Chapter 244 — Thinking It Was All Blades, Spears, Swords, and Halberds

Rumble—

The wind howled, the forest shook and swayed wildly, and leaves flew about in disorder.

“As expected, it still came!”

Zuo Zhengyang swung his long saber, his advancing foot, with the tip of his toe touching the ground, faintly taking on the posture of retreating. In the direction of his gaze, around Lanruo Temple, bubbling sounds rose and fell from the walls of the surrounding courtyards, while mist spread and billowed close to the ground.

The ground suddenly loosened, bringing with it a succession of crunching sounds. Mud and stones rapidly turned over, and shadowy figures broke through the earth one after another. The surging white vapor gathered together, revealing a figure lightly stepping forward on lotus-like feet, holding up a golden finger guard.

Over here, Zuo Zhengyang tightened his grip on the saber hilt and was just about to turn around when he heard overlapping voices of men and women ring out.

“Black Mountain Old Demon, you have finally come.”

Black Mountain Old Demon?

Zuo Zhengyang, who had intended to flee and delay for time, stopped in his tracks, the expression on his face going blank. He immediately realized that this demon had invited an accomplice.

‘Wait, a thousand-year-old tree demon, how could it still need other demons to help? Could it be—’

With a light rustle of the straw raincoat, Zuo Zhengyang’s expression changed. Beneath the bamboo hat, he slightly turned his face and looked toward the tree demon in front of the temple.

‘Could it be that it invited the Black Mountain Old Demon to come together and enjoy a feast of human flesh and blood?’

As these thoughts raced through his mind, his ears were filled with the sounds of wings flapping with a series of smacks. In an instant, startled birds flapped their wings and flew chaotically in all directions. Zuo Zhengyang clenched the saber hilt, narrowing his eyes.

From between the trees in the distant forest, faint clinking and clanging sounds came drifting over.

A pair of bells hung from the donkey’s neck, swaying lightly. A layer of fallen leaves on the ground bore hoofprints, while the mushrooms beneath the tree roots were swept into the donkey’s mouth by its long, crimson tongue and ground to pieces. As if hearing sounds coming from afar, it shook its long ears, raised its donkey head, and looked back at its master behind it, flipping up its thick lips and letting out a warning bray.

Lu Liangsheng reached out and lightly tapped it on the head.

“Got it.”

The bearded man a few steps behind them carried a wooden case on his back, still somewhat uneasy. He walked over to the scholar’s side. “Daoist Friend Lu, do you really know that demon?”

“I know her. Didn’t you hear her calling for me?”

At this moment, they were still several li from Lanruo Temple. To put the big man at ease, Lu Liangsheng spread out his hand and summoned a long sword from the sword rack, letting it lie across his palm.

With a clang, a section of the sword hilt opened on its own.

“Waah, Master, this humble sword—”

“Shut up.” Lu Liangsheng did not let it continue speaking. His fingertip lightly touched the pommel. “Follow the demonic aura over there. If there is a fight, separate them.”

The Veiled Moon Sword gave a soft hum and flew straight into the air, disappearing in the blink of an eye among the dense branches. Yan Chixia steadied himself and looked in the direction the sword had gone.

“Daoist Friend, has this been refined into an Immortal Sword?”

“It was merely a fortuitous coincidence.” Lu Liangsheng invited him to continue forward, then looked back at the three disciples following behind him and smiled. “The spiritual consciousness within this Veiled Moon Sword is a wisp of the soul of the great demon that caused trouble in Tianzhi City last time. It entered the sword and was nurtured into a sword spirit.”

His voice paused, and he added another sentence.

“It’s just a little shameless and sharp-tongued.”

Uh—

Seeing the helpless expression on the scholar’s face, Yan Chixia shook his head with his hands behind his back.

Even if it was a coincidence, it was still an enormous stroke of fortune. How could he have such an expression? He truly did not know how blessed he was. Afterward, he would still have to admonish him a few times and have him treat the sword spirit well.

As the group of five walked toward Lanruo Temple, outside the temple, in front of the stone stele, Zuo Zhengyang clenched his teeth and raised his saber, looking once more at the tree demon opposite him.

‘If I leave again, those five scholars will certainly die. Back then, when I faced Pudu Cihang, I did not leave either. How could I simply walk away now?’

His teeth clenched tightly, grinding together with a harsh grinding sound. The one arm gripping the saber suddenly swept sideways, shaking open his straw raincoat.

‘At worst, we’ll fight until both sides perish—’

The instant the thought flashed through his mind, Zuo Zhengyang roared angrily, “Ah!” His feet thundered forward in a mad charge, and the moss-covered paving stones spread cracks beneath his steps, shattering inch by inch and flying outward.

