I defeated the saint with a parry.

roll!

dodge!

If you can't avoid it, deflect the force and parry!

After the sound of hammering had satisfied their cravings, another execution would follow. If it still wasn't enough, a few more blows would be delivered.

It was just a matter of slaying small monsters. Xu Ling used almost the same template operation to sweep through the enemy. More than a dozen unawakened fox demons, monsters in the eyes of others, were all beheaded by him like vegetables.

Each one sprayed blood several feet high, turning the courtyard into a layer of "blood paint".

Even Xu Ling was soaked through, looking like a terrifying being who had emerged from a sea of ​​blood.

"Young Master Li! Where did you find this demon slayer?"

Zhao Yi, the middle-aged wealthy businessman who led the business, had somehow moved closer to Li west and was quietly asking about Xu Ling's background.

Li west and the old servant were filled with surprise on their faces and in their eyes.

"We came from Zhangye on the border, and just randomly picked a demon slayer by the roadside..." Li west couldn't finish his sentence; the scene in the courtyard was too gruesome and anything but 'random'.

Li west unconsciously brought up what had happened earlier: "To be honest, Master Zhao, last night the wandering knight risked his life to save us, even at the cost of his own life. He was ruthless and didn't care about the consequences."

"Tsk!" Zhao Yi revealed an expression of "I knew it," and said, "Only a place like that can cultivate such ruthlessness and recklessness. Just like in war, it's either the enemy or us who die. When you're charging into battle, there's no time to think. Only by being ruthless can you have a better chance of survival."

"Is that so?"

Li west was somewhat puzzled, because he didn't remember Xu Ling having any military experience, but what was even stranger was... He looked at Xu Ling in the courtyard and said, "The wandering knight's fighting style seems to have changed."

Xu Ling's actions were more decisive, more resolute, and, more importantly, simpler, resulting in a clean and efficient overall performance.

Li west didn't mention any of this, but his eyes were full of curiosity. He realized that he couldn't see through Xu Ling at all.

"roar!"

A tiger's roar came from outside the temple, and as the sound grew closer, a figure flew in from outside.

It was half a body, still clutching the broken gun barrel in its hand, which crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Brother Zhong?"

Xu Ling's exclamation went unanswered; his eyes remained open in death, his pupils already dilated.

The atmosphere in the courtyard was terribly oppressive. No one dared to speak in the small house anymore. The group of people subconsciously moved closer together, their eyes uncontrollably fixed on the direction of the temple entrance.

*Thump! Thump! Thump!*

This time, the human-faced tiger made no attempt to hide its presence, and even deliberately stomped its feet heavily, seemingly to provoke its prey.

"Is it... Zhong Song?" Zhao Yi's face turned pale as he stared at the severed body from afar, not daring to approach it at all, his heart pounding as if it were about to jump out of his chest.

All the demon slayers at the Opening Meridian Realm are dead. Who can protect them now?

He glanced at the old monk, wondering if he really had to do as the old man suggested and send a few people out.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he cut it off, shaking his head to clear his head.

Many others shared his thoughts, especially the thugs, whose eyes darted between Li west and their own men.

The atmosphere inside the room became very strange.

As the oppressive atmosphere outside the temple grew increasingly intense, some people no longer concealed their gazes, staring intently at the smaller, thinner individuals.

"Young Master, something's wrong."

The old servant's voice rang in Li west's ears. Li west shook his head imperceptibly and frowned as he looked at Xu Ling.

The old monk chanted Amitabha Buddha's name, seemingly oblivious to everything that was happening. Even the young monks followed suit, chanting sutras in place.

No one knew what they were chanting, and the sound only made people more irritated, but someone suddenly realized something.

The thugs in Zhao Yi's business were people who often worked together, so they had a tacit understanding. When someone gave the old monk a look, others would understand.

A cold glint flashed inside the room, and both the old monk and the young monk had a sword on their shoulders.

"Old monk, don't blame us. It was your idea. So please, monk, cut off your own flesh to feed the eagle and save us."

