Blood-Devouring Spirit Ghost

At that moment!

As Chu He raced along at full speed, his mind began to work.

Since:

Zhou Tao had pursued that demon yesterday, as long as it was not stupid, it would not come here to feed again.

Originally, Zhou Tao had thought it stupid because it had devoured dozens of vagrants in the eastern district in one go, leading him to believe it possessed little intelligence.

But now, Chu He had deduced that someone might be behind the demon, so it definitely would not return to the eastern district.

However.

The demon could not possibly be familiar with Green Mountain Commandery. The most likely place for it to strike again was the slums to the north.

"Ah...!"

Chu He had just reached the slums when he heard a miserable scream from ahead and to his left.

Thud!

Chu He stomped down hard.

Crack! The blue bricks shattered, and the ground sank three inches. Using the recoil, he launched himself thirty feet into the air.

He looked toward the source of the scream:

There.

A figure lay on the ground, struggling frantically, while a black-skinned monster straddled them, constantly devouring something.

Then, as though it had spotted Chu He, the monster abandoned its feeding, turned, and sprinted straight out of the city.

Its movements were exceptionally nimble, as though it weighed nothing. Each step carried it dozens of meters.

[Blood-Devouring Spirit Ghost: a Late First Grade demon. Its combat strength is low, but it can rapidly advance by devouring vital essence.

Comment: this demon is fucking hideous, but its method of storing vital essence inside its body is worth a little silver.]

Blood-Devouring Spirit Ghost.

Hearing the system's explanation, Chu He immediately recalled this kind of demon.

Although its innate talents and combat strength were weak, the Essence Storage Pouch inside its body was precious. It could store power and serve as a blood pack.

Just imagine:

Two people were fighting, and both were nearly exhausted. One pulled out an Essence Storage Pouch and directly absorbed the stored power, recovering health on the spot. How thrilling.

"Trying to run? Dream on."

Greed flashed in Chu He's eyes, and he swept his left hand.

Hum...!

A streak of spectral light immediately shot toward the monster's back.

"Roar..."

The Blood-Devouring Spirit Ghost let out a pained roar. One claw clutched its chest, and its pace visibly slowed.

At the same time.

Chu He swiftly pursued it across the rooftops, moving neither too fast nor too slowly, maintaining a distance of roughly thirty meters.

Thirty li east of the city.

Inside an abandoned mountain god temple sat an ugly, pale-faced old man, his legs crossed.

His presence fluctuated between strong and weak as streams of black Qi and blood Qi swirled around him.

"Roar..."

A strange roar came from outside the temple.

Then.

The Blood-Devouring Spirit Ghost rushed into the temple, spat a mass of vital essence toward the old man, and lowered its head, whimpering.

"Useless thing! You got injured again? Didn't I tell you not to go where you went before?"

The old man took the vital essence and shouted angrily:

"You're so stupid you can't even get a complete sentence out. If I weren't gravely injured, why would I keep you?"

Then.

He was about to devour the vital essence to heal, but before he could close his eyes, he seemed to sense something and looked outside the temple.

His expression changed. He rose and kicked the spirit ghost away:

"Useless thing! Fucking useless! You actually led an enemy to the mountain god temple! Why don't you just die?"

As he spoke.

His figure flashed, appearing outside the mountain god temple.

There.

A man wearing a flying-fish robe, with a Demon-Suppressing Saber at his waist and a cold, indifferent expression, appeared before him.

"A Demon Suppression Guard squad leader."

The old man muttered angrily.

His gaze swiftly swept ahead, behind, left, and right. Once he confirmed that Chu He was alone, his expression calmed, and he said coldly:

"Tie Jun actually sent you alone to deal with me? No, you aren't from the Qingshan Demon-Suppression Camp. Could you be a passing Demon Suppression Guard?"

The old man's expression suddenly turned cold.

He cackled:

"So you are a passing Demon Suppression Guard. Today is your unlucky day. Surrender obediently and become my nourishment."

At that moment.

Looking at the hideously ugly old man opposite him, Chu He narrowed his eyes. This man should be the White Lotus Cult remnant who had escaped.

