My ancestors were spiritual plant growers, so it's not surprising that I hunt demons every day,

"is it?"

Zhao Junwei, his thick brows furrowed, still spoke with unease:

"But this is a very important matter, so I'll go see what these two are thinking before I make a decision."

As he spoke, he jumped off the dragon-scaled horse and his figure flashed through the rain to the Taoist temple.

Inside the Taoist temple, two bonfires, one large and one small, were already lit. Beside the larger bonfire sat two familiar-looking armored soldiers.

Near a smaller campfire, there was a girl in a pinkish-purple dress and a tall boy in a dark blue brocade robe.

The girl exuded the aura of a cultivator, but she was delicate and gentle. She leaned half of her body against the boy and occasionally reached out to tease the black demon dog lying quietly beside her, while her mouth occasionally emitted a silvery laugh.

The young man was just an ordinary person, but his face was exceptionally handsome. He was holding a thick, yellowed book in his hands, looking at it quietly and intently by the firelight.

The two armored soldiers by the campfire were startled when they saw Zhao Junwei enter. They stood up immediately and hurriedly came over to pay their respects.

"no."

Zhao Junwei waved his hand dismissively, his eagle-like eyes scanning the young man and woman for a few moments before he coldly asked:

"What are your names? Do you have any travel permits? Where are you from and where are you going?"

"Oh, it's you, Commander. My daughter, Cui Ying, and my future husband are on our way to Jinsha City to pay respects to our ancestors and visit relatives. As for our travel permits, please wait a moment."

Upon hearing Zhao Junwei's question, the girl slowly sat up from the boy's arms, subconsciously answered a couple of questions, and then took out two jade pendants engraved with cloud patterns from the storage bag at her waist.

"So you are a cultivator from Shuangling Village. I apologize for my earlier offense."

Zhao Junwei raised his hand and took the two jade tablets. After glancing at them for a few moments, he nodded and returned them to the two men. He then cupped his hands in greeting to Cui Ying, turned around, and walked out of the Taoist temple.

A moment later, the sounds of horses neighing and monks shouting rang out again outside the Taoist temple, and more than a dozen armored soldiers rushed in one after another.

They quickly made hand seals and cleaned the Taoist temple until it was spotless. Then they brought over many bundles of firewood and soon lit several bonfires on one side of the temple.

At this moment, a fragrant breeze wafted in from outside, and a beautiful young woman in her late twenties, wearing a silver-white cloak, walked in. Judging from her appearance, she should also be a cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining.

She was holding a boy who looked about six or seven years old by the hand, and behind her was a silver-haired maid with a full head of silver hair and a restrained aura, and a pretty mortal maid who was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.

As the beautiful young woman and the boy entered the Taoist temple, the maidservant immediately took out a large, snow-white animal hide from her storage bag, spread it out next to a fire, and placed a low table and two wooden stools on it for the woman and the boy to sit on.

The pretty maid took out the incense burner she was holding and inserted a candle into it. As soon as it was lit, a faint sandalwood scent filled the Taoist temple.

After the other armored soldiers and Zhao Junwei entered the Taoist temple, after giving an order, two armored soldiers were assigned to stand guard outside the gate, and the others began to take off their armor and weapons. They looked extremely tired and wanted to rest.

Zhao Junwei also breathed a sigh of relief. He took off his helmet, put the long sword in his hand aside, and sat cross-legged opposite the beautiful woman. However, his face remained cold and emotionless, and he stared at the flickering flames in silence.

At this moment, the other soldiers began to take out rice balls and similar foods from their bodies and began to eat in an equally quiet manner.

But over there, the maid had already taken out a food box from the storage bag at her waist, and took out some exquisite food from it. She heated it with spiritual energy and fed it to the beautiful woman and the boy.

"Commander Zhao, I have plenty of food here. If you don't mind, please have some with me."

The beautiful young woman took out a delicate pastry and fed the boy a few bites. After glancing at Zhao Junwei, who was still sitting opposite her with his eyes closed, she suddenly smiled and said...

"Thank you for your kindness, Madam Lian. I took a fasting pill before I set off, so I can go without food for three to five days without any problems."

After glancing at the beautiful young woman, Zhao Junwei coldly shook his head and explained.

"In that case, I will not force you, Commander."

The beautiful young woman showed no displeasure upon seeing this, and instead continued to smile as she poured another cup of hot tea for the boy beside her.

But the boy showed no intention of drinking. He even slowly put down the pastries in his hand and instead turned his eyes to look curiously at the fire on the other side.

Suddenly, a large piece of demon beast meat appeared in the girl's hand, sizzling and dripping oil as it was roasted over the fire, causing the black demon dog at her feet to open its mouth wide, drooling.

The handsome young man who was reading was also drawn in by the aroma of roasted meat. He put down the book in his hand, took out a porcelain bottle from the cloth bag at his feet, and sprinkled some spices on the meat.

"Don't worry, it'll be ready soon."

The girl cooperated by turning the wooden stick in her hand to make the monster meat on it heat up more evenly. At the same time, she saw the starving Ta Xue and immediately smiled and said.

"huhu"

Suddenly, a black wind swept through the Taoist temple.

"This wind is acting strangely, everyone be careful!"

"Activate the defensive formation!"

Zhao Junwei suddenly opened his eyes, his golden eyes sweeping across the darkness outside before he immediately gave an order.

As soon as he finished speaking, the four armored soldiers who were resting immediately took out array flags from their robes, quickly made hand seals and cast spells. The four array flags immediately transformed into a stream of light and flew out of the Taoist temple, with a faint golden light screen appearing around them.

This is a simple magic array commonly used in the Lei family army. It is not of high grade and although it cannot be used for attack, it is still very effective for defense.

As the magic array appeared, the black wind was quickly shut out of the Taoist temple. Apart from creating ripples on the golden light screen, nothing else happened.

"call"

"Sir, it seems that the black wind just now was just a strange wind caused by the turbid air of the wild. It shouldn't be caused by anyone with ulterior motives."

The armored soldiers maintaining the magic array breathed a sigh of relief and immediately reported back.

Just as the beautiful young woman and the others breathed a sigh of relief, Zhao Junwei, the most powerful among them, narrowed his eyes, sensed for a moment, and then his expression changed drastically as he shouted:

"Everyone be careful, there are people outside!"

Just then, a strange and piercing shriek rang out from the pouring rain, followed by a whooshing sound as dozens of nail-shaped magical artifacts shot out.

In the blink of an eye, these magical artifacts pierced through the golden light barrier. The two black-armored guards standing at the door didn't even have time to scream before they were struck in vital areas by dozens of nail-like magical artifacts that shot out from the black rain barrier and fell to the ground dead.