Volume One: God's Kingdom of Endless Night - Chapter Fifty-One: The Great Demon That Came to Slay the Immortal (Part Two)

Looking at the bamboo house before him, Jiang Wang exclaimed with admiration, "Whoever built this possesses the skills of the gods! In just a few days, they've managed to construct such a dwelling!"

Xie Wuxing, holding a white oiled-paper umbrella, remarked, "Perhaps they hired a craftsman to build it."

Jiang Wang lowered his voice and said, "Do you know nothing of worldly tact? Never mind who built it; praise it first, ask questions later."

Xie Wuxing suddenly saw the light, sighing with emotion, "As expected of Brother Jiang."

He hastily added, "Indeed! A bamboo house like this could never be built by ordinary hands. It fills me with profound respect—truly a masterpiece that shakes the heavens and moves the ghosts to tears!"

Jiang Wang said, "There's no need to exaggerate quite that much. It sounds a bit too fake."

Xie Wuxing lowered his head in shame.

At that moment, the door of the bamboo house creaked open.

Jiang Wang raised an eyebrow and said, "Feng Linghuai, you have truly found yourself a good backer."

Feng Linghuai did not speak, silently standing to one side.

Inside the wide-open doorway, a man surnamed Xiao sat upright, holding a brush and writing something.

Xie Wuxing offered a formal greeting and said, "Master Xiao, a great monster is about to descend upon Hun City, and the lives of the common people hang by a thread. We have come specifically to ask for your assistance, Master Xiao."

The man surnamed Xiao continued writing with utmost concentration.

Xie Wuxing maintained his posture of respect.

Jiang Wang thought to himself that this fellow certainly put on quite an air of importance.

When the man surnamed Xiao finally finished writing a couplet, he let out a slight breath, raised his gaze to look at the two men, and said calmly, "I am not from Hun City. Why should I help Hun City?"

Xie Wuxing frowned and said, "Cultivators across the world take subduing demons and eliminating devils as their bounden duty. How can Master Xiao turn a blind eye to the life and death of Hun City's people simply because you are not from here?"

The man surnamed Xiao replied, "I can certainly understand the posturing of the cultivators in this world. Monsters are a threat to all under heaven. Regardless of whether the purpose of subduing demons is truly a sense of duty or merely self-preservation, it has nothing to do with me. I am a very selfish person; risking my life for complete strangers is truly foolish."

Xie Wuxing, who had been instilled with the philosophy of subduing demons since childhood, found it hard to comprehend the man's mindset. He said in a deep voice, "I take it Master Xiao is simply afraid of the monsters. I misjudged you."

The man surnamed Xiao chuckled, "Those who follow different paths cannot make plans together. To hurl such malicious words simply because of differing philosophies is rather laughable."

Jiang Wang, on the other hand, found the man rather interesting. Were it not for the existence of the Divine Kingdom, he himself would not care much for subduing demons either. Who in this world was not selfish? Yet the man's frank and open admission made him seem much more like a gentleman.

Clapping his hands, Jiang Wang said, "Brother Xie's brain has a screw loose, so pay him no mind, Master Xiao. As for subduing demons, that's secondary. I simply want to find out how formidable Brother Xiao truly is. Why don't we use the monster attack on the city as a contest to see who slays more monsters?"

The man surnamed Xiao looked at Jiang Wang, fell silent for a moment, and said, "Though I see right through your intentions, this proposal is indeed much more interesting. Hun City has five main streets. Leaving aside Qixia Street, which has virtually no population, we can each take half of the remainder."

Xie Wuxing suddenly interjected, "If the two of you each take half, where do I go?"

The man surnamed Xiao remained silent.

Jiang Wang clapped his hands and said, "Then it's settled."

This would be a perfect test of how much of the Divine Kingdom's power could be manifested once they stepped outside Qixia Street, not to mention that the Night Wandering Deity was still around to help.

***

At the hour of You, the evening glow began to paint the horizon.

Xie Wuxing stood atop the city wall.

Cultivators seeking immortality either hovered in mid-air or stood upon the ramparts, their expressions varying.

