I Slay Gods and Demons in the Deceit Night
Chapter 328 - 231: Do Not Retreat! Death!

Chapter 328: Chapter 231: Do Not Retreat! Death!

Half a quarter of an hour ago, Linjiang Square, the ninth street on the east side.

Most common people had already retired for the night.

Yet in this alley, within a mud and tile house, a candle was lit.

This incense candle, originating from Liu Zun Temple, possessed the effect of warding off evil spirits and averting calamities.

Ordinary wandering spirits, upon seeing the candlelight, could not help but feel fear and thus kept their distance.

However, this gaunt man, nearing forty, drew close to the light, his expression one of deep fascination.

He gently sniffed the scent coming from the incense candle.

Feeling the bright light of the candle reflected on his rough face.

Amidst his enchantment, he couldn’t help but show a sign of emotion.

"Incense candles from Liu Zun Temple are twenty to thirty times more expensive than ordinary candles," he lamented.

"On regular days, I carry goods for various businesses, doing manual labor, drenched in sweat. After a whole month, I earn just two or three silver, barely enough to take care of my wife and children, to make ends meet, leaving barely a few copper coins."

"In the past, at night, I dared not let a candle burn all night, always needing to finish my chores quickly, extinguish the flame early, and rest as soon as possible."

"Tonight, having lit this temple incense candle and watching it burn, I do feel a bit of heartache."

"These are still leftovers from a few I bought during the time when evil spirits attacked the city."

The lean man sighed.

Beside him stood a man wearing a red mouse mask.

"Yi, proficient in the Disguise Technique, skilled at the Concealing Breath Technique, hiding among the common folk, has gathered all kinds of information for our Tribulation Ash, your hard work is highly valued."

The red mouse-masked man sighed softly and said, "To avoid giving yourself away, for many years you’ve only been a laborer in front of a shop, it truly has been hard on you."

"There’s no need for such flattering words. Yi has not achieved much in cultivation, only possessing some talent in the Disguise Technique and Concealing Breath Technique, destined only to do such things," the lean man spoke slowly.

"I am merely following the ’divine will’; being able to contribute to our Tribulation Ash is worth dying for."

The red mouse-masked man nodded slightly and stood up.

Behind him were two bodies.

A woman and a young boy.

The lean man looked at his wife and son, sighed, and eventually said nothing more.

Meanwhile, the man with the red mouse mask said with a sigh, "Mr. Lu harbors extreme malice towards our Tribulation Ash. With just a few stratagems, he has caused our Tribulation Ash devastating losses."

"Especially those rising talents he has cultivated, they are a huge threat to us. In the future, they will surely become the cornerstones of various cities, formidable enemies against our Tribulation Ash."

"His disciple, Lu Changsheng, with the opportunity given by the Holy Land, has gained Refining God’s Power. Although he hasn’t truly reached the Refining God Realm, he has already caused our Tribulation Ash heavy losses in many aspects."

"And this Mr. Lu, sly with age, is even more difficult to deal with than Lu Changsheng. Although he was once a feeble temple priest, he’s also extremely troublesome!"

"If Mr. Lu were to achieve the momentum of Refining God in the future, it would be extremely difficult for our Tribulation Ash to advance even an inch!"

"Therefore, we must not let him successfully gain such momentum."

Having said this, the man with the red mouse mask slowly sat back down on the chair.

The blood from the two bodies on the ground flowed out but started to rise along the chair, eventually seeping into the mask of the man.

The rat-faced mask looked increasingly red and flashy.

He closed his eyes slightly, then immediately opened them again.

Within his eyes, a crimson red like blood, the light was cold and sharp.

"With the upheaval tonight, Wu Chang, in order to protect Mr. Lu, has already gone on a killing spree."

The man with the red rat mask spoke, "If Mr. Lu succeeds in his Qi Refinement and God Transformation, then Wu Chang will have defended him, preserving a Refining God Realm powerhouse for the Human Clan. No matter how grave his crimes tonight, they will be offset!"

