A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 122 Exorcising Demons and Monsters

Outside Tianhua Prefecture, Wei Feng, Meng Yu, Wang Xiao, and more than a dozen disciples were heading towards Shenglong Town. Dozens of miles away, they could see the yellow smoke that blotted out the sky.

"Senior brother, look at that yellow smoke, could it be the bewitching smoke of the demon race?" Meng Yu shook his folding fan, frowning as he looked at the dim yellow sky.

"Indeed, it is the Bewitching Smoke. It seems that the demon race has used the most extreme method. Fellow disciples, hurry up and get on your way," Wei Feng called out, and everyone sped up.

Just as the Wushangdao group was heading towards Shenglong Town, Yin Zhong had already led a team from Yujian Villa to the mountain peak that had been partially destroyed.

"Master, besides some rubble, I also found this."

A masked guard handed a piece of black and red copper to Yin Zhong. After examining it closely, Yin Zhong realized that the piece seemed to be part of a furnace, from which the yellow smoke was produced.

Yin Zhong's idea came true. Before long, the Iron Guards found the fragments of the furnace left over from the explosion. When Yin Zhong saw this, his expression became more serious. These demons were indeed decisive.

"Is there anything unusual in the surrounding area?"

“Master, the creatures on this mountain seem to have become foolish. They don’t run away when they see people. Look,” Tie Weizhang said, placing a sika deer in front of Yin Zhong.

On the surface, the sika deer appeared normal, but in Yin Zhong's view, its soul was extremely weak, and a wisp of yellow smoke was floating around, constantly devouring its soul.

"This deer is already under control. It seems that once this yellow smoke is inhaled, it will turn one into a puppet. Wang Cong, you truly deserve to die."

At this point, Yin Zhong finally understood the purpose of the demon race releasing the yellow smoke. They clearly wanted to turn humans into idiots so that they could be easily manipulated and become their slaves. Perhaps there were even deeper motives involved.

Just as Yin Zhong was deep in thought, his eyes suddenly sharpened and he looked in a certain direction. Upon seeing this, the Iron Guard immediately drew his sword and leaped forward, slashing down with his sword. A sound of weapons clashing was heard.

Seeing that he had been exposed, the wolf demon knew he was in trouble. He immediately forced back the Iron Guard Chief and was about to disappear into the shadows. But before he could cast a spell, a sword light was aimed straight at his brow.

Seeing the swiftness of the sword light, the wolf demon knew that if he didn't stop it, he would surely be killed before he could become invisible. So he immediately swung his staff to block. The green light and white light clashed, and the wolf demon was forced to retreat several steps. Startled, he tried to escape.

Seeing that Yin Zhong's cultivation was profound, the wolf demon immediately wanted to retreat, but Yin Zhong would not give him that chance. His eyes narrowed, and several more white lights surrounded him from all directions, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

Meanwhile, the Iron Guards also joined the battle, instantly blocking the wolf demon's retreat.

The wolf demon was grazed by the sword light, and blood flowed freely. Enraged, the wolf demon roared and instantly transformed into a black wolf as tall as a person. After taking several sword lights head-on, it charged towards a corner of the Iron Guard.

"Form a formation!" The Iron Guard Commander shouted, and the Iron Guards quickly took their positions, surrounding the giant wolf. The giant wolf's movements were temporarily thwarted, and the murderous aura on the ground was swept away by the sword wind.

Seeing this, Yin Zhong calmly observed the wolf demons within the formation. This was the first time the Iron Guard Formation had been used against a demon race, so it was a good opportunity to test its power.

As the Iron Guard moved, changes occurred within the formation. Sword lights, as if scraping flesh, slashed fiercely at the wolf demon's chest, abdomen, and limbs. In just a few breaths, the wolf demon became a bloody wolf, with its right forelimb revealing stark white bone.

"Damn it, how can these people's techniques suppress my evil energy?" The wolf demon wanted to use his evil energy to forcefully break the formation, but every time the sword light hit him, he would become weaker. Now he was at his wit's end.

"Even if I die, I will drag you all down with me!" The wolf demon's emerald eyes widened, its fur stood on end, and its chest and abdomen bulged as if it were about to burst. Upon seeing this, the Iron Guard Commander roared angrily.

"Don't get distracted, maintain formation."

The white light swords within the formation grew increasingly swift, leaving the black wolf covered in wounds. Just as the wolf demon was about to self-destruct, a fierce palm strike suddenly rushed into the formation, hitting the wolf demon squarely in the chest and abdomen, leaving a large hole. At the same time, the Iron Guard Captain's eyes flashed, and his longsword flew out, pinning the wolf demon's left forelimb. The other Iron Guards then firmly pinned down the wolf demon's other three limbs.

