Escape

When he opened his eyes, only the time of a blink had passed.

This time, he no longer relied on brute force.

With a Half-Step Inch Punch, his chest cavity shook, unleashing the roar of tiger and leopard thunder.

A mouse demon nearly four feet tall was struck in the abdomen. Its hide trembled and dented slightly as it staggered back two steps.

Then it fell stiffly to the ground.

System notification: Killed a Bone Tempering Realm mouse demon. Merit Points +23

After that strike, Gao Fei felt even his heartbeat slow for a moment before recovering.

His other internal organs trembled faintly as well. It seemed he was still forcing it somewhat; only at Organ Tempering Realm, Perfected could he likely sustain Dark Force attacks.

Based on how he had used it just now, he estimated he could use it five times in a row. Any more, and it would be wounding himself before wounding others.

Though he had developed a killing move this time, it was not particularly effective against his current predicament.

Right now, he could only barely hold on. Every time he killed several mouse demons, several more would replenish them from the outer perimeter.

When Gao Fei unleashed Dark Force, County Magistrate Xue, who had just reached the outer edge of the mouse demons and was preparing to blow the four men apart, changed his mind.

Save them.

Blowing a few people apart was not because he was cruel-hearted. It was to give the three demons less human blood food and vital essence.

The mouse demons were Yellow Great Immortal's subordinates. Even if he let them eat, resentment would arise between them, and only then would he have an opportunity.

The county magistrate revealed himself from the tree branch and dashed toward the Weasel that had just entered the Spirit-Absorption Realm.

In a few steps, he reached its back. A flash of white gleamed across his blade, and the Weasel's head dropped into his hand.

A demon that had just entered the Spirit-Absorption Realm was vastly weaker than one at Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected. Coupled with the sneak attack, it was killed instantly under the unexpected blow.

Spirit-Absorption Realm demons were on his must-kill list, all for the Demon Cores inside their heads.

Though they could not be consumed directly—the Demon Cores contained the demons' primordial vicious blood and will—

They could be carried on the body to slowly absorb the spiritual energy that seeped out.

He used his sword to pry out a finger-sized Demon Core, wiped it clean on the Weasel's head, and put it away.

Taking another stride, he arrived directly beside Gao Fei. He grabbed Lu Xiaoliu and Zhang Constable, then hurled them out of the mouse demons' encirclement.

"County Magistrate..."

"Run for your lives first. Protect the people. Don't keep offering up blood food."

The two men were thrown more than a dozen yards away. They still landed standing, rushed a few steps forward, and steadied themselves.

They passed through the outer encirclement of the mouse demons with remarkable stability.

The two exchanged a glance without saying a word, then raced toward the county town.

Several mouse demons on the outer perimeter sensed that something was wrong and turned to chase after Lu Xiaoliu and Zhang Constable.

The moment County Magistrate Xue arrived, he killed the leading Weasel. Faced with such overwhelming strength, the mouse demons stopped attacking and merely surrounded them.

When he carried Liu Chief Constable over to Gao Fei, Gao Fei pointed at the two white-clad yamen runners who were now nothing but corpses and spoke directly.

"Liu Chief Constable has joined the Demon Race. They and I were this time's blood food."

County Magistrate Xue did not reply. He glanced at the two corpses on the ground, seized Gao Fei by the arm, and lifted him up.

With one step, he reached five yards away and stomped on a mouse demon's head.

When he landed again, he was already ten yards away. He set Gao Fei down.

"Find a way to reach the Spirit-Absorption Realm as soon as possible. Protect the people in the city, and don't let the authorities lose the people's trust."

"Give me the demon beast Demon Cores. My cultivation will grow much faster..."

Before Gao Fei could finish, County Magistrate Xue took Liu Chief Constable and vanished from Gao Fei's sight in a few flashes.

He ran that fast...

Gao Fei glanced at the mouse demons pursuing him from behind and hurried after Lu Xiaoliu in the direction he had fled.

What a loss. Next time I ask for something, I have to say it faster.

The time it took to drink a cup of tea later.

The three demons at Spirit-Absorption Realm, Perfected arrived at this small mountain valley.

At this moment, only a dozen or so mouse demons remained in the valley, clearing away the corpses on the ground.

The other demons had gone after the three men.

