Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"It's finally here!"

Li Yuan parried with his sword.

"Boom—!"

The water jet, as thick as a water vat, struck the blade, unleashing a tremendous impact that propelled Li Yuan across the water for several meters before he leaped aboard the boat.

That beast is indeed incredibly strong.

Li Yuan steadied himself and looked up. The demon was over five zhang long, covered in dark golden scales, and had a sharp horn on its head that emitted a scarlet light.

"Golden Scale Lizard King..." Zhao Peng's expression changed. "This is a demon king level. I have seen its record in the files."

It turns out that this Golden Scale Lizard King once roamed the Yangtze River waterway a hundred years ago, causing trouble everywhere. Later, it was suppressed by the Demon Suppression Division and disappeared without a trace.

Now, a previously suppressed monster has suddenly reappeared and is specifically attacking grain routes, which is terrifying to think about.

The Golden-Scaled Lizard King, its name exposed, no longer hid and roared angrily, "You dared to ambush and kill my descendants! None of you will escape today!"

It opened its enormous mouth, and a terrifying stream of water condensed inside, forming a rapidly spinning water sphere that exuded a destructive aura.

"Go to hell!"

The Golden Scale Lizard King suddenly sprayed water, sending a whistling water sphere hurtling towards the ship where Li Yuan was.

Li Yuan's expression changed. If this attack had landed on the ship, the entire ship would have been blown to pieces.

Just as they were about to intercept it, they suddenly sensed another strange aura.

A faint, dark shadow lurked in the forest by the shore, silently observing. Its presence was extremely subtle; if Li Yuan's spiritual sense were not extraordinary, he would hardly have been able to detect it.

Li Yuan felt a chill run down his spine. Did this beast have accomplices?

In the instant he was distracted, the water sphere had already crashed in front of the ship. Without thinking, he slashed out with his sword, and the huge blade energy collided with the water sphere, creating a deafening roar.

"Boom!"

The water sphere exploded, turning into a cloud of mist that completely obscured the surrounding view.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Golden Scaled Lizard King suddenly dived into the water, swung its thick tail, and shot downstream.

Its speed was astonishing; in the blink of an eye, it was already dozens of feet away.

"Trying to run?" Just as Li Yuan was about to give chase, he saw the dark figure lurking on the shore also move at the same time, chasing after the direction in which the Golden Scale Lizard King had fled.

Li Yuan's heart sank.

That dark figure was there to meet the Golden Scaled Lizard King. If they escaped and went into hiding again, it would be troublesome to get rid of them later.

His expression shifted, and after a moment, he made a decision.

"Captain Zhao, I'm entrusting this place to you. Make sure that monster doesn't return."

He hurriedly instructed, "Brother Han, you all assist Captain Zhao, I'm going to chase after that beast."

"Brother Li, this is too dangerous..."

"My mind is made up."

Before Han Kuo could finish speaking, Li Yuan's figure blurred, skimming the water's surface as he shot downstream, disappearing into the vast night in the blink of an eye.

Han Kuo turned to Zhao Peng: "When will the reinforcements from the Demon Suppression Division arrive?"

"It should be today."

Zhao Peng looked worried. This time, he had taken the initiative to ask for help, and if something happened to Li Yuan, he would also be held responsible.

The river wind howled.

As Li Yuan continued his pursuit, the mountains on both sides of the river became increasingly steep, the river narrower, and the current more swift.

The wide river surface is squeezed into a narrow channel by the cliffs on both sides. The river water rushes and roars, crashing against the rocks and stirring up a cloud of water mist.

It's the Three Gorges.

Without hesitation, Li Yuan plunged into the treacherous canyon.

After chasing for dozens of miles, the two auras disappeared into the Military Book and Sword Gorge. Li Yuan slowed down and landed on a reef in the middle of the river, scanning his surroundings.

The canyon was shrouded in mist, and the moonlight was blocked by the towering cliffs, making it dim. Only the roar of the river crashing against the rocks echoed through the canyon.

He closed his eyes, extended his spiritual sense to its limit, and carefully sensed every inch of space.

Water vapor, rocks, fish and shrimp... all sorts of scents mingled together, but those two scents were nowhere to be found; they seemed to have evaporated into thin air.

Li Yuan opened his eyes, his brows furrowing slightly.

Not right.

He chased him all the way here, and they were clearly not far apart. How could he have suddenly disappeared?

At that moment, a strange tremor suddenly surged in his heart, making his heart pound wildly. This was an unprecedented sense of impending danger.

In an instant, his mind became crystal clear.

They didn't disappear; they deliberately lured him here.

This is a trap.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the rocks beneath his feet suddenly trembled, and a huge black shadow burst forth from the water—it was the Golden Scaled Lizard King.

It opened its blood-red maw and shot a water arrow toward Li Yuan's face. At the same time, a sharp whooshing sound came from behind.

It was a jet-black iron arrow, its tip gleaming with a ghostly blue light, clearly coated with a potent poison.

Water arrows in front, cold arrows behind.

At the last possible moment, Li Yuan suddenly rose higher and activated his power of time without hesitation, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The water jet struck the rock where he had just been standing, and with a loud "boom," the rock shattered into pieces.

The iron arrow whistled past and embedded itself in the rock face on the opposite bank.

The attack is not over.

A dark shadow shot out like a ghost from the shadows on the shore, its sword aimed straight for his back.

Li Yuan's pupils contracted sharply, and he twisted his body, sweeping the blade horizontally.

"clang--!"

The swords clashed, sparking dazzling flames. A chilling aura crept into his arm along the blade, causing a slight numbness.

Using the force of the recoil, Li Yuan floated back several feet and landed on a rock, looking at the attacker.

The newcomer was wearing a black cloak and his face was covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of cold eyes.

Li Yuan was taken aback. This person had no demonic aura at all and was actually a human. The aura emanating from him was clearly that of a mid-stage Condensation Realm cultivator.

Not far behind him, on a cliff, an old ape covered in gray fur was squatting on a rock, holding a black iron bow in its hand, with golden eyes, also at the level of a demon king.

"Li Yuan, is it? I heard you can kill three demon kings single-handedly, then let's test your skills."

The Golden Scaled Lizard King slowly rose from the water, its enormous body coiled on the reef in the middle of the river, its scarlet eyes fixed on Li Yuan, and it let out a low roar.

Two demons and one man trapped him in this narrow canyon.

Li Yuan's heart sank.

He suddenly remembered the divination Zhang Zhenyuan had given him before he set off, which said that he would face a great calamity.

From the very beginning, this was a setup.

The water monster attacked the supply ships not to sabotage the supply route, but to lure him into making a move.

The appearance of the masked man revealed an even more terrifying signal: someone in the imperial court had joined forces with the demon race to eliminate him.

It seems that his promotion to deputy demon-suppressing envoy has blocked the path of some people.

He still couldn't quite understand how this calamity was related to the secret of his coming into this world.

"Oh? Why would a human like you associate with these monsters?"

Li Yuan stared intently into his eyes. This person was hiding his face, his purpose was definitely to prevent Li Yuan from recognizing him.

"Li Yuan." The masked man finally spoke, his voice clearly disguised, hoarse and low, "Someone doesn't want you to return to the capital. If you know what's good for you, you'll end it all yourself to avoid suffering."

Li Yuan's gaze swept over the three of them, a cold smile appearing on his face: "Want my life? Then come and take it yourself."

"Attack together!"

Without further ado, the masked man flicked his soft sword, causing a layer of eerie blue light to emanate from its blade, and shot it toward Li Yuan.