Volume 3, Chapter 217 – Capture

“Sir, the Chi family people are still downstairs. If we move now, we might get the Chi family involved,” the subordinate dressed as a scholar said.

Wei Qingyu’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Have you found out that girl’s identity?”

“The time was too short, we haven’t found out yet. The innkeeper only recognizes Qin Qingfen, not that young lady.”

Wei Qingyu watched the movements of the several people in the inn with her peripheral vision. “There’s no time. If we don’t move now, they’ll escape.”

“We finally caught these big fish. How can we let them slip away so easily?”

According to Wei Qingyu’s original plan, that rat demon would lead these people below into the trap they had already prepared.

That way, they could also avoid taking action directly in the inn’s main hall.

If this plan succeeded, even if the other side had Sixth Realm experts, they wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

However, those demon creatures had somehow seen through their trap.

Wei Qingyu didn’t understand how they had figured it out.

It was too sudden. One second, they were chatting and laughing with that rat demon, the next they began showing obvious wariness toward it.

It was almost as if someone had secretly tipped them off.

Unfortunately, opportunities were fleeting. Now wasn’t the time for Wei Qingyu to think about where they had exposed their flaw.

“Activate the formation!”

With Wei Qingyu’s command.

The entire inn seemed to shake at this moment.

Those Demon Suppression Bureau officers hidden in the guest rooms all rushed out from their rooms in one go.

Even those diners who had been sitting in their seats, drinking and chatting idly, now suddenly drew their weapons.

At this moment, they no longer concealed their identities, nor did they suppress the cultivation aura on their bodies.

In the void, faint bell sounds came through, and an invisible force completely enveloped this place.

The white-bearded old demon’s expression changed drastically.

“This is the Demon Suppression Bureau’s formation! The Eight Directions Demon-Binding Array!”

“We’ve been tricked! This is the Demon Suppression Bureau’s trap!!”

The demon woman’s eyes also flashed with fury. She drew a sharp knife and pointed it at the rat demon before her, saying, “Damn it, you’re a spy sent by the Demon Suppression Bureau!”

“The room upstairs was also a trap for us!”

Faced with the sharp knife, the Third Realm rat demon’s face flashed with panic.

However, thinking that he had the Demon Suppression Bureau backing him, his confidence returned.

“Heh! So you figured it out! Then I’ll stop pretending. Master Rat here is a high-level double agent under the Demon Suppression Bureau!”

“This place was specially prepared for you by our Demon Suppression Bureau’s Inspector Wei.”

“You can’t escape anymore. I advise you to surrender obediently! That’s better for everyone!”

“Shut up!!” The woman’s eyes flashed with killing intent. The sharp knife in her hand slashed directly at the rat demon’s neck.

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“A servant of two masters can still be so smug.”

“No wonder the rat clan is so unwelcome wherever they go!”

The rat demon before her was only Third Realm, while the woman was Fifth Realm.

This strike should have been a sure thing.

However, something unexpected happened to the woman.

When this strike landed on the rat demon’s neck, a light-formed small shield suddenly appeared on the rat demon’s body. With a clang, it completely blocked the woman’s attack.

“What is this thing!?” the woman cried out in shock, her eyes showing astonishment.

“This is naturally the Demon Suppression Bureau’s defensive talisman,” the rat demon sneered. “You ignorant fools have never seen such a high-level protective treasure, have you!”

The woman paid no attention. She gripped her sharp knife and slashed again.

However, a golden chain suddenly wrapped around the rat demon’s waist. As the woman swung her blade, it yanked hard, directly pulling the rat demon out of the woman’s attack range.

“He got away!” the woman cursed.

At the same time, the surrounding Demon Suppression Bureau officers had already attacked.

The two sturdy men behind the woman suddenly roared toward the sky. Their forms violently expanded, transforming into two ten-foot-tall half-human, half-wolf monsters, battling with the rushing Demon Suppression Bureau officers.

In an instant, within the inn’s main hall, a great battle suddenly erupted!

Qi collided with qi, demonic power and spiritual power exploded simultaneously.

The impact raised by the battle nearly overturned the entire inn.

But under the waves of illusory bell sounds, the impact of both sides’ collision mysteriously dissipated into nothingness.

The four great demons in the field simultaneously felt an invisible shackle placed upon their bodies.

That surging demonic power was immediately suppressed.

Under this pressure, their combat power was weakened by nearly thirty percent.

“This is the Demon Suppression Bureau’s Eight Directions Demon-Binding Array!”