"Withdraw the formation!" The Iron Guard leader, seeing that the wolf demon had been subdued, waved for the other Iron Guards to sheathe their swords and come to Yin Zhong's side.

Yin Zhong looked at the dying wolf demon, took a few steps closer, placed his hand on the wolf demon's head, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them, shattering the wolf demon's skull with a single palm strike.

"Take this demon with you and return to the manor."

"Yes," the Iron Guard Chief accepted the order, summoned several Iron Guards, and carried the wolf demon away.

Just after Yin Zhong and the others left the valley, Lang Rong was listening to his subordinates' report inside a stone cave.

"General, Yin Zhong did indeed go to the valley. I followed your plan and deliberately sent a wolf cub to show itself; it's probably dead now."

"Yes, take good care of his family. They must not be treated unfairly when serving me. How are things going?"

"Lang Yi and Lang Er are back. Wang Cong was sucked into the teleportation talisman and his whereabouts are currently unknown. However, the bewitching smoke has now reached Shenglong Town. According to our scouts, some people have already inhaled the bewitching smoke. If nothing unexpected happens, we can wipe out the entire town in four days."

"Very good. You don't need to worry about Wang Cong's side anymore. Remember, just keep an eye on Shenglong Town. Don't expand recklessly, lest you disrupt the arrangements from above."

"Yes," Langxi replied.

Just as the two were talking, a little demon came to report that they had discovered the Supreme Daoists sixty miles outside of Shenglong Town. There were fifteen of them, all of them experts. The little demons who were investigating had lost nearly forty percent of their numbers, especially the three leaders, whose cultivation was extraordinary.

"General, look, aren't these three Wei Feng, Meng Yu, and Wang Xiao?"

Lang Xi took the portrait and presented it to Lang Rong. After looking at it, the latter's expression first turned serious, then he smiled with relief.

"I didn't expect the Supreme Dao to send them. It seems they are determined to take over Rising Dragon Town. Lang Xi, pass down the order to have the lesser demons greet them properly. Since they've come to our territory, we should certainly show them the hospitality of hosts."

"Your subordinate obeys."

"Yin Zhong, let's see how you deal with those humans. Those who block your way, only death will suffice."

Fifty miles outside Shenglong Town, Wei Feng and his group looked at the increasingly dark sky and felt a sense of frustration. Although they had protective talismans and were not afraid of such things, they could not see a single ray of sunlight, and their mood was also very bad.

"Senior brother, is there no way to collect this yellow smoke?" Meng Yu kept shaking his folding fan, a surge of anger rising in his heart.

"The more you try to suppress this bewitching smoke, the faster it spreads. If you have extraordinary cultivation, you can naturally eliminate it; otherwise, you can only find a magical artifact to control it and destroy it. Otherwise, you can only watch helplessly."

"Once we enter the town, we'll head to Imperial Sword Manor first."

Before Wei Feng arrived, he had received instructions from Ning Dao that Yin Zhong, the master of Yujian Villa, could be of help to them. After all, the demon race was the external threat. Although Yin Zhong had lost his memory, he still had his cultivation, so it wouldn't hurt to make use of him.

A moment later, Wei Feng and the others arrived outside the town. As soon as they entered the town, they felt even more restless, and a strange aura kept surging towards them.

"Use the Cleansing Talisman to protect your soul, and absolutely do not inhale the smoke," Wei Feng said hastily, his expression changing.

Meng Yu and Wang Xiao acted decisively, casting out two crimson talismans that emitted a burst of red light that enveloped everyone. After a while, the red light dissipated, and everyone felt their minds clear, the eerie aura instantly disappearing.

"Senior brother, look at those people," Meng Yu said, covering his face with his folding fan and pointing to the staggering people in front of him. They all looked dazed and were walking in a line towards the edge of the town.

"Junior Brother Meng, you and Junior Brother Wang take a few people and go follow them. Use communication talismans to contact each other if anything happens. The rest of you, come with me to Imperial Sword Manor."

Meng Yu said yes, and led Wang Xiao and his four disciples to follow the crowd out of the town.

"Most of the people in this town have already been drugged, and I wonder what's happened to the Imperial Sword Manor," Wei Feng quickened his pace and led the remaining people to a manor that covered several acres.

Under the dim sky, the manor shone as brightly as day, making it extremely conspicuous.

"The defensive formation seems to be the work of the Tong clan, yet it also bears some traces of our sect. Yin Zhong is indeed a genius, able to fuse two formation techniques; he's no ordinary person."

Although Wei Feng's skill in array formations was only average, he could still see the extraordinary nature of this defensive array. Every time the yellow smoke fell, it was dissipated layer by layer by the power of the array.

Who are you people?

