Uncle Nine: You were supposed to drive corpses, so you summoned the Monkey King!

The two chatted casually.

The mountain road became increasingly remote, and the moon hid behind the clouds.

As night fell, the group entered a deserted forest.

The trees in this forest are strangely shaped, with trunks covered in burls.

When the wind blows, the twisted tree branches scrape back and forth, making a piercing, strange sound.

Master Simu stopped in his tracks, and the Three Pure Ones Bell in his hand ceased to be shaken.

"Stop." Master Si Mu planted the soul-summoning banner in the ground.

Lin Chen also stopped and placed his hand on the hilt of the lightning-struck wooden sword.

His senses were now extremely sharp; all the insect chirping in the forest had disappeared, and it was eerily quiet.

White fog rose from the dirt road ahead.

The fog was very thick, rolling along the ground this way.

"Master, is there a demonic aura?" Lin Chen looked at the white mist ahead.

Master Simu nodded.

"This fog is strange. Be careful in the middle of the night in this desolate mountain area."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sob was heard from within the mist.

The sound of a woman crying.

"Waaaaah... Help me..."

Her voice was so sweet and delicate that it made one's bones melt.

Master Four Eyes sneered.

"In the desolate wilderness, a female ghost summons souls; it's the same old trick. They really think we're fools."

Lin Chen directly activated the divine power he had just acquired during the day, and an aura invisible to ordinary people emanated from Lin Chen.

The surrounding white mist was dispersed by the aura, and after the mist cleared, a woman was sitting on a roadside stone.

The woman was wearing a bright red dress with very little fabric, exposing her shoulders and thighs.

She was clutching her ankle, tears streaming down her face.

The woman's eyes lit up when she saw Master Four Eyes and Lin Chen.

"Two Taoist priests, please save me!"

The woman's voice was sweet and coquettish as she waved in their direction.

Master Simu glanced at the woman's feet.

"What are you doing here all alone in the middle of the night, young lady? Did you sprain your ankle?"

The woman nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, I was visiting my parents' home when I got lost and twisted my ankle."

The woman's gaze passed over Daoist Simu and landed on Lin Chen behind him.

"This young Taoist priest is so handsome. Could you carry me for a while?"

The woman winked at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen looked at the woman expressionlessly. She was indeed quite beautiful, with skin so white it seemed to glow.

But this woman didn't have any ghostly aura; instead, she had a very strong fox-like smell.

"You're a vixen, aren't you?" Lin Chen said directly.

The woman paused for a moment, her smile froze on her face.

"Young Taoist priest, you're joking. I'm a respectable girl from a respectable family."

The woman was still pretending, tugging at her slipping clothes.

Master Simu chuckled beside him.

"Apprentice, you have a good eye."

"I could smell that fox odor from ten miles away, and she still thinks we're blind."

When the woman realized she had been exposed, she stopped pretending.

She stood up from the stone, her red clothes fluttering without wind, and her hands transformed into hairy claws with nails over two inches long and gleaming black.

"I originally just wanted to absorb some yang energy and that was it."

"Since you're courting death, then leave your lives behind!"

The fox demon shrieked and pounced directly at the Four-Eyed Taoist.

She thought the old Taoist priest looked thin and weak, and that he should be easy to bully.

Master Simu took a big step back.

"Apprentice, I'm leaving you in charge! Don't hurt my client!"

Lin Chen drew his lightning-struck wooden sword; its dark blade was inconspicuous in the night.

"Okay, Master."

Lin Chen used the Seven Star Steps to directly meet the attack.

The fox demon was incredibly fast; in a flash, its red shadow appeared before Lin Chen, and its two sharp claws aimed straight for Lin Chen's eyes.

Lin Chen remained calm and unhurried.

The Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture circulated rapidly, and magical power flowed into the wooden sword through its meridians, causing the lightning-struck wooden sword to glow with a layer of blue light.

"when!"

The wooden sword and the fox demon's claws collided, producing a sound like metal striking stone.

The fox demon screamed and quickly withdrew its hand.

A plume of white smoke rose from her claws, and a section of her nail was burned off.

The righteous energy of lightning strikes the century-old wood, which is naturally present, is specifically designed to subdue such evil spirits.

The fox demon took several steps back, looking at the reddened claws with fear in her eyes.

"There's something strange about your wooden sword!"

Lin Chen was too lazy to waste words with her. He immediately used the Maoshan Demon-Slaying Sword Technique, and the wooden sword slashed down from above, aiming at the fox demon's forehead.