Chai Bi lowered his voice and said, "With the Xiaoguo Army and the true successors of the Sword Pavilion present, the news of the monster attack is undoubtedly true. Everyone must pull themselves together. People of such status and background would never deliberately deceive us. The matter of seeking immortality can wait; do not be impatient."

Had it not been for Chai Bi, gathering all the immortal-seekers in Hun City would have been quite a difficult task, as some suspected it was a diversionary tactic to lure them out of Qixia Street so that whoever spread the rumor could sneak off to find the immortals.

Fortunately, Chai Bi was well-acquainted with many people, and after repeated assurances, he finally got the immortal-seekers to arrive one after another.

The garrison troops stationed at the prefectural yamen were also mustering. Lacking the strength to fight on the front lines, they could only use their bodies to block the city gates and prevent civilians from approaching the area.

Rong Yulu recalled the instructions given by the Venerable One before returning to the Martial God Shrine, swallowing nervously. Experiencing a monster attack for the first time in her life could not possibly compare to dealing with just two or three luoying birds in the past.

The green-robed and white-robed cultivators were also present.

They watched as Shuni and Ning Shiyi walked straight toward them.

"Jiang Wang asked us to help defend against the monster attack. Why didn't he come himself?"

Shuni was also filled with doubt. An incident like Qixia Street being besieged by luoying birds was already considered extremely rare back in the Sui State. If monsters were launching a full-scale siege on the city, the scale would undoubtedly be staggering—how could there be not the slightest hint of movement beforehand?

The green-robed cultivator said, "My master naturally has grand strategies to oversee from afar. The ones appearing shortly are merely the vanguard wave; the truly great monsters are still hidden in the shadows, and those are the beings my master needs to deal with."

Although she suspected Jiang Wang was simply showing off to catch everyone's attention, Shuni was well aware of his cultivation level and said nothing further.

Before the gates of Hun City, Sun Qingya and Dan Qiyu sat astride towering warhorses, the Black Flame Army arrayed in neat, uniform formation. The atmosphere of war was primed and ready to erupt.

In the bamboo grove of West City Alley, the man surnamed Xiao silently stroked his zither.

Feng Linghuai paced anxiously beside him, finally unable to help herself, she blurted out, "Master Xiao, why must we muddy these turbulent waters?"

The man surnamed Xiao gave a light laugh, "Those immortal-seekers cannot possibly stop the great monsters. As long as we remain in Hun City, we cannot stay out of it. Since Jiang Wang wants to compete with me, I will naturally play along to the end."

With a slight flick of his finger, the sound of the zither, accompanied by falling leaves, drifted toward the city wall.

Immediately following this, several miles outside the gates of Hun City, billowing clouds of thick smoke rose, growing increasingly intense.

Xie Wuxing raised an eyebrow and said, "They're coming!"

Thousands of luoying birds came charging forth. Their eyes, as large as human heads, formed a dense, overwhelming sea that left the cultivators on the city wall dizzy and lightheaded.

Ning Shiyi said in shock, "With such a massive number of luoying birds, how did they manage to arrive here completely unnoticed?!"

Shuni trembled, leaning against the city wall and retching—not out of fear of the luoying birds, but as a visceral, subconscious reaction to all those eyes.

"Black Flame Army!" Sun Qingya raised the saber in his hand high. The Black Flame Army let out a unified, thunderous roar. When the luoying birds were merely a hundred paces from Hun City, he swung his saber down fiercely, shouting, "Kill!"

The neighing of warhorses, the battle cries of the Black Flame Army, and the screeches of the luoying birds instantly intertwined.

Even while mounted on horseback, their height barely reached the bellies of the luoying birds.

The first rank charged into the front lines, slashing with their sabers at the legs of the luoying birds. The second rank followed closely behind, thrusting their long spears to pierce the bodies of the beasts. The third rank raised their shields to block the acidic saliva spewed by the luoying birds.

Then, the Black Flame Army at the rear drew their bows and nocked their arrows, filling the air with a rain of missiles targeted straight at the eyes of the monsters.

