Malevolent Entity

Inside the Mysterious Maiden Temple.

The corpses of Lu Guangyi, Su Changlin, Tao Jiuyi, and the others lay strewn in disarray. Some were intact, while others bore gruesome wounds, all emanating a murky, nauseating stench.

Lu Guangyi's corpse was the most obvious.

Lu Guangyi had died with his neck snapped by Zhao Zhi, and his body had been preserved remarkably well.

One of Su Changlin's arms had exploded, dripping with blood. Tao Jiuyi had a savage wound slashed across his chest, exposing his ribs as blood pooled within. The other corpses were in somewhat better condition.

And at this very moment.

A great quantity of dark-red blood mixed with strange black mist streamed from Su Changlin and the others' corpses, flowing like countless rivers returning to the sea as it poured into Lu Guangyi's body.

A mass of black, viscous liquid surged out from beneath Lu Guangyi's corpse, gradually curling back and wrapping around it like a black cocoon.

Zhao Zhi and Luo Dashan stared intently at Lu Guangyi's corpse, wrapped in that black sludge, sensing an icy, uncanny aura from within.

Lu Guangyi's corpse shuddered faintly, then slowly rose to its feet.

Sshk.

A sharp flash of saber light swept past, severing Lu Guangyi's head cleanly from his body.

His head flew into the air, yet not a trace of blood spilled from his neck.

Zhao Zhi halted his feet, twisted at the waist, and spun around. With a turn of his wrist, the constable's saber became a raging storm. Explosive arcs of saber light crashed down, forming a dense, intricate net that enveloped Lu Guangyi's corpse.

Lu Guangyi's body instantly turned into countless pieces, splattering across the ground.

A cold glint flashed through Zhao Zhi's eyes. His descending saber was immediately followed by a horizontal slash, cutting Lu Guangyi's falling head into four pieces.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

The pieces of the head hit the ground, mixing with the shattered corpse strewn there earlier.

"Zhao Zhi?"

Luo Dashan froze for a moment.

Zhao Zhi had moved so quickly. Lu Guangyi's corpse had only just stood up before it was reduced to a pile of flesh.

Zhao Zhi did not respond. He lowered his gaze to the chunks of Lu Guangyi's body, his hand tightening slightly. Vast inner qi roared wildly through him, surging along his meridians and reaching every part of his body, strengthening his physique.

Under the effect of the black viscous liquid, Lu Guangyi's pieces slowly gathered together, forming a complete corpse once more. Its bizarre, sinister aura became even colder, spreading out and seeping into the marrow.

The Wild Wind Saber Technique was useless.

Or rather.

Purely physical attacks had no effect.

With that thought, Zhao Zhi brought together the fingers of his left hand like a sword and pointed with the Little Netherworld Sword. Dark Sword Qi shot from his fingertips, piercing through Lu Guangyi's corpse in an instant.

Lu Guangyi's corpse jolted violently. Thick mist kept steaming from the small puncture wound, hissing as though water had fallen into scorching oil.

Inner qi worked.

Zhao Zhi brought the five fingers of his left hand together. Vast inner qi surged madly toward his left hand like a flood, and he stamped a palm onto Lu Guangyi's corpse with lightning speed.

The next instant.

His inner qi burst forth, flooding into Lu Guangyi's body.

Hah, hah.

Lu Guangyi's corpse twisted violently, making strange, grotesque sounds from its mouth. Dense blackish-gray mist continuously billowed from its surface, like burning crude oil, releasing an overpowering stench.

In the blink of an eye.

Lu Guangyi's corpse collapsed to the ground. Thick smoke drifted away with a passing breeze and gradually dispersed.

[You successfully made a Malevolent Entity struggling to take form recognize the futility of its efforts. Merit +1235.]

More than a thousand points of Merit—far more than Zhao Zhi had gained from killing anyone before.

Only the Merit gained from dismantling Flying Cloud Stronghold surpassed what he had received for killing this Malevolent Entity.

Malevolent Entity?