“Demon—”

He swung his arm around, the blade howling as he swept it out. As he ran, the wooden strips of his straw raincoat all stood upright and spread open, his long roar echoing through the air: “—give me your life!”

Before the final “life” had even fallen, the air suddenly seemed to solidify. Behind the figure who had leapt into the air and swung his saber, the branches and leaves in the forest suddenly rustled chaotically. Sword light shot out of the woods with a swish, carrying countless branches and leaves flying in all directions.

The figure in midair suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. The blade in his hand, slashing toward the opposite side, struck something hard. His vision blurred, and even sparks flew.

With a clang, the long saber in his hand broke.

His single arm was shaken numb. At the same time, the wooden leaves of the straw raincoat stood upright one by one. Zuo Zhengyang was knocked back toward the ground, his feet maintaining their original stance, yet he was forcibly pushed two or three zhang before finally stopping. His hair was disheveled, and he did not even know where his bamboo hat had been flung. Half of the saber blade spun through the air and fell, with a clang, embedding itself not far away.

Amid his swaying strands of hair, his gaze lifted toward the sky. Opposite him, the tree demon lightly hooked her golden finger guard, holding it between her red lips. Within his field of vision, an ancient-looking long sword hung suspended in midair, sword qi spilling in all directions, causing the surrounding air to seem as though it were being sliced apart, twisting and distorting.

The tree demon was fine, but the group of grass spirits and wood monsters around her, facing the imposing sword qi of the Veiled Moon Sword in midair, huddled together and gathered around the tree demon’s skirts, not daring to move at all, letting out frightened chirps.

The cloud-pattern carvings on the sword face shifted with a clicking sound. Veiled Moon turned around, as if sizing up the wary Zuo Zhengyang over there.

“Eeh, that’s quite some strength. Two arms on someone else wouldn’t even compare to yours.”

Zuo Zhengyang instinctively looked at his empty arm, tightening his grip on the broken saber, not daring to act rashly.

Something was wrong. His thick brows furrowed as he looked at this sword, finding it somewhat familiar. It seemed to be that dharma sword of Lu Liangsheng’s. Just as he thought of that person, the demon opposite him suddenly moved. She pushed aside the little spirits beside her, revealing delight beneath her veil, and hurried forward, dragging her skirt.

“Tree Demon, Tree Demon, why are you walking upside down?”

In midair, Moon Haze descended until it hung above the ground, drifting back and forth, its hoarse voice coming from within the sword.

“Aren’t your roots underneath?”

“You should lift your legs over your head.”

Amid the incessant chatter, the simultaneous roar of Zuo Zhengyang and the tree demon rang out. “Enough!”

The former glanced at the approaching tree demon, his body even hunching forward. Regardless of whether that sword was Lu Liangsheng’s or not, a great demon was right before him, and besides, there was still a Black Mountain Old Demon who had yet to appear. If he could slay one first, it would be easier to deal with them afterward.

His toes pressed into a layer of mud. The instant he rushed forward with his broken saber hanging toward the ground, the black-robed tree demon who had been approaching suddenly stopped. The overlapping strange voices of men and women abruptly became a clear female voice.

“Black Mountain Old Demon!!”

There was a faint rustling among the bushes, followed by the sound of bells around a neck. Zuo Zhengyang turned his head to look back. A figure on all fours gradually revealed its outline, and an aura he had never sensed before made his entire body feel uncomfortable.

An aura that was neither human nor demon…

A low murmur escaped his throat, words that only he himself could hear. As the bells and footsteps drew closer, at the instant his gaze tightened—

Whoosh!

The drooping branches and bushes on the ground parted. What entered his eyes was an old donkey chewing grass.

Hee-haw, hee-haw~~

The old donkey swished its tail and raised its head, braying at him and spraying out a breath of hot air. It shook the bookcase on its rump, leisurely turned to the side, and continued lowering its head to graze.

“This…” The corner of Zuo Zhengyang’s mouth twitched, and even the hand tightly gripping the saber hilt could not help loosening somewhat.

At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, the approaching tree demon suddenly blurred and flashed past him with a swish, pouncing toward the familiar figure of a person slowly emerging from behind the old donkey.

“Lu Liangsheng, be careful!” Zuo Zhengyang instinctively shouted.

He raised his saber and was about to charge over, but in the next instant, the black-veiled tree demon that had pounced was, within his line of sight, already in front of the scholar, nuzzling herself affectionately against him with a giggling smile.

Clang.

The remaining half of the long saber fell from Zuo Zhengyang’s hand onto the ground.

“Aren’t we supposed to slay demons and exorcise evil? What is this supposed to mean?”

Looking at the man and demon over there, who seemed just like a master and a household pet affectionately getting close to each other, his mind was somewhat confused.