Sky-Filling Crystal Rain Slashes the Painted-Skin Demon!

That Demonic Qi was more than ten times stronger than Assistant Magistrate Wang's just now. It was even comparable to the early Liquid Condensation Realm Straw-Cloak Ghost he had encountered by the river yesterday!

Yang Xiao's expression darkened.

"It really has broken through to the Liquid Condensation Realm."

The wooden door was pushed wide open by an invisible force.

A new figure appeared in the doorway.

She wore a plain white dress, her long hair falling over her shoulders. She had delicate features and looked like a beautiful woman in her thirties.

But half her face had peeled away, revealing the terrifying skin mask she was only halfway through putting on, along with the bloody, mangled flesh beneath it.

Chen Bonian slumped to the ground, his face as pale as paper. His lips trembled, but he could not get a word out.

"You... you..."

The Painted-Skin Demon ignored Chen Bonian. Its white vertical pupils turned toward Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan, while the corners of its mouth pulled into a sinister smile.

"What a handsome pair. Much easier on the eyes than the previous two. My revealing myself was worth it. Now I can have a taste of what the skin of the imperial hounds is like."

It licked its lips, the greed in its eyes growing even more intense.

Yang Xiao placed a hand on his saber hilt and pressed his thumb against the guard. With a gentle push, the blade flashed coldly in the sunlight.

"Changing skins?" His voice was calm. "You should worry about keeping your own skin first."

The maid in the pink ruqun stood in the doorway, terror still written across her face.

But in the next instant, the corners of her mouth began to twitch, as though something inside was trying to burst through.

"Riiip—"

With a crisp sound, the maid's facial skin split at the corners of her mouth. The fissure stretched backward along her jawline, leaving trails of drool behind.

"Lord Chen, I've admired you for such a long time..."

The Painted-Skin Ghost's clone let out a shrill voice and lunged at Chen Bonian, who was slumped on the ground!

"Lord Chen, run!"

Xu Qingshan drew his sword. Its gleam swept across like a bolt of silk, cleaving the Painted-Skin Ghost clone in half!

Gray-green slime gushed out. The clone let out a scream, its body rapidly withering until it shrank into a clump of gray-green dried skin.

Chen Bonian trembled all over in terror, curling up in the corner. His lips quivered, but he could not speak.

"Th-thank you, Lord Xu..."

Xu Qingshan did not answer. He held his sword horizontally before him, his eyes fixed on the beautiful woman in the plain white dress standing in the doorway.

"Riiip—"

The county magistrate's wife's skin sack split open from the forehead. The crack ran down along the bridge of her nose, all the way to her chin and chest.

A ghastly pale, slick face crawled out through the opening. Its gray-green skin was covered in folds, its mouth stretched to its ears, and inside was a dense array of teeth like a carpenter's saw.

"Ah—!!!"

The Painted-Skin Demon let out a piercing shriek.

The sound was sharp enough to nearly pierce the eardrums. Carrying some strange power, it instantly spread throughout the entire County Yamen!

The front courtyard, the corridors, the rooftops, the corners of the walls...

"Riiip, riiip, riiip—"

A succession of skin-tearing sounds came from every direction!

Xu Qingshan's expression changed drastically. "It's summoning its companions!"

As soon as he spoke, figures throughout the County Yamen began to twist and transform.

The Yamen Runners patrolling the front courtyard, the servants sweeping beneath the corridors, the craftsmen repairing the roof, the maids watering flowers in the corners...

One after another, their skin sacks split open from the forehead, revealing the pale, slick demonic bodies within!

The missing Zhao Peng, Yamen Runner Liu, and the other guards and maids—more than twenty skin sacks split open at once, and Painted-Skin Demons crawled out from inside!

They surged in from every direction, completely surrounding the small courtyard where Yang Xiao and Xu Qingshan stood!

"Hee hee hee... Hounds of the Demon Suppression Division..."

"Kill them... Peel off their skins..."

"Fresh skin sacks... Just right for a new set of clothes..."

More than twenty Painted-Skin Ghosts let out shrill laughter, their gray-white vertical pupils filled with greed and madness.

Chen Bonian's face went deathly pale with terror. He curled up in the corner, trembling.

Xu Qingshan held his sword across his front, standing before Chen Bonian. His expression was grim.

"Brother Yang..."

Yang Xiao placed a hand on his saber hilt and swept his gaze over the encircling Painted-Skin Ghosts. Instead, the corners of his mouth curved into a cold smile.

"Perfect timing."

He raised his left hand, palm facing upward.

