Chapter 317 - 196: City Lockdown

Chapter 317: Chapter 196: City Lockdown

"If I let you in and something happens, who’s going to take responsibility?"

"Bullshit! Since when are you the one calling the shots at Hujue Pass? Get Qian Yunshan out here!"

Zhang Wangyue roared.

Qian Yunshan was the General of the Hujue Pass Border Defense Army and one of the most important figures in Hujue Pass.

The soldiers on these walls were all Qian Yunshan’s men.

"General Qian was attacked a few days ago. He is currently recuperating in his manor," Shao Santong said. "By imperial decree, during special circumstances, the Inspection Bureau is to temporarily take over the city’s defenses.

Even General Qian was attacked. How can I not be cautious?

So, if you can’t prove that you’re Zhang Wangyue, don’t blame me for what happens next."

He waved his hand, and a row of Inspectors appeared on the city wall.

Those Inspectors were all holding Demon-Breaking Crossbows, aimed at Zhang Wangyue below.

At the same time, the soldiers on the wall also drew their bows on Zhang Wangyue.

With a single order from Shao Santong, a sky-blotting rain of arrows would descend upon Zhang Wangyue.

Even for an expert of the True Essence Realm, facing such a volley of arrows meant only one outcome.

Zhang Wangyue’s heart sank. ’This is bad,’ he thought.

He’d just been making those kids from the Wuling Taiping Bureau prove their identities.

Now karma had come back to bite him, and it was his turn to prove he was Zhang Wangyue.

’How the hell am I supposed to prove that?’

’But it would be useless even if I could.’

’It’s obvious now that Shao Santong is the traitor. Who knows what trick he’d used to get rid of Qian Yunshan. It’s clear he is deliberately targeting me.’

’As long as I can’t prove my identity, I won’t be able to enter Hujue Pass!’

Zhang Wangyue reached down and gripped the waist token at his side, about to use it to contact the Taiping Bureau members inside the city.

The Taiping Bureau Waist Token vibrated faintly, but the message didn’t go through.

Zhang Wangyue’s pupils contracted.

’Clearly, someone has used an Array to block the Taiping Bureau Waist Token’s communication function!’

This sort of thing wasn’t surprising at Hujue Pass. As a major stronghold in the Border Region, it was already protected by Arrays.

During wartime, all communication in and out of the city was to be blocked.

’But if I can’t contact the Taiping Bureau members inside the city, I can’t call for help.’

’And if I try to scale the walls, those Demon-Breaking Crossbows on the ramparts are not just for show.’

"Shao Santong, open the gates. Once I’m inside, I have my ways of proving my identity."

Zhang Wangyue took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said in a low voice, "Or, you can have Commander Yang come to the wall. He can prove who I am!"

"Commander Yang has heavy responsibilities. If just anyone could demand he come and verify their identity, he’d work himself to death and still not keep up."

Shao Santong sneered, "I say you’re a demon in disguise. Fire!"

TWANG! TWANG!

The sound of bowstrings being released rang out, and a hundred Crossbow Arrows immediately rained down.

Zhang Wangyue was both shocked and enraged. He drew his saber, parrying and dodging at the same time.

Hujue Pass was a major stronghold in the Border Region, and its walls were famously impregnable.

Even Tier Four and Tier Five Demons had almost no chance of scaling the walls.

Zhang Wangyue swatted aside a few Crossbow Arrows with his saber, lunged forward, and rolled into the gate tunnel, which was a blind spot for the archers.

BOOM!

Zhang Wangyue hacked at the city gate with his saber.

The heavy gate didn’t even budge.

Just then, a group of people who had been pursuing him caught up from a distance.

Zhang Wangyue’s expression changed.

Sure enough, he heard Shao Santong shout, "It really is a demon trying to trick its way through the gates of Hujue Pass! And it even has accomplices!

Men, fire at will!"

"Don’t come any closer! Go!"

Zhang Wangyue bellowed, no longer caring about hiding. He shot toward Xu Chongyuan and the others.

...

GULP.

The appearance of the originally ugly four-legged snake had changed significantly.

Its body had grown longer and more slender. Its scales had turned a deep azure, giving off an air of ancient, profound weight. It was countless times more beautiful than before.

Moreover, a horn had actually begun to bulge from its forehead.

It opened its mouth and swallowed Su Mu’s blood clone. Light once again shimmered across its body, and the horn on its forehead, which had only been a nub, slowly began to grow again.

Su Mu swayed and plopped onto the ground.

His face was colorless, and he looked completely weak and feeble, as if he’d overindulged in wine and women.

He wasn’t faking it; he was truly weak.

In less than a day, he had already used his blood clone ability three times, each use consuming half the blood in his body.

His Profound Yellow Blood was now down to one-eighth of its peak volume.

