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

Upon hearing the sound, the wolf demons all paused for a moment.

The next moment, the light in their eyes was quickly covered by blood, their demonic energy began to expand uncontrollably, and their muscles bulged continuously.

Xu Qinghe's expression suddenly changed.

"It's forcibly stimulating the bloodlines within those wolf demons. This allows them to greatly increase their strength in a short period of time, but once the bloodline power is exhausted, these wolf demons, even if they don't die, will completely turn into mindless beasts."

Wolfwalker didn't care whether his men survived or not.

In its view, it doesn't matter if twelve lesser demons die, as long as it can get what it wants.

Having completely lost their minds, the twelve wolf demons completely ignored the demon souls blocking their way.

They let the demonic souls tear at their souls, still keeping their heads down, and charged towards the concealment array without a care.

Several wolf demons quickly rushed to the edge of the formation, their sharp claws falling one after another.

The concealment array began to shake violently, and the villagers hiding inside gradually revealed their blurry figures.

Gu Qianji was focused on maintaining the trapping formation and had no way to spare any more energy to reinforce the concealment formation.

He gritted his teeth and looked at Xu Qinghe.

"Little Xu, how much longer can you hold on?"

Xu Qinghe controlled all the demon souls to rush towards the wolf demons, and a layer of fine sweat had already seeped out of her forehead.

"They won't last much longer. These wolf demons no longer care about the damage to their souls; they're only thinking about destroying the formation now, and I can't stop them."

Just as the two were talking, a wolf demon had already rammed into them several times with its body.

A crack suddenly appeared on the surface of the concealment array, completely exposing the villagers hiding inside.

Zhou Dashi's wife was startled and instinctively clutched the bundle in her arms.

The bundle wasn't tied tightly to begin with, and when she hugged it, the contents scattered all over the floor.

A few taels of silver, two household registration documents, and a piece of grayish-brown animal hide stained with oil.

The moment the piece of animal hide landed, the wolf demons that were attacking the formation simultaneously stopped their movements.

Their noses twitched slightly, followed by excited roars.

Wolf turned its head immediately, and when it saw the animal hide on the ground, its eyes revealed undisguised excitement for the first time.

"Hahaha, it's here after all! I found it! Quick, go and snatch the scroll!"

Several wolf demons immediately pounced on the animal hide on the ground.

Although Zhou Dashi's wife didn't know what the animal hide was for, she understood that the monster absolutely couldn't be allowed to take it away.

She handed the child in her arms to a villager nearby, then bent down and reached for the animal skin on the ground.

A wolf demon had already rushed up behind her, its sharp claws slamming down towards her back.

Xu Qinghe controlled a demonic soul to crash into the wolf demon, but it was directly dispersed by the demonic energy erupting from the wolf's body.

Just as the claws were about to fall, Zhou Dashi suddenly rushed out from the side.

He swung the wooden stick in his hand and smashed it heavily on the wolf demon's head.

With a snap, the wooden stick broke in two.

The wolf demon only tilted its head slightly after being hit, then suddenly turned around and slapped Zhou Dashi's chest with its claw.

Zhou Dashi's body flew out and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Oishi!"

The woman let out a gasp.

The wolf demon did not continue to pursue Zhou Dashi. Instead, it lowered its head and opened its mouth to bite the animal hide on the ground.

Just then, a flash of light came from the side.

The Snow-Shattering Blade pierced straight through the wolf demon's neck, pinning it firmly to the ground.

Qin Lie didn't even bother to draw his sword. He rushed to the woman and bent down to pick up the animal hide from the ground.

But just as he grabbed the animal hide, Gu Qianji gave him an anxious reminder from behind.

"Be careful!"

Qin Lie instinctively turned around, only to find Lang Xing already rushing in front of him.

The trapping formation can suppress the demonic energy within it, but it cannot completely restrict its movements.

Upon seeing the animal hide appear, Wolfwalker no longer cared about concealing his strength. He forcefully pushed through several array patterns despite the pressure of the formation, his sharp claws aimed straight for the animal hide in Qin Lie's hand.

