78: A hero saves a beauty, and the devil appears

The mountain wind whimpered, bringing with it a thick, iron-like smell of blood.

The air around them was as viscous as congealed blood.

Zhao Linger’s breathing was rapid and hot; each inhalation and exhalation took away a trace of the dwindling spiritual power in her Dantian.

Her small face had lost all color, leaving only an almost transparent pallor.

The “Moonlight Spirit Shield” protecting her flickered erratically, emitting a wail of distress as it struggled under the pressure.

Beyond the Spirit Shield was a dense tide of Yao Beasts.

Dozens of Yao Beasts, corrupted by Devilish Qi, had nothing but greed for flesh and Soul in their crimson eyes.

Endless.

They seemed to know no pain, no death.

She bit her lower lip tightly, a trace of blood oozing from the corner of her mouth, using the faint stinging sensation to barely maintain consciousness.

She couldn't fall.

Senior Brother Lin was still in that crack, searching for a Divine Item for the Sect.

She had to guard this place!

But this belief seemed so fragile in the face of an absolute disparity in strength.

“Roar—!”

With a deafening roar, an exceptionally large demonized giant tiger violently shoved its companions aside.

The dark Devilish Qi on its body had almost materialized into armor.

As its sharp claws swiped, the air was torn with a piercing whistle.

Bang!

The light of the “Moonlight Spirit Shield” instantly dimmed to its extreme.

Zhao Linger felt a heavy blow, and a mouthful of fresh blood could no longer be suppressed, gushing out and staining her moon-white dress.

It was over.

She watched the giant claw, flickering with chilling cold light, rapidly enlarge in her pupils.

The shadow of death had never been so clear.

She closed her eyes with some reluctance.

In her mind, the last image that appeared was that back, which usually seemed a bit cynical but could always create miracles at critical moments.

Senior Brother Lin… I’m sorry, Ling'er… I might not be able to wait for you to come back.

The anticipated sharp pain did not arrive.

Instead, a muffled, extremely loud explosion echoed in her ears, like a heavy hammer smashing a thick drum.

Boom!!!

A violent and unparalleled Qi wave, centered on her, exploded outwards!

Zhao Linger stumbled, pushed by the Qi wave, and abruptly opened her eyes.

A figure.

A black figure, familiar beyond familiar, as straight as a pine, stood firmly in front of her like an unshakable Divine Mountain.

It was him.

Lin Gou!

With a seemingly ordinary kick, he had sent that immensely powerful demonized giant tiger flying!

The giant tiger’s massive body traced a clumsy arc in mid-air, finally crashing heavily to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust, and then fell silent.

Time seemed to stand still at this moment.

All the roaring demonized Yao Beasts paused for an instant.

Zhao Linger stared blankly at that back, her mind a blank.

Lin Gou slowly turned around, not looking at her.

His gaze, cold and indifferent, swept over the crimson beast eyes around him.

It was a look Zhao Linger had never seen before.

Gone was his usual laziness and amiability.

In its place was a domineering aura that ruled the world, an indifference that regarded all beings as mere trifles.

He hadn't even summoned any Magic Treasure.

Nor had he used his signature golden lightning.

He just walked forward, step by step.

A demonized gray wolf reacted, snarling, and pounced at Lin Gou’s neck from the side.

Zhao Linger’s heart instantly leaped into her throat.

“Be careful!”

Lin Gou didn’t even turn his head.

He simply raised his right hand casually, acting later but arriving first.

There was no spiritual power light, no flickering runes.

On his palm, there was only a thin layer of black airflow, almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

He precisely gripped the demonized gray wolf’s neck.

“Woof…”

The Yao Beast, which had been incomparably fierce a second ago, let out a fearful whimper like a puppy the moment he grabbed it!

In its crimson pupils, greed and savagery receded, leaving only the most extreme terror.

It was as if he hadn't grabbed a human.

But a supreme existence countless times more terrifying than the Demon Lord they served!

Crack.

A crisp sound of bone breaking.

Lin Gou casually flung the limp corpse aside.

The entire process was fluid, full of a chilling, violent aesthetic.

Zhao Linger was completely stunned.

This… Is this Senior Brother Lin?

Is this still the Senior Brother Lin who needed her to refine Medicinal Pills to assist him?

The shock was far from over.

Lin Gou’s movements did not stop.

