Methods to Slay Demons, Killing You Will Suffice Too

Su Ding'an's face turned deathly pale, undisguised terror welling up in the depths of his eyes.

He had served in the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division for seven years, yet the man before him was a ruthless character who had been on the division's wanted list for a decade without ever being captured.

It was said that this man practiced evil arts and had committed massacres all across the Great Gan, feeding on the vital essence of the living to fuel a cultivation base that was unfathomable.

He subconsciously took a step back, only to find a tall, upright figure appearing in his line of sight.

Lu Yuan walked forward with an air of nonchalance, arriving alone before the group of Longevity Cult members.

Yan Jiuyuan lifted his head lazily, his sharp gaze lingering on Lu Yuan for a brief moment before retracting, and he went back to picking at his fingernails.

"It seems you're the one who killed my two Vice Altar Masters. Fine, you've got guts to stand out here on your own. Not bad."

His voice was shrill and carried a feminine, sinister quality that made one feel uncomfortable.

"Before we start fighting, allow me to ask one more thing... are the people of the Longevity Cult supposed to die?"

Lu Yuan did not speak.

Yan Jiuyuan didn't mind, continuing to speak to himself: "Liu Yun is dead, and Liu Qingsi is dead too. I don't care about Liu Yun; he was just a pawn, so let him die."

"But Liu Qingsi... she learned her Joyous Union Technique from my cult. Even if she didn't grasp the essence of it, it was still handy for daily use."

"And then you suddenly killed her. My heart truly feels a bit of regret."

His withered body rose from the grand armchair, his knuckles tapping against the armrest with a rhythmic, hollow sound.

"We are thieves, and you are an official. If we fall into your hands, you can detain us, imprison us, or do whatever you want with us, but killing—"

"My good sir, is it really the case that the people of the Longevity Cult deserve to die?"

His posture remained lazy, yet the gray-clad cultists around him gripped their weapons, their auras beginning to surge.

"You talk too much."

"If they don't die, am I supposed to?"

Lu Yuan raised his right hand, his fingers slightly spread, and amidst a flicker of crystalline light, a Sharp Crystal Spike condensed in an instant.

The next moment, the crystal spike shot out like a bolt of lightning.

The leading gray-clad cultist didn't even have time to react before he felt a chill in his chest, the spike piercing straight through his heart.

The entire process was as fast as a thunderclap; it wasn't until the man collapsed to the ground that the rest of the cultists reacted.

Crack!

The armrest of the grand armchair was crushed into wood splinters.

Yan Jiuyuan's pupils erupted with cold light as he let out a vicious roar.

"You dare to kill in front of me?!"

As he spoke, his withered body sprang up from the grand armchair.

His ten fingers were like hooks, the tips glowing with a dark red blood-light as he clawed fiercely toward Lu Yuan's face.

This was the evil art he had practiced for decades—the Yin Fiend Blood Claw—specifically designed to break through hard-body cultivation. A mere touch would cause injury, and a direct hit meant certain death.

"Not only that, I'm going to kill you too!"

Lu Yuan did not retreat but advanced instead, his palms covered in Spirit Crystal as he struck out violently.

Sand and stones flew as the two palms collided.

Yan Jiuyuan was sent flying backward, crashing into the grand armchair behind him and shattering it.

Following in his wake were a series of inch-long, flying-knife-shaped crystal spikes.

The spikes shot into the crowd, and with every flash of cold light, another Longevity Cultist was struck in a vital spot.

The sound of air being torn apart was incessant, like a torrential downpour hitting roof tiles.

The gray-clad cultists with the lowest cultivation didn't even have time to react before they fell one after another.

Although a few of the guardian cultists reacted, they had no ability to resist against the indestructible crystal spikes.

Some were pierced through the throat, some through the center of their brows, and others were nailed through the heart.

In just a few short breaths, more than a dozen people had fallen.

Seeing this, Zhao Ping and the others ignored their own injuries and ferociously raised their blades to charge in.

Su Ding'an also drew the Horizontal Saber at his waist.

He was afraid of death when facing demons.

But these people before him were rebels!

Who didn't yearn to achieve glory and merit?

In an instant, blood splattered everywhere, and screams rose one after another.

Yan Jiuyuan propped himself up and stood, his gaze passing over the Demon-Suppressing Guards and the fallen cultists, finally settling on Lu Yuan.