Qin Lie immediately stuffed the animal hide into his clothes and raised his left arm to shield himself.

The wolf's claws fell heavily, leaving four deep, bone-revealing wounds on his arm.

Qin Lie groaned and his body involuntarily retreated.

The wolf continued forward, its other paw aimed straight for Qin Lie's chest.

With the Shattered Snow Blade still embedded in the wolf demon's neck, Qin Lie, having no weapon left, could only quickly activate the Suppressing Mountain Heavenly Skill and raise his fist to smash into the wolf demon's palm.

The fist and the wolf's claws collided head-on.

Qin Lie's left arm was already injured, and this time he couldn't withstand the wolf's power at all. His body was sent flying again, and the animal skin he was hiding in his arms fell to the ground.

Just as Lang Xing was about to step forward to snatch it, Gu Qianji forcibly changed the trapping formation.

Several array patterns around him moved rapidly, all converging at Lang Xing's feet.

Wolf's legs sank into the mud, and his entire body was pressed down by a heavy force.

Gu Qianji kept changing the position of her hands.

"If you could come and go as you please with the array I painstakingly set up, then all these years of my life would have been for nothing!"

As he spoke, his hands began to tremble slightly, and his face grew paler and paler.

It was because he had consumed too many high-grade array stones at Qing Shi Post Station. These array stones were of very poor quality. In addition, he had to maintain the power of the array, protect the villagers, and also mobilize the power of the array to suppress Lang Xing. That's why he ended up in such a mess.

Wolf looked down at the array patterns on his feet, then suddenly raised his claws and plunged them into his own chest.

Gu Qianji's expression changed drastically upon seeing its movements.

"Qin Lie, stop him! It's going to use its demon blood to break the formation!"

Wolfwalker plucked a large amount of demon blood from his wound and scattered it around him.

The demon blood immediately emitted a piercing sound after it landed on the array patterns.

The originally bright array patterns quickly dimmed, and some of them even broke off in the middle.

Gu Qianji's body trembled, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

"Qin Lie, stop it!"

Qin Lie had already stood up again.

He pulled the Snow-Shattering Blade from the wolf demon's corpse and was about to charge at the wolf when suddenly a child's cry came from the side.

A wolf demon that had completely lost its mind broke through the demon soul's obstruction and charged directly into the middle of the villagers.

It grabbed the child that Zhou Dashi had been holding and opened its mouth to bite the child's head.

The child was terrified and kept crying. Several villagers tried to help, but were blocked by two other wolf demons.

Seeing that Lang Xing was still using demon blood to break the formation, Gu Qianji hurriedly called out to Qin Lie.

"The formation is about to break! Charge in and stop it now, we still have a chance to capture it!"

Qin Lie glanced at Lang Xing, then turned to look at the child who had been captured by the wolf demon.

Without the slightest hesitation, he turned and rushed towards the villagers.

Gu Qianji opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

Qin Lie rushed to the wolf demon's back in a few steps, and his Shattered Snow Blade slashed out from the side, severing the arm that was holding the child.

The child fell from mid-air and was caught by Qin Lie. The wolf demon, having lost its arm, let out a painful roar and opened its mouth to bite Qin Lie's shoulder.

Qin Lie held the child tightly in his arms, turning his body to shield the wolf demon's attack with his back.

Sharp teeth pierced into flesh, causing Qin Lie to shudder in pain, but he never loosened his grip on the child in his arms.

He gripped the Snowcutter's Blade in his other hand and thrust the blade into the wolf demon's abdomen from below.

The wolf demon's body froze instantly, and the power in its mouth gradually disappeared.

Qin Lie suddenly drew his Snow-Shattering Blade and kicked it away.

When he turned around again, Wolf had already destroyed most of the array patterns with his demon blood.

With a muffled boom, the trapping formation was finally forcibly torn open.

Wolf did not continue to fight for the animal hide that had fallen to the ground.

At this moment, it was also seriously injured, and its demonic energy was severely depleted. If it continued to stay here, it would only be surrounded and killed by Qin Lie and the other two.

