I defeated the saint with a parry.

The Li family is the most prominent family in Fancheng, the ancestral home of Li west, and also the employer of Li Hong and Zhang Xi.

This time, after leaving Fancheng, Li Hong's group was supposed to intercept Li Xi and his party on the road, but for some reason, they kept encountering monsters and missed several opportunities to intercept them.

They finally found Li west in Taoyuan Village by following the traces in the temple.

Taoyuan Village is surrounded by mountains on three sides and is rarely visited by people. If this opportunity is missed, the prosperous city will be within reach, and it will be difficult to make a move again.

So, as Xu Ling said, with such a perfect hunting opportunity, when else would we wait to act?

But bad luck often comes in waves, one after another, and it won't just happen once.

The sudden appearance of thick fog and miasma brought this group of people terrible luck.

Li west was right. Given the Li family's resources, their operatives would undoubtedly possess emergency elixirs like the Mind-Clearing Pill and the Rejuvenating Pill. Xu Ling had barely slipped away when they all took the pills, waiting for them to take effect.

Apart from the fact that the quality of their pills was much lower than what Li west had, there wasn't much difference, which was the main reason why they were lagging far behind Xu Ling.

"Damn, this blood-guiding compass is probably broken. Who would come to this godforsaken place? I now strongly suspect that the young master is dead."

"The people in this run-down village are crazy too. I've never seen anything so 'absurd' in my life... What the hell is down there, a tomb or a hanging coffin?"

Li Hong's resentment had reached its peak, but he knew he couldn't blame anyone else, so when he saw the coffin in the cave, all he could do was curse, "Damn it!"

When they reached the lowest level through the passage inside the stone wall and saw Xu Ling and the little monk, Li Hong's resentment subsided considerably.

"Xu Ling, the demon slayer?"

Li Hong recognized Xu Ling by the sight of his sword and the aura of his cultivation level. He then looked at the little monk and muttered, "Young Master?"

He quickly shook his head and dismissed the idea.

According to the intelligence report, although the young master comes from a small town, he doesn't look malnourished like this. Moreover, the young master is characterized by his rosy lips and white teeth, and his skin as smooth as jade, "as fair as a young lady," indicating that he has been well-nourished. How could he be in this skinny, dog-like state? Therefore, he cannot possibly be the monk on this lotus platform.

He lowered his head and fiddled with the compass; the blood-stained guide was clearly pointing towards the little monk.

Seeing his confusion, Xu Ling laid it all out: "You don't need to look anymore, the person you're looking for is right here."

"Since you were able to track us all the way here, you must have noticed the unusual nature of this village. I'm not afraid to tell you the details: Young Master Li is in the hanging coffin above this little monk's head."

"You're too late. After tonight, Young Master Li will be able to directly reach the Great Dao and step into the extraordinary realm. He will no longer be afraid of you people."

"Let's see how you break this deadlock!!"

Xu Ling spoke recklessly and arrogantly, showing no regard for the few Nascent Soul Realm cultivators in front of him, as if he had someone backing him up, and his tone was full of vigor.

To be honest, his current attitude is infuriating.

But that's not important.

Hou Le had already placed the specially made jade pendant on the little monk, who was now engrossed in the ritual and unable to step forward to explain. Therefore, whatever he said was entirely up to Hou Le.

"What a demon slayer!" Li Hong said coldly. "It was these monks who helped you in that temple, wasn't it? No wonder you couldn't even kill a Nascent Soul Realm demon. So someone was indeed helping that illegitimate young master."

Li Hong put away the compass, examined the strange lotus platform and the array marks around it, and finally fixed his gaze on the hanging coffin, his eyes showing a solemn expression: "What benefits did that guy promise you that you would help him like this?"

"What other benefits could it be?" Xu Ling laughed, "Promotion and wealth, cultivation resources, beautiful women in my arms... hehehe."

"Hmph! I thought it was something special, just some ordinary stuff. My master can give you double." Li Hong scoffed. "The garrison commander of the Demon Division of Fancheng Town has a good relationship with my master. Let alone a promotion, it wouldn't be impossible for him to go further and serve in the capital."

