Something's wrong with this demon.

Night fell quickly.

The already dark and gloomy mountaintop suddenly became even darker and more eerie.

The garrison officers immediately lit torches.

The flames leaping in the cold wind illuminated the black stones covering the mountain, like a demon's dance.

Thick smoke rose from several caves not far away.

The guards held palm-leaf fans and vigorously fanned the smoke into the cave, letting the thick smoke fill the cave.

A pungent and acrid smell lingered in the air.

"Everyone, keep a close watch on all the cave entrances; don't miss a single one!"

Zhou Qingyang's cold voice rang out from the hillside not far away.

The caves inside the mountain are interconnected, with a network of roads leading in all directions, so there are several entrances and exits.

The town's garrison had already identified all the cave entrances in advance.

Men had already been deployed, armed with torches and weapons, and were waiting in ambush outside.

"Zhang, the boss!"

Zhou Qingyang shouted loudly from the hillside.

Zhang Jiu quickly called out, "It's here!"

Zhou Qingyang said, "Come here and help me guard this cave entrance!"

"Okay!"

Zhang Jiu agreed, then whispered coldly to Luo Qingchen and the others beside him, "Captain Zhou deliberately shouted loudly to let that beast know I'm here. That beast is determined to kill me, and now that he knows he's doomed, he'll probably rush out to fight me to the death in a bit."

Zhou Yan quickly said, "Boss, we'll all go protect you."

Zhang Jiu shook his head: "It's not advisable to send too many people, and other places also need to be guarded. That monster has lost its arm and is no longer a threat to me."

He looked up and observed for a moment, then gave instructions: "Zhou Yan, Sun Tong, you two go over there to the high place and keep watch. If anything comes out, shout immediately."

He pointed to the small hill on the right.

Although there is no entrance or exit there, it cannot be ruled out that the heart-raiding monster might dig a hole and rush out on its own.

The two immediately agreed and quickly left.

Zhang Jiu then looked at Luo Qingchen and Zhao Nan and instructed them, "You two go and keep watch in that mountain hollow over there. If anything happens, shout loudly immediately."

He pointed to a mountain hollow to the south.

There is no entrance there either, and it is quite far from the mine here. Although the heart-raiding monster has lost its arms and cannot dig a new hole to come out from there, we still have to be careful.

The two agreed and prepared to go over.

Zhang Jiu suddenly looked at Luo Qingchen and said, "Brother Luo, you don't look well. Haven't you fully recovered yet?"

Luo Qingchen said, "I estimate I'll need to rest for a while longer."

Zhang Jiu sighed, his eyes filled with pity: "I've heard about it too. In the next couple of days, that Senior Brother Tian will be coming down to take your blood. Not only will he take your blood, but he'll also take one of your kidneys. Sigh, Brother Luo, I just hope you can hold on. I don't want any of the brothers in this building to leave."

Luo Qingchen did not speak.

Zhang Jiu didn't say anything more, patted him on the shoulder, and walked towards Zhou Qingyang.

Luo Qingchen took one last look at the woman's arms on the ground, then followed the new guard named Zhao Nan towards the southern ravine.

A cold night wind blew in, carrying a chilling, eerie feeling.

The two arrived at the ravine, where the firelight on the hillside was no longer visible.

Zhao Nan seemed a little scared and complained, "Why did you send us to such a far place? There's no way to get here from the mine, and you didn't even give us two torches. It's pitch black."

Luo Qingchen didn't have time to talk to him; she ignored everyone else and started practicing her boxing.

Zhao Nan looked at him in surprise, then couldn't help but sneer, "Brother Luo, are you pretending to be diligent at this time, or are you just being cowardly and trying to bolster your courage?"

Luo Qingchen ignored him and continued practicing her boxing.

The remaining medicinal energy in the body began to flow slowly, continuing to temper the bones throughout the body.

Whether we live or die, it will be tonight or tomorrow.

