"How dare you!"
"Who goes there?!"
The newcomers clearly meant trouble. Everyone in the temple drew their blades and rose to their feet, glaring at them.
Ten black-clad martial artists stood before them, unmasked, each wearing a calm expression and holding a long saber.
There were no exceptions: every one of them was at the Bone Refining stage!
Murong Canghai and Shen Changsheng exchanged a glance.
How had so many Bone Refining martial artists suddenly appeared in this desolate wilderness?
Bone Refining martial artists weren't exactly rare, but they weren't a dime a dozen, either. It was impossible for just any backwater ravine to have a whole crowd of them.
It seemed someone had arranged this on purpose!
Who would dare act so brazenly in front of the two of them?
"If these ten Bone Refining martial artists are all you have, you won't be stirring up much trouble!" Murong Canghai narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice.
"Hee-hee, what if you add the two of us?"
A shrill voice rang out.
Then two people slowly emerged from behind the ten black-clad martial artists.
A young man and an old man.
Both of them exuded the aura of the Organ Refining stage!
These two were the real ones in charge!
At the back of the crowd, Li Qiming's heart suddenly clenched. When the two appeared, he felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down on him!
"May I ask the names of you two?" Murong Canghai asked with a frown.
"I am Chen Shuang of the Demon Sect, and this is Elder Liu Yun of my sect." Chen Shuang's complexion was an eerie, ghostly pale, and his brows and eyes brimmed with arrogance!
As for Elder Liu Yun, he wore white from head to toe, with white brows and a white beard. From his appearance, who would ever think he was from the Demon Sect?
"The Demon Sect? The one that often massacres villages and razes cities, and whose Demon Blade strikes fear into the martial world of the Southern Region?"
Murong Canghai and Shen Changsheng exchanged a glance, both seeing the wariness in the other's eyes.
It was said that Demon Sect disciples were bloodthirsty and savage, with a taste for slaughter! They were always ready to fight someone to the death at the drop of a hat!
They were notoriously difficult to deal with!
After all, the Demon Sect's reputation had been carved out with countless lives!
Their combat experience was worth its weight in gold!
Murong Canghai studied Chen Shuang carefully. Then, a thought struck him, and he asked, "Chen Shuang? The tenth-ranked prodigy on the Prodigy Ranking, hailed as 'the swift saber that cracks like thunder'—the saber prodigy Chen Shuang?"
Word had it that Chen Shuang's Blade Dao Talent was a once-in-a-century rarity!
"That's right. It's me." Chen Shuang seemed to enjoy the other man's astonishment. He slowly nodded, eyes narrowed.
"According to the rumors, you might become the youngest Organ Refining martial artist in several centuries... Have you already entered the Organ Refining stage?" Murong Canghai felt his scalp tighten and asked uneasily.
After all, he was advanced in years, his Blood Qi in decline. In a fight against a young Organ Refining martial artist, he would naturally be at a disadvantage. But he had his Blade Momentum, and he wasn't the least bit afraid!
"Organ Refining... I'm still a little short of it, but I should be there soon," Chen Shuang said frankly.
At this, Murong Canghai and Shen Changsheng relaxed slightly, feeling the pressure ease just a little.
Even so, the aura Chen Shuang exuded was no ordinary Bone Refining martial artist's! He was already infinitesimally close to the Organ Refining stage!
"Neither of you has ever had a grudge against us. May I ask what brings you here?"
Murong Canghai asked.
Chen Shuang turned his gaze toward the young elites behind the others and said,
"I slaughtered the Xia Family to the last person, yet still couldn't find Miss Xia. So she was hiding here all along. You certainly made us search high and low!"
Only then did everyone understand: the Demon Sect had come for one of the women among the young elites?
The young elites, who had been acting so high and mighty, fell silent. Clearly, they were afraid now.
"Senior Murong, who exactly are they? Why did they provoke the Demon Sect?" Shen Changsheng asked with a frown.
He'd thought this mission would be simple. He hadn't expected it to involve the Demon Sect!
Chen Shuang, ranked tenth on the Prodigy Ranking; Elder Liu Yun, whose aura was as deep as the sea; and ten Bone Refining martial artists... This lineup would be tough to beat!
In fact, they'd probably lose!
The Martial Hall encouraged its disciples to stand up for justice, but it had never encouraged them to throw their lives away!
At all times, their own lives came first!
Their grandmaster, Long Yingtian, had said as much: you could uphold justice only while alive. Once dead, you couldn't do anything at all!
"Alas, Miss Xia is Xia Bingbing, tenth on the Beauty Ranking!"
At this point, Murong Canghai couldn't concern himself with professional conduct. If he still didn't tell the truth, Shen Changsheng might just walk away!
After all, no one was a fool!
They'd come to do a mission, not to lay down their lives!
"Xia Bingbing, tenth on the Beauty Ranking? The peerless beauty with skin like frost, born with the Ice Saint Body?!"
Shen Changsheng said with a frown. Anger rose in his heart. Why hadn't they told him something so important sooner? And they'd even made him carry that sedan chair along mountain roads, wasting so much time!
"Since the two women in the sedan chair are your targets, then go ahead and take them!" Shen Changsheng said bluntly.
His words left everyone stunned.
At the back of the crowd, Li Qiming was taken aback, too. You can do that?
But on second thought, Shen Changsheng really had been tricked!
"No! You're supposed to keep us safe!" the sharp-tongued maid cried from inside the sedan chair, her voice full of panic.
Clearly, she hadn't expected Shen Changsheng to do something so completely out of left field!
"Keep you safe? You love riding in sedan chairs, don't you? Then stay in there and wait to die!" Shen Changsheng cursed bluntly.
If they'd traveled normally, they'd have reached Zhennan Prefecture City long ago, and none of this would have happened. But those two women had insisted on riding in sedan chairs, wasting half a day for nothing.
The maid inside the sedan chair now understood how serious things were. If Shen Changsheng didn't step in, how could Murong Canghai alone stop Chen Shuang and the others?
The maid's voice softened as she pleaded,
"Young Master Shen, Senior Murong, we know we were wrong..."
Shen Changsheng shook his head. You regret it now? Too late!
He turned to Qin Yu, Li Qiming, and the other men at the back of the group. "Junior Brothers, we're not getting involved in this mess. Come with me!"
Li Qiming secretly gave him a thumbs-up. Senior Brother really did whatever the hell he wanted!
However.
"You can't leave," Chen Shuang said, shaking his head.
"Hm? You're after the women. What does that have to do with me?" Shen Changsheng asked.
"Although we came for Xia Bingbing, I've heard you're a prodigy of the Dragon Roar Martial Hall. They say the Dragon Roar Sword has protected the Martial Hall for three hundred years. I've long wanted to test it for myself!"
Chen Shuang said.
Then he turned his gaze to Murong Canghai. "Besides, Senior Murong here is also a saber genius seldom seen in a century. Your self-created Canghai Blade Art has been making my hands itch to try it!"
"What an arrogant boast!" Murong Canghai narrowed his eyes and said coldly.
"Heh. I, Shen Changsheng, don't want to wade into this mess, but that doesn't mean I'm afraid of you! Since you want to fight, then let's fight!"
Shen Changsheng showed no fear. He was a young martial artist, after all, with a warrior's pride of his own!
Then he turned to Li Qiming and the others. "But my junior brothers are young and inexperienced. Can you let them leave first?"
Chen Shuang shook his head. "Sorry. The Demon Sect never leaves survivors."
In an instant!
Killing intent surged through the ruined temple in the desolate mountains!
Before you continue