The grass grows long and orioles fly, the green mountains are shrouded in clouds.
After days of rainfall, the main road, already neglected for years, is even more muddy and impassable.
Two horses move side by side on the road, their hooves sinking deeply, progressing very slowly.
"Master, would you like some more water?"
Li Dong'Er looked worried as he took down the water bottle.
On the other horse, Liu Mao'Er, with a flushed face, shook his head weakly, seemingly too exhausted to speak.
At this moment, Li Dong'Er seemed to sense something and looked back to the side.
He saw Zhang Kui dashing down from the hillside at high speed, stepping on leaves as he flew, the mountain rocks and ravines as if nonexistent, his blue robe fluttering, and even holding a gourd jug, drinking wine.
"Hmph, drinking while using Land Soaring Technique, aren't you afraid of crashing to death!"
Li Dong'Er snorted slightly annoyed, but the envy in his eyes was hard to hide, "No wonder it's a cultivation method, as free as an Immortal, probably few in Jianghu can compare..."
After leaving Sishui Crossing, they heard of rampant demons in Qingzhou, causing chaos, so the three left the river path toward inland.
After dealing with the evil monk, Zhang Kui gained two skill points, aside from Soul Capture, he unlocked the long-set Rock Jumping Skill.
This is the Land Soaring Technique among the Earth Demon 72 Techniques, the higher the level, the faster the speed, eventually allowing one to travel a thousand miles without losing breath.
Moreover, to learn the Cloud Summoning Skill necessary for Soaring Clouds and Mist in the future, this skill must be upgraded to the maximum level.
Since learning it, Zhang Kui had been thoroughly enthralled, flying about daily with great delight, so much so that Liu Mao'Er and his disciple had to spur their horses full force to keep up.
As a result, they inadvertently went too far, ending up in a place far from any village or town, and got soaked in a heavy rain.
After catching up with the two, Zhang Kui turned in the air and lightly landed on the ground, tossing a small parcel over casually, "Just washed, let Old Liu have some."
Li Dong'Er opened it and found a package of fresh fruits, still with green leaves, extremely appealing, quickly taking one out, "Master, here."
Old Liu shook his head weakly,
"No appetite, alas, after decades of roaming Jianghu, a rain has left me sick like this, getting old..."
Zhang Kui laughed heartily,
"What nonsense are you talking about, once we reach Qingzhou, find a doctor, you'll be an old man jumping around, drinking and eating meat again..."
As he spoke, he suddenly frowned, looking forward,
"There's a scent of blood, I'll go check it out!"
The words had just fallen, and he transformed into a blue shadow, shooting straight out.
In the blink of an eye, he covered hundreds of meters, already hearing the sounds of clashing weapons and shouting, turning a corner, a tragic scene appeared before his eyes.
Dozens of wild dogs were attacking and howling around a carriage, these wild dogs all had fierce teeth and blood-red eyes, their foul saliva constantly dripping.
The ground was littered with several ragged corpses, intestines dragging all over, in front of the carriage some people were injured all over, holding sharp blades to protect the women on the carriage.
The situation was extremely perilous.
More sinister was the giant black dog behind the wild dogs, as large as a calf, standing upright on its hind legs like an old man, holding a bloody human leg as if watching a show, gnawing on it.
Zhang Kui's eyes instantly filled with evil qi, in mid-air he drew the greatsword from his back and hurled it out with a shout of rage:
"Demon, face your death!"
The greatsword whistled out, the Dog Demon's Tao Cultivation was shallow, unable to even transform, how could it dodge, it cried out miserably being nailed to the ground.
Zhang Kui immediately followed, descending from the air, his right hand igniting Gang Evil, smashing the Black Dog Demon's head to a pulp.
The rest of the wild dogs were startled, fleeing in all directions.
Zhang Kui snorted coldly, drawing the greatsword with a backhand, leaping out to slaughter them.
His speed was lightning-fast, the last one to run out over a thousand meters was also sliced diagonally in half.
Upon returning, the group of people were already bandaging each other's wounds, burying their fallen comrades on the spot, the women on the carriage weeping, a scene of sorrow and darkness.
Seeing him, a middle-aged man with a long beard in plain robes hurriedly stepped forward and bowed deeply.
"I am Wu Siyuan, many thanks to the Taoist for the rescue."
Zhang Kui nodded, reminding:
"The injured may be poisoned by the dogs, better find a doctor in Qingzhou for treatment."
"Yes, yes, many thanks to the Taoist..."
"No problem, get busy."
Zhang Kui nodded, turning to look at the Dog Demon's corpse, couldn't help but frown.
In a past life, there was folklore saying "dogs shouldn't live past eight, chickens shouldn't live past six," meaning these livestock, living with humans for long, would inevitably become demonic.
