Chapter 17: How was it eliminated again?

An Zhi and Ling She found the cat demon, while Ke Dasheng's group also found it.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, we found it, we found it!"

A disciple ran quickly toward Ke Dasheng, his face beaming with joy. "Senior Brother, we found it! The disciples from the South Garden sent a signal; they discovered traces of the cat demon in the Spotted Bamboo Forest."

"Quite good at hiding, huh? Heh." Ke Dasheng smiled with satisfaction and said, "Hurry there immediately."

And so, the disciples flew and ran, determined to resolve this matter before dawn.

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In the mist-shrouded bamboo forest, every stalk of bamboo appeared exceptionally lush and upright.

Thin mist drifted between the bamboo, and blue lights shimmered beautifully against the green stalks.

"Meow..."

Suddenly, a cute and adorable kitten appeared before An Zhi. The sound it made was enough to melt anyone's heart.

"Wow, so cute, hee hee." An Zhi reached out, wanting to pick up the kitten.

"Stop." Ling She suddenly issued a warning. "That is the cat demon."

The words startled An Zhi, causing her to take several steps back. To think such a cute thing was actually a cat demon.

"Hahahaha, you've got quite some nerve, coming here all by yourself."

The tiny kitten finally revealed its true form, instantly transforming into a large, snarling blue cat.

"Palm Thunder!" In a panic, An Zhi immediately struck out with a Palm Thunder spell.

*Boom...*

Following several thunderous cracks in the bamboo forest, the cat demon dodged swiftly.

"Why are you using Palm Thunder? Why not just use the Demon-Binding Rope? Now look what you've done, it'll be harder to tie it up!" Ling She directed anxiously from the side. "Cats are agile; you must restrain it before you can kill it."

Hearing this, An Zhi began to prepare the Demon-Binding Rope again.

*Pop, pop, pop...*

Suddenly, the bamboo surrounding the forest exploded, and the cat demon officially entered the fray to fight.

An Zhi ultimately lacked combat experience. Under the cat demon's repeated provocations, she eventually lost her composure, swinging her Yuhua Sword wildly through the bamboo forest. Her accuracy was extremely low, and she couldn't manage her various spells properly.

It was obvious that the cat demon was using its agility to wear An Zhi down.

Seeing that this wouldn't work, An Zhi began to organize the Demon-Binding Rope.

*Whoosh...*

Seizing the moment, An Zhi flung the Demon-Binding Rope, but unfortunately, the rope became entangled with a nearby bamboo stalk.

"Hahahaha, with skills like that, how can you claim to be the real deal?" the cat demon mocked.

Facing a cat demon she couldn't subdue, An Zhi's heart began to panic. She tried to retract the rope, but it was caught in the exploding bamboo.

Seeing the opportunity, the cat demon launched an urgent attack, giving An Zhi no chance to counter or even catch her breath.

"Ah!"

At the critical moment, as the cat demon's three illusions lunged toward An Zhi, Ling She instantly blocked in front of her.

If this move succeeded, An Zhi would be effectively finished for the night.

Shaken, she saw the cat demon, which had been lunging at her, suddenly change direction the moment Ling She stepped in front of her.

Landing on the ground, the cat demon circled around An Zhi, looking left and right in a state of confusion.

*Hiss...*

Seeing this, Ling She flicked its tongue at the cat demon as if communicating something. The cat demon suddenly became docile.

An Zhi was quite clever; utilizing the brief moment of calm, she quickly reeled in the Demon-Binding Rope and flung it at the cat demon.

*Awoo...*

*Awoo...*

The cat demon, having regained its senses, let out a heart-wrenching wail, but the more it struggled, the tighter the Demon-Binding Rope became.

"Snake Treasure, hahaha, caught it, caught it!" An Zhi, extremely excited, began to draw her Yuhua Sword.

*Hiss...*

*Hiss...*

Ling She seemed to ignore whatever An Zhi said, continuously flicking its tongue at the cat demon as if in conversation.