Not only had he not fled far away, he had instead hidden near the city, having that Blood-Devouring Spirit Ghost devour vital essence for him to restore his strength.

"Second grade. Judging by his presence, he should have only just recovered to the second grade." Chu He immediately assessed the old man's current strength.

His mind began working at full speed:

Turn and run!

The commandery city is over thirty li away. I can't possibly shake the old man off. Instead, I'd be vulnerable to a sneak attack the moment I turn.

Then there's only:

"Greetings, Centurion Tie!"

Chu He cupped his hands toward the space behind the old man.

"What?"

The old man immediately looked back in terror, only to discover nothing there. At the same time, he felt a chill in front of him. "Not good."

Thud!

He immediately turned back, planted his left foot, and rapidly shifted half an inch backward while kicking forward with his other foot.

Rip!

Bang!

A tearing sound rang out alongside an impact.

Using the recoil, the old man hurtled ten meters backward. A saber wound cut across his chest, exposing his internal organs.

"Damn it!"

The old man's face filled with fury.

Just a little closer.

And he would have been cut in two, meeting his end here.

He had never expected his opponent to launch a sneak attack. After all, the Demon Suppression Guard was, however one looked at it, an organization similar to an army.

Although they did not announce themselves before attacking like orthodox sects, they rarely injured people with sneak attacks either.

On the other side!

Chu He retreated over ten meters before dissipating the recoil from that exchange. His expression was somewhat grim as he looked at the old man opposite him.

As expected of an old monster who escaped the Demon Suppression Bureau's pursuit. His reactions really are fast, Chu He thought.

He had attacked with all his strength just now, pushing the Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Art to its limit. He might even have been able to kill an ordinary second-grade demon head-on.

Yet despite launching a sneak attack, he had only lightly injured his opponent. Now that the other man was on guard, he could only clash with him head-on.

"Slash!"

Chu He stepped forward, leaping over ten meters.

Lightning flickered over the Demon-Suppressing Saber in his right hand, its momentum like a thunderbolt. He swept his left hand, and spectral light vanished into the night.

"Courting death! Phantom Claw!"

Watching Chu He charge at him again, the old man thrust out a claw. Black light shone, and sinister Qi spread as he grabbed straight for the Demon-Suppressing Saber.

Clang!

The Demon-Suppressing Saber struck as though against metal and was caught directly in the old man's hand. His other hand formed a claw and reached for Chu He's heart.

He clearly intended to rip Chu He's heart out with a Black Tiger Steals the Heart, but his claw had only extended halfway when he heard something slicing through the air behind him.

A sharp presence rushed straight toward his brain.

Not daring to hesitate.

The old man immediately tilted his head, withdrew the hand attacking Chu He, and grabbed behind him.

At that moment!

The old man held the demon-suppression saber in one hand and reached for the copper coin behind him with the other.

"Demon Suppression!"

There.

Chu He clenched his left fist. Golden light shone over it, and faint cries of a dragon and an elephant rang through the silent night.

He threw a punch!

Bang!

Caught unprepared, the old man felt an unimaginably tremendous force strike him. His body flew backward over a hundred meters!

Crash!

He slammed straight into the mountain god temple's wall!

Then!

He slowly slid down the wall into a half-kneeling position!

Pfft...

He abruptly raised his head and looked at Chu He, enunciating each word:

"Dragon. Elephant. Prison. Suppression. Art!"

"No wonder you have such strength at only the first grade. At such a young age, you've actually cultivated the Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Art to such profound mastery."

The old man could hardly be blamed for his astonishment.

As a simplified version of a ninth-grade cultivation art, the Dragon Elephant Prison Suppression Art was not something one could cultivate simply by reading its manual. It required talent, perseverance, and enormous amounts of time. This led many Demon Suppression Guards to forgo cultivating it even when they qualified to read it. It was simply too difficult.

Just think: the Demon Suppression Guards who joined alongside you were already close to breaking through to the third grade, while you were still at the first grade. What use was greater combat strength?

"A prodigy of the Demon Suppression Bureau. Heh heh..." The old man chuckled sinisterly twice and said, "Today, you'll join me in the grave."