CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41: FIRE ERUPTS! DISASTER ARISES!

He knocked Liu Changfeng unconscious with one palm.

Qi Xiu stood up solemnly, twisting his body to look at the blazing flames that filled the city, his face fluctuating between light and dark.

Things had gotten seriously out of hand. He hadn’t expected that instead of external threats, it was internal turmoil that had arrived.

The County Magistrate, the Deputy County Magistrate, the County Magistrate. Along with the constables, bailiffs, and clerks under them. All were worshipping at the Demon Altar.

Suddenly, Qi Xiu felt a chill down his spine, his scalp tingling. The Baoho County, which seemed peaceful and prosperous on ordinary days, had turned out to be a den of monsters. Just the Demon Altars worshipped by the people from the county yamen alone numbered seven! To say nothing of the countless other secret Demon Altars scattered throughout the county.

No wonder there was hardly any word about the disappearances of living people. With the government itself corrupted, who would care?

Go! He must go. If he stayed any longer, he would eventually become food for that demon!

His mind in turmoil, Qi Xiu paid no attention to the unconscious Liu Changfeng on the ground and took a step to leave. Suddenly, on impulse, it felt as though needles were prickling his back.

He turned abruptly, and atop the roof hundreds of meters away, a pale, ghostly shadow floated, its eyes devoid of humanity, cold and eerie, staring fixedly at him.

Upon being discovered, the specter actually turned to leave.

Not good! It’s going to send a message.

His face darkening, Qi Xiu understood he absolutely couldn’t let this specter escape; otherwise, he might not even have time to get out of Baoho County. Qi Xiu’s legs exploded with force, fierce Qi Force surging into the ground.

With a CRACK, stones burst, and the ground suddenly exploded with spider-web-like cracks. He shot forward like a cannonball, leaping over ten meters in an instant.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP—

With a leap, Qi Xiu landed on the rooftop, transforming into a high-speed blur like a cheetah. Each step was filled with explosive power and sharpness. Whether the rooftops were flat or rugged, he could always accurately find a foothold and jump with incredible speed, vaulting into the air.

All that filled his mind was the determination to catch up to that specter. Channeling his Qinggong with all his might, Qi Xiu’s proficiency in Swallow Soar began to increase steadily, even faster than the usual stiff, hard training! But at this moment, he had no time to worry about that.

Seeing that he was closing in on the specter, Qi Xiu bit his finger and quickly wrote three "Seal" characters on his Autumn Phyllostachys staff!

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH—

He swung his arm in succession, and three blood-red Sword Qi shot out violently, filled with a thick, pungent demonic aura.

However, sensing the terrifying attack from behind, the specter’s insubstantial body suddenly sank down and directly penetrated the rooftop, disappearing into a house.

"Get out!" Surrounded by a swelling black and red aura, Qi Xiu bellowed, delivering a fierce palm strike that shattered the entire rooftop to pieces and charged into the room below.

"Ah!" A man and woman role-playing in the room saw the shattered rooftop and the descending Qi Xiu, screaming as they scrambled for their clothes.

His tiger-like eyes scanned the room, keenly capturing a wisp of a shadow slipping through the south wall. Qi Xiu threw down a silver note and again smashed through the south wall, pursuing it.

In stunned silence, the mustached man dressed in a woman’s palace outfit turned to his wife. "Shall we... continue?"

「...」

In the cramped and dark alley, the specter hid and zigzagged about, trying to use the dark night to escape Qi Xiu’s hunt. But with the enhancement of the Sun Observing Strengthening Skill, even on a blind night without stars or moon, Qi Xiu could still see as if it were daytime.

Rounding about, the specter unexpectedly led Qi Xiu back to the starting point. Then it plunged headfirst into the unconscious Liu Changfeng’s body.

The eyes of Liu Changfeng, who had been lying with closed eyes, gradually opened, revealing a strangely cold and eerie smile.

He... won’t... dare... to... kill... people...

Having witnessed Qi Xiu’s handling of Liu Changfeng, the muddy consciousness of the specter determined that Qi Xiu wouldn’t dare to kill a living person easily. Sitting on the ground facing the striding Qi Xiu, the specter spread its hands with a sly smile.

What can you do to me, unless you dare to kill this living...

Crimson Sand Palm!

