CHAPTER 13: CHAPTER 13: HELLHOUND

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Gu Qingqing and the others found the entrance to the underground lair beneath an old, dilapidated pavilion. Even though there was camouflage, the tiles there were different, not to mention the residual Demonic Qi left by the Demon Cultivator who had just entered helped them locate it.

After entering the passage, the smell of blood in the air intensified significantly, making one nauseous. Gu Qingqing turned pale after being overwhelmed by the stench. Noticing her pallor, Rong Ye thought for a moment, took out a talisman, lightly tapped his fingertips, and the talisman disappeared into the air, isolating the bloody smell. Gu Qingqing felt a lot better immediately.

As they were about to reach the entrance to the underground lair, Rong Ye and Si Lin both stopped.

"Let me handle this." Si Lin glanced at Gu Qingqing, who was being held by Rong Ye, and spoke softly, stepping forward to shield the two behind him.

Rong Ye raised a Protective Shield for himself and Gu Qingqing, quietly waiting for Si Lin to act.

The Dragon Capturing Sword had been in Si Lin’s hand since earlier. Now, he channeled his Spiritual Power and swung toward the entrance not far away. A beam of Sword Qi, filled with overwhelming Spiritual Power, shot straight for the entrance.

The Demon Cultivator hidden at the entrance did not expect the intruders to attack without a word. Feeling the Sword Qi rushing in, his expression changed slightly, and he quickly retreated while casting his own Sword Qi.

Si Lin’s Sword Qi collided fiercely with the Demon Cultivator’s. The latter’s Sword Qi vanished, while Si Lin’s weakened but still pressed toward the Demon Cultivator.

Seeing his Sword Qi dispelled, the Demon Cultivator’s expression changed again. He blocked Si Lin’s Sword Qi with his blade, retreated repeatedly, finally stopping by the blood pool, and glanced toward the entrance.

The figures of Si Lin and the others had already appeared at the entrance. Upon seeing the people and the blood pool not far away, Rong Ye’s first reaction was to turn around and cover Gu Qingqing’s eyes with his hand.

Although he acted quickly, Gu Qingqing still saw a part of it, causing her just-recovered complexion to return to a ghastly white, her body even trembling slightly.

Seeing this, Rong Ye and Si Lin’s expressions changed slightly, and they looked at the Demon Cultivator with even more ill intent.

"A few more little ones have come, just in time. I can use you to raise my flag!" The Demon Cultivator’s voice was grating, his face twisted in a sinister smile, his gaze bloodthirsty as he looked at Gu Qingqing and the others.

Si Lin snorted coldly, lightly tapping the ground with his toe. His entire body suspended in mid-air, he mobilized the Spiritual Power within him. The Dragon Capturing Sword thrust forward, sending a sharp Sword Qi toward the Demon Cultivator.

Perceiving the abundance of Spiritual Power within the Sword Qi, a hint of surprise flashed in the Demon Cultivator’s eyes, his expression unchanged, as he also cast a Sword Qi with his blade.

The two Sword Qi met in mid-air, causing much greater commotion than before, forming a deep trench in the ground.

Not giving the Demon Cultivator a chance to react, Si Lin delivered three consecutive strikes, each more formidable than the last. To avoid being excluded by the Heavenly Dao here, he reduced his Sword Qi to the Peak of the sixth level. Even so, it was incredibly powerful.

The soil on the ground, stirred by the Sword Qi, rushed toward the Demon Cultivator, clearly not expecting the seemingly young Si Lin to have such high cultivation, leaving him in a disheveled response. The blood pool beneath his feet was affected by the Sword Qi, sending up several spurts of blood.

The Demon Cultivator barely stabilized his body in the air, looking at Si Lin with uncertainty. Seeing Si Lin raise his sword again, he hurriedly withdrew his sword, forming sealing handprints with both hands and muttering.

