Chapter 299 - 187: Narrow Path

Chapter 299: Chapter 187: Narrow Path

Just when they could no longer bear it, all the commotion came to an abrupt halt.

Su Mu slowly opened his eyes. The illusory White Tiger silhouette vanished as if it had been a hallucination, and the whirlwind spinning around his body gradually subsided.

A divine glint flashed through his pupils before disappearing.

"Su—"

Xu Chongyuan was just about to ask what had happened.

Su Mu raised a hand, stopping Xu Chongyuan. "Prepare for battle," he said in a low voice.

Xu Chongyuan, Zhong Guizheng, and the others felt a chill in their hearts and drew their sabers by reflex.

Accompanied by the clang of sabers being unsheathed, several dark figures emerged from the pitch-black mountain forest.

"Demons!"

The breathing of several Taiping Captains instantly grew heavy.

A full five demons were staring at them with greedy expressions.

The aura of the demon at the very front was unfathomably deep; it was clearly a Tier Three Demon.

And it was obviously no ordinary Tier Three Demon!

"To think we’d run into people before even reaching Jingzhou."

The leading Tier Three Demon licked its lips and suddenly spoke in human tongue, "Perfect. My rations are almost gone. You lot will make a fine replenishment."

Su Mu watched the other party with a calm expression.

This was the first time he had ever encountered a demon that could speak human language.

Theoretically, demons could vocalize once they reached the third tier.

But ordinary demons wouldn’t deliberately learn human speech.

This was different from some of the movies and novels Su Mu had seen in his past life; it wasn’t a matter of demons automatically learning to speak human after reaching a certain stage of cultivation.

To demons, human language was essentially a foreign language.

They had to study it before they could master it.

’Demons from the Demon Court!’

’These demons across from us most likely came from the Demon Court!’

’Only a civilized place like the Demon Court would have demons learn human speech.’

’The worst-case scenario has happened.’

’That Tier Three Demon must have already sent the map back to the Demon Court, and the Demon Court has sent more scouts to survey the path.’

These thoughts flashed through Su Mu’s mind as he looked at the demons opposite him.

He felt the auras carried on the mountain wind and breathed a slight sigh of relief.

’The Demon Court probably isn’t sure if this path is viable yet, so they only sent a few demons to scout.’

’If this were the Demon Court’s grand army, I’d be thinking about how to escape right now.’

’But as it is, with just five demons, as long as I crush them here, the Demon Court will remain uncertain about this path.’

’At the very least, I can delay them for a while.’

Killing intent surged in Su Mu’s heart, and he placed his right hand on the hilt of his Thunder Shocking Saber.

"Take them alive."

Before Su Mu could make a move, the leading Tier Three Demon spoke.

The other four demons let out excited roars, and one of them threw a bundle from its back onto the ground.

Su Mu glanced at the dark shape the demon had thrown down. It was still twitching slightly—it was a person.

Thinking back to the demon’s mention of "rations," and looking at the bloody, mangled figure, how could Su Mu not understand what had happened?

"Leave none alive. Kill them!"

Su Mu shouted in a low voice.

The Thunder Shocking Saber flashed out of its sheath like lightning, transforming into a streak of white silk as it struck.

The brilliant light from the saber instantly illuminated a wide area, making it as bright as day.

Xu Chongyuan, Zhong Guizheng, and the others also charged forward without hesitation.

SWISH!

As they clashed with the remaining four demons, Su Mu’s Thunder Shocking Saber had already drawn a shower of blood from the Tier Three Demon.

A look of surprise and fury appeared on the Tier Three Demon’s face. It let out a furious roar as its body began to swell at a visible rate, about to transform into its true form.

Just then, a tiger’s roar suddenly exploded out of thin air.

A fear that penetrated deep into the bloodline abruptly surged forth.

The Tier Three Demon’s transforming body froze in place.

Its large, bell-like eyes were filled with terror.

It all happened in an instant.

The saber’s light was already cleaving down before it.

It finally recovered from its shock and hastily threw its claws up to block.

With a soft PFFT.

The sharp blade instantly sliced off its claws.

Blood splattered as it let out an earth-shattering scream.

Su Mu’s brows furrowed slightly.

’This Tier Three Demon is stronger than any I’ve encountered before. It managed to break free from the White Tiger Killing Intent so quickly.’

