A stroke of genius with the crossbow

Xu Qi'an slowly scanned his colleagues' faces and said in a deep voice, "This is saltpeter."

The name "saltpeter" was completely unfamiliar to the few uneducated warriors present who lacked relevant knowledge.

Song Tingfeng exchanged glances with his colleagues, then frowned and asked, "Saltpeter?"

Xu Qi'an considered for a moment and said, "I'll use a different name; you'll understand it better then. It's the main ingredient in gunpowder."

Everyone present unconsciously changed their expression.

Gunpowder was a secret art of the Great Feng, one of the means to intimidate the nations of the world. The Great Feng strictly controlled all formulas and materials related to gunpowder (mainly saltpeter).

Even the Nightwatchers had only a superficial understanding of the composition of gunpowder.

A saltpeter mine has been discovered in the Great Huangshan Mountains, and there are signs of mining. Song Tingfeng's face was devoid of any smile, unusually serious. "Return to the capital immediately and report this matter."

Compared to the chaos caused by monsters, the discovery of saltpeter ore is the more important matter.

Lu Qing stared at the gray-haired village head and ordered, "Tie him up and take him away."

There's a saltpeter mine in Dahuangshan, and the village chief claims to know nothing about it? Regardless, he has to be taken back for questioning.

Two constables removed the ropes from their waists, tied the village chief's hands behind his back, and led him out.

The village chief should be unaware of the situation, otherwise he wouldn't have brought us here. This doesn't make sense, and judging from details like his body language, he doesn't seem to know anything. An uneducated old man like him couldn't possibly be the reason the demons from the Diba were driving away the gray households—was it because of the saltpeter mine?

Well, that's unlikely. We'd need a professional to determine when the nitrate mine here was started before we can make a judgment.

Xu Qi'an, his mind filled with various thoughts, held up his torch and had just stepped out of the cave when he heard Lü Qing's scream, "Watch out!"

At the same time, he heard a whooshing sound as a dark shadow shot towards him from the side, too fast for him to react.

Bang!

The gong on his chest cracked open, Xu Qi'an felt as if he had been hit head-on by a high-speed train. The powerful impact sent him flying, and his consciousness instantly went dark.

The sudden attack caught everyone off guard, and each person reacted in their own way.

The three constables from the government office drew their swords and removed their crossbows.

Zhu Guangxiao swept his leg, kicking the village head into the cave. Song Tingfeng drew his sword and shouted, "Get in there and don't come out!"

On a boulder on the side of the cave, lay a monster that was two zhang long, resembling a salamander, with its body covered in thick plates.

He had sharp horns on his forehead, and his amber vertical pupils gleamed with a cold, brutal, and ferocious light.

The forelimbs have four toes.

Its cheeks were bulging, as if concealing hidden weapons, ready to be launched at any moment.

"Puff!"

A dark shadow, almost invisible to the naked eye, shot out and struck Song Tingfeng directly.

The latter narrowed his eyes, his body reacting faster than his brain, instinctively leaning back to avoid a fatal blow.

Lu Qing stepped forward, stomping on rocks and smashing them, sending up stone dust as he swung his sword with both hands.

The blade vibrates at a high frequency, buzzing.

"Ding ding ding"

Amidst a series of teeth-grinding sounds, the blade slashed across the tip of the tongue, sending up blinding sparks.

Only then did everyone notice that the monster's long tongue was covered with a layer of fine scales.

The monster seemed to feel pain, retracting its long tongue and supporting its massive body on its four limbs, standing high on the boulder and looking down at the crowd.

Its cheeks bulged, it opened its blood-red maw, and let out a deep roar.

The roar startled the wild birds in the mountains and forests, and they all flapped their wings and took flight.

Song Tingfeng and the others were momentarily dazed, as if they had been hit on the back of the head with a club.

Spirit Refining Realm. He felt a chill run down his spine, forcefully suppressing the dizziness, and slammed the hilt of his sword against his chest.

Clang.

The resounding gong, like a morning bell and evening drum, canceled out the sound waves and brought clarity.

Once both sides snapped out of their dazed state, they immediately took action.

As Lü Qing retreated, he instructed his two colleagues at the peak of the Essence Refining Realm: "Use your crossbows to assist us, attacking its eyes, jaw, and mouth."

