Chapter 228: Chu Yi, Chu Shi, Follow Me to Exorcise Demons
Chen Ping'an held the locust wood sword and hacked down at the white-clad woman on the stone stele.
There was no sword technique or techniques, and the wooden sword lacked enough luminous spiritual light to intimidate yin beings.
The white-clad woman with black hair covering her face twitched the corner of her mouth. Although she harbored contempt in her heart, since that youth had successfully suppressed two divine statues, she didn't want to be too arrogant either. Playing with him for a while would be fine. After all, at the City God Pavilion here, it was best to hold the position; losing it wouldn't matter much, as there would always be someone else to retake it.
She swiftly wiped her hand across her waist, and a scabbardless longsword materialized. The blade showed a crimson red, filled with a nauseating bloody aura. She must have been using an illusion technique earlier.
When her withered palm brushed over the longsword and touched the blade, a series of sparks like flint and lightning erupted. Not only that, but a green jade bracelet slid down from her wrist. It rapidly spun around her with no traceable trajectory, moving so fast that in an instant it became invisible; only a cluster of green fireflies swirling around could be seen.
In this world, for cultivators, the more magical treasures they had, the better—just like common folks never thought money was a burden. But truly exceptional spiritual artifacts or magical implements were extremely rare. If one was lucky enough to own two, they usually sought to balance offense and defense—one for killing and repelling enemies, one for self-preservation. Attack and defense, leaving no margin for error.
For example, the military armor pill of the tree demon surnamed Chu in the ancient mansion could transform into a suit of Bright Armor. That was a top-tier defensive treasure.
The white-clad woman's crimson sword and green jade bracelet, one for offense and one for defense, followed the same principle.
From the outland youth with the sword box on his back using a high-quality, rare talisman to suppress the civil official statue, to stepping on the statue's head and charging with the wooden sword drawn from its sheath—everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The locust wood sword arrived in an instant.
The white-clad woman rapidly raised her sword. With a simple horizontal sweep, a crimson sword aura appeared above her head. If the youth didn't dodge in time, he would be cut in half by the sword aura.
But the youth suddenly vanished.
Square Inch Talisman!
The white-clad woman knew something was wrong.
Clang!
A metallic sound rang out across the square without warning.
Then came a series of striking sounds, dense and rapid like rain hammering against a roof ridge.
The white-clad woman's expression changed slightly. She twisted her waist and swiftly flew away from the top of the stele. White clothes, red sword—one white, one red—they spiraled upward around the ancient cypress with lush green leaves, as if evading something. The woman had deliberately kept a distance of about two zhang from the jade bracelet, close enough to control it easily, yet far enough not to be caught in the crossfire.
A flying sword!
That youth was actually a sword cultivator capable of killing with flying swords!
What wooden sword and exorcism? All just a smokescreen to confuse people! The real killing move was that insidious flying sword that hadn't yet revealed its true form.
So young, yet so meticulous and vicious! No wonder he had managed to become a sword cultivator, the most difficult path for Qi practitioners to achieve results.
Hearing the unending sounds, the white-clad woman was pained. No matter how spiritual the bracelet was, it couldn't withstand such bullying by a flying sword. It was like a violent hand destroying a delicate flower.
The bracelet called "Ice Glutinous" was a high-grade spiritual artifact personally bestowed by the Old Ancestor. It wasn't known for its toughness or sturdiness; its main purpose was to defend against those unexpected trump cards of the so-called righteous immortals. After all, the Old Ancestor had long predicted that this plot to seize the treasure protecting the Caiyi Kingdom would inevitably be a bloody battle with heavy casualties. The Qi practitioners of famous immortal sects might lack the courage for life-and-death fights, but their mysterious secret arts and the magical implements passed down through generations were endless and had to be guarded against.
For now, the white-clad woman couldn't calculate the trajectory of that flying sword, yet she dared not recall the bracelet. This infuriated her to the extreme. For the first time, she felt a soaring rage. If the bracelet shattered like this, then regardless of the other allies, she would definitely end up losing more than she gained on this trip to Caiyi Kingdom. Even if they ultimately succeeded and were rewarded according to merit, the prize she received might not even be worth as much as this bracelet.
