Starting from his vigorous old age, he began to conquer Liaozhai.

night.

Two scouts from the officers arrived at the entrance of Qingping Village from a distance.

"Brother, open the door, I have something important to report to the captain."

One of them looked up at the top of the stockade wall, his voice somewhat stiff.

The soldiers patrolling the stockade looked down twice. Because it was too dark, they couldn't see very clearly, but they could see the iron lamellar armor on the two people below.

So he called over three soldiers, and together they went down the stockade wall, opened the gate, and let two scouts into Qingping Village.

"Hiss, it's a bit cold."

The soldiers holding torches instinctively shuddered.

"It's already October, so it's normal for it to be cold."

The two scouts stared intently at the soldiers who opened the door, their eyes filled with undisguised greed, though they seemed somewhat wary when they looked at the torches.

One of them responded in a flat, emotionless voice, almost numb.

"You've worked hard, hurry up and go inside."

The soldiers holding torches didn't think much of it, turned around, and walked inside.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw a hand passing through his body, holding a beating heart inside.

"This is my heart."

The last thoughts flashed through the minds of the soldiers holding torches.

"Oh no, enemy attack!"

The other officers and soldiers reacted quickly, drawing their daggers and slashing at the two scouts.

The knife landed on the two scouts as expected, but there was no blood splattering on the spot.

Instead, it passed right through the scout's body as if it had struck air.

The scout who killed the soldiers carrying torches leisurely brought the heart in his hand to his nose and sniffed it lightly.

Two wisps of crimson energy entered his nose from his heart.

"Monster~"

Several soldiers tried to run into the mountain stronghold, but were killed by two "scouts".

The commotion at the entrance of the stockade naturally attracted the attention of other soldiers on the stockade wall.

"Knock knock knock~"

The sound of drums echoed throughout the mountain village.

More and more soldiers gathered in front of the stockade gate. The two scouts moved in as if they were in an empty place. In just a few minutes, there were already seven or eight corpses lying on the ground.

"Get out of the way!"

Qiu Ming, who was resting on the city wall, was also awakened by the noise. He ordered all the officers and soldiers to retreat behind him.

The two scouts were intimidated by the murderous aura emanating from Qiu Ming and took two steps back.

Qiu Ming's gaze swept back and forth between the two men. He recognized their appearance; they were undoubtedly soldiers from the Hundred Households Office.

"Could it be possessed by a ghost? Or is it a monster in disguise?"

One thought after another flashed through Qiu Ming's mind, and in no time, Qiu Ming rushed forward with his knife.

"kill!"

Qiu Ming circulated his internal energy, bringing his Skin Tempering Realm cultivation to its peak.

The two monsters clad in iron lamellar armor stood frozen for only two seconds before charging forward.

Qiu Ming's swordsmanship was superb; he slashed at the necks of the two monsters in quick succession. Just like the soldiers before him, the willow-leaf blade passed through the monsters' bodies without any obstruction, causing them no harm whatsoever.

The two monsters clenched their hands into claws and scratched at Qiu Ming's armor, making a harsh scraping sound.

Qiu Ming simply discarded the willow-leaf knife and began to use his fist techniques.

"Bang!"

A powerful punch landed on the monster, producing a dull thud.

The monster's body visibly blurred after being hit by Qiu Ming's fist.

"Useful~"

Qiu Ming was overjoyed and became even more curious about the two monsters in front of him. They were impervious to swords and blades, but feared fists.

"No, it's fear of internal energy!"

A flash of inspiration struck Qiu Ming, revealing the monster's weakness.

With this in mind, Qiu Ming's fist techniques became even faster, and his internal energy circulated wildly.

The two monsters were forced to retreat in defeat by Qiu Ming.

"Ah~"

Qiu Ming pressed down on the heads of two monsters with both hands and squeezed them hard.

The bodies of the two monsters shattered like porcelain, turning into fragments and disappearing without a trace.

Just when Qiu Ming thought the matter was over, a group of people dressed as villagers suddenly appeared at the village gate. There were men, women, and children, no less than twenty or thirty people.

This group moved extremely fast, rushing in before the soldiers could even close the gates.

Qiu Ming's expression turned ferocious. He roared and charged into the crowd, swinging his fists.

"Everyone back off."

However, these monsters that rushed into the mountain stronghold clearly did not target Qiu Ming as their only objective; only five monsters managed to entangle Qiu Ming.

The other monsters charged into the ranks of the soldiers.

"They are afraid of fire."

One of the soldiers, carrying a torch, struck the monster's body with the torch when it attacked, causing great damage.

Upon discovering this, the officers and soldiers immediately shouted to warn the others.

More and more officers and soldiers rushed over from deep within the mountain stronghold.

Cao Xiong also arrived at the gate of the village. He drew his Evil-Sniffing Longsword and casually killed a monster.

[Defeat a Spirit Awakening Realm early-stage Spectral Ghost, 0.05 Fragments]

Changgui? Cao Xiong immediately recalled the descriptions of Changgui in his mind.

It is said that when a person is eaten by a powerful tiger, their soul is never able to be reborn and becomes a mindless, enslaved spirit, forever dependent on the tiger.

These evil spirits only have the cultivation level of the early stage of the Qi-enlightenment realm and are afraid of fire, so they will not cause too many casualties to the soldiers.

After killing the two demons, Cao Xiong stopped attacking and focused his attention on the area outside the narrow gate.

Now that the changgui have appeared, the tiger demons that follow them should be nearby.

"Close the gates!"

Sha Huizi and Qiu Ming, who were near the village gate, quickly drove away the evil spirits that were approaching the gate and closed it.

Cao Xiong gathered all the soldiers with muskets together, called Cao Man to his side, and led them to the top of the stockade wall.

"There might be a fierce battle later, so everyone stay alert."

Cao Xiong looked at Cao Man and the group of musketeers.

Cao Man nodded seriously, gripped his giant axe tightly, and stood obediently behind Cao Xiong, waiting for the tiger demon to arrive.

Sure enough, not long after, a striped tiger strode over from a distance.

The tiger demon was about four meters long and nearly two meters tall.

"Roar~"

With a roar, the tiger demon's spiritual energy surged, forming two small tornadoes that swept towards the mountain stronghold.

The wind blew the soldiers standing on the stockade wall so hard they staggered.

Cao Xiong remained motionless, his gaze meeting the tiger demon across the distance.

"Ready to fire!"

Upon hearing Cao Xiong's order, the soldiers holding muskets quickly steadied themselves and aimed their muskets at the tiger demon.

The tiger demon seemed oblivious, raising its enormous head and charging towards the mountain stronghold with the force of the wind beneath its feet.

"Shoot!"

"Bang bang bang~"

One lead bullet after another hit the tiger demon with pinpoint accuracy.

The lead bullets, capable of shattering boulders and piercing heavy armor, only managed to stop the tiger demon in its tracks and cause it to sway slightly.

Several rounds of shooting completely enraged the tiger demon.

When he was still more than ten meters away from the village wall, he suddenly leaped up and easily climbed the wall.

He swallowed a soldier along with his musket.

"Sword Drawing Technique~"

Cao Xiong had begun to gather his strength before the tiger demon even appeared, and now he had unleashed all his inner power.