Chapter 106: Black Magic

The narrow valley path, hemmed in by two mountain cliffs, served as the only entrance and exit to this secluded village. Now, this sole access point was completely blocked by a group of people exuding an aura like wild wolves. Their eyes gleamed with menace and mockery as they stared at the terrified crowd before them.

"I've told you many times," Feng Baichuan clenched his fists, trying his best to suppress his rising anger, "this is just an ordinary small village. There are no 'treasures' here, nor is there anyone you're looking for." Any single one of the villains before them was stronger than anyone in their clan. They were a group of evildoers they simply could not contend with.

"An ordinary small village? Ha ha ha ha, would an ordinary village be in the heart of the Myriad Beast Mountain Range? Would it be guarding such a strange seal formation? I think you're clearly a declining guardian family!"Amidst a burst of wild laughter, a black-hatted, burly middle-aged man from the Dark Demon mercenary group stepped forward. Three men followed him, all grinning sinisterly and emitting powerful mystical energy that made Feng Baichuan's face turn pale. The man sneered, glancing sideways at Feng Baichuan, "I'm the leader here, Black Demon, commander of the Dark Demon mercenary group. We have no interest in slaughtering trash. I'll give you one last chance: hand over your treasures and the beautiful women, and I promise you, on my honor as commander, we'll leave immediately without harming a single soul. But if you dare to be ungrateful again," Black Demon swung his thick spiked club menacingly, "then we won't mind killing another hundred people."

Frightened cries rippled through the crowd behind Feng Baichuan, their faces a mix of anger and terror. Small children whimpered and cried in their mothers' arms, while some elders trembled with indignation, roaring, "You villains... you'll surely get your comeuppance!"

Feng Baichuan gritted his teeth. "When I say we don't have it, we don't! We don't even know what that seal formation is! Even if you kill us all, we still won't know."

"Oh, so you've got a tough mouth, huh? Looks like we'll need to shed some blood before you cooperate. No problem, we have plenty of time to play with you." Black Demon sneered, glancing at a middle-aged man with an axe behind him. "Hei Zi, give them a lesson! Kill them, cripple them, do whatever you want.""Understood, Commander!" The man called "Hei Zi" stepped forward, wielding a large saber. He swaggered, brandishing his blade and licking his lips, his contemptuous gaze fixed on them as if they were ants. "Ungrateful fools, grandpa's here to teach you a lesson."With that, he swung his saber horizontally, aiming a strike at Feng Baichuan.

"Don't you dare harm our Patriarch!"Three elders from behind Feng Baichuan charged forward simultaneously, confronting Hei Zi. All three elders, along with Feng Baichuan, were at the tenth level of the Nascent Profound Realm, while Hei Zi was at the sixth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, making them no match for him. Hei Zi's first strike, a dominant saber qi, sliced straight through the first elder's profound energy defense, leaving a long bleeding gash across his left chest.

"Mountain Splitting Blade!" Hei Zi sneered, his saber strikes growing more ruthless. Not being from a sect, he naturally lacked advanced profound arts, and his profound skills were basic. However, his profound energy level was formidable enough to easily overwhelm Feng Baichuan and the others even without using skills. With his profound skills unleashed, he was like an autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves. His blade left wounds on each of the three elders. Then, he suddenly delivered a heavy kick to Feng Baichuan's abdomen, sending him flying over ten meters away, a mouthful of blood spewing from his lips.

"Patriarch!""Father!"Amidst their cries, Feng Zu'er and Feng Xian'er rushed out from Feng Caiyun's embrace. They threw themselves beside Feng Baichuan, tugging at his body and sobbing. The three elders also lay on the ground, their wounds bleeding profusely, their faces etched with despair.

"Heh heh, these two brats must be your children, right?" Hei Zi dragged his saber as he slowly approached Feng Baichuan, his voice sinister. "Then I'll see if your mouth is still so tough after I gouge out your daughter's eyes!"As he spoke, and as Feng Baichuan's pupils contracted violently, Hei Zi suddenly reached out, grabbing for the terrified Feng Xian'er.

"Stop it!"A furious, delicate cry suddenly rang out from the side. Simultaneously, a streak of pure white sword light shot forth like a meteor. Hei Zi reacted swiftly, retracting his hand and scrambling backward. A snow-white longsword, crafted like jade, accurately pierced the spot where he had been just moments before, sending a cold sweat down his spine. Following the sword, a graceful figure in white descended, picked up the jade sword from the ground, and pointed it directly at Hei Zi, her gaze cold and furious.

The moment Lan Xueruo appeared, a collective gasp and gulping sound arose from the Dark Demon mercenary group. They stared blankly at her, their eyes wide and bulging, their expressions vacant, many of them unconsciously drooling.