He, like a God of Slaughter walking among mortals, actively stepped into the beast horde.

He didn't use any flashy Moves.

One punch.

One kick.

One finger.

Every action was extremely simple, yet contained an incomprehensible, absolute restraint.

The demonized Yao Beasts that had left Zhao Linger helpless were as fragile as paper dolls before him.

His fist always precisely struck the core of the pulsating Devilish Qi within their bodies.

The black airflow flashed and disappeared.

The Yao Beasts would instantly stiffen, then collapse to the ground, completely losing their ability to Move.

That wasn't killing.

It was a higher level of… suppression.

In Zhao Linger’s eyes, the scene before her was absurd, yet sacred.

Wherever Lin Gou passed, the violent Devilish Qi seemed to encounter its monarch, retreating one after another.

He wasn’t fighting.

He was inspecting his territory.

In a mere few dozen breaths.

The battle was over.

All over the ground were limp, demonized Yao Beasts that had lost all their ferocity.

Lin Gou slowly exhaled a turbid breath and turned around.

He saw Zhao Linger.

The girl stood not far away, staring blankly at him.

Her eyes, usually as gentle as water, were astonishingly bright now, as if stars were shattering and reassembling within them.

In them, only his figure was reflected.

In her eyes, there was the relief of surviving a catastrophe, the shock of disbelief, the heartfelt admiration, the thick, unresolvable affection.

Finally, there was a trace of fear, which she herself hadn't even noticed, stemming from his unfamiliar strength at this moment… a lingering fear.

Extremely complex.

And extremely fervent.

The string in Lin Gou’s heart, named “KPI,” was fiercely plucked by that gaze.

He quickly reined in the cold aura from his Undying Demon Soul, forcing a slightly pale and tired smile onto his face.

The actor was online.

“It seems… the Devilish Qi near that ‘spirit condensing flower’ was too pure, accidentally… activating the deeper power of my Thunder Spirit Saint Body.”

As he spoke, he cooperatively panted a couple of times, as if the crushing battle just now had consumed a huge amount of his mental energy.

He had rehearsed this explanation thousands of times in his mind.

Flawless.

Indeed.

Hearing this, the trace of lingering fear in Zhao Linger’s eyes instantly vanished, replaced by understanding and heartache.

That’s right.

Senior Brother Lin was originally a rare genius, possessing the legendary Thunder Spirit Saint Body.

It was perfectly normal for a special Physique to erupt with hidden power due to external environmental stimuli.

She had no doubts.

She walked step by step to Lin Gou.

Looking at his still handsome face, smudged with a bit of dust, and seeing the smile he forced to reassure her.

Zhao Linger’s heart felt as if it had been gently kneaded by a warm large hand.

Sour, soft, and sweet.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Lin…”

Her voice was a little hoarse from crying, yet incredibly gentle.

“Thankfully, you’re here.”

The girl took a step forward, and the distance between them instantly closed to less than a foot.

She stood on tiptoe, raised her delicate hand, and with her clean sleeve, gently and carefully wiped away the non-existent dust from his face.

Her movements were so soft, as if she were handling the most precious porcelain in the world.

The warm, faintly herbal fragrance of the girl’s body domineeringly entered Lin Gou’s nostrils.

So close was her breath, as fragrant as an orchid.

Lin Gou’s body involuntarily stiffened for a moment.

His heart of stone, which had remained unmoved for ten thousand years in pursuit of his death-seeking endeavors, inexplicably skipped a beat at this moment.

A strange, tingling, warm current surged from the deepest part of his heart, instantly flowing through his limbs and bones.

This feeling… damn it.

It was a bit intoxicating.

“I’m fine.” Lin Gou composed himself, his voice unconsciously softening a few shades.

Zhao Linger stopped wiping but didn’t Move away.

She just looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with moisture.

“Senior Brother, you were… so amazing just now.”

“And… so scary,” she added softly.

Lin Gou chuckled softly.

“Did I scare you?”

“Yes.” Zhao Linger nodded vigorously, then shook her head, “Not scared of you, but scared… scared something would happen to you.”

These direct and sincere words, like a small stone, once again rippled Lin Gou’s heart.

The atmosphere became somewhat delicate for a moment.

Lin Gou cleared his throat, actively breaking the ambiguous silence.

