sinovels Chapter 9 The Demonic Path Appears
Chapter 9 The Demonic Path Appears
The next morning, Zhou Ning was practicing swordsmanship on the back mountain when he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps coming from down the mountain.
He stopped what he was doing and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw an old man in a gray robe stumbling up the mountain, his face pale and covered in sweat.
"Help! Help!"
When the old man saw Zhou Ning, he grasped at a straw and knelt down with a thud.
"Young man, please, please save the people in our town."
Zhou Ning quickly helped him up:
"Grandpa, don't rush, tell me slowly. What happened?"
The old man gasped for breath and said in a trembling voice:
"Last night... last night that painted skin ghost came out again. She killed Manager Wang, and... she also kidnapped Manager Zhao."
Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat.
Is Manager Wang dead?
Shopkeeper Zhao has been arrested?
"When did this happen?" he asked urgently.
"Just...just an hour ago," the old man said.
"Before dawn, that thing suddenly rushed into Baicaotang. Manager Wang didn't even have time to scream before...before..."
He couldn't continue, tears streaming down his face.
Zhou Ning clenched his fist.
He had thought that although he hadn't killed Liu Niang in his fight last night, he could at least intimidate her for a while.
did not expect……
"Brother, that thing left a message."
Suddenly remembering something, the old man took out a blood-stained note from his sleeve and handed it to Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning took the note, and saw a few words scrawled on it:
"Those who meddle in other people's business shall die. If you want people, go to the mass grave on the back mountain at midnight tonight."
The handwriting was messy, yet it exuded a chilling murderous intent.
This is a declaration of war against him.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath, put the note into his pocket, and said to the old man:
"Old man, you go down the mountain first and tell the people in town not to go out tonight no matter what noise they hear. I'll handle this."
The old man nodded repeatedly, expressing his deepest gratitude as he left.
Zhou Ning turned around and strode towards the main hall of Lanruo Temple.
Yan Chixia was meditating in the hall when he saw him enter, and slowly opened his eyes.
"I know what happened down the mountain."
Zhou Ning was taken aback:
"Does Master already know?"
Yan Chixia said calmly:
"The aura of that evil Taoist priest was already lingering in the mountains last night. Why do you think Lady Liu suddenly went mad? Someone is manipulating her from behind."
"A demonic cultivator?" Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat:
"Is someone else manipulating Liu Niang?"
Yan Chixia stood up, put his hands behind his back, and looked out of the hall:
"Although the Painted Skin Demon is formed from resentment, it is impossible for her to kill so many people in just a few months on her own. There are cultivators behind her secretly manipulating things, using the hearts of living people to create evil artifacts."
Zhou Ning gasped.
No wonder Liu Niang harbored such deep resentment; no wonder she dared to provoke him even though she knew she was no match for him.
It turns out she was just being used as a pawn.
"Master, what should we do now?" Zhou Ning asked.
"What should we do?" Yan Chixia glanced at him:
"Didn't you already promise to go rescue them?"
Zhou Ning was speechless.
Yan Chixia walked up to him, took out a jade talisman from his sleeve, and handed it to him:
"This talisman contains a wisp of my sword energy; it can save your life in a moment of crisis. Tonight, go to the mass grave; I will be watching from the shadows. If that evil Taoist appears, just deal with him; leave the rest to me."
Zhou Ning accepted the jade talisman and solemnly said:
"Disciple understands."
"And..." Yan Chixia continued:
"Although Liu Niang is being manipulated, her hands are stained with blood, and she harbors deep resentment, making it impossible for her to be saved. If there is an opportunity, show no mercy."
Zhou Ning remained silent for a moment, then nodded.
He understood his master's meaning.
Some things, once done wrong, can never be undone.
-
Night falls.
The mass grave on the back hill is overgrown with weeds and littered with withered bones.
The pale moonlight shone on the messy graves, creating a sinister and terrifying scene.
Zhou Ning stood alone in the center of the mass grave, holding a wooden sword, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.
The night wind blew by, bringing with it a putrid stench.
"It's midnight."
He announced loudly, "I'm here, come out."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a gust of cold wind suddenly arose.
Countless black wisps of mist surged from the ground, converging into a massive vortex.
At the center of the vortex, an old man dressed in a black Taoist robe with a withered face slowly walked out.
His face was covered in wrinkles, his eyes were sunken, and his eyes gleamed with a ghostly green light. A sinister smile hung at the corner of his mouth.
"So you're Yan Chixia's disciple?" The sorcerer's voice was hoarse and grating.
"It doesn't look that great."
Zhou Ning gripped the wooden sword tightly:
Where is Manager Zhao?
The sorcerer chuckled and waved his hand casually.
A cloud of black mist dissipated, revealing Manager Zhao, who was tied to a withered tree.
His face was deathly pale, and his eyes were tightly closed; it was unclear whether he was dead or alive.
"Don't worry, he's still alive." The demonic Taoist licked his lips.
