Everyone grew a little more tense.
Once night fell, the lurking Weird Beings and Evil Spirits would quietly emerge.
Han Can, Yu Hao, and the others took out their Talisman Water and applied it to their weapons.
Seeing this, Lu Mian followed their example and coated the blade of his great cleaver with Talisman Water.
"Let's move."
"We'll clear out the Evil Spirits in Xu Family Village first."
Once everyone was ready, Han Can spoke calmly.
They all rose and followed Han Can out of the village's ancestral hall.
After nightfall, the deserted village grew even darker and more sinister, steeped in eerie terror.
As he walked along the narrow, deserted village path, Lu Mian kept watching for movement around him.
Bang!
The wooden door of a village house suddenly burst apart.
A heavy stench of decay spread through the air.
A figure with rotting skin and a deathly blue-green face lunged out.
Lu Mian was about to draw his blade, but someone reacted faster.
Han Can darted forward, his long saber descending like a crescent moon.
Lu Mian saw only a flash of white before the creature's head split in two.
Sss!
The Weird Corpse howled as the Talisman Water coating the saber dissolved it into a puddle of pus.
Dissipating weird evil power detected. Spend ten years of lifespan to absorb it?
The system's voice sounded again.
This time, however, Lu Mian chose not to absorb it.
Mainly because the Weird Corpse seemed to have no special powers. It just stank a little.
"Captain, your saber technique keeps getting better."
Sun Jin exclaimed in admiration.
Han Can ignored Sun Jin's flattery and said calmly, "This Weird Corpse was probably a refugee who happened to die in the village and transformed. Its resentment wasn't very strong."
Generally, the more gruesome the death, the deeper the resentment, and the more terrifying the resulting Weird Being.
With a death like this, even if someone became a Weird Being, they would be no more than a wandering ghost and pose little threat.
Whoosh!
A sinister black shadow suddenly flashed past inside a house up ahead.
"After it!"
Han Can's gaze sharpened. He became a blur and gave chase.
Yu Hao, Lu Mian, and the others followed close behind.
"The Buddha is ever present, all manner of terrors..."
A chanting voice suddenly rang throughout Xu Family Village.
Lu Mian's awareness faltered for a moment!
But in the next instant, his eyes turned fierce and vicious, like those of a savage tiger.
This was the intent he had developed from practicing the Five Tigers Soul-Chasing Blade.
Where is everyone?
Lu Mian regained his clarity, only to discover that Han Can, Yu Hao, Sun Feifei, and the others had all vanished.
It looks like new Evil Spirits and Weird Beings have taken over Xu Family Village after all.
Lu Mian frowned deeply.
He took the waterskin containing Talisman Water from his waist, held a mouthful in his mouth, then drew his great cleaver and slowly advanced.
In a situation like this, he absolutely could not panic.
Once his mind fell into turmoil, he could easily become corrupted.
"Aah!!!"
Just then, a scream came from behind him.
It sounded very much like Sun Jin.
But Lu Mian did not turn to look. He kept moving forward.
He wished Sun Jin would hurry up and die.
Besides, there was no telling whether the voice was real. There was no need to risk it.
He advanced another few dozen meters with his blade in hand.
This time, he heard eerie weeping.
"The Buddha is gone!!!"
"The Buddha is dead!!!"
Lu Mian narrowed his eyes slightly and saw an emaciated figure sitting on the village road, weeping with his back to him.
A bald head, gray monk's robes...
Putting those features together, Lu Mian knew the figure was a monk.
He did not disturb him, intending to take the small path on the left and go around.
He had only just turned onto it.
Lu Mian's expression shifted slightly.
On this path, too, a Gray Monk sat on the ground, weeping.
"The Buddha is gone!"
"The Buddha is dead!"
The Gray Monk's sobs were filled with despair and helplessness.
Then die along with him!
Lu Mian roared inwardly, his eyes vicious as he raised his great cleaver in both hands and slashed down with explosive force!
