Meeting Zhou Si Again
When it got a clear look at Lu Feng, a satisfied smile spread across its coarse ox face.
"Good, good, good."
The second-tier ox demon slowly sat up, the stone bed creaking under its weight.
"That kid Zhu Ren did well. It's not time yet, but he's sent a blood meal early."
Before its voice had faded, a saber flashed.
The head of the first-tier ox demon closest to Lu Feng flew into the air.
[Ding! First-tier ox demon slain. Demon Points obtained: 1000]
Lu Feng did not break stride, weaving through the herd as though no one were there.
As the saber flashed up and down, every stroke cut precisely into the softest part of an ox demon's neck.
[Ding! First-tier ox demon slain. Demon Points obtained: 1000] [Ding! First-tier ox demon slain. Demon Points obtained: 1000]
The system notifications came so thick and fast that they almost overlapped.
The smile froze on the second-tier ox demon's face.
It finally realized something was wrong.
This human was not a blood meal sent by Zhu Ren.
"Argh!"
In a rage, it slammed a palm onto the stone bed, smashing it to pieces.
Its enormous body leaped down from the raised platform. When its four hooves struck the ground, the entire cave shook twice. Then it lowered its head and charged at Lu Feng with its thick horns.
Lu Feng shifted into Carefree Steps and easily dodged.
He did not tangle with the ox demon king, instead continuing to pursue the first-tier ox demons fleeing in all directions.
It was not that he feared the second-tier ox demon. He feared that if he killed it first, the remaining ox demons would scatter.
The ox demon king was indeed strong.
Every palm strike smashed a deep pit into the ground.
But it was too slow. Its palm strikes were slow, and it turned around even more slowly.
Lu Feng did not even need Carefree Steps to slip freely through the gaps between its attacks, harvesting its subordinates' lives one saber stroke at a time.
A moment later, the entire cave fell silent.
Ox demon corpses lay strewn across the ground, leaving the ox demon king standing alone in the middle of the cave.
It panted heavily, its eyes blood red, the hot breath from its nostrils condensing into two streams of white mist.
It was unclear whether it was enraged or had finally realized how powerful the human before it was.
The second-tier ox demon let out a low roar, poured all its strength into its palms, and lunged at Lu Feng.
This time, Lu Feng did not dodge.
"Gale Slash."
Only an afterimage remained where he had stood. The real Lu Feng had already appeared behind the ox demon king, the Six Harmonies Saber pointed diagonally at the ground, a drop of blood slowly sliding along its edge.
The ox demon king froze. Its palms were still thrust forward, but a thin line of blood had appeared across its neck.
The line of blood rapidly widened, and then its enormous ox head slowly slid off and struck the ground with a heavy thud.
[Ding! Second-tier ox demon slain. Demon Points obtained: 10000]
At the cave entrance, Gan Ping poked his head out from behind a boulder and cautiously peered inside.
Just then, a voice sounded beside his ear.
"Let's go. Next one."
Gan Ping jolted all over and nearly jumped.
He turned to find Lu Feng standing beside him, though he had no idea when he had gotten there. Lu Feng was wiping the blood from his saber with a rag, his expression as calm as if nothing had happened.
Gan Ping opened his mouth to speak, but swallowed the words when they reached his lips.
"Yes."
Gan Ping turned around and strode ahead to lead the way.
This time, after walking for about the time it took an incense stick to burn, they heard faint rustling ahead.
Gan Ping slowed his steps, and a note of gravity entered his voice. "My lord, the rat demon cave is up ahead. The situation here is a little different from the previous two places."
Lu Feng motioned for him to continue.
"Besides a second-tier rat king, the cave has more than a hundred first-tier rat demons. It has the most demons of the eight lairs."
"And the rat demons' attacks are poisonous. Once you're scratched, the poison spreads along your meridians and is extremely difficult to purge."
"A few monkey demons accidentally wandered in before, and the rats gnawed them down to bare bones in less than half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
"More than a hundred?" Lu Feng raised his eyebrows slightly.
Gan Ping nodded, his expression somewhat grave.
He knew Lu Feng was strong, but more than a hundred poisonous first-tier demonic beasts and a second-tier rat king were on a completely different scale from the previous two places.
Their sheer, densely packed numbers alone were enough to make one's scalp tingle, to say nothing of having to split one's attention to deal with the rat king's sneak attacks.
He was about to say something to remind Lu Feng to be careful when a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from the passage ahead.
A figure came stumbling toward them.
"Someone's there!"
Gan Ping drew his saber sharply and stepped in front of Lu Feng.
"Don't panic." Lu Feng placed a hand on his shoulder and looked up. "One of us."
The figure drew closer. Dark, close-fitting clothes, a round face, and a trace of dark purple blood at the corner of her mouth.
It was Zhou Si.
Her close-fitting clothes had been torn in several places by sharp claws, exposing the armor beneath.
Three claw marks on her right arm were deep enough to show bone, and the edges of the wounds were an eerie blackish purple. She had clearly been poisoned.
Her face was now as pale as paper, her lips were purple, and her steps were so unsteady that she looked ready to fall at any moment.
"Senior Sister Zhou."
Lu Feng stepped forward and caught her firmly by the shoulders.
Zhou Si raised her head. When she saw that it was Lu Feng, surprise and delight flashed in her eyes, then gave way to urgency.
"Lu Feng... these rat demons' attacks are poisonous. Be careful!"
"I know." Lu Feng helped her sit down by the stone wall, his tone calm. "Treat your wounds first. Leave these rat demons to me."
He straightened up, turned, and walked toward the rat demon cave.
Zhou Si struggled to raise her head and called after him, "There are so many! At least a hundred! You-"
Before she could finish, Lu Feng had already swept into the cave, saber in hand.
His saber flashed.
"Squelch! Squelch!"
The heads of two rat demons that had poked out of the cave entrance in pursuit of Zhou Si rolled to the ground.
[Ding! First-tier rat demon slain. Demon Points obtained: 1000] [Ding! First-tier rat demon slain. Demon Points obtained: 1000]
Lu Feng stood at the cave entrance, his gaze sweeping over the scene inside.
They were packed together.
The cave was full of rat demons, their grayish-brown fur pressed together as they squirmed, countless pairs of small scarlet eyes gleaming in the darkness.
They crowded the stone walls, hung upside down from the ceiling, and piled up in the corners. There were too many to count at a glance.
The corners of Lu Feng's mouth lifted slightly.
These were all Demon Points.
"Be careful!"
Zhou Si's weak warning came from behind him.
Lu Feng did not look back.
He tightened his grip on the Six Harmonies Saber, circulated Golden Bell Shield at full strength, and flashed forward, crashing straight into the swarm of rats.
Zhou Si watched him charge into that densely packed ocean of red eyes and bit her lip hard. Then she turned to Gan Ping beside her.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Gan Ping hurriedly bowed and quickly explained who he was and what had happened to him.
When he mentioned that Lu Feng had already slain two second-tier demon kings on his own, Zhou Si's expression stiffened slightly.
A moment later, she suddenly spoke. "Go cut off the heads of those two second-tier demonic beasts and bring them back to me."
Her tone was commanding, leaving no room for discussion.
Gan Ping was taken aback for a moment, then cupped his hands. "Yes."
He turned and ran back the way they had come, his figure soon disappearing at the end of the passage.