Volume 1, Chapter 80 – Root Out Evil Completely

“Everyone, we were only passing by by chance. Could you give us some leeway and let us through?” After the standoff dragged on for a while, Wang Ning forced himself to speak.

No one answered him. The two armed groups each tightened their encirclement a little more.

At this moment, the people of Flying Star Sect and that middle-aged man were thinking exactly the same thing, unexpectedly in agreement.

No matter where these newcomers came from, no matter what their purpose was, there was no way they could be allowed to leave.

If word got out, the lure of a spirit crystal vein would definitely make many sects stir. Martial artists of the Earth Fiend Realm and above would be drawn here, and the consequences then would be unimaginable.

Seeing their movements, a chill ran down Wang Ning’s heart. His hand slowly lowered, resting on the hilt of his blade.

“Swish!”

A few streaks of qi force shot out, lashing toward the Demon-Suppressing Army riders.

Wang Ning’s face changed drastically. He drew the horse-cleaving saber at his side and was just about to give the order to defend when a halberd shadow swept out horizontally, shattering those streaks of qi force in an instant.

The Flying Star Sect group and the middle-aged man had all been guarding against the other side suddenly turning on them, so they had held back more than half their strength when they attacked. Their Innate true qi was loose and scattered, and simply could not withstand a real blow.

“Who is it?!” The middle-aged man’s expression tightened as he shouted.

A figure slowly stepped out in front of the Demon-Suppressing Army riders, and when everyone looked over, a trace of surprise flickered in their eyes.

It was a beautiful woman in a long white dress, eyes clear, tall and slender, wearing high boots, and holding a war halberd in her hand that seemed utterly mismatched with her figure.

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When the middle-aged man saw that war halberd, his expression tightened. Then a trace of burning greed flashed in his eyes, and he was just about to speak.

The woman gave a slight smile, took a green token from her chest, and said slowly, “Centurion Shi Lan under the Demon-Suppressing Army, greets you all.”

Seeing the Demon-Suppressing Token in Shi Lan’s hand, Wang Ning and the others swung down from their horses. They showed not the least surprise at Shi Lan’s identity, only bowed and said respectfully in unison, “Many thanks, Centurion, for saving us.”

Shi Lan waved a hand, then looked at the people surrounding them and said, “We happened to pass by and have no wish to meddle in whatever grudge lies between you. Could you let us through?”

Before the Flying Star Sect disciples could speak, the middle-aged man had already cut in, “You can leave, but you leave that halberd in your hand behind.”

Seeing the greed in his eyes, Shi Lan felt not the slightest surprise.

In truth, if she had a replacement to use, she would not have wanted to take out the Purple Star Seven-Section Halberd in the first place. It was simply too eye-catching.

In a confrontation, asking someone to put down their weapon was something no person with a working brain would agree to. Even Wang Ning and the others were thinking the same.

“All right.”

Just when everyone thought Shi Lan would refuse, she actually agreed.

“Centurion, that must not be done!” Wang Ning, standing behind Shi Lan, stepped forward, his expression anxious.

The middle-aged man felt a wave of doubt. His gaze flickered for a while before he said to Shi Lan, “Then bring the halberd over here.”

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Shi Lan walked forward at an unhurried pace and soon came within three zhang of the middle-aged man.

“Stop there. Just throw the halberd over,” the middle-aged man said, taking half a step back, fully on guard.

Shi Lan seemed not to care in the slightest and casually tossed the halberd toward him.

The middle-aged man froze for a moment, then reflexively reached out to catch the halberd. After examining it and finding nothing wrong, he could not help feeling dazed. Had he really gotten his hands on it that easily?

“Boom!”

“Qingsong, look out!” one of the martial artists behind the middle-aged man shouted loudly.

The middle-aged man had just lifted his head when two enormous fist-shadows, each more than three chi across, filled his vision, riding a howling gale as they crashed toward him.

“Clang!”

The middle-aged man reflexively raised the halberd in his hands to meet them. His wrist went numb, the halberd flew from his grip, and the fist-shadows, like heavy hammers carrying the weight of ten thousand catties, smashed into his chest.

With a dull boom, the middle-aged man’s body was flung backward into the air. Before he could steady himself, nine streaks of azure light shot out and instantly pierced through his body, leaving nine bloody holes.

Shi Lan no longer concealed herself. Her expression turned icy, killing intent surging wildly in her eyes as she strode forward to catch the falling halberd. The halberd’s edge erupted, its radiance stretching more than three zhang as it slashed toward the middle-aged man in midair.

Originally, Shi Lan had planned to give up this spirit crystal vein and simply get Wang Ning and the others out of here. However, after circling the area, she changed her mind.

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Wanting to avoid harming any mortals by mistake, Shi Lan had first intended to set up a simple defensive formation near that small village at the foot of the mountain.

Yet when she entered the village, she found it completely empty, devoid of life. From time to time she even saw splashes of blood. After searching for a long while, she finally found nearly a hundred corpses in an underground cellar several zhang deep.

Without exception, every one of them had been killed with a single strike. With just a little thought, it was not hard to guess whose work this was.

The halberd’s light swept through the air and cut the middle-aged man cleanly in two at the waist, scattering a rain of blood.

Shi Lan held the war halberd, her gaze icy. As a martial artist, for the sake of cultivation resources, you fight and you kill, you struggle over gains and losses, and leave life and death to fate. That was only natural.

But to reach out to utterly defenseless mortals for that, even deliberately slaughter them, that crossed the line of what was just.

Among those nearly hundred corpses, there had even been babies still in swaddling clothes. How utterly deranged was that?

Shi Lan’s strike was so ruthless that in the blink of an eye she had slain an Innate Realm martial artist. Even if it was thanks to a sneak attack, it still shocked many present.

Especially the young disciples of Flying Star Sect, who were thrown into complete disarray.

The two martial artists in their thirties who had been standing behind the middle-aged man finally came back to their senses. Faces twisted with fury, they summoned their artifacts and charged at Shi Lan.

“Bitch, die for me!” one of them shouted shrilly. He stepped into the air, Innate true qi surging wildly as several sword-shadows slashed out in succession.

Shi Lan’s expression did not ripple in the slightest. With a single step, her body traced out an afterimage and vanished from where she had been.

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The man hesitated for an instant, then suddenly felt a powerful gust of wind at his right. As he turned his head, a dazzling halberd light filled his entire vision.

The fury on his face turned to horror. “No…”

He had just uttered one word when the halberd light swept across his neck, cutting off his head.

A jet of blood sprayed out as a headless body crashed down.

The only one on the field who gave Shi Lan even the slightest pause had been that middle-aged man. As for the others, in her eyes they were nothing at all.

By now Wang Ning had also reacted. He raised his blade and shouted loudly, “Support the Centurion, kill!”

The dozen or so riders of the Demon-Suppressing Army did not hesitate in the slightest. They charged at the remaining martial artists, swallowing them up in an instant.

In a flash of lightning, that whole group was reduced to just a single remaining Innate Realm martial artist.

Seeing how badly things had turned, that man did not dare say a word. Controlling his artifact, he turned and fled without a trace of hesitation.

Shi Lan’s eyes were cold and indifferent. Like a streak of falling star, she moved after him and got ahead, blocking the path of that martial artist. She gripped the war halberd tightly in her hands, her killing intent already settled.

Evil must be rooted out completely; when you cut the grass, you pull it up by the roots.