"C-Commander! It's her! It's her!" The axe-wielding man from yesterday excitedly told Black Demon. "Didn't I tell you? Isn't she like a fairy?"Black Demon's eyes were already wide, and his hands began to tremble. He swallowed hard, his voice raspy. "Beautiful! She's damn beautiful! How can there be such a beautiful woman in this world? Damn it! All the women I've been with before look like trash compared to her!""We *must* get our hands on this woman! If I could spend one night with her, my life would be complete.""Heh heh, since she's already shown herself, isn't she practically yours?" the axe-wielding man said ingratiatingly. "Though she looks young, her profound energy has reached the True Profound Realm, so it might take a little effort for the Commander to subdue her.""Me, Hei Hu, Hei Gui, and Hei Lang, four True Profound Realm masters, plus over a hundred brothers – and we can't handle one little beauty? Ha ha ha ha!" Black Demon rubbed his hands together, roaring with laughter, his gaze fervent, as if Lan Xueruo was already his prize.

"Hei Zi, step back. I'll personally handle this little beauty."Hei Zi obediently retreated. The members of the Dark Demon mercenary group watched Lan Xueruo with longing eyes, but could only swallow dryly. Such a woman would surely be enjoyed by Black Demon alone; at most, they could only fantasize.

"Hey, beauty, what's your name? How old are you?" Black Demon asked lecherously, his large, yellow teeth showing as he leaned on his spiked club.

The profound energy Black Demon emitted made Lan Xueruo's brows subtly furrow. He was at the third level of the True Profound Realm, a level not at all weaker than her own. She secretly took a breath, her expression indifferent as she spoke coldly, "You are a mercenary group, you take commissions for your work, you are not a band of bandits! Those who commit many injustices will surely suffer divine retribution! This is not where you belong; leave at once!"

Observing Lan Xueruo up close, the faint aura of immortality and nobility emanating from her made Black Demon's bones tingle. He swallowed hard again, leering, "You want us to leave? Easy, easy. If the beauty asks, it's a simple matter. Just promise to come back with me and be my commander's wife, and I, Black Demon, guarantee we'll leave immediately and never return to this place for the rest of our lives. What do you say, beauty?"

"Presumptuous!" Lan Xueruo snapped, then immediately realized her words weren't strong enough. Her anger flared further as she understood that reasoning with these villains was useless. She directly thrust her sword towards Black Demon. To resolve the immediate crisis, the only method she could think of was to defeat Black Demon, then take him hostage and force the Dark Demon mercenary group to retreat.

Black Demon hadn't expected Lan Xueruo to attack so suddenly. He hurriedly swung his spiked club to block, momentarily flustered by her rapid succession of sword strikes. Lan Xueruo's sword shone with golden light, its movements dazzling and swift, making Black Demon dizzy. With two swift "shicks," his light armor was sliced open in two places, and even his protective profound energy was cut through, sending a large chunk of flesh flying.

All the mercenaries of the Dark Demon group were dumbfounded. This girl, who appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen, had wounded their commander, Black Demon, with a single strike! Black Demon possessed profound energy at the third level of the True Profound Realm!

After taking a neither heavy nor light sword strike, Black Demon's temper flared. With a roar, he violently swung his spiked club. Suddenly, three serpentine lightning sparks flickered eerily along its shaft, crackling with a dangerous power.Lightning profound skill? Lan Xueruo felt a slight jolt of surprise. The commander of a mere mercenary group actually possessed a lightning profound skill."Thunder Serpent Dance!"

The massive spiked club, crackling with lightning, swept in a wide arc, completely engulfing Lan Xueruo's position. Unable to evade, Lan Xueruo's sword glowed brightly with golden light as she met the attack head-on with its blade.Clang!Sparks flew as Lan Xueruo's jade sword instantly bent significantly. The furious force sent her reeling backward, but the moment her toes touched the ground, she surged forward again, shooting towards Black Demon. Deep within her beautiful eyes, a golden gleam flashed, and she let out a low murmur that only she could hear..."Emperor...King...Sword..."

Since subduing Black Demon was the only hope for resolving the crisis, Lan Xueruo had no reason to hold back any longer. Her strongest profound skill directly pierced towards Black Demon.The instant the sword thrust out, Yun Che's gaze wavered dramatically, for the sword's momentum Lan Xueruo wielded was unlike anything he had ever seen. Though it was seemingly a simple thrust, the sword's power was fierce and overbearing, imbued with undisguised arrogance—like an emperor surveying the world, seeing everything beneath him, invincible and unstoppable.

The "Thunder Serpent Dance" was immensely powerful. Black Demon had no idea that Lan Xueruo could block it head-on and counterattack so swiftly. He quickly swung his spiked club to block in front of him. The moment the sword tip touched the club, Black Demon's face drastically changed. An astonishing, irresistible force surged through the club's shaft. With a metallic "clang," his body recoiled violently, and the spiked club was knocked from his grasp, flying far away. Lan Xueruo's sword momentum remained undiminished; the tip plunged directly into Black Demon's left shoulder, piercing through his protective profound energy as easily as cutting tofu, and emerging from his back shoulder... leaving a clean, transparent hole through his shoulder.