My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

The thing was much taller than a person, with disproportionately thin hands and feet, like four withered branches supporting a shriveled body.

Its face was hidden in the shadows and could not be seen clearly. Only a pair of green eyes and a mouth that split to the ears could be vaguely seen.

It walked to the tiger demon's side, nodded to it, and then looked at Shen Zhaoyue.

That gaze was as if he were looking at a piece of moving meat.

Shen Zhaoyue gripped the hilt of her sword tightly, stood with the sword held horizontally, and showed no fear on her face.

The mandrill suddenly laughed.

The laughter was sharp and piercing, like fingernails scraping against a stone slab, sending chills down one's spine.

"Human," it spoke, its voice shrill and thin, "your knife is only good for cutting those few pieces of trash. As for me? It probably wouldn't even scratch the skin."

Shen Zhaoyue did not answer.

She simply took one step forward.

The mandrill's smile vanished, and with a flicker of its body, it disappeared from the spot in an instant!

In the next instant, it appeared behind Shen Zhaoyue, its slender arm lashing down like a whip!

As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Shen Zhaoyue suddenly turned to the side, and the whip grazed her shoulder as it fell.

With a "smack," the metal was struck on the ground, leaving a deep crack in the surface!

Instead of retreating, she stepped forward and slashed at the mandrill's neck!

The mandrill twisted its body strangely to dodge the knife, and then swung its claws back!

Shen Zhaoyue parried with her sword, and the clash of sword and claw produced a metallic clang!

She was so shocked that she staggered back three steps, her hands and feet going numb.

The mandrill wasn't faring well either; a cut appeared on its claw, from which black blood oozed.

It looked down at its own claws, a hint of surprise flashing in its eyes, which then turned into an even stronger killing intent.

"That's interesting."

It pounced again!

This time, its speed was astonishing; its withered, branch-like arms transformed into countless afterimages, striking Shen Zhaoyue from all directions!

Shen Zhaoyue advanced instead of retreating, her blade flashing repeatedly!

"Clang clang clang clang—"

A series of rapid impacts rang out, the flashes of blades and the shadows of claws intertwined, so fast that it was impossible to see them clearly.

Lu Yang stood to the side, only able to see two shadows tumbling in the moonlight, the ground trembling with dust and flying stones from their fight.

Shen Zhaoyue gritted her teeth and charged forward, slashing at the enemy with each blow.

She was not the martial saint of the mortal world—Zuo Qianhu. In such a high-intensity confrontation, her breathing was already somewhat unstable, but the knife in her hand did not slow down at all.

Each cut was swift and ruthless, aimed directly at vital points.

The more the mandrill fought, the more terrified it became.

This mortal woman's knife clearly carried a power that made it fear.

That's official luck, the blessing of the imperial court; wounds inflicted by it are ten times more painful than those from ordinary swords.

But it is not one of those evil spirits.

It has a physical form and thirty years of cultivation.

It exerted its strength suddenly, using one claw to knock away Shen Zhaoyue's knife, and the other claw aimed straight for her heart!

Shen Zhaoyue dodged to the side, but the claw slashed across her ribs, tearing off a piece of her clothing.

Blood gushed out instantly, staining his clothes red.

She took several steps back to steady herself and looked down at the wound under her ribs.

The mandrill licked the blood from its claws, its eyes filled with smugness.

"Human, your body won't last much longer."

Shen Zhaoyue raised her head.

The moonlight shone on her face, which was pale and expressionless, except for her eyes, which shone with an astonishing brightness.

She gripped the knife tightly and took a step forward.

"Lao Tzu—"

Another step forward.

"The Road to Shu, Part Three!"

The moment she took her last step, she transformed into a blur, her blade flashing out like a bolt of lightning!

That strike was so fast that even the mandrill didn't have time to react!

With a flash of light, the mandrill's arm was severed at the elbow!

Black blood gushed out, and the mandrill let out a shrill scream, staggering backward.

It looked down at its severed arm, its eyes filled with disbelief.

Shen Zhaoyue gave it no chance to catch its breath.

The second strike has already come!

The knife struck its chest, creating a deep wound that exposed the bone.

The third cut!

The fourth cut!

……

The blades flashed continuously, and the mountain demon had no time to dodge. Countless wounds were slashed across its body, and black blood flowed all over the ground.

It screamed and retreated until it reached the tiger demon's feet, where it finally collapsed to the ground.

Shen Zhaoyue sheathed her sword, stood still, and gasped for breath.

She was covered in sweat, blood was flowing from the wound under her ribs, and her hand holding the knife was trembling slightly.

But she didn't collapse; she just stared at the dead mountain demon and said, word by word:

"What did you just say? That it wouldn't break the skin?"

The mandrill was no longer able to answer.

Shen Zhaoyue turned around and walked back to Ye Qingfeng's side step by step.

With each step, a bloody trail was left on the ground.

She stopped in front of Ye Qingfeng, took a breath, and looked up at him.

Ye Qingfeng nodded slightly.

Shen Zhaoyue's lips twitched, as if she wanted to laugh, but she didn't. She swayed, using her knife to support herself on the ground, barely managing to stand.

Lu Yang rushed over to help her, but she pushed him away.

"Need not."

She stared at the tiger demon ahead, her hand still gripping the hilt of her knife.

Shen Zhaoyue felt extremely relaxed and comfortable.

As expected of the five-word mantra spoken by a being even the Taoist priest considered malevolent.

It certainly had an extraordinary effect.

Just now, when I swung the sword, the force suddenly increased threefold out of nowhere. This is an unimaginable boost.

You should know that even with the powerful martial arts she's learning now, the increase is only up to 50%!

At this moment, Ye Qingfeng suddenly had some more information in his mind.

But when he subconsciously understood, a look of helplessness appeared on his face.

These two are such a perfect match; they both love to imagine things.

Standing before the cave, the tiger demon saw that his subordinates had been killed or wounded, but he showed no sign of distress. He figured he could just find more men.

This scene surprised it somewhat.

These ants actually have some skills.

But so what? An ant is an ant; how dare it compete with the bright moon?

It took a deep breath, its demonic power circulated within it, and a point of azure light suddenly shone from deep within its throat.

The light grew brighter and brighter, and a sharp aura emanated from its mouth.

Shen Zhaoyue's pupils contracted.

She sensed it; it wasn't some kind of sorcery, it was sword energy!

The tiger demon opened its mouth, and a beam of azure light shot out from it!

It was a sword.

Three feet long, entirely azure blue, with a shimmering, iridescent blade, it aimed straight for Shen Zhaoyue's brow with a sharp killing intent!

too fast.

Shen Zhaoyue didn't even have time to dodge before the sword light was already in front of her.

The sharp edge of the sword stung her cheek, making it impossible for her to open her eyes—

Just as the sword tip was less than three inches from her brow, a hand suddenly reached out from the side.

The hand was long and clean, with distinct knuckles and slightly curved fingertips, gently reaching forward.

index finger.

It was pressed against the tip of the sword.

"Buzz—!"

A violent tremor emanated from the sword, and a visible ripple spread out from where the fingertips touched the sword tip, distorting and deforming the air itself.

Wherever the ripples passed, a layer of grass was scraped off the ground, pebbles flew, and dust billowed up!