These are relatively soft areas.

Song Tingfeng then took off the gong and tossed it to Zhu Guangxiao: "You're in charge of containing them head-on, be careful."

He had clearly seen that Xu Qi'an's gong was broken, and knew that a single gong could not stop the demon's tongue.

Thinking of Xu Qi'an, Song Tingfeng felt a pang of sadness. Although the bronze gong could withstand a full-force attack from the Spirit Refining Realm, the monster had only managed to launch a sneak attack.

Caught completely off guard, Xu Qi'an could have had his heart shattered by the residual force. If he only had one day of service, that would be far too tragic.

Song Tingfeng composed himself, dragged his sword, and charged forward, attacking the monster from the side.

The salamander's amber-colored, menacing eyes flickered, as if it were about to turn around and stick out its tongue. Zhu Guangxiao preemptively struck the gong, shaking the demon's spirit.

At the same time, the energy flowed into the blade, and with a deep roar, it unleashed a powerful blade aura, which swept out in an arc, causing the air to distort at high temperature.

The monster was enormous and impossible to dodge. It lowered its head, using its hard forehead to withstand the blade's energy. Then it swung its tail, as if it had eyes in the back of its head, and struck Song Tingfeng with pinpoint accuracy.

Song Tingfeng parried with his sword, but his body flew backward.

Lu Qing, who was attacking from the other side, seized the opportunity and stabbed the monster in the abdomen. However, the monster dodged the attack as if it had foreseen this.

Martial artists and Demon Race at the Spirit Refining Realm possess abundant spiritual power that can radiate outwards, allowing the surrounding scenery to appear in perfect detail in their minds.

No amount of tracking, ambush, locking onto, or killing intent can escape the perception of a martial artist at the Spirit Refining Realm.

This is a unique and wondrous phenomenon possessed only by those at the Spirit Refining Realm.

My God, I almost died before I even got started! I finally broke through to the Qi Refining Qi Refinement, but before I could even lose my virginity, I was killed in the line of duty. After a brief period of unconsciousness, Xu Qi'an regained consciousness.

Hearing the sounds of fierce fighting in the distance, he didn't get up, but crawled forward, reaching a high point unnoticed by everyone.

He took out a small jade mirror from his pocket, pressed the back button, and poured out the crossbow and bone-corroding poison given to him by Song Qing. After calmly applying the poison, he silently raised the crossbow, aimed at the demon, and waited for his opportunity.

Clang.

Zhu Guangxiao struck the gong, shaking the demon's Primordial Spirit and clouding its senses.

Just as Xu Qi'an was about to fire, the monster suddenly flipped over, which startled Song Tingfeng and the others, who wondered what it meant by doing so.

Damn it, sneak attacks don't work on experts at the Spirit Refining Realm!

Knowing the real reason, Xu Qi'an cursed under his breath.

The safest approach is to continue waiting, letting Song Tingfeng and his men weaken the demon, severely injuring it and lowering its spiritual awareness. Then he will have the opportunity to use this magical crossbow, capable of killing Spirit Refining Realm Law Artifact, to complete the decapitation!

Xu Qi'an quickly abandoned the idea.

Like a lithe female leopard, Lü Qing sprinted forward on her two powerful long legs, let out a sharp cry, and finally plunged the rapidly vibrating blade into the monster's abdomen.

Blood stained the blade, hissing and steaming as if it had come into contact with a red-hot iron.

The monster roared in pain, tilted its head, bulged its jaw, and shot out as a black shadow pierced through the air.

Lü Qing's face darkened, and fear appeared on her beautiful face; she couldn't dodge this attack.

Just then, a figure pounced from the side, grabbed the female constable's plump and agile body, and rolled her to the side.

Song Tingfeng arrived to the rescue, stabbing the monster in its soft abdomen, preventing it from pursuing its companions.

Lü Qing felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, and a man's heavy body pressed down on her. Her breath quickened, and when she looked closely at the man on top of her, she exclaimed in surprise:

You're not dead.

Xu Qi'an grinned. "Almost."

If it weren't for the protective mirror that Song Qing gave me,

Just as Lü Qing was about to speak, she saw the monster's tail coming down from above, so she quickly grabbed Xu Qi'an and rolled around with him.

Bang!

