Slaying demons and eliminating evil, a martial saint among mortals.

A woman in her thirties stood in the courtyard, her eyes red and swollen, her face pale.

It seems that the one who went missing last night was her man.

Upon seeing Xu Qinghe and Qin Lie approaching, she immediately tried to kneel down, but Xu Qinghe stopped her with a wave of her hand.

"No need to kneel down, it's what we should do. Let us see the place first."

The woman nodded tearfully and stood aside wiping away her tears.

Qin Lie did not speak, but instead used his Qi Observation Technique.

The next moment, everything in front of me seemed to be shrouded in a thin layer of mist.

In his eyes, the blood and qi of an ordinary person appear as a faint red.

However, when Qin Lie looked at the bloodstain at the door, he discovered that there was a wisp of black energy remaining inside, which was completely different from the blood and energy of ordinary people.

Qin Lie followed the wisp of black mist and looked out, discovering that the black mist was spreading from the courtyard gate all the way to the back of the village.

Although it was so faint that it was almost invisible, the direction was very clear, heading towards the back of the mountain.

Xu Qinghe glanced at Qin Lie.

"Did you find anything?"

"A dark aura is moving from here all the way to the back of the mountain."

After listening, Xu Qinghe turned back to look at Village Chief Chen.

"Has the person who went missing last night ever been to the back mountain?"

Village Chief Chen quickly replied, "We've been there. People in our village usually go to the back mountain to cut firewood and gather herbs, but after the recent incident, no one dares to go."

Xu Qinghe nodded after listening.

"Okay, let's go take a look at the back mountain."

Qin Lie frowned after hearing this.

"Is it just the two of us going?"

"What? Are you scared?"

Qin Lie shook his head.

"It's not that I'm afraid. Didn't Lord Lu say before that if we confirm there's a demon, we should send a message back first?"

"Given the current situation, it can't be an ordinary wild wolf, right?"

"You remember it quite clearly."

"However, we haven't seen any demons yet, only a little bit of demonic energy remains. We need to go and take a look first. If we really can't handle it, then we can send a message."

Are you sure?

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing in such a small matter."

"Okay, let's go then."

Hearing what Xu Qinghe said, Qin Lie stopped insisting.

Xu Qinghe has been with Lu Chen and the others for so long, she definitely has more experience than me, so she should be confident if she dares to go.

Besides, I had previously used the Qi Observation Technique to examine Xu Qinghe, and I couldn't see through him at all, which shows that he is very powerful.

If we encounter danger, even if we can't win, escaping shouldn't be a problem, right?

Seeing that Qin Liexiang was no longer insisting, Xu Qinghe turned to look at the village chief.

"You don't need to come along. Tell everyone in the village to stay home and keep their doors and windows closed."

"Don't come out no matter what noise you hear until we get back."

Upon hearing this, the village chief turned pale.

"Are...are there really monsters?"

Xu Qinghe did not answer the village chief's question directly.

"Just listen to me."

The village chief quickly nodded.

"Okay, okay, we'll listen to the adults."

Qin Lie and Xu Qinghe didn't linger any longer and followed the black mist out of the village.

Behind the village is a slope, and beyond that is the mountain behind the village.

The mountain isn't very high, but the trees are very tall and the vegetation is very lush.

Although it was daytime, the woods still looked rather gloomy.

Qin Lie gripped the Demon-Suppressing Blade at his waist and continued following the black mist.

Xu Qinghe was also beside him, but she didn't carry a knife.

Instead, he was holding a small booklet, looking more like someone who was keeping accounts than someone who was there to exorcise demons.

"Clerk Xu, aren't you carrying a weapon?"

Xu Qinghe casually remarked, "What weapon would a clerk like me carry?"

Qin Lie looked at her, somewhat puzzled.

"What if you encounter monsters if you don't carry weapons?"

Xu Qinghe seemed to have heard something funny.

"What to do if you encounter a monster? That's a question you should be asking."

"I'm just a clerk, responsible for recording, verifying, and relaying messages. The rest is up to you."

Qin Lie was momentarily speechless; he felt that this woman was teasing him.

The two continued walking into the mountains, and after about fifteen minutes, a cave appeared ahead.

The entrance to the cave was small, and some weeds were growing outside.

If that black mist hadn't been heading this way, Qin Lie might not have discovered this place.

When they reached the entrance of the cave, they found a man sitting there.

The man was wearing tattered coarse cloth clothes, his face was covered in blood, and his hair was messy, making him look like he had been lost in the mountains for several days.

Upon hearing Qin Lie and Qin Lie's footsteps, the man suddenly looked up, his face filled with surprise.

"Are you two officials from the Demon Suppression Division?"

"You've come just in time! Help me! Please help me!"

The man staggered to his feet and ran towards Qin Lie.

Qin Lie did not go to meet him, but stood still.

After the trial in the Hundred Demon Mirror, Qin Lie felt that no stranger could be trusted.

He used his aura-gazing technique to observe the man running towards him; the man's aura was a bit strange.

[Target: Wolf Demon in Skin]

【Demon Aura: Lesser Demon Realm】

[Status: Disguised]

Upon seeing these lines of text, Qin Lie's eyes immediately turned cold.

It seems my intuition was right; it really was a demon.

The man didn't stop; he kept running forward, muttering to himself as he went.

"Sir, I am from Shiqiao Village."

"I went up the mountain to chop firewood yesterday, and I encountered wolves."

"Most of the missing people in the village were dragged to this area by that thing. I barely managed to escape."

"My lords, please, I beg you, take me back to the village!"

