The Mountain Lord's Deadly Ambush!

"Where is Deputy General Yang? Didn't he come back with you?"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the people present changed simultaneously.

Zhou Zheng turned his head sharply. "Yang Xiao isn't at the Mystic Bone Sect?"

The elder was startled by Zhou Zheng's reaction and quickly said, "Last night... Deputy General Yang said he was going out for a walk, and he hasn't come back since."

"We thought he was with you..."

Zhou Zheng, Yan Tieyi, and Meng Jiu exchanged glances, a solemn expression appearing in their eyes simultaneously.

"He went out alone?" Yan Tieyi's face turned ashen. "That's the Mountain Lord's territory outside!"

"With his strength..." Meng Jiu hesitated, his brows furrowed.

He had secretly observed Yang Xiao's cultivation level last night; his Spiritual Power was abundant, but he didn't know how many acupoints Yang Xiao had opened.

Judging from his strength in killing Golden Buddha, he is considered a fair general among the Deputy General the Demon Suppression Division. However, facing Demon in the Aperture-Opening Realm, especially Bear Mountain Lord may not have left yet, he is still in great danger.

"Ahem, it was Deputy General Yang who protected us last night."

Seeing the group frozen in place with grim expressions, an elder spoke up at the opportune moment, "Not long after you left last night, an Aperture-Opening Dog Demon broke in, and it was Deputy General Yang who killed it."

"I think that although he went out at night, he might have some confidence in his own abilities..."

"Oh?"

Yan Tieyi became interested upon hearing this and stopped rushing out to look for the person.

"He also killed an Aperture-Opening Dog Demon last night? Can you tell me more about what happened last night?"

The elder slowly began, "The matter is like this..."

Yang Xiao, carrying the Army-Breaking Spear, walked along the mountain path towards the Mystic Bone Sect.

Last night's heavy rain washed over the air, leaving it damp with the scent of earth and vegetation.

The dried Tiger Demon blood on his body gleamed dark red in the morning light, and his robes were patchy, as if they had been fished out of a dye vat.

The mountain road rounded a bend.

Yang Xiao stopped in his tracks.

He smelled a strong, fishy odor, mixed with a sweet, metallic scent, pressing down from above the left hillside without any attempt to conceal it.

Yang Xiao gripped the Army-Breaking Spear tightly, spun around on his toes, and faced left in a defensive posture.

BOOM!

The bushes exploded.

A giant black bear suddenly charged out from the hillside, and the moment its four paws landed, it was like an earthquake, kicking up countless grains of sand and making the entire hill seem to shake.

It had a deep, bone-revealing gash on its left shoulder, with flesh turned inside out and blood still seeping out. There were also several shocking wounds on its chest and forearm.

The wounds had not yet healed and carried the sweet, metallic scent of blood, clearly indicating that the person had just escaped from a battlefield.

Bear Mountain Lord flared his nostrils and looked down at Yang Xiao.

Following the familiar scent, I arrived here, only to find that the person before me had gathered three familiar scents from his subordinates. Did this mean that he alone had ruined my plans for tonight?

"I thought the Mystic Bone Sect was hiding some extraordinary expert."

There was no anger in Bear Mountain Lord's bronze bell-shaped eyes, only a condescending indifference, as if he were scrutinizing ants.

It took a step forward, and the ground sank half a foot.

"You?"

With this step, the full pressure of the Half-Step Mystic Core was unleashed.

Black Demonic Aura, carrying a foul and pungent Yao Qi, surged in like a tide. Yang Xiao swayed like a sapling in a storm, and several thick trees around him were bent and broken by the Yao Qi.

Black Yao Qi emanated from Bear Mountain Lord's pores, condensing into a faint black halo on his body.

That was Demon Power condensed from external Demonic Aura, a mark of the Mysterious Core Realm. Ordinary Aperture-Opening Realm martial artists couldn't even break through its defenses when they encountered this layer of Gang Qi.

"I have lived for over 1,700 years and have eaten the food of at least 800 to 1,700 people, but I have never seen anyone as calm as you."

It took another step forward, baring its fangs and letting out a cold laugh.

