Watching the Battle

The fluctuations of magic power were unmistakable, as though cultivators were fighting.

The discovery swept away Xu Yan's drowsiness, and he immediately grew alert.

Soon, he determined that the fluctuations were coming from the center of the city.

The Lin Residence lay in the northwest of Zhuliu City, only a street away from the city center. That was why he could sense the fluctuations of magic power so clearly.

Could this have something to do with those four cultivators who entered the city during the day?

The thought flashed through Xu Yan's mind.

Hm? What are these fluctuations?

Just then, he sensed another peculiar kind of spiritual energy. It closely resembled a cultivator's magic power, but was clearly more overbearing and seemed capable of disturbing the mind.

Now he was certain that cultivators were indeed fighting.

He had never seen cultivators fight before, so curiosity inevitably stirred within him, making him want to go out and witness it. But he quickly suppressed the thought. His cultivation was only at the second layer of Qi Refining; if either side discovered him, his life would be in danger.

With that in mind, he decided to stay quietly in his room and watch how things unfolded, then leave as soon as dawn broke.

Before long, however, his expression changed drastically.

Boom!

A massive blast of flame struck the entrance of the Lin Residence, erupting with terrifying force. Its thunderous roar startled the mortals throughout Zhuliu City awake.

"Ah! Immortals are fighting!"

"Quick! Hide!"

"Erniu, run!"

For a moment, all of Zhuliu City descended into a boiling pot of chaos.

The moment the flames struck the entrance of the Lin Residence, Xu Yan put on his mask and slipped quietly out of the residence. Only after running far enough away did he find a concealed spot and carefully survey the battlefield.

On a street a few dozen meters from the Lin Residence, four cultivators in dark blue Daoist robes had surrounded a man in the middle of the road. The four cultivators looked as though they belonged to the same faction.

A flying sword was embroidered in gold thread on the chest of each robe. In addition, a flying sword artifact circled above each cultivator's head, its sword light shifting restlessly, poised to strike.

Within their encirclement stood a strange-looking Daoist with a full head of red hair. Dressed in a blood-colored robe, he held a gourd artifact glowing red as he confronted the four.

The cultivator leading the four shouted, "Blood-Robed Daoist, you dared enter the Spirit Sword Sect's territory and murder our disciple! Today, on our master's orders, we will execute you!"

The Blood-Robed Daoist showed no concern at their words despite being surrounded. He gave a harsh, uncanny laugh. "Heh heh, I came here on the Demon Venerable's orders to handle some business. I grew hungry and thirsty along the way, so I merely devoured one of your nominal disciples. Your Spirit Sword Sect has over ten thousand disciples—why be so stingy?"

With that, the Blood-Robed Daoist stuck out his tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, looking utterly brazen.

The four Spirit Sword Sect disciples' faces darkened. Wasting no more words, they immediately formed sword seals.

Clang!

The four flying swords rang out. As the cultivators poured their magic power into them, threads of light flickered along the blades before they finally became four streaks of radiance that shot toward the Blood-Robed Daoist!

All four Spirit Sword Sect disciples were at the ninth layer of Qi Refining. Unleashing their full strength, they filled the air with sword light. Oppressive Sword Qi and chilling murderous intent surged forth, while the dazzling radiance made the heart quake.

Sensing that bone-piercing killing intent, the Blood-Robed Daoist visibly grew serious. He spat a blue-black shield artifact from his mouth. As he infused it with magic power, the shield swelled in the wind, growing several times larger in an instant and radiating light as it blocked the space before him.

After releasing the shield artifact to protect himself, the Blood-Robed Daoist did not stop. He bit through his right index finger, then swiftly traced several circles on the red-glowing gourd with his bloodied finger, outlining a ghostly face.

Bzzzt!

Once the Blood-Robed Daoist finished drawing, the ghostly face on the red-glowing gourd twisted. A long river of blood burst from its mouth, reeking of foul blood as it surged toward the four flying swords to engulf them.

"Watch out! It's the Demonblood Ghost Gourd! That demon blood will corrupt artifacts! Get out of its way!" One of the four recognized the gourd artifact in the Blood-Robed Daoist's hand and immediately cried out.

But it was already too late!

The river of blood swept in, filling the air with bloody mist. All four felt as though the world had turned blood-red, and a bone-piercing chill reached into the depths of their souls. Then one of them spat out a mouthful of blood.

"No! I've lost control of my flying sword!"

A flying sword fell from the river of blood. Its blade, which had been radiating sword light, now looked like ordinary iron.

The other three Spirit Sword Sect disciples reacted swiftly, guiding their flying swords with their thoughts to veer out of the blood river's path. Though they had avoided having their swords corrupted by the demon blood, attacking the Blood-Robed Daoist was now impossible.

At the sight, the Blood-Robed Daoist gave a sinister, uncanny laugh and swiftly drew the demon blood back into the gourd. Seizing the opening, he lunged at the cultivator whose flying sword had fallen.

The corruption of his flying sword by the demon blood had severely injured the cultivator. Seeing the Blood-Robed Daoist rush toward him, his expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly activated a defensive artifact while dodging to one side.

Yet the Blood-Robed Daoist had only feinted. Seeing a gap open in the encirclement, he immediately escaped through that cultivator's position.

As he fled, the Blood-Robed Daoist took out two talismans and conjured two masses of flame to block the other three Spirit Sword Sect disciples.

The remaining three Spirit Sword Sect disciples looked furious. With a shout of "After him!", they swiftly raced in the direction the Blood-Robed Daoist had fled.

Xu Yan had witnessed the entire battle. Seeing the outcome decided in mere moments, he was secretly shaken by the danger involved. Fortunately, he was far enough away, and all of them had focused their attention on their opponents, so no one had noticed his presence.

Judging by his appearance, the Blood-Robed Daoist must belong to the demonic path. Why did he come to Fufeng Commandery to commit such violence?

After calming himself, this question arose in his mind.

By rights, Fufeng Commandery was within an immortal sect's sphere of influence, and ordinary demonic cultivators would never dare come here. Encountering one in this place was extremely rare.

But his expression soon changed as another possibility occurred to him.

Could demonic forces have already infiltrated Fufeng Commandery?

The thought rapidly took root in his mind. Recalling the accounts of the demonic path's cruelty, he felt a growing sense of urgency.

After pondering for a while, he silently made a note of the matter and stopped dwelling on it.

Now, all he wanted was to return to Horse Mountain Stronghold and focus on cultivating.

With the cultivators' departure, Zhuliu City gradually regained its calm. Xu Yan waited where he was for a long time. Only after confirming that they were truly far away did he slowly emerge from hiding.

Tonight's encounter had broadened his horizons. Witnessing a battle between cultivators had given him a little experience.

He no longer intended to return to the Lin Residence to rest. Under cover of night, he quietly left Zhuliu City and hurried toward Horse Mountain Stronghold.