Free Web NovelChapter 70: Chapter 70: Luo Anning
"Run!"
Without a moment’s hesitation, Su Mu took out his Taiping Bureau Waist Token to send a distress signal, roaring at the same time.
He didn’t need to tell them twice. Zheng Wang, Luo Chang, and the other constables were already scrambling for the exit.
The three men, who had clearly been shot dead, had somehow come back to life. The constables were all scared witless; what courage could they possibly have left to fight?
Su Mu flicked up a fallen Demon-Breaking Crossbow with the tip of his boot, cocked it in one smooth motion, and fired with a sharp TWANG.
SQUELCH! The Demon-Breaking Crossbow Arrow struck the No-Heaven Sect Leader square in the chest, burying itself three inches deep. He let out a blood-curdling scream.
Su Mu’s expression grew heavy. A bolt from a Demon-Breaking Crossbow should have been powerful enough to pierce straight through the No-Heaven Sect Leader’s body. But now, it was stuck after penetrating a mere three inches.
After his demonic transformation, the No-Heaven Sect Leader’s physical fortitude had increased immensely.
In the blink of an eye, the No-Heaven Sect Leader and the two Hall Masters had completely transformed, taking on the same appearance as the Dharma Protectors from before—only their transformation seemed even more complete.
They now looked like mindless, walking corpses, completely devoid of reason.
Su Mu finally understood. The No-Heaven Sect was using the blood of demons, likely mixed with other concoctions, to grant people demonic power.
But they clearly had no way of eliminating the side effects. Upon gaining demonic power, they also lost their human reason.
’How are demons created, anyway?’
The thought popped into Su Mu’s head, even at a time like this.
This Blood Pool the No-Heaven Sect had concocted could even turn corpses into Demon-Like Fiends.
’Good thing I found this early. If they’d been allowed to scale this up, wouldn’t they have caused a full-blown zombie apocalypse?’
As the thought flashed through his mind, the three Demon-Like Fiends were already upon him.
With no time to reload the Demon-Breaking Crossbow, Su Mu hurled it at them, drew his saber, and unleashed his Submerging Wave Saber Technique, enveloping all three Demon-Like Fiends in a storm of saber light.
Zheng Wang, Luo Chang, and the other constables were fleeing in panic down the corridor. If those three Demon-Like Fiends caught up to them, the casualties would be catastrophic.
They might not be the most capable fighters, but they were still husbands and fathers.
’I’ll hold them off as long as I can,’ he thought. ’Save as many as I can.’
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound of clashing metal echoed through the underground chamber.
Su Mu’s feet sank into the earth as he stood his ground. The claws of the No-Heaven Sect Leader and his two Hall Masters had torn his Taiping Bureau Official Uniform to shreds, leaving countless gashes.
Beneath the tattered uniform, angry red welts covered his exposed skin, moments away from breaking open.
Despite this, Su Mu’s Submerging Wave Saber Momentum held fast, forcefully keeping the No-Heaven Sect Leader and his minions at bay before the entrance to the corridor.
Their demonic transformation had indeed granted them a massive boost in power.
Their skin was tough and their strength was immense—at least double what it had been before.
But their weakness was just as obvious.
They had lost all reason. They seemed to have forgotten the martial arts they knew in life, knowing only how to pounce and tear at their prey like wild beasts.
They were even less formidable than the No-Heaven Sect Dharma Protectors Su Mu had encountered previously.
’Perhaps it’s because the others were created from living people, while these were made from corpses.’
The Sect Leader and his men had been transformed from corpses, so it was only natural that their intelligence was inferior to that of the previous Dharma Protectors.
"Holy shit! There are three of them?!"
Just then, Wei Yongfu’s cry of alarm came from behind him.
He had finally dealt with the Dharma Protector up on the surface and rushed down to provide backup.
Su Mu let out a long sigh of relief. Holding back three Demon-Like Fiends alone had been exhausting.