The slow consciousness of the specter had not yet finished turning. An iron palm, fiercely domineering and imbued with raging Fiery Energy and hidden venom, thundered down. Like thunder thrown upon flat ground, it struck Liu Changfeng directly on the crown of his head.

"Ah!"

The masculine and fiercely toxic power of the Crimson Sand Palm pierced through Liu Changfeng’s body. The specter within screamed in madness as countless grey-white fumes spewed out from Liu Changfeng’s every orifice.

He...how...could he...dare...

The murky consciousness couldn’t comprehend why Qi Xiu would suddenly act so ruthlessly and decisively. The specter struggled to crawl out from Liu Changfeng’s body but was grasped firmly by Qi Xiu’s hand.

Looking at the pitiful, screaming specter who couldn’t escape, Qi Xiu pondered thoughtfully.

It turns out the bane of these specters is pure Yang martial arts.

The Crimson Sand Palm was a combination of the Red Heart Palm and the Black Sand Palm. The Red Heart Palm itself was a pure Yang martial art. It damaged with Fiery Energy. Its unmatched palm strength, combined with the high heat of flames, made its killing power extremely formidable. After fusing with the Black Sand Palm, its original Fiery Energy was compounded by the palm toxin of the Black Sand Palm. This created the "fire poison," which was like a maggot clinging to the bone—once it took hold, it was incredibly difficult to remove. It was by virtue of the fire poison attached to his hand that Qi Xiu was able to grasp the intangible specter, preventing its escape.

He clenched his fingers tightly, and the struggling specter was directly burned to ash and scattered.

Having dealt with the hidden danger, Qi Xiu immediately turned around and rushed home.

There’s no time tomorrow. I’ll leave tonight!

「...」

Leaping across roofs and vaulting over walls, he traveled along the rooftops all the way back home. A backward somersault with a 3600-degree spin landed him steadily in the yard, and Qi Xiu, without stopping, entered the kitchen.

He retrieved his entire fortune from a brick by the water tank: twenty-one thousand and three hundred silver notes.

With the silver notes in hand, Qi Xiu breathed a slight sigh of relief. He planned to take nothing else from the house, traveling light. At worst, once he arrived elsewhere, he would simply buy what he needed; money allows for such caprices.

Tucking away the silver notes, Qi Xiu returned to the inner room to take a few sets of clothes, two fine brushes, and a jar of ink.

Once everything was ready, he exited the main hall. Just as he was about to leave, Qi Xiu suddenly froze. He turned around, unbelieving, and blinked hard.

Am I seeing things? Where is that jade Bodhisattva?

The jade Bodhisattva statue, which had been standing quietly in the corner of the main hall, had now, astonishingly, vanished without a trace. Only the piece of white cloth lay on the ground.

A chill spread through Qi Xiu’s entire body in an instant.

What on earth is happening tonight?

Without daring to think any further, Qi Xiu tightened the bundle on his back and hurried away.

「...」

In the county office’s backyard, the altar that had been hidden in a secret chamber was now moved outside. Bare-chested and with a deranged look, Guo Youfang knelt obsessively below the statue of the Fox Demon. His hands raised high above his head. Around him were bound hundreds of ordinary citizens with faces full of terror, struggling incessantly.

"Lord Fox Immortal! Please enjoy to your heart’s content!"

The Fox Demon statue, much more exquisite and luxurious than before, once again lit up with blood-red eyes.

In the next moment!

The bound living people started screaming, as numerous bloodlines flew out from their every orifice, converging in mid-air into a trickling stream of blood that showered upon the Fox Demon statue. In just a matter of seconds, over a hundred people turned into dried-up, pitch-black husks.

After consuming such a number of living beings, the Fox Demon statue once again exhaled a puff of pink mist into Guo Youfang’s body. As the demonic mist entered, Guo Youfang’s body began to swell rapidly, grey-green sinews twisted beneath smooth, pale skin, joints warped, and stained-yellow teeth dropped out one by one, replaced by sharp fangs.

In the blink of an eye, a County Magistrate turned into a grotesque, half-human, half-beast monster.

And such a bizarre and horrifying sight was occurring everywhere within Baoho County. Raging fires acted as the curtain to hide nefarious and terrifying deeds. Dire sins festered in dark corners, growing wildly.