He was almost in front of Qin Lie when he spoke.

The expressions of fear and surprise on their faces were very convincing.

If it weren't for his ability to perceive qi, Qin Lie wouldn't have been able to tell that he was faking it.

As the man spoke, he ran toward Qin Lie, his hands hidden in his sleeves. Qin Lie suspected that the man was hiding something in his sleeves.

At this moment, the man was less than three steps away from Qin Lie.

"My lords, you've finally arrived! I almost..."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Lie drew his Demon-Suppressing Blade.

Clang!

The Demon-Slaying Blade is drawn!

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Lie raised his hand and slashed at the man's neck.

The man's surprise vanished instantly, replaced by a ferocious expression.

"I didn't expect you to figure it out!"

His voice suddenly became hoarse.

A black, hairy claw suddenly emerged from beneath the sleeve and lunged straight for Qin Lie's chest.

Qin Lie was prepared.

As he slashed down, he shifted his foot to the side.

The wolf's claws grazed past his clothes.

With a ripping sound.

The black outfit was ripped open.

Qin Lie was immediately filled with lingering fear.

If it had been any slower, the flesh on his chest would have been torn off, right?

However, although his strike didn't hit the wolf demon's neck, it did leave a deep wound on its shoulder.

Crimson blood flowed out from the wound.

The wolf demon seemed to feel the pain in its shoulder and suddenly jumped back.

The face began to distort, and something seemed to be wriggling beneath the skin.

The next moment, the man's body suddenly arched.

His skin cracked open instantly.

A wolf's head emerged from beneath the human skin.

What was originally a human-like thing quickly turned into a half-human, half-wolf monster.

That layer of human skin was still hanging on his body, and it looked disgusting.

"I didn't expect you, a little brat from the Demon Suppression Division, to have such a keen sense of smell."

The wolf demon grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

Qin Lie gripped the Demon-Suppressing Blade tightly in his hand.

"You're doing a good job of pretending, but you smell terrible. I suggest you take more showers when you have time."

"But I'm afraid I'll never have the chance to take a bath in this lifetime. Remember to wash yourself thoroughly in the oil cauldron when you go to hell."

Upon hearing this, the wolf demon's eyes flashed with ferocity, and it pounced directly at Qin Lie.

It was very fast, even faster than the baby spiders in the mother spider's cage.

Qin Lie felt a blur before his eyes, and then the wolf demon was right in front of him.

At this moment, Qin Lie dared not be careless and directly blocked with his sword.

boom!

The wolf's claws slammed into the blade, causing Qin Lie to stagger back two steps, his arm going numb.

These wild monsters are different; they are not only fast, but also incredibly strong.

This is only the Lesser Demon Realm; one can't even imagine what it would be like at a higher realm.

The wolf demon didn't give Qin Lie a chance to catch his breath, and pounced on him again after landing.

Qin Lie gritted his teeth and began to circulate the basic body-refining technique, mobilizing the qi and blood throughout his body and concentrating it all on his arms.

When the wolf demon pounced again, Qin Lie didn't use his knife to block it head-on. Instead, he moved to the side and swung the knife upwards.

puff.

The blade sliced ​​across the wolf demon's abdomen, and blood gushed out immediately.

The wolf demon let out a miserable cry, twisted its body in mid-air, and still managed to grab Qin Lie's shoulder with its claws.

Qin Lie didn't have time to completely dodge, and could only barely turn to the side. His claws grazed Qin Lie's shoulder, leaving several bloody marks, which made Qin Lie frown in pain.

However, he did not retreat. The moment the wolf demon landed, Qin Lie had already caught up with it.

The Demon-Suppressing Blade descended from above, slashing straight down.

The blade struck the wolf demon's previous shoulder wound.

The wolf demon howled in pain, blood streaming down its face.

Qin Lie's next strikes were simple, without any fancy moves, but each one was aimed at killing him.

At first, the wolf demon could suppress Qin Lie with its speed, but after a few moves, its stamina began to decline.

In addition, with his wounds bleeding continuously, he gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

A hint of panic finally appeared in the wolf demon's eyes. It suddenly turned around and tried to retreat into the cave, but Qin Lie was not about to give it that chance.

"Trying to run now? Too late!"

Qin Lie pushed off with his feet, his speed suddenly increased, and he circulated his internal energy and blood through the Demon-Suppressing Blade once more. He aimed at the wolf demon's neck and slashed down fiercely.

The wolf demon was about to raise its paw to block, but Qin Lie's strike gathered all the blood and energy in its body.

puff.

The wolf's claws were cleaved open by the Demon-Suppressing Blade, and the blade fell down, slashing viciously into the wolf demon's neck.

The wolf demon's eyes widened, and it made a hoarse sound.

Qin Lie gripped the knife with both hands and pressed down suddenly. With a crack, the wolf demon's head tilted to one side, and its body fell heavily to the ground.

The next moment, a notification popped up in front of Qin Lie's eyes.

[Slay the wolf demon from the Lesser Demon Realm]

[Gain 2 attribute points]

At the same time, he felt the demon-suppressing token on his waist sway slightly.

[Slay the wolf demon from the Lesser Demon Realm]

[Merit +10]

Qin Lie was overjoyed when he saw the two prompts in front of him.

This is the real gain.

Not only did the system give me attribute points, but the Demon Suppression Division also gave me merit points.

Killing a single demon brings two benefits; he certainly made the right choice coming to Dongxuan City.

However, before Qin Lie could be happy for long, a series of low wolf howls suddenly came from inside the cave.

Immediately afterwards, several figures rushed out of the cave.