After breaking out of the formation, Wolf Walk stood at the edge of the forest and looked back.

Its gaze first fell on Qin Lie, then it looked at the animal skin lying in the middle of the road.

"You can keep this scroll for now. We'll see what happens in the future. Kid, don't worry, I'll make sure you die by my hand."

Qin Lie handed the child to the woman who had rushed over, and headed towards the wolf pack with the Snowcutter's Blade in hand.

"And you're still spouting nonsense in this situation? If you've got the guts, come over here and take the animal hide! See if I don't slaughter you!"

Wolfman stared intently at Qin Lie for a moment, then turned and rushed into the woods.

Gu Qianji hurriedly stopped Qin Lie, who wanted to continue the pursuit.

"Don't chase it! It's injured, but you're more badly hurt. The mountains and forests are still the wolf demon's most familiar territory. If you chase it in now, it might just turn the tables and drag you to your death."

Qin Lie stopped and looked in the direction where Lang Xing had disappeared, his expression somewhat grim.

"He already knows the animal hide is in our hands. Once he returns and recovers from his injuries, he will definitely come back with his men to strike again."

Gu Qianji raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth.

"I told you just now that every choice comes with a price. If you had continued to stop the wolf, you might have had a chance to keep it inside the formation, but the child would have been killed by the wolf demon. By choosing to turn back and save the child, the wolf naturally had a chance to escape."

Qin Lie remained silent for a while.

"You think I did something wrong?"

Gu Qianji shook his head.

"I didn't say you did anything wrong. I just want you to see clearly that it's difficult to please both sides in many things. Especially when you really become the commander of the Duanfeng Camp in the future, with so many people under your command, every thought you have will determine the life and death of many people, so you must be extremely careful."

He glanced at Qin Lie, then continued speaking.

"You can want to save people, but you must think carefully about the consequences of your actions before making a decision."

Qin Lie glanced at the child still crying in the woman's arms, then looked towards the woods where the wolf had disappeared.

"If I had to choose again, I would still come back to save people."

Gu Qianji stared at him for a moment.

"I already knew. If you were going to abandon this child, you wouldn't have thrown the Zhenguan Seal to me and stayed behind to block these demons."

While the two were talking, Xu Qinghe had already taken control of the demon souls and suppressed all the remaining wolf demons.

Qin Lie did not rest any longer and walked over with the Shattered Snow Blade in his hand.

Without Wolf Walk's command, the wolf demons whose bloodlines had been forcibly activated were left with only instincts and were no longer able to cooperate with each other.

It took the three of them another quarter of an hour to finally defeat all the remaining wolf demons.

As the last wolf demon fell to the ground, the surroundings finally quieted down again.

Xu Qinghe put away the Soul Sealing Book, but her body suddenly swayed slightly.

Qin Lie quickly reached out to support her.

"How is it?"

Xu Qinghe shook her head.

"I just released too many demon souls at once, which took a lot of energy. I'll be fine after resting for a while."

After checking the surrounding area and confirming that there was no other demonic energy, Gu Qianji removed the severely damaged concealment array.

The villagers who were hiding inside all ran out.

Ignoring his own chest injury, Zhou Dashi rushed to the old man's side immediately.

"Dad, how are you? Can you still move your legs?"

Zhou Funian slowly opened his eyes and saw that his son, daughter-in-law and grandson were still alive. His tense body finally relaxed.

"Alright, stop looking like that. Even if your leg is broken, you won't die."

Zhou Dashi's eyes immediately reddened.

"Father, it's all my fault for being useless. I could only run away with the children, leaving you alone in the hands of those monsters."

Zhou Funian raised his hand and patted him on the head.

"What use is it for you to stay? Those monsters could kill you with a single claw. If you can bring the child out, our Zhou family will still have descendants."

After saying that, he turned to look at Qin Lie and the other two.

"My lords, if it weren't for you today, I'm afraid none of these people in the village would be alive. This old man is injured and unable to kowtow to you, please forgive him."

Qin Lie walked over and squatted down next to Zhou Funian.

"Old man, no need for all that. Tell me first, what exactly are those demons looking for?"