Solemnity appeared on all four great demons’ faces.

Behind them, the inn’s main door had already closed when the formation activated.

On the door panels, someone had used spiritual energy to inscribe several obscure and mysterious runes. The runes contained incomparably powerful spiritual power. Even Fifth Realm experts couldn’t break through this door in a short time.

Their escape route had been completely sealed.

The veiled woman didn’t reveal her demon form. Instead, holding her sharp knife, she battled with the Demon Suppression Bureau officers.

Her movements were agile, her strength formidable. Even with the formation’s enhancement, these officers were no match for her.

Just at this moment, from the inn’s second floor, a blade gleam slashed toward the demon woman.

The blade gleam was sharp and swift as lightning.

Even though that veiled demon woman’s strength was outstanding, she couldn’t escape from under this blade gleam.

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The demon woman’s eyes showed terror. She felt a life threat from this blade gleam.

This strike contained pure destructive blade momentum, as if all vitality would be extinguished under the blade.

This strike came from a Sixth Realm peak martial artist.

The Demon Suppression Bureau had actually deployed a Sixth Realm peak martial artist for them!

Just as the woman was about to be struck by this blade, the old man beside her finally took decisive action.

He thrust his wooden staff forward. The beast-shaped staff head grew against the wind, transforming into an illusory wolf head that fiercely bit toward that blade gleam.

The blade’s gleam and the wolf’s head suddenly collided.

With a boom, violent air waves erupted.

The floor of the inn’s main hall was directly overturned by the impact produced by these two colliding.

The black-robed female demon was blasted backward repeatedly by the air waves.

Although she suffered some impact, she wasn’t injured.

The black-robed female demon covered her chest and panted several times. After her demonic power rapidly circulated through her heavenly circuit within her body, she finally dispelled the stifling pain in her chest.

At this moment, the old man’s entire body seemed possessed by demon fiends. His hair and beard stood straight, and his black robe moved without wind.

Holding his beast staff, his eyes like lightning, he looked solemnly toward the inn’s second floor.

At the end of the second-floor staircase stood a tall woman.

White-clothed with her hair tied up, her features heroic and spirited.

Holding a horizontal blade, she stood proudly.

“A Sixth Realm peak martial artist.” The old man’s gaze was sharp. “You’re the Demon Suppression Bureau’s inspector?”

“The Demon Suppression Bureau really went all out for us old, weak, sick, and disabled.”

Wei Qingyu neither confirmed nor denied. She said, “Letting several Fifth and Sixth Realm demon creatures continue roaming within our nation’s territory is far too dangerous.”

“The Demon Suppression Bureau’s duty cannot allow you all to continue running free.”

Wei Qingyu raised the horizontal blade in her hand, pointing it at the old man from afar.

“If you all are sensible, give up resistance and surrender. The Human Empress is merciful and can spare your lives.”

“If you continue to resist stubbornly…”

“For the sake of Her Imperial Majesty, I will definitely slay you all here.”

Wei Qingyu’s aura exploded, sweeping toward everyone like a violent wind.

The four great demons all felt a chilling killing intent.

The current situation was extremely unfavorable for them.

Blade users were already the strongest in attack among martial artists, equivalent to sword cultivators among qi-refining cultivators.

A Sixth Realm peak blade-wielding martial artist brought them far too much pressure.

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Not to mention, the Demon Suppression Bureau’s Eight Directions Demon-Binding Array had already been deployed here, and there were over ten Demon Suppression Bureau experts assisting from the side.

With their escape route sealed, there was little hope of breaking through in such a desperate situation.

“Despicable and shameless humans!”

“If you dare, remove the formation and fight fairly!”

“Despicable?” Wei Qingyu said. “Right now, I’m standing here. As long as you can defeat me, the formation will naturally break.”

“Is this not fair enough?”

Defeat a Sixth Realm peak martial artist?

If this were elsewhere, naturally it wouldn’t be a problem.

The average combat power of human cultivators was actually inferior to that of demon warriors.

Only some extraordinarily talented genius cultivators had the ability to defeat demon experts of the same realm in one-on-one combat.

Such prodigies were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns throughout the vast human nations.

But now was different.

Among the four demons, although the old man possessed Sixth Realm combat power, all four demons clearly knew that the old man had old injuries and his body was aged, with weakened spirit and declining vitality.

In terms of combat power alone, it was difficult to compare with this female martial artist at the peak of her youth.