As Wei Feng and his group walked outside the villa, the villa guards immediately noticed them and ordered them to stop.

"My name is Wei Feng. I have business with Master Yin. Please inform him of my presence."

Wei Feng had come to find a partner and didn't want to leave a bad impression on Yin Zhong, so he spoke very politely.

"Please wait a moment, everyone," the leading guard said. Seeing that the newcomer could move freely through the yellow smoke, he knew that the person must be very skilled. He dared not delay, so he clasped his hands in a salute and turned to rush into the manor.

At this moment, in the main hall of the villa, Yin Zhong was discussing the next steps with Meng Fan.

"Brother Yin, a small group of people in the town have now been safely evacuated to a valley a hundred miles away. There is a magic array protecting the area, so it's fine for now. However, if this continues for too long, they probably won't be able to hold out for long. We still need to find the mastermind behind this as soon as possible."

"Yes, I have some clues, but I still need some time to investigate. How is the government doing?" Yin Zhong was shocked to learn from the wolf demon's memories about the demon race's plan to create a god. This was more serious than he had imagined. If the creation of a god in Shenglong Town was successful, the demon race would definitely increase its efforts, and then the human race would have no power to resist.

"Perhaps the Blood Net Celestial Instrument can be used to find the demon race's headquarters."

Yin Zhong couldn't help but sigh, never expecting that the demonic cultivator's item would actually come in so useful in the end.

Just as the two were talking, a guard came to report, and Yin Zhong asked him to come in and give his reply.

"Master, a group of Taoist priests have arrived outside, saying they have important matters to discuss with you."

"Oh," Yin Zhong looked at Meng Fan, who pondered for a moment and then said to Yin Zhong, "Brother Yin, whoever comes, they must be capable to appear at this time. Let's meet them and see what they're up to."

"Brother Meng's words are polite. Go and invite them over."

Tie Wei accepted the order and left. Upon returning to the outside of the manor, he clasped his hands in a salute to Wei Feng.

"Daoist Master, the Master of the Manor invites you," Tie Wei said, taking out a jade tablet and shining it outside. As the light flowed, an invisible barrier cracked open, revealing a door about the height of a person.

Wei Feng remained calm upon seeing this and led everyone inside. As soon as they entered, the protective barrier closed again.

Led by Tie Wei, Wei Feng and his group of seven arrived at the main hall, where Yin Zhong had already spotted Wei Feng at the head.

"This person's aura is very similar to the two we encountered before. Are they in cahoots?"

"Master Yin, this humble Taoist is Wei Feng, and these are my fellow disciples."

Wei Feng clasped his hands in a respectful greeting and introduced himself. Yin Zhong nodded in response and invited them to sit down, then had fragrant tea served.

"I wonder what brings you here, sir?"

"Having heard that Master Yin is troubled by the matter of the mind-controlling incense, I have come here specifically to lend a helping hand."

"Oh, I wonder why you're helping me, Daoist Master? We're complete strangers."

Upon hearing this, Yin Zhong's expression turned serious. So this yellow smoke was called bewitching smoke, which was quite fitting. Regardless of their background, as long as they could solve the problem of the yellow smoke, he could cooperate with them, but he still needed to be careful about the degree of cooperation.

“I do have a request, but it is not convenient to say it at the moment. However, Master Yin, rest assured, I hereby swear that I will never harm the people.”

Yin Zhong remained noncommittal upon hearing this, but it wasn't a major problem. The most important thing right now was to resolve the crisis caused by the Bewitching Smoke.

"Since you know about the Bewitching Smoke, do you know its power and how to break it?"

"Master, you may not know this, but this bewitching smoke is a secret technique of the demon race. If a mortal takes a puff, his soul will be corrupted by the demonic energy. In a few days or a short while, he will become a walking corpse that only knows commands and has no self-awareness."

Upon hearing this, Meng Fan immediately stood up in shock and asked in a deep voice, "Is this true? Is there any way to resolve this?"

"What I said is true. As for how to solve it," Wei Feng paused, then looked at Yin Zhong and said, "When I came over just now, I saw the magic array set up by the Imperial Sword Manor, which does have some effect on the bewitching smoke."

"I will not hide it from you, Daoist Master, this formation has cost a great deal of money and can only last for a while. It is ultimately a temporary solution and not a cure. To completely eliminate it, we need to find the mastermind behind it. Do you have any good ideas, Daoist Master?"

Hearing Yin Zhong's words, Wei Feng nodded slightly and said earnestly, "This humble Taoist possesses a treasure of my sect. Anyone with the same bloodline can use this item to find the mastermind behind the crime."

As he spoke, Wei Feng took out a jade box. When he opened it, the room was filled with red light, and a radiant moth gracefully leaped out, circling around Wei Feng and scattering a patch of silver light.