Li Hong sensed Xu Ling's aura and said, "You are a pragmatic person. This Breakthrough Pill can help you break through your current realm. As long as you reveal the truth about the formation here, I will give it to you and can also bring you under my master's command."

"how?"

He held a red pill in his hand, with a ring of pill patterns on it. It was a potent medicine and clearly a high-quality pill.

Xu Ling looked conflicted, as if she were facing a painful decision.

Seeing this, Li Hong knew that the bribery was effective, so he wanted to provoke him again, but before he could speak...

Stimulated by the chanting, the hanging coffins overhead eventually changed.

A few drops of thick, dark red viscous liquid dripped in front of everyone. Li Hong and Xu Ling looked up and saw that the gap between the hanging coffin and the coffin lid was filled with this viscous liquid seeping out.

The chanting in the grotto became exceptionally clear at this moment, as if countless people were chanting along, and the talismans on the grotto walls also lit up with a faint glow.

This is the kind of pressure that even a fool could feel.

Xu Ling immediately shouted, attracting the attention of Li Hong and the others: "Brother, you can't go back on your promise!"

Li Hong: "Hmm?"

Ignoring Li Hong's doubts, Xu Ling snatched the pill from his hand and warned, "I'll take the benefits first. If you don't want to die, make your move now. This formation is for the worship of an evil god, and all the villagers are sacrifices. Once the evil god's ritual is complete, your young master will be born with the cultivation of an evil god. Who among you will be his match?"

"An evil god?"

"Indeed, this is the way of incense and gods, which has existed since ancient times." Xu Ling took advantage of what Hou Le had mentioned and began to deceive people: "This village was able to support a hundred households during the demonic calamity, all thanks to the help of the evil god... Young Master Li is the one chosen by the evil god. If this formation is completed, he will be the reincarnation of the evil god, and none of us will be his match."

As Xu Ling recounted the story, the commotion inside the coffin grew louder and louder. The blackish-red viscous liquid had stained the pool water beneath their feet blood-red, glowing red in the surrounding light, creating a very eerie scene.

The men who had come with Li Hong also felt a chill run down their spines and urged, "Sir, let's make our move. This guy doesn't seem to be lying."

Ah!

Of course it's not a lie.

Apart from Li west's matter, everything Xu Ling said was true.

His face was solemn, and his eyes were filled with fear, which was not an act, because he really couldn't understand what the monk and his disciples had attracted.

"If we don't act now, when will we?!"

Xu Ling shouted loudly, and to the astonishment of Li Hong and the others, he took the initiative to make a move, appearing even more anxious than Li Hong and the others.

Xu Ling drew his sword and slashed at the lotus platform in front of him!

The blade flashed, leaving a deep gash on the stone lotus platform. The little monk on the platform suffered a backlash, immediately spitting out a mouthful of blood. He opened his eyes, his gaze wide with rage as he pointed at Xu Ling, muttering, "You...you...how could you do this?!"

"What do you mean, 'what ...?' As demon slayers, it's only right that we cut down evil cultivators like you."

After Xu Ling finished cursing, the little monk spat out another mouthful of blood and collapsed onto the lotus platform, losing consciousness.

The scene before them left Li Hong and his companions utterly shocked.

In their eyes, the little monk's reaction was clearly an act of rage over the betrayal of his own people.

"Good, good, well done! A wise person knows when to yield!"

Li Hong was overjoyed: "Young man, you really know how to handle things! You meant it! You said you'd chop someone up, and you really meant it!"

"Brother, rest assured, once this matter is settled, I will personally recommend you and guarantee you endless wealth and honor."

Li Hong turned his gaze coldly to the hanging coffin, pulled out a long whip from somewhere, and with a soft shout, used his martial arts skills to wrap it around the iron chains on the hanging coffin. The iron chains melted instantly upon contact.

The coffin slid down, and the viscous fluid that had been bound inside it flowed out as if it were free.

The coffin crashed into the water, splashing up waves, and the slime, as if intentionally, dripped onto the lotus platform, enveloping the little monk.