"However, he will die soon. His heart is a rare offering."
A flash of anger crossed Zhou Ning's eyes:
Why do you want to harm people?
"Why?" the demonic Taoist sneered.
"The path of cultivation is one of survival of the fittest. I need human hearts to forge evil artifacts, and it is their blessing that these mortals are willing to sacrifice themselves for me."
He sized Zhou Ning up and down, a greedy glint in his eyes:
"However, the heart of a cultivator is stronger than that of a hundred mortals. Since you've come to me of your own accord, I won't stand on ceremony."
Before he could finish speaking, the demon suddenly raised his hand, and countless streams of black energy shot out from his sleeve, transforming into sharp arrows that hurtled towards Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning was prepared. He flashed away, barely dodging several streaks of black energy, and at the same time, he activated his "Innate Qi" and held the wooden sword horizontally in front of him.
A faint blue light appeared, blocking the remaining black energy.
"Huh?" The demonic cultivator was slightly surprised.
"He's got some skill. But..."
He grinned maliciously, formed hand seals, and chanted incantations.
The ground began to tremble, and countless withered bones crawled out of the soil, coalescing into a huge skeletal monster that opened its blood-red maw and pounced on Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning gritted his teeth and swung his sword to meet the attack.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The wooden sword clashed with the skull, producing a dull thud.
The skeleton was incredibly hard; Zhou Ning's attacks could only leave shallow marks on it, unable to cause any real damage.
Even worse, the demonic cultivator continued to release black energy, interfering with Zhou Ning's vision and energy circulation.
"At this rate, we can't hold out for long..."
Zhou Ning was secretly anxious, dealing with the skeleton while searching for weaknesses in the demonic path.
Suddenly, he noticed that the sorcerer needed to pause briefly each time he cast a spell.
Although the time was extremely short, but...
"Now."
Zhou Ning suddenly poured all the internal energy into the wooden sword, cleaved the skull in two, and shot towards the demon like an arrow.
A hint of surprise flashed in the demon's eyes, but he quickly returned to a cold smile.
"court death."
He raised his hand, and a huge black palm materialized out of thin air, slamming down fiercely towards Zhou Ning.
This palm strike was powerful and heavy, and there was no way to avoid it.
Zhou Ning gritted his teeth and, instead of retreating, accelerated, charging towards the black palm.
"boom!"
Just as the black palm was about to strike Zhou Ning, the jade talisman in his arms suddenly lit up.
A dazzling golden sword light burst forth from the jade talisman, instantly tearing the black palm into pieces. Its momentum remained undiminished as it pierced straight towards the demonic path.
"What?"
The demon was terrified and hurriedly used a secret technique to dodge, but the sword light was too fast and still grazed his shoulder.
"what!"
The demon let out a scream as his entire left arm was severed by the sword light, and blood gushed out.
He staggered backward, his face filled with horror:
"This is... Yan Chixia's sword energy?"
Zhou Ning, panting heavily, held the wooden sword and stared intently at him:
"It's not too late to know now."
A look of resentment flashed in the demon's eyes, but even more so, fear.
He knew that the appearance of Yan Chixia's sword energy here meant that the god of death might be nearby.
"Kid, you're ruthless!"
The demon gritted his teeth and crushed a black token.
A black mist enveloped him, and he vanished from the spot in an instant.
escaped.
Zhou Ning did not chase after him. He quickly walked to the withered tree and untied the ropes binding Manager Zhao.
Manager Zhao was still breathing, but he had fallen into a coma.
"fine……"
Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief and was about to help Manager Zhao up when suddenly...
"Be careful!"
A familiar voice rang out.
Zhou Ning turned around abruptly and saw a black aura shooting out from nowhere, heading straight for his back.
It was moving so fast that there was no time to dodge.
At the critical moment, a streak of azure sword light descended from the sky, precisely striking the black mist.
"laugh!"
The black mist vanished instantly.
Yan Chixia appeared beside Zhou Ning, his gaze sweeping coldly over their surroundings.
"Trying to run away?"
He raised his hand, and a sword aura shot out, piercing straight towards a withered tree in the distance.
"what!"
With a scream, the demonic Taoist fell from behind the tree, his chest pierced by the sword energy.
He stared wide-eyed at Yan Chixia in disbelief:
"You...how could you..."
Yan Chixia said calmly:
"You dare to show off your petty skills in front of me?"
The demon opened his mouth, as if to say something, but no sound came out.
His body slowly collapsed, turning into a pool of black pus that completely dissipated into the air.
Zhou Ning was deeply shocked by what he saw.
His master's strength far exceeded his imagination.
Yan Chixia turned around and glanced at him:
"Well done. Although it was reckless, at least you didn't embarrass me."
Zhou Ning quickly replied:
"This disciple dares not."
Yan Chixia nodded, his gaze falling on the depths of the distant mass grave.
"There's one more thing that needs to be taken care of."