When Yellow Great Immortal saw the headless Weasel corpse, a bad premonition rose within him.

"Who was it? How did it die?"

A mouse demon over three feet tall stepped forward trembling.

"It was the Third Young Master. A middle-aged human cut off his head with one sword. When he dug out the Demon Core, the head got mangled..."

Before it could finish, it was sent flying several yards away by a slap.

"You don't even recognize his father anymore." Hearing this, the Fox Demon added with a smile.

"Stop gloating here. We can't keep chasing like this. I've already lost two sons."

The Fox Demon continued smiling, but did not speak to provoke him further. It could understand; even if one had many sons, they could not keep dying endlessly.

In these parts, the only human who could cut off a Spirit-Absorption Realm demon's head with one sword was County Magistrate Xue of Yueyang County.

"Where is the blood food? Finish absorbing it, then immediately go after them."

The mouse demon that had been slapped several yards away crawled up and pointed toward where the two white-clad yamen runners had died.

"Two? And both are dead? Didn't I tell you to ensure there were three alive? You could have prepared a few extra. What, do you only feel comfortable if we treat you as blood food?"

"They were rescued by humans."

The mouse demon did not dare say much now. A few words explained the situation.

The Civet Demon had remained in its true form the entire time. It glanced at the mouse demon.

"Even if they're dead, I still prefer humans. I'll choose first."

"We had an agreement. One of them is mine."

The Fox Demon swiftly followed after it.

"My subordinates traded their lives for these. Do you not want to continue cooperating?"

Human qi and blood could advance cultivation. Otherwise, who would go looking for trouble with humans for no reason?

Yellow Great Immortal did not want to yield either. His conflict with the Cat Demon ran deep; neither wanted the other to break through, not even by the slightest chance.

That was why County Magistrate Xue had left behind the two corpses. They had intelligence, but no sense of the bigger picture. Though they would not truly start fighting, bickering was unavoidable.

It was enough to give him a little more time to rest and buy time for Gao Fei and the other two to escape.

It had not taken Gao Fei long to be carried out of the encirclement, and he was not far from the other two.

When the mouse demons chasing Lu Xiaoliu saw someone behind them, they left three behind to block the way first, intending to cooperate with the pursuing group behind them and capture Gao Fei.

Seeing the three mouse demons turn back to block his path, he had no thoughts at all. He simply rammed straight into them.

Now was not the time to hunt. If he was going to kill, he should kill the ones desperately chasing him to the death.

Their Merit Points would definitely be higher than those of the other mouse demons.

Gao Fei's qi and blood, flesh, skin, sinews, and bones were all at the True Return Realm. The short blades of the intercepting mouse demons could not even break his skin before they were sent flying.

The mouse demon standing at the very front was struck in the stomach. Gao Fei lifted it up and hurled it at the mouse demons that were about to catch up to Xiao Liu.

It smashed directly into one of their heads, and they rolled into a tangled heap.

Gao Fei was faster than the two men, and slightly faster than the mouse demons as well.

He quickly caught up to the last two mouse demons chasing the pair.

Using the same trick again, he grabbed one and hurled it at the other.

Now, only Zhang Constable and Lu Xiaoliu remained in front of Gao Fei.

"Xiao Liu, run faster!"

At first, the mouse demons could still catch up and harass the three men.

But gradually, the mouse demons could no longer keep up.

The human body's physiology gave it excellent heat dissipation and high endurance. Many animals could be chased to death by humans. Except horses.

Most of the mouse demons that caught up were at Bone Tempering Realm or above. After Gao Fei used Dark Force to kill them one punch at a time, they began dodging about and no longer dared approach.

After running thirty li, they encountered a group of more than thirty Dog Demons, finally shaking off the remaining mouse demons.

Though the Dog Demons were fewer in number, their size advantage was obvious. Gao Fei took one look and saw that the sides were evenly matched for now.

He simply did not know whether they could win once the main force of mouse demons arrived behind them.

Even after shaking off the mouse demons, the three did not stop.

They ran all the way to Tao Hua Village before Gao Fei stopped. He walked to the outside of the wooden fence and had someone notify the village chief.

Very soon, the village chief jogged over.

"What is it, sir?"

"The mouse demons are attacking. Take the people and hide in the county town for a few days."