Serving the Main Course

Even with Zhu Li's frame, which stood two heads taller than the burly man, he could not help but twitch the corner of his eye upon seeing the Evil Specter.

The Evil Specter before him was different from a Spirit Monster; while both fell under the category of "monsters," this one had been refined by a Daoist using evil arts.

Originally possessing the physique of a martial artist, it had been bolstered by the Daoist's wicked methods, causing its frame to swell significantly and its strength to reach an even higher level.

Its only shortcoming was the lack of a martial artist's agility and ability to adapt to changing situations.

Unlike the half-dead state of a Medicine Slave, this Evil Specter was a purely inanimate object, somewhat akin to the art of corpse-driving.

Zhu Li dropped from the tree branch to the ground, pivoted his waist, and channeled force into his right arm, sending the tree trunk in his grasp flying.

"Whoosh..." A gust of wind billowed, and the shadow of the tree flashed past.

The hulking Evil Specter, which had been crouching on the ground, suddenly stood upright and blocked with a horizontal arm.

The projectile tree trunk struck its arm dead-on, but the Human Skin Talisman pasted upon it emitted a faint glow, successfully parrying the blow.

"This Evil Specter's footwork isn't as agile as mine; no need to clash head-on for now."

Zhu Li kicked off the ground, his figure darting rapidly through the mountain forest, only trading a few blows with the Evil Specter when he was cornered.

The moonlight was as clear as water when two figures arrived, one after the other.

They had followed the commotion to this spot; it was Liu Feng and the bald bandit.

The two had scoured the northern mountain forest without finding Shen Yushu or the other bandits, but they had heard the disturbance here in the west.

Peering from beneath the bushes where they hid, they saw a hulking Evil Specter under the moonlight, locked in a struggle with Zhu Li.

"It's the Third Master. Should we go over and help?" the bald bandit whispered.

Though he spoke of helping, he knew that going over would be pure suicide; his intent was clearly to have Liu Feng find a way.

"Shut up." Liu Feng cast a cold glance at the fool.

The mountain forest at night was no different from the day to him, and his goal was to unearth the true form of the White Sun Sect's demonic Daoist.

Unless he found the Daoist himself, trading blows with these Evil Specters was a sheer waste of energy.

The nine eyes on his face blinked, and Liu Feng's gaze first focused on Zhu Li before expanding his search outward from that center.

At the heart of the battle, the Evil Specter possessed terrifying strength; its punches and kicks still carried the techniques the martial artist had used in life, movements now ingrained as instinct.

When their fists collided, even Zhu Li was forced onto the back foot by the immense power.

The bald bandit watched with his heart in his throat, pressing his entire body against the ground for fear of being exposed.

"Fourth Master." Seeing Liu Feng rise, he hurriedly followed.

Liu Feng moved slowly, his eyes locked on the center of a patch of weeds.

There, a Human Skin Talisman in the shape of a palm-sized man lay hidden.

The Talisman Manikin followed behind the Evil Specter, seemingly controlling it from a distance; the main body was clearly not present.

Wait for Second Senior Brother to evade the Evil Specter and create some distance; this Talisman Manikin will eventually have to be retracted. Liu Feng trailed behind, keeping it locked in his compound vision without drawing closer.

Yet, the next moment, something unexpected occurred: Second Senior Brother lost the patience to continue dodging.

Zhu Li fished a crimson-colored Gu insect from his robes and tossed it into his mouth.

Then, to the astonishment of Liu Feng and the bald bandit, Zhu Li's already thick arms became almost deformed.

The arms swelled in concentric circles, and the dark blue tumors upon them turned into dense, bulging knots from which a multitude of Gu insects crawled out.

"Bang, bang-bang..." A series of dense, muffled thuds rang out.

Even from a distance, the two observers could tell from the visuals alone the terrifying force behind every one of Zhu Li's punches.

He had temporarily abandoned his agile footwork in exchange for a surge of brute strength.

Just as the Evil Specter was being pummeled until its bones snapped and its tendons tore, the Talisman Manikin in the weeds behind them quietly withdrew.