A single wave of charge and counter-attack sliced down dozens of luoying birds.

As the black flame banners waved, the Black Flame Army instantly shifted their formation. Utilizing the gaps they had carved out, they spurred their horses forward like charging dragons, circling a handful of luoying birds, striking with a spear before pulling back while the men behind them immediately followed up with another blow, driving the vanguard luoying birds into a frenzy of impotent rage.

The scenes unfolding beneath the city walls left the cultivators watching from above dumbfounded.

"The Black Flame Army? Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"I only know of the Xiaoguo Army; which one is the Black Flame Army? Yet their ferocious and valiant performance is hardly inferior to the Xiaoguo Army!"

Crucially, while the Xiaoguo Army included martial artists, they also had a substantial number of cultivators among their ranks. The Black Flame Army, however, consisted entirely of martial artists.

Their strongest were merely at the peak of the fourth realm—or rather, there were only a handful of fourth-realm martial artists, while the rest were below the third realm. Yet they were able to route the luoying birds into disarray in an instant—a truly shocking feat.

However, it was clear they could not hold out indefinitely, as the number of luoying birds vastly exceeded the Black Flame Army. No matter how formidable their physical stamina, there would eventually be a limit.

The green-robed and white-robed cultivators were the first to leap down from the city wall.

Since the green-robed cultivator's sword had shattered earlier, he had forged a new one within Hun City. Though its grade was quite low, it was better than nothing.

Martial artists led by Ning Shiyi and Rong Yulu also leapt successively into the battlefield.

The flying swords of the cultivators hovered in the air above the city wall, enshrouded in Yellow Court Qi and radiating peculiar glows like falling stars. With every flash of a sword, luoying birds crashed heavily to the ground, and the full-scale battle officially commenced.

Xie Wuxing had yet to make a move. His vision was wide, stretching far beyond the rear of the luoying birds, where something resembling a towering mountain sat squarely across the road. Yet a slight tremor of that 'mountain' made Xie Wuxing realize it was actually a monster!

His brow furrowed deeply, suspecting that this was the great monster.

Since the luoying birds were merely the vanguard, why had the great monster shown up as well?

Silently, he drew his sword.

He pointed it toward the 'mountain'.

Above the 'mountain', winds and clouds surged as the Stream and River Sword Intent crashed directly down upon it!

Yet the 'mountain' merely shook once. As the smoke cleared, there was no other reaction whatsoever.

Xie Wuxing was not naive enough to think the monster had been slain by a single sword strike.

His expression grew even graver.

To withstand his Stream and River Sword Intent without suffering the slightest scratch—this was undoubtedly a true great monster!

Inside the marquis's estate.

Jiang Wang lay leisurely in a rattan chair.

Through the eyes of the Wandering Night Deity, he observed the slaughter unfolding before the city gates.

"Is that mountain the great monster?"

The Wandering Night Deity stood on Jiang Wang's shoulder and replied, "In the eyes of the Hun City cultivators, that certainly qualifies as a great monster."

Jiang Wang frowned and said, "So it's still just part of the vanguard?"

The Wandering Night Deity said in a deep voice, "This monster alone would already be extremely difficult for you to handle. If it truly is just the vanguard, the great monster hiding behind it is likely far more formidable than I imagined."

Jiang Wang closed his eyes in deep thought.

The old steward and little Yu arrived in the courtyard. The former reported, "Some monsters have circled around to the back of the city and are currently scaling the city wall."

Jiang Wang opened his eyes, stretched lazily, and said, "Uncle Tong, take little Yu and the remaining Black Flame Army to seal off the east city wall. The other areas are already being guarded by others. As for the back of the city..."

He rose from the rattan chair and smiled, "It's about time I stretched my muscles."

Qixia Street was located in the southernmost part of Hun City, and the rear of the city still fell within the boundaries of Qixia Street.

Outside, the slaughter was fierce and bloody, but the common people of Hun City were still singing and dancing joyously. The temple fair was lively with the beating of drums and gongs, completely drowning out the sounds from the outside world.

Two contrasting scenes, standing in stark relief against one another.