As his handprints became more intricate, the Spiritual Power in the air suddenly became volatile. The bubbles in the blood pool beneath him started surfacing faster and more frequently, as if boiling.

At the same time, a powerful aura spread throughout the underground lair. A gale suddenly blew through the lair, pulling those who had been left on the ground into the blood pool one after one.

Zhuo Tingqiu had long been trying to minimize his presence since Gu Qingqing and the others entered. Noticing Si Lin’s strength, he slowly moved closer to them, and as the gale arose, he moved desperately in Gu Qingqing’s direction.

Gu Qingqing, catching Zhuo Tingqiu’s figure out of the corner of her eye, although he looked rather pitiful, still remembered him and immediately tugged on Rong Ye’s sleeve.

Rong Ye had already noticed Zhuo Tingqiu’s figure but chose to ignore it. After Gu Qingqing’s reminder, he reached out and pulled Zhuo Tingqiu to his side, enveloping him in a Protective Shield.

Finally getting a breather, Zhuo Tingqiu collapsed on the ground, looking at Rong Ye with eyes full of gratitude.

Rong Ye, however, was too focused on the Demon Cultivator to care about Zhuo Tingqiu’s reaction.

On the ground, those pulled into the blood pool were quickly submerged and disappeared, while the disturbances in the pool grew larger as if something was about to emerge.

Si Lin’s gaze didn’t fall on the Demon Cultivator but instead on the ceiling above, a slight frown on his face.

He could sense that whatever the Demon Cultivator was attempting to summon was a formidable demon, most likely beyond what the Heavenly Dao of this place could easily manage. Generally, such entities should not appear, but the Demon Cultivator must have found a way to conceal it from the Heavenly Dao, allowing such an entity to manifest.

Should he have to confront such an entity, the power he would have to use might surpass the strongest forces here, possibly alerting the Heavenly Dao.

While Si Lin pondered, the blood pool beneath the Demon Cultivator suddenly exploded. The resulting blood mist punched a hole in the ceiling, causing an earthquake-like shaking. Fortunately, Si Lin and the others reacted quickly and avoided being buried underground.

Once they landed, they saw a massive demonic dog composed of blood mist appear behind the Demon Cultivator.

The demonic dog had two gigantic heads with eyes that gleamed eerily green, greedily eyeing Gu Qingqing and the ones around her, its mouth open to reveal sharp teeth, with corrosive red liquid dripping from its mouths, leaving large pits on the ground.

Its body was covered in grotesque human faces, causing anyone who saw it to feel a chill down their spine.

"Such a delicious fragrance. I’m going to eat you all!" The demonic dog boomed, its voice exploding like thunder at their ears.

Si Lin and Rong Ye, slightly frowning, looked at the demonic dog disdainfully, unfazed by its voice as they protected Gu Qingqing, leaving only Zhuo Tingqiu affected to the point of fainting.

Seeing that Si Lin and the others weren’t harmed, the demonic dog became even more excited, lowering its head to charge at Gu Qingqing and her companions.

Rong Ye held onto Gu Qingqing as he retreated, bringing the unconscious Zhuo Tingqiu along to spare them from the chaos of the battle between the demonic dog and Si Lin.

After confirming Gu Qingqing and the others had left, Si Lin finally began his attack.

He flipped his hand, producing a bowl-like object which he tossed out. It enlarged immediately, forming a transparent barrier that enveloped the entire area.

Ensuring the area was entirely shielded, preventing any disturbance from alerting the Heavenly Dao, Si Lin could finally let loose.

Easily evading the demonic dog’s attack, Si Lin’s body floated mid-air and the Dragon Capturing Sword flew from his hand, hovering before him. The dragon on the sword suddenly vanished, its entire body circling around the Dragon Capturing Sword, exuding a golden light.

"Destroy!"

With a low growl, the Dragon Capturing Sword shot forth, transforming into a giant sword shadow, descending upon the demonic dog.