Clash

It had to be said.

Zhang Long and Zhao Fang's plan had been flawless.

Because a powerful Specter-rank monster could practically run rampant among Meridians Unblocking realm martial artists.

Trainee Demon Slayers.

At most, they had only just entered the Meridians Unblocking realm.

Even if several came, they could never contend against a powerful Specter-rank monster. More likely, they would be swallowed clean by the monster.

Unfortunately—

Things had deviated somewhat from what the two had expected.

First.

Because the Demon Suppression Bureau had lost quite a few people some time ago, only Shen Changqing had come, rather than the several trainee Demon Slayers they had anticipated.

Furthermore.

Though Shen Changqing was a trainee Demon Slayer, his true strength was already no weaker than that of a top-tier Yellow-rank Demon Slayer.

If anything.

He was even stronger than a top-tier Yellow-rank Demon Slayer.

With the fifteenth level of the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art and the eighth level of the Pure Yang Art, his foundation was something ordinary Meridians Unblocking realm martial artists could not compare to.

Especially the former.

External martial arts were easy to begin, but reaching profound heights required no little time.

Almost no one was willing to waste too much time on external martial arts.

Yet correspondingly.

Once an external martial art reached a profound level, the power it could unleash was equally unimaginable.

Just like Zhang Long's sneak attack earlier.

That slash.

An ordinary Meridians Unblocking realm martial artist would have been beheaded on the spot.

Yet when it struck Shen Changqing, it could not even damage a hair.

That was the strength of the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art.

"Zhang Long has been dealt with, but the monster in Ancient Moon Village is still here. I need to find a way to get rid of it first!"

Shen Changqing gave Zhang Long's body a brief glance, then ignored it and returned to the courtyard from before.

At that moment.

The courtyard had not changed much, but a fierce chill was rising from all directions, at least twice as intense as when he had first entered.

There was no need to think.

Shen Changqing could understand.

The monster lurking in the courtyard had been thoroughly enraged.

Suddenly.

An icy touch came from behind his back.

In an instant.

Shen Changqing spun around and slashed with his blade, colliding directly with a pallid hand.

The hand seemed to have no physical form. The moment it touched the blade, it vanished as though it had never appeared at all.

But the blade touched by that hand seemed to have plunged into an endless winter. Extreme cold surged across it, coating the blade with a thin layer of white frost.

Pure Yang true energy erupted.

The frost on the blade dispersed.

Soon after, endless cold rose again. A disheveled head suddenly rested upon Shen Changqing's shoulder. When he turned his head, he met a bluish, rotting face.

At once.

Goosebumps rose all over his body.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Pure Yang true energy spread throughout Shen Changqing's body. He drove his elbow back with all his might, and a shrill scream rang beside his ear, making his mind go blank for a moment.

The next instant.

A pallid hand reached out from beneath his arm, clawing straight for his chest.

His clothes tore.

Bone-piercing cold erupted.

The body that Zhang Long had been unable to breach no matter how he attacked had now had its skin torn open under the monster's assault.

Pain flared in his chest.

It sent Shen Changqing's anger surging.

He thrust out a palm. All eighth-level Pure Yang true energy exploded forth, directly blasting apart that pallid hand.

The hand had barely dispersed.

When an even greater chill struck from behind.

He stepped forward, driving his blade backward beneath his arm. It seemed to pierce something, and a piercing scream immediately sounded.

Very quickly.

The courtyard fell silent.

Shen Changqing stood with blade in hand, his gaze warily fixed on his surroundings. At the same time, he pushed his senses to their limit, not daring to miss even the slightest movement.

The wound on his chest had already scabbed over.

Yet the pain remained, a reminder of what had just happened.

"What a troublesome thing!"

Shen Changqing sighed. This was his first time facing a monster head-on, and a powerful Specter-rank monster at that.

Although in the library.

He had crammed knowledge about monsters for quite a long time, but when he truly faced one, he discovered that what was written in books still differed somewhat from reality.

At that moment.

Shen Changqing fully understood the terror of a powerful monster.

Leaving everything else aside.

That attack alone, if it had struck an ordinary Meridians Unblocking realm martial artist, might well have torn out his heart.

In such a clash.

One careless mistake meant a dead end.

"Whether Specter-rank monsters or Resentment-rank monsters, none possess a fixed form. They must attach themselves to certain objects in order to endure!"

Shen Changqing recalled what he knew about monsters as his gaze swept back and forth across the courtyard.

Low-level monsters.

Had no physical forms.

And precisely because they had no physical forms, they possessed a fatal weakness: they had to attach themselves to certain objects.

The objects they attached themselves to were tantamount to a monster's vital gate.

So long as those things were destroyed.

Even if the monster could not be killed, it could still be gravely wounded.

But the problem was.

There were far too many objects a monster might attach itself to. It could be a stone on the ground, or some utterly inconspicuous item. Finding the right object in such a large courtyard would never be easy.

"If I can't find what the monster is attached to, it can keep ambushing me without end. I might not win a battle of attrition. If this drags on, the one likely to lose will be me—"

Of course, Shen Changqing was confident that if he chose to retreat, the monster would have no way to stop him.

At once.

He strode toward the room where he had first been attacked.

When he reached the doorway.

Shen Changqing suddenly halted, then changed direction and walked away.

Within the courtyard.

Coldness permeated the air.

A vast fog blanketed the area, completely blocking out the blazing sun and making the surroundings seem as though they had fallen into night.

But Shen Changqing had already reached the point where he could see in the dark.

Even though the surroundings were dim.

It could not affect him much.

After changing directions several times in succession, the monster made no move at all. It was as if it had fallen completely silent, or as if it had vanished.

But Shen Changqing knew very well.

The monster was silently watching him from somewhere. Their earlier clash had made it understand that he was not easy to deal with, so it did not dare act rashly now.

It was waiting.

Waiting for a suitable chance to strike.

Suddenly.

Shen Changqing changed direction again and sprinted madly toward the large tree in the courtyard.

Buzz—

Coldness surged through the courtyard, and a piercing, miserable scream rang out from nowhere, enough to freeze a person's soul.

Two pallid hands abruptly appeared, clawing at Shen Changqing's face and chest.

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