Ascending to Immortality by Slaying Spirits

Chapter 36 - Slaying the Mountain Demon
Wang Zhen greeted the members of the demon-slaying team with a smile, and even exchanged a few pleasantries with Lin Le with a normal expression.

Once everyone had arrived, Wang Zhen stood on a makeshift platform and shouted, "There is a demon in Donglin, called the Mountain Demon, who abducts women, rapes, murders, and robs them!"

It must be said that Wang Zhen has quite the eloquence; with just a few words, he stirred up people's emotions, and many people showed excited expressions.

Lin Le, however, remained calm, his eyes like a still, deep pool, undisturbed.

Looking at the people around him, Lin Le knew that if he hadn't happened to be here, most of the people here would never have been able to go back.

"Fellow villagers, let's kill that monster together today!" Wang Zhen shouted, raising his arm.

The people below the stage and the surrounding civilians also shouted, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

"Let's go!" Wang Zhen shouted.

The demon-slaying team, consisting of more than twenty people, marched in a long line towards a small mountain, with Lin Le at the very front.

Because they were all martial arts masters, the group moved very quickly and by noon they had already entered a deep old forest.

"Rest and replenish your energy. We're almost at the mountain demon's lair!" Wang Zhen commanded.

Everyone stopped; a few remained on guard, while the rest rested.

Wang Zhen walked up to Lin Le and handed him a water jug: "Young man, have some water. This is the spiritual spring water used to irrigate the medicinal herbs in Xiangjia Village. It tastes incredibly good."

"Okay, thank you." Lin Le took the water bottle and drank without any hesitation.

After finishing his drink, Lin Le handed the water bottle to Wang Zhen.

Wang Zhen took the kettle, a strange look appearing in his eyes, because Lin Le had actually drunk the water completely.

"Young man, you have quite the capacity for alcohol; you must be a very good drinker," Wang Zhen praised.

"Not bad, I can drink a lot without getting drunk." Lin Le casually waved his hand, signaling Wang Zhen to leave.

Wang Zhen also left.

Soon after, some hunters suddenly stood up; they heard the rustling of leaves and the calls of monkeys.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The sound grew louder as it approached, soon echoing around the demon-slaying team.

"It's a troop of mandrills!" a hunter shouted. "On alert! Everyone on alert!"

One by one, black-backed, white-bellied monkeys appeared on the treetops, their eyes greedily fixed on the demon-slaying team members below.

Those gleaming green eyes sent chills down the spines of the hunters. They tried to circulate their blood energy, only to find that their own blood energy moved at a snail's pace.

I was drugged!

The thought crossed everyone's minds, and many turned to look at Wang Zhen. Some even roared, "Wang Zhen, you actually drugged us!"

Most of them were experienced hunters, and they immediately guessed that Wang Zhen had done something wrong; only he, as the team leader, had that ability.

Wang Zhen glanced at them coldly and walked to the side.

Everyone looked over and saw a giant ape, about ten feet tall, with a black back and white belly, standing upright.

"Lord Mandrill, here is the blood offering you requested," Wang Zhen said respectfully.

"Hmm." The mandrill nodded slightly, about to wave, but then paused.

Seeing that the mandrill had stopped moving, Wang Zhen was also puzzled. He turned his head and saw a man walking towards him with a gun.

That man was Lin Le.

Wang Zhen frowned because he had seen Lin Le drink the water mixed with medicine all by himself. It was already a miracle that he wasn't limp on the ground; how could he still move?

The mandrill sniffed: "Such pure blood energy, are you a fourth-level martial artist?" Lin Le remained silent. With a loud bang, he flew in front of the mandrill and slashed down with a long spear as if splitting a mountain and carrying the sun.

boom!
Wang Zhen's head was smashed open, like a watermelon being smashed with a stick.

why!
This was Wang Zhen's only thought before he lost consciousness.

The mandrill ignored the dead Wang Zhen and coldly stared at Lin Le: "You think you can kill me, human?"

Lin Le remained silent, but thrust his spear at the mandrill once more.

boom!
The mountain demon actually blocked Lin Le's spear with its bare hands. It grinned savagely, its ugly face becoming even more ferocious: "Nonsense! I am not an awakened demon, but a demon who has entered the Dao!"

"Just a single-story building," Lin Le said casually.

As he spoke, his blood and energy circulated throughout his body.

"Just a single-story building?"

The mandrill chuckled, a hint of annoyance flashing in its eyes. With a low growl, it pounced on Lin Le like a ghost, slapping down with both paws, carrying a foul, fishy stench.

Lin Le remained calm, lightly touched the ground with his feet, and his figure floated back like a willow catkin. He flicked his spear, the tip of which drew a silver light and pointed directly at the mountain demon's throat.

The mandrill initially wanted to fight back, but its instincts, honed over years of hunting, told it to dodge.

In a flash, the mandrill chose to trust its instincts and hurriedly dodged to the side, but Lin Le's spear followed closely, the tip turning and once again pressing towards its chest.

The mandrill grinned maliciously and slammed out its palms, condensing a black wave of energy that shot straight towards Lin Le.

Lin Le circulated his blood energy, and then the spear suddenly trembled, the spear body emitting a layer of blood-red light, and the spear tip, like a dragon emerging from the sea, pierced straight into the black energy wave.

The two forces collided with a muffled thud, sending shockwaves scattering and causing the surrounding trees to shed their branches and leaves.

The mountain demon was forced back several steps, and then a look of surprise flashed in its eyes. It was clear that it had not expected Lin Le's strength to be so formidable, even though he was only a fourth-level martial artist.

It roared, its muscles suddenly bulged, and its palms slammed down on Lin Le like iron hammers.

Lin Le advanced instead of retreating, his spear dancing like a dragon, creating a series of spear shadows, each strike carrying a sharp killing intent.

His figure nimbly weaved through the mandrill's attacks, the tip of his spear leaving bloody marks on the mandrill's body from time to time.

This sight caused the surrounding members of the demon-slaying team to feel their hearts rise and fall. Knowing they had been drugged, they were filled with despair, but seeing Lin Le kill Wang Zhen with a single shot gave them renewed hope.

Hearing the mountain demon say that it had entered the Dao and become a demon, their hearts sank to the bottom again. But seeing that Lin Le was fighting the mountain demon to a standstill, their hearts slowly lifted again.

The mandrill grew angrier with each battle, and the surrounding air seemed to be ignited by its fury. Suddenly, it leaped up, its single palm pointing downwards, forming a huge black palm print that pressed down on Lin Le's head.

Those around immediately gasped; anyone could tell this was the mandrill's deadly strike.

Lin Le neither dodged nor retreated, but instead slashed forward with his spear.

The Heaven-Fighting Technique: Sunset!

The flame of progress!

Blood energy condensed into a blade, which slashed at the black palm print.

Boom! A loud bang followed, and the shockwave swept around, causing even the thick old trees to shake violently.

Everyone watched the fight with bated breath, only to see Lin Le dart up the surrounding trees.
Their hearts sank. Could it be that Lin Le had lost and was about to flee for his life?

But when they turned to look at the mandrill, they saw that most of its neck had been cut off; it was definitely dead!

Looking at Lin Le again, he was actually chasing after the mountain demon's monkey troop, looking like he wouldn't stop until they were all wiped out.

Everyone then realized that Lin Le was determined to eradicate evil completely!

(End of this chapter)