Patrol Captain

In the sky, dark clouds surged, lightning flashed like snakes within them, and a gale-force wind carried large raindrops, which pounded heavily onto the ground.

On the muddy mountain path, water splashed everywhere. In the vast rain, two small mountain demons, each about the size of a human, stumbled forward. They carried a huge long sword on their shoulders. The sword was black with mountain patterns on it and gleamed coldly. Rainwater slid down the sharp blade.

Behind it, a magnificent tiger, several meters in size, stepped out from the rainy night. Its piercing tiger eyes were as majestic as a king of the mountains. Every step it took exuded a powerful aura. The rain did not wet its body, but instead created a misty rain curtain!
On the tiger's back, a figure in blue armor sat cross-legged, with leopard-like eyebrows and round eyes, straight as a peak. He was covered in heavy armor, each plate of which gleamed with a cold light. His shoulder armor was adorned with tiger-like blades. As the tiger moved forward, the armor clashed, producing a clanging sound. That intimidating aura broke through the rain curtain and pressed down on the dilapidated temple!
Beside the striped giant tiger, the blue-furred wolf demon who had just escaped transformed back into a burly man. Blood streamed from his chest as he knelt on the ground, grimacing in pain as he respectfully bowed. His eyes, though fierce, were fixed on the dilapidated temple, his pupils filled with terror.

"Sir, that thing is inside, and it's extremely ferocious."

It was originally a demon that cultivated in these mountains, leading a pack of wolves that howled through the forests and occupied the area. Even the local patrol captain couldn't do anything to it. However, a couple of days ago, a big shot came to Zhishui County. From the patrol captain and the local government office to the mountain gods and land gods, everyone in Zhishui County was at his command, patrolling the city and searching the mountains. It caused quite a stir. Once the mountain spirits were found, they were either marked or killed on the spot.

The surrounding mountains and forests were filled with unease, which also aroused public anger. Many local spirits and monsters, who were also "connected" to the old demon, went deep into the mountains to ask their "ancestor" for justice. However, the so-called "ancestor" was so frightened by the news that he quickly hid away.

Meanwhile, the mountain spirits received astonishing news from their "ancestor."

The troops from the Ninth Mountain have arrived!

Ordered to search the mountains and subdue the demons!

It was ordered by that Martial Saint General from Shu!
This person is like a true god in the heavens. Even demons who have cultivated in the mountains and forests for a long time and have gained wisdom would tremble upon hearing this name.

Therefore, the spirits and monsters in the mountains and forests either fled or hid, and if they were unlucky enough to be found, they could only kowtow and beg for mercy.

It was the latter, found by the patrol captain who knew it well, and then marked by the master of the Ninth Mountain, responsible for patrolling the forest where it lived, and had to report any strange people or things it encountered in the forest.

Just now, it seems that the master of the Ninth Mountain obtained some clues and ordered it to change its form and go to this dilapidated temple to find out the evil spirit inside.

I was used as bait to fish, but I had no choice. Luckily, it reacted quickly and ran away, thus saving its life.

What exactly is that woman? She doesn't seem to be a demon like them; her aura is incredibly sinister.

The wolf demon thought to itself, the sharp pain in its chest still making it feel lingering fear.

Just then, as the wolf demon was speaking, a golden light pierced the night and flew directly to the dilapidated temple, its jingling bells ringing out loudly, sounding even more urgent in the rainy night.

Above the dilapidated temple, a golden bell about a foot in size was suspended. As the bell rang rapidly, its golden light intensified, radiating golden waves that swept down with divine power, dispelling the darkness.

Wherever the golden light wave passed, the black tentacles that had grown wildly like weeds in the wind and rain of the dilapidated temple seemed to have encountered flames, emitting a piercing shriek and quickly retracting their outstretched tentacles as if burned.

Then, black tentacles retreated back into the dilapidated temple like a tide. Next, broken tiles flew onto the roof, collapsed beams were propped up again, and the crooked door slammed shut again.

The firelight inside was extinguished in an instant, leaving behind pitch-black darkness, as if ink had been sprayed on it!
On the magnificent tiger, the blue-armored captain narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint flashing in them, and with a swift movement, threw something.

A strange cry rang out, and the large swords carried on the shoulders of the two little demons in front of them suddenly flew up, almost pulling both the demons and the demons up with them.

The next second, the long sword whistled through the air, tearing through the night, and shot into the dilapidated temple like a cold star.

"boom"

With a loud bang, the long sword, like a streak of light, slashed through the rain and struck the dilapidated temple.

The already dilapidated temple crumbled at this moment, with wood chips and tiles flying everywhere.

