Chapter 142: The First Traces of the Demonic

Bang!

Ji Mo flipped her hand, and a silver-white whip appeared out of thin air. She met the attack without the slightest fear. The two weapons collided with a resounding crash. Ji Mo did not move an inch, while Zezong staggered backward several steps. To make matters worse, a deep whip mark, exposing bone, had appeared across his palm.

Zezong was both shocked and enraged. He stared at Ji Mo as though he had seen a ghost. Chuanmu, standing behind him, drew in a sharp breath, his heart tightening and his mouth turning bitter. They had truly kicked an iron wall this time.

“Leave!”

Zezong shot Ji Mo a vicious look, then turned and barked at Chuanmu and the red-clad girl. Without looking back, he strode out, leaving the entire tavern full of stunned people staring blankly at Ji Mo.

Only Su Ye, Xiao Jin, and Jin Lie remained utterly unfazed. Although Ji Mo had only just advanced to Core Formation, the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip in her hand was an extraordinary treasure that, at the height of its power, could easily slay even a peak Dao Integration cultivator. More than a hundred years ago, when the whip had recovered merely twenty percent of its former strength, it had already been capable of contending with Dao Integration cultivators.

Now it had recovered seventy percent of its power. Though Ji Mo’s own cultivation was still insufficient to unleash its full might, so long as she did not encounter an opponent wielding a treasure capable of matching it, the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip could still carry her away with ease even if she faced a Dao Integration cultivator. Zezong was merely at the Spirit Transformation realm. He had neither taken Ji Mo seriously nor carried a weapon, and the fact that he had survived a direct clash with the whip was solely because Ji Mo had not wished to incur needless bloodshed.

“Shopkeeper, if you keep staring, those people will disappear. And if they leave without paying for the tables and chairs they broke, don’t come asking me. I won’t pay.”

After forcing Zezong back with a single move, Ji Mo casually put away the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip and looked up at the tavern keeper, who was still staring at her in a daze.

“Hey, you lot, stop right there! Pay for the tables and chairs you broke!”

Before the shopkeeper could react, the nimble waiter had already darted several steps out the door and shouted at the backs of Zezong and the others.

Zezong was seething with rage. As an outer-peak elder of one of the four third-grade sects of the Upper Qin Kingdom, he was a man of considerable standing throughout the surrounding nations. Yet today, in a remote border town, he had first been humiliated by someone. Then a tavern waiter had chased after him demanding payment. His fury burned so fiercely that he nearly lost control of himself.

Fortunately, the pain in his arm reminded him that there was someone inside whom he absolutely could not afford to provoke. Besides, this was Black Radiance Town. Few of those who could open a business here were ordinary people.

When that thought occurred to him, he forcibly suppressed the rage roaring in his heart. He turned around, tossed a small storage pouch to the waiter, and quickened his pace. In an instant, he vanished from sight.

“Geng Qing, Bei Fu, Qing Yu, come over at once and thank this immortal maiden for her assistance.”

The man called Lord Yan, who had initially been discussing the Moon Brocade Palace, rose to his feet and walked over to Ji Mo. He called out to the three people still standing dazed at the doorway.

“Geng Qing, Bei Fu, Qing Yu, thank you, immortal maiden and young master, for saving us.”

At the sound of his voice, the three outside jolted back to their senses. They hurried over to Ji Mo and Su Ye and bowed respectfully.

“No need to be so courteous. We weren’t deliberately trying to help you out of trouble. They simply turned their aggression toward us, and we had no choice but to act.”

Ji Mo waved her hand indifferently.

“Regardless, it was the immortal maiden who came to our aid. Your table has already been ruined. Why don’t I play host and order another pot of tea for the two of you?”

Lord Yan clasped his hands and smiled.

“In that case, we’ll trouble you, Lord Yan.”

Su Ye smiled faintly.

Lord Yan paused in surprise. His words had been nothing more than a polite gesture. It was not that he begrudged Ji Mo and Su Ye a pot of tea; rather, they had just finished eating, and with their unfathomable strength, how could it be so easy to establish a relationship with them? He had truly not expected Su Ye to accept his offer so readily.

Fortunately, he was a battle-seasoned general, with extraordinary skill in dealing with people and handling affairs. His momentary bewilderment lasted less than a breath before he threw back his head and laughed.

“Excellent, excellent! Shopkeeper, please arrange another table for us.”

“There’s no need to arrange another table,” Su Ye said, pointing toward Lord Yan’s original table. “I think your table looks perfectly good. If you don’t mind, we’ll simply go over and sit with you.”

“Of course. This way, please!”

Lord Yan was startled again, but this time he said nothing more. He led Ji Mo and Su Ye toward his table.

Seeing them approach, the others seated with him swiftly dragged over an empty table and joined it to theirs. They had no idea who Ji Mo and Su Ye were, but after witnessing Ji Mo frighten Zezong away with a single move, they had raised the two women’s status to the heavens. Naturally, they welcomed them with open arms when they expressed a desire to sit at their table.

Lord Yan ordered two more pots of fine tea. After everyone had exchanged pleasantries and taken their seats, Su Ye cleared her throat and said, “Everyone, earlier I heard you mention the destruction of the Moon Brocade Palace, the Demon Domain, and other matters. I’m rather curious. My junior sister and I have only recently left our sect to travel and gain experience, so there are many things we do not understand. Why is the destruction of the Moon Brocade Palace necessarily connected to the Demon Domain?”

“If this were an ordinary time, we would not think that way either,” Lord Yan replied with a wry smile. “But the ten-thousand-year war between the human and demon races is about to erupt once more. It is difficult for us not to consider that possibility.”

Ji Mo and Su Ye were both taken aback. A war between humans and demons that occurred once every ten thousand years? Surely every cultivator in this realm knew of such a momentous event. If the two of them continued asking questions, they might truly be mistaken for members of an alien race.

Fortunately, both were quick-witted. With a mere turn of thought, Su Ye smiled and said, “Lord Yan is right. We simply never thought of it from that angle.”

“Yes, ten thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye. Although all the major sects have records and accounts concerning that event, young cultivators have never truly experienced it. Who would take it to heart if not for…”

Lord Yan had not detected anything amiss in their words. He continued speaking with a sigh.

Su Ye’s heart stirred. She was about to ask what he meant by “if not for,” when she suddenly sensed a thick, bloody stench spreading through the air around them.

She exchanged a glance with Ji Mo. The two of them turned toward the entrance at the same time.

Sure enough, three exceptionally striking young men and women had appeared there at some unknown moment.

All three appeared to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. The two men were extremely tall and powerfully built, each standing nearly two meters in height, with handsome features. The woman possessed an astonishingly voluptuous figure. A red suit of thin armor, leaving her arms and thighs exposed, clung tightly to her body. Along with her vivid, flame-red lips and a pair of icy blue eyes, she looked from a distance like a blazing fire.

The three possessed extraordinary and eye-catching appearances and bearing. Yet their bodies radiated an intensely浓郁 bloody aura. The moment they stood at the tavern entrance, the stench was so overpowering that everyone inside felt an urge to vomit.

To be continued...