The man with the bow was stunned.
He hadn’t expected that his all-out shot would strike his own teammate.
The Daoist Nun laughed, a ghostly figure appearing behind the man, and praised, “What a precise shot.” Then, a blade pierced into the man’s back.
With a miserable scream, the man was drained into a desiccated corpse.
The Daoist Nun kicked aside his body and lunged straight toward the short, stout Captain.
Lin Xue was filled with despair.
The only capable Youth Constable had been accidentally injured by a teammate, pinned to the wall, and was now powerless in battle.
The other three Constables had all been killed by the Female Demon Lord.
Now, only that pathetic Captain remained—unable to even hold his blade steadily—the outcome was sealed.
It seemed there was no escaping the tragic end of being killed and having her soul searched by that Female Demon Lord.
She sighed sorrowfully, all hope extinguished.
Outside the ancestral hall, the fallen villagers had also realized the situation was grim; each of their faces showed despair.
At this moment, the short, stout Captain, Yang Yuhai, was also pale with fear.
He bent over, fumbling on the ground before finally picking up his blade.
The blade flickered with a blue-green light, instantly releasing a gust of clear wind that swept the surroundings, dissipating the faint blood mist hanging in the air.
Without the blood mist, the Daoist Nun charging at him suddenly slowed.
She stopped in her tracks, looking at him with a cold sneer, “You’re just a worthless Qi Refining Stage 2 Cultivator, yet you hold the rank of Captain, carry a magical weapon, and possess Protective Talismans. Are you from the Xichuan Yang Clan?”
Yang Yuhai’s face was pale as he gripped his long blade and forced himself calm. “Since you know I’m from the Yang Clan, then you should know our Ancestor is a Foundation Establishment Stage Grand Cultivator and fiercely protective! If you dare harm me, my Ancestor will never let you go! I advise you to behave yourself and release me immediately!”
The Daoist Nun sneered, “Since you know how fiercely your Ancestor protects you, that’s all the more reason I can’t let you go. Xichuan County City is over two hundred li from here. No matter how fast your Ancestor flies, it’ll take at least half an hour for him to arrive. That’s plenty of time for this Immortal Master of Demon-Slaying Division to kill you hundreds of times over.”
She caressed the Blood Fiend in her hand and continued, “Besides, this Blood Fiend of mine needs to consume the flesh and blood of over two hundred people to be fully refined to the third stage. You’re a Cultivator—one person’s flesh and blood is worth ten of those commoners. How could I possibly let a big fatty like you go? You’d better stay obediently and offer your fat flesh to my blade.”
Yang Yuhai’s face went even paler upon hearing this.
He gritted his teeth and retorted, “Demon woman! Don’t push your luck! I have Protective Talismans; I’m not so easy to kill! Also, my family’s heirloom Wind-Slaying Treasure Blade has slain countless demons and evil cultivators! It is imbued with several layers of powerful spells. If you force me, I will unleash those spells and make you regret it!”
The Daoist Nun’s face was full of contempt as she laughed, “How much spiritual power do you think your Protective Talismans have? How many times can they block my attacks? You’re merely Qi Refining Stage 2. Even if your blade is enchanted with multiple spells, how many times can you activate them with your limited strength? Struggling is futile. Just accept your death!”
With that, she flicked her hand, and the Blood Fiend shot out, slicing a red line through the air as it flew swiftly toward Yang Yuhai.
Yang Yuhai couldn’t dodge in time. The Blood Fiend pierced his body, but several talismanic seals flared up again, blocking the fatal attack once more.
The Blood Fiend’s strike failed but did not return to the Daoist Nun’s hand; instead, it hovered in midair before plunging down again with renewed ferocity.
The Protective Talismans lit up again, but their glow was dimmer than before, likely unable to withstand many more hits.
Yang Yuhai’s face turned ashen with horror. “Ah—!” he screamed, wildly swinging his blade.
The blade flickered with spiritual light, releasing sharp Wind Blades that whistled through the air, slashing in all directions.
In his panic, a few Wind Blades even struck the villagers lying on the ground.
Those villagers suffered terribly—screams echoed as blood splattered, limbs severed and scattered chaotically.
Poor souls—they hadn’t died at the hands of the Female Demon Lord but lost their lives under the Immortal Master of Demon-Slaying Division.
One Wind Blade struck the ancestral hall, passing through the door and sweeping past Lin Xue, heading straight for the Youth Constable pinned to the wall.
