32. Ancient Spring Town (Part Two)

A demonic beast suddenly appeared, its entire body crimson, as if it were dripping blood.

Ning Ye recognized it at once. "A low-level Blood Demon. Be careful!"

Blood Demons were bloodthirsty, and their methods mostly revolved around blood.

The Blood Demon sneered. "What kind of damned immortals are you? You're nothing but a pack of hypocrites, righteous on the outside and rotten within. Even we demons are ashamed of you."

"Die!" Yue Xiuxiu thrust out her sword.

She had studied under Young Master Five-Sheep and practiced the Pure Maiden Clear Qi and Water Cloud Sword Art. The sword in her hand was also a magical artifact. As she wielded it, a hazy, clear Sword Qi surged forth, enveloping the Blood Demon in its radiance.

The Blood Demon let out a long laugh and spat out a stream of blood. The blood seemed alive, twisting into a pair of scarlet claws that met the clear Sword Qi head-on. Wherever the bloody light passed, the swordlight dimmed. The clear Qi and the blood clashed, evenly matched for a time.

Worried for her sword, Yue Xiuxiu cried, "Are you going to help or not?"

Ning Ye stood unmoving. "This isn't my task. It's junior sister's."

His goal was to find opportunities, not to work for Yue Xiuxiu.

Yue Xiuxiu was furious at his words, but helpless. Though she had joined the Five-Sheep Sect, there were many female disciples, and she wasn't the most favored among them. Otherwise, she wouldn't have needed to come down the mountain on a mission. Wouldn't it have been better to whisper a few sweet words into someone's pillow?

They were both disciples of the Human Demon. Ning Ye's standing and seniority were no less than hers. If he refused to help, there was nothing she could do, so she could only resort to a girl's petulance. "You said you'd help me."

Ning Ye nodded. "I will. But it's only one Blood Demon. You can handle it. If another one shows up, I'll deal with it."

"Another one?" Yue Xiuxiu asked in surprise.

Ning Ye nodded. "There is another."

The Blood Demon burst out laughing. "They've already spotted you. What are you still hiding for, second brother?"

A dark shape suddenly appeared in the sky, swooping down through the air straight at Yue Xiuxiu's head.

There really was another!

Yue Xiuxiu was startled. The Blood Demon had her occupied, leaving her no chance to break away. Just as the attacker was about to reach her and panic seized her, a tremendous crash rang out. A massive claw swept past her and slammed into the ground. The attacker let out a strange squawk and flew away, landing nearby. It was an Eagle Demon, enormous, with a wingspan of about three zhang. Its huge beak was like a sickle, and a savage gash now marked its chest—the work of Ning Ye.

The Eagle Demon glared at Ning Ye. "You!"

Ning Ye spread his hands. "I said I'd step in if another one showed up. Is your head no good? You didn't even bother to be on your guard."

"Damn it, why didn't you do it sooner?" the Eagle Demon roared.

It wasn't stupid. It knew how important it was to kill one opponent first, so it had tried to take advantage of Ning Ye's inattention and finish off Yue Xiuxiu.

It just hadn't expected Ning Ye to use Yue Xiuxiu as bait, striking at the crucial moment.

The Eagle Demon had been wounded by the blow, but fortunately its body was sturdy, so the injury wasn't serious. It spread its wings and charged at Ning Ye, moving incredibly fast.

Ning Ye didn't dodge. He closed in on the Eagle Demon, his hand flashing like a blade as it met the beak with a sharp clang. At the same time, he spread his elbows and fought against its wings, then unleashed a flurry of kicks, sending out a fierce burst of blade light.

"The Body Killing Blade?" The Eagle Demon was well-informed enough to cry out in recognition.

Ning Ye answered in turn, "A Corpse-Eating Eagle?"

"Haha, that's right!" the Eagle Demon shouted. It spread its wings again, and a demonic gale surged up as it flew into the sky.

Cang Xiang Realm disciples couldn't fly until they had learned a special flying art, and the Seven Kill Blade focused primarily on close combat.

The Eagle Demon could fly by nature and was especially skilled in demonic arts. Knowing that Ning Ye excelled at close combat, it simply put some distance between them. It was clearly planning to play a game of cat and mouse, with a demon against a human.

Ning Ye merely gave a light laugh. A talisman rose from his hand and landed on the Eagle Demon. The Eagle Demon suddenly felt its body grow heavy and found it couldn't fly.

"A Thousand-Jun Talisman?"

"And a Blazing Flame Talisman."

Another talisman flew out, this time igniting flames directly on the Eagle Demon's body.

The Eagle Demon howled. A demonic gale swept over it, quickly snuffing out the flames, but Ning Ye had already closed in again. The Body Killing Blade came down mercilessly.

He had only just begun practicing the Body Killing Blade, so its power was ordinary. But he had also applied a Sharp Metal Talisman and a Divine Strength Talisman to himself, using their power to make up for his lack of attack strength. Every blow left the Eagle Demon in agony.

If Zhang Liekuang had been here, he would surely have cursed Ning Ye for taking shortcuts again. The Seven Kill Blade grew stronger against strong opponents; only through bitter battle could one draw out one's full potential and erupt with enough power to slay an enemy. Crushing an opponent with the Talisman Dao like this—what kind of potential could that possibly awaken?

But this was Ning Ye. He had his own plans. It was certainly good to push himself and grow stronger, but that could also leave him covered in wounds, drained of strength, and even afflicted with hidden injuries that would plague him later. He had his own plans, and he wasn't about to wear himself down for Yue Xiuxiu's mission.

This was a routine fight, not the final battle!

As the human and demon fought, the Eagle Demon realized that Ning Ye had it completely suppressed. It shrieked in fury.