He felt like he was about to turn into a human raisin.

If he weren’t already a Rebirth Realm expert, he probably wouldn’t even have the strength to move.

"I can’t go on."

Su Mu looked at the transformed four-legged snake and waved his hand. "I need to recover. Otherwise, I’m really going to die.

If I die, there’ll be no one left to give you blood."

The four-legged snake looked at Su Mu, a contemplative look in its eyes.

It was hard to say if it had understood Su Mu’s words.

SWISH!

Its tongue shot out abruptly, like a long whip.

BOOM!

In the blink of an eye, the four-legged snake’s tongue retracted, and a dark shadow crashed down in front of Su Mu.

That dark shadow was, shockingly, a Tier Four Demon!

The Tier Four Demon seemed to have been immobilized by the four-legged snake’s strange power. It lay stiffly on the ground, its eyes filled with terror.

"Eat."

The four-legged snake couldn’t speak human language, but it could convey its thoughts telepathically.

Su Mu’s eyes widened. He stared at the Tier Four Demon before him and couldn’t help but gulp.

’Did this four-legged snake misunderstand me?’

’Does it think ’recovering’ means eating demons?’

’Then again, for a demon, that’s probably exactly what it means.’

The flesh and blood of a Tier Four Demon was actually an incredible restorative for human Martial Artists as well.

’Isn’t eating a Tier Four Demon a bit too extravagant?’

’A Tier Four Demon is comparable to a human expert at the Core Formation Realm!’

’Still, a free meal is a free meal!’

Su Mu drew his Thunder Shocking Saber, forced himself to his feet, and plunged the blade into the Tier Four Demon’s heart.

Luckily, his Thunder Shocking Saber was a Divine Weapon; otherwise, with his current strength, he might not have even been able to pierce the Tier Four Demon’s skin.

The Tier Four Demon’s eyes went wide. Its limbs gave a violent twitch, its gaze filled with humiliation, and then it slowly went still.

Su Mu gasped for breath a couple of times, recovering a bit of strength, before carving a large chunk of meat from the demon’s body.

He rubbed his hands together, and a ball of fire engulfed the large piece of meat.

This was the effect of his Vermilion Bird Divine Body combined with his perfected Li Fire Realm.

After roasting the meat, Su Mu sat on the ground and began to eat ravenously.

He had lost too much blood and was in desperate need of replenishment.

The flesh and blood of a Tier Four Demon was no less effective than an ordinary Elixir.

After the large piece of roasted meat settled in his stomach, Su Mu felt a wave of warmth spread through him, and the feeling of weakness finally began to subside.

The energy contained within the Tier Four Demon’s flesh began to merge with his body. His four Divine Bodies activated, and Profound Yellow Blood began to generate endlessly from his bone marrow, replenishing what he had lost.

Su Mu carved another, even tenderer, piece of meat from the Tier Four Demon’s corpse, roasted it, and wolfed it down.

He repeated this process until he had eaten twenty to thirty jin of the Tier Four Demon’s meat, and he couldn’t help but let out a satisfied burp.

His formidable physique gave him astonishing digestive power. With a few rumbles from his stomach, the meat he’d devoured was already digested.

Su Mu even felt his Cultivation had improved slightly.

In fact, the meat of a Tier Four Demon was even more effective than ordinary Elixirs. If a Rebirth Realm Martial Artist could eat it year-round, their cultivation speed would undoubtedly increase dramatically.

However, the meat of a Tier Four Demon was a rare and precious commodity. Even the True Disciples of major sects and clans might not be qualified to eat it while in the Rebirth Realm.

For someone like Su Mu to be feasting on an entire Tier Four Demon was simply unimaginable.

Under normal circumstances, it was difficult to kill a Tier Four Demon, and even more difficult to secure its corpse.

Looking at the Tier Four Demon’s corpse, Su Mu’s mind started scheming. ’It would be great if I could take this back for the guys at the Taiping Bureau to have a taste of meat.’

SWISH!

Su Mu used his Physical Divine Technique again, and the blood clone walked straight up to the four-legged snake.

"I need to recover some more. Bring me another Tier Four Demon,"

Su Mu said shamelessly.

A delighted look appeared in the four-legged snake’s eyes as it swallowed Su Mu’s blood clone in one gulp.

’This is a godsent opportunity! This human’s blood actually contains a dragon’s might! If I keep consuming it like this, in ten years, I can transform into a flood dragon, and in a hundred, a true dragon!’

’This is a much better deal than eating him outright.’

’He needs to recover, right? Easy!’

A powerful suction force erupted from the four-legged snake’s mouth. In the distance, among the great army of the Demon Court’s Demon Soldiers, a Tier Four Demon shrieked as it was pulled flying toward it.