Inner Demons

Chapter 20: Green-Armored General

The high-cheekboned, narrow-eyed swordsman's real name was Chen Yian. He originally came from a scholarly family, which was evident from his name.

But now he was "Hanging Horn Ghost," the leader of the Six Ghosts of the River, and his brother was dead.

"He must be killed," Chen Yian thought. Not only because he killed Fourth Brother, but also because he couldn't see through him.

If the opponent was truly an innocent youth from a Grotto-heaven or School who was unfamiliar with worldly affairs, he had plenty of ways to deal with him. Such people were indeed immortals with profound magical abilities, but they lacked worldly wisdom. He could charm them into elation in the blink of an eye.

But this boy...

He had fleetingly considered making him an ally. But it was only for that instant. This boy seemed to have sprung from nowhere, and his mind was terrifyingly agile. If he were to play games with him, in the end, who knew who would be playing whom.

Since that was the case, he could only kill him.

After killing him, his clothes would be burned, and his body dismembered. In such a dense forest, it would quickly be consumed. Then, the other bodies would also be dismembered and scattered nearby. No matter how clever his methods, they wouldn't be able to track down the boy's whereabouts.

It was his misfortune that he was too smart, came from too good a background, but his strength wasn't enough.

A rare lack of strength.Chen Yian felt a slight heat on his body. Actually, that youth...

Was very handsome...

Those disciples from the Grotto-heaven Schools, high and mighty, had to be coaxed and pampered by him. Hmph, but would they ever think that one of them was trapped by him in that ruined temple?

When the time came, crushed under his foot...

Hmm... when he was under him, how could he still be so arrogant? Hmm? How could he be arrogant?

As he thought this, he was only four or five steps from the door.

Actually, for such a short distance, he could charge forward in the blink of an eye with a burst of internal energy. But that kid had been too vicious and cunning before, so he had to be careful.

This forest was strange, seemingly haunted.

They were once called the Six Ghosts of the River, and they weren't unfamiliar with ghosts. Although they were startled earlier, they weren't overly worried. Firstly, he had seen "immortals," and secondly, he knew that some ghosts couldn't harm people, only scare them. The previous Female Ghost was dissipated by his sword strike, indicating it was merely an empty display of power.

He had killed countless people, yet he feared ghosts? What a joke.

He took another step and saw Li Yunxin walk out of the temple gate with his hands behind his back.

He wore white clothes, and his sleeves were torn by branches while running through the forest. But now, the white strips of cloth hung from his cuffs, fluttering in the night wind, adding a touch of etherealness.

Li Yunxin held a piece of paper in his hand, and the swordsman frowned slightly.

He had naturally heard of Artificers, and thinking about it carefully now... Could this kid be an Artificer?

He and his brothers used to rob and plunder, so he hadn't bothered to figure out what realms Artificers had or what their abilities were. He only knew that Artificers who could create illusions were rare figures among mortals – they were revered by high-ranking officials and noble families, who hoped they would create more paintings to prolong their lives.

This youth, at such a young age, possessed such profound abilities.

He... could not be left alive.

What a pity. A brilliant Artificer. But no matter how brilliant... they were just illusions, parlor tricks.

How could they compare to the Taoist priests and swordsmen of the Grotto-heaven Schools?

Just then, he heard the youth say, "If you come any closer, I won't be polite."

Chen Yian sneered inwardly. This trick was no longer effective now.

At this moment, he urged his internal energy to its peak, and he could even hear the bending of the grass blades beneath his feet as he stepped, completely unafraid of any further tricks from the youth.

He saw clearly that the youth exhaled when he spoke and had a shadow when he walked, meaning he was a real person. The previous Female Ghost might have been created by the youth to scare people, but as long as one didn't panic, one could always distinguish it.

"Die. I'll make it quick for you."

He shook the rapier in his hand, and the one-finger-wide, thin blade buzzed, like the flickering tongue of a silver snake: "Strike!"

This sword strike was fast and cunning; even with Qiao Duanhong's skill from the escort agency, he couldn't dodge it. He believed this youth would surely die.

However...

It missed.

The swordsman was shocked!

The youth's figure suddenly became much more agile, avoiding his attack at an odd angle, then retreated another step and shouted, "I'm casting a spell now!"

That evasive movement was absolutely impossible for an ordinary person to make – at least not with the physical strength of an ordinary youth.

In a flash, the swordsman could no longer be distracted. He could tell that the youth had struggled a bit to avoid the previous attack, and now his strength was spent; there was no way he could avoid a second sword.

Immediately, he flicked his wrist, and the silver light returned like a swimming snake, heading straight for Li Yunxin's throat.

At that moment, he saw the youth finally unfold the paper he was holding. A flash of green light appeared, and the swordsman found a dark green figure suddenly appear between himself and the youth.

Upon seeing this, the swordsman found the figure somewhat peculiar. It was a general clad in green armor, holding a light green broadsword, and wearing a strange helmet – studded with dense green gems, making it look like a fly.

What kind of person would dress like this?

But the swordsman understood that this was just an illusion. He must not be distracted, or the boy would seize the opportunity!

Immediately, he collected his thoughts, ignored the sword strike from the phantom general, and intended to pierce through this illusion, aiming for Li Yunxin's throat!

But with a soft thud.

Swordsman Chen Yian's head soared into the sky!

The Green-Armored General's broadsword was almost run into by the swordsman himself.

This was not an illusion. But a real, substantial entity materialized by a Manifestation Realm master!

After slaying the swordsman Chen Yian and stained with the fresh blood of a living person, the Green-Armored General's figure suddenly blurred. He sheathed his sword, turned his face to Li Yunxin, nodded solemnly, and said, "My sword is your sword!"

Then he transformed into a burst of light particles and vanished.

The headless corpse of Chen Yian, the Great Ghost of the Six Ghosts of the River, fell to the ground.

Li Yunxin let out a long breath.

Still can't last long...

His Qi Sea was sealed, preventing him from using spiritual energy, so he had the cat demon possess him. The cat demon's spiritual body provided him with a bit of spiritual energy, barely allowing him to reach the "materialization of illusion" realm.

But after all, the cat demon's spiritual energy was weak, and it wasn't his own – this thing, summoned, only killed one person, and was dispelled by the hot blood and yang energy of a living person.

However, the cat demon couldn't experience the thrill of that life-and-death moment and asked eccentrically, "Oh, oh, dead. Ha, what was that? Hmm? What was that green general, hmm?"

Li Yunxin sighed, his tone a bit nostalgic and wistful. But the cat demon surely wouldn't understand –

"He... was called Yi. Wuju Sword Saint, Yi."