Night Raid

"That happened nearly a thousand years ago. There's no harm in telling you, but the clan records contain no detailed account of it, only an oral account from our ancestor. That year, Songfan County suffered a flood not seen in a century. The Luan River swelled tremendously. The place where our ancestor ferried people happened to be where the river narrowed, so the current was even swifter. His ferry was swept away by the rapids and crashed into a pile of rocks in the river, nearly capsizing. By a stroke of luck, the bow caught on a boulder before the shoal. The boat did not overturn, but it knocked the old man into the water. Yet he was blessed indeed. Not only was he unharmed, but he gained a blessing from disaster and found a copy of the Nameless Heavenly Scripture beneath that pile of rocks. From then on, he embarked on the path of cultivation." Yu Yan spoke at length, his tone full of envy.

"So that was how it happened. Yu Celestial Master truly is a man blessed with great fortune." Shen Luo spoke slowly, his thoughts turning as he was about to ask for more details.

At that moment, several bursts of fireworks suddenly bloomed above the distant city gate, accompanied by piercing shrieks.

"What is that?" Shen Luo noticed the fireworks and shot to his feet in alarm.

"Emergency flares! Those wolf beasts are actually attacking the city under cover of night!" The drunkenness on Yu Yan's face instantly vanished as he spoke with an exceptionally grave expression.

Shen Luo's heart tightened at those words.

"Go wake Yu Meng and head to the city gate at once to provide support. That leading Demon Wolf has already developed intelligence and is extremely cunning. If these beasts dare attack the city at night, I'm afraid this is more than a simple harassment raid!" Yu Yan spoke rapidly, already rising into the air as he took out a talisman and crushed it in his hand.

With a whoosh, a mass of gray cloud appeared beneath him and carried him swiftly toward the city gate.

Shen Luo watched Yu Yan depart on clouds with envy. Just as he turned to wake Yu Meng, his gaze fell on the stone table in the pavilion, and his steps halted.

The wine jug, talisman brush, talisman paper, and other items Yu Yan had just taken out were still there. He had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten to put them away.

"Brother Yu! Demon Beasts are launching a night raid on the city! Get up!" Shen Luo shouted, his voice rolling through the residence.

At the same time, he grabbed the talisman brush and swiftly began drawing a Minor Thunder Talisman on a sheet of talisman paper.

Yu Meng was a martial artist, and his hearing far surpassed that of ordinary people. He would surely hear Shen Luo's voice, and running over there would only waste time.

Sure enough, not long after Shen Luo's shout faded, a figure came sprinting through the night. It was Yu Meng.

He had not even finished dressing, but he had brought his crossbow and the two pitch-black longsabers.

"Really? The wolf beasts are attacking the city?" Yu Meng asked urgently.

Shen Luo was concentrating on drawing the talisman. It was nearly complete, and with a turn of his wrist, he finished the final strokes.

The entire talisman gave off a faint white glow before quickly dimming and returning to normal.

"It's absolutely true. Uncle and I were drinking here when we saw the distress flares rise from the city gate. Uncle has already gone ahead and told us to hurry over and support them." Seeing that the talisman was complete, Shen Luo tucked it into his clothes and quickly looked up as he spoke.

"Then let's go." Yu Meng handed one of the black longsabers to Shen Luo and was about to rush outside.

"Brother Yu, do you have any Yuan Stones on you? Lend me one." Shen Luo reached out to stop Yu Meng and asked.

He had no Yuan Stones on him. Even if he had successfully drawn a Minor Thunder Talisman, he would not be able to activate it.

Yu Meng found the request strange, but then he thought of the talisman Shen Luo had just drawn and immediately understood. He reached into his robes, then flicked his hand, sending a Yuan Stone flying over.

Shen Luo caught the flying Yuan Stone in one hand.

Though Yu Meng did not cultivate Daoist arts, his father was skilled in the Talisman Way, so he likely carried the Yuan Stones that mortals needed to activate talismans.

The two hurried out side by side and soon reached the street, racing nonstop toward the city gate.

Many residents in the city had heard the distress whistles. Lights came on in their homes, and from time to time, one or two people resting between shifts rushed out and headed for the city gate as well. Before long, twenty or thirty people had gathered.

No one spoke. A heavy atmosphere hung over the surroundings.

Their group moved quickly and reached the city gate ahead of most others. But once they saw the situation there, everyone's expressions changed.

A vast, black cloud floated in midair, blotting out the sky above the city wall and creating a suffocating pressure.

A tall figure stood atop the black cloud. It was the wolf-headed, humanoid monster Shen Luo had seen from afar during the day.

Its body had expanded several times over, transforming into a terrifying beast seven or eight zhang tall. Its skin had turned pitch-black, while dense blackish-red fur had grown across its chest, arms, and other places. Through that fur, strange dark-red patterns could vaguely be seen emerging across its body, utterly different from spirit script.

Yu Yan and five or six other immortal masters floated opposite the black cloud, forming hand seals and casting spells.

Bolts of lightning, fireballs, and sword qi flew from the immortal masters, pouring down upon the wolf-headed monster like rain.

The wolf-headed monster waved both hands. The black cloud beneath it churned violently, and dozens of tendrils of black qi, like living creatures, shot from the cloud to meet the lightning and sword qi.

Red, white, black, and other colored lights clashed fiercely in the air. Every collision erupted with blinding radiance and deafening thunder.

Below, the sounds of battle rang out incessantly from atop the city wall.

The young and strong men on watch were desperately fighting Gray Wolves climbing onto the wall. Clearly, beyond the unseen outer face of the wall, countless Gray Wolves were still trying to climb up.

The city wall could still hold, but the most urgent situation was at the city gate.

The city gate, which had once appeared incomparably sturdy, had collapsed by nearly half. Its edges were charred black, as though they had been corroded by something.

One tall vicious wolf after another squeezed through the huge hole in the gate. They were all those ferocious Black Wolves.

By now, twenty or thirty Black Wolves had entered the city and were lunging inward, while more continued to crawl through the hole in the gate.

These Black Wolves were twice the size of the Gray Wolves on the wall, and their strength far surpassed that of the Gray Wolves. One or two people simply could not stand against them.

More than a hundred young men on night watch had gathered near the city gate. Fortunately, the guards at the gate were better equipped than those on the wall. They wore iron armor and carried large shields, using their bodies to form a wall and desperately holding back the Black Wolves.

The people on the city wall also saw how critical the situation below was. Spears and arrows rained down from above, continuously piercing the Black Wolves' bodies.

Shen Luo swept his gaze over the scene, and his heart immediately sank.

The Black Wolves looked somewhat strange. Their eyes were blood-red, saliva streamed from between their interlocking fangs, and they seemed to have fallen into a frenzy. Spears and arrows were embedded in their bodies, blood gushing out, yet they seemed unable to feel pain. They wildly attacked the nearby guards and crashed into the defending force.

The Black Wolves had already been terrifyingly strong fighters, and now they had suddenly become fearless of death, crazed and berserk. Naturally, they were even more frightening.

Though the force defending the city gate was sizeable, the rampaging Black Wolves had thrown them into chaos and left them struggling to cope. They were on the verge of collapse.