As the Talisman Manikin retreated, Liu Feng, who had been trailing behind, also began to move.

Inside a mountain hollow, two men dressed as herb gatherers sat cross-legged on the ground.

Their expressions were incredibly stiff, their skin deathly pale, and the entire surface of their bodies wrinkled like old clothing.

In fact, that was exactly the case—these two skins had been taken from actual herb gatherers!

At this moment, a Talisman Manikin scurried over and burrowed into the sleeve of the herb gatherer on the left.

The short herb gatherer on the left opened his eyes and spoke: "As expected of a Gu Master, where only one in ten survives; my Evil Corpse over there has been smashed to pieces."

This man was a disciple of the White Sun Sect; within the sect, they were recruited one by one, and as long as their level of Qi refinement was sufficient, they were all considered disciples.

However, according to the rumors they had heard, Gu Masters were raised in groups of ten, forced to devour one another until only one survived.

Now, the two of them had finally tasted the lethality of a Gu Master.

The short-haired herb gatherer on the right opened his eyes as well and said indifferently: "It is within expectations that a Gu Master would have such strength. Otherwise, with the strength of a Gu Master whose senior brother is about to reach the second generation, why would the Sect Master and the Great Elder need to hunt them down together?"

"Go and rendezvous with Second Senior Brother; it is time to serve the main course to those Gu Masters."

"Second Senior Brother is currently dealing with a Gu Master who controls a Vine Wood Spirit; that person also seems to be some kind of 'Second Senior Brother'."

The two spoke in low voices, wearing the herb-gatherer skins; unless one looked closely, they truly appeared to be two simple herb-gatherers.

They shouldered their baskets with practiced ease, but just as they were about to leave, they felt a sudden numbness in their limbs.

Glancing around, they realized that dense black specks had appeared in the vicinity, and a thin, toxic mist had already shrouded half the mountain hollow.

"We've been poisoned!" The two exchanged a look, madness flaring in their eyes.

At that moment, a youth stepped slowly out from the darkness not far away.

"What main course do you two have prepared? Why not taste Liu Feng's main course first!"

The youth's face was covered in nine eyes. As he spoke, he reached behind his back and pulled out a Five-Legged Insect.

Those five insect legs were lined with canine teeth, too numerous to count at a glance.

Beneath the insect's abdomen, its tubes were currently spewing forth billows of toxic mist.

"A mere child, die."

The two White Sun Sect disciples tore off their skins, revealing bodies covered in intricate runes, and simultaneously flung out sheets of Human Skin Talisman.

Yet, the next moment, the two White Sun Sect disciples were horrified to find that the multi-eyed youth had no intention of dodging the talismans.

Poof, poof-poof... Clusters of crimson flames ignited within the mountain hollow.

Liu Feng used his Evolution Pupil to expand his field of vision and his Mind Eye Technique to predict the trajectory of the talismans, dodging where he could, and where he couldn't, he countered the Nether Fire produced by the Human Skin Talismans with his own Gu Fire.

From the thicket behind, the bald bandit watched as Liu Feng charged through the dense Nether Fire like a madman.

Immediately after, the tooth-lined insect transformed into the Split-Tooth greatsword, hacking down the short White Sun Sect heretic.

The remaining White Sun Sect heretic retreated, his hands forming seals as he chanted urgently, pointing his finger at Liu Feng from afar.

"By the urgent command, by the law's command, like the wrath of the gods, slay the evil..."

Liu Feng sneered; the Daoist practiced nothing but evil arts, yet he dared to speak of slaying evil!

Gulp, gulp...

Pulling out the Soldier Gu, Split-Tooth, which was currently gorging on essence blood, Liu Feng rose to his feet and flicked his wrist, releasing hundreds of Gu insects.

The thousands of Gu insects circling the perimeter closed in simultaneously, pouncing upon the rune-covered White Sun Sect heretic.

Just as he prepared to dash forward to pursue the heretic, Liu Feng suddenly tilted his head to look at the sky above.

Seven sheets of human skin floated like kites, vaguely forming a formation, and as the heretic continued his incantations, the array was rapidly nearing completion.