Ning Ye said, "Why don't you call out your helper?"

What? There was another helper?

The Blood Demon, the Eagle Demon, and Yue Xiuxiu all froze.

The Blood Demon shouted, "How did you know?"

Ning Ye replied, "Demons drink blood, beasts eat flesh, and ghosts consume souls. The people you killed in this town had no blood or flesh left, and their souls were annihilated. You only have to look at the records to figure it out. Was that really so hard?"

Yue Xiuxiu blushed. She had shown Ning Ye the records, but she herself had only skimmed them. She hadn't expected Ning Ye to glean so much from a casual glance.

"No wonder you use talismans despite practicing the Body Killing Blade. Turns out you've got a brain," a shrill voice said.

At the sound of it, another dark figure appeared in the distance. It had blue skin, a pale face, and bulging eyes. It was a Green Ghost.

There really was another one?

Yue Xiuxiu was shocked.

Ning Ye's brows also furrowed.

He frowned because he hadn't expected his opponent to be a Void Ghost. Ghosts came in physical and incorporeal forms. Incorporeal ghosts were elusive and excelled at dragging out a fight. Their bodies were ethereal, and the Body Killing Blade, which worked on physical bodies, would be of little use against one.

Talismans could hurt it, of course, but they cost money.

Using a few talismans here and there was one thing. But using talismans to kill a ghost for Yue Xiuxiu's mission would be expensive.

And most importantly, would Yue Xiuxiu reimburse him?

Ning Ye had no desire to make friends in the Black and White Divine Palace, and he certainly wasn't going to curry favor with Yue Xiuxiu. So, after a quick turn of thought, he made his decision.

He charged!

Pushing the Eagle Demon along with him, he charged away from the battlefield, leaving the Green Ghost to Yue Xiuxiu.

Yue Xiuxiu was horrified. She had already been struggling against the Blood Demon alone, and now she had to deal with a Green Ghost as well. How could she possibly hold out? She shouted, "Hold off that ghost! Once I finish off the Blood Demon, I'll come help you."

Ning Ye ignored her. What a joke. How did she plan to finish it off? Better to wait until he finished off the Eagle Demon and came to help her.

He didn't say a word, but the Body Killing Blade fell even more viciously onto the Eagle Demon, pounding it until it howled in pain.

The Green Ghost was cunning, too. It wasn't afraid of the Body Killing Blade, but Ning Ye seemed to have plenty of talismans, and its body wasn't nearly as tough as the Eagle Demon's. If it went over there, it might get hurt first. So it shouted, "Second brother, hold on!"

Then it pounced at Yue Xiuxiu.

The softest fruit was always the easiest to pick.

In an instant, both Yue Xiuxiu and the Eagle Demon were in danger.

Yue Xiuxiu was desperate. Seeing that she was outmatched, she took out an object and raised it into the air. It was a many-colored pearl, its light flaring as it enveloped both the Blood Demon and the Green Ghost.

It was a protective treasure Gongsun Ye had given her. It wasn't anything special and could only be used once. As its light slowly dimmed, Yue Xiuxiu's heart ached. Her hatred for Ning Ye grew even stronger, as if he ought to have sacrificed himself for her.

Fortunately, Ning Ye finally used his finishing move.

Three Explosive Talismans in a row, followed by four strikes of the Body Killing Blade, hit the Eagle Demon. At last, they blasted it into pieces.

In the next instant, Ning Ye charged over and attacked the Blood Demon.

The Blood Demon had been fighting Yue Xiuxiu for a while and was badly injured, too.

With only the Green Ghost left, Yue Xiuxiu finally had an easier time.

A short while later, the battle ended. The demon, the Demon, and the ghost had all been annihilated. Yue Xiuxiu was left with disheveled hair and several wounds, while Ning Ye was completely unharmed.

Yue Xiuxiu glared at Ning Ye resentfully, still blaming him for leaving the Green Ghost to her.

Ning Ye couldn't be bothered to argue with her. He went to collect the Eagle Demon's corpse and the Blood Demon's remains. Demons had demon cores, and Blood Demons had Demon Beads. The spoils from lesser demons weren't worth much, but at least they could make up for the talismans he had used.

Yue Xiuxiu collected the Ghost Essence as well, then came over and said, "At least give me some of your spoils. If I hadn't kept it occupied, you wouldn't have had such an easy time."

Without you, I could've brought out my hidden methods and taken care of all three by myself. And most importantly, this was your mission!

This woman was so unreasonable that Ning Ye disliked her even more. But he didn't want to make an open enemy of her, so he merely said, "If you want it, junior sister, it's yours."

As he spoke, he tossed the Demon Bead to Yue Xiuxiu. She took it and still didn't forget to glare at Ning Ye.

Seeing her like that, Ning Ye sneered inwardly.

If Ancient Spring Town hadn't been Yue Xiuxiu's mission, and if there hadn't been so many ordinary people here, Ning Ye might have killed her and been done with it. After all, everyone from the Black and White Divine Palace had to die.

Just then, Ning Ye suddenly noticed the Stone Lion nearby.

The Stone Lion stood in front of the town office as a guardian ornament. It had nothing unusual about it, except that the Blood Demon's blood had splattered across the stone.

Ning Ye took notice because he saw that the blood seemed to be seeping into the Stone Lion.

What was going on? Ning Ye stared in astonishment, and then an astonishing sight unfolded before him.

He actually saw the Stone Lion's eyeball suddenly move.

Just once, but it turned to meet his gaze. For that moment, both sides seemed to freeze.

Ning Ye realized something was wrong and immediately retreated.

That retreat left Yue Xiuxiu exposed.

The Stone Lion opened its jaws and bit down.

"Monster?" Yue Xiuxiu cried out in horror.