Chapter 54

The battle.

It had already begun at the Zhang family residence.

Facing numerous corpse puppets, Shen Changqing was unperturbed. With every step he took, a flash of sword light would appear, and as the sword light flashed, heads would roll.

Although the corpse puppets were difficult to deal with,

in front of a martial artist nearing the External Gang realm, they were completely no match.

Especially since Shen Changqing knew the weakness of the corpse puppets, it made them even easier to handle.

Almost every slash of his sword would accurately land on the necks of the corpse puppets. Although the blade had been corroded and was no longer as sharp as before when he killed Zhuang Mingyuan, under the covering of true qi, it could still cut through iron like butter.

The flesh and blood bodies of the corpse puppets had no chance of resistance.

The battle began quickly.

It ended just as quickly.

In just a moment, the hall was already filled with a pile of corpses, each decapitated, their bodies severely decayed, not looking like they had just died. The stench spread, making people feel nauseous.

Shen Changqing looked at the chaotic Zhang family residence, his expression unchanged.

"The Zhang family members are just corpse puppets. I want to see who the demon behind them is!"

Massacre of an entire family.

Bodies refined into corpse puppets.

According to the laws of the Great Qin, this would be a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations.

In fact,

as long as it involved demons, there were few laws that did not prescribe the extermination of nine generations.

His senses expanded, Shen Changqing stood still, trying to locate the position of the demon.

The Zhang family residence had special means to shield the evil aura.

But once one entered the Zhang family, it was equivalent to completely breaking through this barrier.

No matter how deeply the demon was hidden, there would definitely be subtle traces left, it just depended on whether he could find them.

Suddenly,

a cold wind came from behind.

Shen Changqing turned and slashed with his sword, just in time to see a disheveled figure retreating.

"It's that ghostly creature again!"

He immediately recognized the identity of the demon that had ambushed him, which was the same ghostly creature that had attacked him at the yamen that night.

By now,

Shen Changqing was certain.

The demon that had attacked him that night was indeed from the Zhang family.

To be precise,

it was from the demon hidden in the Zhang family.

Now that the ghostly creature had launched an ambush, it proved that the demon had seen him kill the corpse puppets.

Even so,

the demon did not easily reveal itself.

From this, the strength of the hidden demon could be inferred.

Standing still,

Shen Changqing's senses expanded, trying to locate the source of the evil aura.

Suddenly, his body moved.

His long sword slashed at an empty space, and just in time, a female corpse appeared.

Heavenly Martial true qi attached to the blade, the scorching heat like raging flames, instantly tore the female corpse into two halves.

The female corpse was killed.

A familiar aura surged into Shen Changqing's body through the blade.

At the same time,

a cold and sharp aura cut through the air, heading towards his back.

Such a swift attack, as if it had been waiting on the side, just for a suitable opportunity.

Shen Changqing did not have time to turn around, the Heavenly Martial true qi in his dantian erupted.

Buzz—

A thin layer of gang qi rose from his body, covering him entirely.

Bang!!

The fierce attack collided with the gang qi.

After a brief pause, the gang qi was torn apart.

Shen Changqing took this opportunity to turn around, his long sword slashing out with the speed of lightning, and a black shadow retreated.

"Demons of the Eternal Life Alliance!"

His long sword pointed at the ground, his gaze fixed on the person in front of him.

It was an old man in black, with a withered appearance, and his exposed skin, except for his face, was covered in dark green scales. A long, spiny tail swayed behind him.

This appearance was far beyond the realm of a human.

As Shen Changqing stared at him, the old man, who was a demon, also stared back coldly.

His narrow, elongated eyes glowed with a cold, snake-like gaze.

"External Gang realm!?"

The gang qi that had just risen made Wen Rong very wary.

The resentment-level ghostly creature sent by the Eternal Life Alliance had been defeated at the yamen, which gave him a good understanding of Shen Changqing's strength.

The demon hunter sent by the Demon Suppression Bureau,

was not a real apprentice demon hunter, but a concealed Xuan-stage demon hunter, at the Internal Gang realm.

But now—

Wen Rong recalled the gang qi that had blocked his attack, and instantly overturned his original assumption.

Internal Gang realm?

That was just a cover!

The true realm of the other party was that of an External Gang realm expert, and above that, a master of martial arts.

It was impossible for the Demon Suppression Bureau to send a Xuan-stage demon hunter just for a ghostly creature in Gu Yue Village. Even if the Demon Suppression Bureau had sufficient manpower, it wouldn't be reasonable to have such an abundance.

In an instant,

Wen Rong connected some dots.

"He's here for me!"

