"What?"
The young master's expression changed when he heard the voice.
The carriage stopped.
The four servants guarded its four sides closely.
Their faces were tense, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily.
At that moment, the carriage was on a silent ancient road.
Low trees surrounded them.
Apart from the rustling of the night wind, there was no other sound.
But the middle-aged coachman could clearly sense dense Yao Qi lurking around them.
And its cultivation was certainly not weak.
Demonic beasts were not uncommon in the Heavenly Martial Dynasty, as it bordered the Myriad Demons Kingdom.
And the Myriad Demons Kingdom was a paradise for the Demon Race.
Although the Heavenly Martial Dynasty had repeatedly tried to purge the demonic beasts within its borders, those efforts had never achieved much.
The chances of encountering demonic beasts in the wilderness were still quite high.
Yet everyone in their party except Ye Qingyun was a cultivator, and demonic beasts still dared to approach.
That meant the demonic beasts lurking in the shadows were powerful.
Ye Qingyun opened his eyes too. There was simply no way he could keep sleeping.
He glanced at the young master, who had already gripped a sword and was scanning outside the window with a pair of beautiful eyes.
What kind of mess is this?
Ye Qingyun inwardly lamented his plight.
He really was down on his luck.
Why did everything have to happen to him?
He hoped a fight would not break out.
Even if one did, he hoped he would not get dragged into it.
The middle-aged coachman took a deep breath.
"We are members of the Northern River Xiao Lineage. Please do us a favor and do not trouble us."
He had revealed their origins, hoping to intimidate the demonic beasts lurking in the shadows.
"The Northern River Xiao Lineage?"
Ye Qingyun murmured the name.
He had never heard of them.
But had anyone else been present, they would surely have been shocked by that name.
Northern River was not within the Heavenly Martial Dynasty, but much farther north, beyond its borders.
There were no nations like the Heavenly Martial Dynasty there.
There were only countless martial lineages and sects of every size.
One could say Northern River was a chaotic place.
And this Xiao Lineage was a great lineage ranked among the foremost powers in Northern River.
Even in the Heavenly Martial Dynasty, it would have been an existence on par with the three great sects.
On a barren hill not far from the carriage.
A pitch-black bear demon was gnawing on a wild boar that had died a grisly death.
Beside the bear demon was a wolf demon.
"The Northern River Xiao Lineage? What are their people doing in the Heavenly Martial Dynasty?"
The wolf demon muttered as it gnawed on the wild boar's head.
The bear demon curled its lip. "Who cares? Since they've entered our territory, they should leave their lives behind."
"Exactly. No matter how powerful the Northern River Xiao Lineage is, they wouldn't dare come here and run wild."
The wolf demon chuckled.
The two demonic beasts stood up and released their presences.
At once, everyone by the carriage grew even more nervous.
"Demonic beasts at least in the core formation realm!"
"And there's more than one!"
The middle-aged coachman's expression changed drastically.
He was a core formation realm martial artist, but only in the early core formation realm.
Yet the two streams of Yao Qi coming from all directions were at least at the middle core formation realm.
If there had been only one demonic beast.
He could still have managed to contend with it.
But with two of them, there was nothing he could do.
He could only hope these two demonic beasts would be wary of the Northern River Xiao Lineage's name.
Damao lay beside the middle-aged coachman and yawned in boredom.
Inside the carriage, the rabbit in Ye Qingyun's arms twitched its ears twice.
"Brother Dog, there seem to be two blind fools of demonic beasts nearby."
"I know."
"Should we act?"
"No need."
"Why?"
"I can't be bothered."
"What if those two come over?"
"They won't."
"Why?"
"Because they want to live."
"..."
The bear demon and wolf demon were gradually approaching.
But just then.
The wolf demon suddenly stopped.
"Why do I seem to smell another demonic beast's Yao Qi?"
The wolf demon twitched its nose, uncertainty immediately appearing on its face.
The bear demon sniffed too.
"Where? Are you mistaken?"
The wolf demon sniffed again and found that the scent had disappeared.
"Maybe I'm being too sensitive."
The two demonic beasts hesitated no longer and charged straight to the front of the carriage.
"Protect the young lady!"
The middle-aged coachman shouted and leaped down from the carriage first, facing the two demonic beasts head-on.
The other four servants kept the carriage closely guarded behind them.
But from their expressions, they were clearly already terrified.
Ye Qingyun lifted the carriage curtain and saw the two demonic beasts too.
"It's over, it's over. I'm really going to die here this time."
Ye Qingyun looked utterly dejected.
The young master's face had also turned deathly pale.
"Go, hurry."
She spoke to Ye Qingyun.
Ye Qingyun froze, then grew angry.
"Are you trying to make me get down there and draw their attention?"
The young master: "..."
I was only trying to help you escape. How did that become making you draw their attention?
"You two, we are from the Northern River Xiao Lineage..."
Before the middle-aged coachman could finish, the bear demon charged at him.
Helpless, the middle-aged coachman could only fight.
Bang!!!
At their very first clash, the middle-aged coachman staggered back repeatedly.
The bear demon bared its teeth in a savage grin.
"You've got some skill."
The wolf demon stepped forward.
"Let me."
Whoosh!
The wolf demon attacked with incredible speed, its sharp claws howling through the air as they slashed back and forth.
The middle-aged coachman roared and thrust both palms out, Spiritual Qi surging.
The wolf's claws were blocked.
But several bloody gashes also appeared on the middle-aged coachman's palms.
"Attack together. Don't waste time."
The bear demon roared.
The two demonic beasts were about to attack together.
A look of tragic resolve appeared on the middle-aged coachman's face.
"Young lady, I'll be going on ahead!"
He threw caution to the wind and charged toward the wolf demon and bear demon.
He intended to hold the two demonic beasts back with his life.
To give his young lady a chance to escape.
At the same time, Damao had straightened up on the carriage and looked toward the two demonic beasts.
At that moment.
The bear demon and wolf demon both felt an unimaginable pressure.
It was as though an emperor of the Demon Race had descended.
Instantly, the two demonic beasts went rigid, unable to move.
The middle-aged coachman, however, felt nothing at all.
Instead, he was surprised that the two demonic beasts had suddenly stopped moving and even looked terrified.
Could they have been cowed by my imposing presence?
This is a good opportunity!
Without hesitation, the middle-aged coachman struck with his palms in rapid succession.
Bang! Bang!!!
The wolf demon and bear demon spat blood and flew backward, without the slightest room to fight back.
The middle-aged man looked at his hands in astonishment.
"Am I actually this powerful?"
He could hardly believe it.
By all rights, either one of these demonic beasts should have been more than he could handle.
But now, it seemed he could deal with both of them with ease.
The wolf demon and bear demon were knocked to the ground.
They wanted to get up.
But that pressure descended again, crushing them until they could barely breathe, leaving them unable to rise.
There's a demon king! There's a demon king!
The two demonic beasts were horrified, yet they could not make a single sound!