After entering the Demon Path, he had long anticipated today's arrival.
Meng Chuan watched the bald strongman kneel on one knee, his expression calm.
In the next moment, the small cauldron tattoo on his chest suddenly transformed into a wisp of smoke, tightly enveloping his entire body.
Clang!
It was the sound of a fist covered in black mist colliding with [Dragon Bones], making a crisp sound.
A pair of purple, monstrous eyes looked down on Meng Chuan from above.
After a bizarre transformation, the Soul Refining entity became a black mist monster, appearing unknown to Meng Chuan in the air before him!
Its bloody mouth opened, emitting a silent wave like layers of ocean tides, along with its claws slicing towards Meng Chuan's face!
He realized that the earlier unease was caused by these sound waves!
Pat!
Meng Chuan barely shifted half an inch, his blocking fists knocked violently in the opposite direction, and his entire body flew backward like a cannonball.
He struggled to stop himself, only coming to a halt after crashing through a wall.
Before the dust settled, Meng Chuan barely steadied himself, only to see the mysterious fog man floating up, hovering in the air.
Its face no longer resembled anything human!
"Boy, I regret taking this task too. But there's no choice; we'll both head to the afterlife."
In the next moment, he stretched his neck forward, human aura dissipating, while demonic qi surged several folds.
Speaking grandly, but entirely self-serving.
In the invisible Chaotic Heaven domain, Meng Chuan stepped out of the ruins.
Black mist formed into scales, demonic claws stirred wind waves down from the sky, aiming to crush Meng Chuan's head directly.
Fearless, Meng Chuan's right fist shot out like a cannon at a 180-degree angle, while his other fist absorbed azure radiance, exploding with five layers of tidal marks!
Sizzle—!
Boom—!
Meng Chuan was once again forcefully slammed back dozens of meters, but saw the monster fall from the air, revealing a bowl-sized hole in its chest, with faint dampness at the edges.
In the next instant, a phantom cicada landed amid the ruins, suddenly close to the monster's face.
Meng Chuan's mental composure was frightening, although he often claimed he wanted to evade, whenever faced with battle, he put life and death aside each time!
His hands grasped air, as if clutching invisible thunder blades, the sharp wind sound alternately stabbed into the body of the black mist monster.
The monster's claws left bloody marks on Meng Chuan, but he didn't take a step back, dodging if he could, enduring if he couldn't!
Claws inserted into his waist sides were tightly locked by intertwined muscles, Meng Chuan's eyes fierce, raising his elbow to slam down viciously!
Boom!
Dust flew, the lower half of the black mist monster was forcefully smashed into the ground.
Ignoring the pain in his waist, Meng Chuan's fists dropping with murderous intent, pounding like a whack-a-mole game.
The monster howled fiercely, straining to prop itself up, Meng Chuan stretched a leg to sweep the monster's lower body, dragging it down hard, while immediately following up with a dive, his figure mid-air instantly flaring with dozens of thunder lights!
What Meng Chuan excelled at most was his cold, calculating mind in combat, and the fist skill routine deeply imprinted in his body from verification to permanence.
Suddenly, Zheng Zhenzhen picked up the Ink Jade Pestle from the ground, taking advantage of the monster's fall, and threw it at Meng Chuan.
"Use this to hit it!"
Meng Chuan didn't need to turn around, catching the pestle with his forearm, wielding it like a madman, pounding it on the monster's head.
The monster resisted desperately, but didn't expect Meng Chuan to become more energized with every strike, gradually thinning the fog on its body.
A few breaths later.
Meng Chuan held the jade pestle, intently staring at the unshaped mass of wriggling mist.
He stood ready for a long time, as the black fog completely dispersed, a palm-sized black statue sat on the ground.
Upon closer inspection, it resembled the monster transformed by the bald strongman.
"What is this thing?"
He sensed it was a treasure, like the Jiao Demon's horn.
Zheng Zhenzhen, clutching her waist, walked over, noticing Meng Chuan in the same position, one hand on his waist and the other holding the pestle, poking at the little object on the ground.
"Pfft, haha."
Zheng Zhenzhen laughed, which strained her waist injury, causing her to inhale sharply.
Meng Chuan turned his head, their gaze meeting and they both laughed.
"Are you okay?"
Zheng Zhenzhen asked:
"It hurts a bit."
"The ambulance will be here soon."
"Then what should I do about the pain now?"
"Well...just bear with it?"
"Idiot..."
Zheng Zhenzhen was speechless, Meng Chuan was such a straightforward guy.
After a while, Meng Chuan heard the ambulance's sound in the distance, grabbing the statue from the ground to leave.
Suddenly, a strange change occurred.
Incomprehensible murmurs filled Meng Chuan's ears.
Instantly penetrating his mind, an unknown presence tried to breach this last line of defense.
His body hair stood on end, chaotic spiritual illusions rippled across his vision.
As if countless arms reached from the abyss, trying to drag his soul inside.
Meng Chuan's unwavering will steadfastly resisted the corrosive whispers.
Within, the energies of five organs transformed into five-colored chains, pinning the remaining thoughts into a corner of his body.
In the next moment, Meng Chuan felt a sudden clarity in the world, even able to discern the trembling of Zheng Zhenzhen's eyelashes beside him.
"What... happened to you?"
Zheng Zhenzhen looked at Meng Chuan doubtfully.
The dangerous explosion just occurred within him, unnoticed by outsiders.
"Nothing, let's go to the hospital."
Meng Chuan waved dismissively.