"Such heavy palm force. No wonder Liu Yun and Liu Qingsi were killed by you."

"However, this is as far as you go."

Intense killing intent erupted from his eyes, and a thick, blood-red light bloomed around his body.

Three-inch-long blood-colored nails grew from his fingers, resembling ten sharp daggers that shimmered with a scarlet luster.

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes and raised his hand, firing several inch-long Sharp Crystal Spikes.

A Bloodthirsty look bloomed in the eyes of Yan Jiuyuan. His withered body suddenly expanded as he thrust his claws forward, piercing out like sharp knives.

These blood claws had been tempered with the essence blood of living people for decades; they could slice cold iron into thin threads, let alone Spirit Crystal.

Who would have thought that the moment they collided, a wave of intense, agonizing pain would wash over him.

As the crystal light flashed, Yan Jiuyuan's hands were severed, his eyes were blinded, and his entire body was covered in wounds.

His right arm was gone, and only a mangled stump remained of his left hand.

Flesh and blood exploded, bone shards were exposed, and the ground was stained with dark red blood.

Yan Jiuyuan's breath hitched, and his vision went black from the sheer agony.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, the fierce light in his eyes dimming.

"What kind of technique is this?"

Lu Yuan raised his hand, a crystal spike condensing in his palm, aimed directly at the center of Yan Jiuyuan's brow.

"A technique for killing demons, but it works well enough for killing you too."

"Spare me—"

The crystal spike shot out, instantly piercing through his skull.

The scene fell silent.

The grey-robed cultists and protectors all around looked over, frozen in place for a moment.

Yan Jiuyuan, the branch leader of the Longevity Cult in Chixia County, was a figurehead in the hearts of all the cultists.

Now that he was dead, everyone immediately felt the urge to retreat.

Lu Yuan didn't care about any of that; since they had already come to his doorstep to kill him, was there any reason to let them go?

He kicked aside Yan Jiuyuan's corpse and charged ferociously into the crowd.

Assassinating a Demon-Suppressing Guard within the borders of the Great Gan was a crime punishable by the extermination of one's entire clan.

The fact that Lu Yuan was only taking their lives now could already be considered an act of mercy beyond the law.

The setting sun soon dipped below the horizon, leaving only a final streak of dark red in the sky.

The corpses of the Longevity Cultists lay scattered across the ground, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

Su Ding'an sat on a rock by the roadside, splattered with blood. His left arm had been slashed by a protector, and the pain made him break out in a cold sweat.

Zhao Ping, Li Qing, and Lin Yang were also sitting on the ground, their old wounds aggravated by new ones, but no one had the heart to care about that.

They had been in the Demon Suppression Bureau for years, and they had seen plenty of battles against demons and monsters.

But never like today: forty or fifty grey-robed cultists, seven protectors, and a branch leader who had been on the Demon Suppression Bureau's wanted list for ten years.

It was no exaggeration to say that the entire Longevity Cult branch in Chixia County had been mobilized.

Facing a lineup like this, they had never even imagined they could survive.

Yet now, it was all because of one person.

Zhao Ping looked up. The figure in his line of sight was tall and straight, his Dark Patterned Brocade Robe stained with large patches of blood, glowing with a dull light in the twilight.

He suddenly realized that he couldn't find any words to describe this lord.

"It really is a disadvantage to be uneducated..."

He sighed; if he had known this, he wouldn't have joined the service.

Wiping the blood from his blade, he couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

"Yan Jiuyuan is dead, and these cultists are dead too. The Longevity Cult's branch in Chixia County should be finished, right?"

Li Qing looked at Su Ding'an, who was bandaging his wounds. "Old Su, how long has Lord Lu been in the service? Half a month?"

Su Ding'an held up three fingers. "Three days!"

"Only three days?" Li Qing couldn't help but click his tongue. "Killing a Blood Demon, exterminating a Corpse Demon, wiping out the Longevity Cult branch, and even a ruthless character like Yan Jiuyuan fell by his hand!"

He shook his head, his expression complex.

There was amazement, admiration, and a little bit of bitterness.

He was also a Demon-Suppressing Guard, having joined three years before Lu Yuan, yet the weight of this man's three days was heavier than his own three years.

"Sigh... no wonder they call him a Demon Suppression Captain."