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Chapter 124: Ambushing the Toad Lord
Chapter 124: Ambushing the Toad Lord
In a modestly-sized room, three subordinate generals stood anxiously by the door. One of them stepped forward and respectfully presented a waist token to the young man standing within, addressing him as "Lord Shen."
Liu Bin, stripped of his dark shirt and bound tightly, knelt in the center of the room. Xiao Qiangwei stood by his side, tasked with guarding him.
Her curiosity piqued, Xiao Qiangwei wondered what Shen Yi was planning. Now that Liu Bin had been captured, why not immediately escort him back to Tingyang County?
"Reporting to Lord Shen, the Black Stone Abyss Demon Lord is a four-thousand-year-old venomous toad with a Golden Core cultivation base. He is adept at using poison and occupies the bottomless Black Stone Abyss. Even General You doesn't have a good way to deal with him, so he ordered Liu and us to guard this place."
The subordinate general's voice grew softer as he spoke.
Evidently, after Liu Bin's injury, they no longer had the strength to defend their post. They could only watch as the demon lord strolled through Qingzhou unimpeded, even receiving help from a trusted personal subordinate general who kept it a secret.
"The places guarded by personal subordinate generals are often either situated in peculiar terrain or involve extraordinary means. They are problems that can't be dealt with but also can't be left unattended due to their proximity to the twelve counties of Qingzhou..."
Xiao Qiangwei instinctively offered an explanation, only to realize halfway through that Shen Yi's status as a personal subordinate general, with the freedom to roam as he pleased, likely meant he was like a grandson to Elder Chen. Their relationship must be extremely close.
There was no need for her to say more.
Instead, she decided to speak about something a demon catcher would be knowledgeable about. "To be precise, it should be a demon lord at the Core-forming stage, not far from perfection in Core-condensation."
At that moment, Liu Bin slowly raised his head, his ghastly pale face twisted with scorn as he glared at Shen Yi seated behind the desk. "Indeed, after digesting me, it will be almost enough. So, Lord Shen, what can you do about it?"
He had done countless things for Qingzhou.
Even his current injuries were due to the venomous toad demon lord.
All he wanted was to wait another five years, even if it meant risking his life. He was unwilling to let his cultivation base decline and be a personal subordinate general forever.
Yet, in the end, he was destined to suffer the fate of a dog that gets cooked after catching a rabbit. Where was the justice in that?
"So, Elder Chen couldn't tolerate you anymore, and that's why you came to Tingyang County to find another way out? How about we switch places, huh?" The old man cackled, his laughter abruptly cut short as a teacup shattered on his face, drenching him with tea.
Shen Yi retracted his hand and said indifferently, "I didn't ask you, so keep quiet."
Xiao Qiangwei pressed her lips together, suddenly feeling a deep admiration for his composure.
The letter from General You lay quietly on the table. But as Shen Yi sat there with an air of calm, not even Liu Bin dared to entertain the thought of opening it to take a look.
His imposing manner alone made the subordinate generals feel that General You had granted Lord Shen the authority to act first and report later.
Liu Bin sullenly lowered his head, curious to see what tricks this arrogant young man intended to play.
"Is it still in the Black Stone Pond?" Shen Yi asked, turning to the others.
It was already rare to encounter a demon at the Core Formation stage, let alone in a situation where he had full control and could even enlist the help of Yinling, the demon catcher.
From Jiang Chengyun's expression, it seemed that Xiao Qiangwei had a good relationship with General You.
Although the Black Stone Abyss Demon Lord was an internal affair of the Demon Subduing Bureau, helping General You with this matter would surely earn their gratitude. They wouldn't just stand by and watch.
"If we calculate the days, it should be returning in the next day or two..." The subordinate generals lowered their heads in shame.
Xiao Qiangwei frowned, at a loss for words. The demon had reached the point where it could come and go from Qingzhou as it pleased, even developing a pattern to its movements, yet Liu still hadn't planned to inform General You.
The next moment, Shen Yi stood up, and his words left everyone in the room stunned.
"Lead the way."
Xiao Qiangwei stared at him in astonishment, finally realizing what he intended to do.
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately smiled helplessly. Perhaps he wasn't fully aware of the situation at Black Stone Pond or why a demon lord at the Core Formation stage was beyond even General You's capabilities.
Once they arrived at the location, Shen Yi would surely not waste any more time on this matter.
...
With the three subordinate generals leading the way and over a hundred Demon Subduing School captains clearing the path, they made their way past a row of wooden buildings and around a hill. The ground beneath their feet turned damp and muddy, exuding a chilling aura in the darkness.
Before them lay a circular depression.
In its center was a deep pond, a hundred zhang wide, its surface calm and silent. Even from a distance, a bone-chilling cold emanated from it, and eerie green mist drifted above its waters.
Xiao Qiangwei tugged on the chain binding Liu Bin and pushed him forward. "If it comes down to a direct confrontation, the venomous toad might not be his match. But because of this icy pond, the demon lord has been able to survive for so many years on the outskirts of the twelve counties of Qingzhou without incident."
The innate abilities of demons truly invited the envy of martial artists.
At the same cultivation base, demons could soar into the heavens above or plunge into the abyssal depths below. Even this bone-chilling cold, which was terrifying to humans, couldn't harm the Toad Lord. Instead, it served as his protective domain.
"Now that you've seen it, let's go."
Xiao Qiangwei sighed. If it were that easy to resolve, it wouldn't have dragged on until now.
"No hurry, let's wait a couple of days."
"You could use the time to recuperate and ensure your injuries don't worsen."
