A Compendium of One Hundred Demons: My Path to Immortality in a World of Demons and Monsters

Soon, two iron chains, each as thick as an adult's arm, were found.

Xu Yuan lifted the iron chain with ease, passing it straight through the door knocker and securing the other end to the boulders on either side of the city wall. This effectively added a horizontal restraint to the city gate.

"Not enough..."

Xu Yuan looked at the structure inside the city wall again, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

Above the inner side of the city gate of Qingyang County, there is a protruding stone eave, which was originally used to hang lanterns.

Xu Yuan leaped onto the stone eaves, securing one end of an iron chain above him while the other end hung down.

"Wrap the chain around the bolt!" Xu Yuan shouted.

Although the Qingyang garrison did not understand why, they still did as he instructed.

In this way, the city gate is not only fixed horizontally, but also has an additional upward pulling force.

"boom!"

Another impact came, and the city gate shook violently, but the iron chains immediately tightened, instantly distributing most of the force.

The Qingyang garrison behind the city gate only felt a slight tremor, and there was no longer the fierce attack as before.

"We did it!" the soldiers cheered in unison. "Young Master Xu is amazing!"

On the city wall, Tuotuo Buhua, seeing that the city gate had not been breached, grew even more ferocious. When he saw Xu Yuan return, he immediately shouted orders to the Xiongnu soldiers below.

"Men, concentrate your forces and attack the left flank of the city wall! The defenses there are the fewest!"

As soon as his order was given, the Xiongnu offensive immediately changed, and the pressure on the left side of the city wall increased dramatically.

The unit guarding that spot was the weakest of the Qingyang garrison. The strongest centurion was only at the sixth level of Blood Refinement, and faced with the ferocious Xiongnu soldiers, he could only retreat in defeat.

"The left flank is about to fall!" Shen Qingyi exclaimed urgently from the city wall.

Just as Xu Yuan was about to rush to provide support, he saw that Chen Hanchuan was distracted by his concern and was caught off guard by Tuotuo Buhua, who swept his spiked club across and slammed it hard into his back!

"puff---"

Chen Hanchuan spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying up like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the battlements.

The bluestone shattered, and he struggled to get up, but coughed up blood again.

"General Chen!" The entire garrison erupted in commotion.

On the battlefield, the commander was seriously injured, and the morale that had been painstakingly boosted instantly collapsed.

Tuotuo Buhua let out a vicious laugh: "I'm determined to take this city!"

He then leaped up, his spiked club aimed straight at Chen Hanchuan's head; if it struck, the latter would surely die!

At the critical moment, a figure suddenly stood in front of Chen Hanchuan.

Xu Yuan held his sword in both hands, meeting the unstoppable attack head-on.

"clang---!"

The sound of metal clashing was deafening.

Xu Yuan felt an irresistible force coming at him. His tiger's mouth split open, his long sword flew out of his hand, and he was thrown backward by the shock, crashing into the inside of the battlement. He felt a sweet taste in his throat and blood gushed out.

Tuotuo Buhua's strength far surpasses that of the Crimson-Eyed Tiger Demon who has just broken free of its seal, and is even comparable to the Golden-Eyed Old Ghost.

Only now did Xu Yuan realize how lucky he had been to injure his opponent earlier using the Ghost Cry Bow.

"You dare to block me even if you're only at the Blood Refining Realm?" Tuotuo Buhua sneered, then strode towards Chen Hanchuan.

Xu Yuan struggled to get up, looked at Tuotuo Buhua's back, and a resolute look flashed in his eyes.

He took a deep breath, mobilized all the qi and blood in his body, and the Hundred Ghosts Diagram unfolded in his mind on its own, with the Hungry Ghost Diagram and the Chang Ghost Diagram shining brightly together.

"The essence of blood and qi left behind by the tiger demon I devoured..." Xu Yuan murmured to himself, "and... the power of the Yin spirits I absorbed from killing the Xiongnu soldiers."

He closed his eyes and felt the frantic surge of blood and energy within his body.

The seventh level of Blood Refinement is still far from the Qi Condensation stage, let alone the mid-stage Qi Condensation stage of Tuotuo Buhua.

Under normal circumstances, Xu Yuan would choose to solidify his foundation before breaking through to a higher realm and improving his strength, trying to achieve success naturally.

But now we're on the battlefield, and there's no time for him to grow slowly.

