Black Night (Bonus Chapter, Requesting Follow-up Reading, Request Moon Ticket)

Rumble...

A violet-gold bolt of lightning lit up the horizon, and low thunder rumbled through the air.

East of the city.

At some unknown moment, a group of black-clad figures descended from the sky and clashed with the Heaven and Earth Alliance hall masters and disciples lying in wait nearby.

The sound of weapons colliding echoed endlessly through the alleyways, mingled with unceasing screams. From time to time, severed limbs hacked to the ground could be seen, washed pale by the rain.

"Ghost Underworld Sect people?"

Li Rui looked at the corpses lying on the ground.

Their skulls had been split open by blades and swords. They had died miserable deaths.

Such a horrifying scene would make anyone's legs tremble.

There were Heaven and Earth Alliance disciples among them, as well as Ghost Underworld Sect members.

Li Rui was remarkably calm.

He tore open the chest of a masked man in black and saw a blue-green Underworld Flame tattoo—the unique mark of Ghost Underworld Sect followers.

"So it really is them."

The Ghost Underworld Sect had made its move.

That was no surprise.

The Huaqing Sect, the Heaven and Earth Alliance, and the County Office had laid out such a grand formation not merely to deal with Xu Hua. Their greater target was the Ghost Underworld Sect.

Li Rui crouched down.

He felt around several Heaven and Earth Alliance disciples, his movements highly practiced. His ten fingers brushed over their bodies until they stopped at something that felt different.

A delighted look soon appeared on his face.

As expected, he found quite a bit of silver.

Altogether, there was a full hundred taels!

"This is much faster than living off a salary."

No wonder people always liked taking crooked paths. If one earned money honestly, what year or month would it take to save a hundred taels? Robbing people was so much faster!

Unfortunately, there were no pills, much less spiritual pills.

But that was only reasonable.

What decent person would carry pills around for no reason? Most martial artists would swallow any pills they obtained on the spot.

The sort of scenario where someone obtained a precious pill but stubbornly refused to eat it, only to be killed and leave it behind as an opportunity for their enemy, was almost impossible.

Li Rui had expected this already.

He packed the silver into a pouch, then tossed it into the courtyard of a nearby household.

He still had other things to do. Carrying a heavy hundred taels would certainly affect his blade work.

He could not lose the big picture over a small gain.

As for the Ghost Underworld Sect followers' corpses, he did not spare them a glance.

They were all wearing Nightwalker Outfits. Unless someone had something wrong with their head, who would stash valuables inside a Nightwalker Outfit? Not even silver. Searching them would only waste time.

He rose and melted back into the darkness.

He continued searching for his target.

"Xu Hua!"

The heavy rain came pouring down. Water quickly pooled across the ground, and raindrops as large as pearls sent ripples spreading across the surface.

In a narrow alley.

"Keep your eyes peeled!"

Eagle Six shouted at the people behind him, his expression gloomy.

He kicked aside the corpse of a Ghost Underworld Sect follower on the ground, his face full of disgust.

"Damn it."

He had thought he would get free credit, but he had nearly lost his life instead.

Those Ghost Underworld Sect bastards were too underhanded. They had swarmed him all at once and caught him completely off guard.

A horrifying blade scar ran across his right shoulder.

Eagle Six's expression did not change in the slightest. He had spent years rolling along blade edges; such a minor wound was nothing.

"Eagle Hall Master, what should we do next?"

A young disciple asked anxiously.

"Do? Do my ass. Fight our way out. Whoever wants this credit can have it."

Eagle Six spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

He was afraid.

The Ghost Underworld Sect's offensive was far more vicious than he had imagined. If this continued, they would likely lose their lives.

What use was an opportunity if one was dead?

"Why haven't the Huaqing Sect experts made a move yet?"

Eagle Six swept his gaze around, frowning.

Just then—

He suddenly heard a faint rustling sound, so soft that it would have been nearly impossible to hear if he had not held his breath and focused.

The next moment.

A young disciple's voice exploded.

"Ghost! It's a ghost!!"

Eagle Six spun around sharply and looked in the direction the young disciple behind him was pointing.

There was nothing there.

"What ghost nonsense are you babbling? If you dare make a fuss again, I'll slap you to death first!"

Eagle Six was somewhat enraged.

But when he turned back to scold the young disciple, he saw that the other disciples following him all looked as though they had seen a ghost. Their mouths hung open, and their eyes held nothing but boundless terror.

"Damn it, who's playing at ghosts and goblins?"

Eagle Six turned his head, and his pupils suddenly widened.

Splash!

A monster standing a full zhang tall, its entire body black, stood there. Its scales glinted with a metallic sheen in the Black Night.

It opened its blood-basin maw and tore a Ghost Underworld Sect corpse on the ground into pieces with its sharp fangs, swallowing them into its belly.

Squish, squish.

Crimson blood mixed with rainwater and flowed to Eagle Six's feet, staining the ground red.

Even Eagle Six, accustomed to bloody scenes, was frozen stiff by such a terrifying sight. Warmth trickled down his already soaked crotch.

"You damned Ghost Underworld Sect bastards, what the hell is this thing?"

Boom!

Violent thunder erupted, and lightning turned the entire world into daylight for an instant.

The next moment.

Only a pile of mangled body parts remained in the narrow alley.

At the other end.

On the broad streets of Qinghe City.

Dao Xiong and the other two wore expressions of utter ugliness.

Rain plastered Kong Xiannian's hair to his head, leaving him none of his former noble elegance. His face was somewhat twisted.

"Damn it, those Ghost Underworld Sect mongrels actually raise Ghost Demons!"

He stared warily at the colossal creature in the distance.

Dao Xiong tightened his grip on the massive hammer in his hand.

He wiped the rain from his face.

He was calculating whether the three of them, working together, could kill that enormous monster.

The Ghost Underworld Sect's methods had truly exceeded his expectations.

But just as the giant monster was about to turn around—

A flying sword sliced through the rainy night.

Like a twisting silver dragon.

Squelch!

The flying sword pierced through the monster's head. With a thunderous crash, its enormous body fell, splashing up sheets of pooled water.

The three men's pupils dilated.

Excitement quickly filled Liu Zhen's eyes. "It's Elder Jiang's flying sword. Elder Jiang has made her move!"

Dao Xiong stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

The person had yet to arrive, but the sword had come first.

The Jiangdong Sword Immortal truly lived up to her name!

Liu Zhen quickly snapped out of his shock. "Hurry and find Xu Hua. Master Dao struck him with a hammer just now—he definitely can't have run far. We aren't needed here anymore."

"Alright."

Dao Xiong and Kong Xiannian nodded.

In a secluded alley.

A bearded man ran wildly in blind panic, not even knowing how many streets he had crossed.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Jiang Linxian... How could it be Jiang Linxian?"

With Jiang Linxian in Qinghe, every contingency the Ghost Underworld Sect had prepared would become a joke. He understood that tonight's plan had failed completely and utterly.

Xu Hua was unwilling to accept it.

He had been just one step away from confirming whether that Groom had taken the secret art.

Suddenly!

A black figure appeared not far from him.

A huge blade was strapped across his back.

In the blink of an eye, that person charged before him, seized the hilt of the huge blade on his back, and swung it in a full arc at Xu Hua.

White Ape Mantle Blade!

Follow-up reading is truly important during a new book's release period. If you readers enjoy this book, I hope you can read through to the end and help the author go farther. I kneel in thanks!