The white-clad woman's black hair flew wildly, revealing her true face.
It was the colorful-clad woman who had first appeared on the high platform in the middle of the lake that night. That time, she had made countless men in Yanzi County regard her as a celestial beauty, only regretting they couldn't hold her in their arms and dote on her.
If so, then that old immortal with an air of divinity was at least one of the masterminds.
But for these people to swagger through the city like this, wasn't there a single cultivator in Caiyi Kingdom who saw through the truth?
Standing in the square, Chen Ping'an was stunned for a moment. His heart heavy, he put the locust wood sword back into the wooden box, habitually took off his gourd, and drank a mouthful of wine.
Seeing that the youth still had the mood to drink, the white-clad woman was so angry she laughed instead. Her clothes fluttered, revealing her wrists and ankles, which were all bones. Presumably, the "delicate body" under the white clothes was much the same.
But her face had flesh and blood, and it was extraordinarily beautiful.
So this was a skeleton beauty—no, a skeleton seductress.
Having roughly determined that the flying sword couldn't break through the bracelet to get close to her, the white-clad woman felt somewhat calmer. Then it was time to capture the leader to defeat the rest—kill that young lad first. He had sought his own death; no one else was to blame. She had originally thought to play with him for a while, but who would have expected such a tough nut to crack.
So what if he was a sword cultivator? As long as he wasn't some elusive grand sword immortal, even a minor sword immortal in the upper middle five realms, in this Yanzi County town, if he dared to show his face, he would die!
Invisibly, the small square outside the City God Hall had split into three battlefields. Two golden Pagoda Subduing Demon Talismans were slowly consuming the demonic aura of the two clay statues. Debris flew everywhere, dust rose, and cracking sounds kept ringing out. No matter how much the two statues roared and howled, the pagodas manifested by the talismans flashed with lightning like the Thunder Lord wielding a whip, scourging the evil entities, always firmly suppressing them.
Then there was Chen Ping'an's summoned flying sword, Chu Yi. This time, it didn't bother with any showy exit from the sword-nourishing gourd. It flew out silently, without anyone noticing. Unfortunately, the white-clad woman had the bracelet protecting her, which blocked the disaster of a sword piercing through her skull. Whether Chu Yi had stirred up real anger or was just a mischievous child finding an interesting toy, it no longer heeded Chen Ping'an's intent. It focused entirely on pestering that jade bracelet, striking like a blacksmith hammering iron, one blow after another. The flying sword even deliberately slowed its flight speed, each time dragging the bracelet's range of motion.
Finally, there was the murderous white-clad woman, determined to eliminate Chen Ping'an, the "sword cultivator," first.
Holding the vivid crimson longsword, she swooped down. Before that, she shouted angrily at the two side halls. The yin beings and female ghosts that had been itching to act surged out. Instantly, black smoke billowed, blotting out the sky, all rushing toward Chen Ping'an, who stood alone in the square. The girl with silver bells tied to her hands and feet wanted to help, but Chen Ping'an signaled her with his eyes not to get involved.
The girl didn't act on impulse. She honestly stayed at the first battlefield, but she danced and shook the bells, producing clear, spiritual sounds, trying her best to keep the golden flowers floating out from under the eaves of the main hall. Even though her face was pale, she persisted in helping Chen Ping'an eliminate as many female ghosts as she could.
For Chen Ping'an, that was more than enough.
His hands spun rapidly. Fist aura surged and blazed brightly along his arms. This was the Clouds Steam Over the Great Swamp style taught by the old man surnamed Cui. The abundant qi leaked outward instantly, shaking the surroundings. The dozen or so ferocious female ghosts charging out of the side halls were swept away at once. They were already suffering badly under the sun, and this punch, with its overbearing style of one man holding the pass, only added insult to injury. Their long, sharp fingernails couldn't even get within one zhang of Chen Ping'an.
But Chen Ping'an wasn't just a one-punch wonder. His body leaned back, he tipped on his toes, and suddenly retreated several zhang, dodging the sword descending from the white-clad seductress. The skeleton seductress stuck to him like a shadow on a bone. Without even touching the ground, she flicked in the air like a dragonfly skimming water, leaned forward, and chased Chen Ping'an, stabbing straight with her sword.