"Since things aren't going to fall into place naturally, then... we'll force our way through!"

Xu Yuan gritted his teeth, gathered all the qi and blood in his body into one point, and frantically poured it into his dantian.

At the same time, the image of a hundred demons in his mind began to tremble violently.

"Add progress to the Pokédex!"

[Hungry Ghosts: 73% → ...]

[Changgui: 32% → ...]

"puff!"

He spat out another mouthful of blood, but Xu Yuan ignored it and continued his attack.

Once, twice, three times...

Mid-stage, late-stage of Blood Refinement Level 7...

Tuotuo Buhua had already walked up to Chen Hanchuan, raising his spiked club high, his face full of cruel grins.

Just then, a slight cracking sound finally came from inside Xu Yuan's body.

Blood Refinement Level 8, successful!

A brand new power surged from the dantian and flowed throughout the body.

Xu Yuan opened his eyes, his gaze suddenly sharpening.

He picked up the long knife from the ground and stood up again to block Tuotuo Buhua's path.

"Hmm?" Tuotuo Buhua frowned. "A breakthrough in the heat of battle? Interesting. But a mere eighth level of Blood Refinement is still nothing but an ant in my eyes."

Xu Yuan remained silent, but slowly raised the long sword in his hand.

This time, a faint blood-red light appeared on the blade—not from the power of blood and qi, but as if the blade itself had come to life.

Seeing this, Tuotuo Buhua's expression changed slightly: "Boy, what trick are you trying to pull now?"

Xu Yuan did not answer, because he himself did not know where the current anomaly came from.

But none of that matters anymore...

Xu Yuan unleashed a slash.

This strike was as fast as lightning, and the blood-red light on the blade left a trail of afterimages in the air.

Tuotuo Buhua raised his staff to block, but the blade strangely changed direction in mid-air, bypassing the spiked club and heading straight for his throat!

"That trick again!" Tuotuo Buhua roared, dodging to the side.

But this time, the blade flashed like a shadow, changing direction again in mid-air!

"Pfft—"

The blade sliced ​​across Tuotuo Buhua's chest, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone.

Tuotuo Buhua staggered back several steps, looking down at the wound on his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Sword intent... You actually grasped the rudiments of sword intent?!"

Upon hearing this, even Xu Yuan himself was stunned.

He was simply trying to make the Blood Fiend Blade Technique more agile and swift based on his understanding of it, but he didn't expect to trigger some kind of mysterious state.

In that instant, he seemed to become one with the sword, the sword moving as he pleased.

"Is this... the essence of martial arts?" Xu Yuan murmured to himself.

On the city wall, everyone who witnessed this scene was stunned.

The Blood Refinement Eighth Level actually injured a Xiongnu general who was at the Condensation Aperture Sixteenth Level!

Although it was just a superficial injury, it was already a miracle!

Tuotuo Buhua's face was so gloomy it seemed like it could drip water. At this moment, the look in his eyes when he looked at Xu Yuan had long since changed from contempt and disdain to extreme fear.

"This child must not be allowed to live!"

Just as he was about to make another move, a horn sounded in the distance.

"Waaaaah—"

It was the retreat signal from the Xiongnu army!

Tuotuo Buhua's expression changed: "Damn it, it's almost dawn!"

The eastern horizon was already tinged with the pale light of dawn.

The key to a night raid is to strike unexpectedly. Once daybreak, the Qingyang garrison's arrows, rolling stones, and hot oil can unleash their full power.

Although the Xiongnu had a numerical advantage, if they launched a daytime attack on the city, the loss of soldiers would increase exponentially.

Tuotuo Buhua stared intently at Xu Yuan and the long sword in his hand, then glanced at the heavily injured Chen Hanchuan, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Retreat!"

The Xiongnu army retreated like a tide, leaving behind only corpses scattered on the ground.

The city wall was in ruins, and the Qingyang defenders collapsed to the ground, their relief at surviving the disaster intertwined with the grief of losing their comrades.

Xu Yuan, leaning on his knife, slowly walked to Chen Hanchuan's side.

Chen Hanchuan was pale, but still relatively conscious.

He looked at Xu Yuan with a pleased smile: "Good lad... You broke through in the heat of battle, not only comprehending the rudiments of sword intent but also injuring Tuotuo Buhua... If word of this battle gets out, you'll be famous throughout the Northern Frontier!"