7: Taoist Soldier Kills Demon

Outer Sect, Hall of Skill Transmission, Inner Courtyard.

Today was not a time for lecturing or answering questions. Under the old tree, Elder Lü Hongguang, the Hall of Skill Transmission's Elder with white hair and beard, appearing somewhat round and plump, was leisurely reclining on a rocking chair, holding a scroll, reading through it, and occasionally nodding his head.

Just then, a clear and mellow voice came from outside the Inner Courtyard: "Disciple Lu Chen requests an audience with the Elder."

Lu Chen?

That kid just caused such a commotion at the Internal Affairs Hall, what's he doing running over here to see me?

Elder Lü flipped his hand, put away the scroll, and then spoke: "Come in."

A moment later, the young man Lu Chen, who was quite tall, wore a blue Disciple robe, and had a handsome and heroic face, had already arrived before him.

"It's only been a few days since we last met, and you've already reached the peak of the Qi Condensation Mid Stage. As expected, you're no ordinary person!"

Elder Lü carefully sized up Lu Chen with a couple of glances, secretly praising him in his heart.

Lu Chen cupped his fist towards Elder Lü in greeting: "Disciple plans to go to Twilight Mountain this afternoon. Does the Elder have any advice for me?"

He's going out to do a mission and still remembers to come and say something. This kid Lu, not bad, really not bad!

At least he doesn't treat me, this Hall of Skill Transmission Elder, as an outsider.

"When you go out, remember one thing." Elder Lü's expression turned serious: "Cultivators are always more dangerous than Demon Beasts and the like. Don't easily trust others, and don't believe that pies will fall from the sky."

"Although my Dongming Sect has a great reputation, there are always people who don't value their lives. Remember this, remember this!"

Lu Chen nodded thoughtfully: "Thank you for your guidance, Elder. Disciple will remember it."

"Go on!" Elder Lü waved his hand.

Just as Lu Chen turned around, Elder Lü suddenly spoke again: "Wait, take this communication jade slip."

"Inside here is this old man's communication Divine Sense. If you encounter danger, you can send a message to this old man."

Lu Chen was flattered and asked tentatively: "If Disciple encounters danger, will Elder Lü come to rescue him?"

Elder Lü shook his head repeatedly: "If you die outside, this old man will send someone to your home to report the death. In addition, this old man will also inform the Sect's Law Enforcement Hall, and the Sect will naturally avenge you then."

Lu Chen's face darkened. He'd be dead, what use would revenge be? He wouldn't be alive again!

How unlucky!

He took the communication jade slip and left.

Elder Lü watched the exasperated Lu Chen leave in the distance, feeling inexplicably comfortable in his heart, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, unable to suppress them.

Stinky kid, just because you have a little ability, you want to run outside. I'll scare you to death!

...

Twilight Mountain is one of Dongming Sect's resource points.

That's right, Demon Beasts are also cultivation resources.

Firstly, they can be used by Sect Disciples for practice. Secondly, the things on Demon Beasts are also useful; they can be used for Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and medicine.

Cultivators from outside generally won't come unless permitted. Otherwise, once discovered by Dongming Sect, they will surely be annihilated.

On the contrary, Dongming Sect's Disciples often come here to practice with Demon Beasts. There isn't much danger, as long as they don't court death.

In a place overgrown with weeds, the ground suddenly rippled, and a handsome and heroic young man emerged from underground. It was none other than Lu Chen.

"Five hundred and thirty li east of Dongming Sect, this must be the place."

He looked around. Suddenly, a tall stone figure emerged from the ground. It was the Iron Armor Dao Soldier he had nurtured.

This entire journey underground was naturally not done by Lu Chen using Earth Evasion himself, or his True Qi would have been exhausted. It was entirely the Iron Armor Dao Soldiers carrying Lu Chen as they traveled underground.

And you can't say it wasn't fast. Over five hundred li, they arrived in half an hour. It was very stable.

"Come out and get to work."

Lu Chen waved his hand, and the other nine Iron Armor Dao Soldiers in the Nurturing Soldier Immortal Coffin immediately appeared before him.

As soon as they appeared, Earth Element surged from beneath the ground, wrapping all nine Iron Armor Dao Soldiers into stone figures.

They looked almost identical to the soldiers formed by 'Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers' in Earth Elemental Spell. Even if someone saw them, they wouldn't be suspicious.

Next, the ten Iron Armor Dao Soldiers cleared the way in front, with Lu Chen following behind, heading all the way into Twilight Mountain. He felt completely secure.

A moment later.

"Hmm? Golden-toothed Demon Boar!"

Lu Chen's gaze slightly focused.

Just then, beneath the dense forest ahead, a Demon Beast over two meters long and over one meter tall, resembling a wild boar but with a mouth full of yellow teeth, walked out with crimson eyes. A foul stench assaulted the nostrils, carried by a wicked wind.

"Nerve-Gathering Later Stage strength, not bad."

Lu Chen waved his hand: "Take it down. I want the whole corpse."

With a command, the five Iron Armor Dao Soldiers in front, wrapped in stone, suddenly evaded into the ground and then emerged from beneath the Golden-toothed Demon Boar.

Before the Demon Boar could react, four of the Iron Armor Dao Soldiers had already each grabbed one of the Demon Boar's four legs and pulled towards the ground, dragging the Demon Boar below the surface, leaving only its head exposed.