The fox demon dared not take the blow head-on, so it twisted its body and dodged away like an eel, clinging to the sword.

"Young Taoist priest, you have such a bad temper. Don't you know how to be gentle with women?"

The fox demon created distance and began to cast illusions.

Her eyes turned pink as she stared at Lin Chen, and the surrounding environment began to distort.

The desolate forest in front of Lin Chen had disappeared, replaced by a boudoir draped with red gauze.

The fox demon changed into a semi-transparent veil and walked over with a seductive figure.

"Come on, let's have some fun!"

The voice was like a breath in your ear, with an extremely seductive power.

An ordinary person, or a Taoist with low spiritual attributes, would have been affected by now.

Lin Chen's mental attributes are high, so this illusion is like a low-quality shadow puppet show to him.

Lin Chen, his face cold, thrust the lightning-struck wooden sword forward.

"Pfft!"

The wooden sword pierced the red veil and also the fox demon's shoulder. The illusion shattered instantly, and the forest returned to its former state of desolation.

The fox demon clutched her shoulder and staggered back, blood trickling from between her fingers.

The righteous energy of heavenly thunder surged wildly at her wound.

"How could you possibly resist my charm!"

The fox demon looked completely incredulous.

Take advantage of your illness to kill you.

Lin Chen took another step with the Seven Star Steps, getting close to the fox demon. Using the momentum of his charge, he slashed his wooden sword diagonally upwards.

Ignoring her injuries, the fox demon crossed her arms to protect her chest.

Thunderous energy exploded.

The fox demon was thrown back by the shock and crashed heavily into the tree trunk.

Master Four Eyes watched with great interest, protecting the ten zombie bosses behind him.

"Your swordsmanship is quite good. It's just a little lacking in refinement; your stance isn't stable enough."

Master Simu was still giving pointers from the side.

The fox demon knew she couldn't win.

This young Taoist priest is too wicked; her strength is terrifying, and her sword is even her natural enemy.

She revealed her true form.

It transformed into a large red fox, half the height of a person, and began to run into the depths of the forest on all fours.

"Trying to run away?"

Lin Chen took out two corpse-suppressing talismans from his pocket.

Although the Corpse-Suppressing Talisman is used to suppress zombies, it also has a certain immobilizing effect on demons.

Lin Chen used telekinesis to retrieve objects.

Two yellow talismans flew out and accurately stuck to the fox's two hind legs. The fox's hind legs stiffened, and it fell flat on its face.

Lin Chen caught up in a few steps, raised his sword and brought it down, the lightning-struck wooden sword striking the fox's neck.

"Click."

The fox's head rolled to the ground, spraying blood everywhere. The corpse twitched twice and then remained motionless.

Lin Chen sheathed his wooden sword, his breath steady and his heart calm.

After all attributes are boosted, fighting these weak monsters won't even break a sweat.

Master Simu walked over.

Looking at the fox carcass on the ground.

"Oh dear! You spendthrift!" Master Four Eyes was heartbroken.

Lin Chen was puzzled.

"Master, what's wrong? He's not quite dead yet?"

Master Four Eyes pointed to the scorch marks on the fox's neck.

"The lightning strike on the wood was too powerful; it burned the fur!"

"This is top-quality red fox pelt. If you skin it and take it to town, you can sell it for ten silver dollars!"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes.

"Master, you're obsessed with money! Is your life more important or your skin?"

Master Four Eyes kicked the fox carcass.

"Forget it, this fox isn't very powerful, and its meat is probably sour too. Let's hurry on our way and try to reach Renjia Town before dawn."

Master Simu walked back to the front of the group and shook the Three Pure Ones Bell again, with Lin Chen following behind.

The two continued on their journey and encountered no further trouble in the latter half of the night.

Midnight.

The system notification sounded on time.

[Ding! It's midnight. Begin today's cultivation settlement.]

[Today I traveled thirty miles by corpse-driving technique, absorbing Yin energy to refine my magical power, and gained +1 to my Constitution.]

[Ignoring the fox demon's charm and breaking the illusion today, I gained +1 Spirit.]

[Slayed a century-old fox demon today, improving combat experience.]

[Congratulations, host, on your breakthrough in cultivation level!]

[Current Realm: Taoist (Early Stage)]

[Maoshan Breathing Technique (Second Level), Maoshan Demon-Slaying Sword Technique (Proficient Level)]