Seeing his hired thugs acting on their own, Zhao Yi dared not reprimand them. Instead, he felt fear, knowing that if they were to stray even slightly, the sword could very well be at his own neck.

He only felt much more at ease after confirming that he hadn't treated them unfairly, and he had absolutely no intention of being a good person.

However, they are right. The old monk spoke out, so naturally they have to bear the responsibility. This is cause and effect.

Zhao Yi said bitterly, "As the Buddhists say, if you don't go to hell, who will?"

Several men, with stern expressions and harsh words, led the monk away.

But as soon as they went outside, their legs began to go weak, and they stared blankly at the figure walking into the courtyard.

The human-faced tiger was ten feet tall. It didn't come in from the front, but rather climbed over the courtyard wall and entered the courtyard.

Its fur pattern is similar to that of an ordinary tiger, but it is noticeably longer. The most obvious and unique feature is its face; its huge head is topped with a wrinkled, withered old face, and two palm-sized sharp teeth are visible at the corners of its mouth.

"Sumeru! Is this the blood offering you've brought me?"

The human-faced tiger grabbed one leg with each hand, tearing at it like it was grabbing a spicy snack. Blood dripped from its fur, but it didn't stick to its body. With each step, it landed on the ground.

Zhong Song's missing half of his spear was being used as a toothpick by the human-faced tiger.

"What a fierce demon."

The Concentration Realm, as the final step in the three stages of Foundation Establishment for mortals, differs from the previous two in that it already possesses certain extraordinary characteristics.

For example, the human-faced tiger in front of us strolled over, its imposing aura pressing down on everyone in the courtyard like a mountain.

Those who haven't cultivated themselves would feel suffocated. Zhao Yi and his wife collapsed to the ground, not daring to meet the gaze of the giant tiger in the courtyard.

The henchmen who had been riding on their swords, intending to offer the old monk to the tiger demon, immediately dropped their swords and knelt down, no longer daring to make any further moves.

The reason was simply because the human-faced tiger mentioned the old monk's Dharma name, Sumeru.

They recognize it.

It's not hard to guess how they met.

It's a good thing this old man can still chant Amitabha Buddha's name; he's truly shameless.

"Amitabha, Layman Tiger!" Sumeru stood there, hands clasped together: "There is too much blood offering today, may you allow my master and disciple to leave?"

"Hmph!" The human-faced tiger sneered, "Look, that demon slayer just now cut off my tiger fur. You two, master and disciple, can repay him for it."

He coldly swept his gaze over everyone in the room, his eyes revealing an undisguised bloodlust and aggression, before finally settling on Xu Ling... or rather, on the plaque unique to demon slayers.

"Ninth level of Body Tempering, you are also a Demon Slayer."

Xu Ling shook the blade, dislodging the demonic blood on it: "Your aura is a bit chaotic, you've suffered for it too."

Xu Ling had heard about the strength of spiritual artifacts; it would take a considerable amount of effort for a demon at the Condensation Realm to damage one. Since Zhong Song hadn't loosened his grip on the artifact even in death, and the fracture was a ruptured type, Xu Ling concluded that the Human-Faced Tiger wouldn't fare well in close combat.

If it weren't injured, this beast wouldn't have needed to intimidate others. After all, given its capabilities, it had no reason to do so.

"So what?" The human-faced tiger threw away the human body he used for disguise. Without the human blood to cover it, the bleeding from the wound on his chest could no longer be hidden. "You're only at the Body Tempering Realm."

"Oh? Is that so?" Xu Ling laughed. "Have you ever seen a Body Tempering Realm cultivator kill nearly twenty demons of the same realm without sustaining any injuries?"

The human-faced tiger fell silent, its old, humanoid face now filled with an expression of doubt, and the corners of its mouth, which had been turned up, were now flattened.

He wanted to test the waters because he saw the demon blood and dismembered corpses all over the courtyard, but he didn't expect that the human in front of him would see through him at a glance.

"Pretentious."