The Demon Boar's eyes were crimson, and it struggled frantically, trying to break free, but it was always firmly held by the Dao Soldiers underground.

The fifth Dao Soldier emerged from underground, and its pot-sized fist slammed down heavily, killing the Demon Boar with a single punch.

Controlling the Earth Element, with indestructible physical bodies and immense strength, the power of the Iron Armor Dao Soldiers was simply incomparable to the Qi Condensation Realm.

"The efficiency is decent."

Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction. This was a tactic he had tailor-made for the Iron Armor Dao Soldiers.

As long as it runs on the ground, they attack from underground, directly grabbing its legs and pulling it down. Once it can't move, they deliver a killing blow.

A Dao Soldier dragged out the dead Demon Boar, and Lu Chen collected it into the Immortal Coffin.

The use of these Demon Beast corpses is considerable. Not only can they be used to nurture Dao Soldiers, but they can also serve as resources and nutrients for the Dao Soldiers to become stronger.

Continue.

Next, it was almost entirely a straightforward sweep.

When encountering lone Demon Beasts, they were basically instantly killed.

When encountering groups of Demon Beasts, Lu Chen directly evaded underground to watch the show, leaving it to the ten Dao Soldiers to fight. His main principle was not to act, not to take risks. If something happened, the Dao Soldiers would handle it; if there was a risk, the Dao Soldiers would bear it.

In just half an hour, over fifty Demon Beast corpses were already lying in Lu Chen's Nurturing Soldier Immortal Coffin.

Among them were the 'Blood Savage Rhinoceros' required for Lu Chen's mission, but there were only eight.

These are all shining Merit Points!

Halfway up the mountain.

Three young Cultivators, two men and one woman, were currently controlling their swords to surround and kill a Spirit Transformation Realm 'Black-striped Demon Tiger'!

They were wearing identical blue robes, which were the Dongming Sect Outer Sect Disciple robes.

"What a wicked beast, its skin and flesh are so tough that even my Low Grade artifact Flying Sword can only penetrate three inches!"

One of the long-faced young Disciples was annoyed.

This Black-striped Demon Tiger seemed to have a talent or technique. Whenever a Flying Sword struck, the black stripes on the Demon Tiger's body would glow faintly. If one didn't use their full strength, even the Flying Sword wouldn't be able to cut through.

"After all, it's a Spirit Transformation Realm Demon Beast, one major Realm higher than the three of us. It's normal for it to be a bit difficult to kill."

Another young Disciple with a milder temperament spoke.

They were all at the peak of the Nerve-Gathering Later Stage cultivation. Their Realm was not as high as this Black-striped Demon Tiger, but Human Race Cultivators practice magic, wield artifacts, and have more intelligence. Compared to savage Demon Beasts, they have an absolute advantage. Killing Demon Beasts across Realms is not uncommon.

Of course, if they were monsters that had gained sentience, whose intelligence was not inferior to the Human Race, that would be another matter.

"Stop talking so much, I can't hold on much longer."

The last young female Disciple, who was fair-skinned, delicate, and petite, was sweating on her forehead and couldn't help but speak up to remind them.

She formed hand seals, and the earth layers underground continuously transformed into large hands, restraining the Demon Tiger. However, in the blink of an eye, they would be either crushed by the Demon Tiger with a stomp or whipped apart by its tail.

"Roar!"

The Demon Tiger roared in anger, suddenly let out a long howl towards the sky. The black stripes all over its body became even more faintly bright, allowing the Flying Swords of the two male Disciples to slash at it.

"Roar!"

Another tiger's roar echoed, but it didn't come from the Demon Tiger in front of them.

The three immediately changed color: "Not good, this wicked beast is calling its companions, let's finish this quickly!"

With the combined strength of the three of them, surrounding and killing one Spirit Transformation Realm Demon Tiger was already somewhat strenuous. If another one came, they might suffer a great loss.

A wicked wind suddenly swept over, carrying a foul stench and ferocity.

An ancient saying goes, clouds follow the dragon, and wind follows the tiger. At this moment, the wicked wind arriving meant another Black-striped Demon Tiger had arrived.

Its speed was as fast as a gale, arriving in an instant. It leaped into the air, seemingly walking on nothingness, carrying malice and violence, making one's heart skip a beat.

"Damn it!"

The three turned pale. When they looked up again, they saw a huge shadow pressing down from the sky, a foul stench assaulted their nostrils, and the sense of oppression was overwhelming.

"Poof!" "Poof!" "Poof!" "Poof!"

Without any warning, four extremely tall figures suddenly surged out from underground, wrapped in Earth Element. They each grabbed the four limbs of the Black-striped Demon Tiger that was stepping on the wind and abruptly pulled it to the ground.

"Roar!"

The Black-striped Demon Tiger roared in anger and struggled violently, but its huge body sank deeper and deeper, gradually being pulled underground.

"Poof!"

An unusually tall figure emerged from underground and raised its fist to strike the roaring Black-striped Demon Tiger.

That was an extremely tall stone figure, possessing boundless strength. With just two punches, it smashed the exceptionally vicious Black-striped Demon Tiger until it lost its breath.

Only then did a handsome and heroic young man emerge from underground. His blue Disciple robe proved that he was also a Dongming Sect Outer Sect Disciple, and it was none other than Lu Chen.

A smile hung on his lips as he looked at the three young Cultivators, two men and one woman, who were stunned: "Fellow Disciples, do you need any help?"