Shen Yi turned and walked towards the temporary tents where the members of the Demon Subduing Bureau usually stayed while guarding the demon.
As soon as the words left her mouth, Xiao Qiangwei realized what she had said.
The Toad Lord had never tried to finish off Liu Bin. Instead, it was slowly consuming him with its venomous dark magic, obviously not out of kindness.
Most likely, it didn't want to risk its life in a fight to the death with Liu Bin, and secondly, it didn't want You Longtao to send another, more powerful subordinate in his place.
After such a long time, the Toad Lord might have relaxed its guard... If they were to try and kill it, now would probably be the best opportunity.
"I just thought of something," Shen Yi said, turning to face her.
Xiao Qiangwei looked at him, puzzled. If... If the two of them succeeded in killing the toad demon, then its heart's blood...
"What is it?" Shen Yi asked casually, brushing off some imaginary dust from his broad sleeves.
Xiao Qiangwei glared at him, seemingly expressionless, but in reality, she was seething with anger.
How wonderful! With just one turn, she had become an outsider, and this matter had become the private affair of the Demon Subduing Bureau.
What was even more outrageous was that nominally, the young man was helping her solve her problem.
"I finally understand why you don't talk much," she said, raising an eyebrow. Inwardly, she scoffed, pretending to be a reckless young man, but in reality, his mind was sharper than anyone else's.
Shen Yi glanced at Xiao Qiangwei and, seeing that she didn't intend to pursue the matter further, turned and entered the tent.
Back then, he had traded his Qi with her to escort her here, promising that if there was confirmed news, he could ask the Demon Subduing General to take action... Treating her like a child with empty promises.
To be fair, dealing with these demon catchers, one could indeed learn quite a few tricks.
Seeing their behavior, Liu Bin, with his head lowered, wore an even more mocking expression on his face.
With just a single injured pill-formed realm warrior and a young man who had trained in some sort of body-tempering technique, they actually thought they could take down the Toad Lord? He had thought his situation was hopeless, but unexpectedly, a twist of fate had presented itself.
Once these two were devoured, perhaps the Toad Lord would keep him alive to continue guarding this place.
...
About a day and night later...
Xiao Qiangwei sat with her eyes closed, recuperating from her injuries. Occasionally, she opened her eyes to glance at the distant young man, only to find him as still as a statue, his perfectly cultivated Tortoise Breath Technique still in effect... Moreover, cultivating the Tortoise Breath Technique to such a high level was already quite astonishing.
Ordinarily, for a pill-formed realm warrior to cultivate two or three of their best martial arts to a high level would be considered a remarkable achievement.
Yet, this young man had chosen to spend his time cultivating the Tortoise Breath Technique.
She asked curiously, "With your talent, you must have been the center of attention since childhood. How did you end up with such a cautious personality?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yi still didn't turn around.
The center of attention? Yes, he had been the center of attention. The dog demon in the western suburbs, the black ape on East Mountain, the fox on North Cliff, and all the other demons in Bo Yun County had wanted his life.
Now, he also had to deal with the Flood Dragon in Yangchun River and the Tiger Lord in Xitai Mountain.
He leaned quietly against a cold, icy tree, reciting these names in his mind, his demeanor growing even calmer.
Just then, a putrid, murderous demon aura slowly rolled in. It was clear that the owner of this aura wasn't feeling tense, as their attempt to conceal their aura was quite perfunctory.
On the opposite side of the depression, on a muddy slope.
A pot-bellied, scabby-headed man burped and patted his belly as he walked towards the cold pond.
As if he had seen something, he smiled at the Demon Subduing School captains and waved, "You've worked hard, everyone. Please return now. I need to go back and digest. Please give my regards to your leader, Liu."
The few subordinate generals couldn't help but lower their heads.
Their backs had long been broken by Liu Bin's repeated orders, to the point where they didn't even have the courage to look directly at the Demon Lord.
Xiao Qiangwei stood up abruptly, but she saw that the young man in the ink-colored robe had already leaped into the air and disappeared. She didn't have time to marvel at this before she, too, mobilized her inner dan and unleashed a vigorous palm strike with both palms.
Since they were ambushing the demon, they had to strike with their strongest attack!
Boom—
Shen Yi stepped down from the air, his long boots stomping on the scabby-headed man's shoulder, and at the same time, he drew out his ink-colored blade.
After completing the second metamorphosis of the Immortal Demon Technique, the power contained within his body, even when facing a pill-formed realm demon, would not be much weaker.
With one stomp, he forced the scabby-headed man to his knees.
The long blade tore through the cold, slicing into the demon's neck. Dark green blood splattered everywhere.
The Toad Lord knelt on the ground, clutching the blade with one hand.
Xiao Qiangwei also rushed over, her surging palm strike crashing down towards the demon.
Facing such a fierce ambush,
The Toad Lord was clearly taken by surprise, but he gripped the blade with one hand and glared at the approaching Xiao Qiangwei.
The gash on his neck was deep, and dark green blood gushed out, yet a cruel smile hung on the corners of his mouth. "I've been kind to you, and this is how you repay me? You're really asking for it!"
[Some additional context for the readers: The pill-formed realm is a major realm, divided into a few steps.
The steps are: Embryonic Pill (the two sons of the Mountain Lord), Pill Formation (Flood Dragon Lord Zhang Hengzhou), Perfect Pill (Mountain Lord), Embracing Pill (the twelve generals, Jinling Demon Catcher, White Deer), and Shattered Pill (not included because after shattering the pill, one enters the next realm).]
(End of Chapter)
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