"Could it be that he feels his death is imminent and has simply given up the struggle?"

Yang Xiao took the Army-Breaking Spear off his shoulder, planted the butt of the spear on the ground, and the shaft sank three inches into the ground.

"Are you done talking?"

Bear Mountain Lord raised his bear paw, and black Demonic Aura condensed into a thick shell in his palm.

It glanced at Yang Xiao to make sure there was no one else around.

Killing him is no different than crushing an ant.

The losses we suffered at the hands of the Demon Suppression Division's henchmen will be repaid in full at this moment!

The two palms, imbued with terrifying Demon Power, crashed towards Yang Xiao, so fast that even the air itself couldn't move aside.

Yang Xiao held the Army-Breaking Spear horizontally in front of him, the spear slightly lowered, and his feet planted three inches into the ground.

Mountain-Suppressing Form.

The bear's paw slammed onto the gun, and the immense force traveled up the shaft to the arms, and then from the arms to the soles of the feet.

The force of the recoil pushed his legs deep into the ground, even above his knees.

Yang Xiao stood still, his arms slightly numb, but his bones were not broken, his meridians were not damaged, and his internal organs were stable.

The scene of his body being nearly shattered by the Flood Dragon Lord on that night will never return.

Bear Mountain Lord's bear paw hovered in mid-air, and the murderous intent in Tong Ling's eyes was covered by a layer of surprise and doubt.

It used 80% of its strength in that palm strike.

What does 80% force mean?

Last night, the Mystic Bone Sect Master, who had cultivated Body-Tempering Art for nearly a hundred years, was sent flying and crashed into an ancient tree after taking half of its force. Yan Tieyi, who was as strong as an iron tower, was sent flying several feet after taking sixty percent of its force.

The young man in front of me looked to be no more than twenty years old, and there was no trace of him having practiced any Body-Tempering Art.

Its skin was fair, and it was just an ordinary-looking human body.

Yet it withstood eighty percent of its force without retreating a single step?

Yang Xiao gripped the Army-Breaking Spear tightly and took a step forward.

The Army-Breaking Spear changed from a horizontal block to a forward thrust, the tip tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound, aiming straight for Bear Mountain Lord's throat.

Bear Mountain Lord dodged to the side, the spear tip grazing its neck and shaving off a tuft of black bristles.

The next instant, the bear's paw swept across, the wind pressure as sharp as a knife.

Yang Xiao crouched down, and the bear's paw swept over his head, the resulting gust of wind making his scalp tingle.

He charged forward, swinging his Army-Breaking Spear in a wide arc, the shaft sweeping across Bear Mountain Lord's face.

Bear Mountain Lord's head was knocked half a circle to the side by the gun barrel, and a trace of disorientation flashed in his copper bell eyes.

The soul-suppressing power accompanying the Demon-Slaying Soul-Extinction impacted its soul in that instant, slowing its reaction by half a beat.

Seizing the opportunity, Yang Xiao suddenly sprang up, Army-Breaking Spear half a circle in his palm with the tip pointing downwards. He gripped the butt of the spear with both hands and, using the downward force, thrust it fiercely into the junction of Bear Mountain Lord's chest and abdomen.

With a soft "pfft!"

It pierced into flesh with incredible smoothness.

The Army-Breaking Power shattered the Demonic Aura, its sharp edge, Demon-Slaying Soul-Extinction, sliced through all obstacles in its path, frantically slaughtering the surrounding flesh and blood, and then injected Demon Poison.

"Aww--!"

Bear Mountain Lord let out a deafening roar of pain.

Its entire body sprang up, and its bear paw slammed towards Yang Xiao, intending to smash this ant clinging to its body into a meat patty.

Before the bear's paw could land, Yang Xiao drew his spear and retreated, using his feet to push off Bear Mountain Lord's chest for leverage, sending him flying backward before landing steadily.

Bear Mountain Lord lowered its head; black blood was flowing from the wound in its chest and abdomen. Incomparable pain exploded from within, almost making its heart tremble.

It looked down at Yang Xiao, its copper bell eyes filled with anger and disbelief.

"What kind of monster are you?"