221: Two heads

It was the middle of the night, the third watch.

Two hundred li west of Guangan Prefecture lay a mountain range called Qiuniu Mountain.

In the mountain forest, the night was pitch black, so dark one couldn't see their hand in front of their face, and a continuous drizzle of rain fell from the overcast sky.

At this moment, a faint voice came from a distance.

“Damn it, what kind of weather is this? It’s been raining for days, even my breath is damp and smells moldy.”

As the voice approached, tree leaves in the forest ahead rustled, moving from far to near.

Soon, in the pitch-black night, two blurry figures flickered and moved among the treetops, leaping and jumping onto a thick banyan branch, where they stopped. That banyan branch extended beyond the cliff, and from this vantage point, one could look down upon the undulating mountain ranges in the distance, their outlines faintly visible.

“Keep your voice down. What’s damp? You just want the wine in my gourd. Remember not to drink too much!”

“Catch!”

Another voice, older and rougher, came. As he spoke, he swung a wine gourd from his waist and tossed it to the thinner figure behind him.

The person caught it with a “pop,” then tilted it to their mouth and gulped two or three times. They lowered the wine gourd, then wiped their mouth with their other arm, let out an “ah” of satisfaction, their eyes lighting up. They held the wine gourd, staring at it, then shook it by their ear, as if listening for a sound, and then couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:

“Boss, ever since I started patrolling the mountain with you, I’ve smelled the strange fragrance from your wine gourd. This wine is really invigorating! What good treasure did you add inside? I feel hot all over now, completely comfortable, like I’m soaking in a hot bath.”

The older man was a Patrolling Mountain Commandant from Guangan Prefecture. In the darkness, his face was dark, a square face, rough-hewn, with thick knuckles. He smiled upon hearing this, “What’s soaking in here is good stuff: a small piece of a Heavenly Gate Devil’s flesh and blood.”

“Ah?”

“Boss, where did you get this?”

The thin man was a Demon Subduing Envoy under this Patrolling Mountain Commandant. He was patrolling the mountain with the Commandant and was surprised to hear this.

The rough Hunter blinked, somewhat emotional, and explained its origin, “I heard that the Ninth Mountain Zhonglang General, out of consideration for his subordinates, distributed several thousand jin of Devil flesh and blood. Our prefecture army also benefited a little; Commandants and those above General could receive a certain share.”

“That much?” The subordinate Demon Subduing Envoy felt a bit dizzy hearing about several thousand jin of Devil flesh and blood.

That small piece of Heavenly Gate Devil flesh and blood soaked in the Commandant’s wine gourd had already significantly strengthened his Qi perception, causing his True Qi to circulate and blood to surge.

It was hard to imagine what several thousand jin of Devil flesh and blood meant; eating that much would surely lead to immediate Ascension.

“Heh, kid, you haven’t even considered how many Heavenly Gate Devils have died at the hands of that esteemed Senior? Our Guangan Prefecture is fortunate to have such a Senior with boundless Divine Ability. Otherwise, a few days ago, looking at the Devils’ posture, the consequences would have been unpredictable.” The rough-faced Patrolling Mountain Commandant first chuckled, then sighed with a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.

The subordinate Demon Subduing Envoy quickly nodded, “Yes, yes, yes, at that time, I was fighting a monster and almost lost my life. Fortunately, that Senior killed that great Devil, which made these fellows flee.” As he spoke, the man lowered his voice, “Boss, I heard that our Senior has reached the legendary Heavenly Gate Dao Fruit Realm. Do you know what kind of Realm this is? It’s truly something to aspire to.”

The rough man’s expression turned somewhat strange upon hearing this. With a sweep of his hand, he snatched the wine gourd from his subordinate’s hand and said irritably, “You ask me, who should I ask? Come on, stop talking nonsense. Let’s continue patrolling the mountain and see if there are any Yao Race remnants wandering nearby. I heard this is a task assigned by that Ninth Zhonglang. If we slack off, watch out, you might not be able to get away with it.”

“Yes, I understand!”

With that, the two prepared to continue patrolling the surroundings under the cover of night.

However, just then, a dull boom came from a very distant place to the west.

“Something’s happening!” The Patrolling Mountain Commandant’s playful scolding immediately ceased, his eyes narrowing. “Let’s go!”

Then, he first leaped up, his body gliding down from mid-air like a roc spreading its wings, landing on a treetop at the foot of the mountain. Then, his figure exploded from the treetop, rushing towards the west.

And at the same time, the commotion from the west grew louder and louder. Following closely, several thin streaks of light pierced through the pitch-black night, and behind them, three enormous, moon-like demonic eyes, radiating a chilling malevolence, swept across the sky with a rumbling sound.

The view suddenly zoomed in, revealing that a dozen li away, among the streaks of light, the five Sect Heavenly Gates who had departed from Chishui Prefecture were now reduced to three, plus Qin Rushuang, who was being carried.

The three Sect Heavenly Gates were controlling their respective Dao Soldiers—a sword, a gourd, and a white jade Ruyi—desperately urging their True Qi to accelerate. No matter how fast their escape light, behind them, the three fierce Devils were constantly getting closer, now less than five li away.

“Almost there!”

“We’re almost at Guangan Prefecture, both of you. At this point, we can only fight for it, otherwise, we would be letting down our Fellow Daoists.”

An Meifu of the Su Nu Sword Sect, feeling the three fierce Devils closing in, let out a sharp cry. Her willow-like brows furrowed, and several streaks of Sword Qi surged from her body, piercing several Acupoints on her body with “puffs.”

Immediately, her cold face twitched rapidly, revealing an unnatural flush. Instantly, her Qi surged a small notch, and the giant sword beneath her also let out a Sword Qi, its speed also skyrocketing.

The other two Sect Heavenly Gates also had some life-saving secret arts. They each let out a fierce cry, activating their internal secret arts to temporarily boost their Qi and increase their speed by a notch.

Just then, a chilling voice came from behind.

“Hmph, petty tricks. Let’s see where you can run now!”

As the words fell, amidst the rolling demonic clouds behind, the green, eerie fierce eye in the center let out a roar, and the moon, which had disappeared due to the rain, actually emerged from the clouds.

Then, streaks of moonlight showered down from the sky. The three fleeing Sect Heavenly Gates were astonished.

At this moment, Qin Rushuang, who was meditating on the great sword of the Su Nu Sword Sect’s An Meifu, opened her eyes and sharply cried, “This is this Devil’s Dao Fruit! Don’t let that moonlight shine on you, or you will die!”

As she spoke, she stood up!

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the three Sect Heavenly Gates immediately changed. Their Dao Soldiers beneath their feet immediately flew up, and with whooshing sounds, spiritual light surged out, and the air roared loudly.

Sword light filled the sky, thunder and fire from the gourd, and the white jade Ruyi, which transformed into a giant wolf, protected their heads, striking at the rapidly approaching white moonlight. At the same time, they did not stop moving their feet, flying backward and continuing to shoot towards Guangan Prefecture.

But the three people’s offensive techniques, upon encountering the silver moonlight, were instantly fixed, just as Qin Rushuang had experienced before.

Then, they were engulfed by the silver light, like icicles, mercilessly shattering.

They had almost no power to resist.

And just at this moment, a sharp eagle cry, a dazzling silver light streaked across the sky, flying past the three of them. A colossal demonic body blocked their path ahead.

The path was completely sealed!

The three fierce Devils surrounded the four individuals.

At this moment, two heads were seen flying over.

“Overestimating yourselves, it’s your turn now!”