But in that interval, Chen Ping'an again swung his fists into that ancient, unmatched posture, instantly blasting another dozen or so stray yin beings and ghosts into oblivion.
With her black hair flying freely, the white-clad seductress said fiercely, stepping in the air with increasingly fast steps, "You deserve to die!"
Her longsword was only a few inches away from piercing his heart.
Chen Ping'an twisted his toes, learning from Ma Kuxuan in the small street battle, spinning his body like a top. He not only dodged the sword but also used the opportunity to close in, punching at the skeleton seductress's cheek. The latter instantly dissolved into white mist and dissipated, reappearing several zhang away. With a flick of her fingers, the crimson longsword that hadn't vanished with her spun half a circle and slashed at Chen Ping'an's arm.
Without hesitation, Chen Ping'an used his last Square Inch Talisman. In an instant, he was beside the seductress again. His overwhelming fist aura blazed like the scorching sun, making the skeleton seductress shriek in pain. She ignored pulling back the distant longsword, resorted to the same trick, and vanished in swirling white mist.
Chen Ping'an's face was somber, and he silently chanted, "Chu Yi!"
Though reluctant, flying sword Chu Yi left its original battlefield. A streak of white rainbow tore across the sky, stabbing straight at the skeleton seductress who had just reappeared. At the moment of her second disappearance, the jade bracelet and the crimson longsword had shown a trace of imperceptible stagnation, as if losing the master's mental connection, they hesitated.
When flying sword Chu Yi approached her brow, the seductress finally panicked completely. She covered her face with both hands, and her black hair crazily flew back to cover her face.
The snow-white miniature flying sword hovered silently before her eyes, not moving forward.
But then.
Her back of the head felt cold.
The skeleton seductress was like a fairy being immobilized. She stood still, utterly incredulous. She turned her head stiffly, staring in disbelief at the youth charging toward her. You being a sword cultivator is one thing, but why do you have two flying swords? And why do you pretend to be a pure martial artist?
You can dodge Chu Yi, but you cannot dodge Chu Shi!
But even though Chu Shi had pierced through her from behind, Chen Ping'an still didn't let his guard down. He no longer cared about the yin beings that harassed him, letting them get close and strike. He just moved at his fastest speed to the skeleton seductress and decisively threw a clean punch—the Divine Being Beats Drum style. One punch, then another, then twenty more, shattering every bone under the white clothes.
Finally, the skeleton seductress exploded along with her body and white clothes. A yellow talisman painted with a female figure fluttered down from the air.
When she died, the yin beings lost their backbone. They fled into the side halls. Quite a few didn't make it back before being completely obliterated by the sun. This time, no seductive laughter came from the side halls, only sobbing.
The crimson longsword fell to the ground. The jade bracelet, like a lost person, slowly spun in place where the skeleton seductress had vanished.
Chen Ping'an stood still. He didn't rush to grab the bracelet or reach for the yellow talisman.
He looked around. Nothing else seemed unusual. He patted the sword-nourishing gourd, and Chu Yi and Chu Shi flew back inside.
He crouched down and stared intently at the yellow talisman.
He took out another Evil Qi Ignition Talisman given by Zhang Shanfeng, held it near the yellow talisman on the ground, and flicked it. The ignition talisman did react, but only slightly. It burned one corner of the talisman and then stopped burning.
Only then did Chen Ping'an pick up the yellow talisman. When he actually held it between his fingers, he realized it wasn't ordinary yellow paper. The paper texture was extremely fine and smooth, with excellent toughness—probably not even torn easily by a strong man.
He thought for a moment and tucked this beauty talisman into his sleeve, actually hiding it in his Square Inch artifact.
One important reason Square Inch artifacts were precious was exactly that they could isolate external detection. Though nothing was absolute, this was generally the rule.
When Chen Ping'an put away the yellow talisman, the jade bracelet also actively stuck to him. He held the ignition talisman in one hand, found no reaction, then casually took the bracelet and tucked it away as well. But when he went to pick up the crimson longsword, the ignition talisman, as soon as it got close, burned up completely. Chen Ping'an hesitated. This sword could definitely sell for a lot of money, but he was more worried that stashing it in the Square Inch artifact might affect flying sword Chu Shi.