In a previous life, of course, it didn't matter, human-friendly dogs were loved by all, posted online every day.
But here, it was not allowed, any abnormalities had to be driven away or slain, as demonic nature opposed human nature, inevitably causing trouble.
He handled a case on the way.
A poor family kept a dog, which hadn't aged in nearly ten years and instead gradually showed signs of intelligence. Some villagers noticed something was amiss and advised them to get rid of it, but the owner was reluctant.
The man of the house fell ill, and the family became poorer. One day, they found the old dog had carried home some scattered taels of silver, stained with fresh blood. It turned out the dog had killed the talkative villager at night and scavenged the silver.
Fearful, the family reluctantly killed the old dog, but were subsequently harassed by a Demon Soul day after day until only a little girl survived.
Humans are bound by societal rules, whereas demons have varied natures and different ways of thinking, which is one cause of many tragedies.
Many owners develop feelings for such creatures and are reluctant to harm them, but due to village rules, they can only chase them away. As a result, abandoned dogs often gather and attack people.
Zhang Kui had encountered many such instances during his journey, but never one as organized and dangerous as this.
Qingzhou was indeed chaotic…
At that moment, Liu Mao'Er and his disciples also arrived, and they sighed after witnessing the bloody scene.
"Taoist…"
The middle-aged Wu Siyuan suddenly stepped forward with a cupped hand salute and said, "I noticed the old gentleman seems unwell, perhaps he can rest in our carriage."
Zhang Kui looked at the ladies inside,
"Isn't that inconvenient?"
Wu Siyuan waved his hand slightly,
"No worries, my wife and daughter can ride on horseback."
Old Liu was indeed in poor condition, somewhat delirious from fever, so Zhang Kui accepted the offer.
"Thank you very much."
After some rest, the group continued on their way.
Wu Siyuan introduced himself as a merchant returning home to visit relatives, but it was clearly a lie. His men were disciplined, and even in dire circumstances, they remained silent and vigilant.
When they heard of their identities as Demon Hunters, only the well-educated young lady showed a trace of curiosity in her eyes, while Wu Siyuan seemed indifferent.
This family's identity was far from simple.
Zhang Kui saw through it but didn't expose them, casually chatting along the way.
Once out of the forest, the scenery opened up before them.
In the vast plain below, a several-hundred-meter-high armored Stone Man stood embedded in the earth, and the exposed part above ground was even taller than the Le Mountain Giant Buddha.
This Stone Man had weathered countless ages, covered with mottled moss and severely weathered, its face blurred beyond recognition, but its partially broken stone sword still pointed toward the sky.
The group stood there for a long time, speechless.
"Majestic in the sky, hearing the beast's sad cry. Fallen soldiers in the Netherworld, yet still defying heaven…"
Wu Siyuan stroked his beard and sighed,
"Beyond this Stone General Defying Heaven Statue lies Qingzhou, where there are many inns along the way. In two days, we'll reach Black Water City."
Zhang Kui took a swig of wine in silence.
Before, his former self had limited experiences, but ever since he began roaming the Jianghu, he often encountered such ancient relics along the way, like the broken giant statues and enormous stone beams emerging from the mountains, which were beyond comprehension.
Even with the power of the Qian Dynasty, it was impossible to create such things, and there was no historical record of their origins in previous dynasties' annals, leading one to suspect that this world once had an extremely glorious civilization in ancient times.
They followed the mountain path downward and finally found an inn at dusk, standing solitary on the plain, its tattered tavern banner slowly fluttering, exuding an inexpressible desolation.
"Taoist, shall we go..."
Wu Siyuan's tired face showed a hint of joy, "Rest for the night, and I'll buy you a drink."
"Sounds good..."
Zhang Kui laughed heartily and strode forward.
After several days of traveling in the wilderness, not only did they stink to high heaven, but even their mouths were dry as dust.
On the vast plain, the group seemed like tiny black dots moving towards the inn.
Meanwhile, on the mountain ridge they passed, there was a sudden sound of hooves, and over a dozen elite riders in black attire rode forward, each adorned with rusted silver Evil Beast badges, with daggers at their waists and long crossbows on their backs.
The leading rider wore a black cloak, hair grey, visage handsome and expression cold as ice, staring wordlessly at the Stone General Defying Heaven Statue.
He pulled a blueprint from his cloak, depicting a rugged-faced man with fierce eyes that bore a certain resemblance to Zhang Kui upon closer inspection.
Shhh!
A figure leapt down from a tree, knelt, and cupped his fists,
"Report to Duke, there's an inn ten miles ahead!"
The man put away the blueprint, his voice like cold iron,
"Rest for the night, tomorrow morning head to Black Water City for fortification. We must capture the Demon Taoist!"
"Yes, Duke!"