Urban Martial Saint

Huangfu Ziyu followed the direction Ye Qing pointed, and indeed saw stains of blood scattered all over a nearby boulder. Moreover, upon closer inspection, there was quite a bit of blood scattered around, with many stones and even the ground stained. It appeared as though numerous people had desperately fought to the death here; the intensity of past battles could be surmised just from these bloodstains!

”Is it possible that there’s been fighting outside the Demon Hideout Cave?” Huangfu Ziyu frowned slightly, for she hadn’t seen these traces during her last visit. Evidently, these bloodstains must have appeared recently.

Ye Qing’s brows were also furrowed heavily. From these bloodstains alone, it was clear that the entrance to the Demon Hideout Cave had been unrestful in recent days. However, they were secluded deep within the cave, almost isolated from the world, clueless about what was happening outside or how the external world was doing now. Why, then, would there be battles breaking out near the entrance to the Demon Hideout Cave?

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu continued to follow the mountain path outward, discovering more battlefields and bloodstains along the way. After walking for about ten minutes, they even found a corpse by the roadside.

This was an elderly-looking man, his entire body withered. Judging by the texture of his skin, he wasn’t that old, perhaps only fifty or sixty at most. Yet, the level of emaciation and aged appearance resembled that of a centenarian. It seemed as though his Vital Energy had been drained, leaving nothing but a dried corpse.

Upon seeing this body, Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu exchanged a glance, both becoming more vigilant. It was evident that the outside of the Demon Hideout Cave was just not safe lately, and they had to be extra cautious.

”This man must be from the Huo Family of the southwest!” Huangfu Ziyu suddenly stated.

”Someone from the Huo Family?” Ye Qing asked in surprise, looking at Huangfu Ziyu. ”Do you recognize him?”

”I don’t know him, but the pendant he carries is emblematic of the Huo Family,” Huangfu Ziyu pointed to the pendant on the corpse, saying, ”Moreover, given the design of the pendant, his status within the Huo Family is not low. This person’s strength certainly was substantial!”

”Is the Huo Family that powerful?” Ye Qing asked curiously.

”The Huo Family of the southwest, fifty years ago, far surpassed the Xihang Shen Family in power, having produced three Peak Masters in one generation. However, with the current generation somewhat lacking talents and having no Peak Masters emerge, their reputation has slowly declined compared to before. But, their overall strength is still formidable, with at least a dozen Top-Level Masters in the family.” Huangfu Ziyu paused, then said solemnly, ”Judging by his status, he definitely was a Top-Level Master.”

Ye Qing’s furrowed brows grew tighter still; even a Top-Level Master had died outside the Demon Hideout Cave, illustrating the peril outside. What exactly transpired outside the cave these past few days?

The two continued onward, encountering yet another corpse soon after, one that seemed to have suffered the same fate as the previous one, as though its Vital Energy had been drained. Moreover, Huangfu Ziyu recognized this person, who was also a Top-Level Master with rather exceptional strength.

Continuing ahead, more corpses appeared successively, each deceased in the same manner, further unsettling Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu. The consistent method of death implied they were likely killed by the same individual, elevating this to a massive case. Who could possess such formidable might to slay so many Top-Level Masters? Furthermore, why did it seem as though their Vital Energy had been siphoned?

Upon walking out of Stone Mountain, Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu astonishingly discovered thirty-seven corpses along the way. Out of these, Huangfu Ziyu could identify thirteen. The weakest among the thirteen was soon to reach the threshold of becoming a Top-Level Master, and nine were already Top-Level Masters, their power incredibly formidable. Given this, at least over twenty Top-Level Masters lay among these thirty-seven bodies. Such a number of masters perished within Stone Mountain — just how powerful was the assailant?

”How exactly did these people die?” Even after seeing so many corpses, Huangfu Ziyu remained perplexed. Instinct informed her this was no simple matter.

Ye Qing, also deeply frowning, remained silent for a while before lowly murmuring, ”Do you think this has anything to do with the Corpse Ghost Dragon?”

”Now that you mention it, there’s a possibility!” Huangfu Ziyu responded gravely, ”Corpse Ghost Dragon has feigned death for thirty years, trapped within the Demon Hideout Cave for those three decades. No matter his power, upon awakening, his Cultivation Power was likely heavily depleted. I suspect he’s trying to restore his strength, perhaps by absorbing human Vital Energy!”

”Having killed so many, Corpse Ghost Dragon’s strength might have significantly recovered!” Ye Qing uttered in a hushed tone, ”It’s beyond me how he managed to lure so many masters here. Corpse Ghost Dragon is truly challenging to deal with!”

Huangfu Ziyu tightened her grip on the Sun Shooting Bow, immensely wary of Corpse Ghost Dragon. Given his might, under heaven, there was simply no equal to his capabilities. Even the Five Uniques of the world paled in comparison to him. This creature, existing for over three hundred years, surpassed what one could label as a Peak Master!