Zhou Funian glanced at the animal hide lying not far away, his expression somewhat complicated.

"It's that old hide. I always thought it was just an ordinary animal hide, I never imagined it would kill so many people in the village."

Gu Qianji walked over and picked up the animal hide from the ground.

The animal hide was only a little over two feet long, with severely worn edges and several signs of mending in the middle.

The surface is covered with a lot of oil and dust, and its original color is no longer visible.

Gu Qianji examined it thoroughly but did not immediately find anything unusual.

"Could you tell me where this came from?"

Zhou Funian remained silent for a while before slowly recounting events from more than twenty years ago.

"Twenty-three years ago, I wasn't married yet, and I often went hunting in the mountains with Zhao Lao Er from the village. At that time, there hadn't been a landslide in Luoying Valley yet, and people from nearby villages often went in to cut firewood and gather herbs."

"Once, the two of us chased an injured wild boar deep into the valley and found many carcasses inside."

"Among those corpses were humans and demons. They must have been dead for a long time, and their weapons and valuables had long been taken away."

"Zhao Lao Er was timid and didn't want to stay there any longer. But I thought that since we were already in, we couldn't go back empty-handed, so I searched around for a while and finally found this animal skin under a demon corpse."

As Zhou Funian spoke, a bitter expression appeared on his face.

"I saw that it was thick and sturdy, and it hadn't been burned even though it was lying in the fire, so I took it home."

"Over the years, I've used it to wrap dry food and to line the bottom of chests. A few years ago, a piece of wood in my family's wooden chest broke, and I even cut it off from the side to patch it up."

Qin Lie glanced at the tattered edges of the animal hide.

"Where is the piece of leather that was cut off?"

Zhou Funian shook his head.

"Later, the wooden box rotted completely, and that small piece of animal hide was thrown away somewhere."

Gu Qianji frowned and asked, "Who else knows that you found the animal hide in Fallen Eagle Valley?"

"Only Zhao Lao Er knows. There were only the two of us at the time. He saw me pull the animal skin out from under the corpse and advised me not to take things from the demon race."

"However, he left the village more than ten years ago and has been doing business outside ever since, only returning a few times in between. About three months ago, he suddenly came back, saying that he had offended someone outside and was preparing to return to the village to hide for a while."

Gu Qianji immediately pressed, "Where is he now?"

Zhou Funian sighed.

"They've disappeared. Less than half a month after he returned, two strangers came to the village. They said they were his friends and stayed at his house that night. The next morning, all three of them were gone."

"Zhao Lao Er often leaves without a word, and no one thought much of it, assuming he was out doing business again."

Qin Lie and Gu Qianji exchanged a glance.

Gu Qianji said in a low voice, "No demons have come to our door for more than 20 years. Three months after Zhao Lao Er disappeared, these wolf demons accurately found your village. The news most likely came from him."

Zhou Funian looked somber.

"He's probably already dead, isn't he?"

Gu Qianji did not hide anything.

"If he falls into the hands of the demon race, his chances of survival are slim. However, he may not have revealed this willingly. The demon race has many methods for extracting confessions, and ordinary people cannot withstand that for long."

Zhou Funian nodded.

"I don't blame him. He advised me not to bring this animal skin back then, but I was greedy and thought it would be a waste to leave such a sturdy thing in the mountains."

At this point, Zhou Funian looked at the animal hide in Gu Qianji's hand.

"I just can't understand what's so important about this old piece of leather?"

Gu Qianji did not answer immediately.

He found a relatively clean spot on the ground, laid the animal hide flat on it, and then took out a thin needle from his pocket and gently pricked the edge of the hide.

As soon as the fine needle touched the animal hide, a very faint layer of black mist appeared on the surface.

Xu Qinghe squatted down beside her and took a look.

"The demonic energy inside is almost completely dissipated."

Gu Qianji nodded.

"This animal hide has been specially treated to preserve its demonic energy for a long time. However, it has been in the hands of an ordinary person for more than 20 years and has been repeatedly corroded by oil, rainwater and dust, so the remaining power inside is very weak."