“This place is not suitable for long stays, that spirit condensing flower…”

“The flower isn’t important!” Zhao Linger blurted out, her tone urgent, “Your safety, Senior Brother, is the most important! Let’s leave here quickly!”

Seeing her eyes full of sincerity and worry, Lin Gou sighed inwardly.

What a good girl.

Unfortunately, following him was destined to keep her heart in her throat.

“No.” Lin Gou shook his head, his expression becoming serious again, “I can feel that the beast tide just now was not accidental.”

“There’s probably a big problem deep within this Demon Suppression Abyss.”

Guided by his Undying Demon Soul, he cast his gaze into the deeper darkness.

“Let’s go, we’ll take a look.”

“But…”

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here.” Lin Gou’s tone was calm, yet carried an irresistible persuasiveness.

He proactively reached out and took Zhao Linger’s slightly cool small hand.

The girl’s body trembled slightly, but she didn’t pull away.

Allowing his broad and warm palm to envelop hers.

An unprecedented sense of security surged into her heart.

It was as if, as long as she was held by this hand, even if it was the Nine Hells, she would dare to venture in.

The two continued deeper.

The further they went, the denser the Devilish Qi in the air became.

But strangely, when this Devilish Qi approached within three feet of them, it would automatically part, like Moses parting the sea, creating a path for them.

Zhao Linger was amazed by this, attributing it only to the Divine Might of Lin Gou’s Thunder Spirit Saint Body.

Only Lin Gou himself knew it was the doing of his Undying Demon Soul.

After walking for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

They arrived at a cliff.

Below the cliff was a gigantic, bottomless rift valley.

And at the bottom of the rift valley was a vast, unimaginably large underground plaza.

A colossal black altar stood silently in the center of the plaza.

The altar was built from unknown black rock, carved with countless twisted, evil, and bizarre runes that seemed to slowly writhe like living things.

This altar was actually forcibly extracting the Spiritual Vein beneath Qingyun Sect and transforming it into the purest Devilish Qi!

What a grand scheme!

Zhao Linger gasped, completely shocked by the evil and magnificent sight before her.

Lin Gou’s face also became unprecedentedly grim.

This was not merely a rampage of demonic creatures.

This was a huge conspiracy capable of overthrowing the entire Qingyun Sect, and even the entire Tiannan County!

Just as the two approached the edge of the altar.

In the center of the altar, the densest black mist suddenly began to churn violently.

The black mist condensed, slowly forming a blurry, faceless humanoid demonic shadow.

A cold, brutal aura, filled with endless malice, instantly locked onto the two of them.

“Hehehehehe…”

A grating, strange laugh echoed in the empty underground space, piercing deep into one’s Soul.

“Truly… delicious Souls…”

The demonic shadow’s “gaze” briefly lingered on Lin Gou, seemingly with some doubt.

But soon, its attention was completely drawn to Zhao Linger.

“Especially… that little girl…”

The demonic shadow’s voice was full of greed and desire, as if admiring a peerless work of art.

“Her Soul… so pure, so sweet…”

“So pure… it makes this Lord almost drool…”

As the words fell, the demonic shadow’s form flickered and disappeared into the black mist.

But the Divine Thought, full of greed and malice, that had locked onto Zhao Linger, clung to her like a maggot in the bone, impossible to shake off.

Zhao Linger’s body trembled violently, her small face instantly losing all color.

A sense of fear, originating from the depths of her Soul, of being targeted by a top predator, made her almost unable to breathe.

Lin Gou’s face, at this moment, was so grim it looked like water might drip from it.

He could clearly feel an invisible, malicious mark had fallen upon Zhao Linger’s Divine Soul.

His reverse scale had been touched.

This damned Devil Head dared to covet his person right in front of him!

Lin Gou slowly raised his head, looking at the black mist that had returned to calm.

His eyes, for the first time, revealed a true, bone-chilling killing intent.

In his life creed, he had always been the one to actively seek death.

Never had anything dared to actively provoke the people around him.

This remnant Devil Head Soul was so eerie, even the Sect’s Grand Elder had not discovered it.

How to deal with it?

Lin Gou slowly withdrew his gaze, tightening his grip on Zhao Linger’s hand a little more.

Deal with it?

Very simple.

He would personally send this so-called Devil Head, along with this altar.

Into a true, irreversible death.