"Old Wei, get to it! The usual price!" Su Mu shouted.
"As long as there’s silver involved, it’s a done deal. Just watch me," Wei Yongfu grinned. He took a deep breath, raised his saber, and charged.
A Ghostwriter risked his life every day, but not every risk came with a fat purse of silver.
The sounds of their battle soon reverberated through the underground chamber.
Wei Yongfu engaged two of the Demon-Like Fiends by himself, leaving only the No-Heaven Sect Leader for Su Mu.
Su Mu cursed under his breath. ’That thick-browed, big-eyed bastard is a cunning one.’
Of the three Demon-Like Fiends, the strongest was, of course, the No-Heaven Sect Leader.
CLANG! CLANG!
Su Mu attacked again, his long saber striking the No-Heaven Sect Leader repeatedly, only to leave a series of white marks on its skin.
Unless he used his Submerging Wave Saber Momentum, his ordinary attacks couldn’t even break the creature’s skin.
After its demonic transformation, the No-Heaven Sect Leader’s hide was even a step tougher than Su Mu’s own, which he had cultivated to the Extreme Skin Tempering Realm.
Instantly, Su Mu found himself completely on the defensive.
If he hadn’t cultivated his skin to the peak of the Tempering Realm, making it incredibly tough, he would have likely been defeated already.
Even so, his situation was far from optimistic.
His Official Uniform was in tatters, barely covering his vitals.
His exposed skin was covered in red scratches that were on the verge of bleeding.
Su Mu’s eyes narrowed. He still had enough stamina to unleash his Submerging Wave Saber Momentum a few more times.
If he went all out, he was fairly confident he could slay the No-Heaven Sect Leader.
But if he failed, he would be too exhausted to put up any further resistance.
’Should I risk it all on one last push?’
Just as Su Mu was hesitating, he suddenly felt something like a gust of wind rush past him.
"So, it’s three Demon-Like Fiends. Hmm? And there’s a real demon, too?"
A voice, crisp and pleasant, echoed through the underground chamber.
Immediately after, a brilliant sword light bloomed.
The sword light was like a thousand raindrops scattering through the air, merging into a single sheet. As the threads of rain sliced past, blossoms of blood erupted from the No-Heaven Sect Leader’s body.
It took a single step forward, then stopped dead in its tracks.
For the space of a single breath, time seemed to stand still.
Then, Su Mu watched as the No-Heaven Sect Leader’s body instantly split into dozens of neat chunks of flesh that collapsed to the ground with a wet thud.
The stench of blood filled the air.
Su Mu blinked. ’So strong.’
In the blink of an eye, a figure drifted in front of Wei Yongfu. With two flashes of white light, the two No-Heaven Sect Hall Masters met the same fate as their Sect Leader.
Wei Yongfu was halfway through a swing when he realized his targets had simply vanished.
He was about to curse out loud—’Which son of a bitch is stealing my business?’
But the words died on his lips when he saw the figure standing with their back to him at the edge of the Blood Pool. His expression froze, and he snapped his mouth shut.
He moved so fast he nearly bit his tongue off, the pain making him grimace.
Before the nearly-dry Blood Pool stood a woman dressed in a Brocade and Ink Shirt, gazing up at the demon bound in iron chains.
She wore the exact same Taiping Bureau White Clothes Official Uniform as Su Mu, but with a completely different air about her.
Su Mu looked at the woman. She looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old, about half a head shorter than him, and was stunningly beautiful.
What was most striking was her figure. All her curves were startlingly prominent, turning the respectable Taiping Bureau White Clothes Official Uniform into something akin to a fetish outfit...
"White Clothes, Su Mu. Thank you for the assistance," Su Mu said, clasping his hands in a salute.
The woman turned to look at Su Mu, but an instant later, she whipped her head back around, a faint blush seemingly flashing across her pretty face.
"White Clothes, Luo Anning," the woman said, her back still to him. "Do you have a spare change of clothes?"