Qin Lie also squatted down.

"Can you still make out what's written on it?"

Gu Qianji rolled her eyes at him.

"What's the rush?"

After saying that, he took out a low-grade demon core from his pocket and placed it in the center of the animal skin.

As the power of the formation was continuously injected into the demon core, a wisp of demonic energy slowly seeped into the animal hide.

At first, the surface of the animal hide showed no change. After a dozen or so breaths, dark red lines gradually emerged from beneath the oil stains.

The patterns were extremely intricate, some parts were completely worn away, and a large portion of the content was cut off with the animal hide and could never be restored.

Qin Lie looked down at it for a long time and found the patterns on it to be extremely messy.

"These are the characters of the demon race?"

Gu Qianji gave him a disgruntled look.

"These are demon markings. There are many demon tribes, and each tribe uses different scripts and markings. Ordinary demons may not even recognize their own tribe's script."

"This universal demonic rune is only used when the demon royal court transmits important orders, or when several large tribes discuss matters together."

Gu Qianji raised his hand and pointed to the top of the animal skin.

There were seven different-sized markings arranged there, including wolf heads, snake heads, and several other monster patterns that Qin Lie had never seen before.

"These seven marks represent seven demon tribes. Their simultaneous appearance on a single scroll indicates that the contents of the scroll are related to all seven tribes."

Qin Lie's expression gradually became serious.

"Twenty-three years ago, seven demon tribes participated in an event together?"

Gu Qianji did not answer immediately.

He examined the remaining demonic patterns on the animal hide line by line, occasionally muttering syllables that Qin Lie couldn't understand at all.

As he recognized more and more of the information, Gu Qianji's expression gradually became serious.

Qin Lie waited for a while before finally urging them on.

"What exactly is written on it?"

Gu Qianji raised his hand and pointed to one of the relatively intact demonic runes.

"This sentence means that all seven tribes have entered human territory. The mention of the old road means that they are using the route they have taken before, and that this route is still safe and has not been discovered by the Demon Suppression Pass."

Xu Qinghe looked at the bottom of the animal hide.

There's another line of text there.

Gu Qianji nodded.

"The bottom part is badly damaged and only a portion is barely legible. The gist is that the rendezvous inside the pass is proceeding smoothly, and the rest will continue as planned."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lie's face darkened completely.

"The reinforcements inside the pass? You mean, there are people inside the Demon Suppression Pass helping these demons?"

Gu Qianji turned the animal hide over and carefully examined the remaining marks on the back again.

"Very likely. And this scroll has an even more serious problem."

Qin Lie frowned and asked, "What's the problem?"

Gu Qianji raised his hand and pointed to a mark in the corner of the animal skin.

"Orders issued by the demon royal court usually bear the royal seal. But this animal hide has no royal seal, only a reply mark for receiving messages."

"Therefore, this scroll was not originally sent from the demon royal court to the human territory."

As Gu Qianji finished speaking, he looked up and gazed northward.

"It is a reward sent back to the demon royal court from the human territory."

Qin Lie quickly understood what he meant.

"Was the person who wrote this scroll within human territory at the time?"

Gu Qianji nodded.

"And it's very likely that it's inside the Demon Suppression Pass. Twenty-three years ago, seven demon tribes entered human territory through an old road that hadn't been discovered by the Demon Suppression Pass."

"Someone inside the Demon Suppression Pass provided them with assistance. After all seven tribes had passed through, the message was written on this leather scroll and prepared to be sent back to the Demon King's Court."

"It's just that we don't know what happened in between, but this scroll was eventually lost in Eagle Fall Valley and was picked up by Old Master Zhou."

Qin Lie remained silent for a while.

"Where did those seven demon tribes go afterward?"

Gu Qianji shook his head.

"Too many parts of the scroll are missing, and there's no record of their subsequent actions. Twenty-three years have passed; those demons who infiltrated human territory back then may be dead, or they may still be hiding somewhere."

"Whether they have reproduced, how much power they have developed, and who is in command, I have no idea."

Xu Qinghe asked in a low voice, "Could the demon-summoning array at Qing Shi Post Station be related to the seven tribes from back then?"