"But if Mr. Lu dies, with no one to support him, Wu Chang’s slaughter tonight can hardly be called ’protection’!"

"To crush Mr. Lu’s momentum in Refining God’s Power is equivalent to suppressing the upcoming talent, Wu Chang."

"The Venerate has intentions, in his moment of adversity, to invade his soul and draw him into my door of Tribulation Ash."

"This is a move that kills two birds with one stone!"

The man in the red rat mask was filled with excitement.

However, the muscular man slightly shook his head, saying, "No, to be precise, with the Human Clan losing a Wu Chang, my Tribulation Ash gains a prodigy, and another soon-to-be Refining God, Mr. Lu, destroyed—this is killing three birds with one arrow."

He looked at the man with the red rat mask and said, "Your arrow is much more brilliant than Wu Chang’s archery."

"Wu Chang can shoot an arrow five thousand steps, keeping enemies at bay, but within a thousand steps, we can obliterate everything he protects!"

The man with the red rat mask spoke softly, "His bow, which is like an old farmer’s, forcibly shoots five thousand steps and is sure to wear out, and when the bow breaks, he can only draw his sword to meet the enemy."

"The owner of affairs, his bow, is about to break."

"From here to Mr. Lu’s small courtyard, it’s merely two thousand steps."

"I will pour all the power I’ve cultivated in my life into this mask."

"When he leaves, you take my mask and break into Mr. Lu’s domain within a thousand steps, and naturally, you will influence the Qi Mechanism, disrupting his Refining God’s momentum."

"When Wu Chang draws his sword, going elsewhere to hinder, he’ll be at least three to five thousand steps away—going back and forth is nearly ten thousand steps, during which he must also slay enemies!"

"Even if the enemies he faces are not worth a single blow, the round trip will take at least a quarter of an hour, during which he cannot come to aid."

"But in that quarter of an hour, you will have enough time to approach Mr. Lu’s small courtyard, and even afterward, to escape unscathed."

As the man with the red rat mask spoke,

The Disguise Technique pondered, "Why choose me? Among the four officials in Linjiang Square, we’re only tasked with gathering intelligence from all sides, not engaging in combat... And among the four officials, I have the lowest martial arts cultivation!"

"It’s precisely because it’s the lowest that I want you to go," said the man with the red rat mask in a deep voice, "Having too high a cultivation would be too bright in this night."

"The higher Wu Chang’s cultivation, the bigger things he sees in his eyes. How would he care about an insignificant ant like you?"

"Even if he took an extra glance, he would only think that you’re just a commoner who inadvertently entered the thousand-step range, the lowest of the low, nothing more!"

"Hmm?"

As the voice fell, the man with the red rat mask’s eyes became even more fiery, "His bow has broken, leaving behind more than a dozen paper-made decoys, he has drawn his sword and gone west..."

"Understood!"

The Disguise Technique suddenly reached out, pressing on his face, and said in a deep voice, "A quarter of an hour!"

He removed the mask, turned around, and left the courtyard, crossed the courtyard wall, and rushed toward the direction of Mr. Lu’s compound.

However, once the man with the Masked Red Rat mask had it removed, his pale cheek was revealed.

His face was bloodless, pupils dilated.

He lay on his back, his life force gone.

His life had been entirely dependent on that mask!

He used his own life to turn the Masked Red Rat mask into an arrow.

The Disguise Technique was the bow, meant to shoot him as an arrow toward Mr. Lu, to halt the momentum of Refining God’s Power!

Just a ripple of disturbance was enough to cause the great momentum to collapse!

"A quarter of an hour!"

The Disguise Technique practitioner sprinted away.

——

Meanwhile.

To the west of Linjiang Square.

Yuan Tongye of the Left City Guard Army, leading a hundred cavalrymen, assaulted the enemy from the west.

