Dao Body

Twenty miles outside Yueyang City.

A middle-aged man dressed like a scholar, a longsword in hand, was darting swiftly between the hills.

With a single step, he crossed thirty meters. His strides were not fast, yet his speed was astonishing.

He was travel-worn and dusty, his clothes in disarray, with gaping tears in many places.

Behind him followed two foxes and a tabby cat, each nearly three meters long.

Within two breaths, a weasel over two meters long caught up as well.

"My dear County Magistrate, play with this servant a little longer!"

"Since when did the Shangqiu Fox Immortal start running with the mountain sprites and wild monsters?"

"Your Honor has wronged this servant. I was merely following along to watch the excitement. I never lifted a hand from start to finish, much less stopped you even once."

"But you were willing to be someone else's tracking dog!..."

The middle-aged scholar was County Magistrate Xue of Yueyang County. Even as he spoke, he did not forget to flee. He was faster than the demons, and after several flashes, he vanished from sight.

The three demons did not pursue him either. They had just fought a battle, and their consumption had been immense.

"Has the blood food arrived?" The Fox Demon glanced at the Yellow Weasel.

"It should have arrived yesterday. Follow me!"

As it spoke, the Yellow Weasel rose onto its hind legs and walked ahead like a human, leading the way.

Its appearance had not changed much; it was still in beast form, but its speed had slowed considerably.

"Why are you imitating humans and walking on two legs?" A young man's voice came from the Cat Demon's mouth.

The fox also rose upright at this moment. His body had become highly humanoid, with delicate features and a graceful figure. Only his two tails and ears remained unchanged.

"It is imitating the Dao Body. Humans merely resemble the Dao Body."

"The Dao Body is this slow? What damned use is that!" The Cat Demon was deeply unconvinced.

The Fox Demon swayed her hips as she followed, withdrawing her gaze. Ignorant mountain sprites and wild monsters—those with a Dao Body of the same constitution cultivated more than twice as fast.

But she had no obligation to explain.

The Weasel merely cast the Cat Demon a glance and said nothing.

Cats and rats had never gotten along.

A quarter of an hour later, the three demons arrived at an unnamed little mountain hollow.

"The boss is here."

At once, twenty Rat Demons rushed out from the surrounding woods.

The moment they saw the Cat Demon, all of them bared their teeth.

"Squeak, squeak! Boss, it's a Cat Demon! Kill it!"

A large group of rats, short blades in hand, swiftly surrounded the Cat Demon.

There were many Rat Demons, and most of them were trembling. Their natural restraint was not something that could be overcome merely by gaining rudimentary intelligence.

Smack!

Yellow Great Immortal directly slapped the leading Rat Demon.

"Enough! Bring up the blood food. We need to replenish ourselves and have a good feast while we're at it."

"Boss, the blood food hasn't arrived yet..."

Before the Rat Demon could finish, the Weasel slit its throat with one slash. It fell to the ground, twitching.

He looked at the Rat Demons around him.

"Get lost!"

After saying that, he turned and spoke solemnly to the Fox Demon and Cat Demon behind him.

"We'll recover on our own. Using too much Blood Baleful Force is bad for the body too!"

"Let's hope there won't be a next time."

"Next time, I can eat them too."

The Cat Demon's eyes gleamed as he watched the retreating Rat Demons, swallowing hard.

County Magistrate Xue changed directions several times and fled for some time before finally stopping.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and sat cross-legged, the true qi within him recovering rapidly.

A county lord appointed by the Great Wu Kingdom could command the incense and fortune of the local human race to aid cultivation.

His cultivation progress advanced a thousand miles in a day, but once the incense and fortune were absorbed into his body, his cultivation would remain at this level unless he was promoted and increased the amount of incense and fortune available to him.

The Spirit-Absorption Realm could only be cultivated to Perfected. Only by becoming a prefectural governor could one break through to the Martial Dao Golden Core.

His movement technique was excellent, his speed was swift, and his spiritual energy recovery was decent. That was why he had been able to endure for so long.

He had already killed two Spirit-Absorption Realm demons, one at the Early Stage and one at the middle stage.

The remaining demons below Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected had hidden themselves.

He was betting that these demons would not dare massacre the county seat.

The neighboring county had already set an example. When its county seat was destroyed, every Spirit-Absorption Realm demon within a hundred miles was wiped out in three days.

Now everyone was waiting to see how the contest between Qing Province and the Mangshan Mountains would end.

As a county magistrate, he knew even worse news.

The front lines of the three-nation allied army had suffered a crushing defeat. One hundred thousand Martial Suppression Guards of the Great Wu Kingdom had been surrounded.

An ordinary Martial Suppression Guard soldier was already at Tendon-Bone Realm, Perfected, or had just entered the Organ Tempering Realm.

If they were annihilated, the Great Wu Kingdom would suffer damage to its sinews and bones. It had urgently transferred every Spirit-Absorption Realm cultivator and Martial Suppression Guard it could spare from within its borders to rescue them.

The reason county magistrates like him had not gone was that once they fought outside their jurisdiction, their strength would decline drastically. A Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected cultivator like him would become merely Spirit-Absorption Realm, Early Stage once he left Yueyang County.

The prerequisite for serving as a county magistrate was reaching the Spirit-Absorption Realm from Organ Tempering Perfection Realm.

After County Magistrate Xue's spiritual energy recovered to full, the three demons still had not arrived. He found it rather strange.

They should have caught up long ago under normal circumstances.

Only after waiting for an hour did he sense the aura of the three mountain demons.

It seemed this direction was a weak point in their supplies, or someone was causing trouble.

There's a chance.

Within Yueyang County Seat.

Whenever Gao Linyue brought up silver, his second uncle would fall silent.

He silently returned home. This time, Gao Linyue directly put two portions into the frying pan.

They were absorbed in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

By now, the absorption had slowed. Gao Fei directly used twenty Merit Points.

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