In the end, he picked up the longsword, looked around, lifted his head to the ancient cypress beside the stele, took a running start, tipped on his toes, and leaped toward the cypress. He temporarily hid the sword in the shade of a high branch.
The girl timidly called out, "This immortal..."
Chen Ping'an looked down. The girl pointed at the ground beside her feet. The clay statue had collapsed and shattered, forming a small pointed mound. A few silver fragments glistened in the soil, very eye-catching. Even more surprising, a Pagoda Subduing Demon Talisman floated quietly next to the mound. Except for slightly dimmer golden luster, it was completely undamaged.
The mound at the other spot was similar. But unlike the iron mace in the martial official statue's hand that had melted under the lightning, by the civil official statue, besides the golden talisman and silver fragments, the square iron official seal was gone. Instead, there was an unadorned little green wooden box, just the size for a child's five fingers to hold.
Surprise surged in Chen Ping'an's heart. He quickly floated down, first tucked the two golden talismans and a total of six silver fragments into the Square Inch artifact, then carefully lifted the green wooden box that exuded a warm aura. Even just holding it gently, he felt an inexplicable reassurance.
He tucked the little box, whose contents he didn't know, into his sleeve, but not into the Square Inch artifact. He let out a breath.
Beside him, the girl kept her eyes wide, staring hard at this "sword immortal" who had vanquished demons and performed great magic.
Her master, who had secretly taught her immortal arts, said that there were many old immortals in the world who had achieved great cultivation but looked like children. They were the truly carefree immortals, completely unbound by heaven and earth.
She had seen many strange things today, but none stranger than the immortal before her, who looked like a young lad.
For instance, were there talismans that could be used and then taken back?
Her master was half a martial artist of the jianghu, half an immortal from the mountains. He had talked a lot about matters both on and off the mountains, but he had never mentioned such a thing.
Chen Ping'an had a good impression of the girl. As he walked toward the main gate of the City God Hall, intending to use the Divine Being Beats Drum style to completely break the spell prohibition, he turned his head and asked softly, "It's very dangerous here. Why did you come in earlier?"
Wow, an immortal is talking to me!
And he seems quite friendly.
The girl was overjoyed. She shook her wrist, and the bell sounded melodiously. "Immortal sir, these four bells on my body can protect me. My master said that even if a Cave Dwelling realm immortal wanted to kill me, I could hold on for a while. But there's a biggest problem..."
"Don't tell anyone about such secret matters of magical treasures." Chen Ping'an quickly waved his hand to interrupt the girl's naive talk and reminded, "You shouldn't stay here long. Leave immediately, and better yet, leave the city right now."
The girl shook her head. "My parents are both in the county town. I won't go anywhere. Since I've learned immortal arts, I have to protect them."
Chen Ping'an had no choice but to let it go. He didn't force her, just told the girl to stay far away. Then he began to punch rapidly at the secret spell prohibition.
After twenty-one punches, the "ice surface" exploded with a bang. Black smoke roiled, mixed with countless weeping, resentment, and hatred. Chen Ping'an used the surging fist aura of Clouds Steam Over the Great Swamp to sweep it all clean. Any stragglers were dealt with by the bell girl behind him.
Chen Ping'an suddenly turned his head to look east at the city wall. Though he couldn't see the scenery of the watchtower clearly, it seemed he instantly felt some kind of gaze from that direction.
Most likely, the destruction of the formation at the City God Pavilion had a chain reaction, alerting some great demon or archfiend mastermind.
To be cautious, before crossing the threshold, he offered his last Yang Qi Lantern Talisman. Just as he lifted his foot, he found the girl beside him hesitating to speak. Chen Ping'an had to ask, "What's wrong? Do you know something strange is inside?"
The girl looked a bit embarrassed, feeling childish. But since the immortal sir asked, she had to brazen it out and said dejectedly, "My parents said that when entering temples and Taoist temples to burn incense, men step with the left foot and women with the right. Men cross the threshold with the left foot, and we with the right."
Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Alright, thank you."