The spot where the two had been lying was now marked with deep welts from the whipping.

"We're even." Xu Qi'an smiled at her, and the two separated, working in perfect harmony to attack the demon with Song Tingfeng.

The reason he abandoned the sneak attack and chose to engage in battle was that three Qi Refining Realm were no match for a single Spirit Refining Realm monster.

In the end, the demon will not be worn down, and Xu Qi'an will be left all alone.

Upon seeing that their comrade had not died in the line of duty, Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng's eyes lit up, their joy hidden in their hearts.

Xu Qi'an took out the Bone-Corroding Poison from his pocket, smeared it on the blade, and tossed it to Lü Qing, saying, "Smear it on the blade."

Lü Qing glanced at him, took a few steps back, applied the poison, and then tossed it to Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.

Song Tingfeng was rather unlucky. While applying the poison, he was targeted and attacked by a demon. Its long tongue grazed his arm, scraping his scales until his flesh was a bloody mess.

Lü Qing made a cut on the monster's body and saw the wound quickly turn black and then emit a putrid stench. She looked at Xu Qi'an with delight. "It worked!"

With Xu Qi'an joining the fray, the four Qi Refining Realm cultivators working together to surround and kill, and the two Essence Refining Realm cultivators shooting arrows to disrupt them, gave them a significant advantage.

The demon possessed immense strength and unparalleled eloquence.

However, its enormous size and physical structure mean that it cannot move and maneuver as nimbly as a human martial artist.

His injuries were increasing, more and more numerous.

"Watch out!" Xu Qi'an brandished his sword, channeling his inner energy to cleave the demon's tail and save Lü Qing, who had traded injuries for injuries.

His hand instantly split open, and blood gushed out.

He glared at Lü Qing: "Are you out of your mind? A woman risking her life like this!"

Lü Qing glanced at him, a rare hint of girlish coquettishness in her eyes. "Mm."

"Roar!"

The demonic creature shook the air, unleashing another terrifying mental storm.

Xu Qi'an and the others were prepared and quickly retreated to create distance and avoid being attacked by the long tongue.

Unexpectedly, after forcing everyone back, the monster turned and fled with its four claws flying.

It plunged into the forest, violently knocking down tree after tree, carving out a clear, brutal path.

Lü Qinghua's face paled. "Chase it! We can't let it get away!"

Once a monster enters the water, it becomes difficult to eliminate.

Song Tingfeng leaped into the air, walking on branches, much like a martial arts master with superb lightness skills.

He stomped hard on a tree trunk, flying into the air and looking down at the entire forest. The muscles in his right hand, holding the knife, bulged and tore the loose sleeve.

"Drink!"

The sword shot out, drawing a bright silver beam in mid-air.

A second later, the monster's painful roar echoed from the dense forest.

Song Tingfeng, exhausted, fell into the forest.

Zhu Guangxiao then took over. Although his lightness skill was not as good as Song Tingfeng's, his explosive power was by no means weak. He sprinted along the ground, caught up with the demon, roared, and soared into the sky, fiercely slashing at the demon.

Snap!

The monster with a knife stuck in its back swept him away with its tail and continued to flee.

Only Lü Qing and Xu Qi'an remained in pursuit. The female constable, as agile as a leopard, clung tightly to the monster's back, neither falling behind nor catching up.

They soon emerged from the woods, and after a short chase, the mighty river came into view.

"Thump!"

The monster plunged into the river, splashing water everywhere.

Disappointed, the dashing female constable caught a glimpse of Xu Qi'an leaping high into the air, taking a crossbow from his waist, and without even aiming, casually pulling the trigger.

The moment the arrow was shot, a powerful surge of energy exploded outwards.

The female constable didn't even catch a glimpse of the arrow before she heard the "whoosh" of it hitting the water.

A few seconds later, a miraculous scene unfolded.

The river surface rippled with blood-red water, and a monster two zhang long slowly floated to the surface.

Its cause of death was that its head was pierced by an arrow.

Lu Qing turned her head blankly and looked at the young and tall Nightwatchers.

Xu Qi'an shrugged. "I've always been lucky."

P. S.: I recommend a book: "Rebirth Starting from Blind Dates": A life of adventure begins with blind dates.

P. S.: This chapter has been revised, so the update is slower. Please let me know if there are any typos.