Ding—
Sparks flew.
Shen Changqing turned around and looked at Zhang Long, who was holding a long blade, his face filled with shock and fear; a look of regret flickered across Shen Changqing's face.
"Constable Zhang, you were too impatient!"
He had originally planned to play with the strange monster in the illusory realm for a while, but Zhang Long's attack had directly forced him out of the illusion.
There was no helping it.
The strange monster conjuring the illusion wasn't strong; if no outsiders interfered, Shen Changqing would still have needed some time to break free from the illusory realm.
But with outside interference—
The illusion would be broken in an instant.
"Impossible, how are you completely unharmed—" Zhang Long cried out in disbelief; he was very clear on the kind of power behind his blade.
Even a Pulse Condensation Realm expert—
If they took his slash completely off guard, they would have absolutely no chance of survival.
Not to mention—
The place he struck was the neck and other lethal areas.
But—
Zhang Long never expected that Shen Changqing had perfected the Thirteen Guardians Body Refinement Technique, not just to perfection, but had even broken through to the unprecedented fifteenth layer.
Fifteenth layer Thirteen Guardians Body Refinement Technique.
Perhaps not immune to water and fire, but invulnerable to blades and spears.
With just a Body Tempering Realm martial artist, even if Shen Changqing stood there for him to chop, as long as it wasn't vulnerable areas like the eyes, there would be no problem at all.
"I told you, you were too impatient."
Shen Changqing shook his head, striding slowly toward Zhang Long.
An invisible pressure forced Zhang Long to retreat, step by step.
Suddenly—
With a slash through the air, a sharp blade light coated with Pure Yang True Qi came down like thunder, severing Zhang Long's knife arm instantly; the searing heat even cauterized the wound.
"Ah—"
The unbearable pain made Zhang Long scream in agony, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.
Just as Shen Changqing took his second step, the surrounding illusion abruptly changed, and he found himself back in the courtyard.
The features of those black shadows now grew clear: they were unmistakably a few short-statured children.
But what was different was that the children's faces were corpse-pale, lips purplish black; some parts were rotting so badly that maggots wriggled within, a stinking stench rushing over.
"Get lost!"
Shen Changqing roared in fury, Pure Yang True Qi erupting at once.
With eighth-layer Pure Yang True Qi supporting the Seven Kills Blade Technique, he slashed out, instantly tearing those figures apart.
Their bodies were rent asunder.
A scream, inhuman and piercing, rang out as the little children dissipated like wisps of black smoke.
The next instant—
The scene vanished.
The severed armed that had held the blade still lay on the ground, but Zhang Long's figure was already gone.
Gazing at the bloodstains, Shen Changqing's face was icy, and he strode after him in pursuit.
In the withered, desolate village—
Zhang Long clutched his severed arm, staggering as he fled, glancing back from time to time, terror still lingering on his face.
Even now—
He couldn't believe he had fallen to this point.
"Impossible—"
"I clearly poisoned the pastries, by now the poison should have taken effect, so how does he still have this strength!"
Zhang Long was in disbelief.
To ensure perfect timing, and to avoid any mishaps, he hadn't attacked while Shen Changqing was trapped in the illusory realm, but had silently waited until the poison was to erupt before daring to strike and kill.
Even so—
He had still failed.
Moreover—
It was a total failure.
His arm was cut off before he could react at all; that kind of strength was absolutely beyond any ordinary Pulse Condensation fighter.
Just then—
A sharp gust of wind swept from behind.
Years of combat experience made Zhang Long dive to the left, just in time to see scorching Sword Qi slashing the ground, leaving behind a shallow but clear mark.
Shen Changqing approached, blade in hand.
Looking at Zhang Long, lying on the ground with barely any strength left, a murderous intent welled up in his heart.
"Why?"
He couldn't understand.
Why would Zhang Long seek to harm him?
After arriving at Lin'an City, Shen Changqing had understood a lot, but what he still didn't get was Zhang Long's motive for attacking him.
"If I tell you, will you spare my life?"
Zhang Long gasped, longing for survival in his eyes.
Shen Changqing considered for a moment: "If you speak, and cripple your own martial arts, I'll spare your life."
"Alright!"
——
Shen Changqing still stood where he was, bloodstains mottling his drawn blade; on the ground, Zhang Long's corpse lay, head separated from body.
He broke his word.
To speak the truth was to forfeit life.
Back in Lin'an City, when Zhao Fang said all the villagers had been evacuated, Shen Changqing hadn't noticed anything off.
But after that—
He sensed something was off in Lin'an City's atmosphere and only then realized there were problems.
Silent!
Peaceful!
Nothing at all like a place plagued by demon evil.
For ordinary folk, the arrival of demon evil should have created terror and panic, but not for Lin'an City's people.
Obviously—
News of demon evil hadn't spread.
This already contradicted what Zhao Fang and Zhang Long had said.
Furthermore—
The pastries Zhang Long gave him today: he had sensed a problem the moment he tasted the first bite.
Pity that while the poison in the pastries wasn't weak, it was no match for his Pure Yang True Qi.
In the face of eighth-layer Pure Yang True Qi—
The poison in the pastries was silently erased.
All these clues—
Shen Changqing was almost sure: the demon evil in Lin'an City was definitely not just demon evil. There were issues with Zhao Fang and Zhang Long, but the purpose behind their actions eluded him.
Only when Zhang Long confessed did he truly understand.
"The villagers had long since died, all devoured by demon evil, but Lin'an City only falsely reported a few deaths, passing word on to above, the goal being to lure in people from the Demon-Subduing Division.
A fiend barely identified as Ghostly Level; the Demon-Subduing Division would certainly not send a truly powerful Demon Hunter.
The highest likelihood was to send a Probationary Demon Hunter over as an exam task."
"A few Probationary Demon Hunters, even if at Pulse Condensation Realm, would not be too strong!"
"Once a powerful Ghostly Level Monster devoured several Pulse Condensation Realm experts, it could very possibly evolve to Resentment Level—"
This was Zhang Long's aim.
To quietly nurture a Resentment Level Monster.
After all, to raise a Resentment Level Monster by normal means, the amount of living beings' flesh it would have to devour would be enormous, far more than a village or two could provide.
When that time came—
With so many deaths, the Demon-Subduing Division would certainly take notice.
And once experts from the Demon-Subduing Division focused on Lin'an City, that Ghostly Level Monster might not even evolve before being destroyed by their hands.
Therefore—
The only way was to use Essence Blood of high quality to nourish that Ghostly Level Fiend, letting it break through successfully before the Demon-Subduing Division could truly detect anything.