So he crossed the threshold with his left foot and followed the drifting Lantern Talisman to the statue of the City God, Shen Wen. But before Chen Ping'an could speak, the City God opened his majestic mouth and said something that made the girl furious. But in awe of the accumulated centuries of authority, she dared not speak out and only grumbled in her stomach.
A little golden dust on the ground all flew back onto the statue's body. From the time Chen Ping'an broke the formation prohibition until now, the golden body of the statue had already patched up seventy or eighty percent of its gold leaf. The statue's eyes emitted a faint golden glow, like a three-zhang tall divine being overlooking all beings in the county.
The first words of this City God were not polite: "Young man, hand over the iron official seal immediately!"
Chen Ping'an's face was calm. He was about to take out the green wooden box from his sleeve, whose outer iron seal had melted, while explaining, "The official seal has already been melted by my talisman..."
Chen Ping'an only spoke halfway.
"Nonsense!"
That City God statue shook with rage. Dust scattered. As the golden dust on the ground almost completely filled the cracks, the statue was entirely golden—no wonder it was called the "Golden City God" in several kingdoms. The statue lifted one foot high and said fiercely, "Do you really think that by cleaning up a few small fry, you can act willfully before me?! If it weren't for the three opponents joining forces, plus the rebellion of my subordinate officials to cooperate inside and outside, pinning me inside this City God Hall, they would never have had this chance. Hand over the iron official seal immediately. Don't waste time. The situation is dire. I still need to go into the city to suppress the demons!"
Before the formation was broken, the City God Shen Wen had been busy maintaining his last bit of divine radiance from being extinguished. And with that filthy spell isolating heaven and earth, he couldn't know what was happening outside. In his view, the three great demons and demonic path overlords had left. The opponents probably didn't know the true secrets here, so they wouldn't leave important combat power behind. So the only thing that surprised the City God about the youth with the box on his back was how he broke the formation at the door. Was he a sect disciple proficient in strange formations and immortal arrays?
But no matter what, the fate of the Caiyi Kingdom's rivers and mountains, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Yanzi County town, were closely tied to that thing in the City God Pavilion. There could be no error.
The giant statue took a heavy step out of the altar. One foot stomped down one zhang in front of Chen Ping'an, shattering the bluestone floor. It bent down and reached out, "Hand over the seal immediately!"
Chen Ping'an didn't move. He asked, "Someone helped you. Is it that hard to say thank you?"
The statue obviously froze. After a long pause, it sighed and nodded. "I was too impatient. I was wrong. Indeed, I need to thank you for this matter."
Chen Ping'an took out the green wooden box. "The iron official seal melted and fused with the clay of the civil official statue, but this little wooden box was revealed. Is this what you want?"
The statue slowly nodded.
Chen Ping'an tossed the box high. The City God statue caught it and smiled. "This is indeed it."
Chen Ping'an turned and walked away. The girl quickly followed.
Suddenly, wind howled behind him. Chen Ping'an knew something was wrong. Instantly, he activated his qi, true qi flowing like a fire dragon, circling hundreds of li through various qi palaces and acupoints.
The girl, who had just reached the threshold, stood petrified.
She turned her head and saw the City God statue's thick leg heavily stomping onto the back of the sword immortal with the box. The youth was crushed, almost kneeling, barely holding his breath to avoid being stamped into the ground by the three-zhang statue.
Chen Ping'an's face was flushed red. He said tremblingly, "You go first!"
The girl dared not hesitate. She quickly leaped over the threshold and landed in the square, turning back to see black smoke like ink swirling around the City God statue, entering and exiting through the seven orifices of its face. The statue's eyes had also turned a sinister dark gold.
The girl screamed in fright, "Watch out! The City God has fallen into demon possession!"
Chen Ping'an's knees slightly bent. He gritted his teeth, arched his back, bearing the ever-increasing weight of the statue's big foot. He stood up little by little. He swiftly slapped the sword-nourishing gourd, and at the same time, two golden Pagoda Subduing Demon Talismans slid out of his sleeve, one between each pair of fingers. Lowering his head inadvertently, he saw the straw sandals on his feet. Chen Ping'an felt a surge of exhilaration. This journey down the mountain into the mortal world was truly splendid. He laughed heartily, "Chu Yi, Chu Shi, follow me to exorcise demons!"