Gu Qianji retrieved the demon core, and the dark red demon patterns on the animal hide gradually faded.

"It's not certain yet. However, the fact that these wolf demons are searching for the scroll at this particular time suggests that things may have changed again."

"Some people were worried that the scroll would fall into the hands of the Demon Suppression Bureau, so they sent Wolf Walker to silence him and retrieve the scroll."

Qin Lie turned his head to look in the direction where Lang Xing had fled.

"Now it knows the animal hide is in our hands. No matter where it goes from here on out, it probably won't be able to shake off these monsters."

Gu Qianji rolled up the animal hide again and carefully put it into his bosom.

"So we have to change course immediately. These villagers can't stay here either; once Wolf goes back, he'll definitely tell the people behind them what happened here."

"These villagers know the origin of the animal hides and have witnessed the wolf's movements firsthand. The demons may return at any time to kill them and silence them."

Qin Lie glanced at Gu Qianji.

"Old Gu, don't we still have a mission? What if changing our route for these villagers delays the sealing of the town seal?"

Gu Qianji immediately realized that Qin Lie was deliberately making fun of her, and her expression turned rather unpleasant.

"The situation has changed. When I advised you to leave just now, I didn't know they had this demon-patterned scroll. Now these people are all important witnesses, so of course we can't just leave it by the roadside."

Qin Lie nodded.

"That makes sense. But I remember someone saying earlier that for every hour we delay, the Zhen Guan Seal will be in greater danger."

Gu Qianji glared at him.

"You think you've done the right thing this time and can keep this up with me forever?"

A smile appeared on Qin Lie's face.

"I never said I did the right thing. I just think that Senior Gu changed his mind quite quickly."

Gu Qianji was so angry that his beard twitched a few times.

"I call this reassessing the situation. Making a decision without checking anything beforehand, and stubbornly sticking to one thing until the very end, that's what makes a real fool."

Qin Lie gave him a thumbs up.

"Well said. So who's right this time?"

Gu Qianji remained silent for a moment, then turned around, leading his horse.

"You're lucky this time, kid."

Qin Lie raised a hand and placed it to his ear.

"What? I didn't hear you. Old Gu, say it again."

Gu Qianji didn't even turn her head.

"roll."

Qin Lie chuckled a few times but didn't press the matter further.

Gu Qianji took a few steps forward, then slowly stopped, his tone becoming much more serious.

"Qin Lie, when Wolf Walk escaped just now, you originally had a chance to stop it. You turned back and saved the child, which allowed Wolf Walk to break through the formation."

"If you encounter this situation again in the future, you may not be able to bear the consequences of letting the enemy go every time."

The smile on Qin Lie's face gradually faded.

"I know. If I had to choose again, I would still save that child."

Gu Qianji nodded.

"You can save them. But you must also remember that the person who makes the decision must bear the consequences."

"The wolf has escaped, and the demons know that the animal hide has fallen into our hands. The subsequent pursuit, ambushes, and deaths may all be related to the choice you just made."

"But simply thinking about having a clear conscience is far from enough."

Qin Lie stood still and listened attentively to Gu Qianji's words.

"I've got it."

Gu Qianji then continued walking forward.

"First, we need to find a way to notify the nearby Demon Suppression Bureau and have them send someone to pick up these villagers. We can't take them all the way to Demon Suppression Pass, nor can we leave them here to die."

"Once the reinforcements arrive, we'll set off immediately. This demon-patterned leather scroll is just as important as the Zhenguan Seal; it must be delivered to the higher-ups at Zhenguan as soon as possible."

At this point, Gu Qianji reached out and pressed the animal hide in his arms.

Twenty-three years ago, seven demon tribes had already quietly entered human territory, and there were people inside the Demon Suppression Pass responsible for receiving them.

Is that old road still in use?

Where exactly are the seven tribes hidden?

Is the person who helped the demon race open the border still alive?

Gu Qianji couldn't find the answers to these questions for the time being.

The only thing he was certain of was that what had happened at Qing Shi Yi was far from over.