The Youth Constable struggled desperately to pull the arrow from his body, but with the incoming Wind Blade, he was powerless to evade.
Blood splattered.
Half of his right arm was severed by the Wind Blade.
The Youth Constable screamed in agony, his eyes rolling back as he fainted on the spot.
Lin Xue looked at the unlucky Constable with sympathy.
This guy was the most reliable fighter among the few deployed by the Demon-Slaying Bureau, yet his luck was exceptionally poor.
Both his severe injuries had come from his own “teammates.”
As she was lamenting, she suddenly noticed the small pouch hanging at the Youth Constable’s waist had torn open.
The sharp Wind Blade had cut through not only his right hand but also ripped his Storage Pouch.
“Clatter!” A pile of miscellaneous items spilled out from the tear, scattering all over the ground.
There were over a dozen small porcelain bottles, some silver coins and copper money, a few colorful stones, some sundries, and a book.
On the cover were four large characters: Swiftwind Sword Manual.
Her Panel suddenly lit up.
“New skill book detected: Swiftwind Sword Manual. Please read to record into the system. Upon completion of recording, the skill can be learned using experience points.”
Lin Xue’s eyes brightened.
A skill manual!
What she needed most now was a skill manual.
Although she currently possessed mid-stage Body Tempering cultivation, she knew no martial techniques or spells—like a game character who had leveled up but hadn’t learned any skills, facing enemies only able to rely on basic attributes and brute strength.
Now, a skill book had fallen right into her hands.
The Youth Constable’s excellent swordsmanship must have been due to studying this Swiftwind Sword Manual.
If she could learn this sword manual, she should have a fighting chance against that Female Demon Lord.
The only problem was, she was tied up and couldn’t flip through the sword manual.
A sudden idea struck her. She transformed her lower body back into a snake’s tail and stretched out the several-meter-long tail to drag the Swiftwind Sword Manual in front of her.
Then, she used the tip of her tail to flip open the book, quickly scanning through the pages.
Her Panel’s recording progress for the Swiftwind Sword Manual rose rapidly: 1%, 2%, 3%…
Soon, she had browsed the entire sword manual from start to finish.
The Panel shifted to display:
Name: Lin Xue
Race: Snake
Experience Points: 30
Skill Books: Heavenly Demon Transformation Art
Swiftwind Sword Manual (Unlearned)+
Lin Xue immediately tapped the “+” after the Swiftwind Sword Manual without hesitation, pouring all her experience points into it at once.
The 30 experience points were used up instantly, but the manual’s status remained “Learning+.”
Her mind instantly filled with a wealth of knowledge and techniques related to the sword manual.
This sword manual was a close-combat martial art consisting of nine sword forms.
It also included a movement technique that allowed the user to approach and attack enemies swiftly like the wind.
The sword manual itself did not have high cultivation requirements, but the more powerful the user’s strength, the greater the sword’s power.
From this perspective, this skill was perfect for her.
She was now a mid-stage Body Tempering snake demon with brute strength, well suited for using this sword manual.
Lin Xue felt as if she had decades of sword training experience.
Every move and stance was deeply imprinted in her muscle memory.
Recalling the previous fight between the Youth Constable and the Female Demon Lord, she noticed many rough, unrefined aspects in his swordsmanship.
Even so, the Youth Constable had been able to exchange blows with the Female Demon Lord.
If she were to take the field now, she might even have a chance to win.
Her confidence surged.
She now had the skill; all that remained was a weapon.
Lin Xue looked around, searching for something to use as a weapon.
She saw the two flying swords that had crashed into the ancestral hall earlier.
One was closer to her, embedded in the wall just five steps away.
She crawled on the ground, turned her body, stretched her tail, wrapped it around the handle of the flying sword, and pulled hard.
The flying sword looked sharp.
Using her tail to grip the sword, she cut at the ropes binding her body.
One cut, two cuts, three cuts…
After a moment, she felt her body loosen.
The ropes had snapped, falling to the ground in a tangled heap.
Freed, Lin Xue transformed her tail back into legs, flipped forward in a graceful somersault, and stood up nimbly.
She picked up the flying sword from the ground and casually flourished it, testing its feel.
The sword was a bit short but still usable.
Lin Xue nodded in satisfaction, sword in hand, and turned to head outside the ancestral hall.