A ghostly creature wouldn't attract a Xuan-stage demon hunter, but an Eternal Life Alliance base would.

He thought he was well hidden in the Zhang family,

but now it was clear that he had been exposed to the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Everything the other party had done before was just a ruse, the real purpose was to lure him out.

Moreover,

even if he didn't come out, the Zhang family base would eventually be taken down.

"The Zhang family members were turned into corpse puppets by you. What is the purpose of your base in Lin'an City? Is it for demon blood, or something else? If you tell me, I might consider sparing your life."

As Shen Changqing's senses locked onto Wen Rong, he also asked his question.

"You'll know when you die!"

Wen Rong sneered and pounced on Shen Changqing in the next moment.

The moment he moved, the previously not very obvious evil aura suddenly burst forth.

The hidden means set up in the Zhang family residence were instantly overwhelmed by this evil aura.

Cui Cheng and the others outside the Zhang family residence all changed their expressions when the evil aura burst forth.

"This evil aura is so powerful!"

"So strong, even stronger than the demon in Gu Yue Village, it might be a resentment-level demon!"

"The Zhang family really does hide demons!"

Everyone's faces were grim.

They were unaware of the hidden evil aura in the Zhang family, and the evil aura that burst forth had already been weakened.

Even so,

the evil aura still made Cui Cheng and the others feel alarmed.

Through the half-open door, they could only see some of the courtyard, but not what was happening in the hall.

With the evil aura bursting forth, no one dared to approach easily.

Not entering the Zhang family,

they naturally couldn't see what was happening inside.

Zhao Yue's face changed slightly, the evil aura made her feel uneasy: "Brother, will Lord Shen be alright?"

"Even if Lord Shen hasn't broken through to the External Gang realm, he is definitely at the peak of the Meridian realm. Although the evil aura is powerful, it is probably at the boundary between the Meridian and External Gang realms.

Even if Lord Shen is overpowered, he can still escape without any problem.

Since he asked us to stay here and went in alone, he must have absolute confidence."

Cui Cheng explained casually.

Actually, he didn't really believe what he said.

Demons are hard to deal with.

At the same realm, a martial artist trying to deal with a demon of the same realm, the demon has a much higher chance of winning.

Moreover, the demon in the Zhang family might be at the External Gang realm.

If it were at the Meridian realm, everyone could still have a chance to kill it by overwhelming it, but if it were at the External Gang realm, ten late-stage Meridian realm martial artists going in would just be a meal for the demon.

Therefore,

before the situation was clear, Cui Cheng had no intention of risking his life.

Not just him,

the people from other factions also had no such intention.

According to Shen Changqing's instructions, they just needed to stay here, and they wouldn't know what was happening inside.

If the other party really died at the hands of the demon, they would have a reason to deflect responsibility when the Demon Suppression Bureau questioned them.

As long as they had a valid reason,

the Demon Suppression Bureau couldn't just kill people randomly.

After all, everyone had their own factions behind them, and if the Demon Suppression Bureau killed people recklessly, it would cause negative impacts in the martial world.

Although the Demon Suppression Bureau does indeed kill people ruthlessly,

the people and factions they destroy can all be justified.

Hearing the conversation,

Zhang Yue, the head of the constables, was also tense.

Although Shen Changqing was currently a temporary county magistrate, he was also a protector of the yamen. The demons that attacked the yamen a few days ago were all repelled by him alone.

If he were to fall at the Zhang family, the yamen would be in a very awkward position.

Moreover,

he was also promoted by Shen Changqing. If the other party died too quickly, his position as head of the constables would be unstable.

No matter how he thought about it,

Zhang Yue did not want Shen Changqing to be in danger.

But he was just a Body Refinement realm martial artist, and had no right to interfere in demon affairs, so he could only watch helplessly.

Regarding Cui Cheng and the others,

Zhang Yue had some understanding. They were well-known martial factions in Guangyuan Prefecture, and he, a mere head of constables, could not command them.

Bang!

Bang!!

In the hall, two figures, swift as ghosts, were engaged in a fierce battle. Sometimes there was a flash of sword light, and sometimes a wave of heat.

Shen Changqing used the Seven Kill Sword Technique for normal attacks and the Iron Sand Palm for close combat, his Heavenly Martial gang qi was pushed to the limit.

But the demon in front of him was not weak, and by now, he had also sustained some injuries.

Similarly,

Wen Rong now had several wounds on his body.

At this moment, he was almost certain that Shen Changqing had not reached the External Gang realm, but had cultivated a martial technique that allowed the release of gang qi, which made him mistake him for an External Gang realm expert.

"If I weren't still injured, how could you be so rampant!"