The flash of the blade illuminated the scene amidst the debris and dust. In the temple, on the shrine, atop the broken headless statue, stood a monster with a beautiful woman's head, its body covered in tentacles. The tentacles, like twisted black snakes, lunged forward to defend. Directly in front, a black longsword, imbued with a white, semi-circular blade aura, was locked in a stalemate with the tentacles.

But the opponent still had strength left. Black tentacles, swirling with gravel and dust, shot towards the golden bell in the sky like sharp swords!
At this moment, atop the giant tiger, the Heavenly Guard Captain, clad in blue armor, narrowed his eyes, his hand forming a sword-like finger, and pointed towards the golden bell in the sky.

"ding dong"

The bell vibrated, sending up golden waves of light that swept away the smoke and dust. The twisted tentacles that shot out from below were engulfed in flames by the golden light, and then swept downwards.

Flames swept through, and the female monster let out a painful howl.

Soon, it transformed into the likeness of the maid in the flames. I was so moved by its appearance that I let out a heart-wrenching cry.
"help me!"

"I am innocent."

"Do not kill me!"

She was crying like a pear blossom in the rain, and I felt pity for her.

On the tiger's back, the blue-armored captain remained expressionless, watching the flames scorch the woman, unmoved.

Upon seeing this, the woman quickly transformed into her true form. Her beautiful head became hysterical, bursting into flames as it charged outwards, emitting a shrill scream.

"You fellows from the Ninth Mountain, your relentless pursuit of extermination against my Holy Church will inevitably invite the arrival of my god from the Divine Ruins,"

"That is something you cannot understand, something you cannot resist."

With a hysterical scream, its head, as it tried to break free, was engulfed by a dense golden light. Flames burned ceramic-like cracks into its head, and then, with a resentful shriek, the head exploded, turning to ashes in the flames.

Soon, the world became quiet.

The raindrops also began to fall from the sky.

On the tiger's back, Captain Tianguan's brows relaxed upon seeing this scene. He had never seen this thing before; it looked strange and ferocious, and even someone as seasoned as him felt a chill run down his spine upon seeing it.

However, I didn't really feel how powerful this thing was.

But he did not let his guard down. He knew that it was because of the magical artifact bestowed upon him by the higher authorities. It was said that this artifact contained the general's divine power and could automatically sense the evil spirits within a mile of the vicinity.

He barely made a move; he relied entirely on this golden bell to exorcise the demon!
Thinking of this, the Captain of the Heavenly Pass from the Eighth Battalion on the Left Route reached out and beckoned to the golden bell above the dilapidated temple.

But at this moment,
"cough cough"

A cough suddenly rang out beside him.

At that very moment, on the tiger's back, Zuo Qing, the captain of the Eighth Battalion on the left flank, suddenly felt a chilling aura sweep over him, the surrounding temperature dropped rapidly, and even the void seemed to freeze.

He raised his hand to beckon the bell, but the golden bell not far away remained unmoved.

His expression changed instantly. He leaped up and slapped to the left with his palm.

"boom"

There was a muffled sound.

He met a wolf's claw, then flipped over and landed steadily in the air.

On the other side, the wolf's claw was broken by tremendous force, but the wolf did not seem to be in any pain.

Captain Zuo Qing looked at the attacker with a solemn expression; it was the wolf demon who had been injured while scouting earlier. At this moment, the wolf demon had somehow changed its appearance.

Its fur was blackened, its eyes had lost their pupils, leaving only two surging dark blue lights, its broken and shattered arms hung limply, and the bloody hole in its chest was still there. However, this wolf demon did not seem to be in any pain, only coughing.

A pair of eerie eyes stared intently at Captain Zuo Qing.

Zuo Qing's pupils contracted slightly, his feet trembled, and a surge of sword energy rose around him, his eyebrows furrowing.
"As expected, it is the evil creature that the general ordered us to hunt down. We didn't even realize we had fallen into your trap. When did you move it here?"

His voice was filled with authority and coldness, but he showed no fear. They were all seasoned veterans of the battlefield, and this scene was not enough to frighten them.

The wolf demon licked its tongue, dipped its remaining hand in the blood from its chest, and ran it across its tongue, its long, sharp fingers cutting its tongue.

"Is this all the methods your Ninth Mountain uses to track down my Holy Sect disciples? It's nothing special!"

The "wolf demon" grinned, its voice a man's voice, or perhaps a sickly old man, filled with a sense of weariness, yet its words were sharp and mocking.

"Try taking that bell back and see if you can still do it?"

Zuo Qing's face darkened. Without saying a word, he made a gesture with both hands, and his body was immediately enveloped in a sharp, whistling aura of sword energy as he charged straight at his opponent.

