Chapter 243: Chapter 158: What? That Demon Cultivator Has Already Been Dealt With?

Otherwise, no matter how strong he was, he couldn’t earn Merit if he never encountered any Demon Cultivators.

As the two were talking, a flash of Sword Light suddenly streaked across the sky.

Then, a middle-aged man in black robes, holding a Jade Ruler, leaped down from it.

He asked in a rushed tone, "Fellow Daoists, the Spiritual Qi here was just in turmoil, and a Signal Arrow was lit. What’s the situation now? Where is the invading Demon Cultivator?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

His speed was so immense that only after he finished speaking did a powerful gust of wind, laced with waves of Spiritual Qi, finally catch up to him.

Judging from this display of power, he was clearly a Cultivator at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

Chang Shunping was stunned at first. He hadn’t expected the Signal Arrow he’d launched earlier to have actually summoned reinforcements.

He then explained, "I am Chang Shunping of the Qingyang Chang Family. I was the one who just fired the Signal Arrow."

"Thank you for coming to our aid, fellow Daoist, but Xiao has already dealt with the attacking Demon Cultivator."

Hearing that the matter was already resolved, Yang Huai’an, who had rushed over to help, immediately raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Chen.

Ever since receiving the message from the Lingyuan Sect yesterday, he had set out at once to patrol the area, hoping to capture the Demon Cultivator in advance and prevent them from wreaking havoc with the Flame Crystal Stone.

As one of the only Eight Great Demon Slayer Guards currently active, he had extensive experience fighting Demon Cultivators and had deliberately chosen a route where one was most likely to appear.

.

Half an hour ago, Yang Huai’an had just stepped into the territory of Qingyang.

Suddenly, he felt a violent fluctuation of Spiritual Qi from the direction of Qingyang Mountain. It seemed a Cultivator was drawing upon the Power of Heaven and Earth.

He was alarmed. ’To be able to sense the Spiritual Qi anomaly from a hundred li away... who in the world is fighting over at Qingyang Mountain?’

What shocked him even more was that a Signal Arrow soon lit up in that same direction.

This meant that an allied Cultivator there had encountered a Demon Cultivator and was calling for help from any other Cultivators nearby.

Yang Huai’an instantly realized that the unusual Spiritual Qi fluctuation he had just felt must have come from an extremely powerful Demon Cultivator.

But unlike Chang Shunping, he merely frowned for a moment before pushing his Flying Sword to its maximum speed and rushing over.

He had a Top Grade Defensive Spiritual Artifact to protect him and was confident in his own safety, so he wanted to help stall the Demon Cultivator to buy time for the other allied Cultivators to escape.

But Yang Huai’an never expected that by the time he rushed over as fast as he could, the battle here would already be over.

There were only two unfamiliar Cultivators he didn’t recognize, who seemed to be cleaning up the scene.

He couldn’t help but feel puzzled. ’What on earth happened here?’

And after hearing Chang Shunping’s answer, he was momentarily stunned. "What? The Demon Cultivator has already been dealt with?"

Yang Huai’an turned his head and looked at Xiao Chen in disbelief, completely unable to accept what he had just heard.

Although he hadn’t seen the White Bone Giant with his own eyes, judging from both the turbulent Spiritual Qi in the air and the destructive traces on the scene, an incredibly powerful Demon Cultivator must have been here.

On his way over, he knew this was going to be a fierce battle and had even mentally prepared himself to be injured.

He never, ever imagined that someone would have gotten here first and taken care of the Demon Cultivator directly.

Chang Shunping pointed to the nearby remains of Cao Wunian. "That’s right. See? Over there."

Yang Huai’an swept the area with his Divine Sense and was once again greatly startled.

Judging from the Spiritual Qi dissipating from the remains, the deceased must have been at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

And within that pile of remains, there wasn’t a single intact bone—a clear symptom of having consumed the White Bone Sect’s Holy Medicine.

A Demon Cultivator at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment who consumed the Holy Medicine could, for a short time, completely break through the limits of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

They would gain unimaginable physical strength, a Defense almost comparable to a Top Grade Magical Artifact, and a burst of speed that could completely overwhelm ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

One of the main reasons the White Bone Sect, despite having no Golden Core True Man, could simultaneously oppose the three Major Sects of Hezhou and survive for so many years without being exterminated was precisely because they possessed this incredibly potent Holy Medicine.

As a result, when the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the three Major Sects went to suppress the White Bone Sect, they all had to be extremely careful, operate in teams, and not dare to split up easily, lest their opponents use the Holy Medicine to drag them down in a mutual-destruction scenario.

This led to a severe shortage of manpower, often resulting in them arriving a step too late to corner their targets.

On the rare occasion they succeeded, they would still face a White Bone Giant covering the retreat. A single White Bone Giant was often enough to hold off seven or eight late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Yang Huai’an had never imagined that he would one day see someone single-handedly take down a Demon Cultivator from the White Bone Sect who had consumed the Holy Medicine.

He said "single-handedly" because he immediately ruled out Chang Shunping. Based on past experience fighting the White Bone Sect, a Cultivator who hadn’t reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment would be of no help in such a battle; they would only be a burden.

"Xiao? Could you be Xiao Chen?"

Yang Huai’an carefully recalled all the late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators he had heard of and immediately thought of the person who had recently placed first in the monthly report.

At the time, he had been curious who this suddenly-emerged Cultivator was. He never thought he would meet the man himself so soon.

"I am."

Xiao Chen nodded at his words, then asked in return, "I’ve long heard that within the Lingyuan Sect, there is a Daoist named Yang known as the Spirit-Breaking Ruler, who carries a Jade Ruler two chi and two cun in length. Since this war began, he has slain countless demons and is one of the only Eight Great Demon Slayer Guards. Might I be speaking to that same Yang?"

Yang Huai’an quickly waved his hands. "Xiao, you jest. My reputation is undeserved. It cannot compare to your ability to stand against a White Bone Giant."