However, his back had long been soaked with cold sweat.
That brief moment of spiritual confrontation was no less than the battles of life and death.
His fingers rubbed the cracked statue, its abnormality now long gone.
Meng Chuan was silent, thinking it was a treasure like the unicorn, but unexpectedly it was a thunderbolt.
However, at this moment, his heart and spirit were exceptionally vibrant, and even the fatigue from the earlier battle had vanished.
This feeling was as if his spiritual power had increased.
"I'll ask Master Luo about it later."
As he was thinking, he suddenly noticed the screen of his phone on the ground lit up.
Zheng Zhenzhen picked it up from the ground, and it happened to be a call from Luo Guanyun.
Meng Chuan took it.
"You stay at home, the Demon Path Grandmaster Li Xiao is currently lurking in the Demon Nest outside Yong'an City,
this man has killed all the police force searching for the remnants of Black Water, including Captain Liu Jinglong."
On the other end of the phone.
Luo Guanyun, Wang Bingyi, and other Yong'an Grandmasters were leading the police force in a carpet search within the Jiao Demon Nest for Li Xiao's trail.
They just found the corpses of Captain Liu and others, withered like dried tree bark.
The ground had a chasm dug by sword qi, combined with the last word "Li" left by Liu Jinglong before death, confirming it was indeed the work of the Blood-Drinking Demon Sword Li Xiao.
On this end of the call, Meng Chuan was greatly shaken.
"No way, is Captain Liu dead..."
He felt a surge of fear, thankful he didn't have any assistance tasks suited for him; otherwise, meeting Li Xiao would have left no way out.
"Master, I also encountered a ninth-rank Demon Path martial artist here. I wonder if it's related to Li Xiao?"
Luo Guanyun stopped and asked in a deep voice:
"Are you injured?"
He could hear from his disciple's voice that he was full of air, so it shouldn't be a big problem.
Meng Chuan spoke honestly:
"Mainly took a hit on the back, but it's nothing serious. I'll go to the Martial Artist Hospital for a checkup later."
The bleeding on his waist had long since stopped. Although the wound looked deep, it didn't harm the internal organs due to the protection of the inner layer from the Qi Nourishing Armor Technique, and it was slowly scabbing over.
However, he was worried the monster's claws might be poisoned, as Demon Path methods are bizarre, so it's best to get checked for peace of mind.
"Good, then it's fine. I'll continue searching for Li Xiao, see you tomorrow."
Luo Guanyun hung up the call and released his senses to explore the surroundings.
Compared to Meng Chuan's side, if Li Xiao escaped and re-infiltrated Yong'an City, it would be even more dangerous.
Currently, the entrance of the Demon Nest is guarded by Venerable Yin, to prevent Li Xiao from diverting their attention.
Additionally, two other Martial Arts University presidents, Venerable Yang and Venerable Xu, were inside the Demon Nest, searching individually in two other directions.
Meng Chuan ended the call, feeling a bit complex.
Li Xiao was often at the top of Yong'an's bounty list, yet he was always elusive.
Rumor has it he always hid in some "ultimate darkness," which is why he hasn't been caught.
No one knows his motives for showing up now.
But his threat is clear as day, brazenly killing the police captain as soon as he appeared.
Nothing more needs to be said about Master Luo, as his master is also a Grandmaster, capable of self-defense easily.
"What's up?"
Zheng Zhenzhen approached with concern.
She hadn't been in Yong'an for long and didn't know Li Xiao.
"There's trouble at the Demon Nest outside the city,"
Meng Chuan briefly explained.
Zheng Zhenzhen glanced at the strange statue in Meng Chuan's hand and asked:
"Is it related to that guy from earlier?"
The bald strong man had vanished without a trace, leaving no signs, as the black mist had completely devoured him.
Meng Chuan was speechless, thinking there should be some connection.
...
Inside the Martial Artist Hospital.
Zheng Zhenzhen was currently lying on a hospital bed, with a laceration on her waist requiring bed rest for healing.
She hadn't told her family about today's incident yet.
Meng Chuan was sitting on the attendant's bed beside, looking at the wound test report in his hand.
"It's no problem, probably due to the barrier effect of the inner layer."
Unlike Zheng Zhenzhen, he was stabbed by the demon's sharp claws.
The demonic qi was dense, and testing it provided some reassurance.
Fortunately, the first-rate Hard Skill he learned early on, the Qi Nourishing Armor Technique, played a crucial role stealthily.
Zheng Zhenzhen was bundled in the quilt up to her eyes, her large eyes blinking at Meng Chuan like black grapes.
"Meng Chuan, you were amazing today!"
Meng Chuan also felt lucky, as the victory had been tough, nearly leading to a mishap at the end.
He laughed and said:
"Now, do you think I'm better than your brother?"
Zheng Zhenzhen pretended to ponder seriously, and after a moment said:
"Both of you are amazing."
"Haha."
Meng Chuan couldn't find more words, seeing that Zheng Zhenzhen was fine and was about to leave.
"Don't go yet Meng Chuan, did you bring that pestle?"
Meng Chuan turned around and said:
"Yes."
Then he pulled it from the back waist of his jacket.
The black translucent handle was cool to the touch, with a crystal-clear pestle head like an amethyst.
This thing looked valuable, something Meng Chuan wouldn't forget.
Zheng Zhenzhen grinned and said:
"You made a fortune today, I'm not sure about the handle, but the pestle head is valuable.
If I'm not mistaken, that little ball should be made of Purple Ridge Iron, worth around a million."