The wolf demon simply opened its mouth wide, extending disgusting tentacles like an octopus, directly shattering the protective energy before swallowing it whole.

"If you're the only one who can stand guard, then stay here today." The wolf demon's lips curled into a sinister smile.

As he spoke, he prepared to make his move.

In that split second, a thunderclap boomed in the sky.

A chilling aura descended rapidly in this direction, like water gushing from a broken silver bottle.

"boom"

A five-colored lightning bolt struck down!
A magnificent mark appeared as the sky was torn open.

The sharp tip of the thunder tree landed directly on the "wolf demon".

In that instant, the "wolf demon" possessed by the martial spirit was instantly reduced to dust by the heavenly lightning, leaving not a trace. The sinister smile on its lips vanished with the wind.

Captain Zuo Qing was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood.

He immediately knelt on one knee, raised his hands to the sky, and his face flushed with excitement.

"This humble general thanks the general!"

This is the general using his great supernatural powers and skills to remotely assist, sending down divine thunder to annihilate the evil spirits.

The thunder in the sky passed without echoing.

However, Zuo Qing's emotions could not be calmed, and he recalled the years of war when he fought alongside the general in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Now, they are fighting alongside the general again!

At this moment, the rain gradually subsided, as if the dark clouds in the sky had been torn apart by the thunder that had pierced through heaven and earth. Even more, a crescent moon quietly peeked out, making the raindrops on the leaves of the forest look like scattered pieces of silver.

Zuo Qing retrieved the golden bell, leaped forward, and headed towards the ruins of the dilapidated temple.

A short while later, five unconscious figures floated behind him.

He then came to the group of lesser demons and saw two of them who had been trembling on the ground in fear of the heavenly lightning, as well as a tiger in the same state.

"stand up."

"Heading to the next county!"

As he spoke, he tossed the giant black longsword to the two little demons whose faces were still filled with shock.

Then, with his other hand, he waved from back to front, and several unconscious figures landed on the broad back of the tiger. He then leaped onto it and sat cross-legged.

The tiger beneath him roared, its howl echoing through the mountains and forests. Then, it leaped and disappeared into the dark woods.

And on this land, similar situations were playing out one after another in several prefectural cities near Jiangyou Pass!
The Ninth Mountain troops, carrying out orders, mobilized all their authority, including government offices, patrols, mountain gods, and spirits, to conduct rigorous searches and investigations everywhere, searching the mountains and subduing demons. Anyone who dared to obstruct them would have their head chopped off.

This almost cruel method not only caused immense suffering to the demons and monsters within a radius of thousands of miles, but also made life unbearable for some people who hid in the shadows.

Unregistered residents, fugitives, and people who do dirty work and make a living in the shadows are all affected.

This world has day and night.

But the Ninth Mountain's eagerness to search out every living person and thing is tantamount to forcing many people walking in the darkness to come out into the sunlight.

Many people were both shocked and furious!
But under the iron hooves and butcher's knives of the Ninth Mountain, they dared not speak out against their anger.

Those people really dare to kill!

Like a ruthless executioner, they slaughtered everyone from the yamen's patrol office to the mountain spirits and monsters below.

But these people dared not speak out against their anger!
In particular, some people have seen the Martial Saint General behind the Ninth Mountain manifest himself in a prefecture and level a mountain with one hand.

Just because there's a sect there that dares to block the Ninth Mountain's troops from entering the mountain to enforce the law!

However, some powerful cultivators who had followed the group out of seclusion to watch the spectacle saw that a monster had appeared in that sect!

Soon, as more and more information gathered, news of this Martial Saint General making continuous moves spread throughout the surrounding area, spanning thousands of miles.

Some even happened in several places on the same day!

This martial saint general is absolutely insane!

As the Ninth Mountain army and Chen Yuan continued to make moves, the figure of the Holy Sect from the Western Regions began to appear in the conversations of teahouses and taverns throughout Sichuan.

The evil nature and unique cultivation methods of this sacred sect gradually spread throughout the martial arts world and came into everyone's view.

For a time, the fact that this Holy Cult could possess other people's bodies, which was almost bizarre, caused a lot of panic in the martial arts world.

Just as the public discourse surrounding the Ninth Mountain's army's search for demons and their massacre of members of the Holy Cult was growing increasingly heated...

On the eleventh day after the Ninth Mountain troops descended the mountain, at Yunding Mountain, on a mountain peak where the Liangzhou troops were stationed, in Daofusi.
Someone has quietly approached that general who suppresses demons in Liangzhou!
Meanwhile, within the Ninth Mountain Palace, the rapid and clear sound of bells rang out. (End of Chapter)