Chapter 150: Black Demon
Chapter 150: Black Demon
By the Shigeng River, there was a small courtyard with green bricks and trees. It was not elegant or luxurious, but it was much better than the surrounding thatched huts.
This place used to be the ancestral hall of the Hetian Village villagers, filled with ancestral tablets. Unfortunately, it had now become the stronghold of many Devil Leaders, and all the tablets were either smashed or burned to ashes.
In the dead of night, everywhere else was dark, but here, an oil lamp was still lit.
On the Grand Preceptor chair in the center of the hall sat a middle-aged man with his eyes closed. He had a dark face, black hair, and wore black clothes. His right hand had only four fingers, and he was tall and thin. At first glance, his entire body seemed as dark as a slender piece of charcoal. He sat motionless, not even opening his eyes, yet he gave off a sharp and fierce feeling. In front of him, four men in black stood with their heads bowed. Each of them had turbulent surges of Spiritual Power within them, surpassing even the cold-blooded Assassin Dao Duanliu.
Pop…
A drop of lamp oil suddenly burst, and the dim oil lamp flickered.
Midnight, the hour of Zi!
One of the men in black looked up at the hourglass nearby. Without a word, he quietly walked to the oil lamp and slowly placed his right hand on the sword hilt at his waist. With a hum, a cold light flashed, and the wick was neatly trimmed. The flickering lamp stabilized, and the man in black immediately bowed, stepped back to his original position, and stood with his head bowed below the dark-faced middle-aged man.
He stepped forward, drew his sword, trimmed the wick, and returned to his place.
Throughout the process, the man in black remained silent and moved without a sound. Apart from the slight pop of the lamp oil and the soft hum of the sword, the large hall was completely still.
“Report…”
Not long after the man in black retreated, the door of the hall was suddenly pushed open. A masked man quickly approached the dark-faced middle-aged man, knelt on one knee, and reported loudly, “Lord Black Demon, according to the Scouts, the elite forces of the Immortal Sword Sect have suddenly gathered in the Poplar Grove ten miles from the ferry. Their movements are unclear. Several waves of Scouts who approached were all killed without mercy. It seems they intend to act against us!”
The unusual movements of the Sword Hall disciples of the Immortal Sword Sect quickly caught the attention of the evil cults.
“Oh, gathering ten miles from the ferry?”
The dark-faced middle-aged man sitting upright on the Grand Preceptor chair suddenly opened his eyes. A cold light flashed as he ordered in a deep voice, “Investigate further. You must find out their true intentions. Black Panther, you are the fastest. Lead a team of guards and go there yourself!”
“Yes!”
The man in black who had just trimmed the wick bowed to accept the order, turned, and exited, gently closing the hall door. Soon, hurried footsteps were heard outside as hundreds of Devil Leaders rushed out of the small village, heading straight for the Poplar Grove ten miles away.
The large hall quickly fell silent again, returning to a deathly stillness.
The three men in black standing before the dark-faced middle-aged man remained motionless, their breaths faint. If not for their shadows vaguely visible under the dim lamp, one might have thought they were three lifeless ghosts.
Pop…
Another drop of lamp oil burst. The sound was soft, but in the deathly silence of the hall, it was exceptionally clear.
This time, no one stepped forward. The middle man in black slightly raised his head and blew out a breath. The weak flame flickered as if it were about to go out, but the next moment, it returned to normal. A night breeze passed, and the top portion of the wick turned to dust and disappeared.
With one breath, the lamp did not go out, but the wick was shortened!
Bang…
The heavy door was suddenly pushed open. A man in black rushed in, looking terrified. “Lord Black Demon, something terrible has happened, something terrible…”
“Why are you so panicked?”
The dark-faced middle-aged man sitting above opened his eyes again, his expression grim. “Has that scholar surnamed Mu arrived, or is some foolish Devil Leader fighting again?”
“No, neither!”
Seeing the dark-faced middle-aged man’s unpleasant expression, the terrified man in black grew even more nervous and quickly said, “On the left bank of the Shigeng River, over a dozen bodies were suddenly discovered. All were stabbed through the brow, killed with a single sword strike!”
“What? Killed with one strike? Could it really be…”
The dark-faced middle-aged man’s expression grew even darker. He shook his head and slowly continued, “No, as the head of the Sword Hall, that old fox Ren Pingsheng is cunning. Even if he took most of the experts to chase the scholar surnamed Mu, he would have left at least one or two experts behind. Although the Sword Hall disciples think highly of themselves, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to fight us to the death at this time! Dragon Tooth, you are experienced. Go there yourself and see what exactly is going on!”
“Yes!”
The man in black standing in the middle of the three bowed to accept the order, then followed the one who had rushed in to report and quickly left. After stepping out of the hall, he gently closed the heavy wooden door. The large hall now held only three people, growing even quieter. But before long, the silence was broken by another loud noise.
Another man in black burst through the door. “Lord Black Demon, nearly thirty bodies have been found on the right bank of the Shigeng River.”
“All stabbed through the brow with a single sword strike?” Black Demon, seated on the Grand Preceptor chair, asked coldly.
Seeing his murderous aura, the masked man who had rushed in to report grew even more nervous and uneasy. “Yes, all were stabbed through the brow. An expert, definitely a sword master, was behind it. Aside from the bodies, no traces were left!”
“Zuo Ye, take a team of guards and see what’s going on. Find the assassin who sneaked in!” Black Demon, sitting high above, gave the order, suppressing the urge to go himself.
With Blind Master absent, someone must remain to command and hold the fort. The more rampant the enemy, the more calm we must be at this time!
“Yes!”
The man in black named Zuo Ye turned and left, leading a team of guards to quickly cross the river and track the enemy.
The large hall, aside from Black Demon sitting high above, soon had only one man in black left.
Pop…
Another drop of lamp oil burst. The last man in black looked up and saw that only half an hour had passed since the hour of Zi.
So many incidents happening one after another in such a short time—what did it mean?
The last man in black, not bothering to trim the wick, stepped forward and broke the silence. “Lord Black Demon, the situation is not right. The Immortal Sword Sect clearly came prepared. According to reliable information, the Great Extinction Sword Manual is likely on that scholar surnamed Mu. Given the Immortal Sword Sect’s usual dominance and arrogance, they will stop at nothing to obtain the manual and will not allow any mistakes. The fact that things have been peaceful these past two days is already unusual in itself!”
“Scarface, do you also suspect it was the Immortal Sword Sect’s doing?” Black Demon, seated above, spoke word by word, his eyes fixed on Scarface, his most capable assistant.
“Yes. Aside from the Immortal Sword Sect, where else in a hundred-mile radius could such a skilled sword master come from?”
The last man in black raised his head, revealing a thick, long scar on his face. Under the dim light, it wriggled like an earthworm, looking particularly fierce and frightening.
“Report…”
Before Black Demon could respond, another man in black rushed in, panicked and uneasy. “Lord Black Demon, something terrible has happened! In the water… twenty-seven bodies were found underwater. All had their throats cut by a sword. Not one had time to sound an alarm or fight back!”
“What?”
Hearing this, both Scarface and Black Demon seated above paled significantly.
The men hiding underwater were all elites of this operation, many of them Devil Leaders who had wreaked havoc in the Southern Borderlands for years. Many had already cultivated to the Mortal Realm Peak, on the verge of a breakthrough. To have twenty-seven of them silently killed—what did this mean?