"This is a Blood Demon Moth, extremely sensitive to blood energy."

"Yes, Daoist Master, this treasure is just in time. I have just captured a wolf demon; Daoist Master, please see if it is suitable for your use."

Yin Zhong gave an order, and soon the black wolf's carcass was brought up by the Iron Guards.

"Indeed, it is a wolf demon under Lang Rong's command, but it is just an ordinary one," Wei Feng said after taking a closer look, thus determining whose command this demon was.

"With this wolf demon, the search will be much easier. Master Yin, I will first demonstrate my sincerity and find the whereabouts of those demons."

Wei Feng stood up, stretched out his arm and flicked it. Guided by Wei Feng, the Blood Demon Moth flew towards the wolf demon's corpse, landing on the wolf demon's brow. With a stab of its sharp beak and a flap of its wings, the moth sucked a drop of blood into its belly. The moth lost all its blood color and turned into a white moth, which swayed and landed on Wei Feng's shoulder.

“Master Yin, the moth needs time to transform; it will take effect in three days at the latest.”

"In that case, you may all rest here at the manor for the time being. Steward, please escort the Daoist priests to their quarters."

“Esteemed Taoist priests, please follow me,” the steward gestured.

"Thank you, Master Yin," Wei Feng bowed and led the group away with the steward.

“Brother Yin, this person’s arrival is strange; I’m afraid he has ulterior motives,” Meng Fan said in a deep voice.

"I'm not afraid he has ulterior motives, I'm afraid he doesn't. At least for now, our common enemy is the demon race. Once this matter is resolved, we'll see whose methods are more clever."

Although Yin Zhong did not know the other party's purpose, he only needed to know that they had a common enemy.

Tianhua Prefecture, Yinming River

"The damage to the water element node is so severe."

Gu Xu looked at the rounded rock that rose up in the middle of the river. It was covered with cracks and seemed to shatter at the slightest touch. Moreover, wisps of black mist on the water surface kept gathering towards it.

"It seems we'll have to use a drastic, disruptive approach to rebuild the waterways, but the villages downstream will need to be relocated in time."

Gu Xu pointed a finger, and a crimson talisman landed on the stone. The Yin energy immediately became thinner, but with the replenishment of the underwater Yin energy, the talisman couldn't last too long.

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Xu leaped into the air and traveled downstream along the river. An hour later, Gu Xu stopped in a mountain village and landed.

Stepping into the village, Gu Xu's mind stirred, and he headed in one direction. A few breaths later, Gu Xu saw the villagers performing a sacrifice. Various offerings were placed on the altar, along with a boy and a girl.

A man who looked like a village head led the villagers in bowing three times, then had the offerings carried out of the village, with weeping filling the air along the way.

"What a disaster! There are definitely no respectable immortals on Green Bamboo Mountain. What kind of immortals eat people? They're clearly monsters."

"Shh, don't be so loud. If that person hears us, we'll be in big trouble. Sigh, how did our village become like this in just one year?"

"Don't talk like that. If it weren't for the good deed that Liu kid did back then, we wouldn't be in this situation."

Gu Xu listened to the whispers of the people below. The people delivering the offerings had been traveling for most of the day, accompanied by music and fanfare, and finally arrived at a bamboo forest.

In front of the bamboo grove stood a large altar, spotless and gleaming with polished bluestone. The village headman, with a pained expression, had a boy and a girl placed on it. The two children, thinking the adults were playing with them, laughed and climbed around on the altar, very lively.

A middle-aged couple covered their faces and wept. The woman seemed unable to hold back and was about to step forward when the man grabbed her.

The village chief pretended not to see anything, recited a eulogy, knelt in prayer, and then led the villagers away. The two children, seeing him leave, burst into tears.

The middle-aged couple paused, then quickly left. No matter how much the child cried, the villagers disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"They're here," Gu Xu thought to himself.

Suddenly, bamboo leaves drifted out from the depths of the bamboo forest, weaving a path of bamboo leaves. A graceful figure stepped forward, lightly landing in front of the altar with a light touch of her toes.

The woman was dressed in a green silk robe, with a slender figure, fair skin with a hint of blue, and an appearance that was three parts upright and seven parts charming, not like a righteous person.

"So it's a bamboo spirit. It's trying to absorb the yin and yang energy of young boys and girls to enhance its power. It's an evil technique, a heretical path." Gu Xu discovered that the bamboo spirit already had dozens of wronged souls on its body.

The Green Bamboo Demoness's eyes lit up as she looked at the boy and girl. Just as she reached out to grab them, a crimson light suddenly struck her directly. The Green Bamboo Demoness had no time to react and was seriously injured on the spot. Then, a rune was imprinted on her body.

(End of this chapter)