In the face of the evil, they suffered a defeat and retreat, with casualties numbering more than thirty.

At this moment, as they fought and retreated, they intended to withdraw into Linjiang Square.

Facing such a scene, the Observatory had no grounds to interfere.

"If you don’t make way this instant, I’ll take your life!"

Yuan Tongye turned his horse around, holding a long spear and pointing it at Meng Lu.

No sooner had his voice faded when a figure appeared in front, swift as the wind, rapidly approaching.

Still a thousand steps away, yet he already unleashed a slash!

The blade’s light was fierce, blood hidden within, like thunder in the night!

Crossing a thousand steps like a meteor through the night sky!

Yuan Tongye’s pupils contracted, intending to raise his spear to block!

Yet he saw the slash pass by his side, directly aimed at what was behind him!

A howl like a beast’s roar, filled with terror, echoed!

The evil Qi behind him, in an instant, was utterly eradicated!

Such a fierce Evil Spirit!

Yet under Wu Chang’s single slash, it was obliterated in the blink of an eye!

"The Evil Spirit is eradicated, exit Linjiang Square, head west for reinforcements!"

Lin Yan’s figure suddenly halted, and his voice came from afar, cold to the extreme.

Yuan Tongye’s expression turned incredibly ugly.

But in his heart, caution reached its utmost limit.

Just now, this Evil Spirit had slaughtered his hundred cavalry, throwing men and horses into disarray, and even he, the Great Commander, was retreating.

Even though it was a calculated weakness, an opportunity to withdraw into Linjiang Square!

But Yuan Tongye knew that the Evil Spirit was indeed extraordinarily ferocious!

If they were to fight to the death, he and his hundred cavalrymen, even with the help of the incense ashes talisman, would need a quarter of an hour to besiege and completely annihilate it!

Yet Wu Chang had only used one slash!

Just one slash!

"Great Commander, they from the Observatory have no right to order us around,"

Just then, the young general beside him spoke in a deep voice, "What’s more, he fired hundreds of arrows, each almost reaching five thousand steps! Even for a peak Qi Refining Realm cultivator, by now, his True Qi should be nearly exhausted, right?"

"He has slain the Liu Family’s old ancestor, his abilities are surely strong, and it’s extremely difficult for us to kill him, but if we just hold him back, deplete his True Qi, then the Great Commander can enter Linjiang Square," added another Deputy General, speaking solemnly.

"It concerns your future hope of Refining God, and we are not here to harm Mr. Lu, merely to grasp an understanding of the momentum of Refining God on the spot. If he is being so tough and not giving us a chance, why should we show him respect?" said the young general from before.

"Just say we suffered heavy casualties and are withdrawing into Linjiang Square, yet he draws his blade against us. Complain to Qifeng Prefecture, and the fault lies with him!" the Deputy General stated firmly.

"..."

Yuan Tongye nodded slightly.

Then he looked up.

But what he saw was Meng Lu and others, who, in the span of a few sentences, had already prostrated themselves on the ground.

And a blood-colored light extended left and right, a hundred feet in length!

That was the glow of the blade!

The thunderclap was sudden and violent!

This slash, executed with full force!

Without reservation!

The blade light reached out a thousand steps!

In an instant, men and horses were overturned!

Only to see blood splattering, screams rising, one after another!

Meng Lu’s breathing was choked, and as he raised his head, he saw that, not long before, Yuan Tongye, the Great Commander who pursued Wu Chang, had been cut in half at the waist right there!

"Cut off his head, together with a Night Lamp of willow branches, hang it for me at the highest roof of Linjiang Square!"

Lin Yan’s voice came from the distance, his presence already gone from sight.

From the moment he appeared, to now, he had uttered only two sentences, executing two slashes.

He gave Yuan Tongye a twenty-breath opportunity!

But Yuan Tongye’s two Deputy Generals took up precisely those twenty breaths with their advice!

Yuan Tongye did not retreat!

So Yuan Tongye died!