The heavy blade tore through the air with a ripping whistle.
Whoosh!
The Gray-Robed Monk reacted far faster than Lu Mian, vanishing from the spot in a blur.
Lu Mian's slash missed, but he did not lose his balance.
His control over his muscles was excellent. The instant he saw his opponent turn into a gray streak, he eased off some of his force.
The Gray Monk appeared behind Lu Mian without a sound.
His face was so shriveled that only the outline of his skull remained. He spread his arms and reached to choke Lu Mian!
Black Tortoise Crashes into the Stele!
Lu Mian sank low and drove his shoulder viciously backward in a movement resembling an iron mountain lean.
Bang!!!
A fierce, powerful force sent the Gray Monk flying.
At that moment, Lu Mian pushed off with both legs and flipped through the air. His great cleaver made a full rotation overhead, gathering force before he slashed down!
Furious Tiger Turns Over!
Squelch!
The great cleaver split the Gray Monk in two from head to toe.
The Talisman Water coating the great cleaver burned furiously through the Gray Monk's body until he became black ash.
Once again, Lu Mian chose not to absorb his weird evil power.
All this fellow could do was cry. Absorbing him would only waste lifespan.
After killing the Gray Monk, Lu Mian took out his Evil-Sensing Talisman.
Sure enough, a small black dot had appeared on the formerly blank talisman paper.
That's a hundred taels of silver secured...
A few more wouldn't hurt.
Lu Mian smiled faintly and put away the Evil-Sensing Talisman.
After some thought, he decided not to retrace his steps, but instead tried to leave Xu Family Village by this small path.
Yet when he passed through it, he arrived in an even more desolate and sinister part of the village.
Haphazardly scattered thatched huts lay shrouded in darkness.
Then, a moment later.
An eerie green glow mysteriously lit up inside those huts.
"The Buddha is dead!"
"The Buddha is dead!!!"
Gray Monks stood inside the huts, staring at Lu Mian, their gaunt faces filled with a despairing madness.
Lu Mian's eyes were fierce. The three Gray Monks did not frighten him.
He charged with his great cleaver in hand.
Whoosh!
The three Gray Monks darted out of the thatched huts, lunging at Lu Mian from the front, left, and right.
Pfft!
Lu Mian sprayed a mist of water at the Gray Monk directly ahead.
The Talisman Water issued by the Guard Hall was far purer than that provided by the Dust-Returning Courtyard, and its destructive power against Evil Spirits and Weird Beings was terrifying.
"Aah!!!"
The instant the mist touched the Gray Monk in front, black smoke rose from his entire body, and the Talisman Water burned him into pus.
At the same time, Lu Mian lifted his wrist and swung his great cleaver upward.
Squelch!
The blade struck the chest of the Gray Monk attacking from the right, driving him back.
The Gray-Robed Monk on the left had already reached him. Still weeping, he reached for Lu Mian's throat with his right hand.
Bang!
Lu Mian's left leg shot up like lightning, then kicked downward at a forty-five-degree angle, striking the Gray Monk's knee with precision.
The Tortoise-Snake Fist was a highly comprehensive martial art.
It included not only palm techniques, fist techniques, and movement techniques, but also several kicking techniques.
This was Snake Tail Shatters the Knee, a move from the Snake Fist!
Crack!
The Gray Monk's knee shattered under the kick. He lost his balance, causing his attack to miss.
The great cleaver whistled past, sending his head flying.
Pfft!
Lu Mian spat out the last of the Talisman Water in his mouth, landing it squarely on the Gray Monk's head.
Sss!
A plume of white smoke rose, reeking horribly of burnt flesh.
Lu Mian turned to look at the Gray Monk he had knocked away earlier.
"The Buddha is dead..."
"The Buddha is dead..."
The Gray Monk charged at Lu Mian, wailing.
Squelch!
Expressionless, Lu Mian cut him in two.
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