Seeing that he was being ignored, Zhao Nan snorted coldly, glanced around, and walked directly to the higher ground ahead, saying in a cold voice, "You can cultivate here yourself. I'll go stand over there, at least I can see the firelight and keep an eye on the people over there."

"Whoosh!"

After he left, Luo Qingchen stopped holding back her strength and began to cultivate in her best condition.

The distant flames, the commotion, the billowing smoke, and the bloodied woman's arms were all irrelevant to him at that moment.

At this moment, his mind was solely focused on cultivation.

Every minute, every second now is crucial to whether he will survive tomorrow.

He came here for two purposes.

The second purpose was to stay away from Baixianglou and gain more time for cultivation.

If he stays at Baixianglou to cultivate, and Tian Feng comes to find him the next day, he will have no time or way out.

There is no doubt that he will die.

If he were here, he could delay his return for a while.

Even at the very last moment, he could hide here for a whole day.

As long as he can successfully break through in the end, he will not be afraid of being pursued by the other party.

Night gradually deepened.

The distant flames remained bright, and the thick smoke showed no signs of abating.

The guards seemed to be getting anxious, and began banging on the jarring gong, trying to terrify the monster hiding in the mine.

Time passed second by second.

Soon, the eastern sky began to lighten.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

While Luo Qingchen was practicing diligently, sweating profusely, she suddenly heard a series of exclamations coming from afar.

"It's out! The monsters are out!"

"Quick! Block it!"

"ah--"

"Damn it, that beast's in there again!"

"Quick, keep pouring in thick smoke! It can't run anymore!"

Some cried out, some screamed, and some shouted angrily.

Zhao Nan, who was sitting on the rock bored, immediately got up and stood on tiptoe to look out.

Luo Qingchen also stopped cultivating.

At this moment, he couldn't wait to look at the cultivation progress in his body. Yesterday evening, it was 985/1000, but now it has only increased to 990/1000.

It still only increased by a paltry 5 points.

10 points to go!

If he were in Baixianglou at this moment, he would probably only feel despair.

But he still has hope!

He will continue his cultivation until…

"Snapped!"

Just then, Zhao Nan, who was standing on a hillside not far away gazing into the distance, suddenly trembled for some unknown reason and then collapsed softly to the ground.

Luo Qingchen immediately smelled a strong stench of blood!

But on that hillside, apart from Zhao Nan lying on the ground, there seemed to be nothing else.

Meanwhile, the garrison officers in the distance continued to pour smoke into the cave, bang gongs, or shout curses.

No one noticed this place.

Luo Qingchen hesitated for a moment, then took out a dagger and carefully walked towards the small hill where Zhao Nan had fallen.

He soon arrived nearby.

Upon closer inspection, a shock was felt: a bloody hole had appeared in Zhao Nan's chest, and his heart was nowhere to be found!

His eyes were wide open, and he looked like he died with his eyes open.

"Whoosh!"

Just then, a dark shadow suddenly darted out from under the nearby rock, its gaping maw snapping at Luo Qingchen with lightning speed!

Luo Qingchen was already on high alert, and when she saw the dark figure approaching, she hurriedly sprang up and retreated.

At the same time, he gripped the dagger tightly in his hand and thrust it forward quickly.

However, the dark figure was too fast!

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

Luo Qingchen suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest, and then flew backward, crashing heavily into the pile of rocks behind her.

For a moment, I felt dizzy and unable to get up or muster any strength.

Seeing the dark figure rushing towards him again, his heart sank into an abyss.

However, the dark figure suddenly stopped in front of him, glanced at him with its scarlet eyes, and immediately turned and fled into the dark woods on the right.

At that moment, he didn't know if it was just his imagination.

Those scarlet eyes seemed to suddenly turn black, and then vanished in a flash.

Its escape posture was rather strange, tumbling and crawling.

Because it no longer has arms.

At the same time, it appears to have been seriously injured.

Luo Qingchen froze on the ground for a few seconds, then immediately endured the pain, got up, and went over to drain all the blood from Zhao Nan's body.

Then, without hesitation, he chased after them.

He didn't call out to anyone.