Was that the Merit Panel's name for such bizarre creatures?

That humanoid creature in the Flying Cloud Stronghold cave, moving like a spider—could it have been another kind of Malevolent Entity?

Fortunately, these creatures were not immortal and indestructible. They could be destroyed by inner qi.

Zhao Zhi's body swayed slightly, his face somewhat pale. He had expended a tremendous amount of inner qi, leaving it nearly depleted.

The perfected True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique provided him with an immense reserve of inner qi, but the Little Netherworld Sword consumed inner qi at a terrifying rate. On top of that, the final palm strike that forcibly killed Lu Guangyi's corpse had consumed an even more shocking amount, far exceeding what had come before.

Even with Zhao Zhi's deep reserves of inner qi, he could not withstand such expenditure.

Thankfully, everything had been resolved.

"Zhao Zhi, are you all right?" Luo Dashan noticed Zhao Zhi's pale face and hurriedly asked.

Zhao Zhi waved his hand. "I'm fine. A short rest will do."

As he spoke, Zhao Zhi noticed a small piece of black wood where Lu Guangyi's corpse had vanished. It looked like a token, yet also like a spirit tablet.

Dense, intricate writing was carved across the black wood, faintly emitting a cold, sinister aura.

After a brief consideration, Zhao Zhi picked up the black wood and examined it closely.

The Merit Panel showed no reaction.

The writing on it was not martial arts.

Since it was not martial arts, why had Lu Guangyi carried it together with the medicine bottle and beast hide? And when Zhao Zhi had searched Lu Guangyi's corpse earlier, he had not found it.

Perhaps this object was connected to the Malevolent Entity.

Zhao Zhi put it away. Once he returned, he could investigate it carefully or find someone knowledgeable about Malevolent Entities and ask about it.

"Let's go."

Zhao Zhi spoke softly, and the two left.

Qingfeng County, the Fan Family.

Fan Youquan, head of the Fan Family, and Fan Zhenqi, the Fan Family's Little Overlord, hid in an attic, peering through a crack in the window toward the hexagonal pavilion in the garden.

Inside the hexagonal pavilion.

Zhao Zhi drank tea calmly. The fresh, mellow tea flowed over his tongue and down his throat, melting into his body and dispersing the faint lingering aura of killing intent around him.

He set down his teacup and turned his gaze toward Fan Zhenyu, whose body was still wrapped in bandages and whose face remained pale.

No wonder Fan Zhenyu had not come looking for him even now.

His injuries from Flying Cloud Stronghold had yet to heal.

Xianyu Tu's palm strike had shattered Fan Zhenyu's tendons and bones, nearly killing him. That he had recovered this much after only a few days was enough to show how wealthy the Fan Family was and how carefully they had tended to him.

Fan Youlin promptly refilled Zhao Zhi's teacup, his voice cautious. "Lord Zhao, may I ask what brings you to the Fan Family?"

"I killed Lu Guangyi."

Zhao Zhi's tone was calm, but to Fan Youlin and Fan Zhenyu, it was like thunder roaring beside their ears, deafening and earth-shaking.

Lu Guangyi had been the county magistrate, an official appointed by the Great Yin Dynasty.

He had been killed.

Killed by Zhao Zhi, a mere blue-uniformed constable.

Taken lightly, it was killing one's superior, a commoner plotting against an official; taken seriously, it was breaking the law and stirring rebellion, defying the imperial court.

Either charge was a capital offense.

Fan Youlin's throat bobbed as he swallowed, then asked in confusion, "Lord Zhao, why did you kill Lu Guangyi?"

Zhao Zhi replied indifferently, "He wanted to kill me, so I killed him. Su Changlin and Su Qingyou of the Su Family, Tao Jiuyi and Tao Ran of the Tao Family, and Lei Juechen of the Evergreen Gang were with him as well. I killed them all."

Fan Youlin and Fan Zhenyu's pupils contracted sharply. Their hearts seemed to be battered by towering waves, unable to calm for a long while.