Facing the restrained cat demon, An Zhi brandished her Yuhua Sword.

With a single downward strike, the cat demon instantly "received its lunch box" (died), and two demon seals fell to the ground.

The cat demon was dead, but An Zhi, having learned from the lessons of the day at Yujing Peak, did not retract the Demon-Binding Rope.

Sure enough,

A moment later, a small kitten appeared where the rope was.

"Meow..."

"Retract!" An Zhi gathered spiritual energy at her fingertips and cast a spell on the Demon-Binding Rope.

Before the cat demon could grow large again, the rope bound the kitten tightly.

Watching the kitten roll on the ground in agony, trying to break free, An Zhi couldn't help but cast another spell.

As the rope tightened further, the kitten's entire body began to turn blue, and its size gradually increased.

The cute "meow meows" turned into dull, heavy "awoos."

"Quick, use your sword to kill it," Ling She urged from the side.

An Zhi took out her Yuhua Sword once more and struck down at the cat demon. The cat demon had only two lives left.

And so, aided by the Demon-Binding Rope and guided by Ling She, the cat demon was destroyed.

Looking at the eight shimmering demon seals on the bamboo leaves, An Zhi could hardly believe it.

"Master, congratulations! You're a demon hunter now!" Ling She excitedly crawled around her.

An Zhi picked up the seals, looking at them over and over, and said excitedly, "I defeated the cat demon, hahaha!"

Just then,

A streak of light flew straight toward the Spotted Bamboo Forest.

Oh no! They are tracking us.

Without even finishing her excitement, An Zhi instinctively grabbed her gear and said, "Snake Treasure, let's go, fast!"

As expected, Ke Dasheng appeared in the Spotted Bamboo Forest with his group, arriving quickly at the scene following the guidance of their magical tool.

"Holy crap." Ke Dasheng was stunned. Although it was night, the moonlight allowed him to see clearly that a fierce battle had taken place here. The surrounding bamboo had all exploded, and the stench left by the cat demon was extremely pungent.

The other disciples quickly searched the surroundings, but found no clues.

"Senior Brother, could it be the same person from the incident at the back mountain training ground?" a disciple questioned.

"Is that even a question? We're too late," Ke Dasheng said, somewhat incredulously. "To end four lives of a cat demon in such a short time, this person's level and spiritual power are definitely not below mine."

The troublemaker at the back mountain training ground hadn't been found, and now the cat demon had been snatched away by this person. Everyone agreed it was the same individual.

"Search immediately to see if any demon seals were left behind," Ke Dasheng ordered.

Under the moonlight, the disciples continued their search, but after scouring the entire area, they found no seals.

Half an hour later,

Luo Ling arrived with the female disciples. Seeing everyone cleaning up the aftermath, she patted Ke Dasheng on the shoulder, her heart racing with excitement.

"Senior Brother, you finished so quickly?" Luo Ling complained as she looked at the battle site. "That woman Shen Anzhi is nowhere to be found. Because of her, Elder Taiqing made me escort Old Man Fan back myself."

Ke Dasheng looked dejected, seemingly not hearing Luo Ling's words, and said, "We were too late."

"Indeed." Luo Ling thought Ke Dasheng was telling her she was late, so she continued to complain. "I was originally going to bring my people to fight alongside you, but because of Shen Anzhi—since she couldn't be found—Elder Taiqing made me personally escort Old Man Fan back."

"I said *we* were too late," Ke Dasheng said, looking at Luo Ling with a serious expression.

Only then did Luo Ling understand what he meant. She scanned the scene with disbelief and said, "What do you mean? This... this cat demon was also..."

Ke Dasheng nodded. "We suspect it's the same person who caused trouble at the back mountain training ground."

"No way!" Luo Ling asked in shock. "This was a Rank 6 demon with several lives!"

"Therefore, this person's level and ability are not below mine," Ke Dasheng remarked with emotion.

Luo Ling paced around the site in shock; looking at the exploded bamboo, she could easily imagine the intensity of the battle.

...

(End of Chapter)