"A great demon?"
Lin Ce felt a chill run down his spine and subconsciously glanced around.
"Don't worry, that great demon is long dead, killed by a martial arts expert. Otherwise, with the great demon's strength exceeding the Innate Realm, would we be here to die?"
The man shook his head and took a difficult breath.
"Of course, our arrival here is also related to the great demon that was slain."
"So those ninth-rank martial artists who were buried along the way were your companions?"
The man scoffed at Lin Ce's question.
"What are you talking about as companions? We're all competitors. It's just that these guys only have the strength of a ninth-rank cultivator and they dare to get involved in this mess. Do they want to live too long?"
What are you competing for?
Lin Ce stared intently at the man.
He had a feeling that the answer to this question was the most crucial one.
The man fell silent immediately.
Even though Lin Ce influenced him through the "Sea Mirage Sound," he would still hesitate when it came to such a crucial issue.
"What, are you planning to stop here and only tell half of what you've said?"
The light in Lin Ce's eyes turned dangerous.
The man was startled, finally understanding the principle that one has to bow one's head when under someone's roof, and continued speaking.
As he spoke, Lin Ce gradually understood the reason behind it.
Legend has it that after a martial arts master killed a great demon, the demon's resentment lingered, forming the mist that permeates the depths of Black Mountain.
This kind of fog is nothing to a martial arts expert who can kill a great demon.
However, ordinary people or even low-level martial artists who enter it will be attacked by resentment and die a violent death.
Therefore, for a long time, the depths of the Black Mountain were almost devoid of human presence.
Now that the mist has cleared, it means that the resentment of that great demon has finally dissipated, and ordinary people can no longer enter without danger.
Some martial artists who knew some of the details wanted to take this opportunity to delve deeper into the matter.
What they were working on was something called "Innate Soul Crystal".
Great demons cultivate by absorbing the essence of heaven and earth. After their death, the essence of heaven and earth within their bodies dissipates and has a high probability of merging with the surrounding things. After a long period of time, it transforms into "innate soul crystals".
That is a rare item that can help martial artists who have acquired their skills increase their chances of entering the Innate realm.
It's enough to drive martial artists at the third level of the Acquired Realm (ranks seven, eight, and nine) crazy.
Among the martial artists who came for this purpose, those with ninth-rank strength were clearly at the bottom, so it was only natural that they would be eliminated in advance and eventually buried in the ground.
"On my way here, I encountered attacks by demons controlling ghostly spirits. Could that be related to the great demon that was suppressed?"
Lin Ce naturally wouldn't overlook this question.
"So you've run into it too."
The man coughed lightly. "Demons controlling spirits is terrifying to ordinary people, but it's nothing to martial artists like us. We can shatter them with a single punch."
Lin Ce nodded.
The other party is right, that's indeed the case.
"As for whether there really is a demon that secretly controls the spirits, I have my doubts."
The man shook his head and said:
"Perhaps it was just someone who had mistakenly entered the fog and died there, whose lingering resentment was affected by the resentment left behind by that great demon, thus turning into a ghost?"
What he said was not without reason.
However, Lin Ce did not entirely agree with this statement.
The two fox demons encountered during the previous trip to Black Mountain Temple, as well as Black Wind who suddenly rescued the female fox demon, all indicate that the situation in Black Mountain is not simple.
"One last question: which direction is the place where the great demon fell, and which area exactly is it located in, that is, the direction you are heading towards?"
The man fell silent again, seemingly unwilling to answer Lin Ce's question.
Lin Ce saw through his thoughts, chuckled, and shook his head:
"You're overthinking it. I only asked you to tell me the specific area so I could avoid it, because I didn't want to get involved in this mess."
This is not a lie.
That was indeed what Lin Ce was thinking.
With the "King of Escorts" system, he has skill points that can directly improve his martial arts level, so he doesn't need to care about "Innate Soul Crystals" at all.
The "Innate Soul Crystal" held little value for him; rather, the trouble it brought was something he desperately wanted to avoid.
"Over there."
The man eventually pointed out the area where the "Innate Soul Crystal" was located.
Lin Ce nodded, instructed the caravan to leave, and left the man behind.
Although the man had malicious intentions and wanted to ambush him, he still managed to break both of the man's arms.
Since there are no conflicts between them going forward, he has no reason to break his promise.
All he wanted now was to protect the herb gatherers and ensure their safe return to the escort agency.
Anything that can help a martial artist break through to the innate level is something that any martial artist vying for must be extraordinary.
Even if I'm not afraid, there's no need for me to get myself into trouble.
Behind them, the man leaning against the tree root stared resentfully in the direction where Lin Ce and the others had gone, and spat out a mouthful of phlegm.
"Pah, do you really think I'm that easy to deal with? Let you guys lead the charge and wear down their strength."
As he spoke, he used his still-functioning arm to laboriously take a white porcelain bottle out of his pocket.
"This kind of injury is nothing to me; I'll be almost fully recovered in less than half a day..."
"Really? What if it's this kind of injury?"
A voice came from above, and then a figure fell like dust.
As the figure descended, a flash of sword light appeared, and an arm even landed on the ground before the figure itself.
Looking at the arm that was both familiar and unfamiliar, and the white porcelain bottle that had fallen to the ground along with the arm, the person let out a painful wail.
"Ha, one day I'll take the position of chief镖头 (chief镖师, a position in the bodyguards) into my own hands."
Li Qingshan frowned, flicking away the blood droplets from his sword, clearly dissatisfied.
"The entire escort agency doesn't have a single person with even a modicum of lightness skill. It's shameful that I, a dignified young hero, have to do this dirty work. I'll be ashamed whenever I think about it."
As they were speaking, the man had already turned around and leaped away to escape.
Although he was injured and even had an arm severed, he was still an eighth-rank martial artist and escaped relatively quickly.
"Why are you running? Turn around. A true swordsman like me disdains to swing his sword behind someone's back."
Although he spoke rapidly, Li Qingshan's footwork was indeed quite impressive; he floated gracefully and landed in front of the man.
The longsword spun around and instantly pierced the man's body.
The brief encounter ended with the man being stabbed and captured.
Li Qingshan carried the man, his internal energy surging. Although his lightness skill was slightly affected, he still managed to float away, stepping on the treetops.
This time, thankfully, we didn't repeat the same mistake and stumble like last time.
"Bang!"
After throwing the man down in front of Lin Ce, Li Qingshan clapped his hands and once again stood proudly with his sword in his arms.
"Don't make me do this kind of dirty work again next time."
"Oh right, you guessed it, this guy wasn't telling the truth, he's a really bad guy."
One extra word he uttered instantly shattered the aloof and chivalrous image he had cultivated.
At that moment, Lin Ce's face turned cold as he looked at the person who had been thrown to the ground.
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