Pale blue spiritual energy gathered in his palm, growing brighter and denser.

"Qi Condensation Crystal."

Yang Xiao spread his five fingers. Pale blue spirit crystals condensed high in the air like raindrops.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—"

The crystals fell like a violent rainstorm, instantly piercing through one Painted-Skin Ghost after another!

"Ah—!"

"Pfft—!"

"Awooo—!"

More than a dozen Painted-Skin Ghosts screamed in succession. Their gray-green bodies were pierced by spirit crystals, and slime gushed everywhere!

The rear courtyard was blasted into a bloody mess, gray-green slime splattering all over the place.

The Painted-Skin Ghost clones were not very strong. Most of them were only at the Body Forging Realm, so they could not withstand the attacks of the Qi Condensation Crystals at all.

The Qi Condensation Painted-Skin Demon did not join the battle.

It stood in the doorway, shock and cunning flashing through its white vertical pupils.

The shock on Xu Qingshan's face was no less than that of the Qi Condensation Painted-Skin Demon. He stood to the side, dumbfounded.

If he remembered correctly, Yang Xiao had only received the "Solidifying Origin Qi Condensation Formula" from him yesterday. How could he already wield such pure Qi Condensation Crystals with such ease today?

And they were not merely exceptionally pure—the quantity was enormous as well.

After expending so many, Yang Xiao showed not the slightest sign of weakness or fatigue.

This man's comprehension of cultivation techniques and cultivation speed were practically heaven-defying. What would the so-called exceptionally talented assistant commanders in Qingzhou think of that?

"Little brat from the Demon Suppression Division... You have some skill..."

Its voice was shrill and sinister. It quietly retreated, trying to escape amid the chaos.

Yang Xiao saw through its intentions at a glance.

"Trying to run?"

He sprang forward, taking a step with the Astonishing Swan Steps. His entire body shot toward the Painted-Skin Demon!

Whoosh—

Yang Xiao caught up with the Painted-Skin Demon in an instant. The Spring Embroidery Saber was wrapped in the sharp radiance of pale blue spirit crystals as he cleaved downward!

The Painted-Skin Demon's pupils contracted sharply. Its body twisted to evade, but Yang Xiao's saber was too fast.

"Pfft—"

A Kasaya Slash entered through the Painted-Skin Demon's left shoulder and cleanly cleaved away half its body!

The wound was charred black as if scorched. Gray-green slime surged wildly from it, yet the wound could not heal.

"Ah—!"

The Painted-Skin Demon screamed and staggered backward.

In the next instant, the Painted-Skin Demon suddenly lunged forward. Its gray-green body was like a boneless snake, winding around Yang Xiao!

"You want to kill me... Then I'll replace you first...!"

The Painted-Skin Demon's voice was shrill and frenzied. Its body wound tightly around Yang Xiao, gray-green slime flowing from its wound and seeping into his skin.

"Once I put on your skin... I'll become you..."

Yang Xiao felt a burst of excruciating pain. The Painted-Skin Demon's slime seemed alive, peeling apart his flesh with the ease of a butcher skinning prey!

The Iron Cloth Technique he had learned earlier seemed to fade after holding out for only a few seconds.

His skin split open, blood gushing out and soaking through his clothes in an instant.

"Get lost!"

Yang Xiao roared. The green word strip from the Ape Demon let out a shriek, carrying a force that shook the soul.

The Painted-Skin Demon was jolted rigid, its movements freezing for a brief moment!

The next instant.

Yang Xiao's Spring Embroidery Saber had already cleaved down!

Pale blue spirit-crystal radiance wrapped around the saber's gleam. One slash descended from the Painted-Skin Demon's crown, cleaving it in half!

"Awooo!"

The Painted-Skin Demon let out a scream, its split flesh darting nimbly in every direction.

Yang Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly and sent out another sheet of crystal rain, sweeping downward until the Painted-Skin Demon's body was blasted into fragments.

But it had not died completely.

The last fragment containing its white vertical pupil stared fixedly at Yang Xiao, the corner of its mouth pulling into a sinister smile.

"Lapdogs of the Demon Suppression Division... You have ruined our plans time and again..."

"The person behind us... will not let you off..."

Its voice cut off abruptly.

The Painted-Skin Demon's body withered completely, shrinking into a clump of gray-green dried skin that gave off a pungent, fishy stench.

Yang Xiao sheathed his saber, his expression dark.

Just like the Straw-Cloak Ghost, there was someone behind you too?

He had encountered two demons in succession who both had someone backing them. Why was there no one behind him?

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