Junior Sister is skilled in subduing demons.

Chapter 215 Valley of the Underworld

The walls of Qiang City gleamed a cold, hard gray in the morning light, and the shouts of battle from below the city walls had long since drowned out the howling of the cold wind.

As soon as Shen Anzhi stepped onto the city wall, the sight before him gripped his heart. A dark mass of Go people surged in from the east, south, and north like a tide. They were shirtless, their skin painted with strange black patterns, and the bone axes and stone hammers in their hands gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Behind them followed a dark blue-green demonic army, and the stench of decay could be smelled from half a mile away.

"The Go people in the east are about to break through the deer antler formation!" The Qiang soldier on the city wall roared, his scimitar cleaving a flying bone arrow in two, but a demon soldier following closely behind scratched his arm with a claw, black blood instantly seeping through his armor.

The Rimai chieftain stood in the center of the city tower, his silver beard flying wildly in the wind. He gripped the scimitar at his waist, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's: "Yongga, take your silver-armored guards to support the east. Make sure to defend the city gate!"

"Yes!" Rimai Yongga leaped onto his six-legged beast Congcong, its six legs stomping on the city wall and sparks flying. His silver armor stood out in the chaos of battle, and his silver spear killed the leading Gomen. But there were just too many Gomen and demon soldiers. As soon as one fell, another surged up, and the corpses under the city wall quickly piled up into a small mountain.

Lingjizi stood beside Shen Anzhi, the runes on his Taoist robe glowing faintly, constantly purifying the demonic energy in the air. He frowned, gazing at the distant battlefield: "The Ge people have always only operated in the snowy region, but now they are colluding with the demonic soldiers. There must be someone pulling the strings behind this."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a Shushan disciple, covered in blood, flew in from outside the city on his sword. He then knelt before the city wall, his voice hoarse: "Sect Leader, something terrible has happened! The Shushan human-demon barrier has been torn apart! A large number of demon soldiers are rushing into the heart of Shushan!"

Xu Changqing, the leader of the Shu Mountain Sect, paled instantly, the Shu Mountain Sword in his hand trembling violently. He gazed towards Qiang City, then thought of the Shu Mountain disciples and the scriptures in the Scripture Pavilion, his eyes filled with struggle: "Senior Lingjizi, the safety of Qiang City is paramount, but Shu Mountain is the foundation of Bashu, I..."

"You can leave now," Lingjizi interrupted him, his tone firm. "Shushan cannot be abandoned; we are here."

Xu Changqing gritted his teeth, cupped his hands to the crowd, and said, "Thank you, seniors. Once I have defended Shushan, I will definitely come to support Qiangcheng!" After saying that, he led the remaining Shushan disciples to take off on their swords, the sword light cutting through the smoke of battle, and flew towards the direction of Shushan.

The atmosphere on the city gate instantly became heavy. Without the help of the Shu Mountain disciples, the defensive pressure on Qiang City increased sharply.

Just then, Lingjizi's communication talisman suddenly vibrated. He crushed the talisman, and the old bamboo weaver's aged voice came through: "Old friend, I have discovered that a large number of demon soldiers are coming from Yellow Spring Valley. The valley contains a passage from the demon realm to the human realm. If it is not blocked, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"The Valley of the Underworld?" Chief Rimai exclaimed in surprise, "That place is shrouded in miasma all year round, and it is said that even birds and beasts dare not approach it. I never thought it would be a passage to the Demon Realm!"

Lingjizi nodded, his gaze sweeping over the generals: "There is no time to lose; we must immediately send men to investigate Huangquan Valley."

Chief Rimai looked at his son Rimai Yongga, who had already killed three times, his eyes full of trust: "Yongga, take three hundred silver-armored guards and go to Yellow Springs Valley immediately! If it really is a passage to the Demon Realm, block it at all costs!"

Rimai Yongga rolled off the six-legged beast Congcong and knelt on one knee: "Father, rest assured, your son will not fail in his mission!" As he stood up, Congcong had already come to his side and rubbed his head against his hand, as if to express his determination.

Lingjizi immediately began to deploy: "Zi Lingxuan, you lead the Emei disciples to harass the rear of the Ge people and cut off their supplies. Monk Tongda, you and Xuanfeng Yichen will purify the demonic energy in the west of the city. General Xiao Yin, you lead the soldiers of the Ancient Shu Kingdom to guard the north gate and prevent the Ge people from launching a sneak attack."

