Chapter 11: 11 Exorcisms

Chapter 11: Slaying the Demon

Huff, huff.

Huff, huff, huff.

The bear demon’s breathing was as heavy as a broken bellows, yet it dared not draw a full breath. It scrambled with all four paws, tearing blindly through the tall grass of the jungle, stumbling and crawling forward in a panic.

Its wounds were matted with blood, and its fur was caked with mud, broken wood, shattered vines, and grass juice.

Every so often, it would look back.

Each time, it could pinpoint exactly where Ning Xuan was.

Ning Xuan held his beast-slaying saber at a slant, following at a steady, unhurried pace.

But upon confirming that the bear demon could still sense him even in this state, he called out hoarsely from a distance: "Foolish creature. Your life is your own, but your enemy belongs to your boss. Why don't you hurry back?"

The little bear demon could not speak, but it understood.

It thought that made a lot of sense.

Originally, it had been hesitating whether or not to lead this terrifying enemy back to its lair.

But now, it hesitated no longer.

It adjusted its direction, dropped to all fours, and began to accelerate toward the depths of the old mountains.

Ning Xuan gripped his saber and followed behind.

An incense stick of time later, the little bear demon seemed to reach a safe zone and let out a roar with all its might: "Awoo!"

After the roar, it collapsed onto the ground with a "thud."

Several massive shadows rushed out from the pitch-black cave. Once they emerged, they stood upright, casting fierce, murderous glares toward a certain spot.

There, Ning Xuan stood upon a high mountain that the bear demons could not immediately reach.

He had followed the little bear demon just far enough before slightly changing course to ascend a nearby "high mountain that offered a panoramic view of the lowlands."

He was merely observing to see where the bear demons' lair was, scouting the strength of their elites, and then deciding on his next move.

Although he had never heard Han Ba’s "standard bandit siege theory," he knew the value of probing.

If these bear demons were outrageously strong and numerous, he would abandon all thoughts of fighting, return to the county to assess the situation, and if things looked dire, he would take the people of the Ning estate and flee at any moment. If circumstances didn't allow for taking everyone, he would pack up the gold, silver, and valuables, stuff his bags with banknotes, and carry his mother away.

His mother had given birth to him and raised him; he would never abandon her, no matter what.

As for Old Han and the others, Ning Xuan did not place much faith in them. After all, the weapons they used—"Rain of Pears Needles" and "Repeating Crossbows"—were still within the conventional understanding of martial artists.

These weapons could injure a Mountain-Crashing Bear, but it was difficult.

Because those sharp weapons only worked when the Mountain-Crashing Bear was "in a relatively static state and facing the archer." Otherwise, no matter how many arrows were fired, it would be like shooting at a copper wall or an iron fortress—completely useless.

In his nightmares, he had tried repeatedly, eventually inventing the hanging basket and, combined with the advantage of the Reincarnation Prophet, succeeded.

Of course, it was possible that Old Han and the others possessed so-called "extraordinary powers."

But judging by their level of vigilance and the number of corpses exposed in the county yesterday, even if they had such power, it might not be enough.

He did not want to entrust his life entirely to others.

Therefore, he had to test them.

He had to test them seriously, with everything he had.

After one strike, he would know whether they could be fought.

On the heights, the young man’s eyes were inscrutable.

Below, the few upright bear demons were staring at him viciously.

Suddenly, the bear demons stepped aside, and a series of booming sounds echoed from the pitch-black cave.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

It was like a war drum beating against one's heart.

Soon, a massive black bear, a zhang tall, walked out.

This black bear was taller, larger, and sturdier than all the other bear demons!

In its left hand, it held half a human body. It gripped the leg, and the person had been crudely torn apart from the middle. Half a neck was attached to half a head, and the bulging eyes still held intense terror. The clothing had not been completely torn away, and one could even tell from the figure that she had been a beauty in life.

The cut on the neck and head was surprisingly smooth, unlike the rough, hand-torn appearance of the body.

Ning Xuan’s gaze shifted to the black bear’s blade-like claws.

His pupils constricted slightly.

After the black bear stood still, the bear demons beside it whispered respectfully.

After listening, the black bear tossed the half-body aside and swept its gaze toward where Ning Xuan stood.

Man and demon stared at each other from afar, with the solemnity of generals facing off before a battle.

Suddenly, the black bear stomped a claw into the ground.

With a thunderous "boom" and a violent tremor of the earth, the black bear transformed into a black whirlwind, mixed with the sound of thunder, and charged toward Ning Xuan.

If anyone else were here, they wouldn't even be able to see the bear's form; they would only see that in the jungle outside the cave, trees—regardless of height or thickness—were snapping like dry twigs, and rocks—regardless of size—were being pulverized into dust.

It was a scroll of dust, a scroll of black dust carrying the momentum of thunder.

In the black bear’s eyes, the strange human youth seemed to have been stunned into stupidity.

It drew closer and closer.

Its innate demon art could not be resisted head-on, even by those of the same rank.

But just as it entered within ten paces of the human, the youth suddenly moved. This movement gave the bear a dizzying, unbelievable feeling.

The youth’s speed was not only fast to the extreme, but also agile to the extreme.

The youth’s body moved in an inconceivable posture, slanting backward, as if he were falling.

He was not only falling, but also retreating backward.

It was as if his feet had been greased.

The black bear didn't care. Its innate demon art didn't care what kind of opponent it was; as long as it collided, the opponent would surely shatter!!

"Roar!"

With a roar, the black bear pressed forward.

The youth retreated repeatedly.

Suddenly, the youth’s footsteps slowed, as if he had tripped on something.

A look of mockery appeared in the black bear’s eyes. Seizing the moment to kill him while he was vulnerable, the black bear pulled its arms back like a powerful bow, leaped up, and pounced fiercely at the youth with both claws from above!

Its eyes were vicious, its claws hideous, and the corners of its mouth still held scraps of human flesh.

This was the most ferocious strike of a beast hunting by instinct.

And just at this moment, the youth in its eyes suddenly stopped completely.

With this stop, the youth’s body spun like a top, rotating back in two or three steps. At the same time, his speed surged to the limit, and the long saber in his hand swept up, riding the wind.

The black bear smiled contemptuously, its bared teeth dripping with foul saliva.

The bear’s innate demon art was unleashed!

It pressed down toward the blade.

But the scene of the "blade shattering inch by inch" that it expected did not happen.

The black bear suddenly felt a cold, cutting sensation.

The blade shattered its innate demon art, sliced through its thick, impenetrable skin, pierced through its palm, and then surged forward in mid-air, instantly stabbing into its skull.

From the tip of the blade came a familiar power—the power of its own innate demon art, "Bear Crushing the Mountain."

When channeled through the small tip of the blade, this power was even more concentrated, even sharper, and even more terrifying.

In the black bear’s bean-sized pupils appeared a look of unbelievable confusion and fear.

It happened in a flash. The next instant, its incredibly hard skull felt a sensation of intense shattering, followed by a sharp, piercing pain in its brain.

Thump!!

Ning Xuan had run the black bear through with a single, slanted strike.

He held the saber with one arm, hoisting the bear.

The blade was skewered through the black bear’s palm and skull, the tip protruding from the back of its head, bringing out a spray of blinding, brilliant blood. Immediately after, a large amount of brain matter and shattered skull fragments sprayed out as well.