Filled with questions and shock, Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu dared not linger in the mountain longer. As they walked out, entering the small forest ahead, they found more bodies along the trail, many of whom were also masters. It seemed that the death toll surpassed the known thirty-seven. If indeed Corpse Ghost Dragon was killing them to absorb their Vital Energy, the extent of his restored strength was anyone’s guess!

Ye Qing and Huangfu Ziyu walked for more than four hours in the forest. Because they carried too many Famed Instruments, they couldn’t pick up speed. Even after such a long time, they were still in the Ancient Forest and hadn’t exited yet.

”Wait a moment.” As they passed an ancient tree, Ye Qing suddenly stopped, frowned deeply, and looked to the side.

Huangfu Ziyu also stopped and followed Ye Qing’s gaze. Her Inner Strength wasn’t as strong as Ye Qing’s, and her Six Senses were far inferior, so she hadn’t heard anything and didn’t know what was happening with Ye Qing.

Ye Qing held his breath, listened for a while, then suddenly put down the small cart in his hand and turned around with a burst of speed, rushing into the bushes, jumping several times, and ran more than ten meters away.

At this moment, Huangfu Ziyu also grabbed the Sun Shooting Bow and floated up, watching everything in the forest from afar, standing vigil for Ye Qing to prevent any accidents.

Ye Qing ran about thirty meters through the bushes, suddenly reaching into them and pulling someone out.

Huangfu Ziyu quickly bent her bow and aimed at the person, ready to act at any moment to prevent Ye Qing from being in danger. The distance was too great for her to clearly see the person’s appearance, so she was mostly on alert.

On Ye Qing’s side, seeing the person, his expression suddenly changed, and he exclaimed, ”Mr. Ding, you... what happened to you?”

The person was none other than One-Eyed Ding Lianshun. He was covered in blood and looked very weak, almost on the verge of fainting. Hearing Ye Qing’s voice, he slowly opened his eyes, looked at Ye Qing, and seemed a bit surprised, saying, ”Ye Qing, you... how did you get out?”

”It’s a long story. Mr. Ding, what are you doing here? Who hurt you?” Ye Qing asked nervously.

”Ah, who else could it be? Of course, it was the Corpse Ghost Dragon!” Ding Lianshun sighed, ”He was here alone, sealing the entrance to the Demon Hideout Cave, and has killed more than seventy masters. I was also injured by him. Fortunately, Yin Xianzi covered for my escape, otherwise, I might have died at his hands too!”

”Ah?” Ye Qing was suddenly startled, not expecting that it was indeed the Corpse Ghost Dragon who did this. It seemed all his speculations were correct. He wondered to what extent the Corpse Ghost Dragon had regained his strength.

”And what about Yin Xianzi?” Ye Qing quickly asked.

”I... I don’t know either...” Ding Lianshun’s face looked ugly as he said, ”After she covered my escape, she promised to meet up with me. But until now, I haven’t seen her. I was too badly injured alone, afraid of encountering the Corpse Ghost Dragon again, so I hid in these bushes. However, the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s sorcery is too strong, and over these days, my injuries have worsened...”

Seeing Ding Lianshun’s weak state, Ye Qing suddenly remembered the Devouring Demon Flower he had taken from the Demon Hideout Cave and said quickly, ”Mr. Ding, don’t worry, I have the Holy Medicine for healing. Here, let me give you some medicine!”

Ye Qing carried Ding Lianshun back to where Huangfu Ziyu was. From the backpack on the cart, he took out a piece of the Devouring Demon Flower and handed it to Ding Lianshun, saying, ”Mr. Ding, eat this, and your injuries will heal quickly.”

Ding Lianshun didn’t have the slightest doubt and directly put the piece of Devouring Demon Flower into his mouth. The Devouring Demon Flower melted the moment it touched his tongue, and the sensation shocked Ding Lianshun.

”What... what is this?” Ding Lianshun asked in astonishment. He certainly didn’t expect that this was the Devouring Demon Flower that had troubled him for more than ten days.

”A type of herb, very effective for healing,” Ye Qing replied casually. He didn’t dare to let too many people know that the Devouring Demon Flower could be eaten. Otherwise, the Demon Hideout Cave would undoubtedly attract more people.

”Is there such a miraculous herb?” Ding Lianshun, having eaten the petal, was noticeably more spirited and exclaimed excitedly, ”I feel my energy has restored a lot, Ye Qing, what kind of herb is this?”

”I don’t know the exact name either. I tried it myself, thought it was good, so I brought some with me,” Ye Qing bluffed, while asking, ”By the way, why are so many people heading to the Demon Hideout Cave? With the Corpse Ghost Dragon killing here, is there no one who can stop him?”