"What about me?" Shen An stepped forward, the Demon-Slaying Sword trembling slightly in his hand, clearly unable to contain himself any longer.

Lingjizi looked at her with expectation in his eyes: "Anzhi, with the Demon-Slaying Sword in your hand, I will rush to the aid of Shushan. Although Headmaster Xu has returned to defend, the barrier has been broken and the demon army is powerful. With the support of the Demon-Slaying Sword, we will definitely be able to help them stabilize the situation."

Shen Anzhi gripped the sword hilt tightly and nodded emphatically, "Anzhi obeys." Lingjizi suddenly reached out, his fingertips brushing across the blade of the Demon-Slaying Sword, and runes instantly lit up: "Girl, remember, the power of the Demon-Slaying Sword must be tempered with the blood of demons. The more demons you slay, the higher its level and the stronger its power." He paused, his tone becoming deep: "Today you rush to the aid of Mount Shu, and tomorrow you may face even more powerful demons. The road to subduing demons is long, so be prepared."

Shen Anzhi touched the sword's blade, recalling the brilliance of the Demon-Slaying Sword during the battle of Dragon Cauldron Mountain, and a surge of power welled up within her. She turned to look at the battlefield below the city. Zi Lingxuan had already led the Emei disciples out, their sword light falling like silver rain; Monk Tongda's staff gleamed with golden light, purifying the demonic blood on the ground; Rimai Yongga had already disappeared into the distance with his silver-armored guards, presumably speeding towards Yellow Spring Valley.

"Don't worry, senior, Anzhi will not let you down." Shen Anzhi cupped his hands to Lingjizi, then looked at Chief Rimai: "Chief Rimai, I entrust Qiang City to you. Once I have defended Shushan, I will definitely return to fight alongside everyone!"

Chief Rimai nodded, his eyes full of approval: "Miss Shen, take care on your journey. The Qiang warriors will always be waiting for you!"

Shen Anzhi mounted his horse, the Demon-Slaying Sword slung across his waist, the runes on the blade gleaming softly in the sunlight.

She took one last look at Qiang City—flames soared into the sky above the city walls, and the shouts of soldiers, the roars of the Ge people, and the strange cries of demon soldiers mingled together. This was the land she was to protect, the place where she had made her promise.

"Giddy up!" Shen Anzhi tightened the reins and rode off first.

The wind whipped at her clothes, making a rustling sound, and the demon-slaying sword in her hand seemed to resonate with her, anticipating the impending battle, but things didn't go as planned...

After a period of rapid running, her hooves stumbled and slipped on the ground, the reins were already soaked with cold sweat from being gripped so tightly, her iron hooves were worn raw and bleeding, her abdomen heaved violently, and every breath was accompanied by a painful groan.

"Hang in there a little longer, we'll be at camp soon." Anzhi's voice trembled as he reached out to touch the horse's neck, where it was burning hot. The sweat-soaked mane clung to the skin, mixing with snow water and freezing into shards.

She knew the horse was pushing itself to the limit. During the Battle of Longding Mountain, it carried her through the pass, and on the Shu Road, it traversed poisonous vines. Now, however, it was about to collapse less than half a mile from the camp.

Suddenly, the black horse's forelegs buckled, and it collapsed heavily to its knees, letting out a long, mournful neigh. The horse was gone.

Shen Anzhi was extremely anxious. Her mount had died at this moment, and she was heartbroken.

Helpless, Shen Anzhi had just placed the black horse's carcass under a pine tree when he heard the sound of rapid hooves coming from afar.

Looking up, one could see Lingjizi sitting upright on the back of the snow-covered divine beast Duoqi. The snow-white iron-eating beast's four hooves pounded the snow as if flying, its mane whipped by the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it rushed over from the other side of the mountain path.

As Duoqi passed by, he even wagged his tail at her, his eyes filled with familiar concern.

Anzhi watched the backs of the man and beast speeding away, her fingers suddenly clenching. Duoqi was always so calm and reliable, following Lingjizi to guard Qiang City, but her Tuantuan was still sleeping in the haystack of the camp. They were both ancient divine beasts, but Duoqi had long since taken on the responsibility of guarding, while Tuantuan was still bewitched by Monkey Laobiao's "entrepreneurship".

Shen Anzhi: "I'm so angry..."