servants also leaned against the carriages to rest.

Li Gan didn't eat anything. He silently swallowed a Blood Vitality Pill instead.

If he wasn't cultivating or replenishing his Internal Qi, one Blood Vitality Pill could meet his body's needs for two or three days.

When traveling, he basically avoided eating other food.

It was too risky.

The night was still as water.

As the hours wore on, mist filled the air, and a chill crept in.

Faint snores came from inside the carriage.

The Lin Manor's driver and two servants were already fast asleep.

Only the driver from Yun Manor remained highly alert. His breathing was even, and he was still on guard.

Li Gan kept his eyes closed, leaning against the tree trunk with his sword in his arms, half asleep and half awake.

At the slightest disturbance, he could sense what was happening around him at once.

He had woken up several times during the night.

Each time, it had only been a wild animal passing by.

The village dogs barked now and then, followed by long stretches of silence.

Suddenly, a figure came hurtling from the distance.

It was moving incredibly fast.

Its target was the carriages.

Li Gan's eyes snapped open. In the dim light of the night, he saw a figure with disheveled hair, its aura chaotic and violent.

It looked like a ferocious beast.

"Is that him?"

Li Gan recognized him at a glance.

The Fire-Sacrifice Mage from Xianlin Town, the one wearing the bright red robe.

The mage's robe was now in tatters.

"Did he fight the Divine Sword Sect's Inner Disciples and then escape?"

Li Gan wondered.

At the same time, he sprang into motion, swooping down from the tree like a night owl. He drew his Treasure Sword and thrust it straight at the figure charging toward the carriages.

At the same time, he unleashed an attack with the Chen Bell's chime.

Buzz!

Still in midair, he sent out an invisible chime.

It boomed inside the charging figure's mind like a great bell.

The figure's ferocious charge faltered at once.

After landing, Li Gan flicked his sword. Its gleam blossomed in the night like a soaring dragon, and he drove it straight into the figure's chest.

Thud!

The Treasure Sword's edge was like a blade striking taut oxhide. It pierced only a little way in.

At the same moment, a burst of blood-red light erupted from the figure and knocked his sword aside. Two crimson eyes glared at him with the savage madness of a beast.

"What kind of evil art is this?"

Li Gan was startled.

Even with the chime's sonic attack, his strike had failed to kill the man.

At that thought, he unleashed his most powerful killing move without hesitation.

Secret Technique: Myriad Transformation Sword Qi.

In an instant, his robust Internal Qi surged out of his body and joined with the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi in the air. Sword Qi gathered in great quantities around him, guided by the sword in his hand.

A dazzling streak of Sword Qi, a full zhang long, took shape and slashed viciously toward the frenzied figure.

"F-Forged... innate..."

The figure, his hair disheveled and blood-red light coiling around him, spoke in a hoarse, terrified voice before turning to flee.

But how could he evade Li Gan's Myriad Transformation Sword Qi?

As the dazzling Sword Qi swept past, the fleeing figure was cleaved in two, a gruesome sight.

"That's it?"

Li Gan stared at the enemy, easily cut down by the Myriad Transformation Sword Qi, and couldn't help but freeze.

Had he used too much force just now?

Feeling that nearly half his Internal Qi had been consumed, Li Gan let out a long breath.

The Myriad Transformation Sword Qi was far too powerful.

He suspected that cultivating the Immaculate Sword Body had greatly amplified the Secret Technique.

Everyone resting nearby had been jolted awake.

The driver immediately stood guard outside his madam's carriage, clutching a tobacco pipe made of Refined Iron, his expression tense.

The two servants held their weapons, but their knees were shaking.

The aura unleashed by the fight had been terrifying.

"Get ready. We're leaving right away."

Li Gan hurriedly said.

The Fire-Sacrifice Mage had appeared here out of nowhere. Nobody knew what might happen next.

Hearing Li Gan's calm voice gave everyone an inexplicable sense of security.

They all hurried to get ready.

Li Gan looked at the two halves of the corpse and wrinkled his nose at the overpowering stench.

He had no intention of cleaning it up.

It was too disgusting.

Still, he went over and carefully searched the body.

A small pouch containing things hung at the man's waist.

The bottles and jars inside seemed to have shattered.

At last, Li Gan pulled out a booklet made of cowhide.

The man had kept it tucked against his chest.

But the booklet had already been neatly split in two by the Sword Qi.

He pieced it together. Five characters were written on the cover: Blood Transformation Star-Absorbing Method.

He carefully flipped through it.

His brow furrowed at once.

From what he had read so far, this was unquestionably an evil art.

It could drain the blood essence of living creatures and quickly refine it into Internal Qi.

He hadn't read the rest yet, but it surely couldn't be any better.

He was about to use his Internal Qi to shatter the booklet, but then he changed his mind and decided to keep it. He took a silk handkerchief from his pack, wrapped the two halves of the cowhide booklet in it, and put them away.

By then, the two carriages were ready.

"Move out."

Li Gan swung onto his horse and led the caravan onward through the night.

As for the two halves of the corpse, once the villagers nearby found them, they would report it to the authorities.

Besides, the Divine Sword Sect's Inner Disciples from Xianlin Town were surely hunting the man too. They might even pick up his trail and come after them.