To defeat her, and moreover to defeat her with the Demon Suppression Bureau’s formation enhancement, they might have to pay no small price.

They’d have to fight desperately.

“Grandfather…” The black-robed demon woman stood beside the old man. “What do we do now…”

The old man’s voice transmission sounded in the woman’s mind. “Your Highness, did you notice? This Demon Suppression Bureau woman is deliberately standing before us.”

“Her strength is formidable, but after delivering that one strike, she hasn’t been eager to continue attacking.”

“She’s afraid of forcing us into desperation, making us desperate.”

“But within this formation, even if we burn our boats and fight with our backs to the wall, the hope of breaking through is very slim,” the woman frowned. “They have the formation as their foundation. They can attack or defend. It’s extremely difficult for us to find any breakthrough point, so why should they be so cautious?”

“So this woman might still be concerned about something else.”

“If we become desperate, as fellow Sixth Realm cultivators, this woman wanting to suppress us also can’t do it in a short time.”

The woman’s eyes lit up. Her gaze turned, looking toward a corner of the inn.

There, there was still a group of people with low cultivation, completely out of place with the battle situation in the main hall.

The surrounding officers seemed to want to hide them behind and cover their departure.

But behind that group, on the thick barrier generated by the formation, there seemed to be faintly visible a weak opening.

“It’s the Chi family people!” A flash of understanding immediately arose in the woman’s heart. “The Chi family people’s appearance wasn’t within her expectations!”

“This woman is concerned about the Chi family people!”

Just now, the simple exchange between the old man and that woman had blasted a large crater in the ground.

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If Sixth Realm experts fought with full strength, the impact raised by their mutual collision and combat was absolutely not something that group of Chi family people with low cultivation could withstand.

“Grandfather! The formation has opened a small opening there!” the woman said. “The Demon Suppression Bureau people are covering those Chi family people’s departure!”

“Grandfather! We can capture them and use them as hostages!”

“The Chi family people are local powers in Beihe Commandery! Even the Demon Suppression Bureau people don’t want to involve the Chi family.”

“Good!” The old man raised his beast staff and said in a deep voice, “I’ll hold off the Demon Suppression Bureau people. Your Highness, go capture those Chi family people!”

Before his words fell, the woman had already turned and rushed out.

Seeing this, Wei Qingyu frowned.

Her arrangements had actually been seen through by these demon creatures. It seemed these demons weren’t completely brainless after all.

“Close the formation, stop them.” Wei Qingyu leaped down holding her blade. The blade’s gleam was like a crescent moon, its momentum piercing like a rainbow.

The old man raised his staff to meet her.

The two fought together, exploding with thunderous roars.

However, within this narrow inn, they fought with extreme restraint.

When that demon woman charged toward the Chi family people, the small door that had quietly opened in the formation closed again.

The surrounding Demon Suppression Bureau experts rushed forward one after another, trying to block this demon woman.

However, Fifth Realm demon cultivators were inherently formidable.

Human experts below the Fifth Realm were almost not her match in a single exchange. Combined with her swift movements, even with the formation’s enhancement, these Demon Suppression Bureau experts found it very difficult to stop her advance.

Moreover, when she charged toward those weak Chi family people, the other two sturdy demon men also violently erupted at this moment, blocking quite a few Demon Suppression Bureau experts for her.

Therefore, this woman didn’t expend much effort before already killing her way to the Chi family people.

There were quite a few Chi family people, but actually most were household servants and maids with low cultivation.

These servants and maids definitely weren’t the targets the Demon Suppression Bureau was concerned about.

Those who could make the Demon Suppression Bureau so attentive could only be people of incomparable importance to the Chi family.

Therefore, the woman directly passed over those servants and maids, looking at the people she’d seen earlier who seemed to have the highest status in this group.

A matron and a young lady of marriageable age.

That young lady’s clothing was extraordinary, her appearance beautiful. At a glance, she was a pampered noble young lady from a prestigious family.

As for the other matron, although plain and ordinary, the demon woman had earlier seen this matron scolding that young lady.

So for a moment, she couldn’t determine who was more important.

Moreover, at this time, there was no time for her to think so much.

In any case, neither of these two had any combat power, so she might as well take both together.

Thinking this, the woman rushed forward, extended her slender jade hands, grabbed both by the back of their necks with one hand each, and lifted these two people out like picking up chickens.

“Don’t move!” The woman looked around and shouted loudly, “Or I’ll kill them!”