’Letting it make such a commotion might just attract the High Tier demons in Daxing Mountain.’

Su Mu hadn’t activated the Nine Dragon True Flame Array precisely to avoid making a huge disturbance.

After all, this was deep within Daxing Mountain; no one knew what kind of demons a loud noise might attract.

The thought came and went in a flash.

’There’s no time to worry about that now. I just need to kill these demons first.’

For the first time, Su Mu went all out.

White Tiger Divine Body, erupt!

Black Tortoise Divine Body, erupt!

Vermilion Bird Divine Body, erupt!

Xun Wind Realm, Kan Water Realm, Gen Mountain Realm, Li Fire Realm!

With a single slash, the very heavens and earth seemed to change color.

Amidst a torrential squall, Su Mu and the Tier Three Demon brushed past each other.

The smell of something scorched spread through the air.

Without looking back, Su Mu spun around and charged toward the next demon.

The Tier Three Demon’s body froze in place as a line of blood slowly appeared on its neck.

Its large, bell-like eyes were filled with disbelief. Then, its enormous demonic head rolled to the ground.

"Lord... Lord Hu is dead!"

Seeing this, the demons fighting Xu Chongyuan, Zhong Guizheng, and the others all cried out in terror.

Their voices were muffled; one had to listen carefully to understand what they were saying.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

After a few soft sounds, accompanied by the clang of a saber returning to its sheath, the remaining demons collapsed to the ground.

All five demons lay dead on the ground, but neither Su Mu nor the Taiping Captains, like Xu Chongyuan and Zhong Guizheng, showed any hint of joy on their faces.

Because the crisis was not over.

From the pitch-black mountain forest all around, rustling sounds could be heard. There was no telling how many demons had been drawn by the noise.

If the commotion from Su Mu’s breakthrough had attracted these few demons from the Demon Court...

...then the dying screams of the Demon Court’s demon had just attracted the native demons from deep within Daxing Mountain.

Su Mu flashed forward, bringing back the person who had been tortured by the demon into an unrecognizable state. Then, he stomped his foot. With a BUZZ, a semicircular curtain of light rose up, instantly enveloping the area for several dozen feet.

He hadn’t wanted to activate the Nine Dragon True Flame Array before for fear of attracting demons.

Now, there was no need to hold back.

Since they had already made such a ruckus, they had no choice but to rely on the Nine Dragon True Flame Array to withstand the coming wave.

But Su Mu had no confidence that the Nine Dragon True Flame Array could hold.

He stared into the dark forest, feeling as if the blackness were a great mouth that could devour everything. Several auras that filled him with an intense sense of crisis were faintly emanating from within.

"Are you... Su Mu?"

Just then, a weak voice suddenly sounded by Su Mu’s ear.

"Hm?"

Stunned for a moment, Su Mu realized it was the person he was holding who had spoken.

Looking down, Su Mu could finally see the pale, bloodless face clearly.

"Sect Leader Shi?"

Su Mu said, somewhat surprised.

This person was none other than Shi Ziran, the Sect Leader of the Qingcha Sect.

Back when Su Mu was still the East City Bureau Captain, he had dealt with this Sect Leader Shi many times.

Later, Shi Ziran left Wuling City to attend to his own affairs, and before leaving, he had made an agreement with Su Mu.

However, no one had ever come to Su Mu seeking help with the Jade Pendant Shi Ziran had left behind.

If Shi Ziran hadn’t suddenly appeared before him, Su Mu would have almost forgotten about the whole affair.

"What are you doing here? And how did you fall into the hands of demons?"

Su Mu asked subconsciously.

"It’s a long story."

Shi Ziran gave a bitter smile, his expression complicated as he looked at Su Mu.

When he left Wuling City back then, he could already see some potential in Su Mu, but he never could have imagined that in just a few short years, Su Mu would have become this powerful.

A Tier Three Demon, comparable to a True Essence Realm Martial Artist, had been slain by him with such ease.

Even he, Shi Ziran, couldn’t have done that in his prime.

"If it’s a long story, we can talk about it later."

Su Mu said, "Right now, we need to figure out how to get out of here."

Handing Shi Ziran over to Xu Chongyuan and the others to be cared for, Su Mu took a step forward with a solemn expression.

At that very moment, a demon with a powerful aura revealed itself from within the darkness.